little luxury

2011-06-28T12:42:00.000+10:00

Winter Magic Festival

Every year I look forward to the Winter Magic Festival, the little village comes full of live and all the" locals" are trying to dress up as "magically" as they can.

Live bands are playing on every corner of the street so are artists performing their art

and there is a big market with al sorts of food, crafts etc.....

Yes it is kind of cold at this time of the year, but if you are prepared for it ( hat, coat and gloves) you will have a wonderful time.

Easter

2011-04-22T08:11:00.000+10:00

Finally I found some time to finish my crochet pillow, it was waiting for me a long time !

Since it is almost easter and the children have there holiday, we had to make some easter chickens

and these little bird houses.

Play Dough

2010-11-19T22:00:00.001+11:00

Making your own play dough is a bit more complicated then you think, at least for me!
It is sticky when you don't use enough flour ( or to much water) or dry the other way around.
I found the best recipe for making it in one go......

1 cup flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
1 ts oil
food colouring

You can make it by heating the water,oil and food colouring and slowly adding the salt and flour until a sort of mash (potato)Then let it cool and tadaaam....
or
You can mix all the ingredients without heating and just knead until ready ,this takes more kneading time!

After this it is Fun time!
If you got more then one child it is only fun time for the children.
My 2 year old daughter thought it was food ,mjammie, and after a while she got bored and thought it was funny throwing it around.
My 6 year old son was acting like a "real" boy and was banging and stumping it!
and my 8 year old other daughter was making more sense and she made a lot of things with it.
thank god my 16 year old daughter wasn't joining us!

Cleaning up was for mum

Pony Party

2010-11-17T11:06:00.001+11:00

When we just moved in Emma had a late 8th birthday party , this thanks to Linda who is a friend of Michelle!She started a pony party business and asked if she could have a try out in our back garden!

It was great!

The children loved it and the ponies were adorable!
Thank god we have a big garden unlike our luxurious caravan , this is how I call our new home.
But that will be the subject for another post.
Thanks again Linda!!
http://www.lindasponyparties.com.au/

Back to the mountains

2010-07-11T14:23:00.001+10:00

One week and we are moving back to the mountains!

I cant wait, i am really excited.There are boxes everywhere it is a bit of a chaos but so far everything is still under control.

Because we are moving to a much smaller space ( with extension possibilities for the future ) we had to sell a lot of our furniture's that I was attached to.My beloved dining table , the children's beds ( had to buy them a bunk bed)and much more…..but we are going back to a place that we love and were we want our children to grow up.

Didn't do much of creativity lately,possible I had no inspiration in the place were I am living now, I believe for people to be creative they have to be somewhere that inspires them to be so.Hopefully I will get my inspiration back!

be organized

2009-08-04T07:20:00.006+10:00

Wool everywhere, I have to be more organized.Simply starting with my "project" takes me 10 minutes!I use to have my wool in a bag, this doesn't work, also a basket is to complicated for me.So I saw this second hand picnic-case, just waiting for me....
I spray painted it ( incl.the grass in the garden) and glued some fabric in.This was a little bit messy.....
But I am very happy with the result.

I also had to change the stool pads, they ended up on the floor every time someone was sitting on them!Not such a good thinking project after all.

So I made a little border and they finally stay on the stool.

Summer days

2009-07-22T15:53:00.008+10:00

It feels like summer is coming but looking on the calendar.... we are far from it!

The other day we went to the river bank, for a swim.......no, just with the feet in the ice cold water, NOT my feet that's for sure.

Others were just happy to play with the sand

Maybe that is why I choose to make this cushion in this bright summery colours .Also the colours of the backcloth that I used for the cushion , which was a present from my friend who bought it in India, inspired me.

Stool pads

2009-07-12T11:55:00.008+10:00

These were real easy and quick - I like quick projects!! -to make. And it brightened up the kids corner.

Have to keep everybody happy off cause

And this is the result after a couple of hours doing what I love.

Post cards from......

2009-07-11T15:33:00.004+10:00

Don't you just love those post cards from Spain,

my mother sent these from Spain to the children. My daughter was so inspired that she made these cards herself and posted them to my mother.

2009-06-30T07:25:00.007+10:00

This are my latest creations, I am not a regular clothes sewer or pattern reader.I saw these cute baby trousers , after reading the pattern in" Meet me at Mike's" I thought "ooh even I can give it a go".And this is the result.The cut is from one piece of fabric really easy to do and they fit my little girl perfect!

Don't try to make one for yourself unless you wear nappies.

Unpleasant

2009-06-28T11:01:00.006+10:00

While trying to enjoy blogland.In the corner of my eye I see this pile of washed clothes waiting for me...
It doesn't matter from which angle I look, it is still there.

And it doesn't move, so this was it,my blogland moment is spoilt!

Bye for now

Embroidery

2009-06-27T12:25:00.010+10:00

I've a passion for embroidery,
it makes everything that is plain so pretty.

I found a couple of second hand baby blankets , aren't they gorgeous!

This is a very old but precious tablecloth that I found!

And this is a pillow case that my friend made for my daughter......

It is soooo pretty.Thanks again.

Rainy Day

2009-06-26T06:36:00.004+10:00

What do you do on a rainy day.....

To keep the children happy,because they are all sick ,walking around with a cold, and yourself.

Only cuddles don't help,so get the paint out.Mummy will clean it later.

This kept me happy for a short period, I love the fabric, found it in a shop on the bottom of a basket with had a sign BLANKETS for the DOG on it. My dog is not getting this one I kept it for myself!

And this is the result...

Granny Square

2009-06-21T17:25:00.004+10:00

Granny Squares are one of my favorites , they are very colourful and nice to make, "once you know how".
It took me a WHOLE day.
The key is.....don't get angry!
So here are my first grannies, I'm not sure what to do with them, but I will think of something later, first get on with my new" addiction"

pretty or useful things

2009-05-23T13:31:00.006+10:00

I love hanging around in second hand shops and look forever to find something' pretty or useful'.

In my eyes everything deserves a second change. There is a limit.....

Maybe i am like that because i have to......,not spending our entire income on expensive things.

So with a baby i am an easy target buying these pretty and useful inexpensive things.

It is also nice to 're do ' it and put your own taste in it to make it the way you like.

These cute knitted baby hats i found at the local charity shop.

only add your own buttons and it makes it a little bit more personal

2009-05-23T13:17:00.002+10:00

Ages ago I found a chandelier on the street, with council cleaning, it didn,t look very atractive but worth to drag it home. Can,t help myself.......
Recently I found some time and inspiration to paint and decorate it.
Only some pretty colour of paint and some beautifull beads makes it look so different.

What happened

2009-05-23T11:58:00.003+10:00

Ok, its probably not that uncommon to have a "blog rest" after your baby is born!
But this was more than a rest,it also included a move to a town that for me isn't a good move.But was necessary to rescue our family-time together .
I think it also is an eye-opener for me and start to make me think about the values of live.Not that I normally not think......
Anyway in the mean time I didn't sit still ( cant do that anyway )

our baby girl is born

2008-11-13T14:28:00.001+11:00

Tessa is born 1/10/ 08

Isn't she beautiful..........

early baby present!

2008-08-24T14:44:00.009+10:00

My friend made me this " beautiful " baby quilt! It was an early baby present (still 5 weeks to go)!I think it is gorgeous!

She used such pretty fabric.....

THANKS , I love it.

I made this border on an old baby blanket to make it look fresh and new.

2008-07-18T16:38:00.006+10:00

Didn,t had much time for myself lately, school holidays are still on!
So this means no sitting down and be creative on my own, but with the children.
Can be fun!
Can't be fun!
This is what I made, it is a cover for the scrapbooks I started 2 years ago and are waiting in the cupboard since........
so that makes me a lazy scrapbooker, I'm not sure if I am one.....
At least try>

I think I made a mistake with the amount of glue!Hope it will disappear when it dries..

We did a lot of work in the garden this holiday.

I had great help!!

And of course we did a lot of messy stuff>

Cute houses border..

2008-07-11T15:21:00.010+10:00

I am "hunting" for the baby!I love to go in to second hand or charity shops and satisfy the Magpie in me......
This is what I found lately , a pair of sheets.Isn't it cute!

For a long time I wanted a baby-box /pen or how you want to call it.Couldn't find it anywhere and then I found this one in the local charity shop!It has an unusually shape,the ones I know are square,but I cleaned and painted it and it looks fine to me......

So I had to make a 6 sided quilt.Little bit of maths ( long time ago for me...)and this is the result.

On this moment I am busy with a border around the quilt, bit of a challenge, so I suppose it will take a while before I finish it.

Shool Holiday

2008-07-08T07:42:00.005+10:00

School holiday, cold, raining, flu ........you have to come up with something not to get mentally.This is were my 6 year old daughter came up with...

She wanted to make a Paper doll house , she crapped whatever she could get her eyes on and started ( with a little bit of mummy's help) to craft.

I was really impressed.

Gonna be an interesting holiday!

Shopping Bags

2008-07-07T08:59:00.005+10:00

Everyweeks grocerie shopping!!I find it really boring. Don't mention the shopping bags!Always forget to bring them with you so you have to buy new ones every time and store them at home!Think I have 30 of them now. You see them everywere, instead of bringing them to the supermarket people bring them to te park, beach etc.......I have to admit they are very handy, wright size , cheap and strong but they are VERY UGLY.This is one of them...... So I decided instead of leaving them at home, because I am to embarrased to bring them somewere else than the supermarket, I am going to "re design "them into pretty looking bags.

Tis was very easy!Just open up the whole bag find some of your pretiest looking fabric >this is a must< and sew them together again!

Hope the world will look better with this idea.

2008-07-07T08:38:00.004+10:00

I found some old cloth hangers in the wardrobe of the children , that's just what I needed to decorate the baby room! So I sanded and paint them , really fun to do.......

2008-07-02T11:39:00.004+10:00

I found this pretty fabric in a local shop, when I bought it I didn't know what to make
> as usually<. I always buy the fabric first and than decide what to do with it. Finally I made something.....and for who else than the baby or the children...The are a pretty good TARGET for my stuff!

I made this animals and still didn't know what to do with them.Shall I put them in a basket to play with or sew them on something?

Maybe this is the safest way to handle them, I hang them on a string in the " future " baby room.

PlayHouse

2008-06-29T09:09:00.009+10:00

I wanted to make a play house and found a fantastic side: http://londonmummy.typepad.com/ .
This is my version of the fabric house.

Starting with cutting the fabric.
2 equal sizes for the back and front
2 equal sizes for the roof
2 equal sizes for the sides
1 base
1 chimney

Stitch the pieces together and fill with stuffing

I embroidered some flowers and made windows and door from felt.

It became a nice little play house , and you can add as much as you want........

Like dolls and clothes, trees , butterfly etc.

They will have lots of fun.

Teddy

2008-06-28T11:49:00.002+10:00

2008-06-24T15:26:00.003+10:00

I feel like making soft toys for "baby".She will be well spoilt after her birth!!!!!

Made this cute bunny covered in pretty fabric.

More to come...........

2008-06-23T15:43:00.004+10:00

I wasn't sure what to give my daughter for her 14th birthday.So I was blogging around and found this idea of making her a beautiful TOILETRY / MAKE-UP BAG.

This is the result, it was so much fun that I made her 2!

Very simple to, I made this in a hour!

Thanks for the idea.

2008-06-18T17:44:00.006+10:00

Today I made some soft - balls I used some "left over" pieces of fabric .

This queen size quilt I made for m friend.Hope she likes it!!!!

Autumn

2008-05-16T14:13:00.005+10:00

Here I am again, one day!!!!!I don't believe it myself, how do I do it......

I just love autumn.

Pretty colours everywhere , unfortunately it disappears so fast.That's why I captured it .

all these knitting project appear and you just want to make them all .Here are some of them.

Til soon?

No Time

2008-05-15T13:00:00.009+10:00

Today I had a look on a lot of different blogs and they all look so pretty and well organized.I just don't know how you find the time to do this ...almost every day.

I am a mother of 3 ..nothing unusual...

When I find some time for myself I am busy crafting .I can hardly finish the projects that I started!

So then making pictures and writing and publishing it on your blog.........

OK, if I had a maid , cooker , gardener and nanny..... yes I think I can make it.

Sitting here writing gives me less time for my crafting although I am busy making a bread,that needs about 40 min. rising time actually I am making 2 loafs .One for Chris who has coeliac[gluten intolerance] and the other one for the children.I will eat either , eat anything since I am pregnant...

This is the gluten free one ,I start baking bread myself because there is not much choice when you have to eat gluten free [ many of you know who have coeliac]so by starting making bread for Chris , my husband, the rest of the family wants "handmade"!So I am waiting for this one to be ready.

This morning I was in the hospital at the midwifes clinic , because it was my first visit they gave me a bag loaded with information.Among the magazines I found another project for me to make.

Doesn't this look pretty...don't know if I can copy,but I will give it a try.

I am actually busy drinking my 3rd cup of thee and writing and posting as if I've got time!But I have to admit I actually like it and it also has a sort of relaxing working on me ,beside that in the meantime the dog is crying because he wants to go out,or is he just teasing the cat?and my son is yelling for help putting his robot together and apart again.........

Result of the loaf,I am quit happy!
Better go now,can sit here for another hour....but ------no time ----- back to my daily chores.

Cushion

2008-05-13T18:03:00.003+10:00

I made this cushion for my son ,it took me a while to get inspired to do it because we are so busy at this moment renovating/building the house and we also are pregnant again!!!

So probably I will be busy making baby "things" again, cant wait.....

Dress Stress

2008-01-24T07:57:00.000+11:00

How simple can it be,not for me!This is my first dress but I had problems reading the pattern.Finally the result........

The Joys of Summer

2008-01-23T21:02:00.002+11:00

These pretty flowers come up.......

Cucumbers......almost!The veggie garden doesn't grow as well as I want,at least we've got this cucumber.

Beach.......we went for a short holiday to the coast

Watermelon.....lots of it

Pretty flowers ......everywhere

Fun..........

Wine........made a trip to the country,Mudgee very beautiful and lots of grapes.

Garden surprises.......I found apricots,

apples,

and plums growing in our back garden!

Happy New Year to everybody!!!!

2008-01-01T13:56:00.001+11:00

puppy Charlie

2007-12-20T16:59:00.000+11:00

Cant believe how much he has grown in 2 months!!

This is Charlie our puppy, here he is 7 weeks old,

Busy busy busy!

2007-12-17T16:20:00.000+11:00

Everybody was very busy this last couple of weeks. I made some cushions for the chairs.

Then I finaly finished the " pirate" quilt.

The children made ginger bread houses

and cookies.....

for Christmas

and cant wait to eat it!!

restore and decorate

2007-12-06T16:58:00.000+11:00

I love old junk, I am a magpie!You can find me in second hand-furniture shops always looking for beautiful old stuff which I can restore.During the years I found a lot.If you go true my house, everywhere you look you find something "restored".Even from the street!

Like this chest of drawers . I laid some Moroccan tiles on top and decorated it with these beautiful doorknobs which I found in a local shop.

This chest of drawers I also found on the street it was missing a drawer and we found the same handle!

Recently renovated the bathroom and needed a new sink and I wanted an old cupboard with that, I found a second hand hall-table in a local shop.

pretty fabric

2007-12-05T13:32:00.000+11:00

The best thing of making the aprons is that you can use all the pretty fabric you can find!And there is lots of pretty fabric!Today I found some time to make another one....

I love this one.

Also reversible

Apron madness.....

2007-12-03T17:47:00.000+11:00

This month is , I think, is a month especially for the children ,
one for baking cookies

and making Christmas decorations for in the tree and much more.....

So we were busy with all of these activities.

It is supposed to be summer -1st of December-but the weather is terrible!!That works for me, staying inside doing all the stuff I want to do!

I always make a knot in my apron so my daughter can wear it while she is baking.This had to stop, so I made her a small apron and of cause this was the start of..........no ending!

Apron-madness began.

Emma's apron.......

Jamie's apron...... They are reversible so you can wear them on 2 sides.

And another one......

and I am planning to make more...its becoming an addiction!

Boys/Girls

2007-11-21T12:53:00.000+11:00

Why is it that girls like princesses and boys like pirates?It is a sort of "built in" system at birth.

I have 2 daughters and a son.I never was so much confronted with the boys/girls stuff until my son was born 3 years ago. Before I even introduced him to a car(toy) he was already making the noises of one!

Why do girls like pink?Do they actually like it or are we making them liking it?

These questions are keeping me busy lately,because making the quilts I realized that I didn't made much for boys.Only flowery/pinkish ones for girls.

So it is boys time.............

I bought this pretty material and I am going to make a quilt for boys.

It just Happens

2007-11-19T15:54:00.000+11:00

After that....couldn't help myself to start making another quilt,..........

Some days it seems that you can't do anything,other days it just happens'

I finished it today!

We had a nice weekend in the park!

Baby Blue

2007-11-15T14:08:00.000+11:00

Didn't think I could post this today,I finished number 4!

Looks like I've got nothing else to do........

Baby Blue

almost ready to go

2007-11-15T11:53:00.000+11:00

Have been very busy this morning .I am neglecting the children, the dog, the dishes because I want to finish the quilts!Want to bring them in the shop before Christmas.I will spoil everybody next week, give them a lot of attention until they get enough of me!

Ready to go.

Cotton Candy

I am so happy with my Little Luxury labels (can't help myself), you probably get sick of them!

I want to thank my friend again who send me this beautiful pin-cushion that she made,I use it all the time.Can't go without it!!!!THANKS

2007-11-14T21:15:00.000+11:00

Had a barbecue yesterday , seems like years ago we had our last one!

Labels!

2007-11-14T20:58:00.000+11:00

One week since I posted !!!Goes very fast....
The Little Luxury labels are finally arrived!I was waiting for them, to finish my quilts.

Today I finished 2 of them.

Cherry Cherie

Cute Cowboy

Cherry Cherie & Cute Cowboy

sunflowers

2007-11-07T14:02:00.000+11:00

the sunflowers that the children planted last week are growing well

creativity and sir Ken Robinson

2007-11-07T13:18:00.000+11:00

Being a mother of three I am busy with lots of ' kids stuff ' on this moment they are making Santa Claus and elves for in the tree.

They love making things, specially ones that makes them 'dirty' and everything around them! Painting is number one.

I found an interesting video that I think you have to see.It's about creativity in children and what we do with it.

TED Talks Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? (video)

Veggie garden

2007-10-31T16:12:00.000+11:00

Started the garden 4 weeks ago and hope it will go well! Planted to much seeds off cause,but I think as it like a experiment.See what will grow and won't.Planted beans-climbing, cucumber, tomatoes-small and big-, butter pumpkin.water melon, rock melon, capsicum, pepper, egg plant, onions and garlic thats enough I think for the first year!

Lots of work but also lots of fun.

The children planted 50 sunflower seeds.............

2007-10-31T06:10:00.000+11:00

This morning I looked out in the garden and saw these amazing, beautiful colours on the flowers. This inspires me to make my quilts, cushions and more things of fabric.You can find the most lovely pieces of furniture on garage sales or even on the street, this is what I ' conquered' lately.

Found this beautiful fabric and upholstered it(did this for the first time in my life).

2007-10-30T18:29:00.000+11:00

2007-10-30T17:42:00.000+11:00

I started this site because I love making things and share this with my friends and family, most of them are living overseas, and others .I 've got a family of 5 , partner and 3 children, dog since 2 weeks and 3 cats,so there is always something to make or repair to make someone happy!

Made my daughter happy with the quilt I made her because her old one was getting too small,wich I gave to the dog who is happy chewing it!!