Bouncy castles are STILL genius!

Image by mrmoorey

Due to lots of things happening over the last week (none which are interesting enough to talk about, but all of which kept me from doing anything even remotely bloggy-related) I missed Drewzel's Blogtoberfest Fave Friday (sorry!), where she posted her fav all time song. Well I don't think I could possibly have narrowed it down to one. However, I realised that I have had a certain song stuck in my head for quite some time now, and it's got to the point where my husband and I have been singing it so much that my son now even knows the words. Actually, it's not a song, so much as a 'crimp'. Mighty Boosh fans will know what I'm talking about. Check it out here - it's fantastic - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNgL0E2BFEM (sorry, the BBC won't let me embed it - you'll have to watch it on youtube. Trust me though, it's worth it.)

And if you REALLY love it, then you can learn the words here - they're very easy, and SOOOOOOO addictive.



I think I've become a bit of a crimping machine. I've been singing it to my 7 month old nephew lately to (I sing the song, he does the 'bouncy bouncy' moves) and he LOVES it. What can I say, the boy's got taste!!!

I've also been tagged by PinkLizzy for the 6 random things meme. I know I've done this one before, but I figured since I've been thinking about music a lot lately (I'm also re-reading High Fidelity for book club, so I've developed the habit of categorising things into 'top five' lists) that I'd just adapt this meme a bit, and make it a bit of a High Fidelity meets RocKwiz kinda theme. (And sorry, but I couldn't stick to just 6, so I've added an extra random question).

I won't tag anyone, but play if you want, and let me know so I can come check out your answers!

1. Your first musical idol.

When I was a kid my musical idol was Tiny Tina Arena. I desperately wanted to be on Young Talent Time and be the one singing "someone left the cake out in the rain..."

2. Your biggest musical shame/embarrassment.

When I was a teenager I was a headbanging metal fan. Not the hardcore stuff like Metallica. I was into Motley Crue, Guns n Roses (the early stuff, not the later stuff), Poison (eeek, I know!), and all the other glam metal bands. I even played bass guitar in my own little garage metal band. We were called Mary Jane. Of course.

3. Your special musical talent?

I know the words to more kids' songs than my kids' music teacher. This never ceases to amaze me (I also know the associated actions and dance moves, and it also amazes me that other parents don't....is this not normal???)

4. A musical thing that you wouldn't do in public.

I am great at changing the words to songs on the spur of the moment to fit whatever it is I want to tell my kids. I can even make them rhyme in the right places (maybe I should have been a freestyin' rapper). And scarily, my son seems to have inherited this talent, so we sometimes conduct whole conversations 'in song'!!! Not in public, of course.

5. The last band you saw live.

Machine Gun Fellatio which was about 4 years ago. They were pretty good.

6. Favourite live music experience.

Seeing The Eels play about 8 years ago. And I didn't even pay for the tickets (won a RRR giveaway). It wasn't a 'jump around and go nuts' kind of event. More a sit down and watch and listen carefully because you didn't want to miss a thing because it was all so intricate and subtle and well....just awesome!!!

7. If you could see any band/musician live tomorrow, who would it be?

They Might Be Giants. Because I've never seen them live and I'm afraid I never will, and I'd SOOOOO love to. I mean, come on, how awesome is this song.



It's jumpy, it's happy, and hey, it's even educational :P

I'm a mean green machine!

Lately I've been discovering some absolute gems that have sprung from the world of green. And I'm considering it my environmental duty to share :)

Firstly, I recently chanced upon the discovery of a new publication called Peppermint Magazine - a mag devoted to fresh green fashion. And I can't rave about it enough. It is a slick, classy, 'fashion forward' (can you tell I've been watching Project Runway) magazine that was put together by a one-woman show in Brisbane. From big name labels to local SE Qld designers (djbebe's recycled fabric brooch and Rebecca Wards' shark shards recycled glass necklace are paired with Gorman and del forte's organic ranges of clothing in a gorgeous fashion shoot spread) this magazine has it all. Great articles (I SO want to get to a Clothing Exchange event now), a visual art/design competition in every issue, and all printed on beautiful glossy 100% recycled stock and printed with vege/soy inks. The first issue is free if you pick it up at one of their stockists (Meet Me at Mikes fans in Melbourne can find a copy there) or you can order it only for only $5.95 inc postage. I know I sound like I have some sort of vested interest but I really don't. I just really enjoyed this mag - even the ads were interesting to me!

Happy green news number 2. Check out these vintage lovelies!

The wonderful Meika from Meika's Little Treasures hosted a vintage sheet fat quarter swap, and these are the lovely fabrics that I received. Can't wait to make some more fabric bookmarks with them. In fact, this segues nicely into my next bit of green news, as the reason I have to make more bookmarks is that I have been accepted into the Reverse Garbage Christmas Exhibition. So very exciting!!! I will be displaying some bookmarks, some reversible handbags, and a shoulder bag - all from recycled, reclaimed and reused materials. I've never taken part in anything like this before so I was very chuffed to have my submission accepted. Now I just have to get to work!!!

Photo by Jones.Emma

And the last of the green news is of the cleaning variety. In an effort to reduce the chemicals and toxic substances around the house we have trying out various 'green cleaning' methods, so I thought I'd share some of the crackers.

1. Leather conditioner (used on our couch) - 2tbsp linseed or flaxseed oil to 1 tbsp white vinegar. Mix in bowl and rub into leather with a soft cloth, then buff with another dry cloth. Seriously - this is AWESOME!!! It actually worked heaps better than the proprietry leather conditioner we had from Freedom.

2. Bathroom cleaner - sprinkle bi-carb soda over surface, dip cloth in white vinegar (or pour a bit over the bi-carb so it fizzes) and wipe with a cloth. Using this and an old toothbrush to clean around the taps and other tricky bits was just the best. Worked so well, and for once I wasn't worried about getting nasty bathroom chemicals or bleach on my hands or clothes.

3. Clothes whitener - in an effort to whiten up some of my greying white clothes, I soaked them in a bucket of water with a cup of white vinegar, then put them out in the sun. Awesomely white. Napisan eat your heart out!

4. Personal care products - I've been trying out lots of different brands, and am SO happy with the following. Trilogy hair care products (natural, organic, no creepy stuff), Trilogy hydrating toner (again, organic, yummy rose, geranium and lavender oils), Jurlique cleanser (natural, non-creepy, smells great - expensive, but lasts for ages), Jurlique sunscreen (now I don't know how 'green' sunscreen can really get, but I can say that this facial sunscreen is 30+ and absorbs so well, and best of all smells really really nice - not like sunscreen at all!!)

And that's it for my mean green tips today. Do you have any special green cleaning tips products or general news you'd like to share? Because I'd love to find out more.

Gratefulness

Now this post could be huge. Of course there is always so much to be grateful for. But in the spirit of my last two posts I will try and keep it short(ish) and sweet. Firstly, I am once again grateful for the generous spirit of crafty bloggers, and in particular I want to say a HUGE thank-you to Net from Area Thrifty-One. A little while ago Net ran a giveaway on her blog, and the winner was a friend of mine (Ali) who belongs to BrisStyle, the Brisbane Etsy Street Team that we both belong to. When I mentioned to Net how pleased I was that Ali was the winner, she sent through a little pressie for me with Ali's giveaway pack. Isn't this little brooch just too gorgeous. I've been wearing it at every opportunity this weekend, and so far I've discovered it goes just as well with a plain black bonds t-shirt, as it does with a crisp white blouse. Thank-you so much Net - it is such a lovely and thoughtful gift and I really do adore it :)


In other bloggy gratefulness news, I have been very lucky to be honored with the Love Your Blog award from Ingrid of LottieLuLu, and also from Beccasaurus. The idea of passing the award on is kind of stressing me out though, as I have over (ok, well over) 100 blogs in my bloglines, and I really do love reading them all. I also know that many blogs I read have already received this award, and I'm worried about doubling up.....I know. Neurotic. I'm making steps though. I now accept my neuroticness (is that a word!!!) and I'm no longer neurotic about being neurotic :P So let me just say that if I have commented on your blog, then I can guarantee that I love it.

But I will leave you with some cool linky links, as there are some very sweet things going on in Blogland at the moment, and it would be simply remiss of me not to mention them:

• Amanda of Twinkle Star Art is doing another giveaway for one of her gorgeous children's prints. If you have a little boy, or know of one, who is into automobiles, then get ye to Amanda's blog asap. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I have seen her prints in person and the quality of them is just superb!
  
  

• If you've been reading the Betty Ninja blog over the past 12 months, you will probably, like me, have been in awe of some of her beautiful viewfinder photographs. Not content to be an awesome quilter, sewer, thrifter, crafter and adventure girl, she also takes amazing photos. And she has finally set up an Etsy shop (lost in the woods - isn't that a lovely name!) selling prints of her work. To celebrate, she is currently hosting a giveaway, where you can win not one but three of her gorgeous prints. I think if I don't win I might have to just buy one of her beautifully etherial photos for myself.
  
  
  
• If you'd like to join in a festival of blogging in October, then you may want to consider participating in Blogtoberfest, hosted by Big Cat's Emporium, which involved a post a day for the month of October. Unfortunately I think I am just a little too sporadic in my postings to commit to something so ambitious, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun. The lovely Flossy-P has even produced a little button for it - how cool is that!

Now I'm truly sorry folks. I know I promised short punchy posts....and I tried...I really did....trust me, this could have been heaps heaps longer :P

Productive

I have actually been pretty productive lately. I have a whole heap of new bags that I can't show yet because I still haven't taken photos of them, but I do have photos of a little gift pack I sent off recently to my Sister-in-law and Brother-in-law and their new little baby Angus. I really wanted to try and do a completely handmade pack of goodies to send them. Unfortunately with illness hitting the household at the time of the birth, it took me a little longer to finish everything, but I got there eventually. The pack included:

* reversible bibs for little Angus - made with a mixture of reclaimed vintage and new japanese fabrics.
* cloth ball rattle - pattern found here. It was so super easy, and lots of fun (although I used felt for the circles on the end, which made it even easier!). I can't remember where I got the idea of using a cat toy for the rattle bit inside (i'm sure I read about it on a craft blog somewhere), but it worked a treat.
* casual market tote - just a little pressie for the new mum, whose favourite colour is purple (fabrics used are reclaimed purple linen, reclaimed wool fabric, and new Hollabee linen/cotton blend fabric with hand screenprinted rubine swirls. Strap was a recycled fabric belt, with vintage buttons for detail).

(reverse side of bibs)
OK, so this is one short post (for me!). Look out everyone. I'm on fire!!!

Bird nests and deep breaths

We are very lucky to have two bird nests in our back yard at the moment. One big messy one up very high in the top of a big old gum tree at the back of the yard, and one little neat one at the top of a much smaller spindly tree near the kids' cubby house.

Whenever I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the lists of things to do I have floating around the place, I go out onto the deck and stop for a while to look at these bird nests and listen to the chirping. To come back into the moment I guess.

I had a good look at those nests before I sat down at this computer actually. Because I have so much to say and show and acknowledge, and it's been so long since I posted....you know how it is. I was going to try and say everything in one big post (yes, the mammoth posts seem to be a hallmark of mine) but then I thought I should maybe try breaking it all down into bite-sized portions. Manageable tasks, if you will.

So here comes a series of little posts - I hope. I do have trouble with conciseness sometimes. But I will try. It is Spring after all. A good time for new things. Hurrah!

PS. If you look closely in this last shot, you can see a little head and beak poking out of the nest. Sorry my nature photography skills are not great - plus I was balancing on the edge of the cubby house holding my arm above my head and trying to use the zoom function on my little happy-snaps camera....