The cutest zombie evah!

The computer game/app/whatever of the year around these parts was Plants vs Zombies. I don't usually get into games, but this one is a lot of fun. It isn't too hard which helps!

I had planned to make Caleb a zombie doll for his birthday but never got around to it, but I have done it in time for Christmas. I made him using the Folkster Wee Wonderfuls pattern, and purchased the wool felt from Winterwood (which is deliciously thick and awesome- none of this happening here!)

I used some scrappy off cuts of one of Chris' old work shirts left over from Jemima's skirt for Mr Zombie's shirt. I guess I could have made him more like the zombies on the game, but I really wanted to use stuff I already had- my stash is a *little* out of control.

I love this pattern, and it really isn't too hard to make. If course with no hair or bonnet, he didn't take as long as Eve's doll.

Hot Diggety Dog!

I started making Christmas presents for the kids in June. So organised, and very unusual really. This Sausage Roller from Craft Schmaft was the first project that I started, but I only finished it last night. If I had all the materials at hand, I think I could have made it in a few nights watching TV, but it took me a while to accumulate everything I needed. As is the Craft Schmaft way, it is surprisingly easy to get a nice result. I'm glad this little pup is staying in the family.

I made him for Eve thinking that she would be walking by Christmas, which in June, seemed so bizarre somehow. But yes, she is indeed toddling about and has been for about 3 weeks or so. On Day 3 of full time walking, she tripped (on flat ground) and hit her head so hard she actually passed out for 30 seconds. Terrifying! But she made a quick and full recovery, and we were given the all clear by the medicos 4 hours later. It wasn't the first, and I know it probably won't be the last time we end up in the Emergency Department with one of our children, so I try enjoy each incident free day to the fullest!

++On the day of her spill++

Eve turned one and here are (some of) the pics

Nothing happens quickly on my blog these days, but better late than never: here is but a sample of the photos my talented sister of ESJAYcreative took back in September! It is hard to pick a favourite.... and decide what to frame. I have a huge 16x20" enlargement of the full family shot with the "1" balloon as that is a firm favourite. Just need an enormous frame now! I bought the balloon from Lark and it is still inflated 2 months later and hangs in Eve's room: value!

There are some other ripper shots, but I don't want to overload the unsuspecting reader!

This can also double as a crafty post as I made our headbands, Jemima's t-shirt, and skirt.

I had made her a "Kea shirt" before with transfer paper, and frankly it just didn't last. The transfer cracked and started peeling off after a few washes. Disappointed! This time around I printed the image on printable fabric and appliqued it on. MUCH better. I sewed on some buttons for extra cute value.

I made her skirt out of one of Chris' old work shirts and sewed on some big red pockets, and replaced the buttons with little blue floral ones. Jemima is a total pink addict, but she is also a pocket addict so she approved of this skirt. Phew!

Eve's adorable dress was bought for me in the late 70s but I never wore it. It was unearthed when Jemima was already too big for it so I am making up for lost time with it this girl around! She wears this once a week!

If you would like your own ESJAYcreative family shots, you will have to wait a little while. My sis is away until at least March next year on a rather big adventure! But do keep her in mind. She is quite the artiste!

3 Kids/3 Paintings

When I read this lovely post over at Karlyn's place the other day, I was reminded to post a little afternoon activity we indulged in recently.

Caleb and Jemima each chose a colour and planned a self portrait, and away we went. I couldn't resist joining in, and having baby Eve in the family was the perfect excuse. She was asleep anyways. You snooze, you lose.

Caleb's picture cracks me up. The blood shot eye, the earrings, the crazed expression, and the tiny top hat resting jauntily on his head. lolz.

Jemima is a fairy of course (she tells me that she is the *only fairy* in the world.) She also has earrings in her self portrait, but (like Caleb) she doesn't really. She would love them, but knows it hurts, so she is not really insisting. I was 20 years old when I got earrings, so there is yet time for her!

The paintings are not proudly displayed in the older kids' shared room. We are all quite happy with the result.

Sneak Peek!

I'm back already with one of my favourite shots so far from our 1st Birthday Photo Shoot taken by my sister. There will probably be one or two more to post! (*warning: understatement*)

My sis does family photography professionally, so if you are in Sydney, need some snaps done, and like her style, do keep her in mind.

Birthday Crochet!

So a whole month has passed, and I still haven't posted anything of Eve's first birthday. But I will!! My sister did a family photo shoot and I have to say, she did a smashing job. I can't wait to show you.

In the meantime, here is one of Eve's first birthday presents that I made for her. I used a pattern for the squares from a Mollie Makes magazine and then grannied around until it seemed done. I took the idea from Tif of Dottie Angel who is an endless source of crochet inspiration. I can't find the exact post right now, but it is in there somewhere!

Because I get extremely itchy and rashy when I crochet with wool, this is a washable acrylic yarn, which, on the bright side is nice and hardy for being dragged around by the unstoppable Eve!

I loved making this blanket for my littlest one. I have plans for more, I'm sure Caleb and Jemima are due for another one?

I have been making quite a lot of stuff lately, but have fallen off the blog bandwagon. I hope to climb back on somehow.

11 months

Eve is 11 months old for about 90 minutes, so I thought I'd slip this post in! Yep, she is wearing her onesie dress!

I don't think I wrote a "10 months". Such a shame, but it's absence sort of reflects what 10-11 months was all about: sleep and not much else. We hit a point early August where Eve was waking multiple times a night for long periods more nights than not. It finally dawned on me that this wasn't a "phase", but something we actually had to address, not just "ride it out".

So after a phone call to Tresillian giving the the confidence to do what I knew I had to... and after 2 weeks of hard work, we now have a baby who mostly sleeps all night and goes to sleep without her dummy, wrap or rocking to sleep. Phew! I know that she is probably still not getting quite enough sleep with the activities of the other kids interrupting nap times, but that's life I guess. She is so much happier, and I am enjoying life a lot more too!

These pics of her at 11 months aren't the best, but she was not in the mood to stay still!!

She turns one tomorrow! WOW.

See Eve grow.

Onesie (twosie)

A weekend or so ago, the urge to sew was too strong to resist. I left all three kids at my mum's house and sewed flat out for an hour before being beckoned back to feed baby. It was very fun- and no mistakes were made in this particular hour which is worthy of noting!

I made Eve this onesie dress using this tutorial as it's basis. I added a "faux bodice" to make it look like a little vintage dress that she owns, and coincidently cover up the little picture. The onesie was Jemima's as a wee one which made it an even more gratifying process.

A little note if you ever plan on making one, keep in mind that you lose about an inch of the length of the onesie in the process of attaching the skirt. This didn't matter in my case because I think Eve is a shorty like her mum.

High on the joy of completing a project in hardly any time at all, I made another one in the evening. I made a mistake when attaching the skirt on this one, so it took a little longer, but cute, hey!

Eve is ONE in 3 days, which in some ways startles me in it's soon-ness, but in others it is almost a wonder she has only been here a year. It feels like she has always been part of the family. We are having a little picnic on Saturday, just our little family plus my sister to take some pics which I am really looking forward to. I sort of forgot about Father's Day, lost in my thoughts about how to make Eve's birthday special (sorry Chris, sorry Dad)- so I had better get onto that!

Hello, world.

Little Eve with her "Fleur" from OneGirlDesignwks Christmas 2010

Pink baby oobee

Yellow baby oobee

Hi Blog!

I'm sorry to say it has been a while since I posted! As punishment, blogger won't allow me to move my images around. Fair enough.

I did some sewing (weeks ago now)!

I won the baby oobee pattern in a giveaway from Leslie (One girl blog) and bought 2 of her baby oobee fabric packs to make my girls one each. Eve will get hers when she turns O N E in a few weeks, and Jemima will have to wait until Christmas. Jemima can't wait! (My latest strategy is to make the kids their gifts in front of them so that they will be excited to get their handmade-by-me items: a little manipulative, I know. ha!)

I love Leslie's work a lot. I bought Eve a "fleur" for Christmas last year and the fabrics are so cute. And her quilts inspired the quilt I made for Eve before she was born.

Jemima's is the pink one- yes that is a liberty quilt, lucky oobee!

Eve is likely to just chew on hers for a while, but oobee will be sure to get awesome cuddles as well.

Thanks Leslie for the freebie! I will make heaps of these in the future I am sure!

Quality time + feathers

I need constant reminders to hang out with my kids rather than keep trying to grab every non-direct care moment for house-working. That makes me sound like I am a neat freak with a super clean home, but no that's not the case. My house is fairly untidy, as anyone who drops in without notice will attest, despite my efforts!

I stopped trying to chase my tail this morning and just spent some time random crafting with Jemima. Eve was kind enough to have a reasonable morning nap of about 90 minutes, and Caleb was out at a Kids Club for the morning, so Jems and I got down her "craft box" (a random jumble of stickers, fabric scraps, crepe paper, pom poms, feathers etc). I made her and Kea (her favouritest softie in the whole wide world) feather crowns, and a couple of hair clips with stuff lying around the house. I think the feather crowns would be extra cute in colours that are a little bit more muted.... but I just grabbed what was in front of me, namely this rather loud nastilty acrylicy orange felt. No earth mother wool felt this time. The crowns have been on and off all day, right now they are "on" which makes me happy.

I made something!

My husband and I went away for the weekend just gone to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We took the Scmevebot (aka our baby Eve) with us, as she still gets all her drinks from me. The older two had an absolute blast with my mum and dad including going to a music festival on Saturday night. They especially enjoyed rocking out to the band, Chasing Light which both my brothers are in (the singer and the bass guitarist). They have pretty cool uncles really. I claim to be cool by association.

Anyways, on the weekend I made this little hat using this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess. Thanks Elsie! It ended up a little bit on the small side, and so doesn't stay on very well, but it is still a cute statement! I have another one on the hook already for a little friend.

Feels so good to finish a project- and actually blog it!

hmmm, so cute!

9 months

Here she is in all her 9 monthly splendor. I love this little button. She is a chirpy sweetie who loves being out and about. She is not too keen on meat or vegetables, but does like fruit and yoghurt quite a lot. She still loves her mummy milk, but is a bit inconsistent, so this mummy has been battling the mastitis monster for most of the last few weeks. All has been well the last couple of days, so I hope worst is behind us on that one. She is still crawling like crazy, pulling to stand, semi cruising, and does that little bouncing baby dance at the slightest hint of music.

Unfortunately she has become a bit anti-sleep. She isn't necessarily unhappy to get into bed, but she just will not go to sleep without a fight (often a long one). This is particularly challenging in the middle of the night as I'm sure all the sleep loving parents out there can relate to! Lucky for us, she seems to cope reasonably well with sleep depravation. Unlucky for us, we do not. Especially me. I keep reminding myself that soon she will be grown up like the other two and I will miss baby Eve, as I miss baby Caleb and baby Jemima. (Not to say I don't adore my children at all ages, surely that goes without saying.)

P'raps I should rename my blog "Eve's montly pics"! That's the majority of the action happening here lately. I have crafted a few things that I haven't posted, but craft and blogging in general has been taking a bit of a back seat to some other time consuming matters, alas! Hope to be back before the end of the month.

Thanks for stopping by!

See Eve grow!

8 months

So Eve is now 9 months, and I missed the quilt photo for 8 months. Oh well. These are some pictures that my talented sister snapped on Mothers Day a few weeks ago when baby was 8 months.

I love her big shiny eyes.

See Eve grow!

Ring, ring!

I was lucky enough a little while ago to test a pattern for Pepper from Pepper Stitches!

I really enjoyed testing this pattern for an animal phone because, 1) it is an animal phone! 2) I realised that I make a great pattern tester, not because I am awesome, but because I make really obvious mistakes unless you tell me not to!! This pattern was great to start with, but now I am sure that it is fool proof.

Check out this link from her blog for where to buy her new patterns and other really lovely things.

My kids love this phone, even though the phones they have always known look quite a bit different. An animal iPhone wouldn't be as cute I don't reckon.

Happy weekend to all!

7 (and a bit) months

So, Eve is actually at the time of writing 8 and a half months, but I took the photos at 7 and a half months, so I thought I might as well post them!

7 months was a much healthier month than 6, and excitingly was the month she learned to crawl! She was about 2-3 months earlier than my other 2 sweeties on this score. I think she is already desperate to be one of the "big kids". Soon after she was pulling to stand. It's pretty cute! (And getting more difficult to get her to lie on her quilt for her picture!)

See Eve grow.

Mighty beans

I scored Pip's latest craft book recently and I really love it. This is the second thing I have made- a simple zipper pouch. My mum bought Caleb some "mighty beans" because she likes to give the kids lots of presents (Grandma's rule). They needed a home, so rather than thinking about making one (which is what I usually do), I actually did. I used an op shopped zip so it wasn't the right size which made it a bit skew-if, but craft without some wonk, is not my way.

I wanted to embellish and was inspired by an image in the book of crocheted finger puppets. I used an iron on name label inside as these little guys sometimes do the school run.

It's the first zip pouch I have made since starting my sewing career 3 years ago! They are too easy, I don't know what took me so long!

6 (and a bit) months

I wasn't as organised this month for her "6 month shoot". Since becoming 6 months she has pretty much been sick the whole time. First up was the bronchiolitis, secondly she had frighteningly high fevers for several days, breaking out in a rash and generally being tired and miserable, and now she has been hit with a cold and a rattly chest. Poor little dear. Up until this barrage started, she had not been even a little bit sick.

But I had to get cracking with her picture as she will be seven months in a week and a half!

She is a beauty.

See Eve grow.

Success

I am not a good cook. I get by for daily meals and the occasional baking, but generally I don't enjoy it. So I was quite pleased with this result. It really is very easy to make! Just make sure you have double the icing you think you will need! I used these instructions.

Jemima's rainbow birthday party was a lot of fun - it rained, and then the sun came out. Perfect really. Twas a great celebration of my little miss. And she is already planning her 5th.

Mermaiden

When I discovered Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls was writing a book, I knew that one day it would be mine. I send my husband a wish list on email with links in November each year and he uses my list to buy me my Christmas and birthday presents. It's not necessarily romantic, but it works! And thus, the book of softies was mine in January.

The kids and I looked through the book, and Jemima fell in love with "Mermaiden". I was going to make her a Folkster for her birthday, but she was so taken with this little lady, I changed my mind. This is actually the second one I made, but didn't take a picture of the first before it became my niece's birthday present. I don't often make the same thing more than once, but I actually enjoyed the process more second time around.

I decided to give her the mermaiden the day before her birthday, so that I could enjoy her enjoying her handmade present without the distraction of all the other stuff she was soon to acquire. Selfish? She wasn't complaining! She looooved mermaiden more than anything I have ever made for her, and took her around town with her all day. I really enjoyed that! So much so, that in future I think I will give the kids anything I have made for them on their birthday eve. Why not?

The birthday party preparations have been in full swing for a few days now. I wouldn't say it was a complicated party: in fact I have tried to keep it as simple as possible, but it's still a lot of work! I would be happier if it would stop raining, but it is a rainbow party (yep, I am making one of these), so the rain is in theme I guess!

The Girl with the Flaxen Hair

Image by ESJAYcreative

My dear Jemima Rose turned 4 yesterday. That is her in the above image that my sister photographed. The addition of the rainbow was my request as I am going to use the picture in her rainbow birthday party this weekend.

FOUR! I am feeling so sooki. I am going to be hopeless when they are really grown up. *sigh*

Happy Birthday Princess Peach xo

A little dress

I had intended this to be a Christmas present for Eve, but simply ran out of makey time at the end of last year. I finished it sometime late January/Early Feb, so not a bad effort really. It is still a little bit big for her, but it looks pretty sweet.

It is the Crossover Pinny and Nappy cover pattern from Bettsy Kingston. I have the nappy cover cut out, but when I was about to sew it together (about 2 months ago), someone dropped in out of the blue and I have never picked it up again.

Thankyou for all Miss Eve's get well wishes! I kept meaning to pop back in here and say that she was doing fine, but I kept forgetting, which is not very nice if anyone was worried about her. Sorry! She is now 6 months, so she will be making her appearance soon in her monthly pic post!