The weekend has been and gone already.  We headed to a friends annual Christmas party, the girls ran around, we ate lots and talked about how fast the year has flown by.

We've got just 4 more days left of school.  I love this time of year, it's starting to feel a bit more relaxed, no homework and lots of playing after school equals fun.

 I feel like I'm getting somewhere with my handmade Christmas making, the Christmas tags have been finished.

And lots of fabric cutting has been done.  A lap quilt in the making for a dear friend using some of the vintage fabric I won during blogtober.

Two Ooshka Babushka dolls for a couple of special little girls.

Another marble bag for a nephew and pattern making for some journal covers.

And a cushion cover for an animal lover.

Now I just need to get sewing.

I hope you enjoyed your weekend♥

Creating and baking

Miss 7 had an idea, to make pretend food for school.  This term they are learning about the community, people and places in a community.  She is designing the shopping centre, her choice, so to go in her set of shops is some handmade food.  With a bit of oven baked clay leftover from other craft projects, some inspiration from the internet and a couple of hours later she created all this delicious food.  I think she's done a fantastic job and she had so much fun making lolly pops, fruit, pies and gingerbread men. It's also a great little activity to keep children creating over the holidays which will be here very soon. ♥

Lovely Links

Zucchini Cake recipe found via Ivy Nest

It's coming to the end of Blogtoberfest and I have to say that today I'm feeling a bit tired but at the same time I've really enjoyed it too.  So with not much having happened today I thought I would share with you a few links I've found while surfing the net.

● A sweet little brooch using a clay disk and washi tape.
● If you know any little girls who enjoy dressing up like princesses, then this tiara tutorial is a great gift idea and there is also a wand tutorial to match.
● Christmas isn't far away so when I saw this clever advent calendar tutorial I thought I would share just in case you're keen and want to prepare early.
● I think most crafty people have a stash of buttons, so to use up some of those buttons I found this button magnet tutorial and a fun spring hoop tutorial.

I hope you that you may find some of these links useful or inspiring♥

Links for Children

During my internet searching I've come across some interesting ideas just for children I thought you might like.

● Handmade educational resources to help children practice their alphabet and numbers.  And for those who are learning fractions, I found this great idea to help give children a visual representation to assist in understanding this concept.
● And with Spring now here and many of us on school holidays, I found this tutorial to make paper daffodils.  Or if you would rather the see flowers grow then you could make some of these simple newspaper pots and plants some seeds.
● Another idea I've put on my list of handmade Christmas presents is a library bag.  I found this tote tutorial I'm planning on using to make some as gifts.

May your Sunday be a sunny one♥

Lovely Links

I really enjoy visiting new blogs and discovering new things to make, and with Christmas not too far away it's always good to get some inspiration.  I thought I would share with you a few tutorials that I've bookmarked recently.

●Some plant markers using oven bake clay.  I really like this idea and so much nicer than the plastic plant marker you get when you buy the plant.
●These food covers are not only pretty but practical and much more environmentally friendly than using plastic food wrap.
●If you have fabric scraps lying around, these patchwork coasters are a great way of using them up.
●I think these ribbon bangles are a great gift idea for girls.
●Stationery is favourite of mine and this handmade notebook would make a sweet gift for a teacher who always has notes to write.

I hope these links have inspired you or given you some handmade gift ideas♥

 The morning is looking a bit brighter with a bit of sun peaking through the clouds, I might even try and get some washing dry.  I've got some baking to do and a bit card making on my list today, I love having holidays.

I've been on the look out for craft ideas for Easter, for the girls to do and for me to make for others.  Yesterday the girls were busy creating up a storm.  The first idea I found over at Jacqueline's blog Zippy Zippy. With lots of fabric scraps in pink, it was a great project for Miss 7 to give a try.

With the left over fabric I thought the girls might like to make a garland to hang up in their rooms.  All I did was get some card stock and draw an outline of a bunny on the back using a biscuit cutter.  The girls glued strips of fabric and pattern card stock onto the opposite side and when dry I cut out the bunny, punched holes and threaded some ribbon through to hang up.

Easter baskets are a favourite to make, I found this simple little basket I thought might be a great idea to make and give as a gift to little ones.

And if you like sewing then these cute bunny lavender sachets are perfect, I really love these.

I also found this tutorial to make Easter decorations out of felt, great to get the little ones sewing over the holidays.

Or if you enjoy sewing and would love some sweet Easter egg decorations then retro mama has a great tutorial for you.

Another lovely idea I found was this bath fizz recipe over at Martha Stewart. I thought this might be a nice idea for those who don't like chocolates or this would be perfect for Mother's Day too.


I hope you get inspired to create.  Have a lovely day.
♥

Goodmorning!

Hello there everyone. Gee I can't believe I have finally motivated myself to post in the morning, usually I am a night time poster but today I have the finished baby presents to show you, all except one. Because my friend doesn't know what she will be having I stuck to green, orange and white getting the inspiration from some Kaiser baby paper. This is my first tag book and I have to say at first I was a bit daunted by the idea of doing it but once I got started the ideas just kept on flowing. (thank goodness all those magazines have come in handy, lol) I also kept the theme going by covering a tin bucket I found at Spotlight with some paper and ribbon, maybe it will come in handy later on and a nice way to give a gift. I plan on making a bib, putting in some little socks, the tag album and also the newspaper. I know the newspaper doesn't seem like the best gift but when the baby grows up they will know what happened in the world back when they were born. Hope you like the pictures, talk to you soon. Bye!

Smiles Catherinex