Whats New !

Y and I managed to get a photoshoot in this morning. I have to say I am loving some of the colours with these beautiful fabrics I got in Malaysia. Thought I would share a couple of my favourite pics with you all. This dress is so simple. The fabric moves in the most beautiful way. The colours are to die for.

I love this simple shot of the neckline

On the left here you can just see the outline of the embossed flower - it's a lovely detail.

This top I actually made a couple of months ago but never got around to photographing it. J has modelled it beautifully today and Y has captured it in this photograph. Once again it is a simple design but with a nice frill detail on the sleeve. It flows beautifully and I think it goes great with denim and lace.

I want one of these for moi !!!!!!

MASTERCHEF !!!!!!!

Yesterday, before I got stuck into sewing for Mammas Markets, I did some cooking. I cook every day (except on weekends when my husband takes over - yay!). It was our dinner which we eventually ate that evening, but firstly it had to get photographed for a new magazine that is about to hit the Sunshine Coast. I can't say too much more at the moment but I can give you a sneak peek. I just hope that the photos they took look better than mine. My husband had the great idea of using the banana leaf on the platter. Two minutes before the photographer is due to arrive I plate up and then take this photo, I SMS it to my husband with the message HELP !!! I was struggling to get it looking right. He suggested the asparagus were too long, and there was too much chicken on the platter. And I hear a knock at the door, the photographer has arrived, it's too late. I feel like a contestant on the Masterchef - my time is up, and I have to stand away from the dish. So, that was that, the best thing was no-one had to taste it - what a relief. Actually, it wasn't too bad, I have cooked it a thousand times before, it's my mother-in-laws recipe, a home styled szechuan chicken dish that you cannot buy in a restaurant. I have to say though that my husband can cook it a thousand times better than me, maybe he should have been the star chef. I will post the recipe on my blog when I get around to typing it up - one day !

What have you been eating lately !

We went out for breakfast recently to here. It's my favourite breakfast spot on the sunny coast. The view is to die for, great wait staff, lovely decor and the food is also pretty fabulous. Lucy enjoys her kids serve of pancakes, maple syrup and cream....

I had the sweet corn fritters, bacon, balsamic vinegar (not the cheap stuff) and avocado salsa. Yum Yum. Oh, also, the best ever expresso iced coffee I have ever tried.

Then on Sunday we were invited to a friends place for lunch. We ate this beautiful pear tart (after the main meal - sorry my pics are out of order here).

And also this French chicken dish created by Gordon Ramsay (but reproduced to perfection by Esther)

The berries accompanied the pear tart and there was cream too. A few glasses of white wine, children playing and happy chatter - a lovely end to the weekend.

Amys new home

Well I have finally decided where Amy (my softie from the recent softie swap) should live. She has her place on my bed, with my pillow I made from a Japanese Kimono. I thought the orange and pink in the cushion matched nicely with Amys dress and shoes, so here she will stay. Plus it's the only way that I may stand a chance of keeping my daughter from playing with her - she is mine after all !!!!!

Softie Swap is complete and my doll has a name

Well here they are - Amy on the left and Olivander on the right - the results of the recent Clip Cafe Softie Swap. I made the owl for my softie swap partner Allie - and she made Miss Amy for me. I think I got the better deal.

I took a quick pic of them together before I sent Olivander off on his flight to Victoria to his new home where I am sure he will be happy. I have just decided on the name Amy - earlier today the name Amy was floating around in my head. Then I received an email from Allie to tell me that her parcel had arrived, and that her daughter AMY liked the little flower that I popped on his butt. So there it is, Amy is the name for my beautiful new doll. The softie swap has been lots of fun, it's so lovely to get a complete surprise in the mail. I'm looking forward to the next one. But in the meantime I think I need to get some practice in on softies.....

Want a lollypop ???

I ONLY HAVE GREEN ONES !!!

I have to introduce you to Kristy from Green Lollypop. She will have you drooling for one of her Green Lollypop designs.

Wall art for your childrens bedroom - so cute, and she posts for free - how fantastic is that !!!

She has designs for both boys and girls, and this is just the beginning of her new collection. What a great idea for a gift for a newborn or a christmas gift for your little one.

Follow the link above to her website, you'll be glad you did.

Mammas Markets - December 18th at Buderim

I have started sewing madly for the Mammas Markets coming up in December at Buderim. This is a sneek peak of the skirts I will be taking along to sell - a cute little chenille skirt complete with heart applique. Lucy loves it - its so comfortable and soft to wear. I am planning also to make some matching beach bags from the chenille complete with matching appliques.

Don't forget, this is a great opportunity to get yourself some special christmas gifts for friends and family and you can support the local crafties at the same time. Why give mass produced stuff when you can give a unique gift handmade with love.

My Softie Swap has arrived and she needs a name

My first ever softie swap, co-ordinated by the Clip Cafe, is now complete. I have received my beautiful doll from Allie - and I have now posted my softie off to her - of course I cannot say what it is as she has not received it yet. I have to say I am nervously awaiting her response - as I feel my softie is a bit of a let down in comparison to this beautiful doll she has sewn for me. Receiving a doll like this for my very own makes me feel like a little girl again and now I just need to find her a name. If anyone has any good suggestions, please leave me a comment.

Next week I will post pics of the softie I created for Allie - stay tuned !

THE WINNER OF MY RECENT GIVEAWAY IS.......

MONKEEMOOMOO !!!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO MONKEEMOOMOO. You get to choose a skirt from any one of the following fabrics pictured below in a size of your choice (size 1 - 8). Just email to let me know which fabric you have chosen and what size you like and I will whip it up in the next week or so. Thanks everyone for your participation, I have enjoyed looking at the blogs you all suggested in your comments whilst sitting here with my broken foot with nothing else to do - it was tough !!!!!!

1. Green and cream floral

2. pink, yellow, blue, green floral

3. green, yellow and blue floral

4. pink, yellow, mauve floral

5. lime, yellow and mauve floral

6. red and yellow floral

7. red, green, pink, yellow coral

Z is for Zac

This was a custom order I did for the 1st birthday of a friends nephew. An Amy Butler gumdrop cushion is a great gift for a childs birthday or Christmas, especially if you personalise it with their name and use fabrics geared towards children. My kids have one each in our TV room and they love them. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Haiti kids receive dolls

I just wanted to share this story I found this morning whilst searching for ideas for my Softie Swap on The Clip Cafe. I came across this lady called Sarah from dolly donations, and she has a heart of gold. Follow the link here to see what she is doing for the children in Haiti. It's very touching and I have to say it's so wonderful that there are people like her on the earth. She wanted to make 180 dolls to send to the kids in Haiti, she ended up with over 500 dolls from generous ladies around the globe.

Great tutorial from Made for upcycling hubbys business shirts

I love upcycling. This was my first attempt using the tutorial (see link below) from Dana-Made-It. I used a Ralph Lauren shirt so the fabric quality was first class.

Contrasting sleeve detail

attempt number 2 - a boring plain grey shirt, transformed with a bit of imagination. I just happened to have an old blouse that was torn and the colours blended beautifully. So I upcycled my shirt into new sleeves

and a decoration for the hemline

Follow this link , it is a lot of fun.

I have stooped so low as to ask my friends to donate their hubbys shirts to me instead of the op shop (they do say that charity begins at home). This is my favourite shirt dress using one of my husbands old gingham style YSL business shirts.

I used the label from inside the shirt as a decoration on the back of the dress. I also added some shirring at the sides and back of the waist area to give definition. The finished dress was simple but classic. You could replace the plain white buttons with coloured ones to jazz it up. You could add an applique or just a simple yo-yo to the front if your princess wants it to be more girly. It is amazing how some of the really masculine fabrics can look very groovy with just a bit of imagination.

If you have done one of these shirt dress or something similar before, please email me a picture or a link of where you got the idea from and I will post it on my blog.

Another Giveaway from The Clip Cafe

Here is an opportunity to be a winner. Pop over here and enter yourself in the Clip Cafes latest Giveaway, win yourself a lovely piece of fabric from the Robert Kaufman collection.

HURRY !!! TOMORROW THE GIVEAWAY CLOSES

JUST A REMINDER TO ALL YOU READERS (INTERNATIONALS INCLUDED) THAT TOMORROW IS THE CLOSING FOR MY CURRENT GIVEAWAY.

THERE ARE A LOT OF READERS WHO HAVE NOT BECOME FOLLOWERS OR LEFT COMMENTS YET SO THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW - YOU MAY JUST WIN A PRIZE.........

(Click on the Giveaway Icon on my sidebar to direct you to the giveaway post)

Beautiful T-shirt Dresses

I had a look at a few of the blogs today that you all kindly suggested in your comments for my current Giveaway. Lil Blue Boo was suggested by A Christy Production. You have to take the time and go check this one out. She makes gorgeous t-shirt dresses, beautifully photographed and they are so unique. Definitely worth it. Follow the link here to see what I'm talkin bout !

Old Photo brings much joy

1965 Ballarat

I had a couple of emails yesterday from a very old family friend which kinda got me feeling homesick for my family, as they all live far away. I decided to have a look at some old family photos and I came across this beautiful photo of my parents. It was taken in 1965 in Ballarat Victoria. Dad had driven mum from Kerang across to Ballarat to buy her wedding dress for their wedding in August 1965. They were running across a street in the rain and a local newspaper journalist snapped this happy picture. My Dad was very trendy dressed in his stovepipe pants and Beatle boots - with his Beatles hairstyle that he cut for himself. He was not a hairdresser but all his mates in town used to line up and he would cut their hair for them in the style made popular by none other than THE BEATLES. Mums looks so beautiful with her hair immaculate and that beautiful smile and look of youth (she was just 18). Her shoes are to die for and I would love to have that basket she was carrying and the coat she is wearing. Mum always dressed beautifully and as a little girl I remember her and Dad would often go out to a dinner dance. She would look beautiful wearing one of her beautiful long halter neck dresses and big wedge platform shoes with green velvet butterflies on them. I so wanted to grow up and dress just like her. Mum and Dad have just recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. Last year my dad was diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma (brain tumour). He is doing well having endured surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. He is in remission and for this we are very greatful. I too am in remission from ovarian cancer, it will be five years soon which is a big milestone. Ovarian cancer is silent, it invades your body quietly without obvious symptoms, and before you realise it, it is too late. I am one of the lucky ones who, with an early diagnosis, undoubtedly has been saved from an early demise. It is very hard to watch a loved one go through the trauma of cancer and in particular the treatments that are so harrowing. But my Dad and I are survivors of cancer at this moment in time and this is an unspoken bond that we now share. Only we know how we feel and how cancer has affected our lives forever. But there is still joy in each and every day and so many more things I want to do before it is my time to leave this life.

Finally more pictures from Singapore /Malaysia Holiday

The pool at the Hard Rock Cafe where we stayed was amazing - they had a lovely beach pool with amazine white silicone sand and little canals leading in all directions. There was also an amazing lap pool which was so long I couldn't complete a lap in one go, there was a slide and it was the highlight of the hotel. The Hard Rock Cafe also serves the best Nachos I have ever eaten. Give it a go ! Universal Studios - the big spinning globe

Inside Universal Studios

The Far Away Castle (Shrek)

We swam in this pool lots (cousins house)

Soft steamed bun with salted duck egg inside - it is beautiful

Have you ever had an icecream sandwich before, I hadn't until now and I have to say it was fantastic - this was for sale on Orchard Road, Singapore

The best ever egg tarts - you must try these !

Putra Jaya - Malaysia. They build it big here.

The famous Durian fruit - this was my fourth trip to Malaysia and I finally was able to stand in the same room as one of these fruits. The smell is very overpowering and the taste horrendous to most westerners palates. I am starting to conform and actually ate about 3 or 4 mouthfuls this time. It's a definite improvement.

We stayed here for three glorious days - It was a missionary bungalow up high in the Cameron Highlands - it was lovely and cool, beautiful scenery and the old bungalow was built in 1937 - it was really lovely.

Malaysia and Singapore really is all about the food. We did things other than eat, but the whole day is planned around food. The sad thing was my camera started playing up and not focusing properly so I have very few good photos to share from this trip. Sorry it is mostly about food, but, that really is the highlight over there, plus of course the shopping.