Quick and Easy DIY Gifts for a Baby Boy

Recently, a wonderful bloggy friend of mine, Trudie, had a beautiful baby boy. I was so excited for her (naturally, as I amt he cluckiest duck in existence) and resolved that I should make a little care package for her entire family to celebrate the new arrival. Knowing that Trudie is a bit of a thrifty, vintage-loving, hippy mumma, I knew she would appreciate something handmade or second-hand for her little one and herself,  and I was all too happy to oblige, since my budget is somewhat limited lately.

I included an op shopped skirt for Mumma, a cute little onesie I found at Best 'n' Less for baby, and some colouring books for her other two children - Cars for Cohen and Disney Princesses for Sarah to keep them occupied while mum is busy with baby. I also made these cute little singlets for baby Fraser, and I just had to share them with you all, as they were so easy and Trudie seemed to really love them. Over summer I imagine Fraser will get a lot of wear out of them, as it is a little too hot here for little ones right now!

All three singlets were refashioned with bits and pieces I already had in my sewing box, so this made the gifts really cheap for me to make. The dinosaur and whale are just scraps of fabric which I adhered with two step Heat'n'Bond iron-on adhesive. First you iron the fabric to the adhesive, then you trace your template on the back of the Heat'n'Bond and cut around it. Peel off the paper backing, and iron it to the singlet and you're done! There are tons of cute templates on the internet to choose from, as well! The spout and eye on the whale were embroidered on, and I would recommend you make sure your Heat'n'Bond is the sewing-friendy one. I found out the hard way (a bent needle and a pricked thumb) that mine wasn't.

The caterpillar was a little more time consuming to make, but since I had Criminal Minds episodes to catch up on, it felt like nothing at all! I simply chose some vintage buttons out of my huge stash to use in co-ordinating colours and a similar size and sewed them on the singlet, overlapping slightly in a zig-zaggy caterpillar pattern. The smiley novelty button I found in my stash was the perfect touch to this design, don't you think? The antennae are optional, and I embroidered them on.

I really love giving handmade gifts and love personalising singlets and onesies for new arrivals! When I finsished the singlets, I bundled them together with the rest of the presents for Trudie's family and wrapped them in a vintage tea towel which I picked up at an op shop with Trudie in mind a while ago. It's not really my style, but I knew it was hers and just had to get it for her! The whole package was finished off with some retro looking ribbon, and handed over with a handmade card when I visited Trudie last week. I hope that this post has shown you how easy it really is to make a thoughtful, customised baby gift and inspired you to give these simple ideas a go!

Thank you mum!

Remember how I told you all in my last Friday's Finds post about my mum giving me a whole heap of antique serving ware that she didn't want anymore? Well I finally unpacked it all and got a few photos! I am yet to find somewhere to actually put it all, but I couldn't hold off any longer - I just had to get it all out and share it with you guys. 

Pretty good score, huh?

I'm still pinching myself that she actually gave me all of this! This is the majority of the good china that I wasn't allowed to touch as a kid. Unbelievable! I feel so lucky to have grown up with parents who love antiques and nurture my own developing passion for them. I almost thought dad would pull the pin on me taking all of this, but he surprised me by not saying anything. Maybe the fact that they are moving soon is starting to sink in, and he is realising there is no way he wants to pack and unpack all this stuff which sits unused in cupboards all year long? 

Here are a few of my favourite things that mum gave me:

Alfred Meakin "Gloria" and Grindley 

These plates are super pretty. These photos don't do them justice! I love the blue and orange of the one on the left, and it fits right in with the decor that Jake and I have in our lounge/dining right now, and the one on the right just steals my heart every time I look at it! I don't know why, but I love it. Probably because I know mum loves it haha.

Delft candle holder

I'm obsessed with blue and white right now for decor because its pretty, but not so feminine that Jake doesn't like it. There are some classic patterns in blue and white and I love Delft's blue and white wares almost as much as I love Blue Willow.

Royal Staffordshire serving plate and New Hall Hanley cake plates.

This serving plate is probably my most coveted and cherished item that mum gave me. She always used to pull it out to put biscuits or cakes on when we had visitors, but for some reason stopped doing that a few years ago. I have childhood memories attached to this serving plate, and think it's beautiful. I also love these little cake plates - so simple and pretty. I think they will see a fair bit of use in my household.

Royal Doulton saucers. 

These saucers were given to my mum by my dad, and kickstarted her massive collection of Doulton plates about 25 years ago. They are incredibly special to me, even though one has a massive crack through it, and they will be displayed in my bedroom on my chest of drawers.

Lord Nelson Ware bowl and Bell China saucer

I love the garden scenes on these pieces of china. They would be absolutely perfect in a little girl's room! I used to call the Bell plate "the Mary, Mary plate' when I was little because the scene on it reminds me of the nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" which mum used to sing to me when I was little.

Price Bros. Cottage Ware

I used to think these were doll's houses when I was little, but there was no way mum would ever let me near enough to touch, let alone play with them! Mum loved them, so I love them. I can't wait til I have a coffee table or something to put them on!

Elizabethan "Chantilly", Royal Doulton "English Rose" and Pontesa cake plates

These plates are just super pretty and that's all there is to it.

Schumann Germany trinket bowl thingy

I'm not exactly sure what this is supposed to be for, but I love it! It's super classy.

Old Chelsea Trio

By now, you should all know about my utter obsession with tea and tea cups, so it shouldn't surprise you that this trio sets my heart a'flutter! So delicate and purple and pretty!

"Gloria" by Royal Stafford cup and saucer

Infinity pretties.

Old Foley Tennis Set

Oh my gosh, this is possibly going to be my favourite cup to drink out of this winter. Whoever invented tennis sets is a genius - a saucer and a plate for my cookies all in one? Yes please! Plus, it's super pretty!

H & K Tunstall serving bowls, Alfred Meakin plate and Empire Ware salad bowl

These pieces of serving ware absolutely delight me with how they look so "matchy-matchy" on the table. Plus, the serving bowls were my grandad's, which makes them extra special, because I don't have much which reminds me of him. 

So, there you have it, my whopping new collection of antique serving ware, including a breakdown of my favourites and evidence that I'm not very good at culling down when it comes to favourite antiques! Now I just need to make some friends on the Gold Coast who might want to come around for tea :)

Friday's Finds

I spent this week staying at mum and dad's place to get my back fixed, and while I was there I took a trip to Lismore with my good friend Alisha and her mum to hit up the op shops and have a little catch up. I must say, I am impressed with this haul, and equally impressed with the whopping $17 total that these items (including the double bedspread which I used as a backdrop) came to.

The floral mugs are bone china and were only 50c each, as were the Noritake tea cups. Anyone who knows me will know I am a total tea snob - very particular about the tea I drink, the way it's made and what it's served in. I won't drink tea out of anything that isn't bone china and these mugs are the perfect, pretty way to consume large amounts of tea in the winter months (which I am starting to sorely anticipate). The bed spread is currently covering my ugly lounge, until I either find a chenille spread for it, or get a new one. It brightens the room up nicely, having cream on the lounge. I love it. 

The divided dish was a practical find which will get tonnes of use, and the other dish is marked "Fire King" and I absolutely love it! Not sure if it will stay in the kitchen or find it's way as storage in the sewing room yet, but the pattern in beautiful. I realised today that none of my "pyrex" is actually pyrex, but I totally don't care because they're so pretty and practical. 

While I was at my parents' place, mum cleaned out her cupboards and gave me a tonne of antique serving ware and other tidbits that she doesn't want anymore. I swear it was better than Christmas, and I'll post a bit about it when it's all unpacked, because it's just so awesome! So many beautiful things which were totally off-limits when I was a little girl are finally mine, and I'm so excited to have visitors over and pull it all out. She even gave me two small Doulton plates, which is a big deal for mum, because she collects it and my dad bought her these plates when they lived in Toowoomba, which basically kick-started her collection. I feel so lucky to have grown up in a house which was filled with antiques, because it has really fostered my love for it all. I think it can go either way when you grow up in a house like ours - you either love and embrace it, or hate and shun it. I'm so glad that I fell in love with it, and I attribute my passion for history to this antique-filled upbringing. I always loved hearing the stories behind the things mum and dad found and collected, and I think that was my first real exposure to "history". 

Have you had any recent thrifty finds that blew your mind? Or perhaps some exciting hand-me-downs, like I received from mum?

Christmas Sewing: Molly's Present

I've been super busy today trying (and failing) at Christmas shopping. I spent hours at the shopping centre looking at toys and books for my niece, DVD's for my dad and my sister and brother and random crap for my boyfriend who has everything and wants nothing, but who I'm still required to buy a gift for. In the end I walked out with nothing, headed to the nearest fabric store and decided to make some presents for people because crap these days is too expensive and things like present shopping give me major anxiety!

After wasting heaps more time looking at all the pretty colours and patterns at Spotlight I came out with a few pretty good things :)

Unfortunately, the fabric for Molly's present which I meticulously planned in my head before going into the store was quite expensive, but I didn't like any of the other fabrics for what I was making and by this stage I was getting really hungry because I stayed at Jakes house last night and he didn't have any good breakfast foods, so I just payed the ridiculous price and left.

Here is one half of Molly's present. The other half is cut out on my ping pong table ready to be sewn, but I've had enough of doing things for now so it's not getting done til Friday. I love the summer colours of the fabrics - can you see why nothing else would do? Plus, the other half of the present is a reversible dress and these two fabrics look so perfect together! I still have to stitch around the bird and give him an eye but I'm really happy with how these have turned out so far :)

Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? Or are you planning on making gifts for your family and friends like I am?

Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange!

I'm so, so, SO excited to be participating in the Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange this month! Linda over at Craftaholics Anonymous hosts this wonderful event twice a year and I think it is a fantastic idea!

In Linda's words, the Handmade Gift Exchange is:

loads of fun!! It gives you the opportunity to meet a fellow crafter AND the perfect excuse to get your craft on! There is no skill or cost requirement, that way everyone can participate! {if you want to see what people have made/received in the past, check out previous gift exchange linky parties: Summer 2012 and Winter 2011.}
 

If you want to join, head on over to Craftaholics Anonymous. I am so excited to meet some new people through this and to share my creativity with someone new! I find out on Nov 8 who I am paired with, so prepare for a few posts as I get to know what my partner likes, create her gift and recieve one in return!