Reversible Winter Top

It may be the middle of our hot Summer but I am in the middle of preparing for another cold Melbourne winter!

I have been slowly working on a reversible winter top/dress for O and after putting it off for too long I finally finished it yesterday.

It's not that it wasn't a good pattern, I just struggled finding the motivation to work on it. Perhaps I didn't really comprehend that making it reversible would mean twice the effort :)

But it is finished and I am actually very happy with it. Miss O was in no mood for photos today and these pics were the absolute best I could manage :)

Happy Australia Day

What better way to celebrate Australia Day then spend the whole day at the beach and share a lovely meal with our family :)

Happy Australia Day everyone!

Easy Peasy Strawberry Jam!

I have found the EASIEST strawberry jam recipe (and yes I'm being very arrogant indeed lol).  It was super easy and unlike another previous not-to-be-mentioned jam experiment, it set perfectly first time :)

Here's the recipe...

1kg strawberries (hulled and quartered)
2 x 500gm packs of jam setting sugar
A scoop of butter

1. Crush strawberries with a potato masher or stick blender
2. Place strawberries and sugar in a large, heavy based pot
3. Heat the mixture over a low heat until the sugar has all dissolved (don't allow it to boil)
4. Add a scoop of butter then bring the mixture to a full boil
5. Boil for 4 minutes only and then remove it from the stove and skim off any foam (I didn't bother with this though). Pour into sterilised jars and you're done!

My four year old had a great time cooking this with me but he loved eating it even more!

           

The Molly Jacket

I'm thrilled to have finished the Molly Jacket by Violette Field Threads, it all came together so easily and I love how endless the fabric combinations are!

I decided to make the reversible option and chose a nice vibrant red and retro turquoise fabric and added wooden buttons (ah wooden buttons, what don't they coordinate with?).

The only thing I did differently from the pattern was to topstitch the front panels and bottom hem.  I think next time I might also add an inch or two to the jacket just because I like a little extra length for winter.

Happy weekend everyone!

Lacey Summer Nightie

What could be cuter than a simple cotton nightie trimmed with beautiful lace? Nothing of course :) 

Using this tutorial from iCandy Handmade I used some lovely sheer vintage cotton that I'd had stored for a few months and topped it with some beautiful white stretch lace.

It was a fun little project and perfect for our hot Australian summer nights!

Winter jacket fabrics

I've been busy tonight cutting out fabric for Miss O's winter jacket, I'm being very organized and sewing in summer :)

I'm excited already!

Fingerprint necklace

After noticing how popular these were I couldn't help but try and make my own. Getting the kiddies to press their fingers in nice and gently without smudging was the trickiest part! I'm very happy with my first attempt into jewellery making :)

Here's some beautiful fingerprint jewellery from Etsy that I just love :)

Jane Wear Jewelry

Horse Feathers Gifts

Jane Wear Jewelry

Summer snaps

A few of my favourite iphoto pics from our summer holidays

Belated happy new year everyone!

The birdy pinafore

I love a cute pinny, I'm just a sucker for them :) I had used this fabric about a year ago to make O a pocket nappy and still had plenty left over.

Looking a bit cute with her new dress and pebbles hairdo. Never mind the glued head wound from an incident with the coffee table :)

Parisian chick, too easy!

I'm not going to be modest, I'm loving this simple summer look right now!

Simple hair, glossy red lips & a black and white striped singlet. Very easy to put together in a few minutes while the kids are running around my legs :)

Hello blog, oh there you are :)

After a great Christmas and new years I recalled that I had this thing called a blog, that thing that i was really into pre-Christmas :)

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday and I can't wait to catch up on all my fav blogs!

J's Superhero Cape

I've been wanting to sew J a cape for a few months now and I finally got the chance to make it this week.  I'm really pleased with how nice the applique stitching looks after a few practice runs. 

Who doesn't enjoy having a little help from a superhero :)

Jeans & Sandpits

Well what a week it's been! It's been a bit quiet in here of late because we all succumbed to a nasty dose of food poisoning and then we've enjoyed the more beautiful parts of life, kinder Christmas concerts and watching the kids enjoy the sunshine :)

One of my 'to do' projects finally got done at last, some added cuffs for J's too-short jeans.

Dinosaur fabric is a must!

We might just get a few extra months out of his fav jeans now (excuse the bad photo)

Sandpit fun in the morning sun :)

I hope you're all enjoying a great pre-Christmas week!

New patterns I ♥

I could VERY easily browse for new sewing patterns all day long :) Here are some new ones I'm loving right now...

The Sweet Grace Dress by Nina Bonita Designs

Vivienne Skirt by Violette Field Threads

Jewel's Stripwork Peasant Dress by Create Kids Couture

The Rebecca Dress by Sis Boom

Happy sewing everyone :)

Fat Quarter Baby Skirt

How great is an easy project that leaves no scraps! I found a great little free pattern showing how to make a fun little baby skirt out of exactly one fat quarter of fabric, I just wish I'd discovered it sooner :)

A little flower skirt for a first birthday present and a red one for O

O is rockin this outfit lol

Pudding for all

Does it get any better than baking a delicious homemade sticky date pudding with your kiddies? When your air conditioning isn't working and your little ones are so hot that nudity is the only solution it does

J being a great helper!

And O doing some pretend baking of her own 

Yum :)