Wednesday 29 October 2014

Show & Tell: Do you want to build a Snowman?

Happy last Thursday of October!

Show & Tell Thursday's

Wouldn't you want to build a snowman or ride your bike around the hall in one of these pretties? We love love Lisa's take on Princess Anna's cape.


Of course, it could easily look like an Elsa cape too... just change up the colours and whala!

The ribbon, the pom-poms, the frogs... so pretty and fun all at the same time.

The pattern is clear and simple - really we had no trouble other than keeping those pom-poms out of the way! And the results are awesome! The girls adore them and will most days come home from school, get changed and put their cape's on... A very definite hit!

If you'd like to make an Anna inspired cape, head to the Big Little Shop!  Until the end of October you can get 15% off too - just use the code ANNAL15 at checkout.

So what delights have you been working on?  Getting your Christmas craft on?
Do tell, do share!
Have a happy Thursday!
L xx

PS:  We found the frogs at Ike's Emporium in Henderson (Auckland).  


Show & Tell Thursday's





Monday 27 October 2014

43/52


A:      We came home with bunches of flowers after a lovely visit at friends. You got straight down to creating your fairy garden with little bits of leaves, flowers, marbles, sticks and raisins for food. It was wonderful watching you go about creating this space for your flower fairies. You are a very creative and visual girl. After a quick trip to spotlight with me, your mind started going places and you needed information on fabric design. The minute we got home you created a little book for yourself, titled: My Fabric Designs. You're going to design it and I'm going to make it... that's your plan :)

H:    Once A started with the gardens, you all got involved - picking daisies from the lawn for your fairy garden. You are really into sitting down and writing down words. You love sounding them out and figuring out how to spell and write them - random words, just for fun! And you love doing tums (sums). Such a joy :)

L:    My little lion. Also picking flowers for your fairy garden. This week you have gone dry throughout the night and couldn't be more proud! You are loving being a big girl and delight in telling all of us every morning about the nights achievements. Your enthusiasm is infectious!

L xx


Joining in with Jodi @ Practising Simplicity

Friday 24 October 2014

Life is short, so love the one you've got

Just what I feel like for this Friday evening...


Enjoy the weekend lovelies!
L xx

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Show & Tell: A bit of bunting

Happy Thursday!

Show & Tell Thursday's

Heading out the door to a yarn group a few weeks ago, I had nothing on the hook to work on while there. I have been meaning to crochet some bunting for a friend's bike basket for months now and it just never seems to happen. I remembered as I ran out the door, looked up the pattern and got started!  Funny how these things happen!

I really liked how it came together and it was a fun, satisfying project. And blocking it made a tremendous difference to the look and form.

Maybe one day I'll be able to add some flowers too - I love a yarn-bombed bike! Not that this is for me of course but you know :)

What bombing have you done that brightened your day?
Looking forward to seeing what you guys have been up to.
L xx

Show & Tell Thursday's





Tuesday 21 October 2014

42/52



A:     You are such a wonderful big sister and big girl. So caring, so gentle, so motherly. You've always been like this. Being a big emotional girl who wears her heart on her sleeve can be hard at times, but seriously, the way you care about everyone and everything so affectionately makes me all gooey inside xx

L:    Being the little sister suits you well. You can wind everyone around your little finger and love love the attention you get from your big sisters. You are pretty adorable though, so it's not a hard sell giving in to that little face xx

H:    Playing badminton with the neighbours - like everything else you do, you were serious about trying your best and getting the hang of it. It was hilarious to watch and I had to race out to snap some pics of the moment. You are a great big and little sister to the other two. Being in your position in the family and having your mindset makes you a wonderful team-player and leader - knowing and instinctively taking on the right roles and positions depending on the situation. Such a joy to us all xx

Joining in with Jodi @ Practising Simplicity

Thursday 16 October 2014

I make the moves up as I go

So girly, so pop - but the girls and I just cant get enough of it!

Have a fun weekend!
L xx

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Show & Tell: Paper Plus

Why hello again!
Show & Tell Thursday's

So what have you been up to lovelies? Well here there's a bit happening, but also somehow not much can be shown for it! Anyways, hubby's grandmother had a birthday not so long ago and we wracked our brains thinking of good gift ideas.

Then of course, as is the usual way, I had a thought just as I was falling asleep - a set of handmade cards! I pulled out my scrapbook papers, stamps, embossing tools and got cracking - the next day of course ;)

They were simple but fun to make. And then I decided why not make the envelopes too? So I drew up a template and folded an evening away.

The trouble with a handmade envelope is there are no licky-sticky sides... aha! Some pretty washi tape will go with this nicely!

I had thoughts of making a wee box to present them in, some wee stickers to add, a nice pen... seriously... one could do quite alot with this idea! But we kept it simple and it was well received so yay!

What nifty gifty ideas do you have that you can share with us?
Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to!
L xx

Show & Tell Thursday's





Monday 13 October 2014

40 & 41/52


L:    Character - you have it in spades. And you are fearless. Whizzing down hills on your little bike, feet in the air using your body to cruise around the corner at speed. Adorable! Your little face is so expressive in your stories and sounds. A detour to the beach one day ended up with you all getting soaked and revelling in getting yourselves covered with the black sand. Such entertainment for all of us :)

A:    After all that struggling and all that trying, no one was quite sure when you'd master bike-riding... then one day a couple of weeks ago you simply got on it and rode! Just like that! With one bike to share and practice on, and the fact that you were alot bigger than the bike now, we got a great "new-old" bike for you. Both you and your sister are thrilled with your "new" bikes, and spent the afternoon washing and cleaning them. It was such a wonderful sight. A visit to Cambridge had you chasing after sheep or standing looking out over them and naming each one. You are such a sweet sweet wee girl.

H:    Oh the freedom of having lots and lots of space to ride. You love "gliding" on your bike now (without pedaling) and spent an entire day practicing how to get going on the bike from any place and any position. Staring out over the sheep into space, lost in thought - and then later you three girls were all but herding them from one end of the paddock to the other in attempt to pat and feed them.  Such delight and hilarity :) I love how you remember songs and lyrics - you hear it once and we will find you singing it to yourself over and over and over again - you do it A LOT at the moment!

Such a lovely school holiday we had! Cant wait for the next one.
L xx

Joining in with Jodi @ Practising Simplicity

Thursday 9 October 2014

Let's conspire to ignite

Haven't heard this in ages...love it!


Happy Weekend Lovelies!
L xx

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Show & Tell: Create

Hi Everyone,

Show & Tell Thursday's

A lovely friend had been admiring a pouch that I take with me everywhere, so I decided to make her a nice roomy pouch for her recent birthday.

Somehow I remembered the free "Create" paper pieced pattern from Make Modern by Kristy @ Quiet Play. I reduced the size by about 80% from memory so it would fit on the side of the pouch. The pieces were rather teeny tiny but still worked out ok!

I love the "denim" look of the fabric which was ironically given to me by the same friend a while back. The lining was some leftover fabric from the Ironing Board Cover Swap last year, and I thought was perfect for this project.

I made most of it up as I went along. Boxed corners are my new favourite thing too - and it has the bonus of some extra maths :p And of course a bit of outline stitching never goes amiss.

The one thing that irks me with pouches is that I can never get the "corners" to be as beautiful as I want them. Teeth to the lining, teeth to the outer... of course some results are better than others but never as perfect as I want them to be... If you have a foolproof tip for zip corners do share!

Overall I was really delighted with it and I know it's being used already! Hoorah!

So, what delights, tips, tricks or makings can you share with us this week?
Hope you're enjoying the school holidays!
L xxx

Show & Tell Thursday's





Sunday 5 October 2014

Why I Write

A couple of months ago lovely Meghan from The Adventures of MnM's tagged me to write about my blogging process.  I haven't forgotten Meghan!  It's just taken a lot longer than I expected to get this far :)  If you haven't stopped in at Meghan's space before, you are in for a treat!  Her photography is breathtaking and her busy and active family always have a million things on the go - what a go-getter bunch they are!  I usually leave her blog feeling inspired and keen to get stuck into a whole lot of life!

Ok so I can rave on some more about how super lovely Meghan is, and how I couldn't quite believe she tagged me, and how back at the blog conference when we met she knew stuff about me and my blog, and how she's just a gem of a gal all round... but you know.. I wont :p

Anyhoos, instead I'll go on about why I keep this space up.


Why do I write?
I've had this space for just over 3 years now.  Not really all that long.  It started out as a space to record the positives in my everyday.  Forcing myself to focus on the little bits of happy, and reporting on it helped me through a particularly dark cycle of depression and vicious spiral of negativity.  It was a space for me, a journal, an aid to betterment.

It has obviously changed a bit since then :)  I am sure it's all a bit happy-happy joy-joy for many people and way too formulaic.  However, it is my happy space.  One where I record the delights of my children, my makes that make me happy and calms my mind and emotions, and music that takes me places and lifts my spirits.

Rarely (and I think there have been 2 or 3 posts out of 450) do I put something out there that isn't sunshine and roses.  It does not mean that my life is one big ball of fluff.  I can assure you, it is anything but.  I just choose not to voice it in this space.  :)

How does my writing process work?
I think we can all agree I am no great writer.  I sit down, tap it out and mostly it feels like I'm having a conversation.

Currently there are 3 posts a week that I try to maintain:  The 52 Project,  the Show and Tell linkup, and a music post for the weekend.  It takes quite a lot of time doing these 3 simple posts a week.  Some days I have a few extra minutes and will process, draft, edit and schedule a few, a couple of weeks in advance...(provided I have the goods of course!).  It does help in the busy weeks where sitting down at the computer just doesn't happen.

I do hope in time I will learn to write more eloquently about things and I also hope my photography skills will improve too!  In the meantime, we live in hope :)


What am I working on?
Cripes, where to start?!  Lots of stuff...perhaps too much really.
- Some testing, some commissions, some Christmas things, and some random stuff on the making front.
- Other than that there is the general day to day we're all familiar with - home, school, kindy and other things, people, and places that require time and help.  And of course my "day" job to help pay the bills.
- Blog-wise... well I am just trying to keep up with the minimum really...  hence why you can count on the same posts each week.  Although I have lots of ideas of other things I want to write about, I cant see it happening anytime soon!


How does my work differ from others in the genre?
Well, really, it doesn't  I think.  There are tons of crafty/family/cooking/baking/random/music blogs out there.  Heaps.  And so many that are much more pretty and clever!  This is just my wee nook to reflect on the things that make me feel good :)


So, nothing really terribly exciting or well-written or in-depth, but this is where it's at for me, for now.   I have met so many lovely people through blogging - seriously.  Some amazing friendships, such inspiring talents and a whole lot of love.  I am so encouraged by other people in blogland and hope that maybe this little space is a tiny bit encouraging in some teeny way to someone else.


Given the time of year and also how long I've taken to get this post up, I'll refrain from nominating people specifically. Instead, if you haven't been tagged before, but would love to share your inner-workings with us, I nominate you!
Have a great week, wherever you are and whatever you're up to!
L xx



Thursday 2 October 2014

Forget the wars we fight, forget the tears you cry

Loving this new track from one of my fav artists!

Hope you have a lovely weekend!
L xx

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Show & Tell: Twinkle Toes

Phew - it's that time again already!

Show & Tell Thursday's

Ages ago I was lucky enough to test another one of Juliet's awesome patterns - the Ballerina. Such a gorgeous design that captures the grace of a ballet dancer beautifully. After I made the block I started getting ideas about turning it into a bag.

A few weeks/months later, the girls were invited to a little friends' fifth birthday... From memory I was pretty sure this sweet wee girl was a bit keen on dancing, so I sat down and worked out how this bag was going to come together. Thankfully Juliet had also sent me her Ballet shoes pattern - such a nice complimentary pattern combined with the ballerina isn't it?

I'm happy to say that all my maths and calculations worked out and I was super happy with how it turned out. Specially given I hadn't made anything quite like it before! Segmented inside pockets and boxed corners even! Happy dance :)

In time I might make another one for my girls... But there are quite alot of other things on the list before then!

How are your holidays going? Is the sun shining where you are? Getting into Christmas/Holiday or other crafting?
Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to!
L xx

Show & Tell Thursday's