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my dad is back and there are big happy grins all round! he's here for a few weeks before heading off on an adventure around the country (more on his crazy plans later). we are now fully stocked up with vegemite and freddo frogs, and whisker-y cuddles and grandpa teasing.
"he's a cute old man, isn't he mumma?"
yes. yes, he is!
i went to my nia class this morning, took off my ugg boots ready to shake it...and remembered i'd let my three year old paint my toenails on the weekend.
YEAH.
it was the most beautiful misty spring-y morning, even more appreicted after the snow and rain we had all day yesterday. we set off for an early egg hunt. i always wish we were hanging out with all our extended family on special occasions like today, and get a bit sad...but also felt so so happy for the gorgeous day and my gorgeous family.
i was so proud of the dresses i made! they fit well and looked so sweet. i am not a technically-skilled sewer, so to pull these off was a big deal for me. for yindi's dress i used a pattern found on etsy - (i am new to using patterns too), and ivy's was a copy of her very favourite dress. (a lot of the fabric was thrifted vintage sheets).
banjo repeatedly picked up these two eggs and then threw them on the ground in front of us, pleased as can be!
and wonders never cease - a family photo. thats for you mum!
after our hunt we enjoyed our hot cross buns for breakfast. this is the first year we (and i say we as it was a joint baking effort and mick gets huffy if i don't give him credit) made them and they looked edible! also for you mum. thanks for the yummy recipe - i liked thinking about you eating the same buns all the way over there :)
happy easter!
i sort of forgot it was easter this weekend until friday when i went to the shops to discover people in a mad craze buying up all the easter junk left on the shelves. clever me bought easter treats back in arizona (yay for cost plus world market and their cadbury treats!), but not clever me had completed zero easter crafting, baking or decorating with my children. i also decided (on friday night to be exact) to begin a tradition of making the girls each a new dress for easter sunday. yes, what a good idea! but here i am a few minutes before midnight on easter's eve - having just snuck in to hang two very homemade looking dresses into my sleeping girls room, table is decorated, hot cross buns JUST came out of the oven, easter treats from arizona located (hmm, unpacked suitcase!), and baskets ready with yummies in them.
today i learned:
that when you dye brown eggs they turn out looking like mini dinosaurs laid them
how to make a bread basket (note to self: photograph before eating)
it is possible to whip up 2 dresses if sustained by bad chick-flicks and stolen easter eggs.
whatever you are doing for easter, wishing you a happy one!
ivy wants to be an 'animal doctor' when she grows up. the girl loves animals (creepy ones like lizards and snakes included), and has such a big kind heart for all creatures...she longs and longs for her own farm, or at least a cat or a dog - something we haven't been able to commit to with all the moving around we've been doing. so you can imagine her big big delight when grandpa chipped in for her to do some horse-riding lessons!
her teacher is a lovely german woman ivy is learning to communicate with the horses just through slight body movements rather than with reigns - its amazing to watch!
before her lesson, ivy is given the responsibility to groom and prepare the horse, as well as taking care of it afterwards, along with the equipment. she spends about half an hour brushing, rubbing down and hoof-cleaning...often sneaking me a look and bursting into grin when our eyes meet.
this move has been tough on ivy...she has transitioned so easily every other time, but this time has been different. so sad for my mumma-heart to see her lonely and withdrawn. having this time to eonnect with an animal has been so so wonderful and healing for her.
feeling so grateful for horses and dads (especially dads who are coming back to visit us next week!).
my poor etsy shop has been abandoned lately, though i have high hopes for it - the reality of playing shopkeeper with three very helpful 'assistants' (and the scary state of my studio space) has worn me down! my suitcase from arizona is sitting still full on my bedroom floor, and while it serves as a handy spot to load all my clean laundry onto, i really want/need to unpack it and upload all my goodies to the shop. for now though - i have listed my two unsold baby quilts...it is really ridiculous how i obsess over all things quilty these days. talk about turning into my mother!
oh quilts...i love you so! and etsy shop...i love you too...i'll pay more attention to you one of these days, i promise.
my family decorated the house with every silk and piece of fabric they could find
all chalkboard art dedicated to me, and me only
gorgeous flowers and balloons delivered, from my lovely in-laws
emails and messages from far away loved ones (ie the only time my brothers ever email!)
food. lots of good food - including a box of aussie treats from my mum - see crumpet picture above
getting my birthday wish of sunshine (even though it was only a few hours), and laying in that sunshine admiring my adorable children, especially banjo with his 3-part hairstyle of curls, dreads, and straight.
handmade gifts (carved twig necklace by yindi, fimo painted dread bead by ivy, see above)
not having to change a single nappy or deal with bedtime!
all good. well, apart from the getting older bit...
my girl loves to handmake gifts for her friends, and last week planned out this sweet little soft birdy (inspired by a similar bird her much-adored-and-missed friend lilith made for her) for a friend's birthday.
we thought it would be fun to make a little tutorial as this makes a fun morning sewing project!
supplies needed:
template, cotton fabric for the birds, wool sweater scraps or felt for wings, needle & embroidery thread, 2 buttons, lambswool, pins, scissors.
ivy made 2 teeny baby birds to tuck into one wing (arrr! so cute!), and we cosied some hairties into the other wing before wrapping it all up ready for the birthday party.
send us a picture if you make one! ivy will be thrilled :)
while i was in arizona, i got to hang out in two yummy and inspiring studios - belonging to sisters liz & emily. they used to live next to do each other but since my last trip to az they've both moved houses but still live closeby. i loved seeing how they had both set up their new creative spaces...want to snoop around them with me?
liz makes all kinds of cool stuff, but jewellery (yes i am going to spell it the aussie way!) is her first love. she has her metalsmith station on one side of the studio where she melts, hammers, stamps and does other cool stuff to silver...
on the other side of the studio she has a long workbench with computer, sewing stuff, baby stuff, and just cool stuff to look at. an island in the middle with lots of storage underneath. liz is all about storage, and being organized. i need her to live closer to me!
one end of the studio is for her boys to hang out in, so lots of fun stuff for them to play with and look at. i love this alphabet she made for them :)
liz can make anything. she's clever like that. while i was there i helped her with a massive king size quilt she started - totally her style - grungy and funky and colourful. i can't wait to see it finished!
i'm completely in love with the necklace she made for me....arrrr! i got to rummage through all of her stuff and say "make this bit like this...then do this here...and yep i want that!"...and it turned out exactly how i wanted!
(liz's online catalogue with all her designs is here)
while liz's house is full of metal and bikes and 3 little boys...her sister em is up the road with 3 little girls! emily is also insanely multi-talented and makes heaps of different cool things for her home and family. she has a big open studio off her kitchen, with lots of space to move around in, and handmade-by-her (she is amazing!) workbenches and shelving.
em has a great eye for colour and i'm in love with all her grungy and distressed touches she adds to her work.
emily makes signs and frames. really cool ones. she builds the frames herself, then uses tin, paint, mod podge, paper, cardboard and goodness knows what else to create these funky pieces.
i think she's so clever to takes basic stuff and turn it into this!...so rustic and unique. i brought my favourite of her signs home with me...
can't decide where to put it yet and it has been travelling from my bedroom to the living room to the kitchen to outside!
em & liz are each offering a $30 gift certificate to their shops as a giveaway! leave a comment below, telling us why your life is 'beauty full'...and a winner will be drawn at random on friday!
winners!!! picked by the true and trusted squint-&-point method (this time via mick's hairy finger):
katie, please email me so i can organise your winnings! morgs, birthday weekends must bring good luck hey? mick and his hairy finger finally came through!
i want to bow down and kiss the earth for bringing spring to us this week - the sun coming out, and the simple joy of being able to spend all day outside and open kitchen windows and doors has made me feel like an entirely new person!
we had a beautiful, sunny weekend...spent crafting, enjoying friends at a birthday party, playing for hours outside, riding bikes galore, journal writing on the grass and lying in the sunshine reading a yummy new recipe book.
spring! yes, yes and YES.
