One roll of stickytape = 2 hours of entertainment

Yesterday my sister and BIL went along to see Daryl Braithwaite, Vika and Linda Bull, Ross Wilson and Mark Seymour at Legends on the Lawn at Werribee Park.

Although I would have dearly loved to go, access to any type of concert really isn't great for someone like me, so I volunteered to babysit the twin munchkins instead.

I'd picked up some cheap and cheerful pirate craft kits in the mark down bin for $2.50 at Spotlight a while ago...

They were quite a hit!

I couldn't deal with the amount of mess that would have been created with glue...

So we spent two hours making artwork using stickytape..... just check out that concentration!

All I had to do was sit across the other side of the bench with the stickytape dispenser. Cheapest and easiest entertainment ever!

Let's Rock

It's that time of the year again, when the council puts on free concerts in the some of the local parks.

Last year, it just happened to be on a 35 degree day. Thankfully, last night was the perfect cool mild weather to sit around and eat and drink and be merry!

The bloke with the coffee van was also much happier.

There was a young band who played first (not the one pictured) named The Indigo Children. I really liked them, so after they finished, I sent my sister off to chase them to ask if we could buy a CD. They gave us one for free which was very cool.

One of the guys in the band is also involved in another band that has a single on iTunes at the moment, where the proceeds are going to the Flood Relief appeal - so feel free to go and check it out and download it.

During intermission, there was a bit of Bollywood action, where the crowd could join in.... hilarious

The second band was The Hallmarks. They played covers of lots of my fave aussie classics - INXS, Cold Chisel, Dragon, AC/DC, and Hoodoo Gurus just to name a few. I think I managed to sing along with nearly every song.

Little Zaney was having so much fun that he had to go home and get his guitar to join in. If only we could have convinced him to get up on stage.....

Getting Quilty - Part 2

While I was toiling away stitching Lucas's quilt....

Beccasauras was putting in double the toil making new quilts for my twin nephews....

They were both so excited when I arrived with the quilts on Saturday. Zane was the first to greet me in the hallway, so he had first choice between the two. They both ran to their bedroom and put their new quilt blankies on their beds - it was very cute to watch!

I love how they're both so different, but still match perfectly... co-incidentally, much like the twins personalities

I tried to get a decent photo, but trying to make three toddlers stop moving and smile at the camera is an impossibility!

Here they are saying "Thankyou Beccasauras"

Confusion reins....

I headed around to visit the twins yesterday and deliver their belated birthday pressies.

Moo Moo wanted to join in too, even though there seems to be a little bit of confusion over how to wear the scarflettes....

The manbags were a bit of a hit.

Apparently they're fabulous for carrying drink bottles around the house.

Here's one I made earlier

One of the most depressing things that happened last week, was the fact that I missed the twins 2nd birthday. They did come in for a brief visit with me on their actual birthday, but they were more interested in running around the hospital cafeteria while trying to pinch the chupa chups that were set up at toddler height!

Thank goodness I was pre-organised this year, and already had their presents ready. We're going to have a little mini belated birthday cake session on Thursday to make up for it.

There's been many kerfuffles going on over at their house, about who gets to wear Moo Moo's Manbag, so I whipped up one for each of the twins, using some very groovy fabric that I bought from the Fat Quarter Shop before the dollar dropped.

I also found a good use for when there's one ball of yarn leftover from other projects....

I knitted up these little mini scarflettes, and added a vintage button from the stash. By the way, I have no idea how to do proper buttonholes - in this case, the button just pushes through the knitting.

Lets see how long these last around their necks before they end up on the floor!

The planned robot tees have been slightly delayed - not only is the scanner completely kaput, but now my PC is dead too....

Ahoy there it's done!

It was a crazily busy day yesterday, but I made the most of the spare hour that I had in the afternoon to finish off the Little Houdini's sleeping bag.

I pulled out some binding scraps to finish off the armholes.... then cut it right down the middle to add the zip.

I've been collecting zips from the oppy for the longest time - I even had the exact perfect colour and size in the zipper stash.

Thanks to everyone for all of their tips yesterday.... especially the one about adding a tab to cover the top of the zipper so that he can't unzip himself!

I delivered it yesterday afternoon, so I'm hoping that the first test run worked lastnight.

My creative space

In my creative space today.... a little bit of trial and error and making it up as I go along.

Little Zaney (my nephew) has worked out how to hook his leg over the side of the cot and jump out in the middle of the night, so my sister is going to have to start using a sleeping bag to prevent it.

The sleeping bag that she currently has is made from polar fleece, which is far too hot for the current weather, so I'm whipping one up using some cotton flannel for the outside, and some cotton print fabric for the inside.

I just traced around the existing bag and constructed it in a similar way to making a handbag. The armhole construction didn't work in reality as I'd planned in my head, so there was a little bit of unpicking while sitting on the couch lastnight watching The Real Housewives of NJ that I'd IQ'd.

Now I just need to bind the armholes, and add a zip down the front and I'll be finished.

In hindsight, it would have probably been easier if I'd constructed the front of the sleeping bag in a similar way to a dress bodice, so that I could use snaps instead of a zip.... but oh well, too late now!

Visit Kirsty, the Queen of Creativity to play along.....

The Bubbas are One

My twin nephews, Noah and Zane turned one today.

Luckily, the sewing machine service man returned my overlocker thismorning, and I managed to drag myself off the couch for just enough time to whip up a birthday pressie.

I have a huge pile of unwanted clothes that have previously belonged to various family members in my sewing stash.

An unwanted / preloved adult pair of jeans is just perfect for re-creating into a little pair of kiddie jeans.

I used two pairs of my sisters old jeans to make these for the twins - I left the half pocket detail in place from the old jeans to actually show that they've been recycled (and I think it looks pretty cool too).

I always have plain t-shirts in the stash - they're perfect for last minute gifts.

So, I also whipped up a couple of appliqued t-shirts using the denim offcut and the same fabulous cowboy print that I received from Stacey.

They'll be wearing their new uber-cool outfits to creche tomorrow. Hopefully, I might get a photo for the blog in their new outfits.

PS - For anyone who is interested - I checked with the Sewing Machine Service man and he services the Western and Northern Suburbs. He picks up and drops off, and the service is $65. His details are in the Yellow Pages here. He even puts a little sticker on the machine so you know when it's mext due for a service (just like when you take your car in)!

PPS - I refused to go to Spotlight last week to buy vliesofix for appliques (after the last debacle), but Nikki told me about a new fusible that she saw at Stitches and Craft. I did some research and bought a new one named Applifix online from Craft Cubby. I'm impressed!

Santa's Little Helpers

Zane
Noah

I just couldn't resist putting these on the blog because they're just so cute (even if I'm a little biased). They're 6 months old now....wow how time flies.

A Smurfey Fashion Parade

You may remember a little while back I made these Smurf applique t-shirts for my twin nephews, using some vintage Smurf fabric that I won from one Pip's giveaways....

Well, the t-shirts finally fit them!

This is Noah Smurf.....he's the big brother but he's actually the little one.

This is Zane Smurf.....he's the little brother, but he's actually the bigger one!

Aren't they cute (ok so I'm just a little biased)!

Introducing......

......my new baby nephews, Noah and Zane.

Earlier in the day, they were wrapped in the matching blankies that I made, but one was already christened with baby vomit by the time we managed to snap a photo of them together...

Now I have six nephews.....a basketball team including a sub!