Very Pink, Very Girly Skirts

I know I said in my last post about my skirt sewing attempts that I was going to try sewing some ruffled chiffon skirts for my cheeky monkeys.  Well, that plan changed when the monkeys and I saw some extremely pink and extremely cutesy fabric online.  There were three different, and complementary, fabrics we liked so I decided to make a skirt with stripes of alternating fabric patterns.  Easy, right?  Wrong!  When it's me, there's always something that goes wrong with sewing projects, LOL.

I might have forgotten to double check the size of the fabric I purchased (some were fat quarters whilst others were slightly larger or smaller) so while the skirts are "striped", the stripes of each different fabric are slightly different in width...oops!  And do you see the lace trim at the bottom of the skirts?  I added them on at the last minute because I'd made the skirts just a little bit too short for my rapidly growing daughters.  Anyway, after all of those little hiccups, my monkeys got the girly, pink skirts they were after and they're both very pleased with the results.  And just between you and me, I'm rather pleased with my efforts, wonky seams and all.   ;)

Things I Love...

I know I often say that I am not partricularly girly, but I just couldn't get over how pretty these piped lace cookies by Sugarbelle look.  These cookies are so lovely that I cannot imagine taking a bite out of them!  For those of you who would like to learn how to ice lace patterns on their cookies or biscuits (and have the requisite hand steadiness!), Callye has kindly shared the instructions on the Sugarbelle blog.  Alas, icing and I are not friends, so I will content myself with admiring Callye's beautiful work!

Love Letter on a Spool

If you can remember back to this "Things I Love" post, you will remember me saying that I was really keen to try making a few of these very cute letters on wooden spools.  I've finally managed to make a few for the cheeky monkeys (don't tell them!) and had a blast with this project.  My only tip for you, if you're wanting to make a few yourself, is to use as dark an ink as possible for your stamping.  I used a chocolate brown fabric ink, which works fine for adding my shop name to the plain bias tape ties on my doily buntings, but didn't work so well on the beautiful Sugar Hill fabric by Tanya Whelan.  I probably should have practised a bit more with my new stamp set, but oh well, the cheeky monkeys will love these nonetheless!

Refashioning Sneak Peek 2

You may remember this post from a few weeks ago where I gave you a little peek into something I've been making for my two cheeky monkeys.  Well, I am most relieved to say that I have finally finished the project!  For those of you who might be wondering if this is supposed to be a work of art or something else, let me tell you that it's both.  Underneath the fabric is a handy, but utilitarian, magnetic sheet of metal, which means that my girls now have a pretty (at least we think so) magnetic noticeboard each for their rooms.  I am planning to put together a tutorial to show you how I made this noticeboard.  It really is quite simple; my main difficulty was sourcing all of the supplies I needed for a reasonable cost.  So what do you think?  Would you use a notice board like this one?

Things I Love...

I was browsing through Etsy the other day (okay, okay, I might cough browse there every day) when I found these sweet pears by Skye Art.  They are made out of polymer clay and come in two colours and a variety of phrase or word choices.  I think these pears would look adorable sitting on a kitchen window sill or on a craft or work desk!

Wordless...Thursday?

I've been missing my dad a lot lately, partly because I've been seeing so much of my mum.  So this rather "wordy" and day late Wordless Wednesday post was inspired by my memories of him and my childhood.

Michael Arthur Photography

My Bearded Pigeon



Austin Creations

Romantica Home

Vicarious Eye Asian Photography

Artwork by Karen M. O'Leary



Things I Love...

You all have to know by now just how much I love upcycling old and unloved books and sheet music, so you shouldn't be surprised by today's post.  I found this easy-to-follow tutorial for a delightful paper wreath on the Craftberry Bush blog and I adore it!  You could so easily replace the word "love" with your loved ones name or initials or another short word (such as "joy" or "peace") and use this wreath to decorate your special celebrations.  I'm also thinking that I would like to try making a mini version of this wreath to use as a Christmas ornament or an embellishment for a gift or card.  Whatever you use it for, I think it's hard not to love this "love" wreath.

Refashioning Sneak Peek

Are you wondering why I've posted a photo of a shiny purple picture frame?  With pretty much all of our regular activities back into full swing this week, I haven't had much time or energy to blog about my creative endeavours.  But I thought that I would tease you with a little look into a work in progress which has been a WIP for cough most of the summer.  This frame started off as a functional, but boring, picture frame we found at a local op shop.  It is half way through its refashioning process, but you'll have to wait until at least next week before I unveil the final creation!

What's New - Pride and Prejudice Necklaces

I mentioned last month that I have been plugging away at expanding my Pride and Prejudice jewellery range and I thought I'd give you all a little sneak peek!  I am quite enamoured of teardrop shapes and have been pretty excited about making these cute necklaces.  Each one features a snippet of text mentioning Mr Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet or Darcy's home, Pemberley, and has been teamed with a ribbon or lace bow.  So what do you think?  Which of your "mad keen on Mr Darcy" friends would love one of these?  And what colour bow do you think I should add to the collection?

Things I Love...

Continuing in last week's "things I love..." vein, I want to share another cute tutorial with you all.  For those of you who love all things macarons, now is the time to start squealing with delight!  Now you can not only eat your macaron, but you can have it too by following the step-by-step tutorial on Craft Passion.  You probably can't hold much in one of these tiny purses, but who cares when they're so cute?!  I think they would make for great party favours or as a super sweet way of wrapping a small gift such as a ring or earrings.  So are you going to rush off and make a stack of these cuties and then torture yourself trying not to eat them???  Do let me know.   :)

My Sewing Projects: Otherwise Known as "Deb's Insanity"

For those of you who remember back to my post on skirt tutorials in August last year (see here), you will know that this current post is rather late in the coming!  I had planned to make my girls a stack of new skirts, but have shamefully only managed to put together two, yes, two.  Sooo, to encourage myself to get back into my skirt sewing, I am showing off my rather meagre attempts so far.    :)

This first skirt was inspired by the Heirloom Skirt tutorial on the Dana Made It blog.  I made it for my youngest cheeky monkey (who happily wears it to kindergarten) using fabrics we found at our local op shops (thrift stores).  I think that the next time I make a skirt in this style, I will decrease the size of the lace panel.  All that bright pink is just a bit too much for my eyes!

The skirt above is a reversible skirt I made for my oldest cheeky monkey.  Although it's just a simple gathered skirt, it took me the better part of a day to sew it as I've never sewn a reversible anything in my life, LOL.  Oh yes, and I have this incurable habit of choosing fabrics which are totally unsuited to my sewing abilities.

Although I tell people not to look too closely at the wonky hems and seams, my girls are quite pleased with their new skirts.  And once I've forgotten that it took me a whole day just to make one simple skirt, I'm going to really challenge myself and attempt to make a few fluffy chiffon skirts using some more great fabric we found at our op shops.  Hopefully my family won't have to commit me after this!

Valentine's Day Tutorial Roundup

Although Valentine's day is not widely celebrated in Australia, and while I don't support the commercialisation of "love" (not that I would say no to an eternity ring, wink wink), there are a tonne of fun Valentine's day tutorials out in blog land which I would love to try out!  I've shared a handful of my favourites below; I like them because they're relatively simple, easy to do on a large scale, and could be adapted for other celebrations such as birthday party favours or Christmas greetings (which both the cheeky monkeys hand out en masse at the end of the school year).  So what about you?  Do you celebrate Valentine's day, or are you like me and only notice the date because of all the advertising?

Valentine matchboxes by Inchmark

Valentine's cards by the Purl bee

Valentine's crayons by the long thread

Butterfly Valentine by Skip to my Lou