a cute paper towel roll holder

Do you ever get sick of all the things that seem to gather and multiply on your kitchen bench? I do.

And one of those things is the $2 wire paper towel roll holder I've had for years. It gets shuffled over this way and that but its always there, another bit of clutter.

So while I've been running around moving furniture and painting rooms (more on that later) I got sidetracked and made a new roll holder.

I'm like a magpie with ADD when I'm busy, but I got inspired when I was looking for something in my workshop and knocked down a pile of wooden junk useful items I've collected. Among them were these spindles which I looked at and thought, "hm... that'd make a great paper towel roll holder..."

I had the perfect cast iron bracket (only one) so I cut a bit of timber for the top. Naturally I painted it the minty green I've used in my kitchen as a highlight colour.

It was all going great till I realised I'd cut the spindle too short.

I do this all the time! Nothing I make is ever quite perfect. Its always a bit off or a bit too long or a bit crooked... I did measure. I just cut off the wrong end of the spindle to the right height...,

In full solution mode, I looked around for something to add length. I have a broken shovel handle which was perfect. I cut a slice off that and joined it all together.

... I won't bore you with details, lets just say it wasn't pretty. The result is this odd looking chunk of wood at the bottom but guess what? It works! The thicker bottom bit holds the roll in place so it doesn't rattle around too much.

I capped it off with one of the knobs from my kitchen cupboards (again, a little crooked cause I can't drill a straight hole...)

My methods aren't exactly professional, but in the end it worked out great.

When I asked Wayne if he liked it, he said "Its cute."

I'm pleased with how it turned out. Now I just have to put in the shelves above the coffee tray and the kitchen will be finished.

After 2 years.



Meanwhile, I know I've been really silent on the blog. I've got great excuses. Firstly I was sick with a bad flu for about 2 weeks. I felt lousy and really didn't feel like doing anything at all, must less finding interesting things to post about.

Then I went to Victoria for a week, where I stayed with a friend and groomed her toy poodles for 3 big shows. The shows went great, I got a good fix of toy poodle love and then I got back to work just in time for a week off!

Way to plan! :)

My week off has been flat out. Grooming dogs I had to put off while I was away or sick. Swapping out the office and guest room. Painting walls. Moving furniture. Mowing grass that seems to grow a foot overnight. Replacing plants which didn't make it through winter.

I'll leave you with some photos of the poodles I groomed - I love the smell of hair spray on poodles!

Armani

Kismet

Zena

I miss having a toy poodle... I almost stole a baby puppy Iris had at home. Maybe one day again...

z

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a wire teapot

What do you get someone who has everything?

A proper sized teapot made of wire of course!

This little beauty is made of a combination of galvanised and copper wires. 

I had planned to enter this in a competition but changed my mind. Its now for sale at the Handmade Emporium in New Norfolk along with other items I've made.

z

subway sign for a baby's room

I've always loved subway sign art in general, and having one with baby's details on it would be the perfect gift.

When my brother's partner had a baby earlier this year I had the perfect excuse for creating my own subway art for his bedroom.

I found on an online store which does canvas prints and got measurements for one of their canvases. I used Adobe Illustrator to design the sign to the right size. It was like a jigsaw puzzle, fitting the words in together.

I love doing stuff like that.

Once I had the artwork finished I saved the file as a jpg and uploaded it to the site, selected the canvas size I wanted, made sure it looked how I wanted and ordered it.

Its a decent size at 16 x 20 inches.

It arrived last week and I've got it all packed up to go.

How cool is this going to look in baby Angelo's room?

z

simple jug suncatchers

There is nothing new to share, but since I have a bit of time (nothing but time) I figured it was time to catch up on some projects I've had to share for ages.

Below are a couple of simple stainless steel jug suncatchers. I made these as part of a commission for a birthday gift. Basically I had an order for one so I figured I may as well make two while I was at it.

They're really, really simple.

1. Find stainless steel coffee pots, milk or water jugs at an op shop.

2. Bend wire into spout.

3. Attach chandelier crystals (or beads, or whatever you want) to the wire.

4. Admire.

The second one had a broken knob on top so I glued on a broken earring for added bling.

Easy and pretty. Normally I'd use old teapots but my collection was low on those so I used what I had.

Another variation, for when you have a jug without a lid, would be to put a succulent in the pot - suncatcher with plant! What more could a girl want?

z