PJ's for Miss Mia

So it seems all it takes for a creative burst to happen is have your husband go away for a few days and wha-la! The house is MINE after 7:30pm, child-free and without interruptions (sorry honey)! As the weather is starting to get a bit cooler the need for summer PJ's is slowly slipping away. Miss Mia has grown so much since last winter it was definitely time for some new winter PJ's.

I found this pretty fabric in Spotlight for $12.95/m and only used about 80cm to make these pants. Just a simple elastic waist with wide leg pants for more comfortable sleeping. A matching birdy on the top ($5 from Target) and they look like a designer pair of PJ's without the price tag.

Pretty butterflies

I can't believe it's been 2 and a half months since my last post! So much has gone on, a fair amount of craziness (and crazy "friends" - be gone!) has made life challenging but things are now looking a lot brighter.

After the silly season I've finally got back into sewing again. And it makes me SO happy! Nothing nicer than putting the kids to bed, pouring a glass of wine and sitting down for some creative time.

So.......

I made this gorgeous butterfly dress for my little girl, then immediately had to make one for my goddaughter too. These dresses are so simple and quick to make - 1hr and it's done. And because it's a very light cotton voile, it's perfect for hot Brisbane summers.

I moved straight on to a very cute cotton voile polka dot skirt that looks gorgeous with a white singlet and matching flower corsage.

And finally, instead of more clothes I've added some cute bags to my repertoire. These are a lightweight denim and are perfect for swimming lessons, day care or sleep overs. And completely machine washable for the inevitable disasters.

So there you have it, the last 2.5 months in a nutshell. Looking forward to more experimentation with recipes, sewing, cooking, playing with craft and.......

Little tree

I have been obsessed with the Cocoon Couture tree for about a year now. Of course, my taste never matches my wallet so the $399 tree (I'm not kidding) has remained in the shop for a long time. As usual, I'll give anything a go so after much research I decided to make my own.

First stop to Bunnings to buy a sheet of plywood 1m x 1.5m in dimensions. This cost about $27. Then to Spotlight to buy some scrapbooking paper which was $9.95. Back to Bunnings for the clear lacquer spray at $6 then a quick trip to a dubious but optimistic (probably already had the ambulance ready to go) family member to borrow a jigsaw. All set!

So while my husband thought I'd bitten of more than I could chew, I set to work in the garage. Using a jigsaw is definitely harder than I thought, and noisier and messier, but 20 minutes later the cutting was done.

Then all I had to do was spray lacquer on the tree, cut out random leaf shapes, glue on some paper, cut around the edge and screw them to the tree. I then glued on some wooden knobs so my little girl can hang her hats on her tree. Done! And since I saved about $355, does that mean I can go shopping now?

Happy Birthday Guinea!

One of my old childhood friends, Peta, recently turned 30. We have known each other since about 10 years of age when we lived a few houses apart. We played together after school and on weekends, made up songs on her Mum's piano, did astounding acrobatics on her trampoline (with no safety net!), excluded her younger brother and sister from our grown up games, rode our bikes everywhere and enjoyed a carefree childhood together.

Peta and her family also had a healthy (read = frequently multiplying) number of guinea pigs. Guinea pigs make the cutest little sound as they scurry about eating and multiplying.

Now, Peta had quite the infectious giggle and I often compared her giggle to a guinea pig sound - the evidence was right there in front of us! From that day she was unceremoniously referred to (by me only) as "guinea".

Guinea turned 30 a couple of weeks ago and had a big pool party. I was so sorry to be unable to attend the party but instead offered to make her a cake.

So here it is.

And I couldn't resist!

How does your garden grow?

The garden has been such a work in progress. We basically dug it all up and started from scratch again. My advice is this - never, EVER, plant palm trees. We removed about 15 palm trees from our yard and the result was a root system like I've never seen before. A bobcat was called in, a dump truck took away 8 cubic metres of tree roots and then delivered 8 cubic metres of fresh soil to start again.

So you can imagine my delight when finally - FINALLY - the garden has started to show signs of being happy again. My favourite flower is the gardenia, both for the appearance and the smell. Heavenly.

Before digging up the garden we managed to preserve a HUGE cycad. We kept it not only because it looks great in the garden but because, to replace, it would cost around $300! The poor cycad was extracted by a excavator and pushed to the side of the yard where it sat above the earth, clinging to life, with an old sheet wrapped around the root system for about 8 months. When our new garden bed was ready the cycad was dragged into place by a rope and a ute and planted.
A month ago I was despairing whether the bloody thing would ever be happy and grow; it was looking a little sick.

So when I saw THIS -

Happy days.

And as I surveyed the yard for more rubbish to take to the dump, my eyes fell upon the old bucket filled with dirt and weeds. It definitely had to go.

Until I saw this.

Oh, alright, it can stay for a bit longer.

Spotty dotty

I bought a piece of this fabric at the Craft Show for $8. It measured 100cm x 30cm and was the perfect size to make a skirt for Mia.

It's called "Snorkel" by Cosmo Cricket for Andover fabrics. Love it.

Dolly, dolly, which one shall I make?

I recently visited the Craft Show at the Convention Centre. Whilst it was more geared for quilters I found one little gem of fabric from my favourite stallholder, Peppermint Stitches. I'm grateful their actual shop is about 30 minutes from home so I don't get there very often - it's too easy OD on fabric.

This is called Rag Doll Panel by Patty Young. It was about $13 for the three dolls so it would make a very economical present for a little girl's birthday. The dolls are about 40cm tall so they're a reasonable size to work with.

I thought it would be quick and easy to make. I was right about the easy but not the quick. It was just fiddly and placing the stuffing into the limbs so that they weren't too stiff but not too floppy (hmmmm, that sounds rude!) was quite challenging.

But the one doll I made turned out nicely and a gorgeous little girl I know is getting her for her second birthday. I also made a removable skirt and necklace. The ballet shoes are sewn on.

I hope she likes it.