1 week until Father’s Day and if you are anything like me, last minute is the way to go! Thought I’d share some fun ideas that you can make and do to help get ready for next Sunday…
Great idea for a photo
Free printable – funny!
Free printable personalised cards from Moo
Cute!
Tie printables
Cool chocolate block wrapper
Print from Etsy
Clever word art
Love this card!
Awesome Daddy book…my plan this week is to make something similar using the following questionnaires as starting points…
Plenty of cool ideas for you to print/make this week!! Are you organised for Fathers Day or are you like me and have good intentions but leave everything until the last minute?!
What’s the best Fathers Day gift that you have ever given?
(All image sources – and more Fathers Day images/ideas – can be found on my Fathers Day Pinterest Board.)
I was crusing along nicely into my 29th year, happily un-pierced (much to my Father’s delight) when I started making earrings. I thought it was a weird thing to start doing as I couldn’t even wear them myself, but requests were coming in so I obliged.
And then the earrings kept getting cuter and cuter and finally it was decided that it would be done.
So on the last day of 2010, this is what we did. My lovely sister-in-law Ashleigh held my hand and almost fainted and I cringed…don’t believe it when people tell you it doesn’t hurt because IT DOES!
And now that it has been 4 weeks (just!) I’m experimenting with all different kinds of lovelies. So far these Tickle Me Pink ones are the favs, but I still have a whole heap to try out!!
(Photo stolen from Mrs King, and I’m due for a visit to the hairdresser!)
“Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in, it is what God gave you time for.”
We never really get into the spirit of Valentines Day. This year I thought we’d have a few special treats to acknowledge the holiday and start a new tradition in our family.
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED – THANKYOU FOR PARTICIPATING!!
Welcome readers old and new to my Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day post!
If you are new to my blog, I am happy to have you here! The Make It Perfect blog is where I share the craftiness going on in my life – mixed with my favourite recipes, showcasing some of the Cool Shops out there and a few personal bits and pieces.
Make It Perfect is also the name of my sewing pattern range – featuring a whole heap of modern, fresh and funky clothing sewing patterns, some of which are shown below…
And because I like to keep myself busy, I spend a little bit of my spare time creating pretty, vintage-inspired jewellery and accessories for my Citrus Pop stores on Madeit and Etsy…
Okay, now that I’ve introduced you to my goodies, let’s get back to the giveaway…
One lucky winner will score themselves…
FOUR of their favourite SEWING PATTERNS
+
A $20 GIFT VOUCHER to spend on CITRUS POP products!
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. For extra entries, feel free to become a follower of my blog or “like” my Facebook page. Easy!
(Giveaway ends Wednesday 25th May and winner will be drawn randomly.)
Today is a very special day for our family.
My (big) little brother is getting married to his sweetheart.
And sweetheart she is!
The girls in my family are all married off – and to great guys, if I do say so myself!
When your brother gets married though, he is bringing a new girl into the family…girls have to get on or the whole dynamics change drastically.
We all held our breath in anticipation when Ty and Sam were dating and breathed a big sigh of relief when she said YES!
She is perfect (for Ty and us!)…loves our children, is patient, kind and caring. And shares many of our hobbies…crafting, reading, writing.
Congratulations Ty and Sam! I hope your special day is everything you dreamed of and more and am so happy to be sharing it with you!
Yep…today is THE day my book is officially released! If you happen to be in a book store and see it, feel free to take a quick snap and email it to me…that would be cool 🙂
Thank you so much for all of your enthusiasm and support about my book, I really appreciate it and hope that you get many fun hours of sewing from it.
A couple of new book reviews have recently gone up (some of them including giveaways) if you are interested in having a read head over to… Day to Day Red Pepper Quilts Chunky Chooky
I’m back from quilt market, had a ball and met some wonderful people…will do a post (with pitiful photos because I was super slack with the camera) about it in the next couple of days once I recover and get the house cleaned up!
A couple of other good reads…
Rachel (one of my lovely pattern testers) has posted her Afterglow and Playtime Skort photos here and here.
Fiona has posted the outtakes from our photoshoot on her blog – this is why I prefer her taking the photos…she can get unhappy little contenders to look adorable no matter what!!
Oh, and if you are looking for the three new pattens, Elissa at Kelani Fabric has them up and ready for sale now. They should start popping up all over the place very quickly too 🙂
..finally being able to open his Christmas presents… …experiencing Christmas fun for the first time… …reading about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ… …singing special Christmas songs… …sharing Christmas secrets… …giving… …memories…
After spending years teaching the primary children at church I have had my fair share of helping little sons and daughters make their Mums wonky gifts and scratch drawings for Mothers Day. It wasn’t until I had my own children that I realised the meaning of this special day.
After nursery today Oscar came running up to me and handed me a special yellow-envelope-wrapped gift…”Open it Mum, open it. Its your present!” He was so excited for me to praise his cute little handmade card, magnet and flower he had picked from outside for me. So cute, my heart just melted. This is the first time he has been old enough to make something for me and I now understand how much those wonky gifts and scratchy drawings mean to a Mother.
This Mothers Day I feel honoured to be blessed with the responsibility I have as a Mother, to raise my children and shower them with love and encouragement, building them to be caring, loving, charitable people. Some times this responsibility feels daunting and unachievable, but lucky for me I have a wonderful Mother to who has set a perfect example of Motherhood for me to base my Mothering upon. I love you Mum!
Set yourself up for some summer fun with this totally unique summer sun hat!
Whether you are frolicking along the beach, playing at the park, pottering in the garden or enjoying a sunny walk, Lazy Day Hat will be perfect for keeping the harmful rays of the sun off your face and neck.
Lazy Day Hat is totally reversible, giving you two stylish hats in one, a perfect fit for the whole family.
While you’re at it, whip up a quick and easy flower embellishment that can be used to adorn your hat, a bag, hair clip, the top of a present or anything else you desire!
Lazy Day Hats are simple to make and pattern includes sizes small to x-large, catering for infants to large adult heads.
Popping in just before the fun of Christmas Eve to let you know of an awesome Boxing Day Sale I’m taking part in with a group of other Aussie pattern designers!
The sale will run for the whole of the 26th December (Australian Eastern Standard Time). All of my PDF instant download patterns will be 30% off for just 24 hours – the perfect time to stock up on some patterns for a bit of holiday sewing!!
For Valentines Day I couldn’t help but share a picture recently left on the Make It Perfect Flickr group from Pink Lemonade…how cute is this??? The Little Explorer pattern was used to make the red overalls her little man is wearing. So cool…
It was a good day because the kiddies and I slept in until 8:15am instead of their usual 7:00am. That is enough to make the whole day absolutely wonderfully fantastic!
There were 2 ripe, juicy plums for breakfast.
The post man came and in the letterbox he left my complimentary issue of Homespun magazine with my Prairie Satchel project in print! And to top it off…my bag made it on the front cover! Then there was a decent slice of raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake for morning tea whilst I flicked through the mag. Definitely an issue worth purchasing if you are craft-inclined. Homespun seem to be turning a new leaf and have adopted a young, fresh and funky approach…I like it. The bathroom and toilet were cleaned and fresh sheets were put on the bed – it is always a good day when your bed has fresh sheets.
Lots of thoughtful phone calls, emails, facebook messages and text messages from friends and family to wish me a happy day.
It was a good day because even though I did the grocery shopping with the two kidlets in tow (one of my least enjoyable jobs to do when I have company) we did manage to get my favourite car spot in the car park – close to the entrance and not on the hill. Then Oscar and Lil were splendidly behaved throughout the whole shopping experience with Lil only cracking it in the second last aisle instead of the second! And to make a not so good job a little more manageable I treated myself to an easter bunny easter egg because it is a good thing when you can start to eat easter chocolates 2 months before easter. Then special birthday flowers arrived at my doorstep from my very thoughtful husband. The good day got better when Jaron came home from work 1 hour early and we decided to go out for dinner at the park and let the kids run wild while we ate out of cardboard boxes and then came home to a clean house with no dinner dishes to worry about!
If I could have just one more day with you, this is what I would do…
I would knock on your door and let myself in as you are calling out, “I’m in the garden!” and you would be happy to have visitor pop in unexpectedly.
I would sit with you one last time as you show me your photo albums (for the 50th time), and listen as you tell me who everyone is and how they have been a part of your life.
I would follow you around your garden, admiring your talents – tasting the first green bean of the season, ooh and aah over the dahlias in bloom, and help myself to a few handfuls of raspberries and strawberries while you wash a bag full of freshly picked carrots for me to take home. Your garden is your pride and joy.I would cringe as you get the lolly jar down from the top of the fridge and give Oscar and Lil an old marshmallow each – hardened and chewy from sitting there for so long.
I would ask you to teach me how to cook your cream puffs, sponge cake, meringues and jelly bags…Dad has been asking me to get the recipe from you for months…and I haven’t. And now it is too late.
I would teach you, once again, how to work your CD player and then write the instructions down for you so that you can do it for yourself when you are alone. And then you would tell me that it is too confusing and you probably won’t be able to work it out, but could I put some music on for you anyway and make the CD repeat itself so that you don’t have to worry about it later.
I would use your talc-powder smelling bathroom and laugh to myself as I go to the sink to wash my hands and see the basket full of 30-something different shades of lipstick to match every outfit you have.
I would ask you if you have any sponge cake in the fridge, and of course you do. And I would cut myself a big piece and you would sit at the table with me and have a little piece because you have diabeties and probably shouldn’t be having any at all! I would listen as you tell me about your most recent health ailments and complain about your hands…weathered and scarred with sun spots, scratches and cuts and you would remember when they were once young and fair.
I would take a look at your newest clothing purchases. Fuscia-coloured blouses and turquoise slacks.
I would ask you to tell me about when you and Pop first met, about your wedding day, and what it was like being a mother back then. Then we would compare it to what life is like now and realise that some things are better and some aren’t. I would smile as you offer me the latest copy of “Women’s Weekly” magazine after you have teared out the “Gardening by the Moon” page because you swear by gardening by the moon.
I wish there were just one more day to spend with you in your home Nan. Instead I am sitting by your hospital bed and it is quiet. It is hard to talk to someone who doesn’t talk back. I watch your eyes dart furiously around your head, knowing that you are desperately wanting to tell me so much. Are you cold? Tired? Scared? You can only squeeze my hand weakly and look into my eyes.
Your life has been full and rich Nan. What a wonderful family you have produced and an amazing example you are to us. I will always want one more day with you.
The weather has been so unpredictable lately. After a hot and sunny Christmas day, Boxing day was raining and cold. It did fine up at the end of the day though so we headed down to the beach for a family game of evening cricket. We are lucky to have lots of immediate and extended family members with us at the moment, they are all slowly trickling in ready for our family reunion week which starts tomorrow. So far we have 21 people spread out between Mum and Dad’s house and ours. Lots of chatter, laughter and card games being played!
One of my favourite things about living by the beach is not having to pack bags full of stuff. It makes the visit much more pleasant and enjoyable when I haven’t spent the morning getting ready to go and know that we can run home in a couple of minutes if we need to!
Australia Day on Monday was one such occasion. We heard that some friends and family were spending the day there so we joined them for an afternoon of good company, beautiful sunshine and lots of running around for Oscar.
In true Australian style a game of beach cricket was played, how Aussie are the homemade driftwood wickets?? Oscar was delighted when he saw the Corona kids. He loves them soooo much and had a great afternoon with them building sandcastles, playing with balls and running around crazy. The little ones thought it was hilarious when Jackson buried himself in sand and they could torture him! We were going to bring out the lipstick and paint his lips… Cousin Emmy took Lil for a paddle. She didn’t even blink an eye at the cool water, honestly, I don’t think anything will phase this girl – lets hope she stays that way when she is a teenager!
Today Jaron and Oscar took me out for afternoon tea at the Raspberry Farm to celebrate Mothers Day tomorrow (we love going out to eat and will think of any excuse…) It was lovely, Jaron was spoiled with raspberry waffles while Oscar and I had scones with raspberry jam and double cream. Mmmmm. Oscar thought the jam was delicious!! We took a little walk around the farm afterwards to try and get rid of some of the calories!!! My big preggas tummy – 29 weeks now and feeling it! Playing around with our shadows This photo is weird – even though it is a photo, the sun hurts my eyes when I look at it!!
After putting together my last blog post on Fathers Day ideas, I got all motivated to stay up a little bit longer and make up some Fathers Day cards for you to use!
I’ve been enjoying playing around on Photoshop lately making up some prints – I’m by no means a pro, but when I come up with ones that I’m happy with, I’ll be sharing them with you on my blog as free printables!
So, here are two different colour versions of my Fathers Day “DAD ROCKS” card. You can click directly on the images and drag them to your desktop to print out and use as you wish, or click on the links below for a ready to print, cut and fold card.
Click here to download the “DAD ROCKS” Fathers Day card in GREY
Click here to download the “DAD ROCKS” Fathers Day card in BLUE
I hope you enjoy these free printables – feel free to do what ever you wish with them 🙂 And for those of you on the other side of the world, maybe you’ll save them for Fathers Day next year!
And the last Poppy Tunic in the parade is for moi! Well, it’s the last for a few weeks anyway, I’ll definitely be sewing up MORE! I’ve been wearing this one to death. It is by far the most comfortable, go-anywhere outfit I own at the moment.
I’m really looking forward to seeing some customer creations using this pattern. Remember you can always upload them into my Flickr group or send me an email of your finished product – it’s always so inspiring to see what you’ve sewn!
Popping in just before the fun of Christmas Eve to let you know of an awesome Boxing Day Sale I’m taking part in with a group of other Aussie pattern designers!
