magnet

Over the last few weeks I've been trying to complete some little projects I've had on the go for ages. One such project was some magnets and magnet trays. When I saw those little painted bamboo plates at a local thrift store I thought instantly how cool they would be as magnets brightening up my fridge. All it took was a few magnets and some liquid nails to make it possible. I also found that little tin (well actually 3 of them) at the same store. I glued a couple of magnets on the back of that one and I've been using it for small change. I'll have to keep something else in there now as some little hands discovered my stash and added the coins to their money box. I've thought about taking the lids off the other tins to turn them into something a bit more like this.

I also had a number of trays saved up to turn into magnet boards. I found about a year apart these trays with different states of America on them, one is Texas the other Iowa. Miss E now has the Texas one in her room  and I've put the Iowa one in my pantry to hold all the school notices. It's great to have just one place for the school notices that seem to multiply so quickly! I've also found a tray for mr A, it's a boyish "London" tray, so now he can have a place for all his preschool artworks.

It's great to finally get stuck into clearing the backlog of projects, and I feel kind of silly that I haven't made the effort earlier.

winner!

Thank you all for the lovely comments on my posting milestone! The random number generator chose number 8 which is Sarah! Congratulations Sarah! Drop me a line to confirm your address.

Hope you are all having a good weekend. It's a bit cold and miserable here today, so I'm weaving in some ends on some crochet projects (the part I dislike the most!) and I've got some bread in the oven for a late lunch, yum!

400 post giveaway!

I've got a wee giveaway for one lovely blog reader. I've made a yarn bag with some of my own granny square fabric that I had printed at Spoonflower last year and a little granny square pendant pendant that is stiffened with fabric stiffener. I'm sure I can find a few other little surprises to pop in for the lucky winner too.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, I'll leave the comments open till Sunday and draw a random winner then. This giveaway is open to international readers too!

snail

I don't think opening an email will ever compare to opening some "snail" mail. I received a couple of things last week that I'd like to share. I was lucky to win Nin's mother's day competition, so I found a bag of goodies arriving at my door. Thanks again Nin! Don't you just love those heart hand warmers? Miss E has eyed those up with a suggestion of "walking to school with them in her pockets on a frosty morning". If you want to buy some of those heart hand warmers or check out more of Nin's crafty goodies you can check out her felt shop.

Stella sent me that super cute stork thank you card, with a couple of other postcard designs she's come up with. Mini DIY bunting and a mini DIY kite! A bit too cute to cut up me thinks, but I'll try! Thanks Stella. You can click here to see more of Stella's work and she offers those postcards for sale too! I think they would brighten anyone's day if they got one in the mail.

I've got a few packages to send off this week, and I love the fact that they will hopefully brighten someone else's day too.

This is my 400th post! So pop back tomorrow for a little giveaway competition xx

bagged

It was a cold and rainy day here yesterday, it made me want to snuggle up in bed and do nothing. Resisting that urge due mainly to the fact I have some children to look after and a house full of jobs that needed my attention, I quickly whipped up this yarn bag. I was inspired by this pin. Many, many years ago I bought the eyelets at Mitre 10 or maybe Bunnings for just a couple of dollars thinking they'd come in handy some day, they finally did! I've seen them for sale at my local fabric store too (but much more expensive). It's basically a lined zip purse with an eyelet in for the yarn to come out. I think that I'll make a few more for my crochet and knitting friends, it's a great way to keep your yarn clean and to stop the ball running away!

Once it was finished and some boring household jobs were out of the way I sat down and crocheted some more dishcloths, from this pattern ( which I posted a year ago to the date!). I didn't get a chance to browse the magazine though, maybe on the next rainy day.

for mums

I hope all you mums out there had a lovely mother's day on Sunday. I had a lovely day, my one request was not to cook dinner! (I can't be the only one over cooking evening meals every night!) I received some lovely cards and a few special treats made at Pippins.

We had a nice afternoon tea with my mother in law with some yummy treats that disappeared very quickly.

Although I don't like to buy into all the commercialism of such a day, it's nice however to have some handmade treats and little ones that give you extra special big hugs too! (their words)

keeping warm

I start thinking of making crocheted slippers as soon as the weather cools. They are a fast crochet project with almost instant results and the definite bonus of having warm feet is a big plus! I've made a couple of pairs so far and I've got a few more planned for some friends in need of warm toes. I used this pattern I bought from etsy. I've got quite a few other crochet slipper patterns that I've bought from this local etsy seller too, these ones are my favourite and I think I'll make some of them next.

The top ones I crocheted for me using some Alpaca yarn that my neighbour hand spun for me (thanks again Kerstin), they are lovely and soft. The light grey ones I made for my neighbour from some of her hand spun Angora rabbit yarn and they are even softer!!!! I also crocheted a double thickness sole so hopefully they will last a little longer.

Alpaca day

(I so wanted to take this one home! The stand out cutie for me)

Yesterday was National Alpaca day, most farms that have Alpacas were open to the public to come and visit. We went to a local farm that happens to be owned by a lovely lady from my creative fibre group. They also have a lovely shop there too, you can find it's web shop here, Alpaca Box. They couldn't have had better weather, isn't this Autumn just amazing? The kids had an amazing time, having a go at spinning, taking an Alpaca for a walk and getting to feed one too. The Alpaca's are so super soft that I really wanted to pop one in the car and take it home! Maybe one day?

poppies

Here she is, my poppy girl. All dressed up with no place to go, with nothing but twirling to do on our drive. We've got a birthday party to attend this coming weekend and since she missed out on the disco she's decided it's the perfect party outfit.