Set Goals!!!

So I have just put down a deposit on a south pacific cruise!!! I am so excited!!! I have never been on a cruise before so myself and 3 of my girlfriends are going for 7 nights to Noumea!!! We are leaving the kids and husbands behind to sail across the ocean!!! Yippee

The only problem is I have a couple of things to do before then!!!!
1) Save the rest of the money!!!!!
2) Look Hot in a swim suit!! Ok maybe not hot but atleast a little better then I do!!!

So here it is I am going to reveal something so that everyone can help me!!!

My Weight is in triple figures!!!! Not by much (actually only just) but i need to do something and this is the perfect reason. So i have decided to use you guys to keep me honest!!!

Here Is my plan........
I have a gym membership and plan to go at least 4 times a week.
I am going to try and eat a little better then I do. I don't eat really bad but i need to cut down on my carbs (pasta is a love!!!)

Now that is what I am going to start with ........ any other suggestions would be great!!

So every Sunday I am going to post my progress. If I have to write it I have to do it.
This is were I need your help........If I don't post remind me.....Make me.......Hound me!!!!

So before next Sunday I am going to work out were I am at the moment (my scales are broken at the moment......The ferals tipped too much water on them) I will think about a realistic goal and I will think of other ways to achieve it.

So if anyone has any good ideas let me know!!! Also if anyone else has a goal comment about it......we can work together!!!

Be excited!!!!

I just had to post!!!!

I know have 10 followers. I am so excited! I have doubled my readership in a week (i know it's not like i doubled 100 but it's still exciting!!)

So i would like to say a big HI to all you new members. I hope you find what I write interesting even though i have absolutely no writing experience.

So let me know a bit about you and don't forget to link your blog in your comment so we can all take a look!!!!

Party!!!

My girlfriend had her b'day party last night. I mentioned the other day in sew that I was doing a lot of sewing but couldn't show as it was for our costumes and i wanted to keep them secret!!! Well I can now reveal them.......again (as we were wearing them last night). The theme was 80's so each of my family went as a different aspect of the 80's 

We had ......

Belly as the Cindi Lauper 80's dancer. It was so fun to make this dress and she loved the tulle in her hair!!!

We had.......

Flick as the Olivia Newton John lets get physical!!! Made basically the same a Belly's but instead of a circle skirt I put shorts.......oh and made it out of an old pair of sweatpants!!! She also had purple joggers on but they didn't last long.......shoes normally don't with Flick!!!!

We then had.......

The Husband as the 80's filmstar..... He could be Tom Cruise in top gun, Richard Gere in an officer and a gentleman and (i know it's not 80's but is close enough) a few good men!!!! He was wearing his cricket pants and a white shirt. I made Epaulletes (i think that's how you spell them) and bought the hat from the costume shop.

And me ......Well i was 80!!! 

I put flour through my hair to make it grey, put on my pearls and bought an outfit from the local Vinnies!!!

It was a really good night!! Everyone really got into the dress up and had a ball!!!

Next post i am going to introduce you to another love of mine and show you the cool B'day cake I made for the event!!!!

Pay It Forward!!!

Was just looking at Trish's Great Blog MY LITTLE DRUMMER BOYS and she is doing a pay it forward so thought i would join in!!!!

How does it work........

I promise something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here. To be eligible, you must repost this message, offering something handmade to 5 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 giftees sometime in 2011. Ready, set, GO!

I Love what Trish says on her post
"It won't necessarily make the world a better place but I'll give it all my heart"

So here it is......my Pay it forward.

I am going to give my first 5 posters a choice of what they would like........you have 365 days of me blogging things i do and when you find one you like i'll make you one......you just have to pay it forward........

I know that some of my followers aren't bloggers but you could still participate..... pay it forward on facebook. Just link this post and use your first 5 comments to pay it forward......just an idea!!!!

So what are you waiting for........go on.......comment........you know you want to!!!!!

Play Lego

Hi All.

I love Santa however this year he decided to bring the girls Lego. Why Santa would think Lego is a good idea i have no idea however the girls love it. I however hate it because whenever they get it out it ends up everywhere!!! So this morning i decided to make a Lego Mat. I started out with a plan.......

I am such an artist........almost as good as Belly!!

The plan is...... the pink at the top left corner is the storage area. You then have water and beach at the bottom, a road going around and green grass in the middle.

I then went through all my scrap material, I am getting quite a collection (still not as good as my mums however) and got out anything i thought would work.

And Turned this.......

Into This.......

Now i have no idea how to do patchwork so the next thing i did was just started at the bottom and tried to sew them together as best as i could.

 I then backed the entire thing in red ( I had a fair bit of that) If i had time and energy i could have made a different scene and made it double sided ( That is your challenge!!!) but i couldn't be bothered!!!! (yes i am that Lazy!!!!)

And presto......

Now the best part of my Awesome Lego mat is that i then sat down for an hour and played Lego with the girls. 

I have labeled all the points of interest around Lego town Click to get a larger picture.

The Lego has now successfully been played with for an hour unsupervised and it is still in the one place

YIPPEE

Giveaway!!!!

Hi All.

I have decided i want more followers. I know people are reading this but i want more people (because i'm just that greedy)!!! So i have decided to have a giveaway!!!

Yeah Free Stuff!!!!

Rules......

If you are already a follower (all 5 of you.....i love you all) You need to recruit me a follower. Advertise my blog to someone you would think would like what i do. Then Comment on the post to tell me who you have recruited. You and your recruit will go into the draw!!

If you aren't a follower........become one!!!! If you then recruit someone you get another entry!!

Now here is the prize.........

A one of a kind Handmade Apron!! 

(I will Post to the winner if they don't live around here!!!)

In whatever color border will suit your kitchen.

I know that some of my followers already have one but you do have kids as well!!!! You could win one for them!!!

Winner will be drawn out of a hat next Thursday 3rd Feb.

The more followers you recruit the more entries you get!!!

Make a shopping List

Today i decided i needed to make a shopping list. One that is always in the kitchen and always has a pen near it. So here is what i did........

First thing i did was get a pen. You need a pen that doesn't have a hangy thing on it. Just a straight pen. I then got a pin heated it up and burnt a hole in the top. Wriggle the pin around to make the hole as big as you can.  Then thread wool Through the hole.......I had to tie it onto fishing line to guide it through the small hole.

Here is a picture Belly drew of me putting a pin through the pen

Aren't I pretty!!!!

I then Cut 2 rectangles of material. The size is going to depend on your pad But make the front one a little smaller.

I had some Padding stuff lying around so i ironed on a layer. You could use interfacing or something as well. It just gave it a bit of bulk.

Then sew the rectangle up so you have a pocket.

Then make a strap. And sew it into the opening of the larger pocket along with the end of the wool for the pen.

Sew the smaller pocket closed. Then sew the 2 together.

and Woolaa

One shopping list to hang in the kitchen with pen attached.

The first one i made was a bit small so I have now introduced Belly to the dance card....... She loves to play princes at the moment so now she has a proper dance card.......

And Elmo is her first prince.

Live and love

I am sitting in my dining room at the moment finding it hard to see my computer screen through the tears that are streaming down my face. I was reading a friends blog this morning......Remember the art of living.....and she mentions a another blog so as i had a little time  i went over to rrsahm. I read her last 2 posts and was already in oar of this women. How brave she was. So this afternoon as Belly sat on the lounge and had quiet time i read some more. I made a point of reading from dec so i could see who this amazing person was before her life was changed.

i don't normally read alot of blogs. i just find it hard to find ones that i like but i found myself not being able to stop reading this one. The courage this lady has. I understand that she says she "can" do this because she has to but i often wonder how i would go if i were in the same situation.

I don't know why i am writing now. I just felt compelled to share this site with as many people as i could. This women is amazing. And i think she has a story that needs to be told!

Garden

So i thought i would share my veggie garden with everyone. It's not as good as it has been in previous years because the amount of rain we have had has damaged some things and i think i planted too much but it is still pretty good.

See.......

We have zucchini, Corn, Beans, tomato and strawberry. I just got my first Zucchini and about my 3rd strawberry

The girls get half a strawberry each!!!

However i do have more coming up....see......

I find gardening fun. I don't do much to look after it but it is nice standing out in the backyard watering the garden. There is a peace looking at the green growing vegetables and listening to the water hitting the large leaves. Also there is some satisfaction in eating something you've grown.

And i can't wait to eat this.......... 

yum. Home grown corn!!!!!


P.S. can you please leave me some comments so i know what people are reading!!!! Thanks.

Sew

Hi all.

I have been busy sewing lately but it is for an 80's party i'm going to next weekend so i can't put the photos up because i want our costumes to be a surprise so you will have to wait!!!! And i'm telling you they are worth waiting for!!!

Here's a teaser.......Part of Flicks costume!!!

I did however make a little top and shorts for a friends baby today so thought i would put up some pictures!!

It was made out of a skirt I wore on my honeymoon. I was trying to make a dress but I was a little bit smaller when I got married then I am now so there wasn't as much material as I thought. So I found an old denim baby dress lying around that doesn't fit anyone and..........

Made matching shorts!!!

I must say I am loving my overlocker and the Roll hem function!! However I did break a needle today......my first broken needle!!!!

If you would like to know how to make this shirt go HERE

I have made mine a little different as i found this can be hard to get on and off so i now make the chest band a little bigger than my measurement and then i sew elastic around the top and bottom of the chest band this way it stretches a bit more to get on.

I also make my square bigger and cut off the points!! 

it just gives the bottom a bit more length while still keeping the shape!! (This is one i made for Flick before i put the elastic in. It fit's her perfectly but she can't get it on and off without help)

If anyone is actually reading this for sewing instructions just let me know and i can put more information up on how i made this!!

Keep your Photo's safe

Ok so i'm a little drunk a the moment so please disregard any spelling or typos

I just had a wonderful night with my girlfriends. We get together once a week and play a board game (Ticket to ride........Look it up......it is awesome) one of the conversations we had today was about some people who have lost all there possessions in the floods of Queensland in Australia. There was one story of a man who had lost everything.....his house was washed away, his furniture, his clothes everything he had.........As well as his wife and kids.

One of my girlfriends wondered if this man woke up in the morning and wondered if his life before were just a dream as he had nothing no photos, no clothes, no baby blanket that smelt like his kid.

This brings me to the point of this blog. Every couple of months we back up all our photos and send them to relatives out of town. We say it's so they can see the girls grow......but really it's so if our house burns down we still have that beautiful photo of the girls blowing bubbles.

So i say to you......back up everything and don't just keep it in your house because i know if anything happened here i would want all the memories i could have.

Volunteer!!

So i just went down the street to Vinnies to see about volunteering some of my time and i found it really sad.
The people down there seem lovely but at the sight of a new volunteer there was nearly a (friendly) war over where i would be working ie. sorting, serving etc. I found this upsetting because it is sad that there are not enough people willing to volunteer there time. I must admit i only thought about doing it so i would qualify for the childcare rebate but i am really excited to contribute in some way. All i will be doing is a morning a fortnight but they were so happy to see someone wanting to help.

So here is my challenge to you.......just think about the people who have less then you do and the good work that some organisations do.......and if you have time see what YOU can do.

Random Blogness!!!

Hi all

I have been busy lately doing lots of crafty things but nothing that is worth blogging about so thought i would show you a couple of tips i have used in my many ventures over the last couple of days!!

The first thing i want to share with you are some aprons i have recently made.......i got the design from here and here. So if you want to know how to do them you can look there. I am just going to post what mine looked like when finished......

I decided to pretty up my kitchen as well so i have put some hooks on he pantry doors to hang them on as a feature!!!

They Look So cute!!!

Another tip i would like to share is about dinner the other night.

I decided i wanted to MAKE chicken snitzels so when i rang my husband at work and told him what we were having for dinner all he could say was ....."we don't have a meat mallet........how are you going to flatten the chicken"........ etc.......he can be negative at times!!!!

So me being the ideas girl i am made do with what i had in the house.......

Please don't judge my choice of wine!!!!

It worked really well......i put some lemon juice on the chicken and left them for 10 minutes, then put some thyme and garlic in the bread crumbs. They were great!!!

One plate of Tasty Tasty Schnitzels!!!

So if you have a negative Nelly in your house think out of the box........(helps that i'm a bit of a plonk)

Anyway until next time i hope you have fun!!!!

Sun Dress.....Model Awake

My model woke up so thought i'd post........

Sun Dress

Hi All (Which I'm Still Pretty Sure is still no-one)

Today I made another Sun Dress So thought i would share.

First thing i did was get a rectangle of material the height is roughly how long i wanted the dress. Next measure across the back, Under the armpit from side to side. Then across the chest. Now cut your rectangle of material into 4 peices like this.......

The 2 on the left will be the straps, This middle is the front....To cut this piece take your front measurement and add 10 cm or so (for the pleat) The one one the right is the back this is the same as the back measurement.

Next i cut the top off the front and back to create a band at the top

Then Attached it to the 2 body pieces

Make sure your bands are the same size.

 Sew Up the sides

Next mark out the center of the front piece and put it on your model!!! Now here is the best tip you will ever get when making clothes for children..........

LET THEM STAND ON THE TABLE!!!!!

They think it is such a treat that they stand still and don't run!!!!

Now Work out the pleat so it looks good

I then Sewed a little line down my pleat.....NOTE: Do not sew your pleat down or you won't be able to get the dress on. I just sewed a little so when it goes on the pleat knows where to sit.

I then put buttonholes on the pleats to put the ribbon through. I actually used a tube of the fabric but a pretty ribbon would look good as well.

Then Get your straps. I pleated my straps as i think it adds a little class.

Again put it on your model (Mine was trying to watch the princess and the frog at this stage) Attach you straps and fix the hem. (Just so you know it does fall nicer once the straps aren't pinned)

Then You Get .......

A Pretty Sun Dress!!! (My model was feral at this stage and was put to bed!!!!)

Hope you enjoy!!

Budgeting......The Beggining!!!!

As i said in my title i have recently become a stay at home mum which means only one income coming into the house!!!! Last night my husband and i sat down and worked out what we could afford and what was a luxury. All i can say is it's a good thing i can make cheap clothes or else my kids would be naked!!!! Ok so it's not that bad but still we need to budget!!

We have started by taking an inventory of our pantry and freezer. We are then going to plan our meals around what we have so our first shop should be cheap as we should only have to buy fresh stuff (veg, fruit, milk.... etc)

I thought i would share this tip with anyone who is listening as it has helped me in the past and when i was working although we didn't do it i told a few friends who found it saved them alot of money! so here goes..........

WORK OUT A MEAL PLAN!!!

IE sit down on Monday or whatever day you shop work out what meals you want for the next week/fortnight and make your shopping list for whatever you are eating not whatever you feel like buying!!! i have modified this concept a little because i also make sure i have 1 meal of mince and 1 meal of sausages for those nights I can't be bothered sticking to the meal plan and want to make bolognaise or sausages on bread!!! However the meal i missed carries over to the next week and we replace the mince.

Another way to expand on this is to have the supermarket catalogues with you when making your meal plan and plan around what's on special.

I am going to create a page (if i can.....i'm still not very good) with some budget recipes on it to help find cheap meals!!!

Recipes!!!

Hope this helps you!!!!

T-Shirt Dress

I made a pretty little sun dress for my 3 year old the other day. The only problem is she can't wear it to day care because it has no shoulders in it. People keep telling me to put a T-shirt under it but i don't see the point in adding an extra layer to clothes that should be cool and light........ So i decided to add half a T-Shirt to it. 

I have recently been through my cupboards and collected all the clothes that no longer fit me. So i found an old workout shirt that matched really well!!!

My Old Shirt And the Summer Dress I made (I will Show them later or there are plenty of patterns on the net for Shirred sun Dresses)

I Cut Out 2 Half Shirts ( About the size of a crop top) My Pattern is traced from one of Flicks shirts.

See!!!!

Now Sew the shoulders together then cut out 2 sleeves

Then Sew them Onto The Crop Top.

Then Sew Under The arms and down the body of the shirt. This is how you make a normal t-shirt as well it would just look longer!!

This is the first T-Shirt I made (i mainly put it in because i don't want the next picture to be the first picture you see of my 3 year old!!!!)

I Then Put the dress and the shirt on my model and pinned it so it looked good, Sewed the two together, hemmed the sleeves and neck line. Then Woolaa This is what you get!!!!

One Feral child in a pretty, practical, sun smart dress!!!!