Making A Scarecrow

OK, I admit it!

I do things a little backwards sometimes.

I've been very keen to start my own veggie garden. To teach the girls about plants and gardening, save some money, and for the satisfaction of growing, harvesting and cooking my own food.

So the first thing we did was ... make a scarecrow!

A couple of months ago, I was looking for something to do to entertain the girls. So we went on an excursion to the op shop to buy clothes, and to Bunnings for sugar cane mulch and posts.

Over the course of a few days, Grace and I stuffed the clothes with mulch and put the scarecrow together.

The girls had some pink bandanas they had received at a fun day at the local school, so I made them into a knee patch, neck scarf and hat band. The head is an old pillowcase. We superglued buttons on for eyes, and Grace drew the smile with a permanent marker. The body is stuffed with plastic bags full of mulch, and the hands are cheap gardening gloves. There are a few strands of yellow wool for hair, but it is a bit sparse.

There's a little bit of gender confusion going on. Most people assume scarecrows are male, but this one has some feminine features. I named it 'Sammy Scarecrow' to keep the ambiguity going. So you can decide for yourself!

Charlotte's 1st Birthday

While I was posting yesterday about Charlotte's second birthday, I thought I'd look up the post about her first birthday.

That's when I realised there wasn't one.

Oops!

Somewhere in the fog of work, pregnancy, Christmas and moving house it seems I forgot about it.

So here it is, a year late!

We held a party on 18th December, 2011 for Charlotte's first birthday, which was also a kind of farewell to our house before we moved.

Despite being so busy, I wanted to make the invitations myself. The coral/peach tones in the paper really reminded me of Charlotte, which is how I chose the design.

One of Charlotte's 1st birthday party invitations.

The cake wasn't spectacular, but I tried to reference the floral shapes and lemon and peach colours of the invitation.

The cake.

There was, as usual, quite a spread of sweet and savoury finger food.

Yummy canapés.

It's not a party without cupcakes!

My parents kindly helped make the tissue paper decorations the night before. I had hoped to hang them above the table, but they ended up looking pretty where they were, and the balloons added the necessary height.

The table all decorated and laden with food.

Grace trying her best not to touch anything!

As is probably often the case with one year olds, Charlotte was pretty tired by the time we got around to cutting the cake.

"I don't feel like posing!"

A two level deck meant our friends had a great view of proceedings.

Charlotte's actual birthday (22nd December) was spent opening presents after breakfast, and playing with her new toys.

Charlotte spreading one of her presents with Vegemite!

Exploring her new activity table.

It is lovely to look back and see how much Charlotte has changed over the last year. Every milestone is important, and I'm glad I got a second chance to mark this one.

Charlotte's 2nd Birthday

Our beautiful, spirited, sweet, affectionate and funny little Charlotte turned two on Saturday, 22nd December.

How lucky we are to have her in our family!

The birthday girl out for dinner at Taco Bill.

We had a small celebration at Sabbath School a week earlier, as they do for all the kids. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday", Charlotte blew out a candle on the pretend cake, and she was given a small gift and card. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo, as Neil was in Sydney for the day and I had my hands full!

I did manage to take a photo of the cupcakes I made to take along. They were inspired by my Women's Weekly Kids' Little Party Cakes book, as well as several photos from the web. I was really pleased with the final product.

Little fish mini cupcakes.

We didn't have a 2nd birthday party for Charlotte, but instead went away for a few days to Moama for a family holiday. So she got to spend her day playing in the indoor play centre and swimming in the pool at the holiday park where we stayed. I don't think it was too bad a deal!

In the ball pit at Squiggles Play Centre.

Fun in the pool with Daddy and Lucinda.

We brought Charlotte's presents away with us. She loves baby dolls, so was very pleased to unwrap a baby bath set, high chair and other accessories. She also received a lovely tea set from Grandma and Grandpa, and enjoyed feeding the baby with it.

Daddy and Grace helping to open Charlotte's presents.

Changing baby's "burp".

Feeding baby.

The only negative of the day was the birthday cake, which was a complete disaster.

I had planned to purchase a Dora or Peppa Pig cake from the supermarket, but Neil rightly pointed out that they were a bit expensive for just the four of us who would eat it. So we bought a cheap marble cake, but Grace played with the bag and turned it upside down. The pink icing all came off, and it ended up looking terrible. Little animal cupcake decorations chosen by Grace couldn't save it!

Waiting to blow out the candles.

I have to admit I shed a few tears, and felt like I'd let her down. However, Charlotte seemed oblivious to any problems and enjoyed blowing out the candles (with help from Daddy). It was lovely to hear her sitting eating cake and saying, "hip, hip, hooray!" over and over.

"Hip, hip, hooray!"

We went out to Taco Bill in Echuca for dinner, where she got to eat nachos and ice cream. There were certainly no complaints about that!

Happy birthday, Charlotte!

A Crafty Kid's Suitcase

If you're wondering why I've been making a few more things recently, here's the reason ... my resolution for next year (early, I know!) is to make gifts for my family and friends instead of purchasing them.

My theory is that handmade gifts are unique, may be slightly more budget friendly, and will give me the satisfaction of developing new skills and putting thought and time into special creations for my loved ones.

So I've been reading blogs, studying my sewing and craft books, and getting lots of great ideas. And some of them I've put into practise a little early.

Like this crafty kid's suitcase I finished today for my niece Ayla's birthday in late December. I got the idea from the Mousehouse blog (found here) and followed the instructions given in the tutorial for attaching the items to the lid of the suitcase.

The back of the card where I attached the elastic before glueing it to the inner lid of the suitcase.

Ayla is turning three, so my suitcase contains more art and craft items, instead of the sewing and stitching items included in the lovely Mousehouse examples.

The suitcase, with most of the items inside.

Once again I've had a grand time over the last few weeks collecting suitable items. This suitcase contains:

• kid's scissors
• a glue stick
• sticky tape
• little stamps
• an ink pad
• a miniature paint set
• ribbon
• glitter glue
• blank cards and envelopes
• small blank notebooks
• chenille sticks
• pop sticks
• embroidery threads
• a pen
• a sheet of white felt
• a pencil case (with a set of crayons inside)
• a rainbow pencil
• colourful stickers

I was really pleased with how it looked when it was all put together. Just like the photos included with recipes, it's great when your final craft outcome looks like the picture given with the instructions!

The suitcase as it looks completed and full.

Grace would love one of these suitcases, so I think I'll be doing this again in about six months time!

Swing Time

For Christmas, my parents gave the girls a Hills swing set.

It was quite a collaborative effort.

Mum paid for it over the phone, Neil collected it in his ute (and picked up the pieces from Eastlink when it fell off!), and Dad assembled it while he was here the other weekend.

"It might just have us stumped."

"Grandpa has it sorted."

It has definitely been a hit, particularly with Charlotte, who is very difficult to remove from the swing when it is time to come inside!

"More, Daddy, more."

"This is fun!"

Having a great time on the swings.

Fortunately, Neil chose a reasonably shady spot for the swing set, because I think we'll be spending a lot of time there over the next few months.

Lucinda and her Grandparents

A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed a visit from my parents, Bob and Neroli.

They flew down on a Thursday morning, and returned home the following Monday afternoon.

It was the first time my dad had met Lucinda, so it was lovely to watch them getting to know each other.

"Nice to meet you, Grandpa."

"I don't mind hanging out on Grandpa's lap."

My mum hadn't seen her since she was a week or two old, so Lucinda was delighted to see Grandma again too.

"Long time no see, Grandma."

It's hard when you live a long distance from your family. We don't see them as often as we would like to. But we really appreciate visits like this which help the girls get to know and remember their grandparents.

We're looking forward to seeing you again in January!

A Simple Skirt

When I was young, my mother sewed a lot of pretty outfits for my sister and me.

I'm not sure how much I appreciated it at the time, but looking back it is very special. The lovely dresses, skirts, and coats she provided us with must have taken a lot of time and skill to make.

I'm now the very proud mother of three beautiful little girls, and I'd love to sew them some clothes.

I don't have lofty ambitions. There are beautiful items in the shops which I can purchase for a lot less than it would cost to make them.

I'm hoping to make fairly simple things, at least to begin with. Skirts, A-line dresses and pinafores. Nothing too complicated or tricky. Items that are special because they are unique, and they are made with love.

With three girls under three-and-a-half, I don't have a lot of spare time. But I've realised that I need to sew them clothes now, while they are still young enough to want to wear them!

So a few weeks ago, I was inspired by some fabric I saw at the Spotlight sale, and I made a start.

I was very impressed by the huge range of tutorials available online. I looked at quite a few, but worked mainly from the Simple Skirt Tutorial on the Dana Made It blog (found here), which was very easy to follow.

My fabric came with the ruffles on it, and the skirt is essentially a rectangle joined at the side, with an elastic band at the top. It has two layers, with a plain white lining finishing just shorter than the outside layer.

The first skirt I've sewn since school days.

I'm very proud of my first attempt, and it gave me a lot of satisfaction to make.

I initially sewed it with Charlotte in mind, but I think it might be a touch too big for her at the moment, so Grace will get to wear it first. That's the advantage of aiming to fit the middle child - you can't lose!

After I find a navy t-shirt for her to wear with it (which has been surprisingly hard to come by), I'll post a photo of Grace in the complete outfit.

And now I've mastered the simple skirt, I'm hoping to make plenty more!

Little Boxes of Sunshine

Don't you love Pinterest? I could spend hours browsing if I had the time.

And my time wouldn't be wasted, either. I've managed to glean quite a few good ideas. (That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it!).

Like the box of sunshine from the Happy Money Saver blog (found here). I've had a great time compiling items for two boxes I sent over the last few weeks.

The first went to a friend who was having some surgery in the midst of complex health issues. I used a printable from the blog to explain what it was all about before she got to the contents themselves.

Inside the box I included lemonade, camomile tea, assorted confectionery (including M&Ms of course, which aren't pictured), a stress ball, soap, crossword book, sticky notes and other things I thought might come in useful if you weren't feeling well.

The second box was sent to a friend who lives in England, in the hope that it might cheer her up amid the gloom of a northern winter.

The picture isn't great (obviously the flash didn't work), but this time the box contained everyday items like a mug, tea, soap, tea towels, lemonade, a sunshine cookie cutter, honey, fabric flowers, and various chocolates, biscuits and other edibles.

I cut out a few sunshine shapes from yellow cardboard, to help convey the theme.

Unfortunately the box was a bit too heavy, and is making its way to England by ship. But it has all worked out well. The day after I mailed it, I heard that my friend will be in Brisbane over Christmas anyway!

So if you're reading this, Tracey - surprise! Your package should arrive sometime in January/February, when I figure it should still achieve it's intended goal.

The only trouble now is, whenever I'm in the shops, my eyes are automatically drawn to anything yellow. Anyone else for a box of sunshine?

Back in Business

You may have noticed there has been a quiet period between the last post and this one.

I hope you did, anyway!

As I've previously confessed, I'm pretty much learning how to write a blog as I go. I have been merrily posting photos, and have never really given much thought to where they are stored.

It certainly never occurred to me that there would be a limit to that storage.

Until I reached it!

Yes - my 1GB free storage through Google is all used up.

Fortunately I have a very tech savvy and brilliant-with-anything-to-do-with-computers kind of brother, and with his assistance I've been able to solve the problem.

For a small monthly fee, I now have 25 times the space I had before.

So ... get ready for a lot more posts.

As my husband says, there's quite a backblog!

Let It Out

I'm the sort of person who bottles her feelings up inside.

Especially the unpleasant ones.

At the slightest hint of distress, my mind has trained itself to squash down whatever thoughts or emotions were troubling me, and distract myself with something else.

Sometimes this is a very effective coping strategy.

But often, it's not.

I end up what Neil refers to as 'a shaken Coke bottle' ready to explode. Except instead of exploding, the internal stress just keeps building up.

Charlotte is not like that. She lets her emotions show.

This picture was taken on Sabbath morning a few weeks ago. Neil was taking photos of the girls before we left for church. Something happened to upset Charlotte, but he took the shot anyway.

Part of me looks at this heartbroken little face and wants to cry too. She looks so sad.

But I know that within a minute or two of this photo being taken, Charlotte was all smiles again. She had expressed her emotion and moved on.

I wonder how my life would be different if I allowed myself to really feel my emotions like that? It seems scary. But maybe it would actually be easier than holding onto them for so long.

I've had a long struggle with depression. It's not over yet.

That's a story for another day.

Suffice to say, the last few weeks I've been going through a glum patch.

But tonight I spoke to a very dear friend who is facing significant health concerns. She faces these challenges with courage and optimism. I never hear her complain. Her life (both personally and professionally) is devoted to helping others. She truly is an inspiration.

Talking to her has reminded me of all I have to be thankful for.

My feelings are important. They are there for a reason. They deserve to be experienced and expressed.

It's time for me to take a leaf from my daughter's book and (appropriately) let them out.

That should stop them morphing into mountains they don't need to be.

Three Little Monsters

Well, I tried!

Here is my best effort of a photo of the three girls in their 'little monster' costumes. Charlotte doesn't like wearing the headband (she is the same with clips at the moment), and Lucinda seems transfixed by her claws.

Here is another shot, with Lucinda looking better, but Charlotte between smiles and Grace flashing her trademark eyes-closed grin.

Finally, here are two photos of my littlest monster, looking very cute and cuddly.

Call me biased, but these three girls would look good no matter what they wore!

Last Minute Halloween Costumes

No, I don't celebrate Halloween.

I'm horrified by all the merchandise I've seen in the shops recently.

Skulls, spiders, witches, and ghosts can be scary for small children, and difficult to explain.

I try to focus on the pumpkins!

I received an email yesterday from the early learning centre that Grace and Charlotte attend, reminding me to send them in costume today for Halloween. I mentioned it to Neil (who usually drops them off and collects them).

"Oh yeah," he said, "I forgot to tell you about that."

Great!

I asked Grace about it. "I want to be a monster," she said.

About 10:00 pm last night, after our dinner guest had left, I googled "last minute children's Halloween costumes" and found some wonderful ideas for dressing up as a butterfly, octopus, ladybird and the like. But the email said "scary costume".

Neil and I discussed it, and decided the whole scary Halloween scene isn't really something we want to encourage, so we decided not to worry about costumes. I did something else, then went to bed.

This morning, Grace greeted me as usual. "Get up Mummy, it's light!"

Closely followed by, "I want to be a monster. Will you make me a costume?"

She and Charlotte went off happily with Neil, after I had assured her I would work on a costume. I threw on some clothes, and Lucinda and I set off for the shops.

An hour and a half later, we arrived home loaded with supplies. Cheap nighties and leggings from Kmart, and fleece, felt, and other craft supplies from Spotlight.

The raw materials.

I found some good girl/bad girl headbands in the party section at Spotlight.  With a little effort I managed to transform them into googly eyes and horns for the little monsters-to-be.

Wrapping the headband in pink chenille sticks and securing with glue.

Cutting out felt eye pieces from a template I made.

Stuffing little felt horns with filling from a dead cushion insert.

One of the finished headpieces.

My trusty sidekick found it all a little boring.

"I was watching, Mum, but I'm sleepy now."

I hand sewed a piece of fleece to the front of each nightie for the monster's chest, and little felt claws to the bottom of the leggings.

'Claws' at the bottom of the leggings.

I sewed other claws onto little strips of fleece, that could be tied around each girl's wrists for the paws.

It's not bunting, it's claws!

I worked at it most of the day, and only stopped for some appointments this afternoon. I completed the last few stitches in the carpark outside the early learning centre late in the day, but managed to take the full costume in for Grace when we picked her up.

The complete 'little monster' costume.

She got to show her teachers, but I wasn't too fussed that she didn't get to wear it earlier in the day. She may have been too shy to do so anyway. For her, the excitement was in putting the costume on at home later, and it was all the reward I needed to see how happy she was with it.

One very happy 'little monster'!

I made an identical costume for Charlotte, in case she felt left out when Grace got hers. Unfortunately it was a bit late in the day for her though, and she wasn't really in the mood for photos.

"I'm too tired for this, Mum."

Tonight I made one more costume, this time for Lucinda. I had bought a singlet a few sizes too big to sew the fleece onto, and treated the leggings the same way as the others. Instead of a headband, she has a beanie with little horns and one big monster eye.

Felt horns and eye sewn onto a little beanie for Lucinda.

Lucinda's finished costume.

I've never made any costumes before, but I was pleased with my efforts. For less than $50 we have three more dress-up outfits, and I have plenty of fleece and other supplies left over for other projects.

Maybe tomorrow I'll try for a photo of all three 'little monsters' together. Wish me luck!