Pages

Friday, December 30, 2011

Art Kit

Hi all,
Just a quick post today,
I felt in the mood to sew, but nothing too heavy, so
I flicked through a few books and found a simple Art Kit
in a book that I recieved from Lisa Lee called
Craft Hope by Jade Sims
My little boys loves pencils and I thought I'd put one together
so that he can take it out, when visiting Nanna.
I altered it a little, I never really follow patterns 100% anyway :o)
It took less than an hour to complete this project.

just big enough to hold some pencils, a drawing pad andmaybe
even a small colouring book in the side pocket.
I'm naughty, I know I should have ironed it haha, but I was
doing it really quickly and wasný sure that it would even
turn out right, but I'm sure my boy won't care lol.
There is an elastic strip to keep it closed when not being used.

the cover is a space print fabric, he really likes rockets and
spaceships at the moment.
I might have to make some more of these :o)

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxo


Monday, December 26, 2011

More christmas Goodies

Hi again
A few months ago, my niece Lisa Lee and I decided
to make our own Santa Sack swap after missing
another swap that was just closed.

We were supposed to send a total of 5 or 6 gifts
to each other but ended up with a few extra along the way.
I was totally blown away by my gifts on Christmas
morning as Lisa really spoiled me alot and showed that
she really does love to give and give with all of her heart!

Lisa really enjoys finding things that she knows her swap
partner will love and will use, she has her own way of finding
the perfect gifts, based on anything that she can see
that you will like, she remembered things that I looked at
a few months ago and that I had forgotten about!
Lisa really is the ''Queen of Swaps", she never leaves
anyone disappointed and always gives so much!

I know that Lisa has had a few swappers that have not
honoured their commitments in the past, but it has
never put her off and she continues to put in 110%
every time. Thankyou so much Lisa, it has been
a real pleasure to be involved in this swap with you!

Here are the AMAZING gifts that I recieved...
1. Craft Hope  book (there are loads of gorgeous
projects in there and part sales go to Global Impact
2.  Two awesome patterns from Melly and Me
I come in peace'the cutest Alien ever (lisa kew I
wanted this one) and Freya she is oh so cute too!

3.  Four fat quarters of flesh coloued fabrics
4.  Striped fabric with matching cotton,some embroidery
wool, pins and trim (these will all be perfect for making
Tilda dolls)

5.  Blue and Purple fabrics with matching threads, embroidery
wool and trims.
6.  Pink fabric with matching thread and wool
and check out that gorgeous Alexander Henry fabric too!
7.  More striped fabric and yummy strawberry
fabric by Michael Miller and some cute bells and beads.

and yes, there is  More...
8.  Ten of the most beautiful fabrics that you ever seen
including Michael Miller and Tanya Wheylan.

All of these were presented an a gogeous handmade bag
you can see everything together here,
what an amazing lots of gifts. Thankyou so much again Lisa.

I only wish that I had sent Lisa nearly as much as
she sent me!

There is still one more gift that is really special to me.
I had inteded to photograph it with the rest, but they were
still sitting by my computer when I took the pics.
Lisa is really talented in may ways, she recently began
making Art Canvases and she has made one for me too
with a matching Jounal. She is called
" Angel to watch over me"

I really wish you could see these in real life as the photo does
not do them any justice, The texture is Amazing, they really
do seem to have a life all of their own. I will always treasure
these and I am sure they will will offer me inspiration for years
to come.  Thankyou so much :o)

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxo

Santa sack 2 swap

Hi everyone
hope you all enjoyed christmas
I can't believe it's all over already

I just wated to pop in to show the gifts that I recieved
from Toni in the Santa sack swap.
Here are the first 3 gifts...
1. The art file (bookmark) and a nice pen
 2.  A mug rug/candle mat
3. some pretty quilting  pins,  a cute little santa magnet
and some pretty ladybird cupcake cases.

the next 2 gifts...
4.  A christmas CD with some of my favourite crooners
and some yummy chocolate spoons
5.  An A5 cutting mat (definately need a new one thanks Toni)
and a role of robbon.

6. Christmas fabric
7. Quilters pencil
8. Cookie cutter and reindeer pegs

and finally a gorgeous handmade Table runner

and here they are again, all together with the sack that
Toni made earlier this year...


Thanks so much Toni, I really enjoyed doing this swap
with you and it was so nice so have so many
wonderful gifts to open on christmas morning with
my children :o)
Thanks too to Carol for organising this swap!

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back soon to
show off some more goodies :o)

Peta xoxo


Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas everyone!



Wishing you all a very happy and safe Christmas
and best wishes for the New Year!

Hope you all get what you want from Santa this year,
but most of all, I hope we can all enjoy this festive
season free from danger and distaster and that
we can  all enjoy each others company.
Peace be with you!

Merry Christmas everyone :o)

Peta xoxo

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A fun christmas quiz!

Hi all
OK, so it's 4 sleeps til christmas and I thought I'd
have a liitle fun :o)
I found a Christmas Quiz that is going around in blogland,
I found on Here on Lisa's blog, but I believe it all started HERE

...so here goes...

1.  Egg nog or Chocolate?      Well, we don't really do Egg nog here, so
          I'd have to say Chocolate.....but, then again, it's so hot in Australia
          at this time of year, so to be really honest, it would be more along
          the lines of an ice cold beer!

2.  Does Santa wrap the presents or just sit them under the tree?
          Definately Wrapped and under the tree...coloured co-ordinated
          too, so there is no confusion about who's  gifts is who's lol!

3.  Coloured lights on tree/house or white?     Colour all the way!!!!

4.   Do you hang Mistletoe?     Again, this is not really big here,
          although I  wish it were! I can't seem to find it anywhere here,
          or I surely would hang it on every door ;o)

5.  When do you put your decorations up?    I usually wait til December
          1st, but this year I started early, it was about the 25th of November.
          They stay up until the 12th day of Christmas/January 6th.

6.  What is your favourite holiday dish?     Well, when I was younger, it
          was definately a traditional roast meal...my Dad used to get
          everything cooking...Turkey, duck, goose, chicken, ham, roast veges
          and nearly anything else you could imagine.
          Christmas was HUGE at our house, the whole street used to come
          (I'm not kidding!) These days, as it us usually in the high 30s
          Celsius here in Australia (100 degrees+ for everyone that uses
          Farenheit),  I really enjoy my husbands Garlic prawns on the BBQ,
          they are  absolutely divine! Along with salads and antipasto platters
          and all sorts of yummy finger foods :o)

7.  Favourite holiday memory as a child?     Everything! Like I said,
          Christmas was Huge! My dad was truly Father Christmas in his own
          right :o) those days were very special!

8.  When and how did you find out the truth about Santa?     To be
          honest... I don't really know. I am the youngest of 6 kids and
          I guess because my brothers and sisters 'knew' they made sure that
          I knew too! I know it sounds sad, but christmas was still pretty
          special :o) and it is probably why I try and make things extra special
          for my children,  I like to keep all of the magic of Santa  alive and I
          do everything I can to stop them from finding out lol, I have an
          excuse for Everything!

9.  Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?     No way! I do give my kids
          new pyjamas on christmas eve though, so they will look great in
          the photos  in the morning!

10.  How do you decorate your christmas tree?    I used to be terrible
          and not let anyone at all touch my tree, it had to be Perfect! hahaha
          then  I had kids :o)  when my daughter was almost 4 I let her have
          a go and she did an awesome job, so I let her do it and my boy
          joined her this year with christmas carols and treats :o)
          I have an array of decorations, some handmade, some with a story
          behind them, every single tip is covered!

11.  Snow, love it or dread it?     I have never experienced snow, infact
          the closest I have been to snow is defrosting my freezer lol! As
          much as I would love to experience a white christmas (and it
          probably would be a nice change from our hot summers) I think
          I would whinge and complain about the cold, we barely get to
          0 degrees here and I complain!

12.  Can you Ice skate?     Never really tried! My daughter got invited
          to an iceskating party last year and I didnt get to go out on the ice
          as I had my little boy who was not even 2 yet, he was too litle to
          go out, maybe we should try this year :o)

13.  Do you remebr your favourite gift?     Hmmm, well my kids were
          born pretty close to christmas, so they would be it hahaha and
          anything they make for me. Simple things are often the best!

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?   
          My kids!
          Its all about making it magic for them. I like to include a bit of
          religion too so that it is not all totally commercial!

15.  What is your favourite holiday dessert?     Anything made with
          icecream, you know the recipes you pick up in all the magazines
          this time of year!
          Oh and definately  a few yummy Cocktails!!!

16.  What's your favourite holday tradition?     The kids choose 2
          new tree  decorations every year, they will get thes for there
          own trees when they are older, we usually find something
          that reflects them in the last year!
          Also love the fun of Avent calendars, I make them different
          ones each year and they also have matchbox surprises each
          day...they open a box and it has something we have to do
          together as a family, it could be watching movies, going to
          the park, baking some treats, christmas crafts  etc, they are
          really enjoying it this year. Oh and ofcourse, having a look at
          everyone's christmas lights too.

17.  What tops your tree?     My Dad's last Christmas Angel!
           She is looking a little weary these days, but I just can not
           ever replace her, she means too much to me!

18.  Which do you prefer, Giving or receiving?     Definately
           Giving! I like to see people's faces when they open there gifts
           and pray that they will like them lol!

19.  Candy Canes: Yuck or yummy?     I don't mind one or two, I
           like them more for decoration than anything :o)

20.  Favourite Christmas show?     "Scrooge" the 1971 musical
           version starring Albert Finney.
           It's the one I remember most as a kid and
           I have never found a version that I enjoy as much!

21.  Saddest Christmas song?     I'm not sure that I know any sad ones!

22.  What is your favourite Christmas song?     really, just one hahahaha,
          well at the moment, it would be "O Holy Night" and
          Wham's "Last Christmas".

Phew I am done! why not join in the fun, you know you want to ;o)

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Christmas
and happy crafting

Peta xoxox






Friday, December 9, 2011

Yay, I've got presents!!!!!

Hi everyone
I took part in a Santa sack swap over at Santa Sack Swap 2
This was hosted by Carol of Carol's Crafty Creations
We had to send 9 gifts in the months leading
up to Christmas, starting from September to December
and a handmade Santa sack or bag to keep our gifts in.
My swap partner for this swap is Toni from New Zealand
you can check out her awesome blog HERE

Here is the sack that Toni sent me, along with all of the gifts

...and all packed up and ready to put under my tree :o)

I can't wait til Christmas day so that I can open all these
fantastic looking gifts and I will post piccies to show you
what I got. Just hope I remember to have the camera handy
on the day  :oD


But that's not all....Yes, more presents!!!

Just before I signed onto Carol's Santa Sack 2 swap,
I discovered the first Santa Sack swap, unfortunately,
I was a couple weeks too late to join in the fun.
My niece Lisa Lee from My Little Creative Wonderland
had just missed out too, so we decided to have a simular
swap between us!

Here is the gorgeous Christmas bag that Lisa made for me
along with all of her amazing gifts...

and now it is also all packed up and under my christmas tree

16 more sleeps :oD

Thanks Lisa and Toni

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!
Peta xoxox







Sunday, November 27, 2011

Love Swaps? Have I found a swap for you...


A NEW YEAR CRACKER SWAP = where you get a tubing no smaller than 5 inches long fill with crafting supplies like fabric buttons ribbon etc .you can buy cracker {or bon bon }tubing from Spotlight or you can make your own from card stock by cutting 5inch by 5inches {or bigger} and rolling into a tube.Than see how much you can get into it.once tube is full wrap with fabric {not paper} and tie with ribbon or string to create your cracker.


so head on over HERE
to Lisa's blog
My Little Crative Wonderland
and sign up, you know you want to :o)

Thanks for stopping by
Peta xoxo

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Nappy cake

Hi everyone
something a bit different today...
a nappy cake!
My niece is due to have her first baby in January.
She is having her baby shower on Sunday,
so I thought I'd whip up this nappy cake for her.
96 nappies and lots of essential bits and pieces
all topped off with a cute pink teddy :o)


thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxox


Sunday, November 6, 2011

Parcel post on a SUNDAY?

Well, hubby went off to the local store today and 2 mins later
the door bells rings...what's he forgotten? I thought,
so I went and answered the door to find a parcel post
van leaving the driveway...what the? then I look down and
see a parcel...for me Yay!!!!
We have never had anything delivered on a sunday, I didn't know
that they worked on weekends, or is it only because Christmas
is fastly aproaching?
Anyway, it was my swap gifts from Shez from
Tilda Christmas swap, Woohoo!

5 awesome looking gifts, all waiting to be unwrapped!
So I started with the smaller gift (great things always come
in small packages!) and I got 2 lots of christmas
ribbon. the second gift had lots of yumminess
in the form of a christmas stocking.

next parcel, this gorgeous Pyjama Snowman,
Shez has done an awesome job on him, he is so sweet!
He can hang on the wall, but I thought he looked more
comfy sitting down :o)
I absolutely love his carrot nose!

the next parcel had these gorgeous handmade Tilda Baubles
 

these are going to look stunning on my tree, I am aiming to have
lots and lots of handmade ornaments on there this year,
so these are just perfect!

and the 5th parcel, 2 sets of flower lights, these are so pretty
in real life, I will definately get some use out of these, I will just
need to keep them away from my daughter, she already has
her eyes on them lol!

and here they all are together

I absolutely love everything, thanks so much Shez, you have
been a fantastic swap partner!
Thanks again to Cat from Catina's Cottage
for hosting this swap.
 
Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!
Peta xoxo

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Tilda Christmas swap

Hi everyone
I joined a Christmas themed Tilda swap over at
Catalina's Cottage after having so much fun during
her Tea Party swap some time ago.
I was paired up with the talented Shez
from Enjoying Life which I was really happy about
as I think we have simular tastes.

Anyway the idea of this swap was to send

- A Handmade Tilda Christmas Decoration
- Christmas haberdashery items
- An edible gift
- Anything else related to your partners likes.

so for the handmade items,  I decided to make a couple of
things, I got patterns from these Tone Finnanger books...
Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle
Crafting Christmas Gifts


Pixie girl

Reindeer

Birds

and for the haberdashery items...
some fabric, 3 spools or ribbon and some ''christmas
potpourri''  buttons.
Shez said she like milk chocolate with flavoured
centres, so hopefully she will like a bar of cadbury
snack chocolate (had to behave with that in the house lol),
and ofcourse, as its is a christmas theme, I had to throw
in some candy canes!
Also, just for fun I added some christmas cards,
some wine/drink glass charms and
some curling ribbons and bows

hope you like your gifts Shez I had lots of fun putting these
gifts together! Thanks too to Cat for organising this
awesome swap!

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxo

Sunday, October 30, 2011

who could these be for?

.....and the lucky lady is Shez!
These are the parcels that I have sent for the Christmas
themed Tilda swap. They should be getting to you real
soon Shez, hope you like them!

Don't worry it's not as scary a package as it looks :o)

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!
Peta  xoxox



Friday, October 28, 2011

just for fun

I actually made this doll about 2 weeks ago,
but never got around to blogging her.
I combined 2 Tilda patterns to make this one,
she started as ine of the angel dolls,
but kind of changed to one of the other dolls,
the patterns were simular. I can't even remember
which ones I used, as I do have most of
Tone Finnanger's books :o)

I used cailco,which I stained with tea for her skin
and embroidery thread for her hair. Everything else
came from my sewing stash.
So have to make some more of these!

Thanks for stopping by
Happy crafting!

Peta xoxo


Meet Gertie

Hi everyone
Well I just had to have a go at one of the gorgeous
kits that Lisa sent me for my birthday
This one is called "Gertie Goat"
and she is from one of the many patterns/kits from

I have to say that I am really happy with my first attempt :o)
my daughter has taken a liking too, but I think that's
partly because she is purple...her favourite colour!

Thanks again Lisa, she was so much fun to make,
might have to make Millie Monkey next
or Katie Kitten, hmmmm, which one...

also linking this up with Our Creative Spaces
well that's it from me for now anyway
thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxo




Thursday, October 27, 2011

scissor swap recieved

Hi everyone
I recently participated in a scissor keeper swap
I have since sent my gift, which can be seen if you scroll
a little futher down :o)
My partner was Karri and this is the gift that she sent to me...

The scissor keeper opens to hold the scissors
inside. Karri also made a matching scissor fob
and added some hand painted wooden buttons

and wow, check out the awesome christmas
stitchery, will definately get some use out of that
with christmas less than 9 weeks away :o)

Thanks so much Karri, I really love these gifts
and thanks so much to Sandi for organising the swap too.

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxo


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I'm 40 uurrgghhhhh!

Ok, so it was my 40th birthday last week
(still cringing at the sound of that!)
but on the plus side, I did get really spoilt,
I might have to turn 40 again next year LMAO

What did I get? this......

yep, a new computer :o) (I'm still doing the happy dance hehe)
hubby wanted to get me a laptop, but I'm not biggest fan of laptops,
I know I am crazy, I can hear you all from here, but I like a good
desktop computer!
Anyway, just have to share this story with you all...
Hubby went off to JB Hifi on the way home from work and he
found a nice little computer that was on sale for $490, I think
it was an Acer, so he came home with it, got my daughter
to help him set it up and what do you know, the darn thing
wouldn't boot up. He tried for a bit (he does know what
he's doing lol) and then rang the store. The Sales guy tells
him to ring E-machines (the manufacturer), you can imagine
hubby's reaction...quite colourful indeed!
He asks to talk to the manager, who then says bring it
in and we'll have a look at it (lucky it was thursday night),
anyway, so hubby insists we all go in!
The manager and a few other guys come and look,
expecting it to be some silly thing that hubby didn't do.
Hubby says "You bloody ruined my Mrs' birthday!!"
They realise the computer was not worrking correctly
and they don't have anymore of that model in stock!
That'd be right haha, anyway they look at hubby, who
is by no means a small fellow and quickly offer him a
free upgrade (Yay me!) so I ended up with this HP Compaq
which was on sale for $700. I'm happy!
Woohoo!!!!!

What else did I get? well, my niece LISA LEE who alot of you
may know, has a fantastic blog My Little Creative Wonderland
sent me this awesome gift...




3 full kits from  Bit of Whimsy Dolls
- Gertie Goat
- Millie Monkey
- Katie Kitten
all with fabric, patterns and everything needed to make
all three dolls. Lisa is absolutely addicted to these
dolls, I think she should almost have shares in the
company, with the amount she has brought...they are
so darn cute though!!!  I also got some extra fabrics
too as seen in the photo.
Thanks so much Lisa, I LOVE them all!

Oh and from family I also scored a $200 gift card
for Spotlight, (that's already got a bit of a beating lol)
a pretty photo frame and 40th glass

and some yummy alcohol :o)
(well, had to have some comfort in turning 40 hehe)
Cheers everyone, I had a great birthday!

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxo


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Tilda monthly make

Do  you love Tilda/Tone Finnanger,  then why not join in

Each month Cat will choose a Tilda item to make
(from one of the many Tone Finnanger books available)
and the idea is to follow along and blog your creation
each month, linking back to Cat's blog

More info can be found HERE

November's Make theme is "Birds"
(I will be back then to show off some birds that I will make)
they can be any Tone Finnanger inspired birds

some ideas can be found in these books...
Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle  Birds page 36
Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle  Angel Geese page 48
Tildas Studio   Cockatoo page 69
Sew Sunny Homestyle  Royal Hens page 63
Sew Sunny Homestyle  Puffin page 98

sounds like alot of fun and great inspiration to
get some gorgeous Tilda projects happening!

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxox



Monday, October 10, 2011

Scissor keeper swap

Hi everyone
I recently joined a scissor keeper swap over at
Cookies and cream and I been partnered up with Karri
who lives in Narromine NSW.
I have never made a scissor keeper before, so I thought
I'd have a go. I have also made a matching needle case
and added a tassle scissor fob.

Inside I have added a selection of needles, pins, some
threads, snaps and hooks.

there is a tutorial for the needle case HERE
and the scissor keeper HERE (I have just co-ordinated
the scissor one to match the needle one)

Hope you like them Karri and can get some use out of them :o)

Thanks to Sandy for organising this swap too!

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting

Peta xoxo



Monday, October 3, 2011

Friends swap

Hi everyone
just thought I'd pop back in to quickly show the gifts that
I sent to Marina in the F-R-I-E-N-D-S swap


F = Fabric, with christmas coming, I thought I'd send
3 fat quarters of christmas fabric.

R =  Ribbons and red snakes

I = Inspiration, A craft/sewing book

E = Embroidery threads. I was going to chose 5 skeins
but thought a nice selection on a floss card
might be a nice gift as I know that Marina
likes hand embroidery :o)

N = Needles, and a handmade needle case.

D = Decorations for her christmas tree
2 handmade reindeers and
2 handmade plum puddings

S = Small handmade button bag with some buttons

I hope you like your gifts Marina :o)
and thanks so much to Khris for organising this wonderful
swap, it was alot of fun!

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Crafting!

Peta xoxo





Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Friends

Hi
I joined a FRIENDS swap over at Khris' blog
SEW PRIM KHRIS the idea of this swap was
to send our swap partner 7 items each starting with
the letters F- R- I- E- N- D- S
I have been partnered with Marina, who is an exceptionally
talented crafter, she has the most amazing blog
MAISIE AND THE BOYS you really should have
a look at some of her creations, they will blow you
away, and her hand sewing WOW!!!!

I have my parcels ready to send to Marina and
I will get them posted tomorrow, so hopefully Marina will
recieve them next week!

Ofcourse, I can't show you what is inside them just yet,
but will do after I have heard that Marina has recieved them,
hope she likes them :o)

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting!
Peta xoxo




Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Tilda Christmas swap

Hi everyone
Interested in a fun Christmas Swap?
Cat from Catalina's Cottage is hosting an awesome Tilda
Christmas themed swap over at her blog

What do you need to do?

well, once you have signed up and recieved your partner
you will need to send them following:

A Handmade Christmas Decoration

Tilda/Christmas haberdashery items, ribbons, ricrac, etc

An edible gift

Anything else you think your swap partner might like.


sound interesting?
well then head on over HERE for more info and sign up :o)

sign up closes October 1

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Crafting
Peta xoxox