Little Red Clog

another market!?!

2011-09-24T12:09:00.000+10:00

yes it's an addiction...

now i'm organising one! with darling amy of course::

we are fully booked out! over 45 stall holders with some amazing wares!

come down on friday night and say hello, browse, buy and drink coffee...

see you there

that was fun!

2011-08-10T07:11:00.001+10:00

yes i am officially a market addict! ...well i was already but now from the other side of the stall!

what a lovely day it was - hanging out with some gorgeous people and looking at all the beautiful stuff. mum was with me selling her cute olifant wares and even my little brother jamie came with his blackboard letters and framed boards. our next-stall-neighbour sharon and mum chatted all day and amy was there too of course

p.s. i know keep promising but there will definitly be the exciting announcment made very soon - just a few more tweaks...

marketing...

2011-08-05T07:18:00.000+10:00

i had a wonderful time at the market last saturday with the gorgeous amy of the happy nest.

it was super exciting to be an actual stall holder but also quite disconcerting at times when there are a whole lot of strangers man-handling your precious creations! but i absolutely loved it - i'm definitely addicted now! and off to do it all again this weekend - a little closer to home this time.

we'll be here::

[oh and the exciting announcement will be in a couple of days!]

to market!

2011-07-29T11:05:00.001+10:00

wow it's been a while! there's been so much happening around here and no time to tell about it. lots and lots of making...

just popping past to say: i'm off to my first ever market tomorrow! YAY! i'm joining forces with my darling friend amy and we have a stall at the 'mummy made it' market in devonport. actually amy is an amazing sewist and has made a mountain of gorgeous kid stuff - here's a link to her shop. i've managed a few journals, brooches, earrings, scarves and hair things

if you feel like a scenic drive come past and say hello. the market is at the devonport church of christ - cnr william and steel st - from 9 til 1

stay tuned for more frequent updates and an exciting announcement next week! (promises, promises...)

Q: Can you still eat a cupcake if a skink has run across it?

2011-01-21T22:12:00.002+11:00

Or perhaps it ought to be should you still eat the cupcake...

The girls did a bit of make-up-our-own-recipe-as-we-go-along. Imogen’s version turned into ‘crumble slice’ [messy but yummy] and Alannah produced vanilla cupcakes.

A small member of the lizard family visited our warm kitchen on that rainy afternoon as they were cooling on the bench and I guess he thought a nice warm cupcake made a tolerable alternative to a sunwarmed pebble...

And so back to the original question - we did anyway and they were delicious!

p.s. That’s Ed’s hand in the back ground behind Alannah’s head threatening the classic dingo-family-patented ‘smell-the-cream-and-I’ll-push-your-head-into-it’ move... he didn't though - good daddy!

red bridge cafe

2011-01-13T07:44:00.000+11:00

We stopped off in Campbell Town yesterday on the way home from an overnighter to Coles Bay. LOVE this place! We'll defintely be back. And it's only half an hour from our house.

the state of the lounge

2010-10-18T21:58:00.000+11:00

It seems I have not folded washing for several weeks...
It seems I would much rather take a photo and blog it than actually fold it...
It seems I may be procrastinating...

random catch-up in no particular order:: a bag for my mama

2010-10-17T22:12:00.003+11:00

Last month was mum’s birthday so I thought it was about time to make her bag. This was one we had decided on together over a year ago which I had never found the time [or perhaps inclination to follow a pattern] to construct.

It’s from bend-the-rules sewing by Amy Karol [aka Angry Chicken], which I borrowed from Katie. It was easy to follow her instructions and turned out just perfectly! I only made a couple of changes: I used stiff sew-in interfacing to give it a bit of shape [because who knows what cotton flannel is or where to get it here - anyone?] and I stitched my own embroidery design on the front instead of the one Amy has in the book.

And my mama loves it!

Dear Blog...

2010-10-13T15:26:00.001+11:00

Do you remember me? Sorry for neglecting you lately [i even missed your birthday :( ]

Lately I’ve been doing stuff other than looking at the computer screen.

More knitting, gardening, sewing, school holidaying, renovating, cleaning, crafting, but most importantly mothering and wife-ing...

I just love these four more than anything!

p.s. I do promise more regular updates... but only if I get around to it ;)

The brooch that inspired a beanie

2010-08-04T20:15:00.001+10:00

As soon as this mini knitting bit came of the needles I had to have it in a beanie RIGHT NOW! A few minutes sneaked in during our days and lots of evenings on the couch in view of the telly [I’m getting better at not looking while knitting, especially if there’s something good on] and TA-DAH!

Photography by Alannah (age 6)

There were numerous pull-it-nearly-all-out episodes – I actually had it finished a couple of weeks ago but decided it needed to be another inch or so longer, resulting in a good bit of unravelling [a by-product of not using a pattern and just winging it]. Nevertheless, it turned out just as I imagined it and I love it! It’s the first thing I’ve ever knitted for myself that I think I’ll actually wear and love – what a fantastic sense of satisfaction it gives you to achieve that!

How about you? What have you made for yourself that you love? I’d love to hear from you x

just the [un]usual

2010-08-03T15:26:00.002+10:00

Yesterday was a pretty average Monday. The standard* rush-about-the-house-getting-ready-for-school-playgroup-work, playing [or not, whichever you prefer] at kinder playgroup, a couple of errands, fruit and veg shopping, then home in time for lunching and putting to bed of little man.

Mum was coming round, as she sometimes does on a Monday, especially if we haven’t seen her on the weekend [which we hadn’t]. We had just completed fresh underside covering of the small one as we saw oma arrive in the driveway. Subsequent dancing on bedroom window sill ensued while mama performed sheet wrangling in a particularly swift fashion and afterwards arranged chubby legs in sleepy-sack. In wanders oma for kisses and cuddles and then...

“OH SHIP!” [let’s just pretend it was that] I say in astonishment. It’s MANDY! My sister! From the other side of the country! A great deal of blubbering on shoulders results as well as soothing of small startled by great commotion.

Still recovering from that astounding surprise! SOOOOO good to have you here darling x

*this one not so bad as some

easy peasy cheesy scones

2010-07-18T17:02:00.000+10:00

THE easiest and quickest recipe ever! It only takes 5 minutes to prepare

1½ cups self raising flour – we use wholemeal
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp poppy seeds (optional)
½ tsp paprika (optional)
400ml cream

Preheat oven to 220°c. Mix together dry ingredients, add enough cream and mix to form a very soft dough [you might not need all of it] place spoonfuls of mixture on trays and bake for 10 minutes or till lightly browned. Eat hot from the oven – YUM! [makes 24]

some more brooches and a scarf

2010-07-17T14:50:00.000+10:00

Some of my mini knitty bits have been turned into brooches and a simple blanket offcut from Waverley Woollen Mills transformed into a cosy scarf prettied up with some cute circles. The red brooch and scarf have been gifted to a darling friend on her birthday. Now to get onto some more for selling!?!

We are loving knitting at our house...

2010-07-16T21:21:00.001+10:00

From the smalls to mama [maybe not daddy... ;) ]

My Creative Space: mini knitty bits

2010-07-08T15:13:00.001+10:00

I’ve become somewhat enthusiastic when it comes to knitting [as well as crochet] but not in any big I’m-going-to-knit-myself-a-cardi kind of way. Right now I need instant gratification when it comes to crafting so I’ve been knitting mini pieces to turn into more brooches. It’s lots of fun to just make it up as you go along and see what works – the heart shape took a slight bit of thinkering – and you can just pull it undone if it doesn’t and it’s only taken you a few minutes. Also a very handy kind of craft for doing with a sooky toddler on your lap – he gets cuddles with mama and I get to do creating! Winners all round!

Have a look at some other creative spaces at kootoyoo.

One of THOSE days...

2010-07-06T21:49:00.001+10:00

Yesterday was one of THOSE days! You know the ones, when things happen.

Getting up at 7:15 instead of 7 on the dot; rushing about the house clothing children, assembling breakfasts, filling lunchboxes, searching for school books, packing bags, showering, chasing kittens, layering family members against the frozen outdoors, using a loud, impatient voice* at children, scooping in mouthfuls of muesli between all of the above; having the small attached semi-permanently to leg while helping middle kid express her creativity at playgroup; strapping in and unloading of children countless times while running errands; providing a continuous supply of mobile nourishment to ravenous kid; arriving home after 1 in the afternoon to the impenetrable fog; frantic relocation from carseat to cot of exhausted, irritable kid; opening the back of the car only to see my box of beautiful hilbarn vegies tumble onto the gravel and roll down the hill.

Then the sun came out [albeit for only an hour and ¼], my darling came home early and brought me a bunch of gorgeous flowers – just because.

At least THOSE days don't last forever...

* aka yelling – bad mummy :(

"UMMY" – that’s me

2010-06-25T21:49:00.001+10:00

A little munchkin hanging onto my legs “Ummy... MUMmy... mum... mam... UUUMMMYYY... MUM... mama... mim... UUMM...
noong-a-noong-en?*”

Translation: feed me now mummy!

*noong-a-noong-en = finn speak for food.

My Creative Space : Crochet

2010-06-24T15:33:00.001+10:00

I finally taught myself how to crochet! I’ve tried to on various occasions – Mum showed me how to quite a few times but I could not figure it out. I was flicking through Meet Me at Mikes [the book] the other day and came to the granny squares and thought why not? The stitch instructions, though they are quite simple and well illustrated, still didn’t quite make sense to me, so I found a How to Crochet section in this other really daggy old craft book I have and CLICK – I could crochet! A bit of a made up chain stitchy flower and a few mini granny squares later I felt confident enough to invent my own pattern and it worked! I stitched on a few buttons and added some embroidery [supposed to look like a birdie btw] and turned it into a brooch for a darling friend’s birthday pressie.

I can’t believe how simple it is! Why didn’t someone tell me this before! I love that you can just pick it up whenever and do a bit here and there and even make it up as you go along and it’s SO EASY to undo your mistakes and start again! I LOVE CROCHET!

This is my first creative space. See some other creative spaces or join in over at kootoyoo

Christine’s Little List of Joy

2010-06-23T20:45:00.002+10:00

My lovely sis Mandy has a share the joy project going on at dear musketeer at the moment.

Here’s my list:

1. A foot rub from my beloved
2. Snuggling in bed with my darlings
3. Getting to do something creative during my day
4. Chubby baby feet that need a nibble
5. A line full of fresh washing drying in the wind and sun
6. Walking along the beach on a windy winter’s day
7. When my curls decide to be good and behave themselves
8. The smell of freshly baked bread straight out of the wood oven
9. Building cubbies up the paddock with my kidlets
10. Dusk with the silhouettes of winter trees against the sky

It was so hard to keep it to just ten little things when there are so many more things that bring me joy.

Thanks Mandy for this little project – it’s been a wonderful way to really think about and be thankful for all the blessings our awesome God brings into our lives xx

heeeere kitty, kitty, kitty

2010-06-18T22:30:00.001+10:00

These two cute balls of fluff came to live with us on the first day of the school holidays. Oh boy, kitties are full of mischief. I’d forgotten how many wees one has to mop up when acquiring a new kitten, let alone two! A bit like having 5 kids instead of 3 – but they are forgiven everything cos the are just SO cute! Even Ed loves them and he’s allergic to cats...

Oh Mr Darcy – how I do love thee!

2010-06-17T13:56:00.001+10:00

My most favourite t-shirt ever! From this gorgeous shop. I was inspired to make my purchase after seeing this.

It arrived on Tuesday and I haven’t taken it off since! May possibly need to go in the wash sometime in the near future...

Blanket Stitch

2010-06-16T16:41:00.000+10:00

A warm, woollen, stitchy blanket for my darling Immy. It’s been cosy in front of the telly for the past few nights with this blanket warming my legs as I stitch. Now she can snuggle under her new blankie in that chilly upstairs bedchamber.

An Apple and Blueberry Pie cooling on the window sill

2010-05-17T21:12:00.001+10:00

This is just for you Sarah-Jane xx

I just love that we ~~grew~~ oh ok, picked our own apples for these pies. And the blueberries we picked from a local producer in the summer.

Here's my recipe:

Apple and Blueberry Pie (makes 2) - because you might as well go all out while you're at it!

Shortbread crust:

3 cups plain flour

1 cup white sugar

250g soft butter

1 big egg or 2 little ones

about 1 dozen apples - mixture of sweet and tart

4 big handfuls of blueberries

2 sheets ready-made shortcrust pastry

Plonk all the crust ingredients into a bowl and get your hands in! Squish and squeeze till the mixture comes together into a ball. Divide the dough between 2 pie/tart/cake tins and press onto base and sides of tin. Set aside.

Slice up enough apples fill tins - maybe a dozen? [depends on the size of your apples] I usually use a few different varieties - sweet and tart ones. I don't even bother peeling them - more fibre, interesting texture and usually I just can't be bothered peeling a stack of apples - though in saying that I should just get out the twirly apple peeler - I think I'll do that next time.

Divide half the apples between the 2 tins, scatter over a good handful of blueberries, repeat with the remaining apples and blueberries.

Cut shortcrust pastry into strips, and lay over the filling in a lattice pattern - you can do tricky pastry weaving for the top if you want to be fancy.

Bake 180oc for 30-40 minutes or till pastry is golden brown and apples are soft.

Mmmm... delicious! It would be even better with a good dollop of whipped cream - though not so good for the thighs...

look at what landed on my lap on sunday morning...

2010-05-10T14:46:00.002+10:00

delicious blueberry pancakes

heart shaped shortbreads

lots of lovely handmade pressies and cards from my darlings

alannah and imogen both wanted to "do stitching" for mother's day crafting - the results: a bag and embroidered rabbit picture from alannah and a pink and purple stitches embroidery from imogen [who at 3 can already thread her own needle!]

what darling girls they are x

hope you all had a lovely mother's day too xx

yes i know i haven't blogged for ages and you all are hanging out to know what's been going on...

2010-05-05T17:17:00.000+10:00

being helpful...

being unhelpful...

renovating...

checking out reno progress...

playing with new toys...

getting towed around...

mowing the front lawn...

picking apples...

planting mama some woods...

watering baby trees...

going for big kaboomies onto sweet faces...

firing up the oven in the bakehouse...

baking our first batch of bread...

admiring our first rustic loaves...

piano playing...

hanging out in the schoolhouse...

eating freshly picked apples in your undies...

making fairy gardens...

making more fairy gardens...

mooing at the cows...

looking out the front door...

growing huge pumpkins*...

eating brekkie in bed...

more piano playing...

admiring our gorgeous new view...

*note: our pumpkin is actually the little yellow one in the background.

the huge one was grown by my uncle chris and was the winner of our pumpkin growing contest.

check out more pumpkin news on our other blog pimp your pumpkin

drumroll please...

2010-03-21T21:02:00.003+11:00

a couple of candle-blower-outers lined up ready to go::

big blowy breathy breaths::

only one left [according to very specific stop-blowing-when-there's-only-one-left instructions]::

who could it be....

commenter number 4::

yay! Tara [and Janaya] you're the winners! I'll be posting your goodies soon...

thank you to all my lovely readers who left a comment - I've loved hearing from you - keep them coming - I hang about the computer entirely too much checking for comments actually ;)

A Bag and An Owl

2010-03-19T15:06:00.003+11:00

1. embroidered tree bag:: a quick-I-need-to-make-a-present-right-now-and-I-only-have-an-hour-and-all-my-fabric-is-packed-away present for my darling aunty Christine [yes - it does get confusing when you are named after your aunty - we have always been known as Big Chris and Little Chris]

2. tea cup sock owl:: a gorgeous quick and super easy to follow pattern from Craft Schmaft - a pressie for my darling sis Mandy

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway - you've only got till Sunday!

thread sketching clutterpunk style

2010-03-12T21:14:00.002+11:00

Inspired by the lovely Gina from clutterpunk, I did some sketchy stitching on my favourite green well-fitting-but-a-tad-boring-ish skirt. I loved her birdy design so much [I do have a thing for birdies!] I ~~was inspired by~~ ~~sort of copied~~ um, pretty much copied what she did [hey when you find something good why mess with it?]
It was so much fun to do and alot easier than it looks - you really must try it out!

P.S. I'm so excited by all the lovely comments for my little giveaway! [you still have time to enter] Who knew I had that many readers!!! Thank you darlings x

STUFF UP FOR GRABS [A.K.A. GIVEAWAY]

2010-03-06T20:55:00.010+11:00

Yes well, I know I said a couple of days but whose counting? You should know me by now.

Looky at the goodies:

~Linen tree brooch [made by moi]

~Fabric pouch with thread sketchy stuff [also made by moi]
~Mini tote bag in mushroom print canvas [and you guessed it - moi made it too]
~Antique treasures retro print fabric
~Kikki k stuff: blank notebook, gel pen, coin purse

Ok, the rules for entering:
1. Leave a comment.

That's all you need to do.

I know there are alot of you out there who have never left a comment before, but it's not hard. You just have to click on the title of the post [in red]. Right near the bottom of the page it will say "Post a comment" - click on that. A new window will pop up with a comment box, so just type in your comment, then choose your identity - you don't need a special account - just choose "Name/URL" or "Anonymous". Make sure you've told me who you are though because you may just turn out to be the winner!

I'll give you till 3pm Sunday 21st March [2ish weeks from now] then we'll do the big draw!!!

UPDATE: Here's a close up of the brooch - just for Gina x

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON!!!

Guess Whose Birthday It Wasn't...

2010-02-28T21:14:00.023+11:00

Ahh, the big three-oh - well not really (actually only 7 and a half due to birthday being deleted from the calendar 3 years out of 4).

It's actually not as bad as I thought - leaving the twenties. Isn't it funny how you build something up in your mind so it seems really big and scary and it turns out to be just fine! What a sook she is, I can hear you saying, it's only another year. Somehow going from 29 to 30 sounds like it's a huge jump. Like now I should grow up and act my age and stop going off with the fairies and actually do sensible grown up things like cleaning the house and ironing. Who am I kidding! Like that's gonna happen!

I got a bit spoilt today with all the lovely pressies and family and fun times. Look at all the pretty things.

Anyhoo since it's my not-birthday and I've got a blog that a couple of people read and I've hit the 1000-visitors mark on my hit counter (did you know I had one of those? - it's right at the bottom of the page - and I happened to look at it right when it hit 1000 and I promise I don't look at my blog ALL the time to check the meter so it can't be ALL me)

Where was I going with all this? Oh yes, that's right - I thought I'd do a little birthday GIVEAWAY! Yay! I've been busting to do this! I haven't worked out exactly what it's going to include - but I'm sure I can rustle up a cute little package. Check back in the next couple of days for the details.

Making Stuff For Eamon

2010-02-24T22:03:00.002+11:00

There's a new little cutie around these parts. Eamon Thomas is my darling nephew - a gorgeous son for Katie and Ben (my little brother) born three weeks ago now.
We had to get busy crafting as soon as we heard the exciting news. As all my fabric is in storage at the moment we had to get creative with what I had floating around in the studio scrap box. A boyish bib for dribbling on and an Alannah-designed teddy made their appearance by the end of the day. Just right for numerous drools and chewings-on.

Hey That's Us!

2010-02-12T11:30:00.001+11:00

Check it out - we sent a couple of photos to Hil and Barn from Hilbarn and now they're on the blog!

Imogen's Classic Quotes No. 4

2010-02-11T13:56:00.002+11:00

MUM!!! Polly's bum fell off!!!

Yummy Vegemite (or Bacon) Scrolls

2010-01-14T22:20:00.004+11:00

Yesterday the girls made scrolls for lunch. Alannah and Imogen had a bowl each to make their own batch. Imogen decided on Vegemite scrolls but Alannah was adamant about bacon in hers.

It's basically a scone dough rolled out flat, smeared with vegemite [or sprinkled with chopped cooked bacon], loads of cheese dumped on top, rolled, sliced and plonked in the oven.

Here's my recipe [I did a batch each for the girls]

Vegemite Scrolls (makes about 12)

~ 1 1/2 cups wholemeal self raising flour
~ 2 tbsp butter
~ 3/4 cup milk
~ vegemite
~ grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 200`c. Rub butter into flour with fingertips till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gently mix milk into flour mixture with a butter knife till the mixture comes together in a ball. Turn out onto floured surface and roll out into a rough rectangle about half inch thick. Spread vegemite all over - thickness of this layer is personal preference. Sprinkle with cheese - also personal preference - the more the better. Roll up starting on long side. Cut into slices about an inch thick. Lay sliced side up on tray. Bake 10 - 15 minutes. Eat as soon as possible - YUM! *variation* substitute vegemite for a couple of bacon rashers sliced and browned

I'm a bit 'whatever' when it comes to accurate measurements so Alannah's dough was a little bit too moist. Fixed it with tonnes of flour on the bench to soak into the wetness. Actually didn't really help much except to make concrete-like residue to scrape off bench!*

Also was a bit tricky to roll up nicely and squished around as we were trying to slice it up. Immy's batch was heaps better - a bit less milk in hers.

Finn decided that half way through scroll making session was the perfect time to wake from his morning nap. Consequently scrolls were hurried into the oven amidst loud protests from down the hall and promptly forgotten about. They turned out a tad dry [similar texture to eating a mouthful of beach]. No complaints from the taste testers!

* best way I've found to clean scone dough off the bench =
scrape off as much as you can with a wooden or plastic spatula [so you don't scratch your bench] then using COLD water only [warm or hot will turn it into glue] wipe with with paper towel - you may need to repeat this a couple of times depending on how much you scraped off previously - lots of water helps and a bit of dishwashing liquid too if you have some super-stuck-on bits. DO NOT use your sponge / wiping cloth for this job unless you want permanent gluey gobs stuck in it. Yes, that means you my Mr!

Meet Mr Shuffle Bum

2010-01-13T15:56:00.003+11:00

It official. Finn is a bum-shuffler.

I had a sneaking suspicion that this might be the case. Classic example = put Finn on floor to play with toys - return a short while later - not playing with toys as mummy directed but rather with aunty leesie's frankie mags that mummy had yet to get round to perusing [don't worry lees - only slightly dribbled on and a couple of misshapen pages]

This morning Finn decided hanging out with toys was unexciting and proceeded to chase mummy and big sisters into the kitchen ableit at rather a leisurely pace.

Next on the cards: destroy big sisters' cafe kitchen set up in living room. Then off to yank out cable of laptop sitting on couch.

Oh what fun! I'm going to need to dig out that playpen again

Look at my new house!

2010-01-11T22:16:00.010+11:00

We got the keys to our beautiful new [old] house today! I'm sooooo excited!!! Isn't it just gorgeous? It was built in the 1840's as a school house, has 6 bedrooms, bakehouse with wood fired oven and lots of sheds to keep the man happy.

There's been renters in it for the last year so unfortunately it doesn't look so well kept at the moment as it shows in the photos [they're from before the renters neglected it]. So lots of work to be done! Hopefully after a new bathroom, a bit of paint, spot of weeding/mowing/planting and lots of elbow grease it'll be looking a little more presentable that it currently does.

So this buying / selling house business is pretty full on! Throw in a couple of birthdays, end of year stuff, christmas, school holidays, camping, catching up with family, sprucing up house, open homes, trying to pack up house and life in general = no time for writing on blogs [or even reading blogs].

It might still be a bit quiet round here for a little while - I will try to pop past now and then and let you know what's going on.

On a Christmas tree somewhere...

2009-11-30T21:45:00.004+11:00

...there is a little birdie made with love.

And on 129 other Christmas trees there are 129 more little birdies made with love too [the love nearly ran out though after that many!]

I designed these as a little gift to give out at our annual church Gingerbread Nights. I did have a couple of lovely ladies to help me with the assembly but turned out to be a bigger job than I first thought. [isn't that always the way?]
So I was busy sticking on wings, tails and eyes a day before we were off on holiday!
Busy times but so rewarding!

Birthday Girl!

2009-11-28T13:49:00.001+11:00

Our little darling Imogen had her third birthday a few weeks ago - my goodness that's gone quick! All of a sudden she's gotten all big and grown up!

I wanted to make her something special to play with, so Alannah and I decided on a princess and the pea playset - idea totally stolen from SouleMama. (we also gave her the princess and the pea book by Lauren Child - of Charlie and Lola fame)

Lannah was my helper - choosing fabrics, deciding which ones looked good together, colouring the paper princesses, sewing the felt pea [with a little help from mama], turning the mattresses and snipping threads.

Immy loved it! They've been playing princess and the pea all over the house. "MUM WHERE'S MY PEA?" is a common utterance around these parts nowadays.

I also whipped up a little tutu and she got real ballet shoes!

And a washing line to help mummy with the house work ;)

We had a yummy hedgehog cake created by aunty Liesey, dressing ups with little friends and treasure hunting - what fun!

Jetlag

2009-11-26T15:09:00.002+11:00

We are just back [tuesday] from visiting my darling sister, Mandy, in Perth. There's so much to tell you and photos to show, but after travelling the red-eye special home - involving 1 hr nap by child no.2 who doesn't/can't/won't sleep anywhere but her own bed, and 5 minutes total shut-eye for mama - we are still trying to recover.

Oh and I will get around to showing you some of Immy's birthday bash... eventually [if I don't have fights with blogger again about too many photos!]

Creative Update

2009-11-08T20:59:00.002+11:00

So I've been a busy girl making lots of stuff!

Let me see... 15 little girls skirts, 8 marble bags, 2 pencil cases, a couple dozen button hair ties, ballerina tutu, a princess and the pea playset, and even a dress for me! Phew!

Plus there are a few half done projects that are still to be finished off: dress for a sweet little girl, few pairs of pants for Finn, bibs for Finn and I'm sure there are a few more lurking in the studio!

Things we made for Operation Christmas Child boxes we did last month. This was such a great way of teaching the girls about the huge need there is to care for poverty-stricken in this world.

The girls really enjoyed thinking about what a little girl their own age might like to receive and talking about how and why we should help, making a card and praying for the girls who would be receiving the boxes they made.

We are so blessed in our lives and to teach our children to share what we have with those who have nothing is so important to us. I highly recommend doing an activity like this with your kids.

And here's that gorgeous gypsy gal who sold skirts and button hair ties in the peddler's parade at the school fair.

Her costume was thrown together during a raid on my wardrobe - so much easier than trying to make something which was my initial lofty plan.

TOO. BUSY. CRAFTING. CAN'T. STOP. NOW.

2009-10-21T14:30:00.000+11:00

Bit crazy round here right now. Making piles of skirts, hundreds of yums tags and gypsy-skirt-seller-peddler's-parade-outfit for school fair in 2 days. AAAARGH! [+ possible button hair ties and felt birdy ornaments if time allows - who am I kidding?]

Oh and kid no.2 has third birthday coming up in a week and a half - potentially not as quality celebration as first child's birthday parties - and I NEED (i.e. would like) to make her SOMETHING handmade [who knows what?]- eeeek! - control freak is freaking out!

See what happens when mama's not looking?

Two cheeky girlies with aprons on

2009-10-18T20:27:00.000+11:00

Aprons that have been works in progress for the past 6 months - I finally finished them a few weeks ago. [there are still 2 more half completed - who knows when they'll be done!]

I did a bit of experimental decorative stitching on the pockets - 'it's only an apron' I thought - and wow it's a great way to disguise crooked top stitching! I needed to find a way to keep the top part of the aprons high enough to stop stuff falling behind - what would be the point of an apron otherwise? - so pop-studs on the neck strap it was. [who can resist having a good old bash with the hammer?] There wasn't enough length of fabric for Immy's so it had to have a ruffle which turned out just beautifully. I love it when things work out like that.

These are the best two pics of a dozen and a half - cheeky little rabbits! Of course it'd be just too easy to stand nicely and smile at the camera for mama. My own fault for doing a photo shoot right before bed time.

Dinner Time

2009-10-18T19:28:00.003+11:00

Last Sunday we had my family around for dinner. It was so lovely to be with mum and dad and all (except one - miss you Mandy) of my siblings.

Menu - courtesy of my darling Edward [chef-master]
:balsamic glazed baby beets
:mushrooms with rosemary and beetroot greens
:herb and grain bread
:proper chicken caesar salad [from jamie at home]
:baked potatoes stuffed with bacon, anchovies and sage [from COOK with JAMIE]
:crushed orange meringue with whipped cream and blueberries [based on jamie's eton mess recipe also from COOK with JAMIE]

[you can't tell who is the favourite chef at our house can you?]

It was an absolutely delicious meal, especially the dessert! [you really have to try the combination of sticky, sweet, caramelised, orangey meringue with tart, tangy blueberries and don't forget the cream! - it truly is a perfect match]

Yummy Hilbarn Box

2009-10-05T15:41:00.001+11:00

Our box is here - we collected it this morning. Fresh and delicious local fruit and veg from Hilbarn.
Broccolli, spring onion, apples, potatoes, carrots, onions, shallots (I think), coriander, lettuce, baby beetroot and mini tomatoes. Immy and I were into those irresistable morsels straight away - YUM! Go and get one!

Loz and Dinny Challenge

2009-09-29T16:30:00.006+10:00

A bit of fabric I had floating around, a thrifted floral pillowcase, fabric from a thrifted wool skirt for the button and the star of the show, the trim!

And so this little bag was born.

I left it till the last minute of course [procrastinator that I am] but I got there - even on time!

And I didn't have to buy anything for this project [good guuurl!]

* Edited to add: To those who aren't in the know, sorry I was in a bit of a rush when I posted this and didn't think to explain.
Gemma from Loz and Dinny devised a cunning crafty challenge as a birthday celebration and sent a bunch of us a length of this goldy mustard trim to turn into some handmade goodness. Check out some of the other entries - so many amazing creations.

I think I love you Mr Postman...

2009-09-29T10:32:00.000+10:00

LOOK what just arrived at our house!

I have been watching and waiting for this parcel for what seems like eternity. Every time we hear the post van in our street there is a little-peek-out-of-window, hold-your-breath, is-he-stopping-here? and YAY-today-it's-for-us!

I can't wait to sit down and gobble these up! Especially SouleMama's new one. YUMMY! There's nothing more delicious than a new book!

Imogen's Classic Quotes no. 3

2009-09-28T09:01:00.002+10:00

Alannah [singing and doing accompanying actions i.e. walking on her heels! - who would have guessed]: Walkin' on my heels, walkin' on my heels, walk, walk, walk, walk, walkin' on my heels

Imogen [loud angry voice with frown]: Don't Alannah!

Alannah: Why?

Imogen: Because you're singin' all over the place!

Wipe Your Chin...

2009-09-27T12:04:00.005+10:00

you're dribbling.*

Need one of these?

More bibs for new bubbas.

* super sickly sweet slice - but oh-so-moreish - especially appreciated by little girls addicted to marshmallows

Little Blue (and Red) Dress

2009-09-26T16:54:00.000+10:00

Well technically not blue but turquoise with delicious red trim. This is my all time favourite colour combination! yummy!

I was feeling energetic last saturday night [what?] and decided Imogen needed a new dress at 8:30, so I whipped up this little number in an hour. Finally got round to taking a picture this afternoon.

Crafty Girlies

2009-09-23T08:45:00.001+10:00

Alannah loves crafting [just like her mama]. Every time I go out to our monthly playgroup mums craft night she wants to come too. So she came up with the idea of having her own craft night. We have been doing lots of embroidery* in this household lately so naturally that was the activity decided on.

We had lot of fun making invitations, choosing hessian and different colours of yarn and setting up a cosy crafting spot in the lounge.

Lots of stitching, chatting, giggling, tea/babychino drinking, and choccy-nibbling went on [and that was just the mamas :) ]

* this amazing book is where we got the kid's embroidery idea from - SouleMama is such an inspiration to me - heaps of wonderful ideas and activities to do with children and crafting and living

What!?! I have to get up when!?!

2009-09-22T09:37:00.002+10:00

Sigh!

School holidays are over...
Back to routines - out of bed early - uniforms - cleaning of teeth in the morning instead of lunchtime - where's your bag / folder / shoes / jacket? - hair brushed tidily - quick in the car, we'll miss the bus!

I have mixed feelings about it all. The holidays are lots of fun and pretty cruisy too. But I was getting close to the end of my rope when it comes to 'please share', 'be kind', 'stop bossing your sister', 'no screaming - please use your words'

We got to do everything on 'the list'* except for one raincheck for a lunchdate.

And we even did a few things that weren't on it too! [my little list-maker wanted to add them and tick them off after the fact! - she takes after her mummy]

* don't you just love the instruction to self at the very top? "tick the things you have don" - funny bunny!

Aunty Mandy

2009-09-20T20:51:00.002+10:00

We had a wonderful surprise last weekend. My darling sister Mandy flew over from Perth to surprise mum for her birthday [and all of us! - dad and her have been keeping a secret for 3 months!]

She was only here for a few days but we all had heaps of fun with Aunty Mandy! * **

And I managed to finish the bag I was making for her

Even has a special elasticised phone pocket!

We love you and miss you darling xxx

Photo notes:
* [the artwork in the background is by Mandy, full of texture and in my favourite colour of course! She is an amazingly talented artist and designer]
** Imogen is in full costume as per usual - I don't dress her like that!

The fairy has been...

2009-09-10T14:49:00.000+10:00

Alannah had a visit from the tooth fairy a few weeks ago. She was so excited to lose her first tooth! She looks so comical with a little gap!

Self portrait by Alannah

Now her new tooth is starting to grow in and it looks like she may have the misfortune to take after her mummy and have teeth entirely too large for her mouth. How unfortunate to inherit such an afflication! Sorry honey.

Imogen's Classic Quotes no. 2

2009-09-08T14:31:00.001+10:00

[Don't forget to imagine this with a little lisp]

Imogen [mixing plastic bead necklaces in little jug]: Look at these jellies! They normous, precious jellies!

Imogen's Classic Quotes No.1

2009-09-07T10:56:00.003+10:00

Imogen [in a most imploring voice with a cute little lisp]: Mum, when you finished spatching Finn's moosh out the jug, can i lick the spatch-lia? Yeah? Mum? Yeah?

Me: Are you sure? It's carrot moosh.

Imogen [with same imploring tone]: I really like carrot moosh!

Imogen [licking spatula with extreme cautiousness]: It's a bit tasty and funny, specially when it's not mooshed up.

[huh? looks pretty mooshed up to me]

Finn + Food = Fun!

2009-09-07T10:45:00.001+10:00

"Mmmmm yummy choccy icecream. Slurp!"

Yeah right... "Blurgh! rice cereal - how disgusting!" is more like.

For the last week this is what we've been doing. Heaps of fun for all! Finn thinks it is essential to accompany every meal with a relentless high pitched squeal, while letting delicious smoosh - which mama has spent endless hours preparing - dribble down his chin. We usually manage a couple of tiny spoonfuls before everyone has had enough of the ordeal!

Dribble, dribble, dribble

2009-09-03T21:42:00.002+10:00

Practising dribbling on my new mama-made-it bib

Hi Honey... I'm Home

2009-09-01T09:43:00.008+10:00

So it's been a while.

Over 3 weeks! I've actually been doing stuff instead of playing on the computer! hee hee.

Ooooo and look at my new header! My darling sis designed it for me. What a lovely present!

The girls are picking passionfruit! What? Passionfruit at the end of winter? I hear you say.
Yes well, our vine is slightly demented and thinks summer is such a boring, predictable time to fruit; why not stand out of the passion vine crowd and do it my own way!

He's churnin' 'em out man!

2009-08-08T15:21:00.004+10:00

Ed's been making naan all day for a fundraiser curry night we are going to tonight. He's a one-man production line - no helpers allowed! [Unless it's wipe the benches :P ]

Even his choice of flowery teatowel basket liner!
I must be rubbing off!

Mushies anyone?

2009-08-07T15:20:00.003+10:00

It was Ed's niece's birthday the other day. She turned 11, so I thought maybe a "makeup" case would make a cute gift.

Alannah chose the fabrics and directed the design and mummy sewed.

We also made some simple button hair slides and put in some lip balms and little lippy samples.

Even lined it!

I love how it turned out - though there's something awry with the zip. May have to do some homework on that one.

Knitty knitty (cheaty cheaty)

2009-08-07T14:07:00.007+10:00

A bit of loom knitting... very quick and easy [heaps faster than real knitting] and actually something I finished! Never happens with knitting for me. There are lots of started-but-not-yet-finished-and-quite-unlikely-to-ever-be knitting projects around these parts. Something to do with crampy posture.

The bag in the background is one I sewed from a kit I received as a present from Mandy, my sis, which I finally sewed up a few months ago. [it may have been in my sewing box for say... a couple of years?] I love the jack and the beanstalk fabric.

Look! Arm warmies! And they are same size [well nearly - you can't tell when they're being worn]

Making Pressies

2009-08-05T19:50:00.009+10:00

I've been sewing lately, making birthday gifts for friends.

I really love giving something I've made myself. It's so rewarding to be creative and be happy with the finished product.

Plus it means I don't have to drag the kidlets around town for hours searching for the perfect gift and come home with a headache, crabby kids, and a present that's not quite what I was looking for.

So making your own gifts = winners all round!

[just don't mention the upside down house, fabric everywhere, dishes not done, dinner not cooked, children not bathed ;) ]

This one's a reversible cover art journal. With a really sweet mini red polka dot for the inside flaps. And I even sewed in a little red taggy thing on the side. How professional!

And this is how I wrapped it. A few layers of tissue paper. Scrunched then flattened out again. Lay book on top to the side. Fold paper in half. Sew all around with the sewing machine. Easy. Oh and I first sewed a piece of kinda transparent, holey handmade paper to be a little pocket thing for the card I stamped.

This is a tool / knitting needle / pencil roll with some cute flower binding. It's so easy to make with a bias tape maker. Just cut a strip of fabric and feed it through the tape maker as you iron. Perfect!

I cut out a few leafy shapes and ironed them on with double sided fusible webbing, then stitched round them.

Some simple tote bags. My favourite fabric has to be the little red riding hood, how cute!

Ta-Dah

2009-08-05T15:19:00.006+10:00

{deep breath...}

Here it is! "The Blog"

How exciting! How scary! What if someone actually reads what I write... what if no-one does... what if talk without thinking [like I do in real life]... what if people leave comments... AARGH!

That's exactly why I've been procrastinating [like I do best], reading other people's blogs, telling my friends to start a blog, taking photos to put on my blog,... but not actually doing it!

So here goes.....