Top cat

Our very cute little kitty cat turned one this week. He has grown a bit, well quite a lot actually, but he remains as cute and playful as ever (although we would prefer it if he were a bit more affectionate).

Ben got special cat food treats for his birthday and we celebrated with cat cup cakes.

Happy Birthday Ben!!

Spotty, dotty t-shirt

This post is going to be accompanied by a brief explanation as I'm not very good at typing with my left hand.

I saw this "how-to" on the web a while back and put it in the "must do" compartment of my brain. I was going through my t-shirts on the weekend, looking for a particular top that had been swallowed up by the overflowing drawer. I came across a plain, black t-shirt and, with a bit of spare time on my hands, knew that today was the day to reach into the "must do" pile.

It was really easy and I had all of the necessary equipment on hand which was a bonus. Ruby watched me do it and we both got excited as the little dots appeared – it was like watching a Polaroid develop! I thought the final product was pretty cool but when your twelve year old daughter says "Wow, that looks like a Karen Walker top," you know you're onto a winner!

You should definitely try this at home.

Happy Easter

When I saw these bunny jars I couldn't resist making my own.

I used some old apple sauce jars (yes, sometimes I take shortcuts) and bought three different Scheich bunnies. Super glued them on. Gave them a few, and by a few I mean several, coats of white spray paint. Different colors would have been nice but I didn't want the project to cost too much. Let dry. Fill with eggs.

Happy Easter everyone!

It's a good Friday

Today I have been pottering around the house. The kids have been watching a bit of TV. I was surprised to learn that no advertising is allowed in NZ on Good Friday, Easter Sunday or Christmas Day. I don't know why I hadn't noticed before but it surely makes watching a movie on tele far more enjoyable. I like the idea of things being closed – since when did we need everything open 42/7?

I finally got around to making something which I've been thinking about for some time – a driftwood wall hanging. I got the idea from a pic I saw in Country Style magazine a loooong time ago (see pic below). I've had this magazine folded open at this page forever!

Even though I've got quite a collection of driftwood, I thought I'd start by making a mini-hanging before embarking on a bigger feature. Below is a "how-to" in pictures. I got the black string from a Trade Aid store; it's quite rustic.

I'm quite pleased with the results. I hope it doesn't look too amateurish but I quite like its imperfections. I need to find the right spot for it too. I haven't decided whether to trim the tails What do you think?

Prehistoric miniscape

I've blogged before about how much I love terrariums. When I snatched this jar/vase on sale I knew immediately that it would be transformed into a prehistoric miniscape.

Only time will tell how long this era in time will last before the dinosaurs are extinct – again.

Pyramid advent calendar

When I saw this pyramid advent calendar over at Mini Eco I just couldn't resist doing it. I won't be putting the Christmas tree up this year as we are heading to Oz so I thought this was a nice way to get into the festive spirit.

The end result may look more like an arrow than a Christmas tree which is what I was aiming for. Maybe it would have looked better if I'd just made it random. Nevermind, I'll try to remember for next year.

I love...

Terrariums. Not really ones with lizards and frogs inside. More the funky dinosaur variety.

I know I could make one but if I decided to do that it would just get added to a long list things. It would be really nice if someone would do it for me :D

Trash and treasure

I stumbled across these old Reader's Digest books in a "Help Yourself" box at a second-hand shop recently. Who could pass up such gorgeous covers! I think they would make lovely secret book safes. But for now they will just sit and be admired.

The kids asked if I was actually going to read them but I think that's unlikely.

Colour swatch

This is the colour swatch for a raw-edge rug I plan to make. Do you like the colours?



Canary  |  Bone  |  Charcoal  |  Steel

Back to Briz

If we have time, going to GoMA is always on our "to do" list when we are in Brisbane.

Some people were spoilers.

Busy making birds and nests. It's not often I see Ruby so focused.

Then there was the trip to a certain Swedish shop in Logan with the Aspros girls. That's how I tried playing it down to Steve but I couldn't fool him. There was no flat pack furniture on my trolley but I did pick up a couple of small things – that is the best thing about IKEA after all.

We also went up to Caloundra for a couple of nights and caught up with old friends – as in long-standing not over-the-hill! Was so great to have a few laughs. [Sorry no pics but that's probably a good thing!] You guys make me feel normal. Thank you!

Sadly, I had to return to NZ ahead of Steve and the girls for work. Ho hum. Had take-aways last night and off to the movies tonight with some girl friends [sigh].

Pretty Bunting

I've got a bit of  a thing for bunting at the moment. I think it's a great way to decorate and I've found some great website where you can download cute designs for free. Of course the paper variety isn't going to last as long as fabric, but when it's cheap, easy and pretty – who cares!

I got our Christmas bunting from the folks at Team Kitten.

This Happy Birthday bunting banner was part of a complete birthday set from Draw Pilgrim.

This alphabet bunting from Ruffled can be used to spell out anything. I used it for a simple Happy Birthday!

There's also this "compliment" bunting from How About Orange – one of my favourite websites!

A Google search coughed up heaps of results too!

What I [we] did today...

A school holiday project – potato printing and stencilling.