Advent Blog-A-Long Day 17...

Ok so Im proving to not be so good at this blogging every day thing! I promise I have evidence of an excuse :-p

I've been very very busy getting ready for this weekend's market and have been spending up to 7 hours a day sewing, unpicking and all of that jazz. Yesterday, I finished off 5 dresses that I had started on Tuesday. And due to popular demand I decided it was time to post some pics of some of the other dresses I have, not just the red one! hee hee...

the pile of 5 dresses I made yesterday. I have been making one of each size of each fabric combination.

The back of the size 2 dress. I must say, I am absolutely in LOVE with this fabric, Im so glad I have some left over! Not that I know what I am going to do with it yet, but its lovely. :)

This photo is slightly blurry, and unfortunately it was the last photo before I had to charge the battery on the camera. But this is the 13 dresses I completed on Sunday.

3 Dresses to go and then Im ALMOST ready! Nothing like working for a deadline hey?!?! I have a few nappies that have dodgy snaps on them due to me not checking the settings on my snap press prior to putting them on! So I have to unpick them and put new snaps in, as well as put snaps on all of the bibs for closure :)

Really... Im not that busy (HAHA CAN YOU RECOGNISE SARCASM?)

I have also been considering opening an etsy store in the new year... What does everyone think?!?

Amy xo

Advent Blog-A-Long Day 15

Yeah... so I missed a few days over the weekend!! I have a good cause, and that is because I was sewing! Thats a good excuse right?!?! Anyway.. so I made 13 dresses on sunday its battlestations getting ready for the market on Sunday this week. Im hopeing it will be worth all my effort :D

Yesterday however I spent some time sewing a gift for my mother in law. This will be her christmas gift, and I really hope she loves it!!

I am so very very proud of myself with this one. the front panel is all hand embroidered and its the first time Ive done so much hand embroidery on one piece. Im definately addicted to hand stitching now!!

The pattern was in the November issue of Handmade Magazine and is by strath sewing and quilting.

So yes... I just have to put in the cushion and thats another present down!

I am now officially addicted to hand stitching and my next planned project (after christmas) is a hexagon hand pieced sewing bag that I found in a book I borrowed from the library. I might even take away my stitching on holiday when we go on boxing day!!

Advent Blog-A-Long #11 (updated with Photos!

Fancy that! Its Friday already, and only 2 weeks until that day... yes CHRISTMAS is coming!! Ruth tells me every day that its nearly time for Christmas and Santa will be coming and oh we have the most beautiful Christmas tree in the whole wide world!

Last night I went to my gorgeous little girl's first ever christmas concert at kindergarten. I was a little teary, and my little show pony was the star of the show as per usual with all of the other parents commenting afterwards on how sweet it was that she danced and sang more than the other children. Apparently she is due for an oscar in 25 years' time! so watch out Julia Roberts!! :P

Anyway... so I will update with photos tomorrow as the little star is awaiting her mother to come and read Dumbo to her. I read a few pages of a book every night, last week was Tarzan this week is Dumbo... Who knows what will be next week... I hope Santa brings her something to read cos Im all out of new books!!!!!!

Happy reading and I will catch you all tomorrow!!

wash your face with orange juice...

nawwww so cute!!!!

Amy xo

Advent Blog-A-Long #10 - My Creative Space!

Ahh so this week, as mentioned the other day, I have been spending ALOT of time in my sewing room! What am I talking about? I tend to spend ALL  of my free time in my sewing room!!!

Anyway, so my Mother In Law came for a flying sleepover on Monday night, so I needed to do something about the mess and I decided it was organising time!! So here's what I did...

My shelves (that I use for the market) with my patterns, my finished nappies and my thrifted fabrics. Also my bamboo in the corner there...

 clothing rack with my bits of dresses all out. This is alot fuller now!!

Ive since also organised the other side of the room too, but I dont have pictures of it...

more spaces here

Advent Blog-A-Long #9

Well! As I said yesterday, I went to the Werribee Open Range Zoo with the kids and my mother in law the other day. It was a wonderful time and Id love to share some of the photos I took with you all :)

Giraffes!

White Rhino!

Pretending to be Unicorns with the rhino horn

hello meerkat!

Not sure I trust this one to take me into lion territory!!

Anyway.. all in all... we had a great time, Ruth thought the animals were amazing and I will have to go back soon to see it all again!

Amy xo

Advent Blog-A-Long Day 8!

Well! A big couple of days here! Ive spent a fair bit of time in the sewing room, not only sewing, but organising (I will share pics of that on Thursday). And Ive been super busy doing family orientated things, much to the distress of some people, I still have to sew though!! So thus my short posts over the weekend! Mister WeePantz was home so mummy did some work!!!!

So here's a bunch of Photos of what we have been up to!!!

 

We put up the Christmas Tree!!

Ruth was very excited to decorate the entire thing herself, and Oliver was very beautiful, with tinsel draped all over him whilst sitting in the high chair looking on. There's no playpen around it or anything, so I have now decided I just need to record myself screaming OLIVER!! STOP TOUCHING THE CHRISTMAS TREE!! Im sure it will get alot of use!!

1 complete secret santa gift!!

 I finished and posted both of my secret santa gifts today. I must say I am nervous of how much there is, and really hope my SS recipients both like their gifts. Its always hard when you dont know someone well to send them a super thoughtful gift. But alot of time went into choosing these gifts so Im hopeing that they are recieved with a smile!

I took the kids to the zoo with my Mother In Law

I will post more pics of this adventure tomorrow I think as there are so many, and its too difficult to just choose one!! But this is my favourite photo, I thought this sign near the lion enclosure was ace! The kids just loved being able to be so close to animals from places like africa, asia and south america.

Anyway... more on that tomorrow. My newly organised sewing room is SCREAMING to me... Oh no hang on thats the kids tv show that is going, there seems to be alot of screaming on that... Id better go check its not scary!!

Until tomorrow...

Amy xo

WINNERS!! (ADVENT #6)

Ahh and the time has come to draw the winners of my giveaway day prizes! I tallied up the entries in  the boy/girl categories for ease of drawin the winner...

GIRL PRIZE

http://www.random.org/
Min = 1 Max = 91 Random No. = 47

And the winner is....

Sarah...
That dress would be perfect for my little girl :)

My daughter is 26 months, and yesterday while we were in the middle of another long potty sitting session she leaned forward and whispered to me. "I know secret of the Christmas Tree". I had no clue what she was talking about, so I asked her "What is the secret of the Christmas Tree?". She dropped her voice even lower and replied "presents".

BOY PRIZE

http://www.random.org/
Mn = 1 Max = 27 Random No. = 21

And the winner is...

Ammie
Perfect! My little boy always loves new nappies. :)


This week the funniest thing that happened was that my son learned how to cry when he doesn't mean it. (Well, perhaps that's not particularly funny, but it has us laughing--as an alternative to crying--quite a lot!)
 
Thanks so much to everyone who entered! I will contact both of the winners shortly to see where you would like me to send your prize!!!
 
Amy xo

Advent Blog-A-Long #5 Dec 5th (Wordless Weekend)

An old one of my gorgeous Princess Ruth

Advent Blog-A-Long #4 Dec 4th

Hmm so Its the same old same old here today, so to shake things up a bit I thought I would share a little joke that I got in an email about 12mths ago.

People who own cats will laugh with me, others might just say WTF????

DOG DIARY

8:00 am - Dog food! My favourite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Schmackos! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

CAT DIARY

Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.

Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

This morning I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.

The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.

For now...

Cat

Hope you enjoyed that one as much as I did!!!! I laugh every time I read it :-p

Amy xo

Advent Blog-a-long #3 - Dec 3rd (My Creative Space)

Okay so #2 post was on the first and I skipped yesterday... really already shapeing up to being really good at this whole posting thing!! hahaha!!!!!

Well today, I thought I would share a pic of a little gift I made for Ruth's friend's birthday on the weekend. The party was on Saturday, and on Friday night I mentioned to Ruth that we would go buy something for her friend, and then she proceeded to BEG me to make something!! So I threw together a little purse, some bracelets and some hairties.

Ruth's little friend LOVED her gift... sooo glad!!!!

the finished gift just prior to wrapping on.

3 bracelets made from beads I had laying around

2 hairties made from buttons I got in a christmas mixed bag from Spotlight

1 purse (Burda 8235) made from some fabric I picked up at Spotlight.

the finished, wrapped gift, (yes thats christmas paper hahaa) complete with a card I whipped up at the last minute.

Ahh the joys of being unprepared to craft! Turned out pretty good after all!!!

Now back to dresses!!

Amy xo

More creative Spaces HERE

Give Away Day!!!

Okay so this year I'm really getting into the holiday spirit and participating in Giveaway Day on the Sew Mama Sew Blog!

I have decided that I will give away two items that are listed below!

1. I will give away one of my gorgeous new dresses

2. I will give away one of my new little boy minkee nappies.

So there are 2 prizes... one for a girl and one for a boy.

I will be shipping internationally for this giveaway.

The winner will be drawn on the 6th of December at 5pm (my time)

How do you enter I hear you ask????

Its simple!! Just leave me a message telling me what the funniest thing is that has happened to you this week and whether you would like the boy or the girl prize. :-D

Then head over to Sew Mama Sew to check out what else you might win in this awesome giveaway day!!!

Happy Hunting!!

Amy xo

Christmas Blog Along #1 December 1st...

Deck the halls and all that Jazz! Thought I'd play along with some fun blogging this holidays and get into the Advent Christmas Spirit for once!!

We havent put up the tree yet, and the only crafting going on around here is Market prep!! I also have been doing a bit of Christmas sewing and have completed 3 of 4 crayon rolls which I will share when I have photographed them.

On my doorstep today... arrived.... A PACKAGE!! I have no idea if I'm allowed to open it or not as I am awaiting some normal packages as well as some swap stuff!! haha!!! So no idea if Im allowed to have a peek inside the packaging to find out... LOL!!!

It is also my lovely sister Carmie's birthday today. Happy 27th (old) lady!!!!! haha she's beautiful and no 27 isnt really old, just feels so far away... :-p and of course I am super cheeky!!!

TOMORROW is giveaway day!!! So I will probably put the post for that up LATE tonight so I dont forget to tomorrow morning... So stay tuned for what you might win!!

That is all for now... until later.. all i have is this small token of bragging...

How beautiful are my son's eyelashes!! Sooooo beautiful!!!! Makes ME jealous!!!

Amy xo

Christmas Blog along

Ive decided to blog along over Here with Carr for Advent!! Go sign up! You know you want to!!

Wordless Weekend

naked dancing

My Creative Space

Today (well all this week) my creative space has been filled with pattern re-drafting and dress sewing for the markets. Im pretty excited, and really am looking forward to selling dresses as well as nappies. Soon I will overcomit myself and need to pay someone to help me I think :-p all good though, thats the plan isnt it??

Yes... that would be an intsy wincy teeny weeny newborn sized dress.... It is sooo cute and soooo tiny!!!!! Very cool though, even Mick said it was nice... in a half muted, I am manly dont ask me if girly things are nice kind of way....

Anyway, I have about 10 more metres of fabric to get through and have dresses made out of, thank god I dont have many nappies to make for the next market!!!

Christmas is coming up also, so I have happily been planning 4 crayon rolls, a set of soft baby cubes and a couple of dresses. Also a few wrist cuffs... so its a busy little room I am working in at the moment, in a month, there will be no fabric left!! which means... I GET TO BUY MORE!!!! woo!!

For more Creative Spaces... head over HERE

Wordless Weekend

old photos... ahhh our first cuddle.

 

My Creative Space

Okay so today I have 2 creative spaces. The first of which being my dining table where I sat hand sewing some applique for my Christmas secret santa swap on EB. The photo is sneaky for a reason hee hee.

My hand sewing is improving. Funny how now that I know how to do it, I have been adding little handsewn bits to everything!! :-)

The second creative space for me today was in my kitchen. I am making the greatest spag bog ever! I am quite good at combining flavours and before you start inspecting the ingredients, the secret ones that make it so amazing ARENT in the photo! :-D If I went showing that to people, my boyfriend might just leave me for someone else who can cook as good as I can!! haha!!

Hmm so anyway, my laptop is broken **CRY** thus why I am unusually silent. It can be assured that I am keeping busy with sewing and have completed one dress for the markets coming up in December. Its on the 20th so I have a bit of time to fuss around and make them perfect :-) Yes so the master of the house (mister weepantz himself) has told me that Im not allowed to get my laptop fixed until I have had the oven fixed and I have a bit of spare cash. So it might take a while to get my lappy back online. But I have his desktop in the mean time :-) well when hes not home!!!

Anyway, back to ironing some new fabric I picked up the other day at Spotlight. I got a bunch of fat 1/4's some of the fabric I know I will be going back for yardage... :-p

For more creative spaces go HERE

Another One Down..

Here is my second handmade Christmas gift for 2009. A set of skittles just like these ones by london mummy.

I used some paisley fabric by max new that I picked up at my local quilt shop. Instead of using fabric scraps for the ties, I used bias binding and secured it with a running stitch. I also attached felt numbers to each skittle made of felt, attached with a blanket stitch.

This is the first time Ive gotten creative with hand stitching. But I'm so glad I took the timer to sit down and make it right, they look awesome!! Im sure lil Charlie, who is 3 weeks younger than Olly will get some good use out of them!

Next.... Crayon Rolls I think... :-)

Finger Painting Fun.

Yesterday while I was doing some handsewing in the patio, I let the kids do some finger painting. This is the first time that Oliver has experienced paint on his fingers, but he loved it, got right into it and got all painty!

Here are the photos!!

the sewing I was doing? Well I hope to have that finished and blogged later today. :-)

One Christmas Present Finished!

Woo Hoo!!!

1 Down, sooooo many to go!!!! I think a certain little girl will be super excited when she opens this one on christmas morning!!!

Wordless Weekend - Drowned Rat...

More HERE

New Dresses

So Ive been very busily designing my first dress for the markets. Originally I had planned to make it with a shirred back, but on the second testing it just didnt sit right, so I decided to make the dress with a zipper instead. I am yet to add a shash around the join which I will do when I go to get more of the stripey fabric. So here's some photos... with one very excited model (who doesnt know its her Christmas present, I told her its for another person so she cant have it).

\

So its my own pattern which I drafted to Ruth's measurements and I intend to downsize to infant sizing so that I can sell them at the markets with my nappies as matching sets.

The Fabric I used was a stretch denim which I was given by Ling a while ago in return for some newborn huggies that never fitted Oliver. (He was a massive baby) I think she got it from Brunswick Fabrics.

The Feature fabric is called Summer Daze. I think its by Moda, I couldnt find it on google, I bought it at my local quilting shop. I have also made nappies with this fabric for my shop.

The straps are attached at the back by a snap so they can be worn in different ways.

I am yet to add a sash of the Summer Daze fabric and an applique or embroidery to the front for embelishment on the skirt.

Now off to make more Christmas Presents!!!!!

My Creative Space

This week in my creative space I have been pattern drafting. I have been making a new design for my market stalls so that I can offer dress and nappy packs. (also, this is a fantastic excuse to use my lovely girly fabrics to make some perdy dresses)

So as you can see from the photo, I have my trusty pattern making books on the right as well as my notebook so I can write my measurements and notes in. On the machine is the dress (well its to my daughter's size so its more a top) and in the background the book I have been reading for about 12mths... Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Ive also been doing some Christmas sewing. I started making some felt fruit and veg last night and today I hope to get started on some other stuff also. Ahh under the pump again... LOL as always...

Head HERE for more creative space goodness.

Better Late than Never...

Okay so I finally finished the bibs for my market stall on Monday. They weren't quite ready for Saturday just gone, I had spent far too much time giggling with my kids and didnt finish them off! Hee hee! So the bibs are now done and ready for the next market .. yay!!

here's a pic of each style.. trust me, there's lots more!!

Tuesday Tip #4

Sewing New Patterns!

The first time you sew a new pattern is a little daunting. You open up the envelope and there inside is that thing you have been coveting for so long. But it can be scary! There are a few things you can do to make it less so and make certain that when you do sew your garment it will be just gorgeous!

1. Read Read Read...

Always pre-read a pattern before you even put pattern to fabric. The instructions are there for a reason!! (I tell this to my partner all the time when he's putting things together.) Just because we know how to sew doesnt mean we wont encounter a new technique we havent tried before. So get those instructions out, give them a good read, notice how the pattern is meant to be laid out, and look up any new techniques you dont know how to do. Information is the key to success!

2. Follow the Instructions and Go Slow...

Go slowly, the first time you try out a new pattern is going to be exactly that, NEW. So read the instructions carefully, even though you have already familiarised yourself with them... (I cant tell you how many times ive stuffed things up by not reading things as I go!)

3. If all else fails, try it out...

If you are still confused after your first read through, perhaps try it out on a cheap fabric instead of your good one! It means you will be able to try things out and remember how you can do things differently next time.

Have fun sewing all your new patterns!

For more Tips head over to Carmel's

Market Debrief...

Well, the market is over... It was a stifling hot 31 degrees in a non ventilated room with a glass ceiling. Oliver was hot and bothered but was so well behaved.

The positives?? Hmm I spoke to a lot of lovely people about cloth nappies. Gave out all of my business cards and the coffee stall was about 6m away. I only sold one nappy, but I think that the fact that I gave out ALL of my cards and added a few people to my mailing list makes it a positive.

I also met some other lovely crafty ladies as well. :)

So now that Im home, I have updated (and completely re designed) the website and now have it working just how I want it. As well as stocked up with market leftovers. Off to sew bibs tonight or tomorrow so that I can get my Christmas specials up and running. :) As well as make a few little dresses.

Okay, so now that's done, I also wrote my Christmas list. I made the decision to make handmade gifts this year for the children in our families. So there are a few of Novy's crayon rolls, a couple of sensory books, and a bunch of other handmade gifts on the to do list. I just hope I get it all done in time. Ahhh Im such a sucker for the constant deadline...

What are you making for Christmas??

Wordless Weekend

boredom wins sometimes

Tuesday Tip #3

My Tip for today is to
know your machine, how it works and keep it clean.

Dont be afraid to pull your sewing machine apart. Read the manual and look at the section for machine maintenance and remember to continually clean out all of the lint and dust inside the machine and oil it regularly. A great link with tips on how to spring clean your sewing machine is at craft nectar.

Its also important to remember to change your needle regularly. The lady at my sewing machine shop said that a needle is good for about 4 hours of sewing, otherwise it gets blunt and starts skipping stitches.

The best tip to do with cleaning your machine is DONT BE SCARED! for such a long time I didnt unscrew anything on my machine for fear of not remembering how to get it back together. It has only been since starting to sew really really regularly that I have thrown caution to the wind and picked up my screw driver.

Once you start cleaning your machine regularly you will notice how much better it works and how much happier your craft and sewing time will be.

For more Tuesday Tips head over to solomons sewing.

Monday Cooking Lessons

One of the things I love to spend my time doing is cooking. I inherited my keen cooking ability from my gran who was the most amazing cook. Her offerings at afternoon tea were always divine and even making simple sandwiches for a party was a feat and she would make them deliciously interesting every time. She was always willing to lend her baking, sandwich making or simple cooking skills at any opportunity. I would love to get my hands on her recipes to be honest because the things she made were down right delicious and she did something to every dish that made it different to the cookbook. (I think this was the addition of love)

So one thing I hope to pass on to my daughter Ruth and hopefully Oliver as well is a love of cooking. Ruth has always enjoyed baking and we generally make muffins, cupcakes, cookies or muesli bars each week. But our oven is broken at the moment (oh isnt everything in our house?!) so she hasnt gotten to do much cooking of late.

Today I decided it was cooking day and I decided to make one of my favourite things, pasta. I didnt think Ruth would be interested as she was playing a silly matching game on my computer (mummy needed a break) but she came over and asked if she could help. What I thought would have been a hindrance was a fantastic bonding time for us, and Im so glad that she has begun to inherit from me what I inherited from my gran. She even said at one stage "Mummy, You are teaching me to cook, I am learning" which was a beautiful thing to hear.

rolling out the dough. one of our favourite parts

the pasta waiting to be cooked. mmm it looks delicious doesnt it?

the finished product.

Chicken, mushroom and parmesan tortolini with creamy pumpkin and baby spinach sauce. (My own recipe)

Looking Back...

Last night I was up insanely late with the boy. Teething perhaps?? Please give me an answer magical baby and parent fairy!! Anyway, I was going through some old photos of Little Princess Ruth and thought I would share them. Yup, completely unrelated to sewing today, more about bragging to be honest.

all worth it...

Just a few minutes old. Well after she had recieved oxygen. She is so beautiful This is our first ever hug. Im pretty sure my first words to her were "hello... Im your mum". Pretty sure the nurse said something like "She knows that..." LOL!! All the wonderful emotions come back when I look at these photos because I remember how horrible the pregnancy was (I was very sick for the entire time) the very moment you witness in this photo is the moment when I think... "oh that was all worth it, because I am holding the most beautiful little girl in the whole world in my arms right now."

big bum!

This is one of my favourite photos I have of Ruth. She was about 6 days old. It was her first time in a cloth nappy. I didnt know anything about Modern Cloth or the alternatives that were available for "cloth nappying". I was so embarassed to take a baby out in such a massive nappy. I wanted to use cloth nappies so much, but at the time it was "So much cooler" to use disposables because there was no apparent alternative. So whenever I was in public I would use disposable nappies. Cloth was my secret addiction! hee hee.

I am now so glad I discovered Modern Cloth Nappies! Also the ability to stick up for my belief that cloth is a better option not only for the environment but most importantly, for my babies. I love my now very public cloth addiction and I am glad that I have the opportunity to share something better with every other mum in the world. :)

Now back to the present where I have 8 nappies ready to be given elastic, turned and topstitched waiting on my sewing table for me!!!

why is it they wont stay still when you want them to?