Top 5 Space Pulp Etsy Finds

We introduced my daughter to Flash Gordon the other week.

She is really taken with the song "Science Fiction/Double Feature" (she hasn't seen the movie), so we are making our way through each of the movies that have been mentioned in the song.

Strolling through Etsy, I came across some lovely morsels that a friend of mine would love for Christmas.

Ray Gun Necklace by TheGorgonist

Ray Gun Blueprints by ThePatentOffice

Gamma Ray Gun Cufflinks by PerfectCufflinks

SciFi Tote bag by TheBoldBanana

Amazing Stories Vintage magazine by CheetahsJungle

Do did you enjoy any of these finds?

The Waiting ...

Now that I have all my Uni work finished, the waiting is the hardest part to see if I will graduate in December.

If you care to browse, head on over to Infowhelm, where I have documented my learning over the last 3 years or so.

[source -  youtube]

I much prefer the "Pack up the Plantation" version of this song, one of my favourite live albums. 

Tom Petty, one of the greatest songwriters and I was in Year 9 when I saw him live along with Bob Dylan at Kooyong in Melbourne. For days I listened to EON-FM and rang in to get free tickets so that my Dad could see Bob Dylan in concert. I think that I was the youngest in the audience. Bob Dylan doesn't do much for me, but the "Pack up the Plantation" album has stayed with me and is one of my secret indulgences when I am driving and it is one of those albums where you HAVE to listen to it in order.

Now that I have my Masters work out of the way .. bring on the crafty goodness...

5 things to make your campsite glam

We are in training for a large camping trip next year at some point, so we spent the weekend in Echuca to test our organisational and survival skills. We had the tent, the ice box, the industrial 4WD strength matress for a good nights sleep.

But chatting around the campfire at night, a question was formed in our minds "What would Candice de Ville do?". Candice being our modern day retro style icon. If you haven't visited her site, Vintage Current, pop along and check out all the tips hints and ideas for making your life more retro-stylish.


1. Stylish headpieces

One morning in the campsite when our hair was everywhere, we commented that Candice would have a do rag or turban on her head. She would make sure that she was composed and stylish as she stepped out of the tent at 5.30 in the morning.

Fashion turban by CurtainRoad

Headscarf by OGood

If you are interested in learning how to do a headscarf property, Candice has a tutorial on youtube!

2. Retro inspired cutlery

As we camped in a group, the discussion of cutlery came up. It was easier to distinguish which cutlery belonged with if they were colour matched or they had electrical tape or nail polish on the handles signifying which set they came from. But who says that cutlery has to be boring? Check out this lovely set from Lark.

Colour Block Cutlery by Lark

3. Eat in style

Candice would eat in style. Rather than grazing, which is what you tend to do when camping. Eating while standing or putting things away. Why not dress your table and make your meals a little more civilised!

Vintage Red Gingham Tablecloth by A String or Two

There are modern day versions of this that are waterproof. Ikea has plastic coated fabric that is still quite stylish and retro.

4. Time for tea! 

It is important when glamping to make sure that you remember afternoon tea. This melamine tea set is rather lovely.

from SwankySafari

I'm loving this orange enamel tea set. Boil your water up, steep your tea leaves.

Set by Montmartre Vintage

We had an Air Pot set up for hot water which came in handy for either washing hands or a cup of tea without boiling a billy.

Airpot by Vintage Loves and More

5. Bunting

This idea probably takes things a bit too far, but bunting can be used to define a camp space or where tent lines are. Given that most tents are quite natural in colours, a bit of colour won't hurt? Will it? I would look for the extra long outdoor bunting, rather than the baby nursery bunting as it needs to survive rain and wind!  Take some cable ties along to secure your bunting as well.

Oilcloth bunting by Billy Bobbin.

I could keep going! What about retro wellington boots? The plastic martini set? The ideas are endless!

I hope you enjoy my picks!

Industrial Table Leg Inspiration

Lately, I am finding the beauty in design that is functional but also something that lasts, heirloom items if you must. These table legs caught my attention and although there are several designs similar out there, it is the lack of joints and places to gather dust that appeals to my "inner housewife".

I also love the idea that if you are tired of the table or moving house it you can pack it away for another day. These legs come in so many different colours and the choice of top is of course left up to you.

via The Floyd Leg

The simplicity of the concept is ikea-eque, available in several sizes this product is sure to inspire many people to create personal pieces of furniture that mean something to them. Rather than the mass produced items generally seen. I'm impressed that the concept started out as a kickstarter project and that it is produced in Detroit.

via Floyd

Ryan Sorrell has a similar product, but with a different edge to it.

via Ryan Sorrell

Another lovely piece of design is the "Maiden" table legs. Designed by Knut Bendik Humlevik and Rune Krøjgaard these legs are cast iron and I guess they would cost a small fortune to ship to Australia.

via Norr11

But imagine them with a gorgeous Australian Jarrah top? Just like the Floyd Legs, available in table or coffee table height.

vai Norr11

Just like the Floyd Legs, available in table or coffee table height.

I am not sure where these might go in my new house, but I love the idea of using products like these to make unique items that mean something to us.

Laundry room inspiration from subway

Our new laundry space in the new house is based on the idea that it has to work in-sync with the walk through pantry and kitchen space. At night it will be a safe haven for the cats to sleep, but during the day it will be a walk through space.

It is quite a compact laundry space and we have purposefully not included a space for a "tumble dryer". Upstairs there will be a drying closet for when we need to dry clothes inside. Not as fast as a tumble dryer but certainly better for the environment. The broom cupboard is twice the depth as the cupboards, capitalising on some negative space that was going to go to waste.

The flooring is black and white vinyl (easy to clean) and the tile splash back is done with white rectangle tiles in a subway style with dark grey grout. Cupboards are white with simple handles.

But I wanted to add some character to this small overlooked room.

via Bungalow 23

The thought is to stencil some "do not spit" signs onto the subway tiles in an emerald green, picking up on the green outside the laundry door.

via Paper Pastries

This is a picture (below) that I took at our own Flinders Street station, the subway leading into Campbell Arcade.

via instagram

Alternatively, I could count my penny's and purchase a bit of history for only $450 US!

via Urban Remains

Or perhaps this one for the laundry

via Urban Remains

What do you think?

Top 5 Wall Mural ideas

In amongst all the specialist appointments for Nicholas and the general daily grind, our new Latitude 37 house has been slowly being built. At lockup stage, things are starting to get exciting, and so I am casting my mind to some interior design despite having a 2,500 word essay due in a weeks time.

We have wall in our back room dining space and I would love to do something dramatic but not too loud on it. Beside the wall will sit the dining table, adjacent to the white kitchen which will have a red glass splash back.

1. Australian Design

Excited was how I felt when I came across Lara Cameron's Birch Mural from The wallpaper company

via

I would probably aim for a more neutral colour like this one or dark grey birches on a white background.

via

2. Forest Image

Another possibility is some wilderness linking the outside with the inside. Pickawall have some lovely vibrant pictures in their collection.

via 

This image would look spectacular, but I am not sure it would suit the space.

via

I love this Birch wall mural by Walls need love.

3. Monochromatic image

Or something monochromatic like this from photowall.

via

4. Cityscape

I am not sure I would go for Manhattan, probably something closer to home like Berlin or Glasgow.

via

5. Vintage

Even though this image has a watermark over it, you can see Luna Park

or some Vintage New York made by Digitex in the UK.

via

So what do you think? 

Have you had an experiences with Wall Murals.

Phelan-McDermid Syndrome

If you are a common reader of the blog, you will have noticed some autism blogs appearing on my blog roll feed. If you have really been paying attention, you will have noticed some of them refer to Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. Our perceptive paediatrician ordered bloods for Nicholas to "rule out" any genetic abnormalities and hey presto, he had one (22q13.3).

[source]

As you would imagine, there is a flurry of emotions running through my family at the moment. From anger to relief in knowing what is going on inside Nicholas' head.

So far I have been in touch with Megan Toole who runs the Australian arm of the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation. As there are only 50 registered families in Australia, the research on this syndrome just isn't there.

From a teacher's point of view, I've been doing lots of research on PMS and ASD. As a family it means that the next few years will be more of an adventure than we thought! Nicholas will need more intervention than he is getting at the moment and he will probably be a high-needs child for quite a number of years.

I am fortunate that I do have a wonderful supportive family around me and some wonderful friends who recognise the need for hugs.

So not much craft for me at the moment, my creative juices will be put into working out strategies for helping my wee man.

Nicholas, Hanen and Study

I've been rather quiet on blogging front, but rather busy on the instagram front. I was remarking to a friend that life gets pretty complicated when you have kids. But when you have one with special needs, it is even more so.

We got through some pictures from childcare of our wee man playing and smiling. He has been smiling a lot more lately and his development has progressed in all the directions except speech!

He is loving his trucks and cars at the moment and will spend ages playing with the various vehicles at childcare and home.

That lovely gap in his front teeth was him pushing his dummy through them to the point where it created a gap! I love the fact that you can see his gorgeous hands in this picture and of course, he is smiling. It is so hard to get a good picture of him, I can only imagine what was happening behind the photographer. Childcare carers dancing about and trying to grab his attention.

He is loving books at the moment and can remain engaged with book for a good half an hour. Port side Pirates comes with a CD that he loves to listen to. Favourite songs are Justine Clarke Dancing Face (oh the irony of this) and the Wiggles Rock a -bye your bear.

But despite the fact that he is progressing in play, we still we have no real distinguishable speech. Next month we start a Hanen "More than words" program at Melvin Speech Pathology in Camberwell. This is a 4 month course which includes parent workshops and speech therapy assessments. We are hoping to develop some skills to try and help Nicholas along. It would be nice if there was a few words for Christmas (can you hear that Santa?).

He is still rather set in his ways with routine and eating is a nightmare. It has to be a secondary task in his eyes, not a primary one. So often there is Play School running in the background for him to focus on. He still requires his favourite coloured bowl and spoon and you have to be so careful when he is eating not to disturb him too much, or else there is a giant tantrum ...

He loves tunnels, when Mummy and Daddy act like a dog and crawl around the floor. We have started to feed the cats together each day and he carefully divides the food between them and then we are encouraging him to give them a little pat at the end. Unfortunately we do need to remove the water dish for this activity as Nicholas loves playing with water.

I have two more subjects to go for my Masters of Eduction (Teacher Librarianship). One practical and one theory. But fitting in the study and work experience visits in-between work and Nicholas' therapy sessions is a bit of a challenge

We are moving house in a few weeks and I am hoping to get a bit of sewing action before I move. I have so many quilting ideas, but alas, no time :(

Destashing my fabric *cough* collection

We have been busy here at Konstant Kaos sorting out some fabric to destash. Most of them are cut into Fat Quarters, but if you are interested in yardage, then please email me!

Most of these prints have been used in my business in one form or another. At the moment, I just don't have the time to do large scale sewing required to keep up with the market pace.

So it is time to destash. Keep an eye on my Etsy Shop, as I am adding things every day!

Keep Sewing!

Margaret

More Car Badges, Posters and Memoribilia

Just think of my excitement when I came across the Logo Design Love post on Car Manufacturer Logo Designs:

They have done a feature blog post on Car Manufacturer Logo Designs. Right up my alley!

A bit more searching and I came across Car Type which has a section on car badges and hood ornaments and their evolution.

via

There is a great section on car posters and advertising, however their collection leans more towards the modern day cars rather than the vintage or classic cars that I am interested in. A quick search on Flickr might give you more rewards in this area.

Designer Daily had a great article on the evolution of the car badges, so interesting to see what happened to them during the war years.

Now all I need to do is work out how to integrate this into my love or patchwork and quilting ...

A collection of #vintagecar badge photographs

I love to photograph old cars. To imagine their stories, where they have come from, where have they driven. And I love to capture their badges, which seem to be much more complex than the modern car badges (and attached via screw and bolt).

Here are a few pics that I have taken over the last year or so.

I love how the culture of the time shines through on the badges. The ones that were created in the 20s and 30s, and then the 50s and 60s.

If you are interested in keeping track of my car pictures, head on over to either my facebook page or instagram.