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ivy's quilty-quilt

 may i introduce my proudest sewing accomplishment of last year (if not *ever*) - ivy's crazy colourful clothes quilt! made up of patches upon patches from her baby and childhood clothing it is cozy and familiar and delicious - and for my sentimental girl it is her most loved possession ! i began the undertaking of this mammoth (to me) project a few days before christmas 2012, with delirious confidence that i could finish it for the big day. making the top was a success by december 24 (to make it managable, i cut an old bedsheet into quarters and worked on each piece, covering it with random sized patches of the clothes, topstitching them in zig zag or straight. once each piece was covered i attached the 4 back together and went over the seams to cover them in more patches. more patches!) - then at 4am christmas day i was a weepy mess with a tangle of quilt top, wadding and poorly sewn on back that i had to rip off. i wrapped the top and gave it to her anyway (she was delighted!) with the promise to finish it *soon*...because i enjoy a challenge (apparently) i happened to think that hand quilting might look really cool. hand quilting DOES look really cool! but may not be the best craft for someone as impatient as me. it took forever...and ever and ever...

i tacked a wool blanket to the back and then over the next, um, 18 months would stitch a spiral here and there through the layers. i am not the fastest at hand stitching. and i get bored of repetitive work, oops !

in the end ivy took matters into her own hands...and finally it was ready for the binding! oh it is just the happiest most ivy-ish quilt - and most likely wherever my girl goes, i will find her quilt with her. there are pockets for little friends or secret love notes (or candy!) to be tucked into. we remember and love every.single.piece.of.clothing in there. many that her little sister also wore. and there is a shirt of daddy's and a top of mumma's in there too. it is her comfort blankie!

i am honored that it means so much to her.

and c'mon, is there anything better to snuggle in a wheelbarrow for an outdoor movie with, than a quilt with all your favourite old cheerful clothes on it (and maybe some chocolate hiding in a pocket?)...

cozy drawers!

i recently thrifted this ol set of drawers for ivy's room for $20, and here's where you'll have to use your imagination because i never remember to take 'before' photos in my repurposing-frenzy...each drawer had raised decorative plastic-wood thinggys with white and gold scrolly handles...i ripped those off ready to paint...and then - hello! i remembered ivy's first ever dresser that i thrifted, painted and covered in fabric while pregnant with her so many years ago. this time, wooly sweaters were calling to be used, along with a couple of jacket pieces that we chose together to make a crazy cozy place for her room!

for each drawer, i cut a rough piece of sweater or fabric slightly - sat the drawer on top of it and trimmed to have an inch-ish border, then wrapped each side and used the trusty ol staple gun to secure. it worked a treat! after they were all covered we drilled holed for new doorknobs (rescued from another piece of furniture and painted green)...way easier than sanding and painting, and perfectly happy & quirky for my happy quirky girl!

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.

needled gnome nativity

the other morning i invited some mums from kindy over to make needle felted nativities. it was such a nice time to have people in my house crafting and drinking tea! i need to do it more often ;)

i'm not a fancy needle-felter at all (one day!), but this sweet nativity is so simple to make i thought i'd share it here with you...





(keep going with the layering + needling until all the white is covered)


(for the baby jesus, i loosly wrapped some wool around my fingers to make a manger, then lightly needled the ends of the fibres together. the wee baby was made the same way as the gnomes, just much smaller and without a flat base)

with the simple cone shape, many festive figures could be made - including sweet  christmas trees (i imagine a bunch of them in different sizes and colours), and of course, old st nick himself...

christmas crafting is my favourite kind of crafting :)

ivy's craft week - earth warrior pouch

i like to think of my ivy as a little earth warrior - she is always out to nurture and protect the environment - afraid of no bug or creature (me? terrified!), fearless of heights she scales tall trees and leaps off rocks, she finds the beauty and magic in every little nook and cranny and always runs off the beaten track for adventure.

she's pretty much the coolest girl i've ever known :)

since getting a pocket knife for her birthday, she carries it with her everywhere, usually pinned to her pants along with a handkerchief and string (you never know when you might need them) with a big safety pin. i suggested we make a little pouch for her goodies and she came up with an immediate vision...which i helped her with...even though i kind of had my own (separate) vision for it, i am SO GLAD i just followed through with hers...because it is so very her, and so very perfect!

wanna make one? here's what we did:

*sketch and cut a little pattern from paper, deciding on the right size and shape for your warrior needs!

*cut a front and a back for the pouch. the back piece we cut an extra inch taller, so it could fold over and make a flap. a sleeve from an old brown tshirt was the perfect fabric, and nice and easy using the sleeve hem for the pouch hem! no hemmming = happy mumma.

see?

an emblem of some sort is a must for all warriors. ivy wanted and ivy leaf (of course). i hoped my wonky leaf shape would turn out ok...we made a pattern then cut from another tshirt scrap.
*emblem sewn on. check!
*now line the front and back pieces up, and sew with a close-together zig zag stitch.more tshirt scraps! lucky my we have piles of those lying around - however would we craft otherwise?!! long strips were cut...

and then braided to make two long ties.

*ziggy-zag those ties to the back of the pouch, one on each side (and sew the loose ends closed while you're at it).

*add a button closure to the flap to finish! (coconut shell button a happy find at joanns)

put on your pouch and off you go - hands free action wherever you go...with your essentials nice and close!

ivy has worn the pouch every.single.day since we made it and can i tell you how much this little earth-pixie-warrior makes me smile with her adorable style? A LOT :)

ivy's craft week - dreamcatchers

last week while banjo was napping, i indulged ivy's crafting desires on a morning basis. oh, it felt so lovely! (laying on a quilt in the backyard crafting is so much better than house cleaning) i'm sad at how busy life feels so often, and how with three little people i so rarely sit and do simple crafts like this anymore - like ivy and i used to do all the time when it was just us.

she has been wanting to make a dreamcatcher for such a long time, so after some scurrying around the yard for twigs, and a quick hunt for a video tutorial for the string tying bit, we were all ready!

supplies used:

twigs, wire, wire cutter, scissors, embroidery thread (not pictured, we originally tried with dental floss as suggested in the above video, but ivy didn't like the plastic-y look. the thread worked fine and looked much nicer!), beads and feathers.

*first step - gather and tie twigs with wire to form a 'circle' (we are not perfectionists here!). kind of like a skinny wreath. mumma may have to assist with this bit.

nice circle!

*watch the video linked above and you will go "ah ha!" like we did as we saw how to loop/tie the string to create the pretty dreamcatcher web.

*final step - adorn with beads, feathers or dried flowers. we tied and tucked them into our loops.

*help your little sister make one too, then hang in bedroom to catch all your dreams!

stay tuned all week for more of ivy's crafting adventures...

ivy's birdy

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 :)

little-man cardy

my craft room floor is barely noticable under the piles of wool jumpers/sweaters i've been collecting. felting. chopping and sewing! be prepared for me to unleash my obsession in many, many future blog posts! but first up - this funny little old man cardigan i made for banjo...

it was easy, and so satisfying! if you too like to pat yourself on the back for completing a project (from start to finish no less!) after your little people go to sleep at night, then read on!

*i took one little boy jumper/sweater with a too-small neck hole (no way banjo's noggin would go through that!), and the waistband and some scraps from a bigger men's jumper...

*i cut off the neckband and then right down the middle of the sweater...

*then eyeball cut (ie cut general shape then keep trimming until it looks normal - really, who does anything sensible like draw a pattern first when working late at night?) two pockets from the neck of the men's jumper and sewed them to the cardy.

*starting at the bottom of one side, i folded the long waistband strip around the cut edge and sewed using a straight stitch. pinning this first would probably help. keep sewing all the way up and around to the other side.

*using the grey neckhole scraps, i cut 4 strips and secured them to one side to be button loops, and sewed on some buttons (by far the hardest part of the night! do i use red? yellow? an assortment of colours?)

i couldn't wait for the morning to try it on my little boy! arrr! i love it!

...and i'm sure he does too ;)

we love love hearts

i should have posted these earlier but the thought only occurred to me just now as ivy and i lay snuggling wondering what valentiney craft or cooking we will do today - she is quite excited about the whole thing as it is a big deal here in the US of A! when i was a kid my mum would cut our sandwiches into heart shapes for our school lunchboxes on valentines day which was very cool, but i don't remember any other kind of celebration (i do remember secretly hoping for a card from mick every valentines day from about age 14 and never getting one - OUCH)...

last week we made some little hippy hearts to hang in our window for a decoration, and on a little tree, AND for ivy to give out to her friends (we made a LOT), from simple stuff we had already at home - wax paper and crayons.

you can see all the pictures of the steps from my little helper, and read the how to HERE at todaysmama.com

last year we made this fun little heart 'mail box' - with each of our initials (were you wondering what on earth meiy was?!) on a heart, so we could make little love notes and drawings and post them in each others pockets! it was sweet and i must dig it out today for treats to be left in tomorrow! instructions and pics for making this can be found over HERE.

love hearts are so happy you could have them up any time of the year!

my friend morgs has a cool felt heart tutorial on her blog too, and also the recipe for some yummy heart shaped meringue treats (hello - pavlova!!) that we may have to try making today too...

have a happy day whatever you do!