New Project: Baby Nursery!!

This is my very, very cluttered office and soon to be baby's room. This is a massive job, as you can see there is a lot of big bulky stuff in here that will need to be sold or moved to another part of the house, and well to be honest, there isn't a lot of room in the rest of the house!
The plus side is that at least it is in the right colour scheme, although I am debating painting the hogsbristle wall (window wall) a nice dark grey. I want to say that I am not really panicking about getting everything ready on time, but that would be a lie. I think about it constantly!







I have been trying to brainstorm about what sort of theme or style I want to go for in this room. I don't want anything too babyish, because he will be a big boy very soon. I don't want it over the top or too cluttered with junk. I am inspired by the ideas of retro furniture and design (except for the cot which obviously needs to be up to Australian safety standards) because our house is a cottage built in 1949 , bold colours, fun and organized! Here are some of the fun things I have found that inspired me, and are helping to guide my ideas about what to do in here:

This is from the gallery at Project Nursery: I think I have that same chest of drawers already! Bonus. What I am really in love with is that amazing retro rocking chair. I would LOVE to find one of those, amazing.
Seeing I am all about Embroidery! This room from DesignDazzle takes my breath away. I actually think I will do this, and I already have recruited a couple of volunteers to help! Would go so well with a retro theme as well!
Project Nursery: Blackboard Paint!! How fun.. kids (and Mums and Dads) can drawn on the walls and then wipe it right off! I love this idea, I am not sure about a whole wall, but it needs to be incorporated somehow!
TEEPEE!!!! I saw this in a magazine a couple of months ago and really thought it was a fantastic idea. I guess it wont be used for a little while so there is no rush, but what a fun D.I.Y project for later on. I can imagine little boys loving their own indoor teepee!
This is another Project Nursery idea. I saw these little dog tails at Ikea a while ago, I always wanted to buy them because I like them so much, but never had anywhere to put them. Then I saw this fabulous idea! I also like wall decals, this is a cute little poem, and something that I can easily make at home on my Cricut Create! Through my hunting these are just some of the ideas I have found, I really cannot wait to get started. Unfortunately I have to clean out all the old stuff first, and that just does not sound appealing...

Another Love: Scrapbooking

A favourite pastime of mine is Scrapbooking. I know, it makes me sound old right? I really enjoy it, and that is all that really matters. Sometimes when you have really nice photos that you love, you want to do more with them than just post them on Facebook. This is where Scrapbooking comes in handy.

Although I love to do it, the truth is for about a year or so I haven't really touched much of my scrapbook stuff. Which is a shame because I have a lot stored up from the USA. I even have my awesome Cricut Create cutting machine, and the Sure Cuts A Lot program on my computer, which I love! I guess the problem is I am just not really set up for it. Hopefully when our new office is sorted I can make it so that I can scrapbook and craft without making the whole house look like a wreck.

Yesterday, I pulled out some of my gear and started to cut and paste and play with paper! This is what I came up with!

This is a TTV (through the viewfinder) photo that I made of Angus and I "dogboarding" which I love. The rest is a mix of patterns and designs that shouldn't necessarily go together, but I liked the way they looked!

Here is another page that I did about a year ago, I love these pics!
The purple sheets have hand drawn triangles on them, something that I always do on the sides of my notebooks when I am in lectures!

I'm surrounded by Boys!

But that is ok! Our house soon is going to have one more Male member! That is three against one.. uhoh! But the gender odds have always been like that in my family, being the only girl with three brothers. That said, I love the boys in my life and I am so so so so excited to add another one to the mix, and Joel is pretty excited especially because he had a feeling the whole time that we were having a boy. We found out today at the 19 week ultrasound that we are having a Boy. He was not being very cooperative, sitting and lying in all sorts of funny positions trying to hide from the sonographer, but that just meant we had longer to watch him, about an hour, and it was amazing. Just seeing him kick those legs and spread his fingers apart and then make a fist was awesome.

I have added some pictures, I like them, I hope you do too!
My Dad suggested that this last one could indicate a future AFL player, although Joel already has plans for major league baseball haha!

Home is where you are...

I really love this saying, and anyway you take it, whether it be "Home is where YOU are" or "Home is where you are" it just feels right to me. Maybe it is because over the years I have made my home in many different cities and states, and wherever Joel and I are together I know that it is home!
This hand embroidered piece is up in my Etsy shop as of about 5 minutes ago! Click on the picture above for a direct link to my Etsy page.

D.I.Y Dog Chew/Tug Toy Tutorial

A few months ago I was looking for some new toys at the pet store for Angus, and they have a wide array of things, but they are pretty expensive. I am not really willing to fork out the cash for for something he will either lose in the front yard, leave out in the weather or chew to pieces. So, I decided to figure out how to make my own toys for him. I really wanted to share it, because it is so simple and so easy and most people have everything they need to make them already.

What you need:
1 or 2 old t.shirts (depending if you want a multi-coloured toy)
A sturdy pair of knees to hold it as you make it! ;)







Step 1:
Find old t.shirts, and then cut them into 4 strips, depending on how large or small you want it you can cut anyway you want, and any thickness you want. Some shirts don't have seams down the sides so you can cut straight across, others it is better to cut lengthways. I cut mine about 5-7cms wide















Step 2: Tie all four strands at one end into a knot.

Step 3: Put the knot between your knees, or something that will hold it firmly in place. Lay out all four pieces as shown below.
Step 4:
Take the strand on the bottom left and loop it over the strand on the bottom right (brown over white in the picture)
Step 5: Take the top right strand and loop it over the top left strand. Top brown over top white.
Step 6: Take the bottom right (white) strand and bring it over the first loop and through the second loop (brown)
Step 7: Take the top left strand (white) and place it over the the brown loop on top of it, and through the loop on the bottom.
Step 8: Start to pull each of the strands (two at a time) tighter. As you start to pull them they should make a square shape like this
Step 9: Pull them in as tight as you can until they make a nice little knot like this
Step 10: Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat (you get the picture) until the strands have become quite short at the end. Making sure you leave enough room to tie a knot at the end.
The final product should look something like this
The tightness you make your knots, and the longer the fabric, and the thickness of the fabric you use to make the toy will larger or smaller depending. I recommend using 10 or more cm thick strands for big dogs. Also, if you have a dog that tears things apart quickly it would be wise to watch them play with it, or play with them!!

Step 11: Give it to you beloved pooch!

Angus loves these toys! The best part is they don't cost me a cent. Hope you enjoy making them. If you have any questions or feedback I would love to hear it.

A New Phase in Fashion...

So, the word is out, we are having a baby!! Yeah, very exciting and life changing stuff is happening!! Of course we are over the moon. I am 17 and a half weeks right now and starting to get a bit of a baby bump that is actually noticeable, it is nice to be able to feel like I look pregnant, rather than just chubby!

The time has come though for me to change my wardrobe for this new phase of my life. I have been hunting for maternity clothes websites (this is all new to me) and it has been really hard trying to find any that are 1. trendy and look good and 2. are priced reasonably. Well I was pretty discouraged thinking what the heck am I going to wear...

Then a friend recommended an awesome UK website www.asos.com
and I found a great range of maternity clothes: These are some of my favourites that I am waiting patiently for to arrive in the mail.
This is the Mama.Licious Drilla Jersey Dress
Mama.Licious striped tunic dress
Purple Wash Skinny Jeans
Mama.Licious Darma Dress
These Denim shorts.

There were a few more things I ordered, but for everything I bought for the price I did, I would have only been able to get 2 things here in Aus, and Australian retailers wonder why people are turning to internet shopping. Did I mention free shipping!!

Babushka Doll Embroidery

A new embroidery piece that I made this weekend, and just put up in my Etsy store. You can check out this and my other items by clicking HERE

A Family Tradition

Every year for the last 20 something years my family has camped in the same caravan park every single January. We started off staying there for a week, which graduated to two, and then increased to the whole month. For us it is more than just a place to camp, it holds memories, times when we get together as a family away from the trappings of the technological world (although the last couple of years we have all had our iphones down there) and just chill out and relax and enjoy one anothers company. It makes me want to create the same kind of memories for my own children. Although over the years the 4 of us "kids" have grown up, we all still squeeze into to the caravan, practically sitting on each others laps, and we are ok with that, in fact I think everyone likes it. We take the same picture every year
This picture was taken in Jan 1990, The first year that all four of us kiddos spent together, as my youngest brother was on 6 months.
This is from 2007, the last time that all four of us were down at the same time, seeing my older brother now lives in NSW.

And here is the latest picture from Jan 2011, with a couple of extra family members this time!


Here are some pictures from the Yallingup surf break which is viewed from the bbq area of the caravan park I thought I would share, the waves are big on this day!

Guess Who's Back...

I have been on a little blogging hiatus, but I would like to be back in the swing of it. It just takes a little motivation, inspiration and excitement on my part. After relaxing on holidays for the last few weeks it is difficult to get motivated to do anything. Can't I just sit on the beach and read my book...
Unfortunately no... reality is an old foe who will not wait for me, so I better snap to it. Maybe once a week I can sit on the beach and read my book, or twice, or at least just for a little bit everyday. Summer is on its way out, and I need to make the most of my favourite season of the year.

So I will be back in the blogosphere... here goes nothing..