Home decorating

 Crafting up some new home decor this week.

There is a lack of colour around the place, Home is not feeling as homely as I would like it yet. 

A splash of crafty goodness here and there should spruce it up a bit,

give it a little more of a personal touch and

 the best part is that it really costs next to nothing to do.

Near everything I use in my home has been op shopped, re-purposed or handmade.

It's a bit mix matched, a bit of vintage love about, retro, 80's and modern.

What I find at my next Op shop visit, 

and what might attract me on the next blog I read, all influences my style. 

I'm getting back into good old habits again now 

and spending a little bit of spare time sewing and crocheting 

and I'm wrapping lots of things with fabric and wool!    very therapeutic... 

Making your own home is rewarding 

and you end up with some very unique and interesting pieces around.

The children will sometimes help or sometimes not.

Do you have any good ideas for a handmade home 

or perhaps some interesting links you may want to share?

*A big thanks to Tif for her lamp shade inspiration.

my name is ...

                                          the cheeky blonde one ...     

make me a rainbow

One of my girls told me last week that I was a very clever mum, 
and then she asked me

"Can mums make rainbows?"

Well, of course we can...Us mums can do anything, Right!

 Here is my rainbow pattern.

 I call it a rainbow hug.
  

Firstly chain stitch a row to fit around the base of your tin or glass jar or whatever you choose to hug.

At the end of the row turn back into each chain with a double crochet, join with slip stitch and tie off. 

 Add a new colour, double crochet a row, join with slip stitch and  tie off. 

 Repeat with rainbow colours until you have reached the height of your tin.

Use as desired.

No time to Crochet - If you keep a  bag of mixed yarn in your handbag for those times your stuck waiting, ie; school pick up, doctors/ dentists, airports, kettle to boil etc...hook a quick row here and a quick row there and in no time you will have your very own rainbow.

Anyone else got a special pattern for a rainbow?

Hung...

 

Made from a bit of this and a bit of that...
and pieces received in last years Bunting swap
Just because I love Bunting...

a little Crochet hat

A lovely Sunday drive out to a nearby creek was a great time to try out the girls newly crocheted hats. I started this little project a few months back but it was tossed into a corner because I struggled to find the time to complete it.  I'm over not finding the time anymore and I'm back to my old ways of making the time.

 I've started getting out of bed 1/2 an hour earlier to allow myself some quiet time to start the day.  I've allowed myself a little time to crochet or read or just sit when it's nice and quiet and I have no one else to look after but myself.   Add a cup of coffee to that and there's no better start to the day. If my schedule permits I've been enjoying another half hour or so of hooking in the afternoon, just before the older lot jump off the school bus.

When I first moved to this lovely cold climate a few months back I searched the web for some patterns I could crochet for the children, particularly miss Laura. Mostly beanies, scarfs, mittens etc, all easy patterns I could whip up quickly before the snow arrived. Well it didn't happen, with all that was going on I just wasn't in the right space for creative time.  This little hat was always on the top of this list, it was a bit cute and being in a colder climate now, a woolen hat like this would be perfect for spring sunshine.  And it is, with plenty of protection to the face and neck and wonderfully warm and cosy on the head, it is just perfect for these cooler spring days we regularly have here.  

This wonderful Pattern is available here at  Bizzy Crochet blog.
She shares some wonderful free patterns. Quite a talented lady! 

This one is certainly  an easy pattern to follow  Still being new to crochet I am finding that each time I crochet something new the more I understand the stitches, and the patterns really start to make so much more sense after a while.  I think I did a pretty good job,  the hat was suppose to be 1 -3 months but  mine are fitting a three year old and Miss 7 1/2 months.  I did use a larger hook, I do crochet loosely and maybe a few stitches were dropped or doubled up on here or there but the basis of it looks pretty proportioned, don't you think?  I also added a pretty little flower and draw string (made up of a simple chain stitch) to thread  around the bottom row, just before the hat flares out, it makes it nice and snug to the head, and adjustable to head sizes as well. I think we'll be getting a lot of use out of these.

Apple puree and a splash of Vintage

Can you believe my little Laura is 6 months old already! It's not quite time to celebrate her birthday yet but it is the time to start celebrating FOOD! 

Yep!  It's time for solids!!

I find something very therapeutic about pureeing up babies food...and I just love to watch their little face when they explore a new taste or texture... I have always made my baby food with the exception of my first child when I was young, naive and thought baby food came in jars and packets!!!  Different world now, I can tell you.  One thing I have never done before though is to make bubs bibs, I can't help but be inspired by the lovely designs I have seen on so many blogs, and as I  just love to sew now it was quite fitting that the next step for me would be to craft up some lovely vintage love to splash across my daughters chest.  Simple and easy to create, I found that sewing machine, sorted out some favourites from my stash and I took the weekend off to create....

Pattern here

I varied the designs a little bit and used a thick toweling (old towel) for the backing.

Do you think I could be the Happiest baby in the world....

You bet I am ....   :)