Hair Ties - using Fabric Covered Buttons

This is my latest project. Because despite having bought what seems like hundreds of these over the years, I can never seem to find a single hair elastic anywhere when I need one! And with three girls, all with long hair, in our house, I usually need to have more than a couple on hand...

So I thought I would make some special fabric-covered-button hair ties and hope that they are looked after and don't disappear into the abyss like all the other hair accessories seem to do! However, buttons are quite small, so it takes a special print to make these work...

Well, last week I found out about The Fabric Cave from the Tessuti Blog. It's a second-hand fabric store on the grounds of Crowle House in Ryde. As they mention at Tessuti, it is an amazing 'Aladdin's cave, filled with fabric remnants, buttons, knitting wool, sewing and craft books, old discontinued patterns, tapestries, you name it they have it!' And all the proceeds go to Achieve Australia, who look after the day to day needs of adults with disabilities.

I took the girls along on Friday and they squealed with delight when they saw all the crafty stuff - honestly, it was everywhere! Treasures from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. And I couldn't believe it when both girls sat down with craft books whilst I browsed all quilting fabrics, sewing books, buttons... I think we were there for over an hour in total, what a miracle! (Usually the girls are not-so-patient in fabric shops). So, I let them choose some sparkles to bring home for craft that afternoon. These little packets were just 20 cents each!

I also found some great fabric (I literally had my arms full of fabric by the time I got to the counter!), these ones were perfect for hair ties and perfect with Easter fast approaching;

Now I just need to work on my braiding technique;

Doing hair is definitely not my forte! Lopsided, messy braids... but luckily, at this age, Livvie doesn't mind at all;


I snapped these pics when the girls were blowing bubbles this afternoon.. so much fun and nice to finally get out of the house after all the rain today!.

5 minute Placemat Bag

If you would like to make a little bag like this....

All you need is:

1. one placemat

2. a set of bag handles.

Cut off the edges of the placemat, which has been folded in half;

Trim, then Zig-zag stitch the edges of these strips...

These will be folded over and used to attach the handles;

Fold the placemat in half, right sides together and stitch up each side of the bag.

Flip it right-side out.

Voila;

I should state, this is not a tutorial (I can barely read a pattern, let alone make my own... I'm not great with instructions at all!), but I thought I should highlight just how easy it is to make one of these! If you really need it, here is a proper tutorial to Make a Placemat Purse.

(Nick says it is the best thing I have ever made....

I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult to all my other sewing projects to date!)

'Big School' Interview

Yesterday I made these delicious Gluten Free Cookies with macadamias and choc-chips (or 'chip-chocs' as Elly calls them!). It was my first time using Xanthum Gum to bind the rice flour, but it all worked out nicely.

I wanted to have a special snack ready for afternoon tea, because we had Livvie's interview at 'Big School' after lunch. I honestly can't believe we are already at the point of enrolling her for Kindergarten next year! Nick came home from work early {wolfed down about 5 cookies!} and we all went to pick her up from preschool. She thought she was so special, leaving class early!

The interview was totally different to what we had expected. I thought it would be us parents doing most of the talking... wrong! It really was Livvie's interview. The School Principal, who I first met at the church Playgroup last year, is the most lovely, warm and welcoming man, and he went to great lengths to make Livvie feel at ease. He asked her all about Preschool, her teachers and friends and what she likes doing best ('Drawing, painting and... obstacle courses!' apparently!?!? I had no idea about that third one!).

Livvie was seated next to him at a little desk to his side... so she could do a few little written assessments (we definitely weren't expecting this!). However, I am pleased to say she did very well and it was quite fascinating (as it would be for any parent to watch their child interacting with the head of school), seeing her try her best to demonstrate all her skills and knowledge.

As a heads-up to other parents... He was interested in seeing her pencil grip, if she could write her name and whether she formed her letters correctly (ie. foundation handwriting), shape recognition and ability to replicate them and she had to interpret a line drawing of a special occasion....

She deemed it to be a birthday party and when asked which child's party it was? 'That boy... because there are more balloons next to him' and when asked how old he was turning? Livvie counted all the candles on the cake, from left to right and this seemed to please the Principal as the candles were quite small and hard to make out. There may have been a few other things, but I do recall she was also asked to draw a picture of a person and a picture of a house.

Of course, for all of these questions there are no right or wrong answers, but it was just a chance for him to see where she is at and her overall ability. Which is lucky because she forgot to draw any arms on her person (instead, she drew elaborate eyebrows and big lips!) and when prompted about the arms, she added three fingers to each hand!

Interestingly, her house included a doormat in front of the door and the usual windows with a cross inside, found on most children's drawings of houses. 'But I bet you don't have windows like that at home!' said the Principal. I know they are very stylised and predictable, but the funny this is, we actually DO have those windows with criss-crosses... in every room!

The Principal told us that when one little boy was asked how he would get inside a house that didn't have a door, the boy replied 'Oh, you can just go around the side', which of course, must be what happens at his house. Another child, when asked to draw a house, drew a block of units. I find this fascinating! I think I know why Livvie drew a doormat... because I still haven't packed away our Christmas doormat, so it's still looking quite festive out the front of our house!

Anyway, it was actually quite a quick little meeting, 20 minutes in total and completely pleasant and enjoyable for all. Livvie was asked to give her little sister a 'Principal's Award' sticker, for being such a good support to her and then she was given one herself;

Afterwards, we all felt quite happy and relived at how well it went, so we treated the girls to chocolate milkshakes at The Cooks Garden on the way home. And so begins a six-week wait to find out if she will be accepted into Kindergarten here next year... fingers crossed!

Finally

I have put a post up on the other blog. Let me know if you need/want the address again...

Good things come in small packages

My Mum gave me a bag of buttons the other day. They look good enough to eat! Now I am just trying to figure out what their destiny will be. Of course, I will have to share them with my girls, so I am thinking maybe some button bracelets.

So many more ideas on Bonkers About Buttons, I especially like this button tree!

Fabric Easter Eggs

Yesterday morning, Nick took the girls to Dymocks to spend their Christmas vouchers on books, so I got to spend a little time making fabric Easter Eggs (which I thought was much more relaxing than cleaning the house or vacuuming and mopping the floors, which is what I usually do when I have an hour to myself!).

I used the beautiful little pattern and tutorial from Retro Mama and finally got to use some of my Easter fabrics;

My favourite was this patchwork one, with a different fabric on each side;

Today we bundled up two of them for Nick's Mum, to add to her already amazing collection of Easter decorations.

I think I will be making more of these adorable eggs in the next few weeks... They make a nice change from all the chocolate eggs we give (and consume!) at this time of the year.

Paper Boats

Another {very} rainy day today... so I made the girls some little paper boats;

I bought some packs of scrapbooking paper (for $1!) at the Spotlight Sale last Monday and used these instructions for making Origami Boats;


All day, the girls were anxiously awaiting the moment we would let them outside to splash in puddles. So as soon as it stopped raining, the shoes came off and in they jumped;

And before long, their skirts came off too!

That was after they had soaked them through, with all their running and splashing about;

It was such a novelty for the girls, to be outside playing in puddles.

I loved watching them having fun together, pretending to be frogs, leaping from lily-pad to lily-pad (ie, the weeds poking through the pavers!). They had paper boat races, skipping relays and looked at their reflections in the murky puddles.

Simple joys on a rainy day.

April & Ruby

I have never felt the urge to make a cat softie, however I found myself making two little cats filled with lavender this week. Yes, two little cats, made in the likeness of my Aunt's two babies cats, April & Ruby.

We visited them when we were up north in Queensland last week... it was the first stop on our whirl-wind trip... except our plane was delayed 1.5 hours, meaning we were late to lunch by 1.5 hours! I was very embarrassed however it was so great to see them again and the lunch was delicious... but I thought I absolutely must send a 'Thank you and sorry!' gift, all rolled into one!

I found fabrics which matched the colours of each cat and here they are, awaiting a bow being tied around their necks;

The lavender smells really lovely but I can honestly say, I never want to funnel lavender into anything, ever again! It was a two person job... luckily my darling husband was on hand to help. Don't worry Nick, there will be no more lavender-filled cats, I promise!

(*Nick wanted me to call this post 'Two Stinking Cats'!!!)

Little People

Toilet paper rolls... given new life! It's fun to keep a stash of recycled material at the ready for whenever the creative urge may strike. My parents always give us their empty plastic containers specifically for this purpose and Livvie spent much of this week with a jumbo OJ bottle strapped to her back, pretending to blast off into space with her 'rocket'.

I like to add a few sparkles and pretty embellishments to the mix...

and see what the girls come up with...

They especially liked giving their little people haircuts, snipping the crepe paper I stuck on top;

Now what else can we do today?... to prevent us from climbing the walls, as you can see Livvie is doing in the background here. It's raining today and we're going just slightly mad. Hopefully the weather clears up soon and we can have a run around outside...

Favourite Animal

Sorry if you weren't prepared for it....This is how Livvie dressed, to present her 'news' to her Preschool class this week. She was so excited about dressing up as her favourite animal. Sadly, it was hard to find a Gorilla suit in a child's size 5... and the gorilla masks were far too life-like and scary! So she went with her second favourite animal... pigs;

She had to cover where it comes from, its habitat, what it eats and an interesting fact about the animal. She asked if she could 'write all the important stuff' and she did a great job (including the back-to-front 'g' in the heading - so cute!)

Apparent she stood up in front of the class, put on her mask and announced, 'Good Afternoon Blue Room', and then she oinked - twice!

She wore the mask for her whole presentation and even fielded questions at the end, still wearing it. I think that's so funny and wished I could have been there to see her.

Apparently she loved it and can't wait for her next news presentation. I am so proud of her and her confidence this year, she has just blossomed at Preschool and I am amazed that it doesn't faze her to do something like this. I wonder where she gets it from?!?!? Oh, that's right, I've been known to don ridiculous costumes and embarrass myself in public. I cringe when I think back to what I've done while in disguise (in school plays, at dinner parties and silly dares with friends). I'm not sure what comes over me when I put a costume on! I even met my husband at a fancy dress party (it was love-at-first sight - with him in his Safari suit!)

Anyway, the news topic for next month is 'My favourite holiday'. Considering we just got back from a little trip to Queensland, I think I know what Livvie will want to talk about (Click to see the amazing day we had with cousins last week! ).

Humpty Dumpty 3rd Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Elly turning 3 with a little Humpty Dumpty Party at home with family, just 14 in total. It was small and intimate (cosy inside, due to rain) and lots of fun!

I made the invitations using a pack of Nursery Rhyme Snap Cards. In fact, I used the Snap Cards for all my decorations, including party hats;

[Here is a good party hat template, to make your own]

I have a new love - crepe paper streamers. They are so versatile!

I also used the Snap Cards to make bunting;

I stitched a line straight across the top of them and they were ready to hang.

No cutting, measuring, so simple.

And used more streamers to add colour to our fireplace;

The girls were very excited about guests arriving. It was a shame party time was at 2pm... it was a long wait! Of course, she was totally spoiled (thank you, everyone!);

Livvie kept calling her little sister the 'Party Girl' instead of the 'Birthday girl'. She made her sound like she was turning 21 and not 3!

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I made up this simple party game by painting a piece of cardboard one afternoon:

Pin the Bow Tie on Humpty;

We used a blindfold and spun everyone around 3 times (Uncles were spun around 10 times!);

Nice try, Uncle Luke... His is the one right at the bottom of the brick wall. When he put the blindfold on, his wife held the board up really high and tricked him! Good one, Auntie Donna!

Pass the Parcel was also featured, to the tune of 'Give me a Home Among the Gum Trees' (Elly's current favourite song) and I think everyone (or maybe just Livvie) was truly surprised to see a chocolate Lindt duck in each and every layer. 'You can't believe it, can you?!?!' she kept asking. So funny!

Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures of the food. We tried to stick to tried and true, classic party food in the party colours;

Green Lime Jelly, which seemed to be a big hit with everyone.

Passionfruit Slice (not pictured) and Chocolate Crackles;

Lolly Bags below.

Big hit with the kids, of course;

Savouries included ham & corn and basil & cream cheese bread boats, two cheese platters, corn chips and dip. There were chocolate-dipped strawberries...

....which I left in the fridge!!!!! I totally forgot to serve them. There is always something that gets forgotten, this was it! It's ok... I made sure some of them got eaten afterwards.

And the final game we played was the papier mache Pinata, which I had very quickly painted the night before the party;

The girls loved filling him up with lollies, eclairs and party whistles on the morning of the party;

He looked very cute when hung up...

But I must admit, I don't think I had really prepared myself for him to be clobbered and whacked - with a golf club, no less - and.... split in half! {I honestly felt a bit sad, but really, what did I expect? He was a pinata!}.

Believe me, there is no watering-down of nursery rhymes in our house - quite the opposite. I'm afraid poor Humpty met with a rather violent end at our party!

Now you know why all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put him back together again... he was decapitated! (or maybe they were too busy scouring the site for lollies!)

Luckily, it was cake time next and Nanny's cake definitely put a smile on our faces;

She says it is the eighth Humpty Dumpty cake she has made for 3rd birthdays in our family! Grandpa draws on Humpty's face and makes a cute little hat - This time in green, Elly's favourite colour;

This was the final celebration of Elly's 3rd birthday...

She has blown out candles three times this week!

Want to know what she said at the end of her party?

'My birthday am a happy birthday!!!'