for my valentine.

hubby and i don't really do valentines. we never have... i couldn't really even tell you why we originally decided to boycott this day... probably just lazy :)! but on sunday as i was sorting through three months of laundry (seriously) i realised that his sleeping shorts needed to be thrown out. and then i realised that instead of buying new ones i could make some. and then i realised that vintage floral is way cooler than sailboats anyway! haha!

i think vintage sheet sleeping shorts is our new valentines tradition. love.

p.s - in case you were wondering, he vacuumed my car and made machine coffee. totally awesome.

a handmade christmas.

i know. this is a very belated christmas post.

bt i wanted to share with you a few of the goodies i made for the 'handmade christmas' task i set myself. somehow in the middle of last minute christmas morning sewing and presents being frantically wrapped i missed out on taking photos of the majority of gifts. it was lots of fun making up granola, soap, lip balms, heat packs and softies but i think that next year i'll get started a bit earlier and maybe cut myself a bit of slack and work up the courage to brave the shops at christmas time... or just embrace online shopping!

1. a picnic blanket for my sister-in-law (made with some of the FQs i got in the last swap!)
2&3. fabric letters for a lovely niece
4. vintage pink folrals for a lovely new baby
5. frankie posters make pretty wrapping paper :)

p.s - dont forget to sign up to the vintage sheet FQ swap over here. spread the word!

christmas spirit...

in my mind i have a perfectly adorned christmas tree and lots of handmade decorations up around our house from december 1st and we play carols and decorate gingerbread and complete other various activities that our homemade advent calendar has outlined for us. 

the reality is that i haven't felt very 'christmassy' this year. the reality is that i made up 21 (i ran out of calico at 21! haha!) little drawstring bags for an advent calendar, hung it up on the 16th of december and since then we have only filled three days worth of activities and gifts (it was my turn yesterday and i had no idea what to give chris so i took a photo of our puppy OFF THE FRIDGE and put it in the bag. hahah. good news is i don't think chris realised that we had been looking at that photo for the past month). the reality is that in almost 4 years of marraige we have never had a christmas tree and we don't really give each other christmas presents.

BUT... two days ago the christmas spirit hit me with a visit to bunnings of all places. i went along thinking that i might be able to pick up a little potted pine that we could use year after year (its the hippy in me) and i found a tiny little tree that looks a little flimsy but i'll be damned if i am going to pay $60 for an ugly brown  pointy tree with a few baubles on it. our tree is a bit too delicate for any decorations at this stage but a string of ikea fairy lights later and that problem was solved. i am hoping that as the years go by it grows with us and maybe one day christmas baubles will find their place on our little tree that saved Kellie's christmas spirit.

at about 8.30 that night i thought that, being christmas and all, the situation really called for some vintage fabric garland. and stockings. so i made some. 

the reality is that we are going on holidays tomorrow and our tiny corner of christmas will have only been enjoyed for 3.5 days. but that's okay. because it had brought a little bit of christmas spirit back into my home and my heart. and because now i have a headstart on next year. 

how's your christmas spirit? could you use a trip to bunnings?

MERRY CHRISTMAS LOVELY PEOPLE!

for a girl who is two...

a few weeks ago my niece turned two and i decided that this would be my opportunity to venture into handmade clothing. armed with my trusty machine, a vintage sheet and pip's lovely book i managed to come up with something that has been worn several times now and is still in one piece. success? i think so!

have a look at what i made for her first birthday...

a store near you...

if you follow me on facebook then you will know that i went on a special errand yesterday to drop some goodies off to the lovely girls at cultiver in ipswich. they will be stocking some 'green tea and red nails' owls, softies and bibs! yay! i was more than a little bit excited to be part of such a fabulous space and will definitely be signing up for some of their christmas workshops. if you live in or around ipswich then i definitely recommend popping in for a browse and a chat... and some handmade christmas shopping!

p.s - photos from the cultiver facebook page. my camera is still on holidays with my sister.
p.p.s - i also hit the vintage baby clothes jackpot in some post shopping op shopping... photos soon :)

a winner and some jam...

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my giveaway!!! i wrote out everyones names and popped them into my awesome new op shop cannister... and the lucky winner is sophie over at shine little light!!! congrats :) and thanks again to everyone who entered! i have decided that i like hosting giveaways and may do another one in the not to distant future :)!!

p.s - i made jam for the first time last night! i think it turned out okay... maybe a little hard but it still tastes pretty good :)

p.p.s - im heading down to sydney tomorrow for one of my best friends weddings so posting may be a little light on over the next week or so...

xxx

DIY gift tags

a big hello and welcome to all my new readers!! just a reminder that the giveaway will be ending at midnight tonight!!! a winner will be drawn and posted tomorrow so stay tuned!!

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last weekend i was lining some drawers with this awesome paper i found at the op shop (3m for $1 - woohoo). i had some scraps left over and it was way too pretty to throw away so i turned it into some pretty gift tags.



it was super easy - all you need to do is cut to the size you want, round the corners with a punch or scissors, glue the card and paper together, punch a hole in the top and thread some twine through. and you are ready to go!

p.s - i had my first ever migrane on the weekend - i did not care for it! any tips for how to cope if it happens again??

some mail...

my mailbox was a very happy place on tuesday! the super rad Jes sent me a little pacel for my birthday complete with a handmade card, some tea and this lovely heart garland :) i have hung it up in my sewing room (this is the only room that is semi-unpacked at this stage - priorities much? haha)! Jes and i have some mutual friends and at the moment she is living and teaching with her new hubby out in the WA desert. we are both in a wedding together in a couple of weeks time so it will be lovely to catch up with her :) pop on over and say hi at her lovely blog!!

i also got a swap parcel from pip as part of gracie's 'just because you're lovely' swap. there were some lovely vintage fabrics and scarves and some seeds to i can get started on my vegie garden!!! woohoo! she also included some jewellery that she made herself. pip is about to open up an etsy store in the next few days so stay tuned over at her blog. to see what i sent her have a look over here...

p.s - dont forget to enter my giveaway - only a few days to go!!!