as halloween as we get

halloween is kinda new in NZ and it hasn't graduated past witches and skeletons into the nationwide dress-up party it is in the US.

and so, our church hosts a light party as an alternative to grim reapers scrounging lollies and this year's theme was 'Candy Land'.

 these are our (ahem)"costumes":

you don't 'get' it?

i'll share my exact thought process to clarify:

candy land...candy canes...candy canes have stripes..we have clothes with stripes... *bingo!*

i promise that's it! yup, lay-zeeeee~

(oh, and don't feel bad for Monte, he loves a chance to wear the babylegs , hehe)

saturday

we are enjoying the company of wonderful guests this weekend...and they even came with a box full of handmade/thrifted gifts! wow, totally spoilt. the crochet blanket is def going to be for #5. yay!!

hope you're enjoying the weekend

(isn't odd to have no rugby to watch??)

X

changing rooms pt. 3

the Great Room Switch is slowly getting underway with our wall now built and painted. we have partly moved Jada in to her corner.

blue, mustard, lots of "sewn stuff", horses and other vintage collections are coming together nicely.

and for the two little boys corner, a vintage transport theme:

(is this not the most awesome vintage truck wallpaper?!)

and a stag cushion and some fabric camo strips for my biggest boy who loves deer, the outdoors and Bear Grylls:

(and it looks like my camera lens is horribly in need of a clean. sorry~)

more coming soon!!

X

an EX-shy guy

i finally got organised and booked Monte into kindy. today was his first day:

(as well as what he wore, we'll never forget that Monte was also going through a phase of putting his hands down the back of his pants when he began kindy! awesome.)

with his support crew:

being a home schooling family we have to do everything together. this is often awkward and the opposite of easy. and honestly i was dreading piling the troops out of the car to take Monte into kindy today (i mean, who does that??) but then i see this picture, and am really grateful that he had His Team with him to share his first day.

Jada and Ty both went to this kindy so they had a great time showing him around (and reminiscing!)

remember this kid?? the excrutiatingly shy one who wore sunglasses to family christmas so no one would "see" him? well, he ROCKED it today. in fact, he's been rocking it so much for the last 6 months that it is sometimes hard to remember just how shy he used to be (how shy? painfully, frustratingly.)

and so, my advice to mums with shy babes? consider their age and patience may just be your best cure :)

X

Make my Week #41 - All Black doll!!

if you know anything about rugby you will know that NZ have just hosted and WON the world cup. it's been a fun 7 weeks supporting our All Blacks team to their victory.

because of this, it has been extra rad to make an order i had for a custom early 80s style All Black doll - (you know, back when the tops weren't spray painted on and the collars were real not implied? and all the players had lamb chop sideburns with handlebar moustaches?) - a Murray Mexted-ish doll to be precise.

and like any typical world-cup winning sportsman, here he is chatting up the ladies before he headed off to his new home in Qatar:

i made 2 more All Blacks similar to this guy for my shop, so keep an eye out on facebook or twitter for first alerts on when they'll be added.

X

holiday weekend

1. The 'grandpa' sculpture at Katikati is always a favourite.

2. The Mount

3. My peeps.../heart swell

4. Ty watching the CSI-esque oil spill cleaners.../sad face

5. JR wanted a pic with his bebes

6. Te Puna Quarry Park. amazing...and free!

It isn't called the 'Bay of Plenty' for no good reason~

X

{#5} 22 weeks

guess who had a little growth spurt?


(i'm hoping to document this weekly. just promise you'll remember your manners around 40 weeks, i don't want any jaws dragging on the floor mkay? ;))

handy mummy

just because i sew, it doesn't mean i exclusively sew.

and just because i'm married to a mega-talented furniture-maker, doesn't mean he's the only one who knows how to use a drill (and a saw and a plane, in this case).

yep, i made a height-assisting, toilet-training stool from some bits n pieces of wood i found laying around.

the design brief included:

::sturdiness:: i didn't want kiddos toppling in the middle of their 'business'.

::subtleness:: previously we have used regular stools, but they are bulky and interfere with my business (and when you're talking about someone who left their pelvic floor muscles somewhere around their 2nd pregnancy, you don't want any interference. alright?) 

sooo...my solution (click to enlarge if very interested):

very sturdy.

very stowable.

very self-cleaning.

(ok, maybe not the last. but wouldn't it be nice?) 

do you sneak into your guy's toolbox while he's at work and make stuff? 

it's kinda fun huh:)

noteworthy II

some of you may remember the "you & me" notebook i made up for me and Jada to write notes back and forth to each other in.

well, it has been fantastic and we both love it.

because we've had builders in, i'd put the notebook in my bedside cabinet to avoid the dust. it turns out Jada had been desperately looking for it and left this note by my bed when i went to bed a few nights ago:

JR and i had a good giggle at the drama of our girl-child.

hehe.

for those of you who began a 'you & me' notebook, how is it working out? i'd love to hear.

X

kite song

the painter has been here this afternoon staining the wood trim on our new walls.

hello fumes! no one light a match!!

the phrase, "as high as a kite" keeps popping into my head. 

which made me think of this pretty song.

have you heard it?

i could listen to it on heavy repeat.

X

make my week #40 - maxi bow

ideas pop into my head at the weirdest of times and in the weirdest of places. this one was in the shower. i made it while watching (kinda) the rugby on Saturday night.

take a rectangle of contrasting fabrics and sew around all sides, leaving a gap (centre bottom)to turn through. snip corners, turn through and stuff. slip stitch gap together. sew a length of fabric together for the middle part, turn through. put it around the centre of your puffy rectangle and pull it as tight as you'd like. hand sew in place. then, sew a hair clip of your choice to the back of your bow. 

make a super high messy bun and wear your bow underneath it at the back.

when or where do you get most of your creative ideas??

~Dee

{giveaway} WINNERS~~!

mmm, Saturday morning...

i always feel like i've been a mega personal-space invader after party week but i hope you've had some fun.

onto the winners:

(thanks random.org)

giveaway #1: custom portrait winner:

Jen (My Own Road)

giveaway #2: bow headband & ring winner:

Katydid

giveaway #3: Silverlight earrings:

Talia Christine

Congratulations!!

I also did some spying on a lot of you through the week because i had this special spot prize for anyone who had put my button up for the week:

(i don't like to bribe, but am happy to reward :) )

i found 2 blogs who had used my button:

Make it, Give it

Casa Crafty

thank you ladies for taking the time to add my button to your sidebar. you have each won one of my dolly head necklaces.

(sorry if you did and i didn't spot it X)

thank you to everyone who commented and made party week the fun that it was - especially our generous giveaway-ers.

enjoy your weekend~

Dee

X

{giveaway} Silverlight Jewellery

{giveaway}

party week's final giveaway comes to you from Emma of Silverlight Jewellery. Emma is a local jeweller whose pieces are very affordable and of an extremely high quality.

Emma also has another Felt shop called Whiteleaf Jewellery for more earthy, nature inspired pieces.

today Emma is generously giving away a pair of her best-selling silver leaf skeleton earrings. i have already bought TWO pairs of these for gifts this year and they look absolutely stunning on. (much, much nicer than the imitation silver ones at all the chain stores these days, ack!) 

i know you'll love them too.

::for a valid entry::

1. you must be a follower of this blog

2. you must visit Emma's Silverlight shop or Whiteleaf shop on Felt and tell me your fave piece.

for TWO extra entries::

like the Silverlight and Whiteleaf facebook page

open internationally and drawn tomorrow (Saturday) around noon (NZT)

 you also have one more day to enter these giveaways:

{bow headband and ring}

{custom portrait}

{guest post} tutorial::happy hanging sticks

Hi my name is Jada, i hope you're enjoying mum's blog party.

Today my friend Keely and I are going to show you how to make "Happy Hanging Sticks".

(aren't they the cutest??!!)

First, you lay the sticks how you want them to be.

Then, you will need to paint rings around the stick.

Then, you cut a groove around the stick with the scissors. Be careful!

The groove is for the string to fit into.

Then, you tie the string around the grooves and put beads on the string.

This is where it will hang.

Then, you need to tie the rest of your sticks to the main stick and you can decorate with beads, shells or feathers.

Have fun making it (if you do!)

From Jada

{dee.i.y} leather feather belt/necklace

i really hope you're enjoying party week and not thoroughly sick of me hogging your google reader!

if you follow me on twitter, you will have seen a sneak peek of today's dee.i.y... i really love how it turned out. i hope you do too~

::how to::

 ::draw up a template of your feather and trace the outline on  to your leather (i used these boots. yum!). i made one feather slightly smaller than the other::

::using scissors cut around the traced lines and using a craft knife cut a thin line down the middle of your feather::

::cut a small slit at the top of your feather and insert your long piece of leather. tie a knot on both sides of the feather to secure it. repeat on the other side (so you should have a feather on either end of a length of thin leather)::

::then wear, as a necklace::

::or a belt::

(the hand on my hip is hiding my 'muffin tops'! mmhmm, tricks of the trade.../wink)

pretty cute preg belly decor, no?

i'll be back later with another 'how-to' from an adorable guest poster, that includes a VIDEO!! so excited (you should be too!)

Dee

X

{dee.i.y} how to fake a quilt

i so badly wanted title this post "how to FAKE an American quilt..." but, a) i haven't seen the movie and b) it isn't especially "American"

so it's just going to have to be, "how to make fake a quilt"

for her new 'room' Jada requested that her area have "lots of sewn stuff" and blue. so i thought i'd try my hand at making her a new patchwork duvet (dooner, comforter) cover.

long straight lines and numbers and me don't mix very well so i think this is about close to quilting as i'll get!!

the embroidered pieces are taken from an exquisite hand embroidered tablecloth. i hated to cut it up but i think this will be the best way to show it off.

i joined the pieces in rows, then overlocked and top-stitched (for added strength)before joining the rows together.

i did french seams around the sides and 3 buttons at the opening end.

so if you're like me and break into a sweat at the thought of cutting and piecing a quilt, this might be your next best option.

my hat is well and truly off to the real quilters :)

~Dee

PS tomorrow i have an extra special guest blogger showing you a very cool project. see you then~x