My Creative Space

The last month or so, most of my crafting focus has revolved around 1 project. I am making a rag rug for my girls bedroom. It is a long, time consuming and repetitive job. 

It started with a whole lot of cutting-

Followed by a whole lot of sewing the strips together-

Followed by a whole lot of plating-

Like I said, a whole lot of repetition! But it has been worth it. I am 90% finished now and I am over joyed at how it is turning out. Fingers crossed, all going to plan, I will get it finished in the next week and I will be able to show you the results of all my hard work. 

Enjoying Simple Pleasures

Today has been one of those lovely hot late spring days, the kind of day which fill you with anticipation of the summer to come. I made the most of the beautiful weather to enjoy an impromptu ice cream in town with my girls, followed by picking wild flowers down by the river. Simple pleasures that make for a very happy day with my girls. 

Flea Market Finds

I found this wee gem recently at our local recycling centre. I must admit it was one of those very rare holy grail kind of thrifting moments where you cannot quite believe your eyes. A lovely vintage horn sewing cabinet in near perfect condition, with a price tag of...... $35! I pretty much did a little happy dance there and then before promptly paying for it before they could change their minds.

More lovely finds to be seen here.

My Little Lady Of The Lake

I love how our days pan out here. A lazy lunch followed by an afternoon beach combing at the lake. This little girl of mine, just loves the water. She spends long periods sitting and playing quietly by the waters edge. She loves to throw pebbles into the water, taking joy in the plopping and slashing as they hit the water. 

Today this little girl of mine really made me smile. There is something about preschoolers and costumes, they are like moths to a flame, and my little Holly is no exception to that. Lately, I rarely seem to see her out of costume and todays choice was a butterfly fairy. She flittered along the waters edge, testing the water and enjoying the freedom to unleash her little butterfly fairy along the empty beach.

And as usual for my little girl, we spent time collecting the prettiest of the treasures to take home.

Gotta love days like this.  

I Came Back

I never intended to leave this space but, well, life just got in the way.

As many of you know, my family survived the horror of the February earthquake in Christchurch. We lived through the aftermath before deciding to move hundreds of miles away to start over. To be honest, I have found this whole year a little bit mind blowing and I have been working hard to find my bearings again and establish a new life here. We are 6 months into our new beginning and I am pleased to report that things are going well. We are happy. We have made new friends. We have been welcomed. We have embraced the change. Life is good.

And now, I am looking forward to returning to this space and sharing a little bit of this goodness again.

My Creative Space

I have lots of projects on the go at the moment, probably too many. I think I am the kind of person who prefers to finish one or two projects at a time. But none the less, I am enjoying all the creativity. 

I bought a little bracelet kit, I was hoping Holly would be able to make it. But, it is a little too complicated for a three year old so I have been making it for her. Surprise, surprise, she picked the colours pink and red- such a little girl! 

Finishing off a gift for a new baby. I love the cute little tail on this elephant. 

A couple of merino tops for my girls. I had intended on them being dresses but they really are too short. I am still undecided as to if I should cut them shorter into tops or add a contrast band onto the bottom and make them dresses. 

And as always, I have a project on the needles. 

Light Play

We have discovered a new 'hit' in our house- the light box. Both my girls can spend hours absorbed in creativity on this little box. I bought it a few weeks back, getting a great deal on a local online auction, after being inspired by a lovely blog called Play at Home Mom. Since then, we have come up with all kinds of creative variations, from coloring and tracing to playing with shells and buttons on it.

Holly in particular is a big fan of putting the buttons on it. She sits for long periods arranging the buttons in to patterns and shapes. The other thing she enjoys doing with it is pretending it is a hot stove and cooking on it.

I love watching how their little minds work, how they are able to create this whole world with just a few simple objects. Who would have thought my eclectic button collection could bring hours of joy?