Spring flowers + a DIY

Yay Spring is here and we've actually had a few warm (ish) days lately which has been lovely after a very wet and cold winter. We don't have alot of flowers in our garden but I noticed yesterday that we actually had a quite a few flowers around the house so I thought I'd take some pics.

Daffodils from the Tauranga Farmers Market hubby and the girls went to yesterday morning.

 

Daphne - my favourite flower for its scent- I planted two plants last year so this is their first year flowering

Wild jasmine picked from the side of the road

 

Lavender and daisies from our garden

And this lovely line of trees is at a community garden just down the road from our place where people can buy lots and grow their own vegetables, herbs and flowers- a man there said one more week and these trees will be bursting with blossoms so will have to take another pic then!

 

This flower was in someone's plot- isn't it stunning- can anyone tell me the name of it?

and I made these little felt 'flowers' the other day after seeing a big vase of them in the Moochi store here in Tauranga- you just cut three hearts for each flower out of felt and stick them onto a twig- there's a tutorial on the Moochi blog I discovered via pinterest. 

And here's a couple of lovely Spring themed art works from the artist Katie Daisy- I love her work. Check out her website or Etsy store and she's on Facebook too.

'Bird Chirping Weather' print

Daisy Field print

Love this 'Wonderful World' print too, especially after seeing this youtube clip I shared on my facebook page last night

'Wonderful World' print

Happy Spring (or Autumn for you northern hemisphere readers- love that season too!)

Megan x

Family movie nights

I am loving that two of our three kids are old enough (5½ and 3½) to have family movie nights together- I have read about these on lots of blogs and always thought how fun it would be when we can finally have our own!  We've watched a few movies so far  (along with the obligatory bowls of pop corn) so I thought I'd share them with you- I asked the girls to help choose a rating for each movie. I really like old fashioned movies and movies from books so that's what we've been mostly watching so far, with a few new ones as well.

Mary Poppins 9/10- Both girls loved this and I absolutely loved that a movie made in 1964 could still captivate my girls today (can't wait to go to the musical in Auckland soon too!!)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 8/10- we watched both the original Gene Wilder version and the new version with Johnny Depp- both the girls and me enjoyed the original more- I think younger children sometimes prefer less special effects maybe??!!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 7/10-this was a great movie with a neat story line- loved the children in the film and the whole other era of when the movie was set- the girls did follow the story and enjoyed most of it but did not like the 'child catcher' at all (there were tears) so might be better for older children!

Fantastic Mr Fox 5/10
This was one of my favourite books when I was little..however I thought the movie was a real disappointment- the style of the movie was way over the heads of my girls and neither hubby or I really enjoyed it either!

The Lorax 6/10

The girls enjoyed this movie but I wasn't that fussed on it- it felt like a pretty simple story really dragged out in movie form to me (haven't read the story though)

Toy Story 8/10-we all really enjoyed this movie- so clever and I love the characters of each toy especially the dinosaur :)

The Smurfs 7/10
We all enjoyed this movie although there are a few 'scary bits' if you have young children...

The Borrowers 7/10- this was a great family film

Bee Movie 9/10-This is nearly our favourite movie- me and the girls loved it- Jerry Seinfeld was the perfect choice for Barry Bee. Great story line and we loved the music too.

The Muppets  10/10
Our favourite so far! This is such a great movie for kids and adults to enjoy together, and the music really makes it so memorable and fun to watch. It has been so neat to see the kids getting into the muppets songs and we've been watching some of the old Muppets series on DVD which has been fun too. (Going to write a separate post about The Muppets soon!)

If you have any family movies to recommend please leave a comment as I'd love to find out about more, especially kids or family movies that have stood the test of time!
Megan x

PS: Finding the original movie posters for this post reminded me about the website 'AllPosters.com' - I used it years ago to buy the 'Amelie' movie poster that I got block mounted. I love vintage/retro movie posters so I'm thinking one of the ones above would look so cool in the girl's bedroom- although I think the one they would really love is this muppets one! A fun christmas present maybe...

Muppets movie poster at All Posters.com

Display boxes and printers trays

Hi all, can't believe it's been nearly a month since my last blog post...there hasn't been a lot of time for crafting or blogging lately but I do miss this space and this part of my life so will hopefully be writing a few more blog posts in the near future! I have managed one little project lately- this little decorated display frame.

I got the idea to decorate it after seeing this gorgeous image on pinterest

(via one of my favourite 'pinners' Meg McMillan, owner of the gorgeous store Tea Pea.)

Mine actually wasn't a display frame to begin with..it was the wooden compartment box that this Melissa and Doug magnetic dress up toy came in (didn't take a before pic but it was similar to this one)

I painted it and used some scrapbooking card from Spotlight to decorate the back of each compartment.
 (I just used a glue stick to stick the card to the back but modpodge would be good too).

I haven't decided where to hang it yet...if I had a craft room I would put it in there with a few cute crafty bits and pieces but for now it's sitting on the dining table waiting for a home.  The project got me thinking about something I am seeing a lot of at the moment in home magazines- using vintage printer's trays as art works or to display little treasures. I would love to buy one and decorate in a similar style to my little one and fill with treasures as well- they really appeal to my love of colour, organisation and little things. Actually I would like one in nearly every room as you'll see from the ones I am loving below! I looked on trademe the other night and there were quite a few on there for sale..not so many now but I'm sure they will keep popping up if you are wanting one for your home too.

Here are some decorated ones that have caught my eye on pinterest....

http://pinterest.com/pin/108579040985615843/
Love the painted backgrounds and the bits and pieces in this one...

http://pinterest.com/pin/48343395971082662/
...and the gorgeous background papers in this beautiful tray

http://pinterest.com/pin/98234835591528693/
Add hooks and turn a printers tray into a jewellery holder- love this idea

http://pinterest.com/pin/142707881912517868/
I'd love to have my threads organised like this if I had the space!

http://pinterest.com/pin/229824387203781052/
A great way to display kids special treasures and toys

http://pinterest.com/pin/106538347404476562/
Love this shell display

http://pinterest.com/pin/205124957997379672/
You can even use one as a giant photo frame

http://pinterest.com/pin/96475616987743354/
Even undecorated they look stunning as wall art.

Well I better go and get organised for the weekend now..we are having our first child free night in..well nearly 2 years to be honest...how crazy is that?!
Megan x

kids crafty suitcase activity ideas: sewing cards

Hi all and thank you so much for all the comments about my kids crafty suitcases- much appreciated! I said I'd share some ideas for things to do with the suitcases and the first thing I thought of was some practice sewing/stitching cards. I was going to make up some of these to put in Amelie's suitcase but ran out of time for her birthday.  They are a great way to get younger children into a bit of (relatively independent) stitching practice, and they would look so cute as part of a suitcase gift. I have a very happy memory of making a picture by stitching it on a piece of hessian for an art lesson at primary school so maybe that's why I'm keen on these too. The first lot of cards in my post are free printables so you'll just need a printer and some card- at least 250gsm card which you can get from Warehouse Stationery, or you could print these out and glue them to even heavier card like the card from a cereal box or even thicker if you can find some. Something else handy to have would be a single hole punch- does anyone know where you can get these from?

Vintage sewing cards from Belladia

Animal sewing cards from Skip to my Lou

I can imagine these cards from Handmade Charlotte would look fantastic as a classroom display- older children could even draw or paint their own profiles before stitching on their hair.

DIY sewing cards using a button as an 'anchor' from Cat Taylor
/
Printable sewing cards from Mini-eco
And there are also commercial lacing cards sets you can buy - these would also be a lovely addition to a kids crafty suitcase, especially for younger crafters.

Eric Carle lacing card set

Dr Suess 'The Cat in the Hat' lacing cards

And these animal lace up cards from Djeco at Small Acorns are gorgeous and would be great for older children.

And another other idea for stitching practice would be to buy some hessian, felt or cross stitch fabric such as aida (with nice big holes!), sketch a picture on the fabric for your child and let them stitch along your drawing lines to make the picture. If they are a bit older they could draw the picture themselves first and if they are a bit younger you could just let them practice making stitches on the fabric. You could use an embroidery hoop so it's easier for them to hold the fabric as they stitch.

Happy sewing and if you haven't already don't forget to enter my giveaway for some crafty suitcase treats!
Megan x

vege soup with a touch of magic

I am obsessed with making vege soup lately, especially after discovering Ray McVinnie's recipe for a yoghurt and mint topping that takes vege soup from yum to absolutely delicious!!! It is so good on a winter's night with copious amounts of cheese on toast. This recipe makes heaps- if you are making some for you and some to share then about 3 soup ladles full is enough for 1 adult. You should get enough out of this recipe for about 6-8 adult servings.

Vege soup

4 carrots peeled and chopped

few sticks of celery chopped

2 onions finely chopped

4 cups chicken stock

4 large potatoes peeled and chopped
4 frozen spinach portions (I buy Talleys from the supermarket)

Ray McVinnie's yoghurt and mint soup topping recipe (enough for 4 soup servings)

100ml olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

zest of one lemon

quarter cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons chopped mint

salt and pepper

150 ml plain unsweetened yoghurt

1. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of a large pot. Chop up the onions, celery and carrots and cook in the pot for about 5 minutes or until onion is clear.
2. Pour in your chicken stock and bring to the boil.
3. Add your chopped potatoes and frozen spinach. Bring back to the boil and simmer for about 30-40 minutes until veges are well cooked. You may need to add a little water if your stock doesn't quite cover your veges.
4. When cooked, lightly mash your veges.

To make the olive oil topping - mix the olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, parsley and mint in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Serve the soup with a large dollop of plain unsweetened yoghurt and plenty of the oil mixture on top.
Magic!
Megan x

A Mousehouse Kids Crafty Suitcase Tutorial and Giveaway

Hello all, well I've finally got a chance to share my latest project- these little crafty suitcases I made back in April - it takes a while to write a long post like this nowadays! The pink one was for my daughters 5th birthday which she has absolutely loved.  I had the idea to make one after seeing these beautiful Moulin Roty ones in a magazine a few years ago- however they were pretty expensive and only had knitting supplies really so I thought I'd make one that had a bit of everything- knitting, beginner stitching, and lots of other kids crafty stuff. (Funnily enough I looked on pinterest last night to see if there were any other DIY kids craft kits and came across this gorgeous one made back in 2010 inspired by the same Moulin Roty suitcases!)

Some of it such as the knitting needles and the knitting spool are a bit too tricky to use for now but will be great in a few years time. It was so much fun collecting up the bits and pieces for the suitcase- some of it I've had for over a year as whenever I saw something cute such as the knitting needles or the animal measuring tape I'd just buy it and pop it away until I got the chance to get the suitcase done. And I also thought of some things I could make for the suitcase as well- a drawstring bag for her fabric stash, a needle book and pin cushion, a pencil case and a crayon roll. 

So I thought I'd share how I made the suitcase and what I put in it in case you would like to make your own version one day. 

Kids Crafty Suitcase Tutorial

1. Find a kids sized suitcase (mine is approx L29cm x W20cm x H9.5cm).  I bought mine from Bubbalooz- a NZ based website that has heaps of cute suitcases.  Or try searching online for mini suitcases, nesting suitcases or kids cardboard suitcases. You could also search ebay or trademe for a vintage suitcase!

2. Choose a piece of scrapbooking card for the inside lid of the suitcase- Spotlight has a good range.

3. Lie the suitcase upside down on your card, trace around it and cut it out. Then cut about 1 cm in again so it fits inside your lid (bit of trial and error here!) I then glued the card to a piece of black card to make it stronger.  

4. Decide what you would like to put on the inside lid part. I chose some embroidery thread bobbin cards printed from this fab blog here, a knitting mushroom (also called a knitting spool or knitting nancy), some kids knitting needles and some scissors. I got the knitting mushroom from here as part of a seedling kit or you could search Etsy as I saw a few on there too). The scissors were from Bernina here in Tauranga and the kids knitting needles were from the Tauranga Knitting Centre.

Place the items you want on your card and mark with a pencil where you need to make the holes for the elastic to go through to hold the items in place. Now place the card on a piece of wood and use a large nail and hammer to make the holes (see pic 1.) Thread hat elastic (tight but not too tight) through the holes and knot on the back (see pic 2.) Check that your items fit well. Use craft glue or PVA to glue the back of the card to the inside lid of the suitcase.

5. Fill up your suitcase with whatever crafty things take your fancy- here's my list of ideas- I didn't use all of them as mine ended up being more of a sewing/stitching suitcase than an arts and crafts one. I did include beads, pins, buttons etc so you'll have to decide whether they are appropriate for your kids (Amelie's pin cushion was put away very soon after she got her suitcase!!)

Stitching/Knitting

• Childrens knitting needles 
• Knitting mushroom 
• crochet hook
• 2 x ball of yarn
• 4 x embroidery threads
• hessian and Aida cloth (cross stitch fabric) for stitching practice - cut to fit into your suitcase
• Felt rectangles for stitching practice - cut to fit into your suitcase + scraps of felt for projects
•  Plastic needle for hessian for young stitchers
• Large stitching needles for Aida cloth and felt for older children
• embroidery hoop
• Small sharp scissors - sharp enough to be able to cut fabric and felt
• ‘Practice stitching’ cards- buy or make your own
• Small plastic compartment container for beads, buttons etc

Sewing

• fabric scraps
• Pins
• Novelty tape measure
•  2 x rolls of ribbon
•  buttons
•  ric rac/other trims
• elastic
• safety pins for needle book
• brooch backs

Art and craft

• crayons, felts, glitter pens, glitter glue pens, 
• mini paint box eg:  http://www.smallacorns.co.nz/product/Djeco-Watercolour-Paints-12-Classic-colours?i=438 
• beads and thread
• washi tape
• sellotape
• glue stick
• stickers
• paper, card, envelopes
• notepad or notebook and pen
• blank luggage tags
• bakers twine or string
• stamps and ink pad

6. If you're a crafter you could make some things to go in the suitcase as well-as mentioned above I made a small drawstring bag, a needle book and pin cushion, a crayon roll and a pencil case. 

Right, that's it I think! Feel free to ask any questions- I'll write a post soon with some ideas for getting your kids into some beginner sewing and some simple things for them to make using the supplies in the suitcase.

And if you would love to get started on making your own crafty suitcase or would just like some crafty treats I've made up a few things to giveaway- a drawstring bag, needle book, pin cushion, notebook, crayon roll and a little container of craft supplies.

...Edit 27 July Giveaway is now closed...

Just leave a comment here to enter...unfortunately I don't think you can enter by leaving a comment on my Facebook page as Facebook have tightened up the rules about running promotions (comments or questions are welcome though!) so to enter you'll need to leave a comment on this blog post - if you don't have a blogger account. just sign in as 'anonymous' and be sure to write your email address in the comment.  For extra entries let me know whether you are a Facebook 'liker', a blog follower or you could share this giveaway on Facebook or on your blog- just leave a separate comment for each one (I've taken off the word verification for comments so it'll be a little easier to comment now.)

International entries are welcome and the giveaway will close in 2 weeks time Friday the 27th July 7pm NZ time.

Happy crafting and thanks for reading!

 Megan x