*e*

clothes for the dollies

(i found them like this recently, and got such a laugh...nice handmade underwear...practicing their sunbathing poses perhaps?)

my girls each have a bamboletta doll (ivy's - named "little ivy" was a custom made doll we ordered for her several years ago, and yindi's doll "sunny" i won in the doll purchasing lottery they sometimes offer, and was a gift for her 3rd birthday). these dolls are SO beautifully made and special to my girls - they are literally played with and loved every single day. when i was a child, i had a cabbage patch kid doll that i wanted so badly and loved dearly for years, i think that having one special doll in a childhood is such a lovely thing. my girls have grown so close to one another playing with their 'babies' (who are cousins of course), they come with us whenever we travel, and of course we throw birthday parties for them as well! every christmas i make new clothes for the dollies - simple pants and cardys from old tshirts or sweaters, easy elastic waisted skirts. my knitty friend in nz trades me sweet handknit cardigans for fabric, i tried my hand at some felt shoes last year (see below...and be prepared to laugh...). i've found a few patterns online that i've successfully followed (no small feat for me!), ie cross over reversible dolly top here - and i'm on the hunt for some more for this year. to be honest i think its just as fun for me to dress up the dolls as it is for the girls!


sometimes when i'm home alone i do their hair all fancy like ;)

little man turns three

i'm so far behind in blogging (theres still summer stuff i want to share, and an adventure from um, march!) that banjo's birthday came and went and i am only just uploading photos from it now! oh this BOY...i cannot imagine our family without him. he is a big solid boofy ball of cheeky, mischievious, sweet love. he loves cars, bikes, school buses, trucks, utes - anything with wheels and grunt. he rides his little pedal-less bike like a maniac (like unky sam)...he terrorizes his sisters and the dog. gets into everybodys car to hunt for gum and fiddles with all the settings and dials! he lovs to line up all his cars and will lay on the floor for hours playing with them. when i'm sad he will sing me a song (normally about cars, and very high pitched) gives the best kisses and cuddles and is a big mamas-boy...i'm the luckiest!

for his birthday daddy was away...so we girls spoiled him the best we could - his favourite breakfast, homemade cards and some new little toy cars...we had a picnic at the playground and went to the shops for lollies and balloons - his dream day!

i was up until goodness knows when the night before furiously finishing the doll i had started for him almost a year before! i may have been delirious from lack of sleep but it almost felt as if i were in labour with this doll (painful, in a different way!), finally birthed in time to give banjo before dinner. he opened the package, gave the doll a big bear hug and when the girls asked what his name was, he immediately answered "shimon". simon it is! (more on the dollmaking later...)

grandpa was home for dinner and we had cake, pass the parcel (nobody knows this game in america! criminal!) and many rounds of musical bobs to celebrate our dearest boy...

love him so much and can hardly believe he is a 'big boy' of THREE!

posts on his birth, one year, two years.

thankful journal

i found this little scrap of paper on ivy's bed this morning...she is always drawing, journalling, writing to process stuff she is going through. SO sweet! and reminded me of the daily gratitude journal i kept for a year. it made a difference, to list the good stuff like that. i'm going to make a new one for this year - and thought i'd share with you here an old article + simple instructions i created for a website a few years back, if you feel like making a daily gratitude journal for yourself (or a friend)...

wake up (noo!), make food, clean, make more food, drive people to the places they need to go, trip over toys, listen to screaming, respond to screaming with some of your own screaming, pay bills, wipe snotty noses, clean bottoms, chase chickens out of the house, try to get to the post office, hunt for missing shoe, make more food, get mad because someone didn’t come home at the time he said he would, respond to embaressingly overdue email, clean kitchen, find chicken poop in the house, put kids to bed, fold laundry, sort out recycling…

you know, the daily grind...whatever yours consists of - it can start to feel like it sucks. and bad things happen, people are mean to you, loved ones get sick, you run out of money...again!! life feels unfair and there is always someone who appears to have it better than you...stop me if this sounds familiar - i have the pity party for one planned out quite well!

every time I have stopped to think about what I DO have, instead of the life i don't have...it has been a much needed wake up call. choosing happy and choosing thankful is something as needed and important as breathing for me - so, in an attempt to eliminate pity parties, and in honor of thanksgiving – i have created a ‘thankful journal’, to ensure that I am consciously counting my blessings each day and building up a source of inspiration and strength for myself.

because my day does resemble the above, i need something simple and manageable, one ‘spot’ per day to record a snippet, even just one word – something from THAT DAY, no matter how crazy or busy or depressing. i believe there is always something to be thankful for. some beauty. in my journal, each page represents a week, and i made 52 pages so that i can continue this journey for a year.

this journal was fast and fun to make – best of all can be done with all kinds of bits and pieces you already have at home. you might want to make a few simultaneously to give out as gifts this thanksgiving to family or friends.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Assorted notepaper, cardstock, envelopes, tags, anything that can be written on!

Number stamps

Pen

Hole punch

Book rings or ribbons.

Rub-ons or other embellishments if desired.

PUT IT TOGETHER

1. Start with the largest piece for the back page.

2. Layer all the tags, sheets, envelopes etc on top in desired fashion.

3. Punch holes through the ‘wad’ of pages and bind with rings/ribbon/zip ties (you may need to do this in sections).

4. Stamp/write numbers 1-7 on pages ready for your grateful list.

5. Embellish pages with stickers, rub-ons etc.

oooh so i am excited to let you know i'm part of an online workshop - the 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas No. 2!

what is it?!! it's a five day mini workshop. each day for five days (tuesday-saturday) 3 new ornament/holiday projects will be posted - there will be all sorts of fun projects including ornaments, holiday decorations and fun artsy ideas to get you in the christmasy-crafty spirit!

(i am busy making my videos for the class, a very fun ornament or two from rescued clothing with some crazy stitching and maybe some paint..!)

the workshop will all be hosted on a private website and all instruction will be in video form and include up-close pictures of each project and supply lists, with a private facebook group page for those in the workshop to share photos, get to know each other and the teachers better.

these juicy and artistic projects will be brought to you by the fabulous Margie Romney-Aslett, Jamie Soucy, Jeanne Oliver, Chrissy Gardner, Alisa Burke, Mindy Lacefield, Juliette Crane, Shea Fragoso, Debbie Murray, Junelle Jacobson, Christy Tomlinson and MOI ;)

the website opens on Tuesday December 4th, but is a work at your own pace thing, and all the material is available for an entire year!

cost is $24.95...but if you sign up before nov 28th you will get the earlybird price of $19.95!

(please note that after signing up you will receive receipt of payment from paypal, and then the welcome email and log in info on the day the workshop starts, dec 4th) hope you can join in! i am excited to be getting my creative christmas ON! xo

pixie hats for my pixies

its getting chilly around here folks - its not even winter yet and it is waaaay colder than anything we would experience in western australia! i found this adorable pixie hat pattern on sew liberated and loved not only the cute factor but the satisfaction of a simple and straightforward project to make in one evening. i used wool sweaters/jumpers for the outside and old tshirts for the lining and the strings. i guestimated-enlarged the pattern for yindi and ivy is asking for one too :)

arrr! so cute!

have a good weekend. make a pixie hat!

xo

newest knitter

this one has been begging for months now to learn how to knit. she fingerknits up a storm but apparently needles are where its at.

being a busy mumma i have made several excuses over the last little while and she has patiently kept reminding me that she would like to learn. so on a cosy afternoon i could refuse those pleading puppy eyes no more! sitting on my lap with our hands working together on the needles, we recited the verse that introduced ivy to knitting, and she slowly started to get it...and how pleased she was! so proud of herself...
she still needs guidance from big sis or mumma, but i have loads of faith in her future as a fantastic knitter!

some of ivy's past knitting blog posts here here & here - i should also note that i myself am a very *basic* knitter and have learned mostly from ivy who has such gusto-passion for knitting and handwork in general!

(i am not much of a 'book learner' but we do own this book and i must say it is very lovely and easy to learn from. ivy has worked on some of the patterns in both this book and the second version. highly recommend both, see if the library has them!)

quack quack

my dad (aka swervin') was here back in september, and just before he left i took him out on a birthday surprise day to the big smoke...boston! it was fun to be just the two of us and we got lucky with the weather too, meaning my plan of taking a boston duck tour could happen. we learned lots of interesting facts about the city and saw all the highlights...and how can you not love riding in a duck shaped thing that goes on the road and in the water?! (i may or may not have raised dad's hand when the driver asked for a volunteer to steer the boat...and i may or may not have been pinched extrememly hard as a resut...)

as a moody teenager i shut my dad out of my life for several years (man hater!), and wish i hadn't been such a brat! i love my dad a crazy amount and am so grateful to have him in my life...he's always there for me. rage or not! glad we could spend this day together being aussie tourists in a big american city. i'll always remember it :)

more apples please!

we have been cramming in a few last minute trips to the local apple orchard before it gets too cold...and stocking up now that the apples are on 'clearance'!! ie if you pick the ones from the ground and not the tree they are $2 for a huge bagful! i love a good bargain, and my kids love applesauce...

this time we went with friends, which is always more fun, especially when you have someone to run off into the orchard rows with and hide from your mumma!

ivy got into some apple carving (for her birthday last year, we got her this knife, which has been a wonderful knife for her to whittle and carve with), and i got a bit baby hungry with this cute little chubby cheeked boy pictured above!

one day i'd love a root cellar to store surplus apples away in (is that even possible? ivy informs me we need a barrel of sand to store them in...i need to look this up!), but for now they are being eates as fast as they are being picked and there is many a bowl of applesauce or apple crisp to be gobbled up. yum!

giveaway!

the felt-a-licious felting workshop opens tomorrow - and will remain open for the rest of this year, so if you have been wishing to try out wet felting now is the time! easy to follow photo and video tutorials will guide you through 4 core projects to make felt. lots of wet, soapy fun!

i'm offering a free spot in the workshop, along with a 100g bag of yummy australian merino wool for you to use...all you have to do is leave a comment below! if you'd like to facebook/tweet/tell a friend you can leave a 2nd comment for an extra chance - winner will be drawn tomorrow (friday) night, at 10pm EST.

winner is guildmaker... (you can thank banjo for pointing to your comment on the screen!)


yay to you and thanks everyone who entered...

if you would like to join the workshop you can click here to register...and for this weekend only you can join and bring a friend for free! sign up and then email me your friends email address for two spots for the price of one :)