My Creative Space

Last night I set about showing you the material I was going to make a cushion with......well I found some more material and managed ,two completed and another half done...(should have finished more but you know how it is when "Farmer Wants A Wife" finale is on!)

These will be making their way to Carol for her great project.

More creative spaces head here. 

Can you help me? I may be in the market for a new camera....any suggestions on great digital SLR's  or what you need to look for ?

Cushion Making

I have been admiring all the beautiful cushions that are being sent to  Carol and I have finally decided to get on and make some myself to send her. Once she put the call out for children's cushions I thought- "that is something I can do"

All cushions are being sent onto Queensland to help with making things homely again.

So beginning with this Ikea fabric I am off to sew. I am using this tutorial for help.

If you are reading this Carol I hope that is cool with you?

April is coming

One of the good things about it nearly being a new month.

Now where's that cuppa?

Weekending

 The weekend was full of 

Busy Bees at church

Pedicures with Meg
Filling out high school applications for next year

Engagement party attending

Nana naps and a couple of church services thrown in as well

Today was all about recovery mode for the house and for me...a little parent help in Fraser's class, A lot of housework and dirty dishes to be attended to ...lunch with my sister and dad.. weekly food shopping . and now onto the finishing of my playgroup prep for tomorrow and some playdough making.

Unfortunately I couldn't squeeze any crafting in  which is what I would love to have been doing instead of housework, that a few hours later has all reappeared again.

I nearly forgot..I won two, yes TWO blog giveaways over the weekend. I will share when they arrive. WOOHOO

 

Is it really only Monday? Oh well here's to a good week hope yours is too.

Mum's YoYo's

In my creative space yesterday I said I was using some yoyo's......

I have many special things around my home and in my creative space that belonged to my mum...

mum has been gone 13years after losing her very short battle with cancer aged 54 years.

My mum is responsible for my creative abilities as she always encouraged , modelled and taught me skills as I was growing up.

When I had my first baby we would spend evenings together sewing clothes for my little one and I would always be learning something from her.

So I feel blessed to have things that were hers especially things made with her very own hands....she didn't have a fancy yoyo maker but patiently used a cardboard pattern and hand cut and sewed each one. I am thinking she had the idea of some quilt or bigger project in mind just never got there.

Now I dig through the basket, regularly thinking about the materials and what they were scraps from and how I can attach them to something I have now created.

My Creative Space

My Creative Space

...is about playing with...

pre-loved embroidery hoops

heirloom buttons

Inherited yoyo's and doilies from my mum's precious stash


Other creative spaces can be found here.

Quilt or Blanket ?

I had an afternoon off from work today and the plan was to tackle the dishes, washing, floors and the other myriad of things calling my name.....but....


instead I finished of  a blanket. I don't think I can justify calling it a quilt when I was too scared/unknowing of doing the binding (note to self : learn to bind a quilt  properly)  so I used some lovely soft fleece and it became a blanket.


I used a variety of scraps - some I inherited from my mums stash and others just collected along the way...nothing special about the fabric but having put it all together I know that my family will be lining up to be the first to snuggle...I can never have enough lying around on our couches.

Latest Read

I am taking a break from my favourite author to read a series of books that I first introduced my 12 year old to.

I bought her Book One thinking she would really enjoy the read....I also thought I should read it myself , just to make sure I wasn't steering her in the wrong direction....

Hey I loved it! Being a Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Hardy Boys, Famous Five and Secret Seven reader as  a kid, these were taking me back to being 12 again.

I can't justify purchasing all the series as Meg is not as into them as I am, sooooo it is off to the local library.

Did you know that you can peruse your library catalogue online and order the books you want to be delivered to the closest library?  We can and I am making the most of this service  with these books and many others that I have on my list to read.....

Note: For all those Jodi Picoult fans out there I see  her latest book being advertised in the "junk mail" that arrived in my letterbox...I am off to source that ASAP.

Phew!

Did I say yesterday that it was just 6 - six year olds (make that eight)....for 1 1/2 hours..? Did I mention they were all boys?

Meg did a fantastic job as the games coordinator and Daddy did a great job at the live music for pass the parcel....

and the main thing is that the birthday boy had a great time.....I am glad that we only do these once a year.....

Friday

Another Friday arrived.....

How lovely to be able to have a cuppa with this lovely lady and then to have another lovely friend drop in also for a cuppa.

So nice to have the time to sit and chat about stuff we like and stuff we are doing...

The afternoon was all about party preparations...not that is is a very big party in fact it will be quite an intimate gathering of six ,six year olds tomorrow.

But none the less there was food to gather, drinks to organise and a cake to be created...

Most I got done ( all bare the cake -there's always the morning - said in true procrastination style)

Tonight I have some Superhero masks to finish for the guests..

Saw this lovely post and was inspired to give it a boy twist

Happy weekending to you..

My Creative Space

Pattern Testing Complete....

I used some material in my stash to road test the pattern.....I wore it to work yesterday and I am very pleased with the style.

It is what I am used to with a wrap skirt which made the drafting of a pattern and sewing it up fun....

I will be sewing up a few more of these for myself in the near future.

Go check out here for where you can buy your own pattern

and check out more creative spaces here.

My six year old

Six  we love you's....

'cause you give the best hugs....

'cause you are the best lego builder

'cause you have the cutest freckles on your nose....

'cause you love to laugh until it is way too late....

'cause you are the most avid movie watcher we know....

' cause you are our "guy" who has has bought much love and fun to our lives.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRASER  XXXXXX

Birthday Bag

There has been a lot of birthday talk around these parts lately...and tomorrow couldn't come quick enough for the littlest guy in the house....

But rather than show you his presents, which he doesn't have yet and he soooo wishes he did.....

I will show you the gift I have made for a little girl in his class that shares his birthday...

I like to have a "go to gift" for friends throughout the year.....but as the year ticks over to a new one I need to find a new "go to gift" for this year's pressie....I am thinking little bags for all the girls parties we go to...need to think on the boys gift before we head off to the next one.

Water fun

I mainly stick to the  topic of  family and my crafty interests here on my blog....but in my role as a Children's Pastor at my church - 3 days a week, I have many fun hours working with and organising programmes for children between the ages of birth and 12 years old.

Two mornings a week I co-ordinate two playgroups in which mums and their little ones come and play together.

So I am always looking for ideas and inspiration to add to my programmes. One such idea I came across and finally got around to putting together is a water wall (or as Fraser would have it a marble run)

I found this blog a great inspiration for all things relating to play and gave me some great start  points for my project

So here is my recycled water wall ....

Wedding Colour

This would have to have been one of the most colourful weddings we have been to....

1968 theme encouraged the hippie in most, the bride arriving in the Kombie....

So I felt that I was certainly colourful enough to mix it with the best.

Pattern Testing

Today being Friday I had some time to chose one of the many projects I have unfinished...I instead chose to get on with a mission I chose to accept...

PATTERN TESTER for Marina

I put my hand up and so I set to work ...I will reveal the results hopefully by the end of the weekend.

My Creative Space

My Creative Space ......

is trying to convince my hubbie that obscuring our view of the garden with a whole assortment of granny's linen is a great idea......
(my inspiration came from this lovely blog)

More creative spaces here.

I wonder....

This is another birthday we should have been celebrating.....


I have spent a lot of time wondering what would life be like with a fifteen year old in the house...
Would there be boy talk?
Would there be a gaggle of other like minded teens in the house?
Would there be questions that only a mum could  answer?
Would dad be the coolest dad to all the friends? 
Would you love having your little six year old brother harassing you?
Would you share secrets with your sister?


I guess I am only left wondering as we celebrate another birthday without.


 I instead hold tight to the memories that we have and freely let my emotions go.


Here's to our big girl and to what turning fifteen would be like?

Colourful Treats

I arrived home from work today and found the cutest package waiting for me.....

Something I had ordered a while ago ...I saw this shop via here...

I just loved the colourful array in such a tiny box.....

Some fun bamboo tags for my creations....maybe this will be the kick I need to get on and do some more work on my little shop front.

If you want some of these check out this Esty store for your own.

Wax and boats

I was keen to try some of the activities from this....

So with my Kid's Church kids we brainstormed all the stories in the bible with boats in them and there are quite a few...we then made origami boats . While they did that I began to melt the beeswax ( that I picked up while here).

The kids were fascinated at the coating the wax gave the boats..they were keen to get them home and try them in the pool,bath, sink or any other body of water they could find.

Meg took some photos to show.....

Lucky I bought a cheap saucepan as it will be dedicated just for melting wax now!!!

Attire Dilemma over???

There was another reason to head out yesterday afternoon...remember my wedding attire dilemma? Well with the wedding just one week away, I was still undecided if my plans were going to come off....A while ago I saw a shop mentioned over here and thought I would check it out one day....well that day was yesterday and too my lovely surprise there was another fantastic shop right next door.....

With half expecting to not have any luck I headed inside ...and look what I found....

My size perfectly...a little sleeve which was a must.....long (not a mini) which was another requirement for me....now just to find my girdle the perfect under garment!!!

I couldn't resist this crocheted cardigan either...

...the boys waiting to give there once over and stamp of approval.