Heart warming...

I couldn't help but share... my new favourite photo of my two lovelies:

Ahhh... I live for these moments ☺

Happiness is...

Happiness can be... so many different things.


Today, I made some bunting - bright, bold and colourful... just looking at it made me feel a little happier

There's just something fun & cheery about bunting that makes me smile... I hope you all had a moment (or more) of happiness today...


I used THIS tutorial, just with a few modifications... I like to top stitch, so all my flags were top stitched - I think it just helps them to hang and retain their shape better, and I put loops on the very ends of the bias tape to make hanging a little easier...


Oh, and of course... these two gorgeously funny monkeys make me happy every day:

Cheers

The how to NO-KNIT knitted cowl...

This is a super easy, super quick transformation tutorial...

As I mentioned in my last post it's been getting colder down south here in Australia so I've been rugging up and trying to keep warm. I keep seeing on Etsy and many other sites some gorgeous knitted cowls - I think they are fabulous and it got me thinking about making some for myself... only thing is, I'll admit I can knit but there is no speed nor uniformed tension involved, together with high likelihood of dropped stitches... so no wonderfully gorgeous cowl was going to fall from the ends of my knitting needles... hmmm, what's a girl to do... well - I'll stick to what I love, REFASHIONING!


My lovely S.I.L gave me a couple of jumpers she no longer wanted but they were much smaller than I'll ever be...

 So, I decided to turn them into these:

And here's how you can do the same with an old, ill fitting or thrift shop jumper... this project cost me absolutely nothing - pretty much a freebie 'cept for the usual things I already had like thread for my machine... WOO HOO!!! Plus, the whole refashion can pretty much be done within 30 - 40 minutes - PERFECT ☺

Woo Hoo... do a little dance it's pretty much done - I whipped up two but then decided to 'pretty' them up a bit with a flower brooch...


TO MAKE FLOWER:

 And there you have it... the NO-KNIT knitted cowl... I love them and you can bet I now will be keeping an eye out in the thrift stores for some brilliantly coloured knits to cut up and refashion... I want a whole rainbow selection of these lovely cowls. (I simply attached the flowers to felt circles and a couple of brooch pins- that way they can be worn with or without the flower and also makes for easier laundering)

As an extra bonus, the two original jumpers have rolled necks and are the perfect size for turning into Jnr. cowls... for my little lovelies, Big Little & Little Little Miss M... will post some photo's of the kiddie versions soon...


I'd love to know what you think of this refashion... one of my first that's actually for grown ups (yep that's me... lol)... Leave a comment, become a follower, check out some of my other posts - I'd love the company!


Cheers

I'll be linking up to the fabulous parties at these blogs:
Pinkapotamus
The Girl Creative
Making the World Cuter
Sumo Sweet Stuff
Nifty Thrifty Things
Craft o Maniac
Skip to My Lou
Between Naps on the Porch
C.R.A.F.T.
Keeping it Simple
I Heart Naptime
Tatertots and Jello
Sassy Sites

Ladybug Blessings

Sugar Bee Crafts
Todays Creative Blog
Sew Chatty
The Creative Itch
Funky Polka Dot Giraffe

Fabric Bows and More
My Girlish Whims

Simply Designing

Its a HodgePodge Life

Sewing, Parks and a touch of the chills…

Some days at the moment it feels like winter is already here… we’ve been getting a taste of the cooler weather… and the colds and flu too.

Meanwhile, I have been meaning to get another tutorial posted but it’s still in progress… hopefully before this Easter long weekend is over.

I’ve still managed a bit of sewing – but not as much as I’d like to have done…

A skirt bib overall…

A couple of pant versions with snaps on the inner legs for nappy (diaper changes)…

one with hem contrast…

and one without the hem contrast… I am loving this black 6oz denim at the moment!

A gorgeous (even if I do say so myself) shirred sleeve, neckline and high waisted tunic dress…

It’s hard to tell from the photos but this peachy fabric has the most gorgeous cream floral print over it…

And here’s Little Little Miss M  making it look even more gorgeous…

Most of the sewing I’ve been doing of late has been for SpaNGle*. I made another vintage set…

But I’ve got a little bit of exciting sewing I hope to also get done really soon with a little bit of ‘sugar city’… ooh… how I longed and pined for this very special pattern – but more of that another time when I actually get it done!

So what have you all been sewing/crafting lately?

Although it’s been cold, and we’ve all been a little under the weather a little it’s still nice to get out of the house and get the girls to a park….

Wishing you all an enjoyable and safe Easter break…

Cheers

All things addictive…

They say (by the way, just WHO is THEY???) that some people are born with addictive tendencies… Me?

I am addicted…

To all things food…

Which leads unfortunately to a fad diet addiction… (nothing serious I promise – I’m honestly lucky to last past lunchtime… and if you open one of my cupboards you’d be struck by an avalanche of diet shakes just waiting for me to start another day…)

To Facebook… I held out for a little while – I’ve only been FB-ing for about 4 years (coincided with maternity leave for my first, Big Little Miss M)

Last October I started blogging… so, so addictive – both being a blogger and a internet blog surfer…

And my newest addiction… Pinterest – I am now officially hooked to pinning (and I’m only a few days in….) such a great way to keep track of all things wonderful out there in computer land. Who else is out there pinning away, having caught the ‘pinning’ bug – I’d love to see what you’re finding ‘pinterest-ing’ (you can check out my boards… The Spangler – but as I said I’m only a few days into my Pinterest addiction)

The one I can’t seem to get my head around is Twitter… call me a gumby… I just don’t know – the whole thing doesn’t seem to make sense to me…. any tips or advice on tweeting and/or using twitter would be gladly accepted ☺

Now, you may be wondering is there any point to this post? Well, yes and no… you see I was happily browsing pinterest, stepped away from the computer for a moment and came back to discover that Pinterest is currently down… what to do, what to do….

BLOG…

Oh… and another refashioning tutorial is in progress for you all… (and when Pinterest is back up and running I’ll show you all some fabulous photo’s and links I’ve discovered there!)

Cheers and have a great week  xo

Reflections…

Hmm… I don’t post a lot about me and I kind of like being a little bit elusive but this is my blog so tonight it’s a little more of a personal one – just thoughts and reflections… (have you noticed how much I like to abuse the use of … suspension points?☺)

It’s about a year now since I left the workforce and a career to stay at home with my girls and be a SAHM… trading briefs, court appearances and researching case law for changing nappies (diapers), playgroup sessions and googling the effects of all sorts of supposedly non-edible household substances (yep, my youngest does love to eat EVERYTHING… mascara, bonjella, coins… I don’t think I’m a bad mum surely some of you out there have a little one who even under supervision seems to find, hide then eat whatever they can get their cheeky little hands on – I do feed her you know!)

It was a little daunting at first leaving the security of an income and job that I’d been doing for close to ten years .

There are many days that it feels like a lifetime away … almost the life of a different person. But then again I guess I am a different person now…

I once received a state commendation for successfully negotiating an armed hostage/siege situation… now I negotiate toy equity and lolly aisle tantrums whilst sometimes feeling like I am being held to ransom!

I used to go to work and argue bail oppositions and make sentencing submissions… now I direct and govern the ‘naughty spot’ and make attempts to explain behaviour and consequence to a 3 year old (my little one [almost two] year old is just being introduced to the ‘spot’)…

We have some pretty crazy, crazy days… I don’t know how I fit work in before? Sometimes I look around and it feels like I haven’t made a dent in the laundry pile, the kitchen dishes and there seems to be a mocking kind of layer of dust about… kind of overwhelming at times…

But in amongst all that I have two beautiful, exuberant, fun-loving and healthy young girls who can bring a smile, not only to my mouth and eyes but to my heart and soul with the littlest of innocent gestures… they allow me to share their day giving me a first hand peek into life through the eyes of a child… to listen to the pure joy and innocence of made up songs in a language unknown to adults but understood by children…

For all the hard days, the days where I feel like I’m being sent crazy (for the bazillionth time) and the days where everything seems to be a little much… it’s nice to just reflect, realise and acknowledge how lucky I am and how a simple smile, cuddle or “I love you” from the two most precious little people in my world is worth more than a lifetime of the worst days… I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

Cheers

And the winner is…

First things first… THANK YOU to everyone that reads my blog, is a follower – both old and new – and to everyone that entered.

We managed to reach 311 followers (51 new followers during the giveaway promotion) WOO HOO… that meant there were an additional 5 prizes added to the winners booty!

With 45 entries and random.org the winner is…………..

Comment number 27 was Lesli from Put a Little Umbrella in Your Drink!

Congratulations… This is what you’ve won (see photo at top of post too):

1x One of a kind Ribbon & Chain Necklace

1x Baby/Toddler Denim & Lace headband

1x Singed Ribbon Brooch

5 1/2 yards of double fold Michael Miller ‘Kaleidoscope’ bias

1 length of fabric bunting in your colour theme choice (no picture available yet – will be custom made)

1 canvas to co ordinate with bunting (no picture available yet – will be custom made)

So, Lesli drop me an email with a suggestion of colour and/or theme you’d like your bunting in together with your mailing address! I hope you ♥LOVE♥ your prizes!

Thanks again to everyone that entered and all my followers – you all are truly the reason that I love blogging and am inspired to continually do and share projects and little tid bits of life…

I hope you all continue to follow along, stop by from time to time, leave me a comment here and there and if you ever have a question or anything don’t hesitate to ask…

Cheers