Tuesday 7 August 2012

Gold Fever!

Olympic fever is all around us in old London town. It's hard to avoid, so luckily I'm 'well into it'! As well as feeling completely and utterly inadequate as all these over-achievers break records and win medals everyday you look, we have to admit to being just a tent bit inspired!

In honour of all the fabulous athletes jumping over poles, running around in circles and lifting heavy objects in our little old city, here are a few photos of our 'lympics so far.

Trooping of the colours in Horse-guard's Parade!
Glorious sunshine for China v Germany in the beach volleyball
Secret code - adds a bit of excitement (even if they do broadcast it to the opposition on the giant screens!)

Mid-point entertainment. Should def be a new Olympic sport of it's own!
The orbit in the Olympic park. Is that a giant helter-skelter?

Meadow and the stadium - the first time Stratford's seen wildflowers in decades!

The fantastic aquatics centre under the spotlight
The USA v Hungary in the women's water polo - not a game for the faint hearted!




Monday 6 August 2012

Diy project: Mr Munch the Sock Monster

I introduced you all to Mr Munch my sock monster in my very first post. What a cutie! :p

Mr Munch the Sock Monster
The Munchster on his hosepipe swing

But here's a little bit more detail on how you can make your own little monster.

What you need:
1. One knee high sock - the more colourful and patterned the better!
2. Wadding to stuff your monster with
3. Needle and thread
4. Coloured felt for the facial features

Knee length sock







Coloured felt, wadding and needle and thread


For Mr Munch I used the long leg of the sock for the body and legs and used the foot part of the sock for the arms. But depending on the style and length of socks you use you can mix this up a bit!

You'll need to sew each of the limbs and body inside out to your desired dimensions, depends if you want a shortie or a lean leggy monster! The ears are another area you can experiment with, the certainly add to it's character. Be sure to leave a gap at the crotch through which to turn your monster inside out, it's quite a transformation I promise! Carefully sew on the arms and then try out a few different facial expressions, depending n your mood!

I gave the Munchster a moustache to lend him an air of authority.

There are some great instruction diagrams out on the internet, particularly at the Monster Munch Club: 






I opted to make the stitching a feature on his moustache
































































Finally, take your monster out exploring!


Mr Munch out enjoying the garden