sneak peek of the birthday fun!

 

I'll post more tomorrow...  Off to take my exhausted body to bed now!

Favourite things Friday...

Ruby Gloom has to be one of my most favourite television animations of all time. I love the illustrations and the fun story lines!



Just thought it would be a good idea to go back to posting a few of my favourite things, especially after the day we've had...



We found the car we want to buy, but on the way to going for a second test drive we were involved in a nose to tail accident with 3 other cars. We were in the front and not at fault, and no one got hurt. Except that we lost $400 on our trade-in. :( Oh well, we did find a new car and we will sign the paperwork tomorrow and pick it up on Monday! I'll post more about it once it's all finalised.

Have a good weekend...

D.

what softies get up to, when we're not looking...

 

source | meet me at mikes

Some matroyshka doll fun...

As I said in yesterday's post, this weekend we are going to be having a houseful of girl fun! Well, actually that's our house all day, every day. There is an overabundance of estrogen in this home with 4 girls and ONE guy! hehehe!

But, I digress, I need to occupy four little 8/9 year old girls on Saturday for a sleepover. I had decided that making little softies was a great idea, but then was left with the "what kind!" thought. I'd always wanted to make a matroyshka doll, and wanted to make something really simple that the girls could "own" for themselves. So without further ado, here she is...

I got Hope and Briahna to make one as well, just to make sure it's not too hard to organise little girls into making them. :)

First, we embroidered their faces, which I think 8-9 year old's would be okay to do themselves. It was Briahna's first time doing backstitch, and I'm so proud of how well she did!

I chose the fabric, and sewed two different kinds to go together, and then I sewed the faces onto the fabric...

I then made a little pattern to cut them out with...

Because I am so protective/possessive of my janome, I'll be doing all the machine sewing ;) But, I figure they'll bore easily anyway and so while I'm sewing up the dolls, Hope will be doing makeovers on the girls!

Aren't they sweet?

I even sewed our names and the date they were made on the back with my fancy dancy sewing machine...



Sew Mama Sew Fat Quarter Swap;
All the kiwi quarters have gone, the international ones will be sent today... The email with all my international swapee's on it got lost in cyberspace, but I'm onto it!

what I sent... (I hope they like batik!)

Blogging Goodness;

Paisley Jade received my parcel, and has posted about it on her blog! I forgot to take photographs of what I sent, but head on over to her blog to check it all out!!!

When I found out about the flannelgraph book review blog her hubby's been organising, I knew I could help them out... Mr Sew Funky works for Manna Christian Stores here in NZ and so we have access to good christian literature. It was nice to pass on the blessing to others by giving some books away.

Kristy also won the fat quarter giveaway I had on here earlier in the month, so what better way than to courier them all to her together.

It actually took a while from conception to giving, but I think they were understanding. Mainly it was because we had to wait for a little while for one particular book I wanted to send - The Pawn. Mr Sew Funky lent it out to a workmate who took a while with it. I just love the title of that book - tickles my sense of humour, to be able to tell people when they ask me what I'm reading, that I'm reading porn... hehehe! ;)

I just love being part of the blogging community, it has allowed me to "meet" such neat people and gives me opportunities to connect with others in a way that I wouldn't otherwise be able to do! :D

What do you think? Has blogging made your life more complete?

And do you like the little dolls we've made?

D.

tired...

tired

1. In need of some rest or sleep.
2. Fed up, annoyed, irritated, sick of.
   
   

   I'm tired of this

3. Overused, cliché.
   

   a tired song

I am just so "all of the above", it's not funny!

We are in the process of buying/finding a new car, and that's so tiring!  We have a budget and a type of car in mind.  I want a hatchback car, that's economical and fairly good looking.  We currently have a Mitsubishi Chariot, but with 7 seats it's big, cumbersome, and un-economical.  So we had a look around some car yards this afternoon and I remembered what I HATE about buying cars.  The car dealers, the sheer cost difference between yards, all the decisions and feeling rushed at every point.  I think that we are wiser this time around, but it's still hard for me not to want to buy the first thing I see that I like.  I get so sick of the crap!

And, we are also trying to organise some respite care for Aimee.  It has taken since May last year to get to the interview stage with the social worker yesterday.  Then I had to fill out screeds of forms that just took the stuffing out of me.  Having to remember and put into words what her behaviour is like on a daily basis was very difficult.  It will be good to be able to have a break from her, especially so that we can focus a little more on her sisters for a couple of nights a month.  We all need it! 

She is a wonderful kid, who comes up with amazing thoughts and "wisdom", but her constant behavioural needs are getting us all down.  She said the other day, out of the blue, as usual, that the car indicator's were speaking to her.  When I asked what they were saying she said, they say - food dis-order, food dis-order, food dis-order...  Listen to them next time you're in the car and you may just find yourself agreeing with her... ;)

Then there's my almost 9 year old's birthday sleepover I have to prepare for on Saturday night.  Four little girls giggling into the night...  the things we do for our kids!  I am hoping to do a little craft maybe make some softies and have mini makeovers think pink fingernails and lips.  It should be fun, especially if I can farm my other two girls out...

Hope you are all faring better than I. 

just something I'm playing around with...

Something that will hopefully stop me losing my embroidery scissors quite so frequently...

I've had these little scissors since I was about 15, and they're still awesome, except that I'm always losing them. I have a real problem with it! I have even had to go out and replace these scissors on a couple of occasions, but these are still my favourite pair.

And so an idea started to form about what I should do about it. It was sparked by a project in a recent handmade magazine. It looks nothing like that project now, it's much more basic and had me practicing my friendship knot bracelet skills from way back. I often wondered if they'd ever come to good use... ;)

It's also a great way to use some of my vintage cotton reels and buttons!

I'm thinking about decorating the reel a little more, what do you think? And if you want me to make a tutorial for these, just leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do...


And on another note;

I got some mail love today...

the stamps I won in Steph's owoh giveaway

and the first of the fat quarter's from the sew mama sew swap...

2 fat quarters from Jacqui a.k.a. hazelnutgirl

Feeling the love here! :D

getting creative with the kids...

Today, Hope and Briahna had an unexpected day off school. The car broke down on the weekend, and so I had no way of getting them to school, a 15 minute drive on the motorway...

Aimee is lucky or is that unlucky?, she get's to go to school by taxi and so wasn't affected by the car breakdown.

I don't think they were too unhappy about it, except that Hope was unhappy that she'd be missing out on sewing at school. Once a fortnight she and her classmates travel by bus to Maramarua school to do what we called "manual", but what they call "tech". I have been thoroughly educated today! LOL!

So, because she couldn't go, and because we all know I've been surgically attached to my machine...

Hope made draw-string bags to go with the shortie pyjama's I made her out of some long ones last night! I am loving how much my daughters are taking on frugal and fun crafting... I guess we don't realise just how much we influence our children just by how we live our lives.

photo's by Hope (age 12)

Briahna and I worked together to design and make a little outfit for her pumpkin patch bear, Honey...

photo's by Briahna (age 8)

I'm so proud of how excellent the photographs of Honey are! I know she was working with a really photogenic model, but look at all the angles she took the pictures from, very artistic... I think she may be taking after her parents in the talent stakes! ;) I had absolutely nothing to do with the footage, I just sent Briahna outside with the camera and Honey in hand, and she worked her magic!!!

I am also proud of myself, because after years of being afraid of sewing knit fabric, I finally bit the bullet and sewed the neat little t-shirt Honey is wearing! There were only one or two swear words spoken, too! Simply amazing.

Not sure, if I should make days of school so fun though! I might find it difficult getting them to school tomorrow... hehehe! ;)

Sew Retro Re-Born!

The talented Mr Sew Funky decided to re-design the Sew Retro blog to bring it in line with the Sew Funky look, and whilst he was sew motivated he decided to schedule in a few posts, so keep an eye on Sew Retro for your (almost) daily retro goodness...

Unfortunately, Dione...

Meredith from bittycakes just posted something fun to do on google!  I love a good google search even at the best of times, and so I was off....

She say's to do the following;
Try this exercise for a twisted bit of fun. Google the phase, “Unfortunately, _______” filling in the blank with your first name.

I only got one straight result - there just aren't that many Dione's out there...

Unfortunately, Dione Smith left me no choice but to dismiss her from the team.

so I tried with my nickname Dee, and got more than I cared to read...
Unfortunately for Dee, Beau only had eyes for Annie, and only hung around Dee to be near her older sister.
Unfortunately, Dee Dee is beginning to think NAFTA is a lot like algebra.
Unfortunately, Dee Dee's did not meet my expectations as a five-star joint.
Unfortunately Dee never met Vasastji due to his untimely demise in 1985.
Unfortunately, Dee was forced to leave the stage during the final performance due to great discomfort.
Unfortunately, Dee has been quite ill for many months... 


It certainly has a way of making life seem that little bit nicer for me...  I certainly wouldn't want to be ill for many months and what the heck is NAFTA?  Might have to google that, too! ;)



I'm now off to google my hubby's name!

busy day...

working on my "new" craft room.

I've moved my girls out of this room and into the old craft room, because I want more space! Unfortunately there's less storage space in this room, but there is more floor space, so I "feel" less cramped. :)

I made the most delicious fish & chips for dinner tonight. Gluten free too!!! I just posted the recipe over on my recipe blog... go take a look!

My sister just sent me an email about the pressies I sent...

Hi Dione - YES we received the parcel and were both very excited.
Love Mos tops and the crayon wrap.
I love the sister box. Some very pretty vintage mother of pearl
buttons in there!
Cool apron and button and face cloth - I could go on really.
It was so much fun rifling through it all.
Did I say cool tin?
Hope you are well. Your blog is looking awesome.
xxx Rebekah

I love the response! The best thing about giving gifts is seeing/hearing what the recipient thinks!!! :D

some more creativity...

So, what do you get for an 8 year old girl who has invited your daughter to her birthday party?

I thought I'd make her a quilt for her doll, especially since Briahna LOVES all her's, so I made one or two (or four!). I got a little carried away with how fun they are to make.

And then, when Briahna came home from school and told me Holly doesn't like dolls - I had to think of something else to make her. Needless to say, some of these doll quilts will be up in my etsy store in the next couple of days!!! I decided to try making one of chickpea's everything pocket bag's. I've been wanting to make one for ages!!!

A little chickpea sewing studio

Everything Pocket Bag

Filled up with coloured pencils, I think it makes a great gift. What do you think?

I'm trying really hard to be thrifty and wise with our money lately, and so handmade gifts are my choice to make a better world. :)

No Spend Challenge...
I have a confession to make. I feel a little like Rebecca in Confessions of a Shopaholic, but at least my spending didn't go on the credit card!

I was naughty yesterday and went to Spotlight after they enticed me in with a spend $100, get $40 off voucher. I couldn't resist the temptation and bought lots of fabric, some embroidery threads, and some more neat bees wax crayons for crayon wraps! I managed to get the quilting fabric for Hope's 13th birthday quilt for under $30 for the top, and it's great! :D So, whilst I did fall over on my no spend challenge see sidebar it was all for a good cause!

sisters box & mo's birthday pressies...

are at the door, ready to be picked up by the courier! YAY! So avert your eye's Rebekah! Better yet, close down the window and come back tomorrow...

My nephew Massimo turned two last Thursday and his naughty aunty (think - me!) forgot the date and so didn't send it in time. Still, a week late is better than never, right?!?

I've been having fun with applique recently and so he get's two appliqued t shirts:

and a crayon wrap (of course!) made back in January! See, I didn't totally forget his birthday...

And then there's the sister box, that Rebekah and I were going to send back and forth... I've been collecting little things for it for about 6-8 months and haven't sent them on to her! Can you tell I'm feeling bad yet? :(

I found this tin on one of my op shop adventures and knew I had to buy it for Beck's!

Don't you just love the colours?! Red & Pink, my favourite...

Some sewing bits and bobs, and a cloth I made way back...

some other bizzare stuff...

I love you Rebekah ( & little Mo'), sorry about my tardiness!

attack of the chickens...

In light of what happened, when I let the chickens out of their hutch today, may I present to you this very funny you tube video!



Now, that's funny, but having two of my chickens gang up on me this morning wasn't! One of them was able to leave a bruise on my wrist when I wasn't able to dodge the pecking quick enough. Scary stuff!!! And perhaps it makes you think twice about having chickens in your back yard!!!

what made me late for school pick-up today...

okay, so it didn't make me that late! I just got carried away and before I knew it, it was 2.45pm...

some new crayon wraps for my etsy store...

and some doll nappies too...

The doll nappies fit a cabbage patch doll and are ever so sweet! I thought I would make some for Briahna's dolls and I might even put some in my etsy store...

The crayon wraps are a new design I came up with today. The crayon's slip into the pockets and underneath the top and then are rolled up and tied. :) They look great, I just have to get some photographs taken with the crayons inside and I'll hopefully have them in my store by tomorrow.

I would have liked to have added them to the store today, but I'm out tonight at a movie screening of Confessions of a Shopaholic. :)

night owl...

I'm yawn tired!

Last night's crafty outing went a tad too late for me. I didn't get home until 11.30pm and when it's a "school night", well, you know what I mean. I'm somewhat grumpy and slow to move this morning.

I managed to do some more stitchery last night, this time making a cute little owl...

I like it, but it may need a little bit more work... I'm thinking wee little ornaments or softie keyrings or something like that! :)

work in progress...

I've finally bitten the bullet and tried my hand at a little handstitching.  And what fun it is...

 

little matroyshka dolls

You can get the gorgeous little pattern for making these dolls here on Rachel's four wise monkeys blog!  She made it herself, I only wish I could say I'd made it all up myself - it's so super awesome!

I loved practising my french knots and trying my hand at a little bit of satin stitch, now all I need to do is sew these up to make little softies to add to Bree's birthday pressie...  I am making a wee crocheted purse for these to go inside. :)  I just can't believe my baby is going to be nine!!!

my valentine...

Mr Sew-Funky is definitely a romantic at heart, and I'd have to say that sometimes I think he is more thoughtful than I at figuring out romance.

He's not a flowers and chocolate kind of guy, he gives it more thought than that. Plus have you seen the ridiculous price flowers are on Valentines Day?!

This year Mr Sew-Funky had Friday (the 13th) off work and we spent the day perusing our favourite shops. Real Groovy in the city (for him) and T2 over in Botany (for me)!

The very thoughtful Mr S-F bought me:

something from real groovy

for the visual learner in me... ;)

How to use a thimble

and something from T2

Some Black Rose Tea

hmmm, I can't wait to try it;

Rose, currants, papaya & mango

combine to produce a bold, fruity tea

with a strong rose aroma!

Did you notice something about all the gifts he gave? Something about the colour? That's right, call it luck, but everything was in my favourite colour - ORANGE! :D

And what I got for him;

you can see I didn't get the romance gene... ;)

Actually, it was what he wanted - he's kindof a zombie freak! And that's okay, because now if we ever get attacked by zombies, I know he'll know what to do...

How was your Valentines day?

On another note:
I also bought a copy of a very interesting lifestyle magazine from real groovy. It’s a beautiful issue, called Wellbeing Food: Eating for Pleasure & the Planet. A cross between a book and a magazine, Wellbeing Food is a guide to eating local, fresh, seasonal and sustainable food. And boy is it interesting reading. I picked it up because it has an article on keeping chooks in your backyard, but it has so many more well-written articles!

What are your thoughts on food? Are we getting too PC about it?, or should we be going back to the way our great grandparents ate? Are our current fast food living doing anything great for us? What do you think?

just a couple of things I've won recently...

So the huge OWOH giveaway is over, my prize has been won and is about to fly all the way over to Aussie...

I wondered if I'd win anything this time around, I entered almost everyone's giveaways and with fingers crossed hoped like everyone else who'd been doing the same as me that I'd win.  Now that so many more people are involved in OWOH there are probably less opportunities to win something now, but like I said I had my fingers crossed...

Well, I won two OWOH giveaways! :)  YAY!

First up, I won the giveaway Robin from Robin's Artful Musings

 

Some gorgeous little ATC's :)

And then, some really awesome K &Company Amy Butler Lotus Greeting Stamps from Steph at StephJacobson.

I can't wait to use them!  Steph said to me in her email that it's snowing up a storm where she is, that's just so hard to imagine when it's been stinking hot here.  In fact, on Thursday,  Auckland (New Zealand) had it's hottest day since the 1870's.  32 Celsius.  I realise that's not as hot as Australia's been having, but it's real hot for us wimpish kiwi's! ;)

And then on the very same day as all these were being drawn I won the most awesome handmade bag from Mary at Make it Smirk!

It's the Estelle Bag which you can get a free pattern for from Burda Style! :)  It's so awesome, and I was so lucky to win it - especially since I was the last person to enter!!!  Go check out Mary's blog - she's another great kiwi crafter!

I feel very blessed to be a part of such a generous blogging community, and it's just so much darn fun sharing all the goodness!!