School Holidays Week 2

I know, I know it's not school holidays anymore, in fact this is week 3 of Term 2 already - where does the time go?

Week 2 of the school holidays was nowhere near as busy as week 1, which was really nice actually. I do like school holidays, even though I have 2 at home instead of one, but it's great to be able to lounge around and not race out of the house first thing in the morning.

Sophie still had childcare on Tuesday & Friday as usual and we had our heat pump and panel heaters installed Thurs/Fri which came just in time. It has been so lovely to have the house at a fairly constant temperature, especially on those chilly mornings we have been experiencing in recent weeks.

I did have a day in town on the Wednesday when I took the girls to see the free Magic Show at Centrepoint. It was a lot of fun, although we have seen it before, but I don't think the girls even realised it was the same act!

Josh helping out "Elio the Magician" with his act.

My niece & nephew were there too, and Josh ended up on stage helping the magician - so funny!

Afterwards we headed into the new Fullers Bookshop for some lunch, before buying a book each and then popping next door to Spotlight for more sewing supplies.

That was the week gone and the holidays over for another term.

Tea Zine Submission

I have been busy completing my addition to Isis's Tea Zine - a Teacup Brooch Tutorial. This is my first ever tutorial and I'm very happy with it. I even had my husband read through it and he said he could make a brooch based on my steps & photos, so that's a good thing.

Here is a photo of the finished product.

Isis hopes to have the Tea Zine finished and available for sale in her etsy store in the coming weeks, so I'll let you all know when it's available.

Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth

Seeing as we are celebrating the Queen's Birthday and enjoying a public holiday today, I thought I'd check out madeit.com.au for some queen related items. They are all very cute I think. Just use the search word "queen" for a closer look at these and more handmade goodies.

Hope you're all enjoying the long weekend.

Sunday's Child Central

I just love being organised, it's part of my nature and the way I have always been. We are very lucky to live in a new home with lots of storage space, so just about everything has a home behind closed doors. There were a few things that didn't quite get finished before we moved in and some things which are still waiting to be completed - shelving in my linen cupboard was one of them.

Here is my linen cupboard.

And here is what it looked like until yesterday. Basically without shelves it was just somewhere we put things that wouldn't fit anywhere else but there was also a lot of wasted space, which really annoyed me.

My lovely mum wanted to do something for me, to help out with Sunday's Child and I had been wanting to have shelves installed in the cupboard for all my linen, which now fits well in all my laundry storage. But then I thought the space would be a great location for all my supplies, fabrics & sewing bits & bobs. She kindly donated some money for me to buy these shelves. I went out and bought them yesterday, came home & pulled everything out of the cupboard & was all ready to set them up, only to find that I couldn't find a hammer (the only tool required). A further rummage around in the garage and I found a mallet which turned out to be a better choice anyway. So not that long later, the shelves were up and they fitted perfectly!

I then spent the better half of yesterday evening, collating all my supplies, fabrics etc from the laundry & around the house, into the new shelves. So now I have everything in one place, more space in the laundry as a result and ...

.... my sewing drawers on wheels fit perfectly in the cupboard too. So now when I'm finished sewing, I can pack the machine onto the drawers & wheel them into the cupboard, close the doors and it's all packed away! Thanks Mum xo.

School Holidays Week 1

Here in Tasmania we are currently on school holidays, so I have both my beautiful girls at home with me. This past week has been quite busy as not only have I been trying to keep the girls occupied but I also had lots of sewing & preparation for the Barn Market which was a great success.

I decided to break the week up into times for the kids & time for me - sounds easy! It pretty much worked and I also spent most nights busying myself at the sewing machine.

Sophie at Childcare

So here's the rundown of the holidays so far:

Friday - Took Emma to the movies to see Shrek #4 Forever After, whilst Sophie was at childcare. Followed by lunch & quick bit of shopping.

Saturday - Last swimming lesson for the term, followed by trip to my hubbie's work site in Pelverata, lunch in Huonville then dropped the family home before heading to a "Learning Ladders" Party - Children's Books & Educational Products

Sunday - Church then home to do some sewing

Monday - Dropped car into be serviced, spent the morning shopping in town and then caught the bus home - great fun, the girls loved the bus ride and I think it was the highlight of the day for them.

Tuesday - Home day for Emma and I (more sewing for me), whilst Sophie was at childcare

Wednesday - Was heading to visit my husband's 94yr old grandmother with a freshly baked date loaf, however hubbie left the keys in the car overnight, which drained the battery flat! Luckily RACT didn't take long to arrive, and get the car running again. Unfortunately I had to be in town for haircuts for myself & Sophie so we had to cancel the trip to Nanny Dot's. After haircuts we headed to Kidz Bizzzz Play Centre in Kingston where the girls ran off all their energy - slept well too!

Cooking with Daddy

Thursday - My mum came and took the girls out to visit Nanny Dot with the date loaf, stayed for morning tea, then headed to the park. Gave me some time to get lots of applique tees done.

Friday - Sophie went to childcare and Emma headed off with my mum & friend Steph to the nursery, followed by lunch at Citrus Moon in Kingston. Meanwhile I finished off sewing on buttons, doing up swing tags & packing all my goodies ready for market.

Saturday - Spent the day at The Barn Market, where the girls came to visit, they then spent the afternoon at the shack with their cousins.

Sunday (Today) - Day off for everyone!

Sophie at Church with all her dolls

So that's the week so far. I have a few things planned for this week, but unfortunately we will be at home Thursday & Friday whilst we have a heat pump & panel heaters installed. I'm not complaining though, as I can't wait - no more cold winters (not inside at least).

Hope everyone in Tassie is enjoying their holidays and you all have a great week!

Another Great Day at The Barn Market

Well it was a cold & drizzly day but that did not dampen the spirits of the many happy customers who stepped out to enjoy the Barn Market at Rosny today.

I had a great position in the entry foyer right next to the Bellerive Bakehouse - very tempting. And of course I had to go home with some yummy fresh bread rolls & a marble bar cake.

There was a steady flow of customers the entire day and a big thank you to all those who came to visit, including family and friends - especially those lovely customers who purchased Sunday's Child items and had so many lovely comments for me.

I met several new stallholders, some of whom have been at markets before and others who were making their debut such as Aimee from Greentree. Next to me, just inside the barn was Edwina from Little Snoring who sells the cutest pocket pandas and gorgeous gumball necklaces. There was Sarah from If Only I Had Chocolate whose taggy wands & loopy balls are always a hit, Emily Snadden from Emily Snadden Designs with the most devine range of jewellery and Jacquie from Under the Shade of a Bonsai Tree with her gorgeous range of rings, brooches, necklaces & more.

I also met Tameeka from Hoot Hoot Skirts who also runs the Civic Homespun Market in Launceston. Tameeka drove down this morning with her family, especially for the market and it was lovely to meet her. Tameeka is on the hunt for a new venue for the Civic Homespun Market and I think I might just have to make a trip to Launceston in the near future to be involved, so stay tuned!

My "market buddy" Courtney from Silver Nutmeg & A Golden Pear Designs was there with her daughter Indy and her ever changing array of children's clothing, accessories & gifts. I just love the way she changes her stall setup at every market!

It was also lovely to meet Luisa from Dance in My Garden. I have been following Luisa's blog for sometime now, but this is the first time we've met. Luisa makes some beautiful bunting, heat packs, drawstring bags and other lovelies.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and successful day, as I did, and it was wonderful as always to meet such a great group of friendly, inspiring & talented stallholders. Everyone is so passionate about their craft and it's wonderful to be able to meet & chat with so many like-minded people.

Helen & Miriam do such a fantastic job of organising the market, and they never forget their stallholders - even including a little noodle box of goodies as a thank you gift. Their respective husbands are also a great support and extremely helpful to all the stallholders and customers alike - my congratulations and thanks to you all!

And just a little heads up, they are organising an even bigger and better event for August - a "Christmas in Winter" Market on Friday 20th August (6pm to 8pm) and Saturday 21st August (10am to 3pm). So put it in your diaries now!

Time for a well deserved cuppa and some marble cake - mmmmm! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Tees, Tees & More Tees

I have been busy this week, re-stocking my existing designs (and adding a new one) of applique tees for boys & girls. These are all long sleeve, priced at $30ea and available for purchase at The Barn Market tomorrow.

If you are unable to get to the market and would like to purchase any items you see here, just drop me an email and we can organise payment via Paypal. I am also happy to do custom orders, so keep that in mind.

Hope to see some familiar faces tomorrow at the Barn Market. I have an entry spot just inside as you enter the market, so you can't miss me!

Girls Tees - Classic Car, Red Pinspot Bird, Floral Poppy

Boys Tees - Robots & Rockets (New), Classic Car & Red Spot Circles

Close up of the "Robots & Rockets" Tee with Button & Ribbon Embellishment

Boys Tees - Mini Cars with Button Embellishment

It's on again & I'll be there

It's the Barn Market #3 and it's on this Saturday (that's tomorrow) 5th June from 10am to 3pm.

This is where Sunday's Child made it's debut back in February at the inaugural Barn Market and I'm very excited to be there again.

It's going to be another fabulous day full of lots of talented arts & crafts people selling their wares including: adults clothing, children’s clothing and accessories, homewares, stationery, jewellery, fabrics, and lovely gift ideas. And, of course, there will be some aromatic coffee, delectable hot food and scrumptious baked goods on offer as well.

There will be a variety of buskers on the day, both inside and out and a BBQ run by the Clarence High School Band who are fundraising for a trip to NZ. So make a trip to the Barn Market tomorrow - it's a great day out for the entire family. For more info you can visit the Barn Market blog.

Mini Break to Melbourne

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks - What Women Want Event, Mothers' Day, Handmade Hobart Market and life in general. Today I have been busy cleaning the house - boring I know! I am happy to say that I feel quite satisfied though as I have also prepared dinner for tomorrow night (ready to put in the slow cooker in the morning), the school lunches are packed, banana choc-chip muffins have been baked and my bags are packed, ready for my trip to Melbourne in the morning.

I'm off to see Mamma Mia with my sister-in-law at Her Majesty's Theatre. I'm looking forward to the show, some "girl time", catching up with my brother for dinner and of course shopping! I'm only going for one night but I'm sure I'll enjoy my "mini break".

I'll be sure to post at the end of the week about my trip and also the last couple of weeks goings-on. Bye for now. Hope everyone is having a great week!

The Beautiful Milla

At the recent Mathilda's Market here in Hobart I met a lovely customer who had purchased one of my Reversible Crossover Pinafore Tops for her daughter, after seeing a photo on my Facebook page.

She loved them so much that she purchased another pinafore top in the grey/red pinspot with flower applique for her gorgeous daughter Milla. Here's a picture of Milla wearing the top whilst at the park - so cute!

Samantha has also started her own photography business - MarS Photography. For more information, you can follow her blog and become a fan on Facebook.

Fairy Cupcakes & Anzacs

Today my hubbie spent most of the day in the kitchen - bless him!

He made Fairy Cupcakes by request (Emma & Sophie helped). We all had a go at decorating them

with yummy cream cheese icing & sprinkles.

And some "giant" Anzac biscuits! Lest we forget.

Hope everyone's had a lovely weekend!

On the Menu Tonight

Slow-Cooked Ginger Beef - This is really yummy!

Recipe from a "Fresh" Woolworths Newsletter June 2009

Serves 4-6

You will need:

800g gravy beef

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp plain flour

500ml beef stock

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 bay leaves

1 tbsp crushed ginger

Method:

1. Seal beef in frying pan and then transfer to a slow cooker turned to low.

2. Add onion and flour and mix to coat the meat.

3. Add all other ingredients and salt & pepper to taste. Give the dish a quick stir and pop lid on.

4. Cook for 8hrs in the slow cooker or alternatively cook for 2hrs at 190 degrees Cel. in a heavy based oven proof pot.

5. Serve with potato mash (or a mix of root veges. ie potato & sweet potato), some greens and crusty bread - yum!

PS. I also add some carrot & mushrooms to the dish to bulk it out. I normally set my slow cooker to high and only cook for 4hrs.

Oh & we just had to have some dessert as well. So my hubbie whipped up a yummy Apple & Mixed Berry Crumble with Cream & Ice cream!

Mini Me Designs - Designer Kids Clothing Sale

I recently became a fan of Mini Me Designs on Facebook. The duo of Kylie & Amanda produce beautiful handmade kids giftware and wall art, including canvases, name plaques, one of a kind night lights and other accessories.

The website showcases their lovely range of products and you can also shop online here.

Kylie is currently having a sale on Facebook at the moment selling beautiful children's clothing & footwear at 50-70% off the retail price. Brands include: Minihaha, Papoose, Willow & Finn, Finnigan Finn, Walnut, Ouch, Pure Baby & Marquise.

I am very excited as I purchased a number of items for my girls and can't wait till the parcel arrives next week. The sale is for a limited time only so go and check it out quick before everything is gone!

What a great way to stock up the wardrobe with designer clothing at a fraction of the price!

What DO Women Want?

A question we all ask ourselves regularly - I know I do.

Right now I want my head to clear so I can get back into some sewing for more upcoming events/markets. I have been struck down for a week now with a shocking headache and fuzzy/vague head. I experienced something similar after the birth of my second child and for a full 3mths I was dizzy. The room was constantly spinning and it was terribly difficult to concentrate on anything. At the time it was thought to be hormonal but I never really got a proper answer from anyone.

As for this time around, it may well be a virus that's going around at the moment (I'm hoping) and I'm heading to the GP next week to get it all checked out.

So other than that.... what else do I want? I want more time with my friends & family, I want people to be more accepting of others, I want to enjoy every day, I want good health and more energy and I'm sure there are many more things I could add.

If you would like to enjoy some time out with your mum, sister, girlfriends and help a great cause, then there is a great fundraising event happening next month.

The "What Women Want" - Make-A-Wish Foundation Event is being held on Sunday 2nd May at Moorilla from 2pm to 5pm.

Enjoy an afternoon of Fashion and High Tea. There will be around 50 stalls, displaying fashion, jewellery, accessories, craft, giftware, beauty, children's clothing and more. There will also be a fashion parade showcasing clothing from Ci Simon and Beau Monde. There is also lucky door and raffle prizes to be won. All money raised on the day will be used to grant the wishes of children with life threatening illnesses in Southern Tasmania.

Tickets are $35 each and include a complimentary drink on arrival, high tea, a lucky dip gift and flower. There are no door sales, so tickets must be purchased in advance. For more information and to book tickets just go to the Moorilla website.

I will be there with my Sunday's Child range of children's clothing and accessories along with many other wonderful and creative stall holders. We would love to see you all there.

Attitude is Everything

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” - Charles R. Swindoll quotes

What will your attitude be today, tomorrow and beyond?

New Designs

At the recent Mathilda's Market I debuted another couple of new designs. As our internet was down for the 2 days leading up to Mathilda's, I was unable to show them prior to the market, so here they are now.

The new Reversible Crossover Pinafore Top in Grey with Red Spot Applique Flowers. The flowers are securely fused then zig zag stitched and embellished with buttons. The reverse side of the pinafore is the red spot fabric.

For the boys, I have a new applique tee - the "Mini Cars". This is another lovely japanese fabric from Retromummy which is fused onto denim which is then fused and zig zag stitched onto a red tee.

Now that Easter is all but over, I will be busy with some more new items, so stay tuned. Hoping you've all had a lovely, relaxing Easter break with family & friends.

Featured in Mathilda's Market Blog

Photo courtesy of Mathilda's Market blog.

The lovely Anne, Founder & Organiser of Mathilda's Market, clearly fell in love with Hobart - and who could blame her!

She has blogged about her time here and of course the market itself - I even got a mention. Thank you Anne - you are an amazing, energetic woman, who I greatly admire. Keep up the good work.

I look forward to the next Mathilda's here in Hobart, being even bigger & better!

A Very Happy Easter!

I received a lovely call today from the office at my daughters' school, informing me that she had won prize No. 36 in the school's Easter Raffle.

Every year the school has a Free Dress day leading up to Easter, where the donation is not a gold coin but an easter egg. They then sell tickets for the raffle to win a pack of easter eggs. This year the school had an amazing amount of chocolates donated and they were able to offer 47 prizes to the children. In years gone by they only had 1st, 2nd & 3rd prizes but they have recently changed it to small baskets or parcels of easter eggs in order to give more children the chance to win a prize (and really who needs a washing basket full of chocolate anyway?). Well maybe that would come in handy - mmmmmm chocolate!!!!

So here is my beautiful daughter with her lovely package of an Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs.

And guess what she had for afternoon tea .......!

Before & After.....

Well after a busy week last week in the lead up to Mathilda's Market, my sewing space had become rather untidy. As I don't have a "sewing room", all my items are made on my dining room table. I am lucky to have a large 2mtr long table which is great to lay out fabric on for cutting etc. but as you can imagine the more horizontal space you have, you just seem to cover it with "stuff".

Needless to say, my table was a right mess after Saturday, made worse by the fact that I had walked in the door on Saturday afternoon and pretty much dumped everything on or around the table and it was still that way on Monday!

I don't have any "before" photos to show you as I am .. well.. too embarrassed! I did however finally tidy up, pack away all my stock from the market, fabrics still to be sewn, threads, buttons, blank tees and general "bits & bobs" yesterday. So now it looks like this .....

Much better I think! What do you think of my ironing board cover? I am very partial to red & I just couldn't go past this when I saw it in Habitat recently.

So now that things are back to normal and I can actually see my table, we can even enjoy a seated family dinner around it. That hasn't happened much of late, due to a lot of market prep going on. I am planning to be much more organised in the hope of not having to do multiple late nights in the lead up to any further markets. I really do need 8-9hrs sleep per night to feel normal and be able to function properly. Hats off to others out there who can operate on less - I don't know how you do it!

I managed to get to 2 orders yesterday and today, and I have another 2 to finish and send off tomorrow prior to Easter. I will be away for a couple of days at our shack for a well deserved break and last go at some summer weather, before the cooler days set in.

I am already planning some new items to be available at upcoming markets - such as peasant dresses, additional applique tee designs & more kids goodie bags. I am trying to come up with a catchy name for these bags, so if anyone has any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, I think that's enough for now. I have more posts to do, which I hope to get to tonight, but the sewing is the priority for now!

Mathilda's Market - What a Day!

What a fantastic day at the inaugural Hobart Mathilda's Market. It was an early start (6am), following on from a late night (1am) in final preparation for the market. My lovely mum came along to help me unload & take the car away so I didn't have to worry about parking for the day.

The venue - the Hobart Function & Conference Centre provided a lovely setting for the market, enhanced by the beautiful backdrop of the Hobart waterfront.

At 9am sharp we were greeted by a busy rush of people through the doors, which continued almost the entire day until close at 1pm.

I had prime position opposite the entrance, next to the lovely Dannielle & Monique from b.box who made the trip to Hobart with their families, especially for the market. They both bought one of my fabric knotty necklaces & Monique a Bird Tee for her daughter.

Behind me was my regular "market buddy" Courtney & her daughter Indy from Silver Nutmeg & A Golden Pear. They did wonderfully well and even sold out of some of their products. It is always a pleasure to share the market experience with special people and it was lovely to have them as my neighbours again. Indy is such a sweetie & did a great job selling & manning the stall. She also helped out as a bit of a buddy/babysitter for my girls during the day - thanks Indy!

I also met Jocelyn from Bye Bye Birdie (another visitor from the mainland), who had a lovely collection of goodies including cards, vintage pinafores, smock dresses, skirts and more. I hope you had a great day and it was lovely to meet you & your sister-in-law.

I really enjoyed the day, even though it was pretty much "flat chat" the entire time. I received wonderful feedback about my products, had an amazing number of sales and some orders as well. I sold over half of my long sleeve girls tees and pinafores, most of my fabric knotty necklaces and all of my marble & dinosaur goodie bags.

The market had a modern, contemporary and stylish feel about it with background music, face painting and arts & crafts for the kids. The organisers Anne, Danielle & Robin did a wonderful job with the set up & promotion of the event, as the customers just kept coming - not that I'm complaining though.

I'd like to thank all the lovely stallholders, especially those around me who provided me with conversation & companionship during the day and the wonderful customers for their support & encouragement.

To those customers who I took orders from today, I am keen to get those done and sent to you this week so look out for the postie!

Over Easter I plan to update my website with lots more product photos and set up my online store so that you can shop online from the comfort of your lounge!

I would definitely recommend the Mathilda's Market to anyone looking for unique, stylish, handmade or limited run children's products and to any stallholders looking to be apart of the market - it is definitely well worth it!

The next Mathilda's Market is scheduled for Saturday 17th July.

Emma the "Cougar"

Sophie the "Lion"