Ag May ...

Sometimes I feel like the most organised, super efficient, cover-all-bases, thinking-10-steps-ahead type of person...  like when we came home after a long weekend away. After a fun-filled albeit tiring last day, plus a long drive home, we had the kids fed-ed and bedded, everything unpacked and put away, and set up for the new school term by 8pm. We had made sure the girls had enough snacks, filled with enough fruits and popcorn to make a long car ride home pleasant. We had washed all of our clothes the night before so were unpacking and putting away clean clothes (I loved this!!!) and had plenty of clothes to choose from for the following day. And everything had been checked off everyones list of holiday expectations, so they were happy to come home. All steps covered.  Organised.  Efficient.  Give the girl a pat on the back, John.  (Wait!  Who's John?) And sometimes, I feel like the laziest, biggest time-waster to have ever lived... like the ti...

Bunk beds, loft beds… they’re pretty cool.   Awesome cubby houses; magical castles; huge hideaway spots; in-house cinema.   Just an awesome place to be.   Why wouldn’t you have a bunk bed or a loft bed?   Especially with three kids!   Especially in a small apartment. Well, here’s a couple of reasons why not… If you’re the wrong height and you can’t reach the top bunk from the ground, do you know how difficult it is to change those bed sheets? Or what about when you want to air out the mattress?   If I can’t put on the bedsheets from down there, how do you think I’m going to lift the mattress high enough to go over the railing and then down to the floor?   WATCH OUT BELOW! And what about when your kid falls asleep in the car?   Yep – you can maneuver them out of the car.   Yep – you can carry them up the stairs.   Yep – you can turn this way and that so that you don’t bump them into the furniture...

I asked Little Miss M - Do you want to have your birthday at a play centre and you can invite lots of friends, or do you want me to plan an at-home party with just a few friends? After all the fun that she had been having at her friends parties being held at a play centre, I was very surprised when Little Miss M opted for an at-home party.  Apparently, I'm loved because I plan the birthdays. And so a birthday party was planned... A FURBY PARTY!!  Dah-Noh-Lah!  Party party!! We had games... A photo booth with props... (and we printed out the photos for the guests to take home) We had cake... And we sent the party guests home with a furby key chain, a photo from the photo booth and some homemade love... Yes, I had to take a few days off from work to get everything done. Yes, the Furby cake was filled with smarties and m&m's (not sure why we don't have a picture of it).  And I really don't want to think of how much butter was used to ma...

Hello there world and all of its lovely people.  I've indulged my laziness and procrastination tendencies enough and I'm ready to face the world.  What have you been up to in the past 6 months? I think I've found a pattern... I think it takes me about half a year to get going; to get my mojo on; to get off my arse.  After a quiet six months, all of a sudden, I have inspiration boards and I have time planners and I have goals..  and it's already July. Anyways, here are a few handmade goodies that have graced my craft table in the past six months.  Either I've been really non-productive or I've been really lazy with the camera.  Probably both... never mind.  Let's work with what we've got... Origami (Christmas) Baubles - it helps if you have a circle cutter Origami Baubles paired with white chocolate stuffed Snickerdoodle cookies - white chocolate stuffed anything *swoon* Hairclip/Headband holder My gorgeous niece asked for a box for ...

We've had a small spate of birthday parties for Little Miss M to attend in this past month.  And it's always a bit of a guessing game to figure out what her friends might want for their birthday.  What Little Miss M would like to give to her friends. So far Little Miss M is still quite happy to give her friends something homemade.  And so far, these have been a hit with both Little Miss M and her friends (well, according to their mommas anyway).  And I think these little ones still get a kick out of seeing their names on things.  What do you think? And the best thing... I've heard how Little Miss M's friends show how they treasure their presents - favourite doll's sleeping bag; magic cape; a bag for treasured things.  And how they don't want to sully it by getting it dirty on their bed if they use it as a pillow!!!! Little Miss M has been helping with the designs.  I'm hoping to start her on sewing them up herself with a bit of practise :) ...

But it was definitely inspired by one... I do love me my Picnics .  Wafer with cream, covered in caramel, surrounded by peanuts and smothered in chocolate.  Oooh, baby! I have no problems with buying these deliciousness, but I can't bring it home or share them with my girls due to the peanuts.  (Ironically, we do have PB in the house... but we're talking about Picnics here, not my sense of logic!) Here's my breakdown of this love affair.  Cream wafers - always a good start.  Caramel, yes please.  Peanuts... hmmm, I like the bite and the salty counterpart it offers to the rest of the confection.  Chocolate, which *gasp* can be a bit too much, but still a necessity. So... this is what I came up with.  My homemade deliciousness (although the wafers are store-bought)... Store bought wafers - I haven't found a recipe for these babies.  So, store bought for now. Buttercream - simple American Buttercream, but I get to control...

I love our little set up at home.  Cozy.  Tiny.  I'm currently in love with small-space living and I'm constantly thinking of how we can make our set up work better and better for us. One of things about our small space is that it can feel a bit dark.  I'm not entirely sure why.  The place is not constantly flooded with light, but the lighting is usually quite pleasant.  I suspect it's the flooring and possibly the walls.  And our furniture... So I thought I would do something about our furniture. And I turned this, our table and chairs... Into this... Hmmm... Looking at this photo, I think I might paint the sides of the table top a brighter white.  I was going for a rustic look, but this might be a bit too unfinished for me. Originally (as in pre-kids), I wanted sleek and dark and elegant.  And then I moved onto sleek and white with chrome.  And then, skipping the whole white and natural wood (although that still appeal...

Apparently, this is what you are if you serve these snacks to your kids... So, I'm not because I don't.  However... In a bid to get more ideas, and to make sure that Little Miss M enjoys her school lunches, I asked her to look out for foods that her friends are eating that she might like to try.  And she described this to me. Don't get me wrong.  I love my junk food.  But if I can (and it's cost effective), I try to make our food and snacks.  So, I came up with this... See... I give my kids junk food.  I just make it myself.  And this is junk.  Melted marshmallows and butter is the glue that holds this snack together.  Yum! Melted marshmallows and butter.  Stir in Rice Bubbles until all is evenly coated and not too much glue to spare.  Stuff it into a muffin tray, sprinkle with other toppings if you so desire, and leave it to harden a bit before taking out and storing in an air-tight container. It's a "once-in-a...

I love Pinterest!  I will not deny the many hours spent on the site, or the million pins that I've marked.    It sure works better than my overcrowded and never referenced bookmarking. So, here's my toast to pinterest with a pinterest-inspired party.  I've tried to credit all of the inspirations accordingly but some have gotten lost in the thousand boards that I've got! Thank you pinterest! Mini Cupcakes for Little Miss M's classmates. Transport box inspiration from here A welcoming archway Very loosely inspired by this Containers to put the completed decorated cookie Inspiration from here   Fruit Cones - an ice-cream substitute (and, save for the crunching, the only time it was quiet during the party!) Inspiration from here   The girls decorated cookies... Recipe from here Other goings on at the party... Ribbon Piñata - a gentler version of the stick piñata Inspiration from a Peppa Pig episode Our Thank-You par...

Homemade Lap Blanket I am tentatively making my way into the world of quilting.   And these sweet little lap blankets are my stepping stones into that crafting nirvana. These blankets teach me about sandwiching techniques and binding.   I’ve also enjoyed how my lettering has been coming along and I welcome some more practice with names that have curves in them. For this blanket, I was determined to improve my machine binding.   In traditional quilting, binding the sides consists of sewing the binding on one side of the quilt and hand stitching the other side.   Personally, I find hand stitching quite meditative and I do enjoy it, but it does require not having little girls that like to jump on your lap in any instant.   Plus hand stitching is still a time-consuming task for me, so it pays for me to practice another technique, a quicker technique of binding. The lettering was hand drawn and then appliquéd using a small zig zag stitch...

I love Christmas.   I didn’t use to but now I do.   I’m sure it has something to do with having kids. These days, amongst the food and family and presents, Christmas and New Year seems to trigger the “look at my life” syndrome.   And part of this is this need in me to let my friends know, both those that I see on a regular basis and those that I see infrequently, that I am thinking of them. So, I make Christmas presents.   And this year, thanks to an inspiration by my sis a couple of years ago, I made some origami cranes in glass baubles. If you’re saying “oh, that’s nice”, well it wasn’t quite the reaction I was going for.   But if you’re saying “pretty, but how in heavens (or some other similar exclamation) did she get the crane in there?”.   Then that was the reaction I was going for. I think these could do with some jazzing up, but with a heartfelt note and some pretty wrapping, it more than serves my purpose. To my dearest fr...

Hi everyone!  And if you've had a birthday sometime last year (hehehe!!!), then HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It's been a homemade/handmade birthday theme this past year.  As much as possible, I have tried to give handmade gifts or contributed to a party as my present.  What I am most pleased about is that I have tried to use, as much as possible, the supplies that I already have on hand. Here's a snapshot of some of the gifts given this past year... Handmade notebooks with pen and paper (the paper was sometimes printed with Made By ... ).  This is, proudly, my own creation. Fabric Balloon balls for the little ones (again, my own creation!)... A variety of cakes (including a Yoda cake!! Yeah - for once my failed icing colouring actually comes in good!).  This was made by searching for heaps and heaps of images on the internet and trying to sculpt accordingly.  Dear Husband made for an awesome critic (in this instance) - "It's Yoda.  It ...