Browsing Category

Home & Family

Home & Family, Make It Perfect, Wonderland

.When she turns 7 its all about roses.

Lil turned 7 on Sunday. It was a weekend of celebrations, with little girls over for a birthday party, crafts, games and lots and lots of cake!
For months Lil has been asking me to make her a dress that touches the ground. I thought a birthday dress would be the perfect opportunity to grant her wish and I let her loose in my fabric stash to choose any fabric she wanted. I wasn’t expecting it to be so classic and floral. Apparently when you turn 7 flowers are very important – particularly roses. I bought this fabric (Tilda by Norwegian designer Tone Finnanger) half price when my local fabric store recently closed down. It is beautiful, but not my usual style so I was surprised when Lil choose it and tried to sway her towards something else but she wouldn’t budge! 
Then I spent an evening looking through my patterns and Ottobre magazines trying to find a maxi-length dress with no luck when it dawned on me that I could easily turn my Wonderland pattern into a maxi dress! I’m not sure why I haven’t made more of these dresses for Lil – the last one I made for her was when she was 4. I think I must have forgotten about it, but am planning on making a few more soon. It is such a sweet dress, a little bit fancy but not too over the top. Quite a quick sew too, the bodice is fully lined and the sleeve edges and hem of the dress are niftily hemmed using a ribbon or other trim. We choose this pink crocheted lace. Lace, too, is apparently important in the eyes of a 7 year old girl.
To turn the dress into maxi length: first, I made the bodice and tried it on Lil. Then I measured how long I wanted the skirt to be from the bottom of the bodice to the floor and added seam allowances. I decided to gather the top of the skirt instead of pleats and sewed the skirt onto the bottom of the bodice using the regular method of attaching a skirt with right sides together instead of attaching the skirt to the outside of the bodice as the pattern instructs.
After I had finished the dress, I thought it would look nice with a strip of lace around the bottom of the bodice too, so sewed that on. And to make things faster I opted for snaps down the back of the dress instead of buttons!
Lil is over the moon. And the dress actually looks a lot cuter than I thought it would to start with. A bit “Little House on the Prairie” but I’m happy that she looks like a little girl and prefers to wear clothes like this rather than styles that are meant for teenagers!
To kick things off there was a birthday party on the weekend with her school friends and a couple of cousins. We had 13 little girls here and they were so cute and lovely to have around. We decided on a “make your own jewellery” themed party and thought it would be fun for the girls to do some crafting together.
This free printable from Willowday was perfect to set the theme for the invitations. 
I set up lots of beads, buttons and jewellery supplies on the table and after a game of pass-the-parcel the girls sat and made necklaces and rings. I also had a bowl of fruit loops with some twine to make an edible necklace – which was more popular than the beads! The girls didn’t spend as much time crafting as I thought but didn’t want to play any more games and were happy just playing together and snacking on party food for the rest of the time.

Lil wanted a strawberry cake so I made her a very pink cake (mixed a packet of strawberry jelly crystals into a butter cake) and swirled icing “roses” with a piping bag then Lil sprinkled hearts, pearls and coloured sugar over the top.

We always have a cake for Sunday night family dinner at Mum and Dad’s house and she wanted more strawberries so I went crazy with a quadrupole layered sponge filled with strawberries and cream to feed the troops. Yummo!
 
And that wraps up another birthday in the Coward family!
 
BIRTHDAY DRESS SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Wonderland pattern
Tilda Rosalie in deep blue
Pink crochet lace trim
August 5, 2014
Home & Family

.Taking Stock #1.

Making: dresses galore…for a couple of new patterns to be revealed very soon!

Cooking: a butterscotch self-saucing pudding for Sunday night dessert.

Drinking: Ecco. I don’t know what made me want it all of a sudden, but I remember my parents and grandparents drinking it all the time and I’m hooked!


Reading: The Fault in Our Stars. I finished this book in 3 days (fast for me!). It was so good. Easy to read, super sad. I was sobbing on the couch at 1am one night trying to get it finished! I don’t read much anymore, I love reading but don’t make time for it like I used to so it was a nice break to stick my nose in a book for a bit.

Wanting: a new camera lens. Has been on the “wish list” for a long time…still waiting…

Looking: foward to moving into our new house at the end of the year.

Playing: with my new overlocker. Seriously…the best sewing purchase I have ever made. Did I mention it threads itself and has automatic tension? It is AMAZING!!!

Deciding: on what knitting pattern to tackle next. I’m swaying towards a shawl.
Wishing: that I could spend less time at the computer and more time on things that I want to do.
 
Enjoying: Tangellos. One of favourite fruits.

Waiting: for the kids to go back to school so I can get back into routine and stop eating so many delicious and naughty treats!

Liking: that I washed the floors yesterday.
 
Wondering: what to sew next for myself out of my long list of selfish sewing projects. This pattern may win.
 
Loving: this photo with my Mum and sisters.
 
Pondering: my brain is too tired to ponder.
 
Considering: carpet and paint colours for the new house. Too hard to choose.
 
Watching: Thursday night Suits.
 
Hoping: that Harvey sleeps past 7am for the last morning of the school holidays tomorrow.
 
Marvelling: at the world we are blessed with.
 
Needing: to start exercising again.

Smelling: cold, crisp air outside – it’s going to be a frost tonight.
 
Wearing: my boots. Pretty much every day. My Winter accessory.

Following: one of my favourite inspirations on Instagram: @confettis
 
Noticing: little fingerprints – everywhere! How does such a small person leave a trail wherever he goes?

Knowing: that children grow up too fast.
 
Thinking: I need to go on a fabric-buying fast. My stash is out of control.
 
Feeling: the sun. A Winter’s day blessing when the sun comes out and the house gets hot without the heater and the kids can play outside.
 
Admiring: All of the lovely makes in my Make It Perfect Pattern Parade.

Sorting: through the giant pile of Lego on the sewing room floor. Oscar and I decided that it would be easier to find pieces if we sorted the Lego into colour groups…what was I thinking?! Like any project, once I’m committed I’m in for the long haul and find myself sorting little plastic blocks through out the day!

 

Buying: from online shops is addictive and dangerous! Especially when you live away from decent shops…particuarly bad after midnight when tiredness fogs your better judgement!
 
Getting: meal plans ready for the next two weeks.
 
Bookmarking: ideas for Lil’s “make your own jewellery” themed 7th birthday party. Like these cute invitations we made with a free download from here.
 
Disliking: sad news on the TV.
 
Opening: cookbooks. I haven’t used a real cookbook for a long time.
 
Giggling: at Tommy’s funny little conversations today. Like how his bran is really in his elbow and his stomach is in his head.

Feeling: sad because I stopped breastfeeding Harvey when I wasn’t ready. But he chipped his top tooth and it now has a really sharp edge that was so painful when he fed. Another chapter over.

Snacking: Saladas with butter. So good!

Coveting: the lovely Summery photos showing up from the other side of the world on my Instagram feed.

Wishing: for a cleaning fairy to come and scrub my house.
 
Helping: 5 people at the same time. Mums (and wives) are tricky like that!
 
Hearing: talking, laughter, playing, fighting from 4 little ones who have been on school holidays for just long enough…I think we are all ready for back to school routine on Tuesday!

A glimpse of my happenings Inspired by Meet Me At Mikes “Taking Stock” prompts.

July 20, 2014
Home & Family, Ottobre

.Harvey Charles: 12 months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well here we are – 12 months! Bittersweet for Mama…I love little babies and would have many more if they stayed little forever – the real hard work starts when they are moving and talking and wanting. Harvey was such a lovely baby too, full of snuggles and smiles (the memories of constant spew and bad sleeping are quickly fading…) and now here he is, a big one year old.

A big one year old with two front teeth! I love it when babies get teeth later, it seems so much easier when they are eating and chewing foods to soothe their sore gums. I didn’t even notice Harvey was teething until they popped through one day! And then two weeks later we noticed four teeth at the top were making their way down too. Now we have a cute, toothy one year old.

A couple of weeks before Harvey’s birthday he mastered walking – he got it so quickly too, in the morning he started taking a few wobbly steps and by that evening he was toddling from one end of the house to the other. And he hasn’t stopped since. We call him The Destroyer.

In the last few weeks Harvey has destroyed more things than any of my other children have in their lifetime! A full bottle of Jaron’s aftershave smashed all over the bathroom floor, a remote control in the toilet, deodorant in the toilet, ceramic platter smashed, cake stand smashed, melamine bowls broken in half, massive container of rice tipped onto the kitchen floor multiple times…it goes on. And he always follows with a cute little “uh-oh” and I can’t help but smile.

We have a family chant where we sing “Harvey, Harvey, Harvey…” over and over again and Harvey will stop what he is doing, drop to his knees or all fours and rock back and forth like he is dancing. Now, he calls the shots and has started singing the chant to us until we join in then he starts clapping and dancing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvey was born with big lips and I have always been expecting them to slim down as he get bigger, but they are still there and still as kissable as ever. And his chubby cheeks that get rounder and wider when he smiles. I love them.

 Little boy,  you are a pure delight. Thankyou for choosing our family and bringing us so much joy x

 
 
(Rocket top sewn from an Ottobre pattern. It comes from Ottobre 4/2011, Baby Basics T-shirt and the fabric is Rocket Boy knit by Lillestoff.)
June 26, 2014
Home & Family

.Our family Bret + Nancye portrait.

Check it out! We got a family portrait done!

My sister-in-law, Sam is amazingly talented. She can sketch and paint and draw and make practically anything you can imagine and she has a fun business creating custom portraits – Bret + Nancye Portraits.

Getting our family portrait done has been on my to-do list for a looong time, I’m glad it didn’t happen until now though because Harvey is just that little bit bigger now and looks so cute sitting up all straight!

We love it! The kids can’t stop looking at themselves and laughing a their cartoon-like faces. I think it depicts up each of us perfectly and is a fun change from the traditional family photo – and WAY easier than trying to get everyone to look good in the one shot!

I’m waiting for a frame for this one but have it stuck on the wall with some washi tape for now. I got mine printed quite big – 50cm x 60cm and asked Sam to coordinate the colours with another large print that I want to display nearby. 

Here’s another portrait Sam drew of my sister and her little clan for Christmas last year:

I don’t know about you but I am always stuck for presents for our parents – Bret + Nancye portraits are an easy answer and they arrive in a digital format which means you can print them over and over again. Don’t you think they would make a great wedding or engagement present? I like the idea of using them for your annual family Christmas card too.

Visit Bret + Nancye Portraits for more information!!

 
June 24, 2014
Home & Family

.Week 8 at the Block.

Construction of our new house is well under way. It took so long for everything pre-construction to take place that it seems strange that the actual building is going so fast! We are already up to week 8 and hope to be moving in before Christmas – maybe even earlier if things keep running smoothly. The last time I posted about the house was back in March when we were just getting ready to break ground. I do share regular, weekly updates on Instagram though…here’s a look at the weekly progress over the last 8 weeks:
Thought it was time to do a more detailed post about the house and where we are up to now. First of all, here’s the floor plan (click on the image to see it bigger):

Besides running out of bedroom space for our growing family, our main motivation for the new house was so that Jaron can work solely from home. The house is quite a bit bigger than what we are in now and is designed to suit all of our needs…Jaron’s office is directly inside the front door so that when he has clients coming to see him they don’t have to come into the living areas at all. We have separated the rumpus and sewing area with a nib wall which has timber posts dividing the top half, giving privacy but still letting in light and enabling me to easily see out. I think everything else is self-explanatory. (Honestly, I’m the worst at visualising spaces…so glad that Jaron knows what he is doing here! He came up with pretty much everything and I just gave the nod of approval!! Every time I visit the block I discover something new – what? another cupboard here?! All good things though, but I seriously have no clue!)
 
We are using a mostly timber, limestone and polished concrete as the feature finishes of the house (see rendered images of the house in this older blog post). We are drawing on the inspiration of timber, concrete and white for all of our decorating and finishes – VERY different to our bright lime green-inspired house now but I’m looking forward to a change. Instead of a timber deck which requires a lot of maintenance and care, we have opted for polished concrete decks and some polished concrete on the porch, entrance, Jaron’s office, laundry and one toilet. I’m excited about this flooring…part of the concrete areas have had a first polish and it is looking great so far. The cleaning and maintenance is going to be so easy too. It’s dirty and patchy at the moment, but will polish up beautifully at the end!

The house has a big band of windows wrapping around the front, it is going to let in so much natural light and be really warm all year ’round too.
 

The back wall of the house is slanted and the iron on the roof will wrap down the wall. The windows in this wall (bedrooms and bathroom) are going to be set back like little portholes in the wall.

 

This is the shed at the back of the house which will also hold our solar panels.
The front of the house:
 

The rumpus room has a sliding door opening onto a covered deck – the kids are really excited about being able to use this as extended play area…I’m thinking a couple of hanging chairs out there would be great – or maybe a swing?!

The back of the house. The entrance to the house is at the back, through the porch:

The end of the house – that’s my big bedroom window there!

 

 

This photo is taken from the furthest corner of the house and kind of shows how much land we have (to landscape – let’s not think about that yet!). We are on 1 acre and it seems like the perfect size land to have great space for the kids to run around on as well as room for some chooks, a vegie garden and orchard.

And here’s a look at the inside frame work. I love the repetition of lines:

No doubt I’ll be back with more as things keep progressing. If you want more regular updates though, keep checking Instagram – I find it so much easier to post day-to-day events there than on the blog now!

June 23, 2014