New Hats!

I have been absent for a few weeks cause I got to go on holidays! Yay for 2 weeks of sunny bliss for me and the hubs. Lots of sleep ins, dinners out (no cooking - double yay!) shopping, beaching, swims, coffee dates and late afternoon naps! Our holiday was made even better by finding out that we are having a little girl! Hubs reckons he had a "gut feeling" from the beginning and he said girl all along. I wasn't too sure, but nevertheless, we are pretty thrilled! The crafter in me has already been skimming through my pattern books making a list of all the things I want to make for our little one!!

Anyway, seeing as though autumn is upon us and winter will soon be here, I have started working on some new hats..I am debating between cotton and nice warm wool, but thinking I will do a combination of hats so I can use both. I have done two so far ....

Size 2-3 organic cotton ear flap hat with decorative elastic ribbons! so cute and mega comfy.

Ok so I know this is a GIRLS hat but my niece wasn't overly keen in getting her pic taken, but Reece, who is amazingly cute and has these eyes that look into your soul, wasn't against the idea! My sister minds him a few days a week and he is gorgeous. I simply needed a noggin to model this hat on and he was willing...nothin to be ashamed of Reecy boy!

I did manage to capture this one but her face says it all "if you absolutely must!"

The hat also has ties that can either hang down for cuteness or be tied up for more practical purposes.

I love this one! Size 1-2. Made in 100% aussie wool with a cute white band and oversized flower.

I really love the colours of this hat...nice and bright!

I have also been working on some new patterns...these cute puppy rattles are some:

I am going to be working on getting my business up and running over the next few months. I am starting by working on my catalogue of items I will be offering and other boring stuff like webites, changing my blog name over to my business name and all other things like that.

Currently, most of my hats are available for purchase or I also take custom orders. Just facebook me or leave a comment on my blog and I will get back to you!

Hope you all have a great week, I will be back next week with more hats!

Ciao

Bella

xxx

Baby Showers and Holidays!

It feels like time flys by so quickly and I never get time to prepare the blog posts that I really want to write. I always end up offering the half version of what I really want to say just to get my post down and then find myself frustrated that my blog is not doing what I want it to do! I keep telling myself that once maternity leave rolls around (3 and a half months to go, but whose counting!) I will have more time to really put the effort in. That's right...keep telling yourself that! Right now I am frantically trying to get this post done while packing for holidays, finishing off a couple of orders and scheduling baby scans. But who is complaining...all of those a good problems to have!

A friend of mine at work is having a little girl real soon and I put together a cute basket for her baby shower which I can't make as we will be away....I figured that every little girl needs cute shoes and hats!

cute pink shoes and a bunny ears hat to match!

Hubs and I are heading off on holidays in the next few days and I could not be more excited for it!!!! I am hoping for a little quiet time over the next few weeks to try my hand at needle felting - my new craft interest! A few pics that have inspired me lately...

Source

Source

I also want to try a few hook projects I have had waiting...

I LOVE these...how amazing and cute are they!!!

Too many cute things and no where near enough time. Let's hope I get a newborn that behaves!

Have a great few weeks, see you on the flip side where I will hopefully be relaxed, rejuvanted and bursting with news about whether we are having a pink one or a blue one!

Ciao

Bella

xx

Kids Skinny Leg PJ Pants...

I got given a new overlocker for Christmas and I was pretty eager to get it sewing and learn all the ins and outs of my new machine...I decided to make something totally out of knit fabric so I could exclusively use my overlocker without the need to go bac and forth between it and my sewing machine. Turns out I love it - so much easier, cleaner and crisper than my machine! It has definitely earned it's place on my sewing table.
I decided to make these cute skinny leg PJ pants I once saw on a blog I read From An Igloo. I wasn't overly happy with the top pattern but I was pretty happy with the pants - they are too cute!

The camera doesn't really bring up the colours well but the stripe fabric is a really nice light blue stripe.

I obviously made them in little girl colours as I couldn't really find any knit or jersery fabric I liked that would suit a little man.

I love the little bum on the pants...the original pattern had an applique on the bum which made it mega cute, but I didn't have the time to do one on mine..next time!

front of the pants...

I think they would be really comfy and great for in between seasons and winter as well.

This week has been a good one, hubs and I had a visit from my parents which was nice, they hadn't seen me since I first found out I was pregnant so they had a nice shock at my belly! hehe. We had a nice time ordering pizza, watching movies, coffee and cake and just relaxing.

Hubs and I also had to go and make our hospital booking for when bubs comes - we are all booked in now! Makes it feel a little more real, although I do sometimes look down at my bump and find it surreal that there is an actual baby in there!!!!

We have holidays coming up soon which we are both dying for!!!! 2 weeks of coastal bliss should do the trick!

Better go now, hubs is serving the roast! I will leave you with a pic of some cute and cheeky monkeys that went off to the shop recently...

Hope this week is kind to you and speeds at lightning pace towards Friday and next weekend!

Ciao

Bella

xxx

Pinterest Finds!

I thought I might show you some of the inspiring and beautiful things floating around the Pinterest world...

A needle felted ET! Amazing detail...

Source: blog.craftzine.com

Needle felted animals...I love these!!!

Source: etsy.com

Cute pin cushion...I need!

Source: blog.paper-lovely.com

Can you tell I am slightly obsessed with needle felting at the moment? But how seriously cute!

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com

These are way too cute!!! I love spearmint lollies too!

Source: family.go.com

and last but not least....something funny....

Oh how I wish this was true sometimes! hahahaha

I am definitely getting some of my creative juices back looking around on Pinterest and thinking about all the new patterns I can try when I have a spare minute.

Hope you find the time to be creative this week....does browsing around on Pinterest count?

Ciao

Bella

xxx

Missing! My Creativity....

Over the last 8 weeks or so I have had a total lack of desire to be creative...On top of being really busy with life in general, morning sickness has zapped any resolve to do anything apart from sleeping, being sick, rummaging in the cupboard for some kind of food to keep down and sleeping some more. I had no idea how tired I would be an how sick I would feel. I am hoping (with every finger and toe crossed) that it will pass soon and I might get my energy and creative mojo back.

At the moment, my life is filled with doctor's visits (really, how many times is normal in one week?), work and filling current orders (which thankfully, have kept my mind occupied and hands busy). Cooking dinner for hubs when he gets home from work has been a bit hit and miss - there has been way too many pizza and thai meals around here!

Today e had a baby scan that totally amazed me. After nearly a year at IVF and a few losses, I am still in awe that I am actually having a baby. I sit and watch the ultrasound screen and think...Whose baby is that? That can't be mine! Yet, as my stomach grows and I devour salt and vinegar chips by the kilo, it becomes more real. To all those couples out there that are till trying and going through what is one of the hardest times of your life...stay strong. I know how it feels and to be honest, in the middle of it, it SUCKS. I am not going to give you "it will be alright in the end" cause I hated that. Just keep strong. Your future babies are worth it.

Enough waffling on from me....even though I haven't done alot of new projects lately (I do hve a few I want to try when time allows) I did have one small project I didn't show you...

My nan is the queen of making receiving blankets for babies. (Receiving blankets?? What the?) Basically, a soft flannel blanket with a crochet edge that is divine for wrapping bub, laying on the floor for bub to lay on and any general "baby needs a blanket" time. I wanted to give one a go considering I always loved my nan's one...
Here is my first attempt (I now regret the colours I used, so not happy with it but hey, it's a first attempt!)

Before you say it, I know my toenails drastically need a re-paint. It's been done!

That's it for me today! Hope you are having a great week and getting some sun!

Ciao

Bella

xx

Tiny Hand Rattles...

A miracle has occured today! The SUN is out! Yes that's right....after days and days of rain, it felt so good to feel the warmth of the sun on my shoulders. I spent the morning with my sister at some local fabric sales and scored some bargains, such pretty florals and spots - I can't wait to start sewing!

I did try out a new pattern recently for the cutest little rattles. What I love about these is the handle of the rattles are perfect for tiny hands, they almost fit right into the palm of baby hands. I love them!

Cute little bear and monkey!

They have the sweetest little faces and so easy to hold onto for little hands!

I love the monkey...so cheeky!

Colour combinations are pretty endless really...These rattles were made for little boys.

Do you like? I think they are cute!

Here's to hoping the sun stays around for a few more hours this week!

Have a great week friends..

Ciao

Bella

xxx

Play Bags

Yesterday while shopping with my sister, we found some great second hand toys in the local opportunity shop. One in particular caught my attention, a full dinosaur play set complete with faux rocks, trees, dinosaurs - enough to set up a whole dino land! I grabbed it for $5 thinking it would be great for work and future kids.
It came in a plastic container (as do most modern toys) and age and use had made the container damaged and bent out of shape. Once I got the toys home, I soaked them in disinfectant and put them out to air dry. Then, I got to work making a cute bag to store all the toys in.
This is what I came up with:

I added a cute little dinosaur applique on the front, so you know what is in the bag, and helpful when kid are packing away their own toys, the dino toys go in the dino bag!

Easy drawstring top...

One of the best things about these bags is that they could easily be hung on the back of a door to keep the toys out of the way. If you had a rack with 4 hooks across the kids bedroom, I can imagine you could hang 4 bags like these and have some storage up off the floor! This is hung on the back of my bathroom door, but you get the picture.

These bags are great for most toys but especially those annoying "little peices" sets like lego, duplo etc. All together in one bag!

With a good wash and cute new bag, old toys are made new!

I can imagine I will have bags like these everywhere when my kids make their appearance! Would be great even for storing in toy boxes.

Have a great week friends!

Ciao

Bella

xxx