174-176/365 Weekending, Weekdaying

Boy did the weekend whizz by and today is Monday, the first day of school holidays for my youngest.  I do love school holidays for the slow days, taking your time to get things done which makes things nice and calm.  On the weekend we decided to go to the markets, it was the perfect weather.  I did a bit of shopping for me and a bit for a couple of other people.  I am now looking out for Christmas present ideas, trying to be organised!!  There was our weekly grocery shopping, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables although I may have to go back and get a little more fruit towards the end of the week.  And today's baking was another gluten free experiment for me.  I am far more used to baking with flour and butter but as one member of the family wants to go gluten free for a couple of weeks I am giving it a try. The biscuits were a little dry to work with but they did taste yummy.  How was your weekend?

Snippets of our weekend

We're a bunch of homebodies by nature really and also very indecisive about what to do so without any decisions being made we busied ourselves around home. Saturday saw me going to our local organic shop for a free chocolate making demonstration.  I brought my camera with me and asked if I could take a few pictures, it was a great idea it seems to have brought my camera with me.  One of the ladies who works at the shop asked if I could email the pictures for them to use on their face book page since she forgot to bring her camera, I'm always more than happy to help out and to get a bit more practice in different situations. The demonstrator asked, once things were complete, to look at the photos and asked if I could also send him the photos. As a way of thanking me gave me an array of their products, to say I was happy was an understatement.  Maybe this might just be what I need to build up my confidence.

There was an impromptu trip to the park to see the fireworks.

Some crafting 

and candle making.  I have to say I was a little nervous making these candles and now with the information I have learnt I might give them another go but for now I have a few for us and some to give as gifts too so I won't be making any more for a little while.  I thought I would share some tips I learnt along the way so if you decide to give candle making a go they might come in handy.

Here's my candle making tips:

* use newspaper to cover your work surfaces.  Makes cleaning up much much easier.

* when choosing equipment to melt your wax in, ensure that it's not your best because it's messy and cleaning wax can be and was very difficult.

* pour a small amount of wax in the bottom of the jar, then using the tip of a pencil push the wick and holder into the wax and allow to set before you start your pouring your candle.

* to prevent wax from getting on your wicks when pouring, you can cover it with some blue tac.    When you unwind the wick from it's holder (eg. bamboo stick) then there will be no wax on the wick and it will look pretty and professional (unlike my very handmade creations).

* when using beeswax be aware that it does shrink when it sets so only fill the jar half way, let it set then tighten wick.  When it's set you can do a second and even a third pour to ensure there is no gaps between the glass and wax, also to fill in any air bubbles that may have formed.

* if you happen to get wax that has dripped on the outside of the jar (I had lots!), I found that a little bit of eucalyptus oil was fantastic at removing it.

Happy candle making if you decide to give it a try and happy week to you.

We started off the weekend with quite the journey to visit family.  A storm made it's arrival whilst we were travelling on the road. I do not like being caught  out in a storm one little bit especially when there is some hail involved, we kept safe in a side street without any damage coming to the car either thankfully.  The family plans of putt putt had to be changed, but it's all about the gathering and celebrating together that matters most so there was lots of sitting and chatting and eating. I made a little card for the birthday girl and crocheted a brooch for her like the one I made here to go along with some gifts I bought at the markets. I'm trying really hard to be more organised, it feels good when you get things done on time without the last minute rushing for me this year it's been a bit rare but I'm hoping I can keep it up until Christmas.....There were more storms rolled in on Sunday, there's been quite a few this weekend, the morning storm almost looked magical through the camera, like I imagine snow might look. So we hung out inside, having Molly cuddles, lying around watching movies and getting some crochet gifts made for the teachers. If you would like to check out the pattern you can find it here.  I changed the pattern a little and rather than crocheting 40 stitches into the centre I only did 30, I found that was a bit of a struggle for me.  I used two strands of this yarn with a 4mm hook and it still turned out nice and tight.  I'll add a body wash and that's one teacher present complete! There was also a bit of time browsing the net and admiring new photography blogs like this one. One day I dream of being able to take photos like the ones I see on those gorgeous photography websites, one day....  So how about you what did you get up to this weekend?
♥

My Creative Space

In my creative space today there has been a little bit of activity going on, I'm hoping it's the start of more, this is just the first of many handmade Christmas gifts I would like to make.  Yesterday I cut out a little pinafore for my niece, it's yet to be sewn but I don't think it will take long it's soooo tiny. I've made this pinafore before and it was well loved so I'm hoping this one will be too.

To see what others have been creating pop by here.

In my creative space

I've been making some Christmas gift tags,

some Christmas inspired sugar cubes to go with the teacher gifts using this tutorial.  I tried making stars with a small cookie cutter but I found using the mould much easier.

And another couple of embroidery hoops using thrifted doilies.  I thought I'd keep the little one to put up on the wall in the craft room and the other for a friend who I think might just like one for Christmas.

To be inspired by what others are creating pop by here♥

A Teacher Gift

A lazy Saturday spent at home crocheting on the lounge while my hubby and the little one decorated the house in some Christmas lights. She is so excited and loves getting into the spirit of Christmas. Miss 7 has been listening to the same Christmas song (The Little Drummer Boy) for the past 3 weeks each night when she goes to bed, my girl loves her routine.

This is my version of the Mollie Makes mug cosie, a gift for one of Miss 7's teachers, just one more to go.  I was going to fill them with some tea, a spoon, maybe some cute sugar cubes for a little bit of fun, and a couple of chocolates.

I hope you've been enjoying your weekend♥

A Change of Plans

The plan was to go for a drive, to do some exploring today but we woke to a storm and darkness.  So we decided today would be our stay at home day.  The girls did some craft, my hubby did some ironing and I did some sewing. It took me all day but I finished three book/library bags, a start on my Christmas presents yeah!  I found the tutorial for the bag here.

May your Sunday be a sunny one♥

In my creative space

today is the finished baby blanket. It was a learning experience crocheting my first blanket choosing colours and keeping up the dedication to finishing a project bigger than I've attempted in a while. Next time I'll plan a bit more when choosing the colours but other than one little mistake which I hope doesn't get found I really enjoyed seeing the blanket grow and take shape. To finish the edge I used this tutorial to pretty it up.

I'm trying to make most of the presents I give to friends children but there will be some bought too. So I can give them handmade, I'm trying to be proactive and start now by making a couple a week. Last week I made these two brooches using an idea I saw last week out at the shops. I used this tutorial for the flower and made one in each of the girls favourite colours for Christmas.

For my inspiration stop by Kirsty's.

My Creative Space

Since it is the last creative space for the year I thought I would stop by and share what I have been doing, nothing really exciting in the heat but I still have a bit of Christmas sewing left to do. I am making this bag for my god daughter for Christmas, hoping this will be ok for a 13 year old who likes retro. And I thought some of you might like to have a look at these pattern drafting books my mother in law gave me to have a look at and try my hand at drafting a pattern. I'll have to have a closer look and since I'm a bit of a basic sewer I'll probably need to call for a bit of help but the patterns inside are just gorgeous.

And I thought I would just show you a cute photo from my Miss 5's prep concert today. They all did a great job singing and dancing and at the end we were given a beautiful gift of their portfolio of work over the semester. The teachers went to so much effort and we have a wonderful keepsake which I'm sure she'll love to look back at.

Thanks for coming by my blog if you want to see more creativity happening then pop by Kirsty's lovely blog.

Smiles Catherine xox

Getting Creative!

Hello. I thought I would show you a bit of what I have been up to lately, it's been hard to get motivated to sew in this heat and with the school year almost at an end things are very busy. Today Miss 5 had her swimming carnival which was really fun to watch and tomorrow they have their Christmas Concert which I'm really looking forward to. So after the carnival I motivated myself to get a bit of sewing done. I made a couple of applique singlets to give as a Christmas gift for a little baby. This is my first attempt at applique, so I took it slowly and it turned out, yeah! Also I have finished the explorer bags that I mentioned last week on my creative space, where did the week go! And this is what I put inside them, a compass, torch, chocolate and magnifying glass. So on my list of homemade Christmas things to do I still have a crayon roll to make and a bag, so far so good. Anyway I need to get a wriggle on because I still have to finish making a Mars Bar Slice for Miss 10's break up party tomorrow, wrap a present for a teacher and TRY to get to bed before midnight. Catch you later!

Smiles Catherine xox

Pictures and a Present

Hi there just thought I would stop by and share with you the framed pictures I was telling you about last week in my creative space. They were super easy to make and not to expensive either. The frames I used are from Ikea and the matting I picked up from my local art supplier for $1 because it was in their off cut bin (bargin). I used some scraps for the butterflies using my Martha Stewart punch which I bought at Spotlight and for the letter I traced around a MDF letter and then cut it out of scrapbooking paper. Because the frames I used didn't allow for things to be raised too high I used some dimensionals for a bit of dimension but that was all that would fit. That's one more thing I've finished for Christmas, still that sewing to go.

I mentioned present, well it was a little gift I picked up for myself at Trade Secret this morning. I spied these cute Matryoshkas over at Mel's blog and wanted some for myself but it wasn't until I found them today for $12.95 that I thought well why not! Have a great day!

Smiles Catherine xox

Some catching up to show you.

Hi there! I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend, I have had a productive weekend and I wanted to show you what I have been up to. At Christmas I really love to give children gifts and I have some wonderful friends who have children. Christmas is a lovely time and for me I love to give each of them a little something but I don't spend a lot, I spend a bit more on their birthdays instead. This year I really want to make my gifts so my first project was to make some purses and fill them with little things for girls. Last night I was on a mission and made six purses using this tutorial over at Skip to my Lou, it was a late night but worth it to get some presents almost complete. I haven't filled them yet but I will show you when I am finished to give you some ideas as well. About a month ago I bought some pretty fabric and I was going to make my Miss 5 a pillow case dress and well I have gotten a bit side tracked and so haven't made it for her but I did today. It came together really easily because this is my second dress but I didn't make it big enough to last her for long, if only I added a couple of centimeters in the width then it would have been perfect. Oh well the dress will have to be for around the house, next time I will know.:(

The other day I went to my local stamping class and our teacher decided to give us a bit of a challenge. The challenge was to make a Christmas card with her choice of colours, use a punch, use two coloured ink, and embellishment and not to use white as the cards main colour. This was quite hard and the card I made I do like now but using pink and purple is not my usual taste, so it was fun. The added bonus was if your name got chosen then you won a stamp set and I was lucky enough to get picked!:) Well that's just about it for me today. I will leave you with this pretty flower that is on my front steps, not sure what it is called but it made me smile. See you soon.

Smiles Catherine xox

P.S. I almost forgot last week I showed you a hair clip holder that I made from an idea over at Tutti Frutti. Well they also have lots of hair ties and so after seeing this pretty idea I decided that I could use the same idea but use it for hair ties. I just used a ring from a scrapbooking shop, some eyelets and felt, simple and cute. To take the picture I just used my handles in my room but you can put it on anything, even just a simple hook.