A quick and easy Father's Day gift idea...

With our newest family member only just being born last week, Father's Day was the furtherest thing from my mind! However, after looking in my craft supplies, I decided I had everything I needed to make a quick and easy Father's Day gift for hubby from the our two boys....

You will need

• coloured/scrapbooking paper of your choice
• a frame of your choice
• stick-on letters and/or chipboard letters
• rub-on heart or cut out your own from paper
• ink pad
• glue (i used mod podge)
• and a pen
• scissors

I wanted to show hubby how little our boys hands are at the moment and soon they will grow and grow into wonderful young men before we know it. I hope that this little craft project can capture some pretty special moments in time, with our new baby just entering into the world and his big brother showing us how much he has grown and developed in the last couple of months.

I hope that this can inspire you to maybe make something a little unique and fun for Father's Day this year!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful, loving and awesome Dad's out there!

xo Pin It

A brand new creation...

Welcome to the world gorgeous boy, 

Will you be a sailor that shouts "Ahoy"?

Perhaps a lion tamer, 

Or an elephant trainer?

Whatever you decide to be, 

You will always be a gorgeous boy to me.

(copyright J. Crawford)

Last week my little family grew, and we welcomed with love little Charlie into our lives. 

(Who looks the most tired - hee, hee!)

 (So far there has only been lots of kisses and cuddles from big brother! )

We are all so very happy to have this new edition and we are all doing well at this time and want to thank everyone for their love and wishes. 

xo

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38 weeks... tweedle dum, tweedle dee!

Well, I have reached the 38 week mark and can I just say I think I have been ready for this baby to make an appearance since about 32 weeks! So as you can imagine, I may just be a tad over this whole pregnancy get up!!!

Its really interesting 2nd time round... I think I know what to expect with those first signs and symptoms of labour. Last time I woke up in the middle of the night with an almighty period-like pain and 'a show' and it was all go from there on in!!! So this time, every little twinge and twang, I think to myself 'is this it'.

Another extra addition that me and my hubby have to think about is what are we going to do with our first child when baby number two decides to start making its way into the world... We have got plans about who will take him but we didn't counter in the fact that he would have a hacking cough, runny nose and hit a 'terrible-two' phase quite at the most inopportune time!!! I think yesterday, our beautiful son probably scared the bejeebees out of baby bump so that it wants to stay in there a whole lot longer and wait til the hurricane of the outside world calms down!!!

There also seems to be the added pressure this time round of this baby being born of times convenient to everyone else bar mother and baby!! Hubby would like me to wait til after Tuesday because of his work commitments. The midwife and doctor have given me their dates that they are away - so cross those legs honey!! And friends and family have given me dates that they are away or its their birthday so go for it this day!!! Arrrrgh!

But despite all those extra little pressures, I am enjoying feeling my baby kick to reassure me that everything is still as it should be on the inside. It is just the outside world that is a bit crazy!!! I think no matter what time this baby comes, something in the outside world is not going to be right so in the meantime, I'm drinking the rasberry leaf tea, walking as much as I can and tonight there might even have to be a rendevous in the bedroom with hubby to get some extra oxytocin flowing!!!

So i guess you will all have to wait with baited breath to see who 'wins' in the end... I'm thinking it might be baby number two who is the overall winner... what do you think?

xo Pin It

Why my heart melted recently...

This week I received something absolutely beautiful from my Grandpa (also known as Bapa to my family!) First of all, there was a card that said simply...

And in a brown paper bag that came with this note was a gorgeous multi-colored crochet blanket...

Now there is a little story behind all of this but I think, first of all you need to know a little bit about my Bapa who is a bit of legend in our family!

First of all I have wrote a little poem that describes a bit about his life thus far... 

My Bapa fought in World War Two,

Defending our country for me and you.

On his return, 

He had a living to earn.

He became a soldier settler, 

To make his life better. 

He went to Kangaroo Island, 

With his wife, who beared five children.

There they toiled hard, 

To make a home and a working farm.

Although some times were rather tough,

The love that they shared was always enough.

As the family grew, 

And Grandchildren came along too,

I am lucky to hear first hand about those times ago, 

And thank my bapa for the freedom he gave us and for it, I owe. 

My Bapa will be 90 next year. For his 80th birthday he went on a camel trek in the Northern Territory. He is known for his sense of adventure, sense of humour, ability to talk to anyone and his big heart. My husband and I spent New Years Eve last year with my parents and grandparents (i know, i can hear you thinking - how exciting!) We went to a local favorite beach on Kangaroo Island. My Bapa decided to go for a swim - luckily this time he had some boxers with him, he has been known to do the old skinny dip or two in his time!

So that is just a little (tiny in fact) bit about my wonderful Bapa, so you can get to know and love him as much as I do....

Anyway back to the story behind the crochet rug I received from him...

A long time ago I bought my Bapa a hat for Christmas, but it wasn't any ordinary hat, it was one of those ones where you can put your drinks in the side of it and the straw bends down to fit in your mouth. I thought it would be good for him when he was thinking about getting a gopher...

Well, recently Bapa wore that hat to an Art Gallery opening ( don't worry, he wasn't the only one in a crazy hat!) And prizes were awarded for the best hat of the night. Guess who won and got to pick his prize... My Mama was eyeing off a gorgeous glass bowl but much to her dismay, Bapa chose the crochet blanket to "keep the baby WARM" because I had gave him the hat all those years ago!

So that is why my heart has melted in the last couple of weeks. I am extremely lucky to still have my Bapa who I love and adore. I can't wait to wrap my newborn baby in its very special rug and I cant wait for it to meet its 'Greatest' Grandpa for the very first time. 

xo

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Take a blank canvas...

Well today I have been lucky to have a day of ironing, cooking and creating!!!

So I thought I would show you all my process in making a blank canvas into a mixed media creation!

First of all I take a blank canvas.

Then I added some old dress pattern paper with some Mod Podge. I found a whole wad of pattern paper in a second hand store for about $4.

Next I added some rub-ons, embellishments, doodles, paper cut-outs, stamps. ANYTHING that INSPIRES me!

Then I added my chipboard cut-out. I coloured it with stamp ink and then added a little bling to cover up a dodgy part of the chipboard.

And wonderbah - MY FINAL PRODUCT!

So, why not have a go yourself and see what you come up with???

Or
You can find my final product for sale in my Etsy shop. A perfect gift for a sewer or crafter to hang in your inspirational haven. Or a gorgeous gift for anyone that needs a bit of brightness and love in their life.


xo

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One of those days..

Today is one of those 'burst into tears at any moment' kind of days! It is not because I am particularly sad about anything in particular but I think I am just a bit over it!!!

I'm over not sleeping soundly! Last night I woke every 2 hours as this 36 week old baby kicked, punched or squelched my bladder in two! And then when I did get back to bed- do you think I could get comfortable! I woke up with very sore hips where my widening sides dented into the bed!

I'm over having to be a referee! My beautiful boy has decided that being the Alpha male in social situations is a good thing?! I have spent this morning hauling him away from every other kid in sight as he decides that pushing and shoving is the way to perfect harmony! Meanwhile I am going through the age old questions of 'how come as a mother do I don't have the perfect child? Am I not giving my child enough attention? Am I giving him too much attention? YADA, YADA, YADA the self doubt continues!! Everyone does assure me that that my biffo boy is just going through a STAGE, which I am sure is the case, but still I would much rather he be the perfect little boy to everyone - high expectations MUCH!!!

Anyhoo, rant and whinge over! Life is actually not that bad, i still get loving cuddles and cheeky smiles from my little (temporary) Alpha male and this little baby inside me will be out into the big wide world soon. So for now I might just try and follow the following quote...

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Lucky me!

Everyday I get a daily truth email from www.bravegirlsclub.com which sometimes I read if I'm needing a little booster and sometimes I just skip past if I don't think I need a pep-up for the day.
The other day I got one that just clicked in my heart and head straight away and i thought i would share it with you today...

So with the above email in mind, i was lucky enough to have an overnight trip to Adelaide. It was JUST ME, doing some things that totally absorbed me in happiness!

I went shopping FOR ME...

and actually bought two pairs of shoes... that never happens in one sitting!!!
I went out for Tapas with my sister...

and my sister and I went shopping the next day... JUST US!

We had coffee and cake...

we went and got pampered...

I also got some more supplies to keep my happiness levels up for when I got home...

I had two really lovely days of total indulgence JUST FOR ME! Now I am home again with my two beautiful boys, and its back to getting meals ready, giving baths and trying to decode the male species.
At least now I am refreshed from the simple joys I've had and I can give more of myself to the people I love in the days and weeks ahead.

I would love to hear from my readers about what calls to you and what you are good at? And maybe you can realise these things for yourself and every now and then, you can absorb yourself in total happiness to rebalance your life.

xo

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