Happy Digital Xmas

I just came across this and couldn't resist sharing.

Retro Mummy's Giveaway

'Tis the spirit of giving and no one is more giving this Xmas than Retro Mummy and her gobsmackingly gorgeous Flower Sugar Giveaway.

My little boy is 4

4 years has gone so fast. My little boy is off to pre-school next year and only one more year to big school.  On those days that three little people give me a hard time I'm glad that I will have one less child for a couple of days a week next year, on the days when they are adorable I get a bit sad.

We had a lovely birthday party with our very special friends and some family.  This year I decided to have the party at a local park and it was a great idea.  The only downside was having to plan ahead and pack/unpack the car, but it was worth having the extra space and a playground.  For the party food I made pinwheels, two varieties - pizza & vegemite (this was an alternative to chips which are loaded with so much artificial stuff, even though I grew up eating them I just can't fathom them anymore).  I also made a zucchini slice which was cut into small pieces and some cut up watermelon.  We threw some snags on the barbie with onions and a coleslaw and some fresh mini bullet rolls from our local Vietnamese bakery. The party cake was from Homebush Cakes - a chocolate gateau slab.  For birthday at home on the day we had a Chocolate Icecream and Oreos cake from Gelatomassi (pictured above).   I'll try to post the recipes for you later in the week.

Little Bonnets by Little Betty

 

Here's Miss Scarlett modelling her new Little Betty bonnet.  These super awesome bonnets are handmade by Little Betty and let me tell you, the quality control is pretty.... um, strict (the word I would rather use starts with an "a")!!  After playing around with a few prototypes, Little Betty came up with a pattern that sits really nicely, provides lots of shade from the sun and is completely reversible (so you get two bonnets in one).  The pattern is so good in fact, that a bonnet that is too big still sits really well!  Let's face it, you want your little ones to get good wear out of things before they outgrow them.  Miss Scarlett is a bit on the petite side so at 6mths old she is wearing the 6-12mth bonnet which has loads of room but still looks good now and will probably do her for two summers.  Little Betty bonnets are available online or for those that like to see things in the flesh, they are selling out fast at My Messy Room in Sydney.

One of my favourite time-wasters is fabric window-(online)-shopping.  I think Little Betty is doing a great job already but I couldn't resist putting together some fabric combinations I think would make great bonnets (the design possibilities are endless, I only had time to look at a few collections and some of the below combos are interchangeable with each other).  The first one and the last two are my favourites.  I also think Little Betty should consider making these bonnets for little girls not just babies/toddlers.

Fabric Love...

I just love these new designs from the Sanctuary collection by Patty Smith (correction here).  Problem is, I need to get through my current stash before I start buying more!  You can see the full collection and some examples of handmade items using this fabric at Patty's blog ModKidBoutique.

My Creative Space - 25/11/10

Two finished dollies for two very sweet baby girls, Lily & Scarlett.  Somehow I managed to find a little bit of time here and there to get these done in the last week.  They were fairly simple although sewing circles and around corners with a machine takes a bit of patience and concentration - it was harder than I expected.  I might need some more practice with that or maybe there's a technique I'm missing out on.

Also, next time I make these I need to come up with a way of being able to attach the Little Friend so that he doesn't get lost but can also be separated at playtime and putting a little bell inside to make it jingle.

Visit Koo's blog for more Creative Spaces....

My Creative Space

I'm planning to sew up these little Sweeties from The Red Thread.  Mimi is a present for a new baby and Ginger is for Baby Scarlett.  In the background I've also got my Blue Hawaii skirt on the go.  It has just been so hard to find time for craft lately.  Just about everyone has been sick in the house!

Kirsty's blog has more links to Creative Spaces...

What do you get when you google your name?

This is what I got today when I Googled "a labour of love dolores"...

Hah!  I like that for Auntie Dolores, baking is a labour of love and that she's only using the highest quality ingredients!  Would love to hear in the Comments section the best website you've found when you Google your name?

First Anniversary

Today is our first wedding anniversary.  What a HUGE year too!!  Here are some of my favourite photos from the day.  You can see the rest of the slideshow here or check out my pre-wedding blog for bridal jibberish - Diary of a Vintage Bride.

F is for...

Funny!  How innovative is this?  (In case you don't recognise that yellow pack, it's nappies).

Oprah in Oz and sick little ones

So far today has been all about registering for Oprah audience tickets and dealing with a sick toddler.  Lucky I joined Oprah.com yesterday as this morning I tried to join up a friend and the website is not handling the traffic.  Anyway I've registered myself for both sessions, so now fingers crossed. X

Off to the doctors we go again....

My Creative Space...

A very dear friend lent me her spare sewing machine on the weekend.  I finally had a couple of hours yesterday to set it up and start sewing up my Versatile Wrap Skirt.  A 10 yr old sewing machine with instruction book is so easy to use compared to a 30yr old machine with no book!  It was the first time I serged seams and I am really proud of how well it turned out and it was really easy (if you look really hard you might even see what I'm talking about in the above picture).  I even got so technical that I changed over to the special overcast foot .  Anyway if the little people let me, I hope to finish off the skirt today.

In a recent post I asked for input into selecting some wool colours for a project my Mum will be working on for my nephew.  Vote for your favourite colour scheme here.

And head over to Kirsty's to see really creative people...