Friday thoughts - See you!

I am looking forward to a week of relaxation and crafting. Most of all I am looking forward to spending time with family.

I won't be able to add to this blog for a week.

I hope to show you some photos of my time away and my crafting results.

See you soon!

Wonderful Wednesday - Sailing inspiration

I am looking forward to an upcoming break. My upcoming holiday has inspired me...

Quirky Boat by 'Quirky Kids'

Isn't this boat gorgeous (not to mention the gorgeous photograph of it). This little decoration would add charm to a boat or beach inspired room. I like the mix of media - fabric, wood and string. Very nautical! Quirky Kids has more gorgeous boat designs in their Madeit store.

Name badges by 'Badge Bliss'

This would make a great party favour for a little boy's party. The bright colours are perfect for children. Badge Bliss offers three different size options.

Boat picture by 'Big Ted Little Ted'

What a clever picture! It uses pieces of fabric, pieced together to make this picture. Very intricate work. It would provide colour in a boy's room or nursery.

I hope that these items have inspired you also!

Monday in the making

As mentioned in the previous post, I visited the local craft shop and bought quite a few metres of soft tulle - the tulle used in dancewear or for bridal veils, not the rough netting type.

Then I spent a bit of time, carefully rolling it up, rather than folding. That was the tricky part...however it has been worth it as I have been working on another project which is quickly taking shape.

I am making ballerina skirts that fit girls. I am about to embark on making more of my ballerina dolls and I thought that I could make larger versions for little girl ballerinas. I have chosen pink for the trial and I am just about finished it. I will show you photos of the finished product soon...

As also mentioned, I am busily making up another doll set which is quickly coming to life. I am about to go on a short break and I am gathering together a few projects that I can take with me that don't require a sewing machine - unfortunately, my newest doll set falls into that category, so that will be a project while I am at home. However, I will be bringing lots of tulle with me and hopefully ballerina dolls and little girl tutus will be the result.

P.S - I apologise for the photo size. My computer is not letting me open my usual photo program and I have resized these photos in a different program. Hopefully the problem will be fixed soon!

Weekend Wonders - In preparation #2

Another weekend has flown by...

It was wonderful to attend the first birthday party of a special little girl. Her mum was extremely organised and creative! She had colour coordinated everything beautifully - decorations, glasses, plates - with pink and white. She made gorgeous pink and white tissue paper pom poms to decorate the party room. The party food was an array of home made cakes, sweets and savouries, complete with an exquisite cake. Craftiness at its best!

I, too, have been busy baking for an upcoming holiday. I tried combining 'goodies' and 'decadence' with some form of healthiness. Therefore I made some chocolate cupcakes that used ground nuts as the 'flour' and honey as the sweetener. Mr T and I tried some last night and were not very taken with them. Not to be beaten, today I made some chocolate brownies that had ground nuts as the 'flour', real dark chocolate and rapadura to add sweetness. Mr T and I had some after lunch and were a hit! Hence, I made another batch. I have a big container full to put in the freezer in readiness. If you are interested in the recipe, click here. I follow 'Quirky Cooking's' blog as her recipes are healthy (and I also have a Thermomix). Her recipes are also delicious!

I did do some craft. On Friday night, I managed to sew all the limbs onto my newest set of dolls and I have started to stitch around the girl. Getting closer to stuffing! I also visited my local craft store and bought quite a bit of tulle fabric. I spent a little time rolling it up in readiness for my newest project. I hope to do more tonight after I have finished some prep work for work tomorrow.

I hope that you had a lovely weekend!

Friday thoughts - It's raining, it's pouring

There is no doubt that we are in the midst of Winter...

 Over the past week we have experienced some particularly chilly weather. The maximum temperature that we have had is 12C and the temperature gauge has hovered around this mark. We have had quite heavy showers of rain, creating glorious puddles, that seem irresistible for children. I was reading the weather summary for the day and some areas north of where we live even experienced snow in the morning (in our part of Australia, we don't usually receive snow).

The children that I teach have been learning about weather. We have discovered that weather is changeable (it doesn't stay the same) and we have looked at some of the components that make up weather (sky, clouds, sun, rain, wind, air, temperature). Here are some ideas that you can do with your child to help learn about weather:

• Find sources that tell us about what the weather is going to be (newspapers, Internet, news reports, radio). What do they have in common? What do the pictures mean? Compare weather symbols.
• Make up a chart to record the weather. Talk about the days of the week and the dates to place on the chart. Think about when to record the weather - maybe record the weather in the morning and in the afternoon. Does the weather change? 
• Graph what the weather was like during the week or month. What weather did you experience the most/least?
• Read factual books/view factual videos that explain about concepts of weather (eg. the water cycle).
• Sing songs/rhymes that deal with weather.
• Make a kite to fly on a windy day.
• Make up a simple rain gauge to record daily amounts of rain. Add it to a calendar or weather chart. How much rain did you receive in a week, month, year?
• Make up art pieces that deal with weather.
• Paint a sunny/rainy day.
•  Make a picture which involves watery paint (edicol dye/vegetable dye mixed with water)     spooned onto paper and blow it around the page with a straw.
• Draw/paint a picture and glue cotton wool in the 'sky' as clouds.

I hope that you enjoy the weather that you are blessed with today!

Wonderful Wednesday - Party Picks

This weekend, a special little friend of mine will celebrate her first birthday. I can't believe that it is almost a year since she was born, but she has grown up into a gorgeous, little girl. Hence my inspiration for this week...

Flag cupcake toppers by 'Red Elephant Creative'

What a super idea to jazz up humble cupcakes for a celebratory event. I like the boldness of the red and white flags. Check out 'Red Elephant Creative's beautiful notelets as well.

 Sweet mini cupcakes by 'PhoebeEloise'

Who doesn't like cake at a birthday party? The good news about these cakes is that they don't contain any calories. I like the way that they have colourful 'sprinkles' on top. Adorable!

                                                                Sweet owl Happy Birthday banner by 'Ben and Jess'

If you are thinking about birthdays and parties, you can't go past the goodies at 'Ben and Jess'. Above is one of the beautiful banners that Tracey makes. I particularly like the cute owl design and each letter of 'Happy Birthday' on a flag. Tracey also makes beautiful party favour bags to compliment the theme of the party.

I hope they provide some inspiration for you and if you are celebrating a birthday this week, I wish you a blessed and happy birthday!

Monday in the making

I have a few markets coming up in the next few months, therefore I am busy stitching away.

This is the beginning of my next doll set. As mentioned in previous blogposts, I am now releasing new dolls as 'sets', generally a male and female version of an idea. They don't necessarily need to be purchased together, but I think it may provide a bit more option. I am also making my newest set together, rather than making up one whole doll and then making up another. I think that this may save time, rather than putting away materials and bringing them out again to cut out another doll.

You can't see in this photo, but my 'girl' (the left one) has a pony tail at the back. I have a style picked out and names already! As you can tell, I am very excited. It won't take me long to stitch up their limbs, then I can start on their clothes.