I love... CAKE!

I've been missing my blog... things are still busy but becoming more manageable (I think ☺). 

We are finally over our shared family flu - we even ventured out yesterday for a lovely day strolling the shops in a nearby touristy town... 

we had ice cream (pistachio gelato - YUM)... 

we had cookies (oh and a heavenly hot hot coffee)... 

we bought fabric from a quilt shop sale... 

got the grocery shopping done and had a wander through the plant nursery...

I even happened upon a little inspiration - which is always nice ☺

I have an exciting week coming up.... My Little Little Miss M will be turning TWO!!! And birthdays mean cake! I love LOVE LOVE cake!

Here's my little pumpkin.... gosh I love her teeth (and the rest of her too - but my, how I hope her adult teeth look as good as her bubby ones!)

(Please ignore that irritating pile of laundry to be folded and my strategic attempt to hide it behind a watermark!)

I can't believe how fast the two years has gone... birthdays always make me reminisce. The memories of the pregnancy, those first contractions, that first cuddle and everything between then and now... Yes, my girls do drive me crazy at times but no words could ever adequately give meaning to how full of love they fill my entire being and world....

Anyway, that's enough gushing for now and here's a look back the cakes I made for my girls birthdays last year:

Big Little Miss M's birthday

Little Little Miss M's 1st birthday 

And here's what I'll be baking this year (small cakes preview only... you'll have to check back over the next week to see the 'reveal' of her actual birthday cake ☺)

Love these ice cream cone cakes... perfect to take along to playgroup to share... I want to make something like this (but just a little different too...) Fingers crossed they work for me - I've never made these before (any tips would be ever so appreciated too)!

SOURCE:  bakerella.com 

And these super cool and fun Cookie Monster Cupcakes...

And to decorate with some gorgeous giant crepe paper pom poms... in purple, lilac and cream...

SOURCE: marthastewart.com

Ooooh, how I love birthdays and creating special memories ☺

Cheers for now and come back soon... and you're more than welcome to leave a comment - I love them almost (but not quite) as much as cake!

How time flies... even when you're not having fun!

Wow... where did the last 2 weeks go? I feel like they just flew by and my poor neglected blog has just sat idle... waiting... waiting... waiting for a new post!

Well, I am still here - trying to sort things and really get organised so that I can manage not only my blog and my online selling of handmade SpaNGle* items but the most important thing of all... homelife with my gorgeous girls and husband. I think I need to come up with a timetable of sorts because lately it seems that one thing bleeds into another and the result is that none of my endeavours or family are really getting the attention they need or deserve.

The house is a mess... it's cold and miserable outside... we are all getting our second round of colds for the year... and yep, this early taste of winter is causing a little of the winter blues to set in!

So, give me a few more days (I've got a bundle of sewing orders to get through), I will be working on a timetable/schedule for day to day things - because it's come to the point that if I don't have one I'm just not going to get things done... and not getting things done is really stressful!

And then, hopefully I'll be back with a vengeance (and a whole lot of newly inspired creations to share) and a plan... after all one of my resolutions was to become more organised this year and at present it's looking like a fail!

I guess we all go through periods where everything kind of takes over and it feels like everything is hurtling along with no real direction or control - I just need to stop, take a breath, look around and find some focus again ☺

In the meantime... here's a few inspiring photo's and links to some really awesome projects and ideas I've come across on Pinterest...

The DIY fingerprint Jewellery tutorial over at Sara Hortega's Photography Blog I am going to have to find time to try this! I've always wanted my girls fingerprints on some jewellery - and this is definitely a cost effective way of achieving some!

And because it will be soon Little Little Miss M's second birthday and a month later Big Little Miss M's fourth birthday I'm starting to think about all things birthday and party....

These Chocolate Party Spoons will definitely be making an appearance at Big Little Miss M's party! The how to on making these simple but stunning party treats can be found at Delicious Delicious Delicious





This teapot cake will be my inspiration for Big Little Miss M's cake this year... I don't know the original source site for this photo but if you do I'd love know because they've done a gorgeous job with this cake creation!

Some party favour cones that can be found at this Finnish site - I think these would look fab in pinks hung above a candy buffet...





So Cheers for now and I'll be back really soon... if time continues to fly along like it has been lately it'll be before you (and I) know it...

Amongst other things... I'm working on being more organised

Here are a few things I've been working on... mostly they should have been done long ago. Being organised is definitely a skill I was not gifted with.

Anyhow, I'll continue to work on my organisation skills but in the meantime here are some projects I did complete (and know that there are still a few that I'm working on...)

Pillow covers being sent up north for a cause (which should have been done a while ago - I hope they can still be put to use though...)

Another set of overalls... I absolutely have fallen in love with this fabric!

Here's a close up of the fabric... loving the gorgeous butterflies

And another denim set...

Some fun with the girls drawing... (sorry about the really poor photo quality - I'm still lamenting the permanent breakdown of my 'good' camera and haven't committed to a new one yet - those babies are expensive!)

 I'd never heard of newspaper end rolls before... see the massive roll of paper above? That's a newspaper end roll (I learned of them during the PATTERN DRAFTING COURSE I did as we used them to draw up our block patterns). They are a bargain... picked it up at the local newspaper office for $7 - there's plenty for the girls to draw and paint to their hearts content and still plenty for me too!

Such a great way to fill an hour or two... Here's one of the pieces that now adorns their bedroom wall:

Hope you're all having a fabulous weekend... and if I get a little more organised I'll have another tutorial posted in the next few days - something a little different this time, not a clothing refashion but rather an update of sorts to a rather ugly home fixture! ☺
Cheers

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