Baby Shower Makings 3.0

The third (and last for now) baby shower happened over the weekend. This one for a baby boy who is due in just a few weeks! This baby shower was pretty hilarious with games like Spit the Dummy (I won), Pregnant Twister (I also won) and Pin the Sperm on the Egg (I didn't win that one). 

After so many girly baby showers, plus the all-day-dreaming of crafts for my own girl, it was hard to think of some gifts I could make for this wee boy.

 I made this taggy square with my last scraps of fox fabric, backed it with nice soft minky and attached different coloured and textured ribbons around the edge. I made Addison a similar one and she LOVES it. She is getting her pincer grasp and loves grabbing the tags.

 

I asked the host of the baby shower if there was any 'theme' the mama-to-be had in mind for her baby and the answer I got back was 'dogs'. So I whipped up a potato stamp and went bone crazy on this onesie.

 Every baby boy needs a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors!

I crocheted this blanket a while ago too with some yarn I had stashed away. I'm loving the neutrals with a bright, bold pop of blue. Its a nice bassinet or pram sized blanket that has a loose weave so it is lightweight. 

My next makings will probably be Christmas presents, we are trying to do another handmade Christmas this year so I better put my thinking cap on!

Baby Shower Makings 2.0

The second baby shower I attended last week was awesome! It was unlike any other baby show I have been to because the guest of honour didn't know the gender of her baby until she walked in the door and we revealed it! SURPRISE!!!

She managed that by getting her husband to find out at their 20 week scan and he kept it a secret until a week or so out from the baby shower and let us girls know so we could plan.

We all had to wear pink and the room was pretty well decked out in pink things so it was absolutely obvious she is having a GIRL! We managed to capture the surprise moment on video and in a photo series so she can remember.

The rest of the night was filled with games and merriment and food of course. The coolest game we played was guessing the gestation (in days) of various animals. All I can say is poor elephants!

I made a couple of items for the baby girl, a crochet headband, a patchwork blanket with the softest minky fabric on the back, and some vintage floral bunting for her room. Also in the mix were a family of purple rubber duckies!

I have one more baby shower to go to tomorrow and this one is for a baby boy. It is definitely challenging my creativity since I am used to making for little girls!

Looking forward to the coming month or so when all these little ones arrive! Baby cuddles all around!

Dear Addison - 6 Months

Dear Addison,

Your 6th month has probably included your biggest increase in development so far, a lot seems to have happened all at once!

You sat for the first time at 5 and a half months and it only took about a week for you to get rock solid and your balance is great now. This has been great for both me and you because you are always happiest sitting or standing and I am able to leave you to play with your toys and enjoy this part of your life before you start moving! You have a spot on the floor where we have set up a catterpillar/snake toy as a buffer in case you fall onto our hard wooden floors. You have almost all your toys surrounding you and you spend a good while picking up your favourites and sorting them either side of you. You are now working out just how far you can reach without face planting.

 We also started you on solids about the same time, you have never really put toys into your mouth to explore until you started teething so we decided to leave the baby-led-weaning and go for the puree. Banana was a big hit and there hasn't been anything you haven't liked yet. So far you have tried: Banana, Kumara, Apple, Pumpkin, Avocado and a few of the baby food cans with meat in them which you guzzle down. At first you pushed the food out with your tongue but now you are much better at eating off a spoon. It still manages to get all over your face though which makes for great photos.

We had our first bath win with you last night! After 3 months of crying EVERY.SINGLE.BATHTIME you *fingers crossed* have changed your tune. I'm not sure what we did differently but you enjoyed yourself AND got clean. Yay. All I can think of was we took the bath temperature down to 34-35 degrees so it was more warm than hot. Bubbles help, as does being able to sit up probably.

Your vocal range is increasing all the time and you are pretty good at making high pitched cute squeals and noises which sound like questions. Not many consonant sounds yet but you have a new trick where I offer you water from your drink bottle and you copy my 'more?' with your little ahh-ah?

The latest milestone you have hit has been the beginning of teething. As of Tuesday November 4th you have a tooth! Your bottom middle left one. We had a grizzly week last week where you were not your usual content self and drooled like a champion and started chomping on your toys like there was no tomorrow. We got you some amber beads and some Weleda Teething Powder which both seem to calm you slightly. The white dot under the surface slowly got bigger until it cut through a couple of days ago. It is now on the journey upwards and the tooth next to it has started showing as a white dot too so that won't be far away. Good work!

Summer is just around the corner and we have been enjoying lots of nice walks in the pram, some picnics in the park and hopefully I can gear you up to have some pool time in our little inflatable swimming pool.

You have started to become a lot more aware of me and when I am not around. The plus side is you are getting back into cuddly mode and are happy to sit on my lap for longer periods of time. The downside is that I am unsure of leaving you with anyone other than Daddy during the day. But I guess like anything it is just a phase and it too will pass.

Addison you are such a wonderful little girl. Daddy and I miss you when you are sleeping because your smile isn't around. You tackle anything we throw at you with enthusiasm and you keep trying until you get it. You like repetition and seeing familiar toys and faces but even strangers are greeted with a gummy smile unless you are tired and cranky. You have captured so many hearts and we are better people for having you in our lives another month.

Lots of love,
Mummy xx

Baby Shower Makings Version 1.0

It seems to be the time in my life when ALL the babies are being born. It is so awesome! I love seeing my friends blossom in their pregnancies and watching their teeny newborns grow!

I have been slowly making things here and there for a few of these babies and after their baby showers I will show you what I have been up to.


This blanket is for a beautiful friend who has a wee girl due in a few weeks. I started it just after Addison was born before I knew the gender. I like the bright sunny colours and once I knew it was a girl I added the scalloped edging and personalised it with Baby Girl's name (blurred out for her privacy).

I bought some cotton yarn and crocheted up these Baby Converse booties for the ultimate in timeless style. I like cotton more for these because it doesn't go as 'fuzzy'.
 

An essential accessory for a baby girl is a delicate headband with a cute little button flower!

These teeny weeny prem shorts were in need of customization. My friend likes owls and I had some fabric paint lying around so I thought I would try my hand at hand-stamping them. I hunted around for some foam to cut a stamp from but there was none around. In desperation I remembered potato stamping from my childhood and figured why not? After doing a lot of stenciling I would say I have some pretty good craft knife skills and I was able to get a bit of detail into the little stamp. It was heaps of fun and I will definitely be doing it with more items!

Hopefully my gifts were received well - I had lots of fun making them!

Stay tuned for more baby shower makings - I have another good friends one tonight and another in a couple of weeks. Yay babies!

Framed Christchurch {Review}

I have so many photos lying around or tucked away that deserve a space on the wall. I am especially guilty of having a tonne of pictures on my computer which never see the light of day. So when I was given the opportunity to have an A4 sized photo professionally framed I jumped at the chance.

 Cathy Benden from Framed Christchurch got in touch with me and asked if I would like to do a review on her new, local business. The easy part was saying yes, the hard part was choosing from the many photos that live in the depths of my computer. The number of photos seems to get a bit out of control when you have a baby. Every expression needs to be captured of course!

I finally decided on this photo of Dave and Addison at the Botanic Gardens here in Christchurch, it just makes my heart melt seeing the bond between them and I can just imagine seeing them in a few years time watching the ducks together.

I got the photo printed 20cm x 30cm and gave it to Cathy at Framed. I was asked what look I was going for and if I wanted a wooden, black, white or coloured frame. I decided to leave the whole choice in Cathy's capable hands and let her decide what would look best.

I love what I got back, The colour of the wood paired with the off-white mat board makes the photo really stand out. The mitre joins are neat and tidy, the frame feels solid and it is backed well with gel cushions on the bottom corners to prevent wall damage. The knots on the hanging string are even sealed with wax to stop it from coming undone. It even came packaged simply buy beautifully. I can't find a fault with her service!

After buying cheap frames for years, I can definitely see the difference in quality and I can imagine this would be more obvious the bigger the picture is.

So if you have a special photo lying around that could be on your wall, give Cathy a call or an email and see what she can do for you.

Framed Christchurch
Cathy Benden
Website: http://www.framedchristchurch.co.nz/
Phone: 021 0853 2456
Email: info@framedchristchurch.co.nz
Trade Me Service Listing and Reviews: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=762549701

Disclosure: The photo was framed for me free of charge in exchange for a review but all opinions expressed are my own.

Crochet Circle Blanket

I am in love with the colour combo of this cot blanket. The light pink, bright pink and red mixed with the dark grey just work so well together.

I based my blanket on the pattern over at Three Beans in a Pod but I managed to make an accidental adjustment to the ridge of the circles by hooking through the loop behind the back loop. A bit more work for me but I think it looks great. The border is just a single layer of double crochet in each colour except the red, which is half double crochet. I joined the squares with a slip stitch in the back loops and joined them horizontally first then did the vertical joins. I used Magnum Soft Acrylic yarn from Lincraft and this blanket used 6 balls of yarn all up. 3 x grey, 1 x light pink, 1 x bright pink and 1 x red.

This is the first blanket that I have blocked. By blocking I mean wetting the yarn fibers and letting them settle into the shape you want.
I tried to steam block with my iron but it broke, then I tried using a spray bottle which also broke, so I settled with pinning and stretching out my blanket onto a towel and spraying it with a hose. We had some sunshine so it dried pretty quickly. It definitely made a difference to the way the blanket sits, it hangs nicer and the circles sit flatter.

This project has been a bit of a slow burner. I kept doing a few circles then got over it and left it for a few weeks then powered through a few more and joined it together.

I made this blanket for fun and to try a new technique but I *hopefully* find out today if I am getting a niece or nephew (EXCITING!!!) and if it is a girl then this blanket will be for her. If it's a boy then I get to make another blanket! Then this one might just end up on Addison's bed.

I have done 2 other baby blankets lately but they are filed away in secret waiting for the beautiful ladies to have their baby showers! I started another one the other day too, I am trying to use up my stash of yarn while I wait for Spotlight to have a big sale.

The colours are so bright on a sunny spring evening!
xx

DIY Renovations: Bookshelves

When our house was built back in the 50's they thought it was an awesome idea to make a tiny toilet room and a tiny shower room. Thankfully at some point one of the previous owners decided to knock down the wall between the toilet and shower to make one relatively roomy bathroom. 

Now for some reason once the wall was knocked down they realised they wouldn't need two doorways. Fair enough. So what did they go and do? Chuck a bit of MDF up on the hallway side and leave it at that. Luckily they finished the bathroom side.

 

This little alcove is pretty useless. It isn't big enough to use as linen storage or even to stow away the vacuum. It is however, perfect for bookshelves.

Thanks to my husbands amazing skills and his latest passion of watching woodworking YouTube videos, he whipped up these shelves for me out of some recycled Rimu from an old manrobe. He made the shelf supports and routed the front edge of each shelf to make it look pretty. 

My part in this project was to prime the back of the alcove before the shelves went in. We are still deciding on our final paint colour for the inside of the house but at least the base coat is sanded and done. Then I loaded the shelves up with all our books, DVDs, Stargate collection and PS3 games. It looks so awesome and is a perfect use of space.  

Optimus Primed

P.s -We aren't mentioning the horrific paint choices already here - I cannot WAIT to see the day when there are only two neutral colours in sight instead of purple, blue, green, white, other green and yellow.