Sew Liberated Tunic Top

I finally got around to making something for myself a few weeks ago.  I don't know about you, but I always seem to sew for the kids and leave fabric for me sitting at the bottom of my stash.  Perhaps it's because kids clothes are so easy to sew and I don't have to bother fitting them around lumps and bumps that one gets after growing 2 humans inside one's body!

I have had the Sew Liberated Schoolhouse Tunic pattern waiting to be used since I visited Suz a few months ago. The fabric I have had for over 12 months.  Bring the two together and you get this....

I think this pattern is going to become one of my favourites.  It was simple to make and came together pretty quick.  It actually looks quite good on too.  I did try to get my 4yr old to take a photo of me wearing it but somehow in each photo, at least one of my appendages was missing!

What have you sewn for yourself lately?  I'd love to see some of your creations, so if you have a blog or photo sharing account feel free to comment with the address so I can have a look.

Happy Crafting!
Kat

While the boys were away.....

I had a to do list a mile long.

I decided that while my boys were away camping, they could only do 5 days this year due to Jacks foot infection, that I would do some things I have wanted to do for awhile.

I made a swoon block.

Now I had no intention to make this into a whole quilt but I actually enjoyed making this block so I may make a few more, even if it is just a lap quilt size.

I also folded a huge bundle of fabric. I love folding and touching my fabric, that isn't wrong is it?

Oh and look at my lovely Mendocino pile, oh how I love this fabric.  I haven't got the complete range but I came across these at work and paid next to nothing.  I was one happy little camper I can tell you.

I got going on my sons quilt as well but pics of that will have to wait, it's looking amazing so far and an easy pattern as well.
I also covered an old office chair for him with some cool fabric from spotlight.  I was going to take a trip to IKEA for some fabric but i decided to just go with this London one.  Since I am doing our family tree i thought it was quite fitting because our families came from all over the British Islands including London.

I have another million projects on the go at the moment and Christmas is fast approaching so I should have some more projects I have been working on soon.

Cheers
SUZ xxxxxx

Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

After Suz told me how yummy these sausage rolls were on the blog Retro Mummy, I had to give them a try.  I don't have a fancy thermomix or the cheaper Bellini version so I just used my food processor.  I have to say I was very impressed. These are super yummy and both the kids and Mr. D loved them too.  Even if you're not into vegetarian food, these are a must for any recipe folder.

Team them with a fresh salad and some fruit chutney and you have a super delicious meal.

I actually ran out of pastry the second time I made these so I used the left over mix as a coating on some chicken.  Yum!  Clearly it defeats the whole vegetarian angle but it was super yummy.

Go and check out the recipe and have a try yourself.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Happy Cooking!
Kat

Family Sunday

On Sunday, Mr. D and I decided to go for a short drive to the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.  I had heard the playground there was fantastic since a recent redevelopment and I wanted to have a look and check it out for myself.  I must say, I was more than a little impressed.  My phone photo's don't do it justice and they only show a few things on offer.  However, we will definitely be heading back there soon once this Spring weather decides to stay around for a bit longer.

I love the wooden carriages on the train.

Tree trunk stepping stones, what a great idea.

A fantastic cubby with it's own garden.

Perfect for playing shops.

Swinging together.

A quiet lunch before some exploring around the gardens.

Searching for Fairy houses.

Quiet creek running along the back of the gardens.

A trip to the park wouldn't be complete without throwing some rocks into the water.

Everyone had a great day and we finished it off with some delicious afternoon tea at Skydancers Garden, Gift and Cafe.  We will be doing this again soon, I'm sure.

Happy Crafting!
Kat 

Hospital- not a fun place to be

Well I am excited to say that it is school holidays here in Sunny Sydney and even more excited because my son (Mr 11) has just spent a week in hospital.  He went in on a Thursday and we came out last Thursday after a week I will never forget, and I don't think he will either.

He was complaining of pain when he was walking on the Monday afternoon and after I had a look and dressed it as a Planter Wart, something they catch very easily from Public pools where they have swimming with the school.  The day after I sent him to school for crazy hair day and was called at Lunch time to collect him.
After looking at it and getting worried I took him off to the Drs who said it was just a blister killing whatever was inside.

My 11 year old was not one to complain but the sleepless nights he was suffering from was bad for both of us.  Hubby ended up taking him to his GP on the Thursday morning but by the time he go back home to me his foot was bad.  I will not put up a picture of what under his foot looked like but this was the top.

Swollen and starting to get very red on top.  Off to emergency and thats when the fun started. 5 days of IV antibiotics, two strong antibiotics for 3 days and surgery to remove all the crap on his foot.
It is not easy keeping an 11 year old boy happy when he cannot walk and is confined to bed with an IV but he did it and after a little scare that the infection was going up his leg. we knocked it on the head with surgery and 2 antibiotics.

Surely this child isn't in hospital lol

Before surgery, the blue line was there to make sure the red didn't spread.

 Morning after surgery, what a long night that was. He didn't go to theatre till 9.30pm and didn't come back to the room till 12.30am.

You do what you can to amuse yourself in hospital.

Playing a new game on the laptop while his brother is watching TV.

We still don't know exactly what caused this but he is on the mend now and we have two weeks off to take it nice and slow so he will be back in full force for the start of school next term.

If you made it thru this post thanks cause it was a very personal post one that we don't normally put on our little blog.

Stay Well
SUZ

I Love a Vintage Find

My oldest sister (Suz) sent Mr. J and Miss E each a birthday present recently and I must say they were very spoilt.  Mr. J hasn't stopped playing with his jungle set.

When Miss E opened her present, I immediately fell in love with these amazing vintage sewing cards.  I LOVE them and all their vintagey goodness!  I don't know how Suz does it, but she always manages to find the best bargains when she's out op shopping.

I know what we'll be doing tomorrow when the weather turns nasty on us again.  (Oh how I can't wait for spring to stay a little longer!)

Happy crafting!
Kat

Fabric Cards

A good friend of mine recently invited us to breakfast for her birthday.  I had her present organised but when I went to get a card out of my card box, I discovered it was empty!  Rather than get out of my pj's to go to the shops, I decided I could make something using a few bits of fabric.  What do you think?

These were so simple, I think I will be making more.

Have you ever made your own cards with fabric?  What designs did you use?

Happy crafting!
Kat

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

My baby turned 2 last week.  I can't believe it!

This beautiful baby girl is now full of personality, knows what she wants and look out world if she gets hungry!  She also has a head full of beautiful blonde curls, who would have thought?

I wasn't planning on a party this year for miss E, but after being invited to all the 4 year old parties in our mums group, she had her mind set on a party of her own.  And not just any party.  She was set on a rainbow party.  Honestly, what 2 year old decides the theme of their party? Mr J certainly didn't do this, perhaps it's a girl thing.

We decided to keep the party small and not too much fuss but I made sure I threw a few rainbow things to keep her happy.  We had strings of rainbow balloons up around the house and a table decked out with some rainbow food.

The rainbow plate of fruit was a must.  Too much sugar for two year olds is not a good thing!

A few sticks painted in rainbow colors to add some height.  These were the most talked about thing at the party.

Rainbow jelly made a huge impact on the table and the m & m's were a hit.  Yes, I did sort them into colors!

You can't have a rainbow party without rainbow fairy bread.

And of course, a rainbow party wouldn't be complete without a rainbow cake.

We have also had a Ben 10 party here recently and there will be a blog post to come on that soon.

Happy Crafting!
Kat

Melting crayons and a star!

We are just finishing our two weeks of winter holidays and have had a lot of fun with all sorts of crafty projects and a few day trips so I thought I would share one of our favorite projects from the holidays. Melted crayons are all over the Internet at the moment so I decided that we should have a go. Both boys did one but since I worked with Mr L we made it a lot bigger. I am also lucky enough to have a heat gun so we used that instead of a hair dryer.

We have brightened up the house with a few packets of crayons and a canvas or two.  Now hubby wants one for work and the dentist has asked for one as well.  At least they are fun and easy to make.

I also took some time out while my parents were staying to finish my star blocks and sew them together.  I am really happy with the results but need to make it a little bigger so will be adding a border on as well.  Maybe a thin red peeper first then a border.

Sorry about all the threads.  I realised I hadn't trimmed them off before I took the photo.

I have so many projects on the go at the moment I am looking forward to getting back to a bit more sewing.  I even have quilt tops finished that I need to sandwich and quilt. I dream of more space to spread out but I am pretty lucky to have a room to myself (well almost).

Handmade Party Favours - 10 Inspiring Ideas

It's party season here at the moment.  My sons friends are all turning 4 and Mr. J's turn is coming up soon.  I have been in kids party planning mode and I'm loving it!

We have decided on the party theme (Ben 10), food and games but I'm yet to decide upon something to put in the party bags at the end of the day.  I know I want something that is handmade and budget friendly but that's where my mind goes blank.  I have done some Internet searching for inspiration and found a few good ideas.  Although I haven't finalized what I am going to make, my creative juices are certainly flowing.

Here are 10 of the handmade favors I found in my travels.

A Little Collage Bag - Lovely Design

Ninja Dolls - Craft Interrupted

Butterfly Snacks - Baked Bree

Noise Makers - Martha Stewart

Pencil Toppers - One Crafty Mumma!

Ribbon Rings - ikat bag

Wands - ikat bag

Monster Bookmarks - Tally's Treasury

Mushroom Pencils - Scissors, Paper, Wok

Beaded Bracelet - Mia's Craft Ideas

Fabric Memory Game Tutorial

Are you in need of a quick sewing project to use up some scraps in your stash?  This fabric memory game fits the bill and is perfect as a gift for little ones of any age.  

If you find the right fabric, you can make an applique game like this.

Or just use different fabric squares to create a memory game like this.

Once they're complete, whip up a couple of clear vinyl bags using this tutorial and you're ready to give a unique gift that can be used over and over again.

This tutorial goes into detail on how to make the scrappy version but it's the same process for the appliqué version.  You just need to appliqué your pictures onto each plain front square instead of cutting matching scrappy squares.

Before I start, I should mention that I have used a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  I use this size on all my craft projects to give me a little room for error.  Hey, I'm not perfect;-)

Supplies
Backing fabric (this needs to be a solid color or a simple print so each square looks exactly the same)
Different fabric scraps for the front.  I made 16 squares so used 8 different fabrics.
Batting to give the cards some strength (I had run out of batting so used polar fleece instead)
Other basic sewing supplies

The Fun
Start by cutting out all your pieces, I used a 5 X 5 inch square.  For this game, I made 16 squares so I obviously cut 16 backing squares, 16 pieces of polar fleece and 2 X 8 squares for the front of my cards.

Now layer the squares like a sandwich with right sides of your fabric together and polar fleece on top.

Pin all the way around.  (I flipped my sandwich over before I pinned.)

Stitch around the outside using a 1/2 inch seam allowance but make sure you leave an opening on one side for turning through.

Cut the corners and trim the seam allowance to about 1/4 inch on all sides except for the one with the opening.  If you look closely, you can see my stitching line and the opening with the larger seam allowance untrimmed.

Turn through, making sure you push the corners out well and press.  (Excuse the state of my ironing board.)

Now top stitch around the outside of the whole square, stitching the opening closed in the process.  (Sorry about the change of fabric, it is the same game, just a different square.)

Repeat the process for the other squares and you have a fabulous memory game.  You can make it as simple or as difficult as you like and it's perfect for little ones as the cards are durable and can be thrown in the wash if they get dirty.