Saturday 16 March 2013

Summery Swing Narita Dress

hello. i purchased the narita dress the other day because i fell in love with it.

here is what i made with it.



 
i just love the swing it has to it. cool and flowy.




it is a great pattern if you only have a teeny tiny bit of your favourite fabric left.
you can add it to this dress on the yoke or pockets.


if you saw my previous post you will notice that the proper pattern gives a much better result than trying to copy the pattern myself.




Sunday 10 March 2013

My newest, most favourite pattern.

hello all.

i spotted on Pinterest the other day the most beautiful little dress pattern, the Narita Dress.
i was on the cusp of buying it when i thought i would try to replicate it.

i did so and come out with this little number.



i just created the pattern through visualising the pattern pieces and taking measurements from my daughter. i came pretty close i reckon. i know that i didn't quite get the fullness in the dress.



i thought i could try to alter my pattern pieces to achieve a closer result but i really love the pattern so much that i went ahead and purchased it.

i really appreciate all the effort that Adrianna put in to achieve a beautiful pattern which comes in size 18mth - 8yrs.

having a go at creating this pattern for myself was very satisfying. i hope to continue practicing and you never know, i might even release my own pattern in the future, but probably not :)

here are a few more pics of my new dress and my gorgeous model.



 
once i have made a dress up with the authentic pattern i'll be sure to show you the result.
 
till then, xxx

Saturday 16 February 2013

a dress for scarlett

hiya :)

i made a cute little dress for scarlett the other day. i used a spotted sheet i found at the salvos and some gorgeous fabric i picked up from spotlight.

 
it turned out a little shorter than i planned so i must make some matching bloomers to cover her nappy.
 
i love the cool design of this dress with the open back.
 
 
i added a little bow to the front to finish off the dress.
 
 
 
i used the same pattern i drafted when i made this dress a while ago.
 
 
 
oh how my little scarlett has grown.

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Healthy Apple Muffins - Yummy!



hello.


i am really enjoying the beginning of this school year, all 2 days of it so far.
the chore chart is working a treat. we have been early to school both days and the kids have been early to bed each night. sierra and saxon were both asleep before 8:30pm tonight so i am happy :)

because i am trying hard to be responsible and organised i wanted to make something healthy for the kids lunch box. the last two days i had made honey joys. they were DELICIOUS but no overly healthy. i figured at least they were handmade rather than store bought and filled with preservatives. i even used raw sugar so it was a little less refined.

for my healthy snack i decided on apple muffins. all the kids love apple and i thought that they would surely love them. i used this recipe. i didn't use blueberries in this recipe though.

here is a quick rundown on how i made them:
 
3 apples peeled, cored and chopped into cubes










160 g self-raising flour
150 g wholemeal flour
150 g raw sugar
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
180 g milk
2 eggs
70 g olive oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
 
 
 
 
 


 
place all ingredients, except the fruit, into a bowl and mix.
add apples.
Spoon the batter into patty pans and place in a muffin tray. bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
 
 
 
 
 
 
my little scarlett loved licking the spoon once i was done, so i was confident they were going to be a huge success.
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
once they were done i couldn't wait to try one out with a nice cuppa tea.
SUCCESS!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
so the test would be whether the kids would like them.
i prepared them with the idea of a delicious snack made only with ingredients they actually liked...
and sure enough the 3 school kids didn't like them, saxon wouldn't even try them :(
 
i was told by saige that she would definitely have eaten then if they had blueberries in them.
 
grrrrr...i just can't win sometimes.
 
anyway i hope you will try out this recipe because it really was yummy, and healthy.
 
until next time,
sherry x


Monday 28 January 2013

welcome to my new blog

hi.

so this is post number one on my new blog.
i would like to take this time to welcome you all and invite you to follow me.
it is such a great way of creating new friendships, sharing ideas and learning new things.
i used to blog a while ago and i have really missed being part of it over the last few months so that is
the reason for this.


to begin i would like to show you a little project i made to help the kids to organise their mornings better when school starts in a few days.
we are one of those families that are late to school most mornings and i kind of use the excuse that it is because i have so many children to get ready, but in actual fact it has more to do with me spending a little too much time on the computer in the morning before I get the household ready.
so i guess to be truthful this little project is for me as much as it is for the kids.

my project is a chore chart with a difference.

 

the idea is that each one of these tasks need to be completed before the tv or computer goes on in the morning.
the chart is pretty self explanatory that the kids can work out what needs to be done even though 2 of them are still learning to read.

 
the chart has each child's name on the left hand side
 

 
across the bottom are all the chores that need completing
 
 
 
once each chore has been done the kids can put on the card that corresponds with the chore.
i laminated the cards and attached some velcro to each one so that it removes easily.
 
we have been practising over the school holidays and it seems to be working well so far.
 
on the back of the large poster we have an almost identical chart that is for the after school routine that needs to be done. this includes
 
-unpack school bag
-put away shoes and socks (i added this one in because without fail the kids walk through the door and dump their shoes and socks in the entry, sand and all!) 
-do homework
-have a shower
-brush teeth
-go to bed (on time)
 
if all these things are done the kids get to put a star on their rewards chart.
they also have the option of earning extra stars for a few other things and then at the end of the week we tally up their earnings. they have the potential of earning up to $10 each.
 
i actually saw an example of this chart while watching an episode of super nanny (love that show)
if you have a similar chart that you use in your house, or something completely different i would love to see it so leave me a link to yours in a comment.
 
until next time,
sherry x