Growing up so fast...

So awhile ago now I wanted to make a growth chart for my son. We had started one on our home in Brisbane but since we now live in Sydney and in a rental I didn't want to miss his milestones.

I crossed paths with the lovely Christen from Twirling Betty and she had a great tutorial (see here) for a fabric one. It was the perfect fit for us as we may move a bit in the next few years.

So here's the one I made. I went with a rocket theme, it was easier than doing robots.

So felt for the rockets. The stars and his name I used a freezer paper stencil and fabric paint and his heights we will use fabric crayons (I love the potential for these). I was very chuffed with the results.

Something Old into Something New

Quite awhile ago a friend gave me an old denim skirt she no longer wanted. Immediately I knew it had to become something else. I've been practicing my sewing skills of late and am really getting into bag making. But there are only so many bags one can make for oneself.

Not long after I found a really lovely set of pillow cases in a op shop and new I had the lining for the bag.

So something old:

 turned into something new:

I really had a lot of fun making it. Sure I had to watch 3 online tutorials about inside pockets but I got there in the end and thankfully no swearing required.

The Octonauts have arrived

It's been a horribly long time since I've blogged but I have been busy trying to get the ideas out of my head and into reality.

This is the most recent project. My son loves this gorgeous little program called "Octonauts". It's about a group of animals that explore, rescue and protect all the creatures in the oceans.  He's watched all the episodes over and over. The show is relatively new there is no merchandising available as yet, so we've been making our own for him to play with. It started with a cardboard "Octo-alert" button and then I made him a little medical bag.

Then one day in the shops there was a plain blue jumper that was a perfect Octonauts blue just screamed out to have some kind of Octonauts design on it. I had been reading a few great blogs like You Sew Girl and Curly Pops and one of them (sadly I can't remember which) had a project that involved using a freezer paper stencil and fabric paint to create a design.

I realised this would be the perfect thing for the Octonauts jumper. And after finally getting my hands on some freezer paper and fabric paint I made it and am quite proud of the result.

Firstly I traced the design onto the freezer paper off the Octo-alert I had made and cut out the stencil and ironed it onto the shirt.

Then I used a foam brush to paint in between the stencil.

Then I just had to let it dry and peel of the paper (it leave no residue). I ironed the jumper to seal the paint and voila - one happy little boy. And one happy Mum!

I'm very excited as my husband posted the picture to the Octonauts facebook page and I received compliments from both the makers of the books and the TV show. Woohoo!

Sock Puppy

Last year I bought this great book about making stuffed animals from socks and gloves. And finally I got a and old pair of socks that were still in good enough condition to try and make one.

And so "Sock Puppy" was born.

He's a little sad looking and I still have make some little clothes for him but my son has welcomed him into his ever growing puppy collection and he has is come in as "2nd top dog". A pride of place that will last until the next one.

Crazy Hat Lady

I had this idea to do kids hats for awhile. I made one for my son and loved how unique it was and how I could spot him in a crowd of kids and not lose him in the park.

Then I discovered the joys of op shopping and found some really great old pillow cases and thought - they would make great kids hats.

Unfortunately with the move to Sydney I had begun to run out of time fast and as so my mother the amazing seamstress that she is stepped in and made my designs for me and some of her own. And they are really fantastic. They will be available in 3 sizes - small (1 - 2yrs), medium (2 - 4yrs) and large (5 - 6yrs)

They will be featured at the BiDm this Saturday at St. Augustine's Church - Racecourse Rd, Ascot.

Here's a sneak peak:

Any not sold will be up on Etsy next week.

See you Saturday.

A great new start

Woke up this morning to find a kind soul had included us their treasury listing on Etsy. A wonderful surprise to start the day. Funny that Morgan's photo is the item she chose.

You can see it here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c6facb928256d91324ce546/groooovy

Today we headed off to Kellyville to the new "Hide and Seek" market. It seems small at the moment but the vibe was great as were the cup cakes and some of the stalls had great ideas. Needless to say I picked up some great buys.

Envelopes and Cards from "beconservato"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pram blanket from "Indigo Elephant"

Jacibean designs

Definitely worth the drive to see.

Back online

Finally after the never ending unpacking of boxes I have had a chance to sit down and re-open our Etsy store - yeah.

Very excited to be back online. Will tackle our Made It shop tomorrow night!

The weather was beautiful today, the wind was cold but the sun was shining. I think I may have even gotten a little burnt. My son helped my with my new photographs today and he captured this great photo of Melissa's teddy.

 Not bad for a 3 year old!

We're very excited to be part of the upcoming BrisStyle Market on September 4th. We'll have lots of great new products to see.

I hope it won't be so long between posts.