Season's greetings

Hi! Just a quick note to say I hope you and your loved ones had a lovely Christmas and best wishes for the new year.

A combination of post Christmas lethargy, computer problems and a few days away will keep me away from this space til early in the new year but I've got a few crafty posts planned, including a line-up of my most (and least) successful handmade gifts and my long promised zip purse tutorial. Til then, have fun and stay safe. Jo x

Simple pleasures

Hi! We're back from our time away and I'm feeling ready for the run up to Christmas and all that that entails (deep breath).

While we were away we saw lots of whales swimming in the sea, which was definitely a highlight, and all from my mum's back windows! The kids were constantly squealing "whale!! whale!!" and it was amazing to just look for a few seconds at almost any time and see a whale or two or three playing. Unfortunately I don't have any photos (no zoom lense), but here are a few of my favourite other shots:

Nature as inspiration for the printed fabric swap:





Though the weather was a bit rainy, there was plenty of gazing into rockpools and trawling beaches for shells and treasures...




And as usual there was plenty of time spent in my mum's garden...




Plus there were some sooky-la-la moments of course (hopefully she won't hate me later for posting this, I like the shot ;-)...



and plenty of posing. Gotta love a boy who happily wears mama's creations!

Thoughts on motherhood: holidays

Wow, I think I forget from one block of school holidays to the next just how draining they are! I am only increasing my daily kid tally by one, but all that lack of routine, 100% face-to-face time, not to mention sibling arguements and the usual tantrums, does take its toll.



One thing I have been trying to relax about is the kid entertainment issue. I used to feel bad that we don't tend to do fancy holiday courses and workshops or go away on exciting trips. But this week the kids have had so much fun doing normal stuff that I'm feeling good about it all... and remembering to have fun with them. Apparently it's a pretty good thing for mum to join you on the slide or sing and dance to Playschool with you!



We do have a few creative pursuits happening, hopefully I'll get time to blog about them soon. In the meantime, if you're in the midst of school holidays too, here's wishing you a fun and relaxing time... hopefully with some cupcakes ;-)

Easter long weekend

Hi, how was your Easter weekend? Ours was spent having a bit of a break from technology (for me at least) and enjoying some family time (when we weren't having tantrums that is - hey, that's a 3 year-old's job, isn't it?!).

We did some of our favourite things:
Went for walks...


built sand castles...


spent ages throwing pebbles into the water...


looked for crabs and other creatures...


and made and ate hot cross buns... (I used the trusty no-knead method and added sugar, spices, sultanas and some choc chips - thank goodness for something edible after my recent pumpkin failure ;-)


Not to mention celebrating my mum's birthday (Happy Birthday mum!), hunting for Easter eggs then negotiating the eating (or not) of those eggs, lazing around in the new pyjamas and plenty of wrestling with uncles and cousins - the kids that is, not me ;-)

I hope you had time to relax and recharge the batteries! What did you get up to?

Scenes from a (rainy) weekend away

We came back yesterday from a long weekend away with friends. Although my visions of playing with the kids on the beach for hours didn't materialise, we did...



...Stay in a great holiday house with lots of space for 4 grown-ups and 5 kids. Very Australian in feel, it was full of wood, steel and corrogated iron, with a great native scrubby garden (good for treasure hunts when the weather allowed) and a lovely wood fire for the slightly chilly evenings...



...The kids played and explored, watched the beautiful birds...



...And the big little girls did some craft of course! It's genetic, you know. They designed their own little teddies, cut them out of felt, and after Crafty Deb and I embroidered their names on they sewed them together and stuffed them. Of course I forgot to photograph them. There was also a lot of pom pom making, cutting of paper shapes, drawing and making of books complete with pictures with 6yr-old spelling "My holdas"...



...And when there was a break in the weather they squealed with delight at foraging on the beach...



... Crafty Deb and I had a 'Shearwater Kaftan' wearing weekend (2 for her, 1 for me) and she impressed me with her fantastic idea of the sleeve snap detail (I've only done buttons)...



...Then driving home we got stuck in a flash flood and ended up feeling like we were driving through rivers. I now have a bit more empathy for the poor people up north who lived through severe flooding recently.

New year fun

Hello hello, happy new year! I hope you've had an opportunity to spend some time with your families and relax (although those two don't necessarily go together in my house!) and have some fun.

Around here we have been:


Playing with a new birthday dollhouse happily filled with gorgeous Le Toy Van painted wooden furniture, a Christmas gift...



Cooking and eating plum jam made with these cute little plums collected on a recent foraging trip with friends (thank you Penny :-) ...


making parcels of sweets for neighbours and decorating them using pom poms (great finger tutorial here)...


and finding a little frog under our garbage bins! Very exciting given that we thought we didn't have a 'green' enough environment for them here.


Also I've made a few little changes to my blog. I thought it was about time I changed the pic on my header, then I looked at what a crazy mess my lists on the right had become, and though technically challenged, have tried to simplify it. My aim is to work out how to simplify it further while keeping it easy to navigate. Hmm! And as I've totally ignored my Etsy and Madeit shops lately I've taken them off til I can get some stock back up, which will hopefully happen soon so I can buy more supplies. You know how it goes ;-)

Holiday sewing

L-R Urban unisex hoodie pattern by Heidi and Finn Best bubble dress pattern by Babes of Sweet


L-R Yoga lounge set pattern by Heidi and Finn Popover sundress pattern by Oliver+S Everyday dress pattern by Mani-mina


L-R Eva dress pattern by Mani-mina Little pleated tunic pattern by Heidi and Finn Chic kimono pattern by Mani-mina


L-R Thai fisherman pants by bibimbubba Ruffle top pattern by Oliver+S Sophie tunic pattern by Sis Boom

We have finally booked a holiday, yay! And you know what that means - an excuse to sew some new kids clothes. Because they'll need cover-ups for the beach, some fun clothes to play in and generally just something fresh after all the winter heavy things.

BUT, the risk is that I'll:
A. be tempted to make a really long list, and keep adding on to it until a day or two before we leave
B. feel overwhelmed at list make just a couple of things and feel disappointed
C. stay up very late in the days before we leave and totally exhaust myself, ending up cranky and unable to enjoy the start of the holiday

So... in an effort to actually get something done, stay sane, feel satisfied and still get some sleep I am attempting to put together a (realistic) list and stick to it. No adding things at the last moment, kidding myself that "it won't take too long". The idea is that you will keep me honest and that by promising to show you my progress I will actually stick to a schedule! Hang on, this is sounding like hard work - no, it's going to be fun! And at the end I can show you all my lovely holiday snaps where the kids are wearing the clothes. Well, that's the idea!

Providing lots of inspiration are the posts from the kids sewing challenge from Elsie Marley. I missed out on participating in this but it sounds like there will be another soon, and sounds like it's the push I need to get things made.

Pictured are some of the patterns I'm considering. Please tell me what you think of them and if you have any favourites of your own. I'd love to hear from you!