Learning Something New...

We've just come home from a week down south staying at a beach house and had a beautiful time. We were so relaxed we could easily have stayed another week. While walking along the beach on the first morning, I decided to collect some shells to put into a frame. Here is the result...not too bad for a quick and simple decorating idea.

And yes, I'm back to the crocheting (beginner style)!!! I'm loving this yarn...it's so soft and the colour is a beautiful blueish-grey. I'll keep going with this for a while until I'm confident enough to try something a little more adventurous ie. large blanket or perhaps a scarf.

Lazy Day at Home with Sick Boy!!!

Mr Monkey has been home sick again today (this is his fourth school day off!!!) so I've had to take the day off work. He's been happily playing Lego in the playroom so I thought I'd use some of Anna Maria's GORGEOUS Garden Party fabric to make a cushion. That is one talented woman...her fabric is devine. It's the perfect weight too, especially for home furnishing.

I'm loving that mustardy colour...reminds me of the sand.

We've got Chloe's sports carnival tomorrow so I'm off now to make some Anzac Slice to take. Follow the link to find the recipe (that is...if I've linked to it properly??? I'm still not quite sure how to link to previous posts on my blog)!!!

Summer PJ's...

These are the easiest things to make and soooooo useful. Chloe chose the fabric from my stash. We decided to add some lace trim to pretty them up a bit. Now I just have to buy a singlet/tshirt to go with them and we have a pair of summer pajamas!!! These PJ pants are so addictive to make because they're so quick and simple. I'll make both the kids a few pairs for summer.

I'm pretty sure the hem is even on both legs, I think they were just pulled up a bit higher on one side and now they look really wonky!!!

I'm looking forward to choosing some fabric to make Will's pants...fun, fun, fun!!!

Sketchbook Ivory...

I'm so glad to be blogging again after a long break. I've had trouble uploading photos ever since our computer crashed and as much as I could ramble on all day, lets face it...a blog needs photos!!! HOWEVER, the photo issue has been fixed and fingers crossed, we have no more computer problems for a while!!!

We've got a small lemon tree in our back garden that was full of fruit, but the tree has almost no leaves. I'm pretty sure this isn't normal!!! A friend told me you shouldn't let them fruit too much when they're new as they need to establish themselves first. I picked all the lemons off it today (they were all ripe) and am hoping it will come good again soon. I baked some Lemon and Poppyseed Muffins today to use some up. And I have to show you my very basic table runner in my most favourite fabric EVER!!! I was so excited when I received the package of fabric, that I couldn't wait to make something with it, so a quick and simple table runner it was. I've also covered a canvas in the same fabric for our bedroom and I'm going to use it as a starting point for decorating our room.

I'll be back tomorrow to post some pics of the new addition to our family...our little puppy!!!

Enjoy your Sunday evening...

School Holiday Fun...

On Monday we met up with some friends at our local park for a catch up. We ended up bringing my girlfriends two kids home with us for a play (not sure if your kids are the same, but whenever we get together with friends, they never want the play date to come to an end). I was more than happy to have my friends two over as they kept mine amused. The boys spent most of their time either playing Lego or kicking the footy across the road at the park. While they were all amused, I quickly made another table mat for our coffee table in the living room. I used some Amy Butler fabric together with a really heavy linen look fabric that I picked up at the op shop a little while ago. I found a huge piece of this linen that is an ugly darkish brown on the right side, but on the back is this perfect linen colour...so I use the back of it.

I set the girls up out the front with some embroidery. They look so sweet out there stitching away. (Mental note...must make some more cushion covers for the faded cushions out the front)!!!

Look at their sweet designs and very neat stitching.

Tissue Huggers...

Here are all the tissue huggers I made today for the Mother's Day Stall. Don't they look so pretty all lined up together!!!

I thought this one below was my favourite, but now I think I like the one at the front in the pic above with the little apples on it. Sweet, sweet, sweet!!! Gotta rush and pick the kids up from school. Today was there last day of school and now they're on holidays for two weeks. I'm looking forward to the slow and lazy mornings, but I must start planning some things to do.

Snuggle Bunnies...

Well, the weather was finally cool enough tonight for my little cherubs to wear their new winter pajamas I made for them the other day. And doesn't Will look extra excited to be wearing his!!!


They each chose some fleecy material from Spotlight a while ago (actually, it was last winter, but I've only just learnt how to make the pants!!!). Chloe's material has little cats all over it (she's animal crazy...wants to be a Zoo Keeper when she grows up) and Will's pants have planes on them (for no particular reason...he just liked them). In the school holidays (next week) I'm taking them to Spotlight again to choose some more fabric so I can make one more set for them. I've just appliqued some of the same material onto some tops I bought from Target and blanket stitched around the edges.

Will's pants are just a bit too long but I figure they'll last him longer (and I can't be bothered taking them up!!!).

Handbag Organiser...

This morning I had a go at making a Handbag Organiser....tutorial courtesy of The Giving Flower
It turned out really well and took about forty five minutes to make so I'm thinking I'll make a dozen or so of these to sell at the Mother's Day Stall. Thanks so much to Cathy from Miss Marzie for the idea!!!

I have to say, I do love the idea of having all my handbag 'bits and pieces' in the one spot inside my bag. Particularly because my bag is fairly large.

Mother's Day Stall...

Yes, that's my new baby from now until 10th May. I'm on the Fundraising Committee at our primary school and nominated myself to run the Mother's Day Stall this year. We set it up down at our local shopping centre the day before Mother's Day.

I've helped out in previous years by baking biscuits and slices and also making jewellery, bags, tissue huggers and a few other bits and pieces to sell. And this year, I decided to have a go at running the stall (actually, it was more a case of....no-one else put there hand up so I did!!!)

Sooooooo, first things first. You just can't have a Mother's Day Stall without some bunting for decoration. This morning I made this bunting and went for a classic pink and lime colour scheme which will become the colour scheme for the stall. All of the items on the stall are donated by parents at our school and within the community which is lovely. We usually find the homebaked treats sell exceptionally well, so this year I thought I would send home with the school kids, a few quick, easy and possibly freezeable recipes on a little card for them to give to mum or dad in the hope that it may inspire them to get baking for our stall. I've got a stash of bags that I've been making for the stall and I'll also make some more sterling silver beaded jewellery. I was also thinking drink coasters might sell well.

Does anyone have any quick and relatively cheap things I could make? I'm always on the lookout for ideas.

Dinner Time...

As a follow on from a previous post of mine (some time ago), I've designed these placemats to encourage kids to help mum and dad by setting the dinner table (and perhaps earn themselves some pocket money). In my previous post, I made some little aprons with a knife, fork and spoon stitched onto three separate pockets for kids to carry the cutlery to the table. And now these are the placemats to show them where to place the cutlery. It's a bit hard to see in this photo ( I need a new camera!!!), but I've stitched a knife, fork and spoon onto the linen fabric.

I've used a heavy linen look fabric to stitch the cutlery onto and the flowery fabric is from Z & S.

This is the backing fabric which is also from Z & S.

Here's a close up of the cutlery. This is purely experimentation at this stage, so I realise the cutlery is a bit wonky. I drew it free-hand and then machine stitched over it, so tonight I'm going to make up some templates to trace and I'm going to try handsewing the cutlery as well to see if that gives a better result. I've also used some 100% cotton interfacing to stiffen them a bit, which has worked perfectly.

I would love to hear feedback on these...particularly the cutlery design. I basically copied my knife, fork and spoon from my cutlery drawer. I'm happy with the knife and spoon, but I'm not sure about the fork. All suggestions welcome!!! But be kind...me ego is fragile!!!

Pillowcase Dress...

I made an attempt at the Pillowcase Dress that's done the rounds in blogland (I can't remember which tutorial I ended up using....there's quite a few out there). I didn't have a pillowcase to cut up so I used fabric in the same way.

I think it turned out really sweet...probably looks more like a nighty though. I had a bit of trouble with the arm holes when I was making the casing for the ribbon ties, but overall it's a simple and quick sewing project (particularly if you use a pillowcase).

Experimentation!!!

Last night I covered my second cork board to go in my sewing room (this one's a bit bigger...from Ikea). I've hung it near my cutting table so I can pin my sewing instructions, measurements etc. to it when I'm working, as well as other bits and pieces. I think it will be very useful.

I've been experimenting these last few days after coming up with an idea to make a child's apron that they can use when setting the dinner table for mum or dad. The idea developed as an extension of the craft aprons I made for my kids a few days ago.

I thought that a little apron for kids to wear, with three labelled pockets for knives, forks and spoons would be a great way to get them involved and more importantly, excited about helping with an everyday job like table setting. They can use the three pockets to sort the cutlery and then take it to the table and set it. And who knows, it could even earn them some pocket money if they're lucky!!!

I've made these ones using quilting fabric, with a linen pocket and twill tape ties. The knife, fork and spoon design have been machine stitched.

So what do you think??? Or have I totally just stolen someone elses idea???

Craft Aprons...

Well, as expected, yesterday was a stinking hot day so we spent most of it inside in the air-conditioning. In the morning, I made the kids some little craft aprons. Then we baked a couple of slices to share with friends who came over in the afternoon for a swim.

Chloe wanted her apron to hold little notebooks and pens and Will wanted his to hold large A4 pieces of paper and pens/pencils (he's always got to push the boundaries and make things just that bit difficult for me!!!). I had to explain to him that because he's only a little boy, an A4 piece of paper will be too big to go in his apron and will end up wrapping half way around his body. He didn't care, so neither did I!!!

These are the end results. They were a bit of an experiment because I've never made them before and didn't have a pattern. So since I'm still a beginner to the sewing thing, I'm quite proud of myself for cutting out a rectangle, hemming it and attaching a couple of pockets and ties....pretty difficult stuff!!! I like the whole concept of a craft apron and I think they'd make lovely gifts (particularly for little girls) so I'm going to try another one with a few extra fancy bits and pieces.

We're off to Karrinyup Shopping Centre this morning for a trip out. I haven't taken the kids to the shops all holidays (except a couple of times before Christmas). We're taking their cousin Cayley with us too. They'll be lots of window shopping, playing in the toy shop and coffee, pumpkin and date muffins, iced chocolates and chocolate cherry slice!!!

Have a lovely day.

Randomness...

Chloe went to a school friend's house today for a play and my sister had Will for a few hours so I was FREE!!! I spent my morning indulging in a late breakfast, reading a magazine (from cover to cover!!!) and sewing with no interruptions!!!

I made a door stop for our laundry door. My friend gave me a template for the pyramid style doorstop. It was really quick and easy and very addictive. Unfortunately we don't have any other doors that need a door stop, but I just can't stop at making one....help me!!!

We had a stinker of a day today...I think it reached 36 or 37 degrees (and tomorrow will be 39) so I made the kids some spiders. For some reason, I've never made these for them before, despite me having them as a child frequently. Anyway, they went down well with Chloe but Will wasn't to keen on them. You can sort of tell by the expression on his face in the photo.

And lastly, this afternoon, in between making dinner (for some crazy reason, I seem to be most productive during this time) I made a messenger/pin-up board to keep above our phone in the kitchen. It will hold all manner of things, particularly party invitations, pens, vouchers, school notices etc. I've so desperately needed something like this (we have a new stainless steel fridge that I'm trying not to put anything on) so here it is. I sort of took the cheats way out a bit. I bought a $5.00 cork board from Bunnings that has the timber frame around it. Then I covered it with fabric and staple-gunned it tightly at the back (Emily, I'm loving the staple gun!!!). I decided it needed a pocket to slot extras into, so I hemmed a bit of fabric top and bottom, glue-gunned the bottom edge of the pocket along the bottom frame of the board, then staple-gunned the sides tightly at the back. Voila!!! Now I just have to sweet talk Glenn into putting a hook on it and hanging it for me. I'm a bit of an organisation freak so to have a special place for all those annoying bits of paper, pens etc. that seem to lay around all over my kitchen bench, is VERY exciting!!! I'm thinking of making one more of these boards to go in my sewing room, to pin favourite little fabric scraps to (if I'm really in love with a particular type of fabric, I can't just toss those scraps into my fabric scrap basket, it gets kept to one side in a 'special' spot...and now that spot can be pinned to a board....now I'm probably starting to sound weird???). And then I can also pin any other little bits of inspiration to it. Very handy I think!!!

Don't ya' Just LOVE a New Bag!!!

Last night I cut into some more Heather Bailey fabric to finally make MYSELF a bag. I always seem to be making them for everyone else...so it was my turn. And I was sort of experimenting with a few 'new to me' techniques, so I wouldn't want to pass that on to anyone else in case it didn't work. As it turns out though, the bag was a success. I used the same pattern from 'Last-Minute Fabric Gifts', but I tried lining it with interfacing to stiffen it a bit. I also lined the straps too and did some extra rows of stitching on the straps to make them stronger. The only problem I've had, is the interfacing doesn't seem to have stuck to the fabric properly in a few areas. There are a few lumpy spots. I've never used interfacing for bags before so it's completely new to me. Perhaps I've used the wrong thing? Does anyone have any suggestions or a better type of interfacing to use?

I've had a very productive 'home' day today. It's amazing how good you feel after getting stuck into some dreaded housework and washing (it's just the getting started bit that I have trouble with). This morning was spent cleaning the house, followed by a quick trip to Coles for some groceries. Then this afternoon I've done three loads of washing and made dessert for tonight. I made an English recipe (I'm assuming.....well, it came from an English lady anyway!!!) called Syllabub??? No idea how to spell it but it tastes amazing. But then, I am a sucker for anything citrussy. It's basically made up of lemon and orange rind and juice, a little caster sugar and a tub of double thick cream, all poured over some sponge finger biscuits and left to set in the fridge. Yum, Yum, Yum!!!

New Beginnings...

I can't believe two weeks holiday is over already and we're at the beginning of a fresh new year. I love the feeling of beginnings and all that lies ahead. We had a lovely family Christmas. Here are the kids on Christmas morning looking bright as buttons despite their VERY EARLY wake up time!!!

One of my favourite Christmas presents was Last-Minute Fabric Gifts by Cynthia Treen. It's a lovely book with some beautiful and inspiring sewing projects to make. I made the Twig-Handle Tote, but adapted it to suit fabric handles (although I am going to buy some wood handles to try out too). It's such a simple pattern and I had each bag made in no more than an hour. The first one I made using a lovely aqua and fushia floral fabric from Spotlight. It's a very heavy-weight fabric so it holds it's shape really well. The other bag was made using Heather Bailey's Freshcut fabric which I'm in love with at the moment. I'm going to try the bag again, using some sort of batting/wadding inside to stiffen it. Speaking of Heather Bailey, we received some of her Trash Ties the other day and they're fantastic. So much fun to use with endless hairstyles to try.

While Glenn has been on holidays, we've planted our vegetable/herb garden. Although we're on a fairly small block, we have the perfect garden bed for vegies and herbs. It gets almost full sun and it's a great size. All we have to do now is keep our rabbit, Roxy away from the lettuce!!! We've only had it planted for a week but already our beans and peas are shooting and everything is looking great. Very exciting!!!

Totes...

I managed to find a spare hour this afternoon after picking Chloe up from school and before getting dinner ready, so I sewed up the tote bag for Chloe's teacher.

She's due to have a baby early next year so we thought we'd go with bright colours on the bag, for the baby to look at.

Finally got most of my Christmas shopping done today so that's one thing I can tick of my list.

I'm Free...

My lovely friend has taken my son, Will for a play this morning and has then offered to drop him at kindy this afternoon so I have a very unexpected, but most appreciated FREE day today!!!

So what shall I do and where should I start? I have one more of the three 'skirt and top' sets to make so I'll get that done and I'm hoping to head to a garden shop to buy a new pot. I bought a plant yesterday to go inside near the meals area and I want to plant it in a big, tall pot.

Here's a couple of photos of the second 'skirt and top' set for the eldest of the three daughters. I made this one with a contrasting hem band and the tutorial was courtesy of I Have To Say .

And one more skirt...a little ruffle skirt using the tutorial from Grand Revival Design. For a beginner like me, both of these tutorials were very easy to follow with a beautiful result.

Surely that's enough skirts for me for now.....

More Christmas Gifts

Here is a little outfit I made for my friend's five year old girl....a Bonds singlet with a flower appliqued on it and a little skirt using the most gorgeous floral fabric. I'm making two more of these sets using different style tops for the two sisters of this little girl.

These sets are so quick and simple to make and after many years of starting very lengthy quilting projects, I've finally come to the realisation that I am definitely most suited to quick sewing projects. I like to start and finish something all in the one sitting.

Next on my list of things to make are some gifts for Chloe's teacher who is leaving at the end of this year to have a baby boy. One of the mums at school is organising a basket full of goodies so I thought I'd make one or two bunny rugs/muslin wraps and some little blue Bonds singlets with appliques on them like the one above.

Well, we have some beautiful sunshine outside today that I'm going to enjoy. Hope you're having a lovely Sunday!!!