Mini Nappy Bag

I wanted to get some doll accessories for my daughter but when I saw the little nappy bags in the shop, I knew I could do something just as good myself. So I sat down last night and cut out fabric and then put it all together tonight. I pinned the main fabric and lining together, inserted the arm straps and said to my husband - "I'm either finished this in 5 mins time or I've really stuffed it up" and TA DA - I pinned it right!!!



The defining moment - before the final sewing:

Christmas Pins

I have had a lovely time putting these Christmas pins/brooches together. We are giving them to kinder teachers and child carers.


The finished product included attaching them to some cardstock to give them a little more form.

Fairy Garden Party

We had a Fairy Garden Party theme for my daughter's 4th birthday. I made felt mushroom decorations to put in the garden but as it turned into a very rainy day, they wound up as table decorations instead. There was a rainbow colour theme, chocolate ladybugs scattered about and many paper butterflies in different colours and sizes. The cake was 2 fairies walking along a path and I coloured and created the chocolate dots for the path (easier then I thought!). I got a lot of inspiration from the Hostess with the Mostess blog and Bella Grace Party Designs - both fabulous blogs full to the brim with party theme ideas.

Decorations:




Table:


Birthday Cake:


Birthday Girl:


Pixie:


There must be lollies:

Any fairies need a new home?

My Creative Space

This little beauty is on my agenda at the moment. I had a failed attempt a while ago where the toadstool pattern just didn't work but Karen has passed on a much better tutorial which is working out really well. Too cute!

Making superheros

There probably comes a time in every mothers life where they have to come up with a superhero costume. It wasn't my daughter but my nieces who asked for them - one wanted Wonder Woman and the other wanted to be Bat Girl. We found some foam bat masks in the shops so I just needed to make a cape for Bat Girl. For the wonder woman outfit I made a cape, 2 arm bands, a crown and a blue sparkly mini skirt. My daughter is modelling the WW outfit in the next picture and is a bit short for it all. I used the Curly Pops tutorial for the crown shape (Karen - thanks for heading me that way!) I got a lot of inspiration from the crafster website which provided an array of different WW costumes that people had made and I could pick and choose ideas from that. I fashioned the cape myself - I cut one large piece of fabric to use for the cape then cut a narrow strip (at least 4 inches wide) to make the collar and tie (its basically a thick piece of home made binding). I then inserted the gathered material into part of the collar and stitched the collar and ties in one go.

Check out the finished costumes below!




Massive thanks to a very wonderful lady at the fabric shop who gave us the end of the bolt for no extra charge which meant I had enough fabric to make an extra black cape for Boo! After all the excitement with the other girls, she wouldn't have wanted to miss out and I'm sure we can think of MANY different uses for a black cape!

A-line skirt set

An A-line skirt:


I've actually had some fun with the tracing paper (AKA baking paper roll) and drafted this skirt based on skirts DD already has. I've made some amendments to my pattern and should be able to make another one much better next time. I'm surprised at how easy it was to work it out.

The skirt completes a set with the matching appliqued tee:

My new bag

I put together this bag last night. I was finished by 9.45pm which was very exciting! Its a simple box shape on the bottom with a sash and handles. I was worried about doing the top stitching but my new sewing machine worked perfectly going through all the many layers of this bag without a hitch.

Progress shot of new bag

The fabric has been chosen and cut out - denim and Wildwood and Michael Miller Dazzle Daisy as the lining (the greens/lime match perfectly).

It begins

Last night I helped my Mum out with some quilting squares. It was one of those moments where she bought her project around with the hope of using my sewing machine and then said she was too tired and we wouldn't have time. I ignored this (teehee) and set up the sewing machine for her and put out the cutting mat.. and soon enough it was 10pm and she was completing the final square. Whoopie! I must say that it is *wonderful* to sit around with someone else while you're sewing or doing some other craft. I egged Mum on, helping with her cutting, ironed her fabrics for her, helped her make decisions like what width seams to use etc.

I felt sooooo motivated afterwards and set about doing some sewing today and I made some appliqued tees for DD. I had an old tshirt which was too stained to wear so I cut out the unmarked designs and attached them onto a new tshirt. The tshirt comes from a matching tee and skirt set, so now we still have a matching tee for the skirt! The second tee is a simple square of fabric and I have used blanket stitch as the border. I have used double sided interfacing for both tees.


I'm keen to make some dolls clothes for DD and to give as presents to friends with young kids. So I have started with this little nappy. I've used an offcut of fabric from the remnants bin at the fabric shop - probably sheeting fabric.

Task completed

I signed up for a Pay It Forward a long time ago and finally got it together just before heading off on holidays. Parcels went out to Emma and Car and have been received.

Happy 1st Birthday!

1 month old:


6 months old:


12 months old:


Our dear little boy is now 1 year old. The year has gone so quickly and he has learnt to do so much. Jem is now pulling up to standing on almost anything and getting quite interested in climbing all over us and gets upset that he can't get himself up onto the couch. Jem has always known what he wants, whether that be sleeping, eating phenomenal amounts of food, or something that he needs RIGHT NOW! This has been good as his messages have been somewhat easy to read. You've always been a very placid baby, very easy going and because of this, you probably get a bit more spoilt. Jem loves to hear me singing and thats often the easiest way to settle him to sleep when he's overtired. He loves to dance and he sways to the side whenever music is on and this is always accompanied by the biggest smile you could ever imagine :) He's always been interested in my rings and my jewellery, touching everything and trying to claim it as his. He adores his big sister and loves to see her first thing in the morning when she visits him and entertains him until there's more movement from Mum & Dad. The 2 will loll around in his bedroom - Jem in his cot and Sarah usually sitting on the couch making music on her toy laptop. Matt found Sarah actually in the cot with him one day last month (eep!). The 2 kids can play better together now - Sarah's favourite thing being to give Jem a big bear hug and then roll around on the floor with him. Jem seems to love it although his poor Mum is often shrieking away in the background.

I still remember when Jem was a newborn and we kept him in the bassinette in the hallway. The bassinette was on wheels and he would sleep in the lounge room overnight but we'd tuck him into the hallway to get him out of the main thoroughfare during the day. He's always been a really good sleeper and this did not phase him. His real bedroom was too far away for me to hear if he woke up, so it was nice that he was happy with this arrangement. It was sad when he grew way too quickly and couldn't fit in the bassinette any longer.

I can barely believe that you are now 1 year old. You have learnt to do so much in this amount of time and are really making yourself known in the family now. You love to have fun and we love to have fun with you. Can't wait to see your relationship with Sarah grow and see more of your personality shine through. Loving you very much, Mum & Dad.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

A little felt and stitching project to get me back into the swing of things.

New digital sewing machine!

Check it out! I got a new sewing machine for Christmas - my first digital sewing machine.. I was a bit hesitant but I finally had a chance to check it out last month and I love it! Its so smooth to run, very quiet, and the stitching looks sooooo good! Its the Janome they are selling at Costco if you are interested (and if they still have stock).