Sew crazy...

 

Mum went away recently and I borrowed her sewing machine - I had pinned a lot of sewing projects so just wanted to see if I could make things! I made a couple of dolly nappies, a reversible bag and stayed up to 2am in the morning making a dress for Madeline (with Ollie's moral support).

 

 

 

 

The dress is quite sweet - but a little big - I was pinning it here to take it up.

 

 

It was good fun! I have a book of Softies to make next time I borrow the machine.

This week...

 

Earthborn were having a sale this week, 50% off. I picked up this cabinet (originally $600) for less than 50% at $150!

 

 

The blue and white pot looks stunning with lilies! And one of my favourite pictures of MK and I.

 

 

I went to the Magnolia sale and bought some Schumacher Trelllis off cuts for $4. Mum is going to sew it into a runner for me for the little cabinet above. Gosh I would love to buy it to make roman blinds for the front room.

 

 

My first issue of House Beautiful arrived - a subscription from my in-laws. A chair sporting a practice cover and a new fiddle-leaf fig from Bunnings.

 

 

Bed looking comfy - picture still to be framed!

Cross Bench

 

Sooo, I was on instagram again and stumbled across a lady whose husband had made a cross bench to be adorned with fabric etc. for her bedroom.

 

And I thought - ADAM COULD DO THAT! Haha!

 

I have seen the benches quite frequently on Pinterest but to buy one locally or to import one, the costs are ludicrous. So I asked Adam, he said it would be easy - he just needs time. (Don't we all).

 

I had a quick look on Pinterest and found some good examples:

 

A longer studded one:

 

A shorter studded one:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tufted one:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And in situ:

 

 

Now just to find him some of that time...

Cheap chair project!

Not your traditional ladder backs but I picked up these maple chairs from eBay for a bargain. I was looking for something with a fabric component after seeing the following images of chairs by Anna Spiro.

Amazing, right?!

Imagine a long lunch, with champagne and good friends around this setting!

Ikea has some hardy check fabrics, I pick the chairs up on Saturday so I'll be able to see what I'm up against. Even to use as hall chairs? We will see.

Adam can't help but roll his eyes at my chair obsession!

A beautiful party for our babes!

So the party has been and gone and we all had a wonderful time! It was perfect weather and despite my concerns about the kids being entertained, they played happily on Adam's playground and kept themselves busy! There was more than enough food and the cake that Jean made was nothing short of AMAZING! 

Maddy and Will had a great time, young Will was so overtired but refused to nap for a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out)!

After all the guests left our neighbours came over and we reclined in the backyard while Maddy jumped away. Took this on my iPhone and it really was the perfect ending to a perfect day. I'm proud of myself for not getting too stressed and enjoying the day.

Planning a Picnic Party!

Madeline and William are celebrating birthdays this weekend! It's going to be a big party outside on the fort so praying for sunny weather. The lady who printed Madeline's first birthday invitations was so lovely to deal with, I sent her the following inspiration picture and asked her to come up with something.

I also love the ginormous balloons and have a couple ready to go!

A snapshot of the invite, details removed of course.

I bought some navy and white drill for a table cloth and raided the junk shops for party accessories.

Hopefully it all goes smoothly!

The Backyard - Part 4

There has been more steady progress today with the cubby getting 'built in' and the railings being completed. It is all yet to be stained so it looks uniform but looks pretty amazing! The circle is a plaque that will have an M and W for the kids names.

Looking inside, Madeline has a few cheap cushions from Ikea to sit on. Mum has been commissioned  to make some curtains!

Very nearly finished and looking fabulous!

The Backyard - Part 3

It has taken a while (see Part 1 and Part 2) but Adam finally has some time to continue building a fort in the kids play area.

It is taking great shape and Madeline is very impressed with her 'castle'.

The views are spectacular!

Adam has been creative in the roof line and the stairs. It's looking fantastic!

Admiring his handiwork with the kangaroo. 

We are hoping that it will be fit and ready for the kids birthday party at the end of May. I'm envisioning lanterns and balloons tied to the fort and a picnic party.

We are so lucky to have a visionary and clever husband/Dad! To be continued on Wednesday.

Photos, photos!

Following on from the fridge situation post, Adam has hung the magnetic boards for me. I think they look fabulous and I already love them. They are already covered! 

I'm so pleased to have somewhere to put random photos.

The Fridge Situation...

Is out of control. I have thousands of pictures on disk but I just love having prints to look at. Most aren't frame worthy but I still love them. Am I alone in this?! Ha!

So I've been eyeing off a blank wall in our kitchen... I originally wanted a cabinet for here but practically, it would obstruct the doorway.

I thought maybe I could get some magnetic boards from Ikea (SPONTAN) and arrange them on the wall in this style as below...

(IKEA SPONTAN)

I had thought about a display board like this, but I would probably have to make it and it might have ended up on the pile of unfinished projects.

So on Friday night, Mum and I took Will to Ikea and bought some supplies. It's so nice to have a bare fridge! Adam is yet to hang them so watch this space... It looks great!

Front Deck

Our house faces west so our front deck is prone to the full brunt of the afternoon sun. When Adam bought the house the previous owners had lacquered the deck and lacquer/full sun do not go together!

This is particularly bad patches. It was peeling and accumulated dust easily, a mess really!

Adam had been waiting for a chance to sand and oil it himself but like every other job, has no time. He got a quote from the handyman who painted our house and it was $250 for labour plus materials. It came to about $500 in total. We had to move all the deck furniture inside!

The sanding progress.

The finished product after being oiled. It is great that it's even tone, but I don't like the colour of it! We are hoping to stain it with a different oil so it isn't so light/yellowish. Or maybe I'm just used to the old way it used to be! 

Madeline's Room - More bits and pieces!

As always, still buying bits and pieces for the unending project that is Madeline's room. My latest purchase is a $10 bedside table from Gumtree. Have to love that!  It's perfect and solid, nothing a good lick of paint won't fix.

I also purchased some crystal knobs from ebay to fancy her Ikea Hemnes drawers and now her bedside. 20 for $23.10 (including postage) - I'm holding my breath hoping they are ok!

And while I've been catching up on old magazines, I love this girly room - the yellow looks so fresh - I'm half tempted to paint the bedside yellow! I could always give it a try?! ;)

And lastly, a new addition to Madeline's picture wall, a pink heart mirror from Kmart for $5. Can't beat that!

Botticelli House

Instagram has been such a wonderful tool for discovering new places and people and I have absolutely loved finding people who love interiors as much as I do!

I started following Di from French Loving Wretch a while ago, her home was absolutely stunning and I adored every image she posted. It seemed that she had a large following from the beginning and used it to her advantage and entered business buying treasures from UK/France and importing them. The best thing is she only buys things she would be happy to have in her own home and the prices are absolutely reasonable.

Just a small sample!

I am dying over this table for our entryway. 

A little watercolour made it's way home, $20! How sweet.

A small piece for Madeline's room akin to a hamper. To be painted and recovered. Quite sweet also.

She's embarking on another buying trip again soon to source more 'bits and pieces'. I can't wait to visit again!