KNIT AND NATTER - GAY DOGS AND CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Among the vintage patterns I was recently given were some that triggered memories such as the knitted swimsuits, and thoughts of knitted tea cosies, fashion trends, and socks.    

But this pattern made me chuckle and think of my blog friend Julie Kirk at notesonpaper. Not because she has a gay dog, or any dog for that matter (she is more into zebra's!) but because she has a great sense of humour and I'm sure this pattern would have made her smile. 

And it also made me think of about how the use of words has changed because in a former life I was Brown Owl and one of the Brownies favourite songs was about a kokaburra.  Do you know it?
This was the version in our song book:

Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Sing Kookaburra, sing Kookaburra 
Gay your life must be. 

I've sometimes wondered whether the words have been changed now that 'gay' has taken on new meaning. I thought I would check on Google. I found an Australian version of the song and discovered this has a different last line: 'sing your song for me'. I wonder if this is the original or when change happened?  What ever the case if you watch the video be warned, it is a catchy tune and might have you singing along or it playing in your head all day!

It also got me thinking about meaning of other words that have changed over time, and at this time of year a phrase you often hear associated with Christmas is:'naughty or nice'. It is the title of a film where Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) keeps a book listing whether the children have been good or bad. Something that has recently been introduced into UK from America is the idea of Elf on the Shelf.  This character moves into the home on 1st December to watch if children are 'naughty or nice' and to report back to Father Christmas. And you can find out which list you are on because I found a list of questions which will give the answer...  don't let on! There is time enough to put things right unless you have been extremely naughty, and you might want to complete it yourself. I did, and apparently my halo is slightly wonky but I am on the nice list. If I tidy my bedroom my halo might straighten!

'Naughty but nice' is also something you might think or hear this time of year. It means something indulgent, that we like but shouldn't have too much of. Christmas pudding or sherry trifle with lashings of cream, for example.  

I started by saying how over time some words have changed meaning. Well, naughty is a word we use to describe something bad. But did you know that once upon a time it meant that you had naught or nothing? 

And nice, a word that we use to describe something we like?  This once meant 'silly, simple or foolish'. Nothing like how we use it today!

I was going to say that the gay dog looks nice in his crocheted jacket, but perhaps I won't. I might go on the naughty list and get naught in my stocking! And if my stocking is knitted it would have started with a clue (or clew) because this word once meant a ball of yarn! If you want to find other words that have changed meaning I found an interesting list and Ted video. 

But right now, I have nattered enough and it is time to tangle with tinsel and put the wool down. Which reminds me? Did you see Kirsty Alsopp's Handmade Christmas this week on Channel 4? I was pleased to see the winning Christmas tree was decorated by hand crocheted baubles and garlands - beautiful!!
If you want to crochet decorations for your own tree I found some patterns and here is another for a knitted Christmas bauble.
I hope your own Christmas plans are taking shape and would love to hear about your own handmade Christmas, or thoughts on how meanings or words have changed.  Thanks for popping by, see I'll be back tomorrow with this months 5in5.

WELCOME CHRISTMAS - Design Team Project

I love Christmas, it is a time to decorate the house and bring some light and fun indoors during the wintery months. So I decided to make a row of houses that was inspired by a picture on Pinterest. I asked my husband to cut some shapes out of wood and then I started to play:

First I covered the four sides with pages torn from an old text book using matt medium.

 
Usually I like to use PaperArtsy Fresco chalk paints, but I didn't have colours I had in mind for this project. So I used acrylic paint instead, and roughly brushed the edges with grey to create a distressed effect.  

I then diluted red acrylic paint to create a translucent effect so that the text would show through once it was applied to all sides.

 Next I added some random stamping, using grey Memento ink.

I then got carried away and forgot to take photos of the next stages but the following photos will show how I added an letter to each of the houses. For this I used transfers that have been in my stash for some time as it seemed a good way to use them, but of course you can also stencil or stamp letters to make the words too. Another idea I had was to paint chipboard letters, this would be a great way of using ones up that have the wrong colour or pattern.

Talking of using things up.... I wanted texture on the roof of the houses and found some corrugated card.  I removed the paper off one side, measured and cut strips to fit, and then painted them with grey acrylic. Once glued into position and dry, coat of matt medium helped to seal everything.

Finally I decided the houses needed a sprinkle of sparkle. Working on one area at a time I stamped small dots onto areas of the front and sides of the houses using a glue stamp pad, then sprinkled with fine glitter and let it dry.

 

I decided it needed a bit more, so I painted small wooden stars in dark grey acrylic. Once dry I added patches of silver embossing powder; and did the same on the bottom edge of each house and the roof, to give more lift.

 

And here is the finished result.  The glitter does not show well in the photos but these houses will make a cheerful welcome to Christmas and to our visitors.

I'm lucky that my husband cut these house shapes for me but there are lots of pre-cut MDF projects including stars available from That Craft Place. That's where you can also buy all materials needed to complete this project or others like it. 

Here is what I used:

Wooden house shapes (see note above)
small wooden stars
Acrylic Paint in black, white, red and green
DecoArt Matt Medium
Page of text (from an old book)
Memento ink Grey Flannel
Small frost, scroll and dot stamps
Alpha transfers - but you could use a stencil or pre-cut shapes
Embossing pad
Silver embossing powder

To see more Design Team projects do pop over to TCP Blog and why not enter this months Mixed Media challenge?  You'll find details how to take part and lots more ideas too.  

And if you would like to know any other details about how I made the Welcome houses please leave a comment, I am happy to help where I can. Thank you for popping by and I hope you have lots of fun making your own Christmas projects.