Pattern drafting, mess creating and a little inspiration...

I didn't get a chance to fit any sewing into my day today but after the girls went down for the night I decided to attempt a pattern draft for a skirt I kind of had a mental vision for.

 Now, I have no official training in pattern drafting so my attempt created a fair amount of mess and took a little longer than I had hoped.

Note the many, many redrawn lines... The first one I drew up was a size 3 (3T) for my little big Miss M and the second one was a size 1 (18mths) for my little little Miss M.
The second pattern was sooooo much easier because I could use the first one as a guide.

The fabric above is the material I'll use for the size 3 skirt. It's going to have the blue waistband, a red main section with blue ric rac and a gorgeous birdy fabric hem panel finished with red bias tape.
I really hope it turns out how I am imagining it in my head...
Fingers crossed for a good nap time from the girls tomorrow afternoon so that I can sew up this skirt.
Cheers xo

Another day another refashion…

Two days sewing in a row… now that’s something that doesn’t happen too often these days!
I started off with plans to refashion this skirt (which began life as a Size 10 girls skirt) into a dress for my Little Little Miss M (18mths old)…

I wanted a shirred bodice, so I cut it open and removed a portion from the side to allow material for arm bands. After shirring and a little snip here and there plus a little bit of trial and error with the arm straps it finally came together… BUT… I decided this suited my Little Big Miss M (3.5 y/old) better because of its length (I didn’t want to re-hem especially since it had such a nice trim already).

So, that meant that the first refashion from yesterday went to Little Little Miss M…. who was quite happy with her big sisters dress.

 

So, I’m wondering if tomorrow I might make something from scratch. Since the weather is starting to really warm up I think I may make some bright twirly skirts… every girl loves twirly skirts don’t they?

Refashioned girls skirt to toddler dress...

Well I finally got a little bit organised (only a little) and pulled out one of the skirts I've had lying around for months and refashioned it into a really basic dress for my little big Miss M (as opposed to my little little Miss M whom I'll sew up a refashioned skirt for later today whilst I'm feeling inspired).


 

 

With only a few really basic changes I cut the skirt down one side and over-locked a new side seam. Then using the part I cut off I made 4 spaghetti straps and a headband… DONE! Just too easy!
And the finished product…. drumroll…… TA DAH!







Hmmm… still looks a little too skirt like for me but Little Big Miss M loves it so I guess it’s alright… I’ll use a little more effort for my next one I think.

Cheers

P.S Just experimenting with fonts and layouts so sorry if its looking a little messy over here :)

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate Bundt…

No sewing as yet… BUT I did order even MORE fabric online and baked two of these fabulous triple choc Bundt cakes.

This cake is both incredibly delicious and easy to bake. Dress it up with some strawberries and cream and its perfect for an impressive dinner party dessert.
Find the recipe here but trust me its seriously so wickedly delicious it could be dangerous!
After you check it out bookmark the site because no matter what recipe you’re looking for http://www.food.com/ (formerly recipezaar.com) is the place to look for it – and by checking out comments/ratings you are pretty much assured a winner.
Hmmm… well I really need to get sewing….

The backyard is ours…

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day, the washing wash hung out and it was shaping up to be a lovely backyard day… Until the air was filled with a faint buzzing that became louder and louder (I was inside at the time). Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I peeked out the front… nothing, which was strange because the buzzing was really pretty loud by now. I checked out back and lo and behold the sky was filled with masses of bees! Now I understand everything has its place in the environmental scheme of things but that did nothing to allay the fear that settled over me – I really am not a bug person, especially not a fan of any that have the ability to bite or sting. Now, I wish I managed a photo of this frightening swarm in flight but I really was quite scared and couldn’t quite think straight other than to forcefully ensure my little ones went no where near the doors for fear of them letting any in.

I felt a little braver today and managed to photograph the swarm all nestled in and making themselves comfy on one of the trees out the back (mind you I utilised the mega zoom on my camera to ensure a mighty distance between them and I!)
I was about an hour away from calling an apiarist but I peeked out this afternoon and almost mysteriously, they were gone.
So the bees had the run of the yard for a day but tomorrow…

THE BACKYARD IS OURS AGAIN! Here’s hoping for a sunny day

Beautiful Birthday Cakes - Princesses, a castle and a carousel!

Another closet hobby of mine is cake decorating. Having two little princesses means that each year for their birthday I am unleashed to attempt an iced masterpiece. I learnt some basic cake decorating skills during a term of elective activities at high school and the rest was gleaned from my mum who fostered a love of cooking and creativity in me from a very young age.
I have found through experimentation that I prefer to use marshmallow fondant to decorate with as I find it easier to handle and that it gives a nice smooth finish with relatively little heartache.

This first photo is of me as a little bub and my mum. You see the princess cake there - it is what inspired me to create a princess cake for my beautiful little girls first birthday...

Back in the 70's I guess those hideous orange netting curtains were all the rage!

My first attempt with fondant icing and a princess cake.

My eldest daughters 2nd birthday was only 4 weeks after I had my youngest daughter so it had to be something quick and easy as my little bub had no concept of sleep routines!!!



For my 2nd bubs 1st B'day... my second attempt at a princess cake



My big girls 3rd birthday carousel cake... I was pretty proud of this one - at 1am the morning of her birthday it was almost the carousel cake that never was! Thankfully it all seemed to come together pretty well... even my self painted and decorated little horses (these beauties caused me to fall in love with my glue gun all over again!)


 





 

Looking back - Canvas & Ribbon hair clip board

Well, I haven't really gotten off to such a great start... have gone a little crazy buying some gorgeous fabric from some wonderful online fabric stores but haven't gotten much further than folding it all up neatly in anticipation of turning them into something wonderful!

In the meantime, whilst I attempt to get a little more organised I thought I'd show off a few of my past creations over the next few days.

I made this canvas and ribbon hair clip board for a birthday gift for my daughters friend... my first attempt at one of these but I do want to make some more...

It was a relatively easy project that used a craft store bought canvas, some pearly paint, ribbon, staple gun & hot glue plus any embellishments to jazz it up.

I painted the canvas using a criss-cross motion to get a kind of checkered effect (I did two coats like this).

Then it was just a matter of staple gunning some lengths of ribbon and hot-gluing embellishments and the name letters (which are store bought scrap booking ones)... too easy and I love personalised gifts.

And then I added some home made hair clips (flowers & yo-yo's hot glued onto snap clips)... I was pretty thrilled with the end result.