Sweet Polymer Clay Nothings.

A few years ago, I experimented with making my own jewellery with clay. Needless to say, it sucked. Well, I sucked. It's harder than it looks to make a nice round bead and bake it to perfection without getting your fingerprints all over it and it coming out looking like you've tried to make some sort of future fingerprint reference should your body ever need to be identified. 

But, a few days ago, I decided to try again. And the result was so much better! I bought much better quality clay (which I've discovered, actually makes a difference to the end result) and didn't use my fingers as much. 

Here's the end result (which I'm quite proud of). Let me know what you think!

A Sweet Knit.

I hate paying for knitting patterns (or any other kind of pattern really). There are so many great ones on the internet, that if you trawl for long enough, you'll eventually find exactly what you're looking for. This one took me ages to find, but when I did, boy was I excited. It's the perfect combo of manly Scottish sailor and feminine first date. Plus, the boat-neck finish with accentuate your long and thin neck. I just had to share it!

I'm not going to sugar coat it, it's a pretty difficult pattern. It took me a few times to interpret and correctly knit it the first few times. But your struggles will definitely pay off with a cozy autumn

Embroidered diaries.

It's been a while since I last posted! I've been getting re-aquainted with the Australian lifestyle and have neglected every important task but relaxing!

To help me relax, I've been working on some small creative buzzes to keep my mind at design central.

This diary I embroidered using old plaid and tartan patterns I found lying around home. I loved taking inspiration from them and re-working them to create something I can carry around with me all the time.

I made the mistake of not measuring the front properly while I was gluing and accidentally placed it too low. But the entire pattern is still there, so I'm not complaining!

(Some of) My favourite travel photos.

I've been fortunate enough to do some pretty amazing travelling while living in France this year. Sadly, in two weeks today, it will come to an end. I've been sifting through all of the photos I've taken this year and, in retrospect, travelled further than I could have ever imagined.

Here are some of my favourites from some of the places I visited.

Travelling books.

Have you ever come across a travelling book before?

I read my first travelling book when I was about sixteen or seventeen years old. They are books that literally float around the world. You find them in places like train stations, airports and parks, just sitting on tables or chairs, and when you open the front cover, inside is a message telling you to read the book and then let it travel some more.

How to prepare to leave home (in a foreign country).

I'm currently in the process of folding my entire life into a cardboard box. After having spent the last twelve months living in France, the time has come for me to finally return to Australia, with about double the possessions I originally came over with (I honestly do not know how that happened). At the moment I'm trying to navigate the mine field that is closing down a former life and re-opening a new one, while trying not to leave anything behind.

Honey comb stitch.

One of the most perplexing, yet simple, knitting stitches I've ever come across is the honeycomb stitch. I love it so much I recently knitted a scarf with some leftover wool using just this stitch.

Here's how it works:

One honeycomb is knitted over 8 stitches, with two extra stitches at each end. So, if you wanted to know a piece with a width of 3 honeycombs, you would need to cast on 2 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 2 = 28 stitches.