What i've got planned...

I know it's been a while since my last post, but as I slowly recover from sleep deprived abyss of a newborn, I feel like I can somewhat think normally again. I am starting to look ahead to the distant future rather than just when baby no. 2 needs his next feed!

I have got all these exciting things I want to do and try such as...

Upcycle this chest of drawers...

Organise every part of my house into some sort of order from the chaos!

Enjoying the three boys in my life...

And i have decided to take part in Blogtoberest 2012 which is where bloggers make a pledge to post a blog everyday in october! I am not sure if the sleep deprivation has really got to me with this insane idea but hey, if i am serious about this blogging business then i might as take the bull by its horns and run like mad!

but most of all i really want to make this blog work for me and try and figure out how to make it bigger and better. So any tips and hints would be really appreciated!

And don't worry (mainly directed at my family!), I will take it at my own speed so it doesn't all take over my life and make me one 'anxious Annie'. 

So hopefully, the future ahead will be exiting and fun. I hope you can join me along this journey of motherhood, crafting and crazy blogging!

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What would your child do for an M & M?

My hubby had a list of things he wanted to get done while he was on his two weeks paternity leave - one of those things was to get our two and a half year old to pedal his little red retro trike. 

Hubby firstly got rid of the old plastic trike with no pedals - to which our son was clued up to and had a little tantrum when he couldn't find it anywhere in the backyard. 

Next, Hubby used all his natural powers of persuasion to get our son firstly to get on the red trike and secondly to use the pedals to ride the trike properly. But to no avail. Our son continued to sit on the trike and use his feet on the ground to make that trike move.

Finally, hubby had, had enough and out came another form of fatherly persuasion - the M & M bribe...

As I sat watching and (admittedly) openly laughing at what was happening before me, I saw our son begin to obey his fathers commands. I thought to myself that my son might actually begin to bark like a dog! 

My son sat on the trike.... "for a treat". Then hubby put the treats back in his pocket and my son nearly pulled Daddy's pants down to get to another treat. But my son did sit back on his trike when he was told to... "for another treat".

My son then began to pedal his bike... "for a treat". And slowly but surely he began to pedal his bike for longer periods of time... and it only took about 10 M & M's!!!! I know this, because Hubby was counting every one of them! 

I find it so amusing how the male species use bribes so blatantly obviously and unashamedly with chocolate or money. I remember as a child, that my own Dad bribed me with money for every goal I scored at netball! (I didn't complain either!)

Whereas, I don't know about the rest of you but when I am going to bribe my child, I try to do it on the sly and with something half educational like stickers or a book!!!! 

In the end, I think every parent bribes their child in one form or another at some time in their life. Sometimes its to get through the day and sometimes its to sign off on one of your 'to do' items while your on paternity leave!

So, what have you asked your child to do for a treat?

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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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