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

Baby Boy

There seems to be alot of bouncing baby boys born in my world lately! Whether it be friends, relatives, friends of friends, there must be something in the water!
My sister asked me to put together a few gifts for a little boy of her friend. Here is what I came up with...

Baby Converse Booties! They are so cute I could scream.

Complete with laces...

I also made this Bomber hat for the little man....

Made with 100& cotton, it feels so soft.

Cute little earflaps to cover little ears on cold nights...

back view of the hat. I decided to trim it in the same colour I added the front flap in.

What do you think? Cute?

It's been a miserable day here today so I have happily spent the afternoon cuddled up on the lounge crocheting and watching vintage movies. Bliss.

Have a brilliant week!

Ciao

Bella

xxx



Welcome to the New Girls!!!

I recently got a new pattern which I simply had to make! I made it in two sizes, one for big girls and one for the toddler girls...

Aren't they really sweet?

The little red head (who reminds me of Strawberry Shortcake, minus the pink) comes with a big yellow headband and bow...

I love their cute little collars...

I added lace to one skirt and rick rack to the other...

cute little shoes....

I would love to hear what you think of them....would your girls/nieces/little people love one like this? I always like to hear what people think of the different patterns I use...

You can find the pattern on Etsy....the name of the seller is "AllDolledUp"...

Have a great week!

Ciao

Bella

xx

Crochet Baby Dress

Over the holiday break, I got to work on a few projects that I had been busting to try but couldn't find the time to do.
I found this sweet little pattern in a book called "Little Crochet" (you can find it on Amazon). I made a few changes (as per normal!) and came up with a sweet little dress sized 3-6 months. I am going to make a few more as I wasn't totally happy with the crochet yoke of the dress and think I can do better. I thought I would show you a few pics and see what you all think....

What do you think? It looks alot better in real life than in photos (as do most things...) but when all is said and done, I am happy with it and would parade any baby of mine in it proudly.

The holidays are over for me, I am back to work tomorrow (booooo), but to be honest, I haven't been dreading it that much as I do love the girls I work with. The year promises to be a busy one but I am determined to make time each day to be creative, to finally get my exercise plan back in action and to take one amazing holiday with the hubs. Easy right? Let's see how we go.

Have a fab week!

Ciao

Bella

xxx

Holiday Snaps

I only have 3 days of freedom left before work resumes! I have been perusing some of my favourite pics from the holiday season and thought I would share with you....

We have had a great break. Hubs has had to go back to work this week so I have been catching up with friends, rearranging rooms in our house and generally getting ready for a big year.

What about you? Has this holiday been relaxing or busy?

I will be back in the next day or so with a project I finished while I was on hols.

Ciao

Bella

xxx

Christmas Crochet

It is now 3:43pm on Christmas Eve and I have just finished my last handmade gift...finally!!!! I feel safe to put this gift up on my blog because it is for my mum and she wouldn't know how to get on my blog - computers aren't a huge part of her life!

Here are some pics....

One side of the top has long tails that are meant to do up in a bow..just adds a little interest and prettiness to the top...

As you can see it needs to be worn with a singlet or camisole underneath...I added the beads for the photos...I think it would look really cute with a little skirt or even jeans...

The edges are all completed with 4 rows of double crochet - I think it finishes it off nicely..

I am hoping it fits (I am sure it will!) and most of all that she likes it.

This will probably be the last post for 2 weeks as it is holiday time!!!! If I get some great pics on hols, I may pop in, otherwise I will be using the time to rest, relax, and also create some new ideas I have been waiting to do all year!!

Have a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours - enjoy the day and the memories it makes.

Ciao

Bella

xxx

Christmas Sewing

Over the last few years I have become a last-minute girl. Not in all areas of life - most things I am sickeningly organised - but when it comes to hand making gifts for people, I often over-estimate how much time I have and grossly underestimate how much I have to do!
It's almost Christmas Eve ( a mere few hours away) and I have a crochet top still to seam but I HAVE FINISHED cute little outfits for the beautiful little ladies in my life - aka my nieces....
I decided to make patchwork skirts and matching tops for them - comfortable to play in but pretty enough to be more than a nomal outfit. I wanted them to have something different and handmade is the only way to ensure that they have something beautiful and they don't look like every other 3 year old dressed like Dora (no offense Dora!)
Enough chatting, here we go!

Vintage crochet peice topped with a crochet dusty pink flower...

4 pretty skirts for 4 pretty girls....

Matching top and skirt for 6 year old...

"Cherry" themed outfit for 2 year old...

I love these colours...prettiness for the 1 year old...

Pretty purples and paisley for the 3 year old....

pretty fabric rose...

That's it for now....hubs is practically breathing down my neck waiting for his turn with the laptop (hehe). I will endeavour to get shots of the girls in their outfits over Christmas cause these photos just don't do them justice!!!

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Ciao

Bella

xxx