stitching for the babies

sometimes i like to sew. i find stitching back and forth creating words or an image quite therapeutic. in december one of my friends from church had a baby and i decided i would make a little sampler of his name for his room - and it only took me three months to get around to it - and less than three hours to finish it hahah. add a cute coloured edge frame from our local reject shop and ta-dah! i thought it was sweet. 

then our adorable next door neighbours had a baby this week. a long awaited rainbow baby who will be very loved! i thought what the heck - let's do another one... 

so baby april got one too. i loved making them - hopefully their mums liked them too. 

another doll

my best friend jen is due to have her baby next month... and she's having a girl. i swore i was never making another one of these dolls ever again (worst pattern ever... i am thinking i'll set fire to it now that this one is done!) unless jen decided to have another baby and that baby was a girl... well... jen is having another baby and that baby is a girl. so supervised by mum, i got to work yet again - and here is the end result! this one is in fun shades of blue and is yet unnamed.

jen, please don't have another girl. i'll kill you... but congratulations, this beautiful doll is coming to live at your house :)

scrunchies!

i tell you no lies. i asked my 16 year old niece what she wanted for her birthday and she replied, oh some scrunchies would be nice please! scrunchies? really? those things we used to wear in our hair when we were in primary school, oh i don't know 28 odd years ago? what the heck. apparently they are all the rage again, so... i looked up online the easiest way to make them (here's a great tutorial!), got our my trusty sewing machine and got to work.

madeline instantly decided she needed some too, then another friend put in her order... and we ended up making 28 of them over the weekend. 

i loved all the colours and picking fabrics, not so much the turning (always a pain, i remember doing it for my mum when she would make them for me, so i got madeline onto that quick smart!) but we got quicker as we went along, so i'll definitely be making more for my friends who are dropping unsubtle hints about wanting them (ew gross, i won't be wearing any you fashion victims) and madeline's friends.

scrunchie maker, out! 

school ready

it's school time in just 8 days (but who's counting, oh me for sure! my kids are squabbling and it is time...) and i am ready to go! mum came over for the day and whipped up a library bag for joseph, cars of course. 

finished an art smock for madeline...

and then made a new library bag for madeline (she's over the frozen one that poor mum made and then hand embroidered her name into last year. sigh)

i spent the day labelling pencils and books and packing everything ready to go for next week and i am pleased to report that we are done and dusted.

now to work out how i'll cope with my baby at school next year. thank goodness it's only five days a fortnight. i don't know what i'd do with myself otherwise! i'll let you know how we go! 

a doll for isabel

never, ever again. until the next one of course. baby isabel has arrived and i (stupidly) decided she needed a handmade doll as a "welcome to the earth" present. i have made this pattern once before (see here) and it went pretty well, with no major issues... but this time i wanted to ditch the doll and set fire to the pattern! hopefully she will love it... but i would be lying if i said that a lot of love went into it. more like a lot of cursing and anger haha.

but may i present the yet unnamed doll i finally managed to turn out for miss isabel. please feel free to offer name suggestions in the comments... but mark my words it will be a long time before i attempt another... if ever! augh.

school christmas gifts

it has been madeline's first year of school this year and i wanted to make sure i did something nice for all the kids in her class at the end of the year. browsing instagram (as i do a lot), i came across a gorgeous page who made cute as classroom gifts, at glittergluedesigns. i especially loved her reindeer lollipop holders and snapped up a set for maddie's class here. i was so pleased with how cute they turned out.

madeline has had two particularly close friends this year also and after hearing about them day in and day out, i wanted to give them a little something too, so grabbed some cute little necklaces from lovisa and made these cards to attach them to using the free app "red stamp" on my iphone. i loved how they turned out and according to charlotte and isabellas mums, they loved them too. oh to be 5 again. it seems like the greatest thing in the world! ♥

a wedding gift made with love

as i posted about a few days back, my beautiful friend aniwa and her husband myron got married last week. we have become very close and share a wonderful friendship and love for the gospel. 

my dad performed their marriage ceremony and i was asked to do a reading at the wedding, so i chose something that spoke of the purpose of marriage within the gospel and the importance of being together as husband and wife. but then, what to give as a gift? i found the perfect solution, in having my reading placed over a beautiful photo of them that I'd snapped at the wedding. my new found friend from lemons that are pink in the uk was only too happy to oblige in making one up and i was thrilled with the results!

♥♥♥

The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly declared more than 20 years ago in the Family Proclamation, that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve was as husband and wife, that they would have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion and work.

In True to the Faith it also says: If you are married, remember that the friendship and love between you and your spouse should be your most cherished earthly relationship… Remember that marriage, in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither person exercising dominion over the other, but with each encouraging, comforting and helping the other.

♥♥♥

and clearly they loved it too...

happy days are ahead m & a, this is just the beginning. i love you both!

the annaliah doll

today i made a doll. all by myself! i went to mums to for supervision, so that there was no way i could mess it up but i was pleasantly surprised that i actually managed it! years ago i purchased the pattern for the "elsie" doll from candy kirby designs (before their dolls were available to purchase, the pattern was available) and finally had a really good occasion to use it, to make a doll for a special little girl in our ward. miss annaliah is having heart surgery in a matter of weeks and i wanted to give her something special to take with her.

it was so much fun and i am thrilled to pieces that i managed to get it done, especially all the little details like stitching on her face and adding a little lace collar...

here she is ready to stuff...

and her little mary janes!

and as a little finishing touch i found a ceramic heart button in mums sewing room and drew some little stitches on, so that she really is just like miss annaliah. i can't wait to see her face when i give her to her this weekend ♥

a mothers love

when i was 5 years old, my mother decided to make a quilt for my bed. i watched her spend a good part of the next year sewing these blocks up and then handstitching the entire thing stitch by stitch until it was done. i would hide underneath the fabric as she sewed each night and was thrilled to pieces when it was finally done and spread onto my bed for the first time. i loved it then and i still love it just as much. so all these years later, it seemed a waste for it to sit in a cupboard when madeline is using my old bed... so mum go to work once more and made it hers...

this new piece was added to the quilt a month or so ago, quilted over the top of four calico hearts with the letters of my name... and this week the quilt has one again taken pride of place on my old bed. madeline is thrilled to pieces and couldn't wait to snuggle under it this evening.

"those who sleep under a quilt, sleep under a blanket of love ♥ "

visiting teaching christmas gifts

here are the gifts florence and i took a few weeks ago for christmas to the girls we visit teach.

casserole dish carrybags

years ago, i received one from my visiting teacher and decided i was going to make some. i had all the fabric and a little motivation, but when joseph was playing up and mum was at our house, she took over and had them all made within an hour. oh, she is the best. no arguments here!

i know you will all easily be able to tell from the picture how to make them, but here is a small rundown and the measurements for the square. i'm not good with sewing terms, so excuse me if none of this makes perfect sense.

you'll need half a metre of fabric and lining (they end up being 45cm across, so to allow for hems) and if your fabric is wide enough, you'll probably be able to get two from it - i got 4 from the two half metres i purchased. some wadding (to pad it so once your dish is inside no one gets burnt) and a piece of reasonably thick cord.

sew your fabric, lining and wadding into a 45cm square, then turn - fold open edge in and top stitch around all the edges, fold in a triangle of about 4cm and then sew two opposite ends across 2cm in, to hold them in place, ensure there is enough room to thread cord through. make a handle, the same way about 10cm or so wide, turn and top stitch. pin your handle to the other two points once folded in and stitch them to attach handle to the back, again leaving enough space for the cord which you will then thread through... and you're done. 

wrap and gift!

and thank you mum! you are truly the best.

wedding diy

my friend leigh is getting married in just a few short weeks... so we have been diy-ing here in the lounge - to make the centrepieces and petal cones for the wedding.

24 milk bottles wrapped in paper from a vintage copy of "what katy did" all i did was open the pages and snip out the cotton from the centres then peel each piece out. each is cut in three widthways and held in place with 2 pieces of double sided tape. then wrapped in a piece of 3mm white ribbon to hold it all in place. easy!

and 68 petal cones. each a single piece of story book paper, fold in two widthways and make a crease at the base, then fold in like an icecream cone. then add a piece of tape to hold.

ahhhhh wedding diy. there's not much i love more. ♥

joseph's baby quilt

today this amazing quilt unexpectedly arrived in the mail and i nearly cried. mum has made all of her grandchildren a quilt, including a gorgeous one with stars for madeline, which you can see here - and now this! 

as you all know from my blogging, mum and dad are currently serving a mission for the church we belong to: the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, and they are teaching at the church college there. mum is in the home economics department and completely in her element cooking and sewing all day, so obviously had plenty of time and motivation to make this masterpiece.

all of the rainbow pieces around the outside are cut from the bright coloured lava lava cloths that the samoans wear, (mum has had miles of that fabric around her over the past 13 months...) then quilted fish swimming in a sea of turtles, and a hand embroided starfish (conveniently my favourite) in the bottom corner. it is so, so lovely and i feel so blessed to have such a talented mother, who loves her grandchildren so very much. i can hardly wait to put it in his room!

for the love of joy

i follow so many beautiful, talented and wonderful people on facebook and instagram - and this week had a wonderful surprise when one of my favourites - anna french from for the love of joy announced that everything currently made and stocked in her online store was going to be 40% off until it all sold. she makes quilts and quilted items to pay for her college tuition and being that she is just 4 weeks off graduating, i guess this is the final run for the finish line!

i jumped in with both feet and bought the gorgeous cushion cover and quilt pictured here and am so so stoked with my purchases! cannot wait until they arrive, her stuff is so cute and i am so excited!

i am sure they will look amazing in baby k2's little nursery :)

anniversary gift

each year for my best friend jennifers wedding anniversary i hand make her a gift (mind you there has only been two of them so far, so lets see what the future brings...) last year it was a button cushion for cotton which you can see here and the year before a framed tree which you can see here. but this year - she surprised me, with a lovely gift that she had handmade for me. i see this is going to be a competition now and i love it. i must say though, hers was a lot more difficult - being copper for seven years. what do you do with that? 

this!!

her gorgeous husband mat (who she always claims is so unromantic - pffft he has just proved otherwise...) apparently offered to make the copper heart, which she then put on a background of the paper used on our wedding invitations (which is apparently now out of stock... boooo) and for good measure stuck on our placecards from the table. such a sweet and thoughtful gift. i love it so much! 

♥

p.s. if you're interested in seeing what item is for each anniversary year - there's a handy website here that has them all!

ma & me

she's at it again... the bestie has been making and creating and putting out some awesome as creations. i am sure you all remember the amazing unicorn that jen made maddie for her birthday but now she has made her own little business online ma&mehandmade! i am so excited to see all the gorgeous things pop up one by one on her website and know it's going to be a great success. ♥

i just bought this for a friend from school who is due to have a baby boy in just two weeks. can't wait to meet the little munchkin! i am in love with this little collar. hopefully he'll love him as much as i do.

if you have some time check out her site and get shopping... 

here's just a few sneak peeks of what's on offer!

handmade birthday gifts

not only is my bestie talented in making birthday cakes... but handcrafts too! as i am sure you're all aware by now... madeline's birthday is this wednesday and over the weekend we had a party for her. jen had already given madeline the purple unicorn you can see below because she just couldn't bear to wait any longer... so cute! she and her mum amanda made her "violet" from scratch for my little one, and she loves her to pieces.

jen also made madeline a button "m" for her wall. so cute! i love handmade stuff and i am thrilled with her gifties. thanks aunty jen! x

pinterest obsessed

oh my gosh... i am obsessed!!! lisa introduced me to pinterest a few weeks ago and sent me an invite to sign up - so i tried to - and discovered that i already had an account! i don't know how on earth i didn't use it when i made it, cause i have been seriously missing out! so freaking awesome...

pinterest is a virtual pin -up board, when you can made categorized boards and pin-the-things-you-love! i have boards such as: make it, baby, kids clothes, organising, recipes, photo ideas and lots more. it is so flipping awesome, you can just scroll through pages and pages of other peoples pin and ideas to see what you like and pin away. i could spend hours and hours doing it...

and the best bit - is there is an i-phone app... so when maddie is up in the middle of the night, i can pin away.

can't wait to start trying some of the ideas - it's amazing!!!!

to see my page - click here!

a labour of love

miss madeline received a pretty fancy gift today... from aunty jen. a cross stitch done and personalised just for her. jen has spent months stitching this for madeline, and all i can say is wow! i certainly don't know if i would have the patience to sit and stitch this masterpiece. thanks jen! we love it! xx