To my friend Santa...

We thought, discussed, typed, printed, decorated, stuck down, almost re-opened and finally posted!

Him or me...

We have been creating with pretty white doilies...we made them into bunting and now they are fluttering in the front window of the dining room. They are very sweet and we had fun!

Hmm, not sure who had more fun with this little creative activity...him or me?

Seed pods and fabric...

 

We made a little boat...we used driftwood, a seed pod and left over fabric. We never leave the beach without treasures...treasures that we can use on rainy days. Do you like it ? on the weekend it might make it to one of our favorite rock pools.

One perfect day......the sea was calm, the sky was blue and a little boy sailed his wooden boat.




I discovered the boat/shelf at at a local bric a brac store...and i had to have it. It was going to be painted white and used as a shelf...until a little inquisitive boy decided to sit in it one Sunday afternoon.



Daddy took out the shelves, painted the inside white, cut out a little fabric sail and gently tied it onto a stick that he also painted white...the little one watched with big blue eyes, smiled and played with his shells and a seed pod.





We found a beautiful spot and he sailed...it was perfect and he loved it!

*the little boat now sits on the porch or in the bedroom...some days it is filled with books other days it gets used as a spot to have a quiet morning snack...it's popular with friends, adults ask where we got it and your lovely comments and emails about the little header have made us smile with happiness. Thank you x

A little twine and beautiful paper...



I purchased this beautiful Cavallini & Co paper awhile back...finally I got around to making some bunting with it today. I used a hole punch, twine and carefully cut the paper into squares. Once the paper was cut I simply threaded the twine through the holes to create a rather cheap and cheerful ABC bunting. I really love this paper...it has such a nostalgic and happy feel to it. I have a second piece which I think I will make into magnetic cards for the new magnetic easel. This was a quick and easy craft activity that took approximately 25 minutes...and that is with my lovely little helper assisting me.



You can never have to much bunting...x

At my house...




Today is a busy day. Birthday party planning and crafting is on the top of my "to do list"
I am feeling excited and inspired with what I have laid out before me so far. The party has a very...little boy carnival... theme to it.
My husband and I have had fun coming up with some vintage style games such as: Knock em down tins (I have been saving tins for weeks now)! Spoon and ball races (I have painted some wooden spoons and found little coloured balls to be placed on top) Tug of war (this one is on my husbands to do list) Bean bag toss (I found this at Spotlight - they carry a lovely range called Amscan) you can see it in the image above and it is made of wood which I just love! The funny thing is this is a family party...there will only be 3 little boys and 13 adults. So the adults are in for lots of running about and laughs and not a lot of sitting about eating cake...not that they would I know they will all get in and have a laugh with the kids and each other. Over the next couple of days I will post some of the crafty preparations and some of the delicious (I hope) food recipes that I have planned for Sunday. Happy Monday...I am off to start some crafty chaos!
Pop over to buttons by loulou to join in the fun.

Cheap and cheerful bunting...



Plastic pirate floor mat bunting (waterproof for the garden) this requires no sticking along the triangles as it does not frey at all.



Recycled tin can bunting (a fun way to display fresh herbs or flowers) I made this one for a hens night last weekend. I am looking to recycle it again for my sons 2nd birthday party next weekend - with fabric and stickers with the number 2 on them.



Plastic table runner lace bunting (i made this one for my sister in law's baby shower a couple of months back) very easy and no sewing required as i used glue tape and hand stitched the ribbon to the top sections of the squares.




Happy Birthday bunting from last years 1st birthday party (my very first attempt) I used iron on lettering from Spotlight and didn't even get time to sew the edges...lucky for me they didn't frey! (yet) I will get around to doing this some time soon.



My Son's nursery...I really wanted vintage inspired bunting and could not find anything that I loved anywhere. I wanted it to be just right! So I found the fabric and had a friend make it for me...that is when I first fell for bunting. And bought my own sewing machine!

At our beach, at our magic beach, we will walk when it's cloudy & grey, looking for driftwood, feathers & shells washed up on the edge of the bay... Magic Beach - Alison Lester










It is with much excitement I write this post. My two beautiful nephews who are currently living overseas arrive home today for a whole six weeks!!! I was inspired by their return home to put together a quick mummy craft post. At Easter we enjoyed a family holiday at the beach with my nephews and little one...while at the beach we collected lot's of different shells and had fun decorating sandcastles. I have placed 3 little shells (one for each child) into a memory box and written "our beach holiday" Easter 2010. It is a little reminder of our perfect beach holiday with three beautiful little boys. {you can see the little memory box on the shelf which hangs in my son's bedroom} A while ago we also threaded shells onto twine...we made these necklaces for some of our little friends as gifts and to hang on hooks around our house.

*The little wooden memory box was purchased at Riot craft supplies and I used super glue to hold the shells in place. I used a little white paint and water to soften the frame - I would normally use all white frames from Ikea {I felt this little memory box needed to be kept natural to tie in with the shells}
Have a beautiful day...

going spotty...a perfect little art smock

I cut a basic art smock template that would be suitable for a toddler...



From Spotlight i found this plastic spotty table cloth & dug out some navy spotty ribbon from my craft box... i just adore red, white and navy!



I used the ribbon to create easy to adjust straps for around the neck and back - I hand sewed these in place...



I decided not to sew around the smock - the plastic table cloth does not frey and I wanted this to be a quick and easy project...



I have made 3 little smocks...perfect for when my nephews come over to play, cook and craft with me and my little one...



Ready to put to the test...we will bake muffins in the morning wearing the new little smock. The best thing about this activity for me is that it was quick, easy and i love spots!!! also had enough left over to make a drop sheet for under the easel or it can be used on our crafting table.