The Magic Bean

I have a dream

I have a dream where my hair is never frizzy.

I have a dream that I can actually buy shoes in the adult department.

I have a dream that I when I blow my nose in public, strangers do not laugh out loud.

I have a dream that when I swim, I look sleek and fast and where I can do that amazing flip where I change directions by pushing off the end of the pool wall.  Without cracking my head open.

I have a dream that I am a black belt.  In Kung Fu or Tae Kwon Do or Jujitsu. 

I have a dream that my husband did not make up an entirely new form of martial art at which he felt I could excel called Beanjitsu - "Way of the Deadly Crafts" where I can bring down my opponents using only my baby finger and a sewing bobbin.

I have a dream where the mere thought of the mastery of a martial art would not automatically prompt my loved ones to make up fake martial arts in my dubious honour.

I have a dream where I have my own craft empire and even Martha Stewart is jealous.

I have a dream that with my fortune, I am able to buy my husband the Honda Pan European motorbike he has always lusted after.

 

And in this dream we ride it around the world.

The dream-me uses the trip to explore the crafts of the globe.

Dream-me will attract the attentions of Channel 4 documentaries who will air a show all about our travels and the crafts we uncover.  The documentary directors from the creative minds at Wieden + Kennedy will say that they feel "honoured" to have spent time in my presence.  But I'll be cool about it and refer often to my mates at  W+K.  Only the insiders will understand the reference, but everyone else will pretend that they do.

Dream-me will learn to speak Mandarin, Russian and an obscure dialect from Papua New Guinea that has stumped anthropologists and linguists for decades.

Dream-me will look so cool in biker's leathers.

Dream-me will make crafts from the back of the motorbike and bikers everywhere will admire my chutzpah.

Dream-me will look so at home on the back of that motor-bike that no one will dare call me cute.

It could happen.  Well, the motor-bike part could.  And maybe the round-the-world trip bit. 

I'm not sure that I could manage that pool flip without damaging my cranium.

And helmet hair is likely to exacerbate the frizzies.

And admittedly, the making of me into any sort of deadly martial arts weapon is pretty unlikely.

But the documentary part - that could totally happen.  No really, I'm not suffering from a failed-pool-flip head injury.  Honda is sponsoring  Channel 4 documentaries and releasing a series of mini-documentaries directed by W+K as well as an online hub.  These mini-documentaries will feature regular people who use Honda products in strange and unusual ways.  The quirkier the better.  You just visit the Honda online hub and upload your story with a photo, maybe a video and you might just find yourself starring in a documentary.

Like if you round up your alpaca herd with your Honda

Viral video by ebuzzing

 See it's not a pipe-dream.  Some people appreciate quirky.  I bet they wouldn't even mind that I'm cute. 
 


 Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

Piecing Together Fragments of Life

Sometimes when I read articles on the news about archaeological discoveries I am always astonished that small fragments of one pot can tell a bunch of tweed wearing types so much about the owner of said pot.  It might not even be a whole pot, just a fragment of a pot, but the tweedy types find a few fibres and kernels of corn surrounded by Iron Age dirt and somehow they can deduce that the deceased owner of the pot was 5'1", had a limp and a fondness for shell fish.  How do they do that?

I wonder what the little fragments left behind in my lifetime will say about me?  Mind you, we've been walking upright for quite some time now so we do have somewhat better record keeping that Urgh the Iron Age Farmer, so there will be even more detail to leave behind.  But imagine if records were lost somehow and by some crazy coincidence the contents of my flat were perfectly preserved and were the sole surviving clues they had to determine what life was like in 2011. 

Perhaps, those futuristic experts would look at one of my shoes and assume all early 21st people had freakishly small feet.  Maybe they'd see all my little cloth dolls dotted around the place and assume they were religious icons instead my way of expressing creativity.  A scrap of paper might become just like a fragment from an Iron Age pot.

"Well chaps, from this scrap of credit card bill we can deduce that the occupant of this flat required large amounts of wire and fabric and did a fair amount of travelling.  The specimen also indicates that she was fairly intelligent as she used Barclaycard Platinum for all these purchases.  She was obviously using a credit card to establish good credit and to control cash flow, as well as to take advantage of benefits such as Identity Protection, Travel Services and Fraud Monitoring.  I'd say we are dealing with an early 21st century cloth doll artist."  They'd all proclaim that scrap of paper a rare discovery on par with the unlocking of the Rosetta Stone and school children across the country would file past the paper in the climate controlled room of a museum while on school trips where that scrap would later be displayed.  It would become known as the Barclaycard Fragment.

What would your credit card bill say about you?  Could the experts infer that you were smart enough to take advantage of Barclaycard's current offer for 0% on balance transfers?  That you had so much cranial capacity that you rushed to apply for a Barclaycard Platinum  as soon as you found that Barclaycard were the first credit provider to offer 0% for 20 months - the longest 0% balance transfer on offer in the market today. 

Could those futuristic archaeologists create a picture of you as a world-wise traveller who needed Barclaycard Platinum Worldwide Assistance, Emergency Card Replacement and Travel Services?  Would they create a profile that showed not only were you sensible with money but you also liked the finer things offered by Barclaycard Freedom, Barclaycard's rewards program?  Would those experts of the future intuit that you weren't the type to waste time or money and so rushed straight out and applied for a new Barclaycard Platinum between March 15th and May 3rd, 2011 to take advantage of the offer of 0% on balance transfers and the 25% reduction of handling charges to transfer your balance from another lender. 

If I weren't' already a  Barclaycard Platinum card holder, I'd be applying right now.  I want to make sure that the scraps and fragments of my life show the future that I was one smart doll maker.

Sponsored Post

Partage propulse par ebuzzing

I'll Admit It, I Talk to Myself

The thing about being a self-employed craft designer is that you end up talking to yourself.  Not everyone would admit it, but I will.  I talk to myself.  There are definitely some plus sides to working alone - no office politics, no one can use up the last of the milk for tea and no boring meetings.  While I regularly have stimulating conversations with moi, the conversations can be, well, a little one sided.  And there is no one to bounce ideas off of, no one to help me pick up the slack when I'm not feeling 100% and no one even to comment if I'm having a good hair day.  In other words, it can be lonely. There is something to be said for joint venture.  For getting out there and joining together with other people to get something done.  Or even for getting something done for other people.

The only time I ever get to share with other people is when I teach.  Teaching is a big part of my business, but I also think it is a great opportunity for me to Get involved.  I wrote about The Co-operative Membership Fund a while ago and my big idea to teach women in shelters or eating disorder clinics.  Then it hit me that "my big idea" wasn't so big after all because it was limited to certain groups of women who I had thought were "worthy" of my attention.  But there are all sorts of women out there in need of inspiration and creativity.  And some women who need something even less lofty - they just need someone to talk to. 

So I've started developing an easy doll that is made with cheap materials and with absolutely no machine sewing, so that I can go to any type of group, like WI groups, embroider's guilds, youth groups, seniors groups or any community group at all, and offer some inspiration.  I hope to provide a creative outlet for people while teaching some basic skills.  Maybe I'll inspire people to make do and mend.  Maybe I'll inspire people to find their inner "artiste".  Maybe I'll inspire people to try more cloth doll making.  Or maybe I'll just make that one day a bit less lonely - for myself and for someone else.

My idea isn't really as big as all that.  And it is doable.  Sometimes all you need is a bit of guidance and co-operation and you can start a revolution. 

 
The Co-operative who originally inspired my big idea, are currently launching a high profile, multi-media campaign to demonstrate the big impact that starts with small ideas.  The Co-operative Group is based on ethical ideals and serves the communities of the UK with a membership ofsix  million (of which I am one) and 5,000 outlets from across its family of businesses which range from food shops to financial services to pharmacies and funerals.  The Co-operative TV commercial, currently airing in the UK, highlights the achievements of the Rochdale Pioneers who established the first successful co-operative in 1844 and continue to inspire modern pioneers to find new frontiers of need and rise to meet them.

I was reading about one of The Co-operative's modern revolutions.  Urban Bees was set up by Brian McCallum and Alison Benjamin to teach people living in the urban jungle to raise honey bees.  The initiative is intended to help protect dwindling populations of honey bees in city areas.  With hives on rooftops, community gardens and city allotments, this pioneering pair have been teaching budding bee enthusiasts the basics of bee keeping with funding from The Co-operative .

 

Bee keeping is extremely hip at the moment (the attire not withstanding) with the craft crowd particularly intrigued by the trend. Not only can you protect bee populations which are so integral to our environment, but you can also use the honey and beeswax in soap making, candle-making, and cooking.  Bee keeping is one of those revolutionary movements that is both trendy and timely.  Plus you could wear the suit to pretend you are a space man.  Hey, helping the community doesn't always have to be serious!

Plus, we could learn a thing or two from the bee.  Did you know that aerodynamically bees should not be able to fly because their wings are too small to carry their own weight?  But the bees don't know that and so they fly anyway.  Big ideas are just like that, if you believe in them they can fly.  Join the revolution


Sponsored Post

Where's a Nun When You Need to Cross the Road?

You can learn a lot from travelling and thankfully I travel both for pleasure and for doll making (which I guess can also be called travelling for pleasure, as well as business, but let's not split hairs).

In Cornwall I learned that when crossing fields do not step in anything that is steaming.

In Bali I learned there are no rules when driving on the roads.  And watch out for that chicken/dog/man (delete as appropriate).

In Rome I learned that to safely cross the road you can:

a) cross with a nun

b) wear a very short skit

c) cross like you are Julius Caesar himself and they wouldn't DARE hit you

d) all of the above

In Sequoia National Park, California I learned never to bring just one craft project with you when you travel as the chances are that you will be snowed into your mountain lodge with no TV and a husband who has thrown his back out so badly that he is permanently bent at a 90 degree angle, rendering you bored and craft-less.

In San Francisco I learned that there are cheap fabric stores to be had and Alcatraz at night is very scary.

There's so much more to learn, so many more places to travel, so when I heard that Park Inn by Radisson were running an online competition to win one week's stay at Park Inn Manchester, Park Inn Berlin, or Park Inn Ulysse Resort (in Djerba, Tunisia) plus a £300 giftcard, I thought - count me in, what do I have to do?

 

Turns out you have to play a game called the Play 4 Park Inn .  Well that's not so bad.  Games are fun, I thought.  And I clicked on over to Play 4 Park Inn and I saw this guy:

I thought "I can take him".  I work with my hands all day long stitching itty bitty tiny cloth doll features.  I'll be able to slot those cards and get 4 in a row  with absolutely no problem.

Here's what I learned from playing that game:

a) I'm really bad at it

b)  it's totally addictive

I don't know if it's my need to win a free week's stay at a lovely hotel or if it's my desire to win one of the two weekly prizes of an iPad and a £250 voucher (respectively) for Park Inn Hotels, or if I just want to prove that I can beat that hotel manager at his own game.  The funny thing is that win or lose, you can still enter the competition.  But it's a grudge match now folks.  He will not be taking this doll maker down!

Just do me a favour and go on over to play Play 4 Park Inn  and tell me -  is it that my hands are just exhausted from too much stitching or am I just pathetic at online games?  I suspect it might be a bit of both. 

Just a note, if you decide to give it a go in order to win the prizes you need to be 18 years or older, be a resident of the UK, Switzerland, Germany, or Austria.  To win you will have to provide your name and e-mail address and the contest only runs until December 18th, 2010.  That means that I only have a few days left to wipe that smug grin of the hotel manager's face and score me an iPad. 

I've already got my eye on some free tutorials for iPad covers in anticipation of my victory. 

Like this tutorial for a quilted iPad cover and stand on Instructables.

Or this easy fleece iPad cover on Craft Sanity.

Or this quilted iPad sleeve from Moda Bakeshop.

I just realised I totally wasted valuable time looking at iPad cover tutorials when I should have been playing 4 in a row to win the silly iPad in the first place.  Can't cover it if I don't have it!  Have patience with me, it takes me a while for my travel lessons learned to sink in.

 

 

Sponsored Post

Share hosted by Wikio

How to Talk to Your Sewing Machine

I attended York University in Toronto, studying Theatre Design and Production - an institution which taught you to design and construct using the school of thought that you should "just do it".  So as a clueless under-grad, there I was teaching under-grads with even less of a clue how to sew, draft patterns and otherwise "get it done" for whatever piece of theatre we were currently trying to stage.   

There are a surprising number of ways that people can screw up a simple seam.  There was the guy who sewed the bottom of a skirt shut (I asked him how you would get your feet out to wear it and you would have thought I asked him to explain the theory of relativity).  There was the girl who sewed her own sleeve to a period gown and another sad individual who sewed right through their own hand.  Yup, learning a new skill can be pretty hard.  One thing I learned from that early experience of teaching people to sew is that you need to make them laugh.

So, I told them to talk to their sewing machines.  I advised them to whisper sweet nothings in a nauseating voice designed to keep their sewing machine on "our side".  This made them giggle.  Especially when I started to spew pet names at the machine and pet it in a loving manner. 

One day, a hapless first year named Katherine got her thread wrapped around the machine in ways that were bound to lead to her imminent meltdown.  I sat at her machine and I said:

"First you talk to the machine".  I demonstrated this procedure complete with aforementioned crooning and petting of the machine.  She laughed. I told her to press very lightly on the industrial machine's pedal to free up the hand wheel, give the hand wheel a wee jiggle and  the jiggle would allow her to remove the offending thread.  I though nothing of this routine demonstration.

But the very next day...

Five hapless first years were screaming for help.  I was the only person present who know which end of a sewing machine was up, so I gave them all a number and asked for their patience.  It turned out that one of the waiting number had the exact same problem as Katherine had the day before.  Katherine volunteered to help the girl for me, giving me once less person to sort out.

Katherine sat at her fellow first year's machine and she said:

"First you talk to the machine".  She then delivered the entire demonstration ver batim and with actions.  The other first year laughed and was able to keep going.  I wonder if that first year ever forgot how to talk to a sewing machine?  I wonder if she ever passed on the "How to talk to a sewing machine" lesson to anyone else.  Who knows how far my wisdom (or should I say nonsense?) has spread.

A service that I belong to called ebuzzing is just like talking to a sewing machine.  You get people to laugh and they pass it on. 

 

ebuzzing allows bloggers like you to write articles and display videos about brands and products that you like, when you want and they pay you for it. 

At first, I was a bit hesitant about having any form of "advertising" on my blog.  However, as an ebuzzing blogger I can choose which brands I write about and which I don't.  I only choose to participate in campaigns that will fit into my blog and that I feel my readers would be interested in. All the posts are written in my words with only a few bullet points, links and images that have to appear on the post.  ebuzzing is a completely free service to join and the strict code of ethics at ebuzzing ensures that all posts are clearly marked as sponsored. 

I thought my readers would "put up with" my ebuzzing posts, but these sponsored posts generate more positive comments and e-mails than I ever expected.  Having to come up with ways to make different brands and topics fit into my blog has forced me to be creative and it is has really stretched my comedy muscles.  I now think that ebuzzing has made my blog content better than ever.

If I had a dream brand that I'd like to ebuzz about, it would be Janome sewing machines.  As I've said, I really know how to talk to a sewing machine.  I've used more different brands of sewing machine than I care to talk about (or to) - first in theatre wardrobes and then in doll making classes.  I have a soft spot for Janome.  Janome machines always seem to pose fewer problems than other brands, at least in my experience.  Janome really knows how to make a sewer feel warm and fuzzy and definitely ebuzzy.  Of course, it wouldn't be hard to get the doll making and crafting world buzzing about Janome because sewers always like a good sewing machine brand debate.  It's like a prize fight for us, we're all hedging our bets on who the heavy weight champion would be.  I have the inside track on who would win though - my sewing machine told me!

If you have a blog it is time to register and start earning!  Remember,make them laugh and pass it on!  Find out more on ebuzzing.co.uk



Sponsored Post

Share hosted by Wikio

What's the Big Idea?

A while ago I had a big idea.  It was so big in my mind that I didn't quite know what to do with it.  I didn't know how to get it off the ground.  The idea was this:  to go into women's shelters or eating disorder clinics and teach women how to make cloth dolls. 

Some people might think that cloth dolls are a bit frivolous for women in those situations.   To those people I would say that making little people out of cloth makes you look at yourself and everyone around you.  Whether you realise it or not, dolls are an expression of self identity and the very act of crafting them has a therapeutic effect.

People might think that it is silly to ask someone to express their grief, their anger or their self doubt through a doll.  I would say to those people that  you can certainly express those things through the human form and you can also express hope and joy and beauty. 

People might think that women who are at turning points in their lives won't want to sit and sew or glue or bead.  I would say to those people that sometimes the act of focussing on something else entirely helps you to see what's been in front of you all along or maybe it will be just be a distraction that makes getting through that one day a bit easier.

Maybe my big idea wouldn't work.  Maybe my big idea would be laughed at.  Maybe it wouldn't help anybody.

But maybe it would.  Making dolls helps me everyday.  Maybe it could help someone else.

But the big maybe is, would I be able to do it financially?  The thing about making a big idea fly is that you need some way to help it take off.

When I heard about The Cooperative Membership Fund I realised that it might be the boost a big idea like mine would need.  The fund is made up of donations from Co-operative members who have chosen to give a percentage of their twice-yearly share of the profits. This year The Co-operative  Members have donated £1.2 million to local community groups across the country. 

As a charity, the board of trustees gives funds to community projects that fall in line with the Charities Commission guidelines as well as the values of the Co-operative. 

The Co-operative Community Fund wants to support local charities with grants ranging from £100 to a maximum of £2,000.  That would buy a few doll making supplies.

So if you have a big idea that needs some help taking flight you can apply for the support your local community project needs.

You just need to ensure that your big idea aims to:

• Carry out positive work in the community (it does not have to have charitable status to apply)

        And the big idea must:

• Address a community issue
• Provide a long-term benefit to the community
• Support co-operative values and principles
• Ideally be innovative in its approach

 

 A lot of people have benefited from the Co-operative's support of their big idea.  Could this be you?

Or this?

Or what about this?

What's your big idea?  Maybe the Co-operative Membership Fund can help.



Sponsored Post

Share hosted by Wikio

Colleen Babcock: Famous International Doll Maker

My husband has always teased that I am a "Famous International Doll Maker".  This gambit has been going on for years.  If I say that I have tons of e-mails to reply to, he responds with, "That's what happens when you're a famous international doll maker".  If I say that I need to keep working on a design past normal working hours, he says "That's what happens when you're a famous international doll maker".   When I'm trying to sort out the travel arrangements for classes overseas he chirps up,  "That's what happens when you're a famous international doll maker".   Yup, he says that a lot - if I am working hard, or getting asked to do classes often, or selling lots of patterns, or if it's a Tuesday...

Then HP came along with their HP- Be A Star video app.  And now this Famous International Doll Maker has got her own celebrity expose video - eat your heart out.  I just took a still photograph of myself teaching a doll class and uploaded it, entered my name and my gender and whammo I'm on video. 

You too can be a Famous International Doll Maker or a Celebrity Decoupage Diva or even a World Renowned Quilting Queen or whatever type of star you'd like to be.  Just visit the HP Be A Star site by clicking the link and upload your photo.  I can't think of anything better to do during a lull at work or during a commercial on TV.   And it is a good giggle.  You'll be given a bit.ly link to your video at the end so you can share your video.  

Once you've made it into the A-list with your HP video, make sure to come back and leave your bit.ly link in a comment on this post.  If I get the highest number of bit.ly links, then I will win an HP laptop.  And I could really use a laptop let me tell you - when I travel the world as a Famous International Doll Maker I need to keep in touch with my peeps!

Make sure to tell all your A-list friends to join the party by "liking" the HP app on the Facebook fanpage:  http://www.facebook.com/HPUK.

I'm off to show my husband my video. He's going to regret the whole Famous International Doll Maker schtick when I start demanding higher thread count sheets to go with my fame.



Sponsored Post

Share hosted by Wikio

See out the Summer with Free Activities and Crafts for Kids

The thing about being an adult without kids is that you can't reasonably do a lot of kids' activities without raising some eyebrows.  They really do frown upon you dashing about the playground climbing frame without a kid in tow.   So I really enjoy when my friends and family visit with their short people so that I can indulge in some child-like fun with a really good excuse.  Although the summer weather is cooling off, I'll still be making like it's summer and enjoying all the freedom and free-ness that comes from being a kid or being with a kid.  So here are my top 5 free kids activities to see out the summer with some free crafts to go with them.

1. Trek a trail

With so many public rights of way in Britain, the sky is the limit, so head for the horizon. For tips on walking with kids, including push-chair friendly routes, see the Ramblers tips for walking with kids here.  To keep kids interested and entertained while walking why not make them this wilderness bag with a tutorial from Betz White.  And there's no need to splash out on fancy materials, your young explorers kit bag is made by re-using an old pair of trousers. 

2.  Be a beachcomber

There is nothing more satisfying than feeling the sand beneath your toes or watching the waves roll in.  Head to a beach and pass the time collecting rocks and shells.  Once you get home you can make some fantastic crafts with the kids using your free beach materials.  Martha Stewart shares some great shell inspired craft tutorials, including how to make a shell koala, a nature walk bracelet, a shell wind chime, and these great seashell flower pots.

3.  Box yourself in

If it is raining and there is just no way to keep the kids happy outside, the next best thing is a cardboard box.  Ever notice that when kids are given a toy that comes with a capacious box, the box will always get played with more?  So head to a shop that sells large appliances and ask if there are any large boxes going spare.  Then create a fort to equal no other.  Make this pint sized palace with the free how-to plans from Better Homes and Gardens using your cardboard box and a few materials you are bound to have lying around.

4. Sock it to them

Save the life of a single sock and make a sock creature with the kids.  We all have those single socks whose mate mysteriously got lost somewhere between the laundry bin and the washing machine or one sad sock whose partner ended up with a large hole.  Turn your single sock into a cute little creature that the kids will enjoy making and playing with using this free tutorial to make a sock kitten from Craft Passion. 

5.  Let them eat pizza

I've yet to meet a kid that doesn't like pizza so once you've exhausted the kids with free activities, let them enjoy a free meal courtesy of Pizza Hut with the Kids Eat Free promotion.  For every adult main course or adult lunchtime buffet purchased, an accompanying child can choose from either a FREE 2 course kids meal (includes a drink) or a FREE kids lunchtime buffet (includes pizza, pasta and salad).  This deal has been extended until January 9th, 2011!  Find out more details about this offer by clicking here.

To find even more great deals on family adventures and activities, check out the bottom of your Pizza Hut receipt where you will find an offer code.  Enter this code at this website:  http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/familyadventures/ and have fun!

Sponsored Post

Share hosted by Wikio

Dear Dad

Dad,

There are some things that I just can't explain to people,

But you just "get them".

I wonder if that is because you are a creative person too or maybe it's the same gene pool,

Or maybe it is just because you pay attention.

You notice things.

You care.

You want to understand.

And that is my definition of a hero.

My dad the hero, I love you.

Mum, For All the Times....

 

(photo credit:  Barry Babcock)

Mum,

For all the times you listened to my fears and my triumphs,

For all the times you told me I could when I didn't quite believe it,

For all the times that I did things that you didn't like but you loved me anyway,

For all the times that you were patient,

For all the times that you taught me things that I needed to know, even when I didn't realise that I needed to know them,

For all the times that you stayed up with me when I was sick and rubbed my back round and round,

For all the times that you ferried me from one place to another,

For all the times that you fought my corner until I was old enough to fight my own,

For all the times that you hugged me and said I love you,

Thank you.