WIP Wednesday....on Friday

The week is escaping me and I can't believe we leave on Monday for our holiday!

Here is what I have been working on.......

Booties are now finished. Here they are in action. For my first knitting project I am happy......however now I understand what all this talk of "tension" is about!.......one is much smaller than the other :)

Started finger knitting this afternoon to make the little ties.

We made these gorgeous little finger puppets at playgroup on Tuesday - our playgroup leader uses them when she sings the Catapillar song (which you may be familiar with), also featured in Shayne Jackman's Steiner Alphabet book 'Old Freedom Train' - a sneak peek below....

Maria Borrelli of Heartfelt held part 1 of the Christmas Angel Workshop last night. We spent most of the evening perfecting our waldorf doll heads....

We have lots of beading homework - however as I will be away, this little angel may not be finished until once we return. 

Here is one Maria made - isn't she simply delicious! 

Inspired by Wabi-Sabi Wanderings' gorgeous tutorial on decoupaged cans I decided to have a go earlier in this week. Here is the finished product....

One of them now resides on our kitchen bench to keep pens/ nail files and handcream tidy :)

Hope you have all had a lovely week and have been able to squeeze in some creative time. Would love to hear what you have been up to this week. Please leave a link to your blog with what crafts you have been creating......

Peace

The Winner Is......

Nicole Benjamin from GardenMama. 

Congratulations! 

Thank you all for entering my first giveaway. It was so lovely reading your comments about blogging.

Wishing you all a lovely day

Handmade Holiday 2010 Update 1

In preparation for Handmade Holiday 2010 over the past week I have.......

- ordered some beeswax so that I can begin to make my candles. Still waiting for this to arrive so not sure I will get a chance to start before we go away. Will be keeping my eyes open for pretty secondhand jars/ tea cups while we are traveling.

- made lots of little bags.....these little bags have become one of my 'signature crafts' (if there is such a thing). They make great little gifts and can be used for so many things.

- Started making little stars from hand dyed felt & silver thread....great to tie to Christmas gifts instead of a card or sticker.....they can then be reused as Christmas tree decorations or perhaps hanging from some branches on the nature table, or a pillow for a fairy......lots of uses and super cute!

Here is a finished one....

- Knitting the bunny will begin once the other bootie I have been working on is completed...hopefully I will finish the bootie tonight!

- Dad is currently sourcing some wood for the playpegs. I have also (very sweetly) put in a request for a handmade wooden pushchair for B to push her dollies around in (once she is walking of course). We have one of these at playgroup and I fell in love with it when I saw it! ....will keep you updated with our progress :)

 - Started making a 'sack' waldorf doll for B - I made the mistake of using mohair for the hair of the first waldorf doll I made, and B ends up with a mouth and hands full of fluff. Also after much reading, I have discovered it is more appropriate for a baby to have a soft, more unformed doll. Hoping to make some good progress on this before we leave next Monday. I just love making waldorf dolls - it is so lovely to see a sweet doll be born.....

- I have also spent some time looking for handmade toys for B on ETSY. As everything goes in the mouth I find I am limited in the things I can make her... I love wooden toys, however have to be careful of their size, as we are getting lots of bumps and bruises! LOVE to hear any ideas you have for handmade/ natural toys for a 7 month old....

- I have sewing class with Maria Borrelli (of Heartfelt) this Thursday night - we are making these lovely Christmas angels.......I can't wait! Maria makes the most lovely dolls and crafts - a very inspiring mama! Will post an update on Friday with some pictures.

Thanks for visiting.....would love to know what you are working on. Please feel free to leave your blog address and what you have been working on for Handmade Holiday 2010.

WIP Wednesday

Here are some of the things I have been working on...

I am so excited to have finally finished one bootie...only one to go! I definitely need a lot more practice knitting, however for my first attempt at following a pattern I am quite happy... they sort of resemble a bootie and fit on B's foot!

The results of a recent visit to Tessuti (a local fabric store). As usually I find myself falling IN LOVE with so many fabrics. Fabric is such an obsession, don't you think? You can never have too many...... well thats what I keep telling myself. My mind is so full of ideas for this lot.... just need to find some more time to sew!

Also came across this lovely Japanese pattern book full of the most delightful children's clothes. I am told by the lady in the store that the patterns, even though all in Japanese, are very easy to follow. fingers crossed.

Pants Pants and more Pants.....I have been busy sewing B lots of "Big Butt Baby Pants" Made by Rae in anticipation of our trip. I find it so rewarding making things by hand that actually serve a purpose.

After seeing the most lovely image on The Magic Onions - 'Waldorf Baby by Rebecca' from Bending Birches, I was inspired to have a go at creating something similar. I dug out my watercolours and went to our local art shop to buy some watercolour paper (still shocked at the price of the paper!) Here is my attempt so far......

Finally a tidy workspace....We moved these shelves in from the garage so that I could organise some of my sewing/ craft things that had taken to residing on the floor of the study/sewing room .... I am so pleased with how they look. Lets just see how long they stay looking so neat :)

I'd love to hear what you have been working on. Post a comment leaving your blog address......

Two little ducks went out one day......

What fun B had chasing the ducks away from our picnic rug......

Here are some pants I recently made for B......"Big Butt Baby Pants" Made by Rae ...... perfect for big cloth nappy bottoms :)

A little gnome looking for a home......Giveaway

Thank you to all who are reading my blog and for all your lovely comments. Isn't it lovely to know that others read what we write and (hopefully) take ideas and inspiration into their own lives and blogs..... I am only new to the blogging world and am so enjoying the sharing of ideas, daily activities and creativity.

I LOVE giveaways and swaps, especially those offering handmade goods. So for my first giveaway I thought what more appropriate than a little handmade gnome!

This little gnome was handmade by myself, using all natural materials (except the button). I must give credit to Maria Borrelli of Heartfelt as her lovely Autumn standing gnomes were my inspiration.

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment here by 9pm Sydney time Tuesday 19 October, telling me what you most enjoy about blogging. Please check back 20 October 2010 when the winner will be announced.

Wishing you all good luck :)

Sunny Sunday

The sun has finally come out, so we set out for a bushwalk to a lovely national park near our home.

A beautiful wattle tree...

Have a lovely Monday...

Our Nature Table

Here is a peek at our Nature table... beautiful spring flowers fresh from our garden. It has been raining here a lot recently so many of our other garden flowers are looking a little muddy and droopy....

We spent some time yesterday watching two happy Kookaburra's laughing in our garden until the rain came......

Some inspiration for the day

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.

Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Birthdays and home baking

It is a friends birthday today. Rather than rushing out to the shops to spend money on another THING, I love to give something home baked. As a birthday is a very special occasion I thought we would bake something especially yummy and indulgent......Chocolate brownies. I have never made them before and now I know what is in them I know why!

Here is our finished gift...made with lots of love. So much more lovely than something bought don't you think.....

A peek at our family table which has been blessed with some lovely Spring Daffodils from my Mum.....I just love the colours especially next to our oranges.

I will be posting an update on my Works in Progress later today :)

Organic fruit & vegetable box.....

I was inspired by a recent post by Amber Greene over at Mamamoontime on Organic Fruit and Vegetables. This made me start thinking and looking into whether such a service was available to us here.

After doing my research, I decided on a company called LettuceDeliver. You place your order on Friday and then on Monday morning it is delivered to your kitchen benchtop! Additionally you are emailed a produce report so you know what is in season, what is not available due to weather, growers specials etc. All the fresh produce is certified organic and on the website it actually tells you where the produce in coming from, sometimes even the farmers name! Need I say that we are LOVING the freshness.

Here is a peek at our 5th delivery.......yummmm

So if you live in a big city (which we do) and you are renting (which we are) and therefore cannot go digging up the earth to create your own vege patch.....then maybe this is for you. However nothing tops growing your own :)

Hope you had a wonderful day...

A few things from my sewing table....

I am beginning to knit my first ever project..... little booties for B. I have been trying to begin for 6 months and now is the time, as we are soon heading off on an adventure to somewhere very cold. I have taught myself how to increase and decrease and 'make 1' through a knitting book and youtube....so fingers crossed. I will post my progress. This wool is hand painted by Jo at Indigo Inspirations and is so appropriately called "peaches 'n cream"...I think it is delicious!

Also in preparation for our trip I have been making some bags for Bs laundry.....

Here is a little needle case I recently made. Hopefully no more searching for needles. I just love this fabric, it is such a vibrant purple. I also used some felt that I hand dyed. Its a little rustic as I am too impatient to use a ruler, however it does the job.

I will be posting shortly about how I am preparing for Handmade Holiday 2010. I am also preparing for my very first giveaway, so please visit again soon :)

Handmade Holiday 2010

I have decided to join in with the Plain and Joyful Living's 'Handmade Holiday 2010'. I think this is such a wonderful idea, what is more lovely than to receive a gift that has been handmade with love especially for you!? Each year I usually make some of my gifts however in keeping with Handmade Holiday 2010, this year will be entirely handmade :)

Some of the things that I have decided to make include....

- some wooden play pegs (with the help of my dad) for my step-daughters

- some lovely "Nesting cubes" from the book Handmade Beginnings as seen on Mothering with Rhyhme and Rhyme (free pattern available here from Amazon) for my little B

- Some more knitted goodies for my darling B......In particular this knitted bunny from the book Knitted Animals ....I hope mine will at least resemble this sweet little bunny :)

- Inspired by some recent crafts by The Magic Onions and Twig and Toadstool, I am going to attempt some little beeswax candles made in recycled glass jars and little tea cups. Some with leaves and flowers stuck on...

I feel like I am taking a lot on, especially as there is not that much time until Christmas and we are heading off on an overseas adventure for 4 weeks! SO I better get started and will keep you updated on my progress..

I'd love to hear what you are making....

Cloth nappies & baby carriers....

Today my husband and I went on an adventure....a search to buy some cloth nappies. We started out Bs life with the original terry towelling cloth nappies, however have found that they are limiting Bs movement, especially now as she is starting to crawl. We finally decided it was time to try some of the modern cloth nappies and with a 'baby show' in town, ventured off to see what we could find.

Let me just say how glad I was with my decision to leave my little one at home with my mum. A baby show...certainly not (in my opinion) a place for babies.

This is what we came home with.......

......to add to the washing pile...or perhaps I could say never-ending washing mountain? :)

I am very excited as I had been using a few disposable nappies

(gulp....I know) so now I have no excuse! No more land fill from our household!

I am also very thrilled with the baby carrier we bought. (I have had a sling in the past however B never seemed to quite fit and enjoy it.) The ERGO carrier is brilliant! Baby faces you (which I think is super important) and all the weight is carried on your hips. As baby gets older you can carry them on your back. I popped B in when we got home and she LOVED it. I took her around the house with me, going about our usual evening rhythm, running her bath etc. She seemed so content and happy, even sucking on one of the straps and cooing :)

What better way to carry your precious baby than tummy to tummy......