An easy dress

I squeezed in a bit of sewing the other day using this tutorial. I used a $6 t-shirt from Big W, $3 worth of fabric from Spotlight and some ric rac from my stash. I added a little yo-yo for the top too.

A little birdie

I recently picked up an issue of Australian Homespun with a couple of cute lovebirds on the cover. They are created by Melanie Hurlston of Melly and Me and are on my ever growing list of 'things to make'. I'm obviously attracted to whimsical bird creations as I have a few other tutorials ear marked. 

Spool Bird Mobile

Bird Garland

Lovebird from Molly Chicken

Snooty Birdie

From Paper and String

Birdcage Cushion Pattern

Fave Finds

A few of my favourite things this week........

Laikonik Wrapping Paper from Mr Sparrow

Shilla

Tree Hangers from Mocka

Etsy Shop Marley and Lockyer

Have you met Miss Jones

From Rock Your Baby



Recently.....

Unfortunately it's coming to the end of the school holidays and Jon will return to work next week. I expect that Michaela will take his absence quite badly as they have spent a lot of time together recently. He took her to the zoo along with a friend on Wednesday and for her first haircut yesterday. I love her long hair and it has taken me all this time to give in and get it cut. She, of course, wanted her Dad to take her so I shed a little tear as they left.......it took a lot of coercion and some bribery to get her to go but she returned very happy with glitter in her hair and a new book!

With Jon returning to work I found this post about creating 'quiet time' activity boxes. Michaela has recently dropped her afternoon nap (even though she still needs one as she i quiet tired by the late afternoon, as am I!) so this sounds like a perfect way to entertain her and give us both a little quiet time.

I think (and hope!) that Harper has turned the corner with her day and night sleeps, the day naps are a little more routine and preditable and she settles herself really well. I've also had a few nights of getting up once for a feed. The next thing to address with her is accepting a bottle feed. I have some work in the next few weeks so I'm hoping to leave her for about 4 hours. She wouldn't have a bar of it yesterday so I think this will take some persistence and a few tricks.

I am happy to say that I've also managed to get some sewing done. I have almost finished the petal cushion as well as a dress for Michaela. I'll share pics soon.

Hitting the shops

Hitting the shops is officially something of the past. For a multitude of reasons ie the physical logistics of carting around the two girls and assisted by the comfort of my pj's, online shopping is my number one choice. Here's where I've spent most of my time (and money!) recently. And being quite thrifty by nature, I've managed to save quite a few pennies after seeing items in bricks and mortar shops.

ozsales.com.au & brandsexclusive.com.au have daily sales on everything from fashion to toys to perfume and home wares, many designer labels too.

I lose track of time trawling through the dresses on asos.com, the free shipping is great but as I learnt last week, sizing can be risky.

LOVE Polli for their stainless steel jewellery (and free shipping within Australia)

Dealsdirect.com.au - good prices for home wares and toys. I bought a pair of stools with free shipping the other week.

The US based West Elm and Pottery Barn now ship to Aus so I'll be visiting them regularly.

One of my favourite shops is Typo and they have just launched their online shop.

Baby Zone Direct have the lowest prices on a number of baby products and toys, especially on their rocking horses. Michaela received this gorgeous doll pram when her sister was born.

Next have a lovely range of clothes and offer free shipping.

3 months

Harper is 3 months old today. She continues to be an absolute joy- she smiles constantly, 'talks' to her sister and is starting to put hands/ bibs/ whatever-is-in- reach into her mouth! The only 'issue' is that she possets/vomits regularly; her clothes and bibs are soaked and nappy changing is a juggle between nappies, wipes and tissues. But none of that matters when she's this cute!

A new commitment

Having a new baby, caring for a toddler and trying to run a house means that I currently flake out on the couch around 8.30 every evening. I know that things will settle into more of a routine soon (PLEASE start sleeping through the night, Harper!!) and in turn I look forward to having more energy and being better company in the evenings!

Except for a couple of little softies, I haven't really done very much sewing since before Harper was born. I miss it. So, I'm setting myself a little goal of a project a week. It might be a softie, a piece of clothing or just some crafty project for the house, whatever I chose from week to week, I'm making a commitment to complete it!!

Here's this week's project from Cluck Cluck Sew- a petal pillow. Check back soon for my petal pillow (and whether I honoured my commitment!)