PS

I mixed up Love Mae (fabric decals) with Amazing Mae. Who I also like.

You know when you made that gun thing with your fingers?

Well it was so cool I almost fell over backwards. Phew!

So sorry to hear you had a bad day. I can relate as I've been struggling for weeks now but I am starting to see the light. So if you need a torch bearer to talk to...I'm your gal. Smooch.

Thanks Gods for you and your Sublime Stitiching gifting. I would be most ever so grateful.

Here are some bics we made yesterday.







Here is how you do it:

1. Buy Careme Pastry
2. Buy a massive box of cookie cutters from Spotty (that includes every letter of the alphabet EXCEPT the one your child's name begins with)
3. Roll out Careme feeling guilt all the while that a) you haven't made your own dough and b) you are using $8 worth of dough to make biscuits.
4. Cut out and sprinkle with sugar and cinammon.
5. Laugh as you try to work out what this shape is. And fail.

Ti rispondo

You and your obsession with the supernatural in literature. Thanks Gods for you.

That wall sticker is very cute. Have you seen the fabric wall decals by Amazing Mae. WANT the teapots badly.

Yes, I know about spoonflower and have actually been mulling a few things over for a while. But I have no pewty graphic design skills. Want to learn me some of that when life calms down.

Poo re the post comments. I love reading them. I can see my response to your response to my playhouse post. Says "2 comments". is it not showing up on yours?

Olive is settling into her cot. Slowly but surely. She looks minute! Thanks v much for the new mattress. My baby's back thanks you. Should have seen the dent in the shitty foam basinette mattress her heavy head had made. Call DOCS.

I'm not sure I know exactly what heretofore means. Although I am sure I've used it in legal letters to clients before.

Do I need to own Sublime Stitches? I'm thinking perhaps I do so I can learn basic stitches just to do the monogramming type stuff.

Yesterday I bought Sew Hip and sat in a cafe and had lunch. First time ever since Olive born. Felt good.

Hope Clem is better soon. Have made her the CUTEST name clip. if I do say so meself.

Check this out: Sewing Rebellion. Hilarious. Especially the patches they earn for finished projects. Frau Fiber scares me though.

Needful Things

I finished Book 7 of the Sookie Stackhouse books last night and have made a deal with myself to not try to get the last two out of the library for a good week or two. Hence, I have a goodly portion of my life back. So, I'm baaaack!

Thing that I love: Wall sticker from Made by White


I also want one of their blackboards...

Things that you might neeeeed: Spoonflower

Things that concern me: my recent comments on your posts are not there - for example I KNOW I commented on the playdough one, and there it is not; did you say you commented on my request for Noop bday pres ideas? There is no comment.

Word that I like: heretofore. I will attempt to use it in conversation this week.

Promise I will make: I will be back in the next day or two (e.g when Clem's cough allows us to operate on more than two hours sleep)

Casxx

Spring has not sprung

But that didn't stop us from making cherry blossoms yesterday. We walked past our local florist and admired the cherry stems in the window and then decided to make our own. A suitable stick obligingly presented itself in the gutter a few moments later and after a bit of tissue scrunching and some glue dollops we were very happy with our results. Even if Soph wanted to unstick the blossoms and pretend it was Autumn. I wouldn't let her and when, later on at kinder, I had a discussion with her teacher about how much more important process is than outcome with kids, I felt guilty. Sigh. Oh well. It does throw a lovely shadow on the wall at night.





Here is a new style of clip I'm working on. Do you like? I am q. pleased with them.



And, finalmente, let the butterfly madness begin! Butterfly products have arrived every day for the last 3 days. You know you're ordering too much stuff online when the delivery guy says to the nanny, "You're not Christen. Yes, I saw her go out this morning and wondered if she would be home to sign for this." I'm being stalked by Postman Pat.



Those are for clips as well.

By the way, where are you?

I just went out for dinner with Soph. Just the two of us. She was a tiny baby once you know. I couldn't really believe the big girl opposite me was the very same. Olive gave me lots of smoochers today. Heaven.

Love and smoochers to youse.

She sells sea shells

JJ and Pa collected these for Soph on a walk along Albert Park beach and she spent much of this morning washing, drying, sorting and just generally having a shellariffic time. The oyster shell even had some pearly stuff (lucre?) inside. Soph was amazed to hear the sea inside the hermit-crabby one. They really are beautiful and made me vow to actually spend more time at the beach. It's criminal that we live so close and go so infrequently.





I'll tell you what else is criminal...the sweetness of this babe. And she's obliged by carrying on the watery theme. She's just done some laps is all.



And in yet another seamless aqueous link here's the strong man in her new bathers.



And another circus character...the most beautiful and talented Twirling Betty.



Is there anything better than small children with props? Is the previous sentence gramatically correct? Discuss.

Finally, here is a sneak peek of the bee-ute-i-fool (thanks Gary and George) fabric I've been putting together for Soph's hoop decos. I love nothing more than sitting down with my stash (of marijuana, I mean) and finding bee-ute-i-fool combinations. I wish to do it full time.



I's been thinking of you over there in the Wood and hoping all is well and settled and bee-ute-i-fool.

xxxxxxxx

PS: I told Soph her birthday present was coming from America and she asked if Barack Obama was sending it. I said yes and she said "It's probably a presidential book then." YES SHE CAN.

I promise real crafty crafterness soon!

Crap, it's unreadable and I can't figure out how to delete it. Go to Crikey

This will appeal to the nerd teacher in you.

Bookmarks.

I am whipping up a posting storm lately, yes?

Okay so they are mostly one-liners but better than nought. Or nowt as Sum our babysitter might say. Nowt down pit.

This is a cute broidsing idea.

Spellbinding...

Playdoughpalooza

Check out these colours.



In my ususal obsessive fashion, I decided I needed expensive proper gel colourings to make my Soph's playdough pop. I think you'll agree it is now Mary Poppins!

Noops arranged and took this photo.

Sweetness.

Broids for you.

I LOVE being the mother of girls.

Check out Sophia's birthday present.

And if I am more excited on the day when she receives it, so be it.

Listening to...

Loving this whole album...

Wowa: a response.

Edited to add: Oh. My. God. Who knew it was so hard to type something in Word and then post it here? Half an hour later, here it is...

This started as a comment, then I decided to make it an actual post, as I’m unlikely to get anything else up for a few days. Am a bit overwhelmed with WIPs (heh, crafty-speak)! Will keep you posted – literally. Parenthetically, can I tell you how much I HAAATE the misuse of ‘literally’?!?!? Andre on Masterchef – “That’s literally my heart on the plate…”. Not. And, ew.

Several things:

1. Swearink - We make the rules, baby, we can do what we want!!

2. OMG your eldest daughter is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. I wish I was going to be her Prep teacher :) The name was immediately obvious! That's pretty amazing. Tell her I had kids in Year 5 who would still spell their names wrong (sometimes :))

3. ZOMG and nom nom baby legs - your youngest daughter makes me want to reproduce again right this instant. And eat some pink marshmallows while I'm at it.

4. Elwood! In the hood! Shut up already about not helping, we had one of the easiest moves ever - I highly recommend the "we-packed-thinking-we-were-moving-overseas" method - we did one trip in the truck. But of course thanks so much for offering, the thought does count :) I’d say we’re 90% sorted now too – just the dining/sewing/guest room to sort. Need a cupboard/shelves for my crafty biz now.

4a. Clem has of course been an absolute legend – a mere whimper as I put her to bed the first night, in a new house with new smells, she slept through (unlike me who lay wide-eyed and exhausted until 2am). She can get up on our couch and has been sitting up, reading a book studiously for three seconds, safety dismounting and repeating. Good times. :)

5. Those button clips are DIVINE. You’re ace. Any ideas what I can do for birthday presents for a 7 going on 17 year old niece and a 4 going on 10 year old nephew? Hmmm…

6. Sorry to hear you’re all feeling like shite – glad you’re on the mend tho – be well so youse can pop over for a drink on Saturday arvo!

It's easy as ABC

No, no, sorry to disappoint but this isn't a post about MJ. Although I must say the Boston Herald's headline "Fade to Blacko" summed it up for me.

No, this is a post about a little girl. A little girl who is not quite 4. A little girl who was doodling on some paper over the weekend and whose mother stopped to see what she had drawn before throwing the paper into the recycling. And found this ( a little hint: start with the "S" on the left of page if it's not as immediately clear to you as it was to us):




As a teacher and a loving Aunt I know you will share my level of excitement over this. I am bursting with pride. She was so proud when we made a big deal of it too. The most amazing thing for me was a) she wasn't copying from anything and b) she got the order as well as the shape of the letters right.

And last night, Andrew and I were joking that Noops would want to subscribe to the magazine Zoo because she would thinkg it was about animals not Triple H Heidi (see current front cover - refuse to link). Anyway, I said to Andrew "Noops knows how to spell 'zoo' don't you". I thought she wasn't listening to me as she kept scribbling (she scribbled all weekend) and then tore off the paper and handed me this:



Shocked laughter ensued.

We were all so sick and mooky all weekend but I did manage to get some work done yesterday. These are a new kind of clip. Do you like? They look EXTRA cute on.



I think the blurb for them will run like this: "Made from hand-dyed wool felt and vintage buttons, these clips are hand-made in a smoke-free and pet-free home and displayed on a clean but poo-stained nappy". Noice?

And this is just an example of extra industriousness. Industrial Revolution scale industriousness.


Today I am sick. Again. Feeling very much like shite.

But enough about me, let's talk about you Miss Elwood. Yay. And the Gang. Hope the move went well and you're all settling. Hope Clem is coping. Deeply sorry we couldn't help in the end. I am V excited to have you close again.

And just sose my second doesn't read this in later years and feel left out, there are these:



Could she look anymore like we had these shots professionally done at a studio in Tarneit? I mean, come on, a baby in a tutu? She looks so fecking cute though. Are we allowed to swear on this blog?

Healesville

Okay, so it's only 3 weeks late or sumfing but better late than never, yes?

It was a beautiful weekend and appropriately wild and woolly so we could light the fire and rug up. Only thing was that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, in Healesville is weird. Not in a Tasmanian kind of way; more like a "there is a secret behavioural code in place here and even though you are not privy to it and so couldn't possibly know how to act, we'll still look askance at you when you do things that would be completely normal elsewhere." Andrew and I kept giving each other "is it us?" looks all weekend. Bizarre. Anyway...here are some pics.

Noops waiting for Birds of Prey show to begin. A bit excited.



View from one window.



Country chic.



Ballerina in the kitchen.



Snuggly.



New wellies.



Snuggling sisters.



Collecting "Little Eggy".



Bewdiful garden and fat-cheeked Bop Bop.



Brave girl with bull.



Thinking back, it was actually a magical weekend. Friday night was a bit touch and go because O didn't sleep all evening and it was cold but all in all it was a very successful, farmy, country, at-one-with nature, locavore weekend. To wit:

• Morrocan lamb made by local butcher the first night and Cumberland sausages (same bloke), potatoes and local greens the next night. Local red wine too.
• Sanctuary adventures.
• Snuggling with the bigger girl by the fire and watching Finding Nemo.
• Collecting lemons from the trees on the property and then making lemonade when we got home.
• Collecting warm eggs from the hen house. "Little Eggy" became a dear friend. 2nd Little Eggy did too until he met his demise in a scene that would have made Humpty Dumpty shudder. Thank God original Little Eggy fought the good fight for a bit longer. We thought Little Eggy might need to be surreptitously thrown out after a few weeks of love but turns out she had no problem eating him last Sunday. Delicious he was too. RIP Little Eggy.
• Feeding hay to horses, cows and a bull. Didn't like the way the bull eyed Noo's pink hat and I moved her behind me but the property owners (who we chatted to on Sunday morning - ex St Kilda dwellers who moved to H, bought the pub, have made a big success of it all) assured me he was safer than the cows. Which was a relief when they took her into the paddock with the beasts the next day.
• The farm cat who tailed us on all our wanderings around the farm, going mental because of the wind.
• Cockatoos putting on displays on the trellis outside our living room window at 7am on a GLORIOUS, still and sunny Sunday morning.
• Parrots, Honey-eaters, Ibis on the lawns.
• Home made soap in the bathroom and bunches of fresh flowers in every vase/pot/old tea kettle.

Ah, let's all move there.
xxxxxx