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!

What I Wore: Fly Me 2 The Moon

On Friday, Jake and I were lucky enough to be invited to the grand opening of a new shop in Suffolk Park, called Fly Me 2 The Moon, where Jake has been working for the last couple of weeks. Tucked away in the shopping plaza at Suffolk Park, Fly Me 2 The Moon is just a stone's throw away from Byron Bay, and it captures the market perfectly. All of the products available in Fly Me 2 The Moon are hand-picked, hand-crafted and are not stocked anywhere else on the Far North Coast, giving the shop a unique edge in an area where dream catchers and pot-pourri have for too long ruled the roost.

It just so happened that I had a hair appointment on Friday morning with my friend, Alisha who is an apprentice at Kaos Hair in Ballina, and offered to do my hair for free as a part of her training. After four hours of being doted on in the salon by four hair dressers who were only too excited over the prospect of having a creative license over my hair, I came out with my hair cut, dyed, set and styled in an elaborate up-do inspired by victory rolls. As Jake put it, I "fit in well with all those Byron Bay classy people".

This is what I wore to the event:

Top and skirt: Valleygirl

Clogs: Rubi Shoes

And a little look at the beautiful products that the shop has to offer (the majority being way out of my price range).

I have to say, it was not easy trying to get decent photos while at the event, as the room was just so crowded. The shop is beautiful, though and if you would like a better look at what they have to offer, I would suggest clicking over to their website. Now, if only I had the money to buy some of their products for myself...

Disclaimer:: I was not compensated in any way for this post. Jake and I were invited to the event as a thank you for the hard work he has put in doing the electrical for the shop over the past few weeks, and going the extra mile to make sure that all the lights they hung are removable for sale. We thank Georgina and Alexandra for their generosity and for making the event such a fantastic night. 

Molly's Christmas Present - The Finished Product!

Today I finished Molly's Christmas present! Remember how I showed you the top and skirt last week? Well now the dress is done as well and all I have to do of my Christmas sewing is Nan and Mum's hand towels!

I used the criss-cross tunic pattern by Whimsy Couture for the dress and I love the way it turned out! Whimsy Couture have a way with making super hard looking patterns actually be so easy to sew! The tutorials they include in their patterns are great - they have so much detail and nice big pictures to follow so you know you're doing it right. I absolutely love their patterns!

I love that these tunics are reversible and I think the two fabrics I chose for it look perfect together for summer!

My only regret with this present has been listening to mum when she said to use puff paints to draw the edge of the bird on the top I appliqued for Molly. Look at the poor thing!

Puff paints are not easy to use - or at least not if you have unsteady hands! I struggled to make the stream of paint even, and at one stage it wouldn't come out, so I shook it a bit, and that's how I made such a mess of the birdy's beak! Oh well, I guess for the sake of a $2 target shirt and some scrap heat n bond and fabric, it's not going to be too hard to make a new one!

Are you making any of the gifts you're giving this Christmas? If so, what is it that you are making and who is the special person you are giving it to? I'm kind of worried Molly's mum won't like her present or won't appreciate all the thought and hard work I put in to making it. I tried to make it look as professional as I possibly could. There's nothing worse that handmade clothes that look handmade.

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?

Recipe Book!

On Tuesday I spent a wonderful day with my good friend, Ellie. We hung out in Byron Bay in the morning and went shopping/swimming and in the afternoon we made some A4 recipe books to take with us when we move out of home.

As you can see, my recipe book is quite simpe on the outside, with just a wooden frame from Spotlight bordering the word "recipes" which I typed on the computer. The books themselves are mont marte sketch books, the only plainly covered, hardcover book we could find with no lines on the pages. The pages are wonderfully thick and yellowish, which I love, and we have decided to sort of scrapbook our recipes into this book, adding decorative paper and other embellishments to the recipes we put in there.

Ellie made her book a lot more colourful on the outside than mine, covering it with bright pink cherry fabric, and adding sparkly cardboard letters to form the word "recipes" on the front. The books are a real reflection of our personal styles, I think. It's a shame I dont have a picture of Ellie's book to show you!

We also made some muffins this weekend (gluten free of course) that turned out delicious! They are incredibly healthy as well, so we were both glad to scoff some down for brekky the next day and are keen to alter the recipe a little to make the muffins a little sweeter and stickier!

Disaster Strikes!

SO, I should have known that completing a collection of clothes in two weeks is un-doable for a complete beginner in the sewing world, but I gave it a go nevertheless and when disaster struck, I took it in my stride and got on with things. This is why when the photos from today's shoot go up in a few day's time, you will only see two handmade items of clothing in them. Both skirts. You will also see a few accessories I have made though, and that's gotta count for something, right?

Well, you probably already knew that I had grand plans for this collection that I hoped would blow everybody's minds away, but I have to say, even though my overlocker is experiencing problems at the moment and there was no way I would get any more sewing done before the shoot, I am incredibly proud of what I achieved these past two weeks anyway. The two skirts I made look awesome, and all my sketches are superb! I worked incredibly hard on planning the items I would make, and once my overlocker is working again, I promise to make and share the garments anyway.

Here is proof that I actually did plan to make and had cut out tops for the collection:

Anyway, I can't wait to share the photos from the shoot with you all. They will be used to launch my Etsy and Made it shops as well, so this really is a big deal for me. Hopefully the tops I am making will be completed and photographed soon (if only in a lunch break at work) and they too can be added to my new online shops!

Exciting news!

Hey guys, I have some exciting news for you all...

I'm designing a small collection of women's clothes to be sold in The Corner Store in Evans Head and in my soon-to-be-launched Etsy and Made It shops! I can't say much about it yet, but it should all be completed in the next two weeks, just in time for a photo shoot with my good friend Amira Moore who is currently trying to get her photography business off the ground. She is an amazing photographer and an all around top person, so look forward to seeing her photos up here on this blog!

As you can imagine with a two week deadline to complete a whole collection of women's clothes, I am super dooper busy over here picking fabrics, drawing sketches and drafting patterns, so blogging may be a little delayed until this whole thing is complete, but that will only give you more time to build up your anticipation for the big reveal that will most certainly happen once I am all done and dusted!

Well, I'm off to "pull my finger out" and get things rollin' like a rissole! Wish me luck!

xx

What a busy day!

Hello lovely bloggers,
Today has been a MASSIVE day for me in the best and most creative kind of way. I got so much stuff done that I don't know where to start as far as posting goes, so I thought I'd maybe write a little, show a lot!

Here is what I've been up to:

Yellow Shabby Rose Hair Clips

 

 

Custom order crochet necklace for my good friend Amira

 

 

Purple baby set for my cousin and his fiance's new arrival

 

 

Blue and white gingham dress (fostering my new love for ric-rac!)

 

 

 

Hope this has inspired you to get creative! What have you been up to today? Anything exciting?

 



Melissa's baby shower

On Sunday, my friend from work, Melissa, had her baby shower. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the event, but here is a little look at what I made for her little girl.

I love seeing babies in yellow, and since she knows she is having a girl, I guessed that everyone would be absolutely loading her up with pink, pink and more pink. (I guessed right - it was everywhere at the baby shower!)

Although yellow is a unisex colour, I kept my decorated singlets and little gingham bloomers feminine with floral accents and bows. I really hope she likes them, and I can't wait to see Bub in them when she arrives!