CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS

I whipped up some Christmas Bunting this week,
something that I've wanted to make for a long time...

Made with some fat 1/4 packs from Spotlight.

I also made this fabric gift pouch with the left-overs with thanks to this tutorial

I reckon I'll be making lots of these little gems!



It reminds me of a big, fat, juicy strawberry!

Hope your Christmas preparations are going as planned!

GRADUATION TEDDY BEARS

Remember these?

They have morphed into 'Graduation Teddy Bears'.

First, their hats were decorated with the school logo...

Then their ties were made...

Their collars were next...

Ta-dah!
Aren't they cute???

All 66 of them!!!

It has been a school tradition to send off the current Year 6's with their own 'Graduation Teddy Bear'.

I took over the role of decorating the bears a few years ago when Bec graduated Year 6 in 2008.

Tom will graduate next year, so I may have to pass the baton on once he's into middle school.

I love doing these and it's not a hard job, just lots of fiddling around and waiting for glue to dry before the next phase is started.

And I'm sure these little suckers all have a personality of their own! There was one teddy that looked rather smug, and another I nick-named Dopey!

Anyway, they're done for another year and all packed up ready to head to school.

All the best to all those parents sending their babies off to middle school next year!!!

Have a great week!

WORK IN PROGRESS...

This is what I'm working on at the moment.

I'll keep you posted...promise!

MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL...

We were invited to a (story book themed) 21st Birthday not so long ago.
Do you realise how hard it was for the four of us to agree on a theme? We had plenty of warning but we all couldn't agree on what storybook characters to go as until about 10 days before the party!!

With work commitments and a JRock Eisteddfod to help organise, it didn't leave me with a lot of time, so I took a few shortcuts.



It actually wasn't worth making Bec's Snow White costume - I picked it up for around $20 from ebay. I just added a red ribbon sash around the waist to give it more shape, a pair of long white socks and a wig and hers was complete.

Tom wanted to go as Dopey and the kids and I thought Glen would make a perfect Grumpy because, well, just because;)
Both the dwarf tops and hats were made of polar fleece. I used McCall's 2895 for the tunic-style pattern and made some huge yellow felt buttons for the front. Thick wide elastic was used for the belt and I just added a large belt buckle. As time was running out, I just bought some cheap tracksuit pants and dyed them and they wore ugg boots.
I didn't have a pattern for Grumpy's beard so I just whipped one up and stuffed it a little with wadding and added some elastics at the end to hook around his ears.
No pattern for the hats either so I just made them up as I went along and embroidered them with their names (Darn it, I didn't have my own embroidery machine then!).

I was the old woman (kinda hoping that was obvious though...)
I used McCall's 2853 with panne velvet and tied black rope around my waist. I bought a cheap wicker basket and cane and added some apples. I do regret using black nail polish though, it took ages to get off and stained my nails considerably.
My rather yellow teeth and nose were a great addition - except that they kept on falling off into my apple basket all night, but that may have been due to too much champagne!!
Mwahahaha!



"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?"

MISSING IN ACTION...

Life around here the last few months has been pretty craayzee, to say the least!

Apart from my secretarial job which I absolutely adore (I get to frock up a couple of times a week), I got another part-time job which has left me very tired and with little time to do the one thing I really enjoy....sew!

I won't mention where my second job is as I really don't think I'll be there for much longer for it has been rather disappointing so far, and I guess I'm just used to being around for the kids during school holidays.

So please bear with my lack of posting for a while longer until I pluck up the courage to resign;/

But alas! I have a new toy!

I've been pretty much embroidering everything that's not tied down but Bec has done the first piece that is actually 'Show and Tell' worthy!!

Bec had a birthday party to go to last night and wanted to make her friend a makeup purse.
She did a smashing job I thought (but I might have to hide my new toy!)

And a sneaky peaky inside...

OK, yes, that is lime green nail polish you see in there, along with flouro pink and flouro purple!
I've been told she'll grow out of that...one day...

Have a great week and I'll keep you posted on the job front.

ANZACS FOR ANZAC DAY

Today is Anzac Day

Bec and I made Anzac biscuits.

In rememberance of all those fallen soldiers,

Lest We Forget.

Edit: Oops! Forgot to link to the recipe we used.

VOGUE 8184

Ahhh Vogue 8184...How I love Thee!
(Especially because I cheated and didn't put any boning in!)

This is the fabric I bought a little while ago from the Potter Textiles Outlet in Leederville.

It's 100% cotton with a nice slub in it, I was a little disappointed in the way the fabric faded and softened considerably when I pre-washed it, but it's still OK and I'm willing to forgive seems I got it at such a nice price.

I was going to make up a nifty vintage suit with it but as it ended up quite soft, I opted to belt out another sundress before the cold weather hit.

As I mentioned before, I decided not to bone the bodice and it still fits nicely so may do the next couple of dozen of these without the boning (Ha! I think Tracy and I are having a secret race to see who can make the most.......she's winning!!!)

A view of the inside bodice. As the fabric felt quite soft, I decide to line the skirt section.
I'm quite chuffed how the end of the zipper and lining sit really well, I usually muck that bit up!
The lining is a bit wrinkly because I wore it out to lunch before photographing it.

It was a 'hand hemming the darn thing as I have hair dye on and only an hour before I have to be at lunch across the other side of the river!' kind of job, but I work well under pressure!

And just to prove I'm still hand hemming:)

Hmmmmmm, what to sew next?


Enjoy your Easter!