*e*

sweet feet

toasty warm toes and proud little hearts are what we have here today folks...ivy and i spent a day together in nicole's slipper making workshop and can you believe it - we started off with a big pile of fluffy wool and we made our own SHOES! could that little 7 year old handmade rainbow be any sweeter i ask you?

oh how my dreams of mother-daughter crafting days are here!

*coming soon to nicole's etsy shop are kits and instructions for making your own slippers (and, nicole started a blog - check it for more inspiration!)

blast from our *fun* past

i recently dug out some boxes that we had stored over 4 years ago when we moved from australia to LA. some of the stuff i have no idea why i kept...other stuff i felt overjoyed to discover (like the journal entry from 1992 declaring my true love to a certain MF. more on that another day), including a big ol scrapbook documenting 'em + mick, the early years'. oh.my.goodness. the memories! the laughter and emotion that erupted from turning the pages in this book. i am so so glad i scrapbooked all of this - despite the fluorescent cardstock, ripped photo edges and other questionable techniques i inflicted upon these pages...there we are. there are the memories!

like the time we went bowling with some friends...and dressed each other up in the ugliest outfits we could come up with...

all those murder mystery dinner parties we had...

the time we fashioned a 'big bird' limousine from a beat up old van, and took my friend out for her birthday...

how we dressed up as shazza and dunc from bonnydoon to greet our friends at the airport...

the time we worked for a children's theatre company and took 'santa's bush christmas' on tour...

the time we decided to get in the car and drive 6 hours just to see where the southern and indian oceans meet...

the surprise 'little kid' birthday party i threw for mick's 23rd...

the ridiculous poses we felt compelled to do at every landmark while backpacking in europe...

you get the idea!

the thing is, i realised two very sad truths while sitting cross legged on the floor with that big beast of a scrapbook on my lap.

1 - i haven't made a scrapbook for well over a year. (bad, bad, bad - i need to figure out a more time efficient system of storing and documenting our life stories)

2 - i cannot remember the last fun, spontaneous act i did! what happened to the fun us - the ones who clearly looked for any opportunity to put on silly clothing and create fun no matter what the situation?

fun must be had! life is meant to be fun! silly = happy...

stress, tiredness, jobs, no jobs, babies, toddlers, children...they shouldn't be allowed to take the fun away from us! and i am determined to do better at finding the fun again.

new motto - find fun!

(and never use fluorescent cardstock again...)

from plain...to less plain

plain tshirt

less plain tshirt!

 

little doilies (adorable hey? got them here) and random stitches = easy and happy birthday present for my friend!

still summer!

i know it's technically not, but summer seems to go on for a very long time here - and we love it! especially when you can spend the evening frolicking on the river in bathers...

 

 

we went with two of my brothers (the two who compete for favourite uncle title), auntie kez and my dad (my dad is so cute)

(mick proving he is not just a nerdy scientist)

unky ollie and auntie kerrie taking the girls out for a very gentle spin on the tubes. they could have happily stayed in the water all evening.

and i could have just as happily sat on the shore all evening too, with my camera - capturing the bliss that is hanging out with family, watching the interactions between my children and their beloved uncles, auntie and grandpa.

summer won't last forever, nor will our time here in western australia.

gotta soak it all up while we have it!

easter crafting

i accidentally tasted way too much raw egg last easter while blowing eggs for the girls to paint, so this year we are using wool and water instead...

want to see how?

yindi and i demonstrate in a video over here at todays mama. she's such a good assistant that i might just make her a sparkly gown to wear in the next one ;)

the girls and i are currently cleaning/sorting out the disastrous craft room in order to take stock of what goodies we have and make plans to make stuff in the upcoming easter weekend and school break. so far all three of us are covered in pink glitter from a bottle exploding on us, have discovered we own about 100 tiny paintbrushes, keep getting distracted looking at long lost drawings and other random artwork and have piles up to our chins!

what craftiness is happening at your place this easter?

the three year knitted baby blanket

it's finally finished! and i am just proud as a puffed up little squirrel with my knitted blanket! you know, the one i started for yindi when i was pregnant with her?!! there's evidence of it in pictures on my blog over the past three years (like this one here - except i took out the pink bits and added other colours for mr boy)...and now, it is finally finished, hoorah! i have never knitted a blanket (or anything larger than a scarf if you must know) and clearly i lost focus several times on a project so 'big' (ha)...but wow-oh-wow, this wonky little baby blanket makes me so happy!

it's made from patagonia nature cotton (according to the website it's great for 'fast projects! let me also recommend it for very slow projects!) - i clearly remember buying my first balls of it in santa monica in a trendy little yarn shop around the corner from ivy's school - and the rest i found online somewhere for cheap (bina, can you remember the site?)

lots of good memories knitting up these squares. and lots of different places they were knitted in too. ivy helped me hand wind all the balls, she knitted some rows in there as well :)

so although it was originally intended for yindi, and then changed course to be for banjo...it's really both of theirs, as evidenced by the love-fest these two enjoy daily on the colourful squares.

it's small enough to share hey?!!

doggy-i-do

i can now cross 'been to dog wedding' off my list of things to experience in this lifetime ;)

one of ivy's little friends insisted that her dog got married before being allowed to make puppies with her boyfriend so of course we went to the ceremony (i do love good morals you know).  guests attended in their canine finery...

 

 

 

promises were made, and plans for the puppies were at the front of the groom's mind...and then finally it was all legal. they make a handsome couple, don't you think?


it was quite a 'moving' ceremony, followed by a good amount of sniffing!

chopstix waits *march sponsor giveaway

i first stumbled across chopstix waits a few years ago and fell in love with her amazing array of fabrics, prints and textures - unique, cool and handmade. everything i love in clothing! you can tell by browsing her shop that chopstix loves what she does, and puts energy and passion into every creation. everything is a one-of-a-kind! 

as i am always intrigued by the inner workings of artists minds and work spaces, so chopstix kindly answered some questions for a little peek into the where, why and how...

*when and what was the first item you ever sewed?
Not quite sure on this -I was really taken with freeform crochet around 5 years old, and i remember making sure every stuffed animal around had a wonky crochet dress to wear. Many tiny awkward pillows were stitched up at this time as well.

*what is your favorite part of designing?
The constant evolving stash of textiles and fiber hanging around my house. I love the process of making and working with my hands. I think i am love with the craft, it is something of a meditation, and design is a product of that.

*what makes you the most inspired?
Traditional textiles and clothing. Everything from India , Eastern europe, central Asia, Africa and the Middle east.

*what is your studio/creative space like?
A mess! I live in a very classic 1920's house, and the whole thing is something of a huge studio. I spend most of my time sewing in my treetop attic, have a couple of committed dye spaces, do a lot of spinning in my living room, and outside when it is nice. My dinning room is more of a fiber prep space than for eating at the moment.

 

i own two of her awesome dready hairbands...the most comfy and cool-looking things i have to shove all this hair in (room to store snacks and other useful items in there too!)

i am crazy in love with her patchwork skirts and petal pixie apron skirt.

...(drum roll please) this weekends giveaway is for your very own, custom made fairy hem wrap skirt - quite possibly the most loved item in my entire wardrobe! i always get compliments whenever i wear it...therefore i wear it a LOT ;)

(LOOK HOW LITTLE YINDI IS - THIS IS CRAZY! photos by sara)
 

so while i am here wondering how my moonpie baby is all grown up and a new baby now occupies that same sling, go ahead and leave a comment below to enter and win your own fabulicious skirt! we can be all matchy-matchy and share the compliment fest.

a winner will be drawn at random on tuesday.

thanks chopstix!

***WINNER IS RENEE!

 

(renee please email me so we can arrange for you to be twirling in fairy-wrap splendour!)

spice + colour

today i headed into the city with a friend to spice up our day!

yindi chose some dahl to bring home and we got some indian delights...

which we promptly ate in the park, yum!

then it was on to get some inspiration and supplies at treetops
 

oh so yummy!

(the food and the wool)

sending some spice + colour to your day too (minus the burning tongue and the empty wallet!)

bliss, defined

 

a big fat mango on a hot hot day.

what's your bliss?