weekend

After a depressing kind of week luckily the weekend was a big improvement. On Saturday late in the afternoon we headed to a local beach for a fish and chips dinner, not the most healthy option but it's the perfect dinner to eat on the beach. It was a lovely still evening after a stunning Winter's day and not too cold at all. We stayed till the sun started to set and came home to a town lit up by lights. We seldom go out with the kids in the evening so it was a big treat for miss E to see all the lights on in the main street of town, I remembered back to my childhood and the magic of lights at night, it does seem quite magical doesn't it?

blue

It's been one of those weeks, not a good one. My email account was hacked into and I have been trying to deal with the consequences. I haven't received any emails for the last 4 days, I didn't know I had received some lovely comments on my blog and well I don't know what else I've missed out on. It's been a really frustrating time and I haven't realised how much I rely on such technology. Hopefully it will be sorted really soon. So if you sent me an email and I haven't responded I'm sorry I just never received it!

On a brighter note this is a rainbow picture that miss E did a little while ago, I really love it and hope to turn it into something, I'd like to say an embroidery but I don't think I have the patience for that, we'll see.

Happy weekend to you.

a bit of silver

On the weekend a group of friends and I made our way out to Port Waikato to take part in a Art Clay Silver workshop. We had such a great time, we went along with no major preconceptions at what we would come away with but were all so pleased with what we produced. Above are the some images of what I made. A silver leaf made by layering silver Art Clay paste over a leaf from the garden and few little charms from the Art Clay. It was so much fun and I can't say enough good things about our instructor Chris who is so passionate about Art Clay and had so many helpful suggestions. One of the best parts of the workshop was having a delicious lunch prepared and served for us, including some smoked fish that her husband had caught! We were so spoilt. Chris has a little studio and she sells her beautiful jewellery from there too so if you are ever heading out to the port stop by to have a look, her contact details are on the bottom photo. We are already planning another trip out there to try out some more ideas, although I think I'd be content just making more leaves.

holidays

The school holidays are over and we are back into routine again. Here are a few shots from over the holidays, biscuits baking, finished biscuits, a lucky thrift find and being out in the garden.

zoom, zoom, zoom

A collection of matchbox type cars that belonged to my husband as a child are THE most popular and loved toys in our home and I felt they needed some accessories. As a child I always loved those printed mats with roads and houses etc on them, I really, really wanted one. Well this is my version of one of those mats. I used an old skirt for the green base, it had two pockets on it, I kept one to put cars or road signs in but carefully unpicked the other. I added the road, an old very outdated black velvet shirt proved perfect for that. All the other additions came from the large scrap pile I have. I backed it with some striped denim that I thrifted a while ago and bound it with some Sandberg fabric that was a designer sample that I was gifted. It's a big hit and has been played with every step of the way, when it only had a road, once the trees were added, before it was backed. It's much more fun to play with now that it's all finished. The best part for me was not buying anything to make it, even thread, I just used what I had to hand. I think I'm too much of a hoarder though so it's no surprise to me (or my husband) that I could make something like this without going shopping. So what's next? well a farm mat has been suggested, hmmm better get my scraps out again.

and the winner is.....

Drum roll please....... and the winner is Rhiannon from the lovely blog Toast and life! thanks for all the comments, it's nice to hear how everyone came to read this little space of mine. I used a random number generator to come up with the winning number, I had planned to write all the names down and do it the old fashioned way but online was quicker.

The weather here has been stunning today, cold morning but sunny and warmish for most of the day, perfect winter weather! To top it all off my friend brought around this lovely bouquet of magnolias from her garden a sign that spring is on it's way.

holidays

We are into the second week of school holidays, luckily the weather seems to have been on our side for most of it, cold mornings but sunny cloud free days. Our local library is undergoing a major face lift and getting amongst other things a new entrance way. We were really lucky to be in town as a crane was lifting the pieces into place. Miss E was very keen to capture the event so I let her take all the pictures. It was so nice to see her carefully lining up the images and excited at every frame she captured. Now we just have to wait a few more months till we can experience the new improved library.

Just a reminder I'll be drawing a winner tomorrow for my giveaway, you can still enter by leaving a comment here.

a bit of blue

I found a new book at my local library called "Sewing clothes kids love" by Nancy Langdon and Sabine Pollehn. At first glance I didn't really think I'd like the patterns inside, they have applique and loads of embellishments and look really busy. But beneath all the "busy" the patterns are actually quite simple and lovely. With a fairy party coming up miss E needed a new skirt to wear, I was given this blue Thai silk by a friend who was moving overseas around 6 years ago. I had never been brave enough or had the right project to cut into it before now. The skirt pattern is called "Insa" and although not quite as quick to sew as I'd like (it has an under and over skirt) I think I'll be making some more, although not as embellished as this one. I raided my stash for the lace and sequins that I used on this which was a great feeling not rushing out to buy anything (ok I bought some matching thread).

It looks much better in real life and much better when it's getting twirled around and it goes without saying it would look better without the sneakers with their tongues hanging out, apparently that's how they have to be worn! It's nice to see some dress ups in blue rather than pink or pink or pink.

Don't forget about the blogging birthday giveaway, I've gathered a few more treats together for it. You can enter here by leaving a comment.

this moment

"'a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week - a simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, saviour and remember.' Soule mama"

fungi

The winter so far has been quite mild, but quite wet. Perfect conditions for fungi of all shapes and sizes to grow. It's easy to get inspired by how magically they appear and their cute shapes. I made this hottie cover ( I swear it doesn't look all pilled, it's just really bad light to photograph black felted wool!) from a thrifted felted wool jumper. I needle felted the toadstool on, I love to needle felt although it's not advisable to try and watch TV at the same time otherwise you might mistake your finger for felt like I did, ouch. I really like how it's turned out (it's really bugging me that it looks like it's pilled in the photo - it's not) and I think a cardi for miss E would look cute with a toadstool, or perhaps a hat for mr A.

giveaway

To celebrate blogging for one year I'm having a little giveaway open to anyone world wide. I've got this little dog handmade by me up for grabs patch worked from a mix of vintage fabrics and newer ones. I'll also include a few more surprises too, maybe some yummy chocolate and well I shouldn't give too much away but there will be a few more added surprises too.

So all I want from you is to leave a comment about how you found my blog, well, because I'm a bit curious! I'll keep the comments open till this time next week which is Wednesday the 14th New Zealand time. Good luck!

year old

I've just realised that this little space of mine has turned one year old today. It's amazing how fast that year has flown past. When I first started writing I had a little wee babe who wasn't sitting now look at him trying hard to ride that trike (wishing I'm sure that he was just a little bigger so he could ride it like his sister). I've made some new friends over the course of the year, discovered many a new blog from those who have left comments and been quite amazed at how many people stop by to read this little blog. So thanks!

I am planning a little giveaway to celebrate this anniversary, I'm a bit unorganised due to the holidays and the intensive child caring going on at the moment but watch this space over the next few days. Thanks for stopping by

updated

I have now discovered what these little beauties are and I've updated my old post here.

Happy weekend!