My Creative Space

My Creative Space today is to sew some of these opshop finds from Anglesea, into something for little girls. I especially like the doilys. The end result could look like a mess of different colours but I'm hoping to achieve something cute and adorable. I just love what others achieve when they sew together vintage sheets and fabrics. I already have some dresses in my byebyebirdie range that are made from vintage fabrics from my Aunty and Grandmother but I have only used a maximum of two different fabrics. This will be my first time at experimenting with sewing with more colours and other materials from my stash like tablecloths, sheets and doilys etc, so wish me luck! I also want to sew myself a top with the pattern pictured in the photo but undecided what colour or fabric to use. I guess I should see what is already in my cupboard of material first before going to the shops to buy more! Have a look at all the other creative spaces over at Kirsty's.

Spotty Top

I had plans for the school holidays to sew and sew alot. But things don't always go to plan. Yesterday I finished a new top for my byebyebirdie summer range. It is a soft pink spot (not sure if this is obvious in the photos) on a red lightweight voile. Great for keeping cool during those hot summer days. I think it looks rather sweet. The gorgeous model is my daughter and the top will actually be hers. She was telling me that she has nothing to wear and nothing no longer fits her. Really? Anyway, she is now very happy to have a new top to add to her wardrobe. I now have to sew more of these tops, now that I'm happy with the design and fit. Everyone goes back to school next week and I will be back to sewing more. Well it will be just me and little Miss 2year old. We are still waiting for her to walk after having her plaster removed. Has anyone else ever had to cope with this situation? She cannot be tricked or encouraged to walk. She still remembers how much it hurt when she broke her leg, if she was younger she may have forgotten but she will be three in November. So we are just waiting for her to be ready and I'm hoping that her walking days return very soon!!

365..

This is what I purchased for myself after a shopping trip with the family. While the kids shopped at Smiggle with their dad, I looked through kikki.K on my own. Every page is numbered and yes there are 365 pages and not big pages which is what I really liked about it. The colour choices were black, white and red. It wasn't hard to choose because red is a favourite colour of mine.

Today little miss 2year old had her plaster removed. Her leg has healed well but she is still refusing to walk, which the doctor says is quite normal and to let her be and she will walk in her own time. I know she will walk, she has to! It has been a long four weeks with her needing to be carried when and where it has not been possible for her to crawl. My guess is that she feels anxious and she probably thinks that it is going to hurt again.

Have a great weekend!!

At my House....

...it is the start of school holidays. These holidays are for three weeks. We have started to plan sleep-overs, play dates, a visit to the movies, a scrapbooking class and a weekend at Anglesea. I have my fingers crossed that l may also get to do some sewing!! My 12 & 10 year old daughter are also wanting to sew over the holidays. Two weeks ago my gorgeous little 2year old broke her leg and she has a plaster from below her knee to her toes!! She has not been walking for that time, although the doctor said she would be able to. It has been exhausting with her needing to be carried alot of the time. I think she is becoming quite frustrated, not being able to run after the other children and follow them everywhere. She has been crawling around and has been happy to do so when the other children were at school but is now getting annoyed with her siblings when they go upstairs!! To check out what others are up to go to buttonsbyloulou.

At My House

Today with help from a friend, I have been choosing items from my byebyebirdie range to donate to a fundraiser at my kids school. Will probably put together a skirt, little bag and headband. Hope you are enjoying your day. See what is happening at my house at buttonsbyloulou.

At My House

We are enjoying the flowers from my aunts garden and have picked lemons for a friend from the lemon tree growing in our backyard. Biscuits need to be baked today for hungry kids when they arrive home from school. To cater for everyones taste we usually bake choc & white choc chip biscuits. Might get to make a canadian lemon cake for dessert tonight. It is super easy and delicious eaten warm with cream. We are always baking & cooking in our house. Sunday my 10year old daughter helped me make golfballs. She then helped her older sister make banana muffins. It's great to see all of my children enjoying helping out in the kitchen. I only wish we had a bigger kitchen! Hope you are all enjoying the week so far. Join in the fun for At My House with buttonsbyloulou.

My Creative Space

This butterfly was made by my little two year old daughter while helping in the prep classroom. She had so much fun and knew exactly what and where she would glue everything. We then went to get a baby chino, as promised. My liitle girl was asked by a lady serving us {whom we know} if mummy has been sewing and she held up her pink butterfly saying "no, not mummy, I have!". The butterfly has a long piece of material glued to it and I am sure this is why she thinks she had been sewing!!!

Cushion swap....

I finished sewing the four cushions for my friend. I was very happy with the end result and the best part is that she was too. My payment for this was a beautiful throw that I had ordered in at the shop which her and her husband own in Ballarat. It is called Azeno and it has some really cool homewares, jewellery and great handbags. I will now be cosy warm when watching tv on the couch....and the kids can snuggle up under it together when watching a dvd or cartoons on weekends. And it looks great too! Hope everyone is keeping warm.

My Creative Space

As it was so cold today, I was glad to be inside sewing. I started on the covered cushions for a friend. I love her chosen fabric. It will look great at her beach house. She purchased the fabric from IKEA. For some other inspiring reative spaces, have a look over at Kootoyoo

A Handmade Christmas

I have been feeling inspired by other bloggers to challenge myself to participate in a handmade christmas this year. In years gone by I have made gifts for ballet, music, kinder and school teachers. If there has ever been male teachers on the list that we want to give a Christmas (thank-you) gift to, then I would usually purchase something for them. Bottles of wine seems to be THE gift to give male teachers! This year we have 3 male teachers to buy for. Please help me!! I really want to make 2010 a handmade christmas for all of our gift receivers..I would love to hear of any suggestions of something that I or my children could help make.


Last Christmas my mum offered to buy my kids a Wii as a combined family gift but much to the amazement and absolute horror of many of my frineds I said "no thanks". As Christmas Day got closer my mum offered again but I still thanked her and declined her generous gift idea. We have enjoyed some great christmas gifts from my mother.....a family swimming pass, a family zoo pass, a family pass to Sovereign Hill...and these were fantastic because they could be used all year! I know that she will be offering a family gift again this year so I will probably suggest to her that another zoo pass would be great! Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thank-you to everyone who has been taking the time to read my blog and for the wonderful comments. I really enjoy reading the comments, knowing that my blog IS being read.

Thanks-Jocelyn

At My House

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At My House today my liitle girl and I braved the winter chill and went for a walk to the playground. It was cold but the sun was out so I took this opportunity to take some photos of her wearing a little skirt which is in my byebyebirdie range. It is made from a really soft denim and trimmed with vintage fabric. She enjoyed posing for the camera!

I was also able to finish a birthday present and start sewing the cushion covers for my friend. I should have pictures of these to post tomorrow. What has been happening at your house today?

My Creative Space...

Today I was meant to be helping in the prep room at school but my youngest is unwell so we will be spending the day at home. I have a long list of creative things that I would like to do today or sometime soon....sew another pair pj pants for the oldest, sew cushion covers for a friends set of chairs for their holiday house, make two belated birthday presents and sew a writing wrap for my 7 year old daughter who has been waiting patiently for one since March!...If I do get the chance to even start anything creative today will be a huge achievement...with a two year old sick!! So I thought I would share with you something creative I did in June. Above is a picture of my 7year old daughter in a dress I made for her to wear to the school disco (last term), as 'Ginger Spice'. Some of her friends were going as the Spice Girls and they asked her to join in.I had everything I needed to sew the dress in my stash. A friend lent us the wig. I used a dress pattern that I have sewn often and used an iron-on adhesive (heatnbond) for the white and red . The best part was that it was not time consuming and not expensive to make. yay. Hope that you are all having a great day and get to do something creative.

At My House

At my house today, little Miss Two Year Old sat up at the kitchen table to do a crossword, just like her dad! Today is the last day of school holdays so everyone enjoyed a sleepin. The school uniform will need to be pulled out again and school shoes need cleaning. How fast the school holidays seem to go. After 2 weeks of being in nonrush mode it will be interesting to see how well we all get ready intime for school tomorrow!!

At My House...

Today the kids and I went for a walk to the bakery so that we would have fresh bread to eat with the veggie soup we made yesterday. There was no rain while on our walk but it was very cold. The veggie soup recipe is from their grandmother, who sadly passed away last year. It's a lovely thought to know that all of the kids enjoy this soup as much as my husband and I do. A good crowd pleaser! After lunch the kids sat down to watch the DVD, "Fantastic Mr.Fox" with a bowl of popcorn. It has been a good day ..at my house. Hope your Monday has been too.

Back 2 Blogging

My Creative Space today has been sewing pj pants for my oldest daughter. She's happy with them, so I am too. Will have to sew some for the other children! Because its school holidays the kids creative space has involved baking fairy cakes, but no pictures as they have all been eaten. YUM! They are now busy painting, ..a fairy wand, paint by numbers and crowns . It is very, very cold here in Ballarat so we have been happy to stay busy indoors these holidays. Hope everyone is having a great creative day. Great to be finally back blogging!!

My Creative Space

My Creative Space today is to sew on ribbons to ballet shoes for a friends daughter. I'm the friend who can sew so I have done this before for a few friends. The start of a new year, exams , competitions and recitals are when my 'new ballet shoe ribbon sewing skills' are called upon.

I'm glad to be able to help out my friends as it takes no time at all and they are ever so grateful. It's nice to be of help even if it is only in a small way. Hope you all have a successful creative day today!

Daylesford Makers Market!

Well I can now tick off my first market- The Daylesford Makers Market. The weather was lovely and there were plenty of people around. Allison, from Lark was there to greet everyone and she made time to talk with all the stall holders, throughout the day.

I got to meet some of the other stall holders, here they are:

• Dana from Twiglet was there with her lovely babies and childrens range.
• Cam from Curlypops had a great stall and it was nice to meet her after reading her blog etc.
• Leah from Vintage Chenille(Handmade Bits and Pieces) was there amd had some very cute products
• I had a great talk to Michelle from Kids With Crayons.
• Cecily from Ceci Bean was only steps away from me so I chatted to her throughout the day. She was selling some cute baby t-shirts and sweet little girls dresses.
• I met the girls who own the store Rings on her Fingers. They were selling lovely dresses that Rachael had made.
• Next to me was Claire who is a quilter.

It was also great to see Jodie from Ric Rac again. I met Rachelle from Rachelle and co, who is also new at blogging.

It makes the day so enjoyable when people are happy to exchange ideas, their experiences and just say hi! So, the Daylesford Makers Market was a great experience for me, and I can't wait to go back again on Saturday the 6th March.

Now, . . . . . my sewing machine awaits me . . . . along with the fabric that needs to be cut and patterns perfected!! (Check out my Market Dates and Venues on the sidebar)

My Creative Space

My plan for today is to choose a girls dress from one of these vintage patterns. I'm going to make some dresses out of the vintage fabrics pictured. I really like the bright cheery colours. The fabric hanging on the back of the chair is an old circular tablecloth. I was given both the patterns and fabrics from my lovely aunty. They are only a small sample of just how much she gave me. LUCKY ME! I just LOVE vintage fabric! My grandmother gave me the fabric sitting on top, it has ballroom dancers on it and I vaguely remember having a dress made from it when I was younger. So it would have to be at least 25years old. I should have some material in my stash that will go nicely with these. I'm hoping to have some dresses sewn to take with me to the Daylesford Makers Market this Saturday.

Sunday Sewing

Today I completed an order for 2 Artsmocks. The pale blue spot is for a tall 9year old girl so extra length was added to the arms. She requested the white sleeves which I think will look great after many art classes! The darker blue spot was for her 7year old brother who is a Carlton supporter, hence the decision to have navy sleeves with a white trim. These artsmocks have an oilcloth bodice which can be wiped over with a cloth or in cold water on a gentle cycle. They have already made their way to their new owners, ready for school tomorrow. And now I must finish covering books, iron school clothes & sew 2 artsmocks for my kids! Hope you have had a great weekend.

The finished wrap...

Yesturday we were soooooo busy. Picking up school booklists, labeling pens, pencils & books, buying a school uniform for our little boy who is starting school on Monday, buying more fabric-of course, and I was lucky enough to do a small amount of sewing. Today seems to have been just as busy already. More school supplies have been purchased, dry cleaning has been picked-up, one girl has been taken to a birthday party, new jazz shoes purchased , washing hung out, dishwasher loaded & unloaded, two children going to friends for a play and the list of things to do just seems to go on and on......But I'm sure it's the same for many households. I'm part way through finishing a birthday present....so must get back to the sewing machine. Here are some photos of a finished 'writing wrap'. Thank-you for all the lovely comments ...My experience of blogging so far has been very encouraging..

My Creative Space

Today I have been busy sewing these 'writing wraps'. Will have a finished picture to show you tomorrow. I guess the best way to describe them is like a transportable work station for kids. They come with paper to write or draw on,( which can be replaced), 3 pencils and there is a pocket for stickers etc. They are great to take along in the car or to keep young ones busy while waiting for meals at a restaurant...or for that much needed bubby chino to arrive. I'm not sure if 'writing wraps' is the best name for these yet. Still pondering over that! Stay tuned to see a finished product. I have made both boys/girls designs . I love playing around with all the many different novelty prints & colours. Last year I was busy sewing these for my 7year old daughters friends birthdays. They were such a hit that many were taken along to school for show & tell. It's always nice when you find or make a present for children that they like. I will have these for sale at the Daylesford Makers Market. Hope your Thursday has been productive. I was happy to get some sewing done. Next week school starts back, so hope to do A LOT more sewing for the markets I have ahead of me.

Hello!

Today, with assistance from a very helpful daughter..I have started my blog, yay! Have been working on these pirates for the Daylesford Makers Market . It will be my very first market where I will be selling my ByeByeBirdie products. I am both excited and nervous about this. I will have a stall there on both Saturday 6th February & Saturday 6th March. Last year I did some Christmas Shopping at both the Daylesford Makers Market & the Lark store. I was very impressed with the high quality and beautiful, original products available. There's lots of sewing hours to be spent before the 6th Feb. But now that my blog is up and going I will need to squeeze in some blogging hours too!