A Woodland Party

My daughter's christening ended up being a huge success. A very handmade affair and a very collaborative effort. Even the gown my little girl wore was the gown I was originally christened in that was made by my grandmother using lace from my mother's wedding dress (which my mother had made) I haven't included photos I'm afraid, as I don't want to upset anyone (my family doesn't like being photographed!)

A Woodland Cake

The cake I made was one of my favourites (apricot & choc chip). The decoration, buttercream of course, I really need to do a fondant course or we're all going to end up with arteries full of buttercream. The animals on top are not handmade! The heart trees however are. I fell in love with these bamboo cake toppers made by Cabin + Cub in Canada.

Meringue Mushrooms

These mushrooms were a hit! Everyone kept mentioning Heston, although I don't think we were quite at that standard. They are made from piped meringue (I used my family pavlova recipe). I rubbed cocoa powder on the top and attached the tops to the bottoms using melted chocolate. Very very morish and there were plenty of people who were fooled into thinking they were real mushrooms. Even the kids.

Very Special Bombonnaire

My super talented Sister In Law, made the bombonnaire, based on the invitation image (which was designed by The Parchment Place). The cookies of course are made by Edit at Art on Honey, who I did the little feature on a few months back.

Woodland Centrepiece

A friend made the little terrariums as she is starting her own bridal flower business and was looking for opportunities to 'branch out' he he.

Woodland Balloons

A few spotted balloons in the front yard, the weather was spectacular and it was a very special day.

Upwardly Mobile

Here's a little project I recently finished for Sophie's nursery. 

A Happy Rainy Mobile 

For the clouds I used a template from a magazine (however how hard is it to draw a cloud shape really?!) I made them out of leftover bits of polar fleece with clouds printed on them, that my mum had used to make sleep bags for the kids.

For the raindrops I used felt and special 'toy mirror' material which has a sticky back, this made it very easy to simply stick the raindrops together.

Smily Cloud

I had a lot of fun with this one and was quite pleased with how it turned out. The happy embroidered faces always make me smile, and the little mirrors cast pretty lights around the room which are a good distraction for the little lady. 

That Takes The Cake

Cakes! I love making cakes, especially for my kids. At the moment I'm gearing up for my daughter's christening this weekend which has a 'woodland' theme. I have all my bits and pieces collected and the cake is cooked and in the freezer... how it will turn out, we shall see.

The first kids cake I can remember making was for my little sister, I would've been probably about 12 at the time. It was the ice cream cone castle out of the women's weekly cookbook (I now own my very own copy of this book, love it!)

Women's Weekly Castle Cake

The next kids cake I can remember making was about three years ago for my eldest son's christening. Not the best job ever, however I have since taken a class and honed my skills somewhat.

Felix's Christening Cake

Rose - My Threadcakes 2011 Entry

This cake I made as an entry to the Threadcakes competition, and as a birthday cake for a friend. For Threadcakes, you take an image from a Threadless tee and make it into a cake! I actually 'traced' over the image with melted chocolate and the roses are coloured white chocolate. I was so impressed by the end result, however the competition is fierce with lots of very skilled fondant wielders so this has been my first and only attempt


Felix's first birthday cake wasn't the masterpiece I had envisioned as by this stage, I was suffering morning sickness with our second. Felix loved dogs, and this is what he ended up with... not that he cared what it looked like!

Felix's First Birthday Cake

By Felix's Second Birthday he loved Trains

Toot Two Train Cake

For his 3rd he asked for a 'Red Car Cake' that's what he got, inside and out. He had never seen the movie Cars by the way, he's just been subjected to advertising. I bought the matchbox cars to stick on top and hastily whacked it together (at this stage Sophie was in hospital and had been for a month).

The Red Car Cake

Poor Felix has ended up with a few slapdash cakes. Arthur hasn't done too badly so far. I was pretty pleased with his christening cake.

Arthur's Christening Cake

His first Birthday cake was a simple hot air balloon. ** Edit 2016; see new post for a 'how to' on this yummy cake!** I was pretty pleased with how that turned out too.

Arthur's 1st Birthday Balloon
See more on this cake here

Arthur's 2nd birthday is next month and I already have the cake mind. He is teddy bear mad!

Knit O Rama

I have been busy crafting, not so busy blogging!

Chunky Knit Throw

I have finished my latest and my very own creation. A warm, chunky throw for a friend of mine who has been so helpful to us while our little girl has been sick. It became a housewarming / thank you gift and I am pretty pleased with how it's turned out.
 

The Recipient was most excited

I want to make another, however I think I will do a little tweaking. If there is any interest, I will look at writing up the pattern.

While I'm blogging about blankets, here is another that I made, my little girl's baby blanket that ended up a lot bigger than I expected!

Baby blanket, extra large

Call in the Ravelry

If you've found your way here, chances are you already know about the amazing online wooly collective that is Ravelry. Essentially Pinterest for knitters and crocheters. I of course am a big fan and have FINALLY, finished my latest project, the 'Little Sister's Dress'.

 

My Version, 'Little Sister's Dress'

I say finally, as I started this before I was pregnant with my daughter (who is now 7 months old) and it was originally intended for my niece who is now 2 years old, and way too big for this little dress! So lucky I had a little girl!

This was my first time using circular needles for their intended purpose and it all came out rather splendidly. I am most proud of the finished product. It's knitted all in one piece, and despite the length of time it took me to complete, it is actually quite simple.

Original Little Sister's Dress From Ravelry

This pattern can be found free on Ravelry. There is such a wonderful online handmade community. Filled with talented and generous people who come up with lovely little patterns like this, and share them with everyone. Awee.

A Handmade Gift Needs a Handmade Card

I love to be able to give a gift I've made myself, and even accompany that with a card I've made myself. However, in this day and age, time isn't exactly available in copious amounts! So when I am unable to make something myself, I love to support someone else doing the handmade thing.

If you've gotten a gift from me, chances are it's been accompanied by a card made by the lovely Katrina at Mum & Me Handmade Designs based in Brisbane Australia.

I asked Katrina a few questions about her own Handmade Adventure;

How long ago did you start Mum and Me Handmade Designs? 

I started my business with my mum 9 years ago.  We started attending markets in Brisbane.  Some markets I even have my grandmother help and so it’s a real family affair.  I have 3 daughters ages 4, 7 and 9 and they inspire me to do what I do.

Love Handmade!

What led you to start creating cards? 

I’ve always loved cards and after having my first daughter and receiving lots of beautiful keepsake cards I decided to give it a go.  I started making cards with stamps, cardstock, papers, embellishments and each card would take me over an hour to make each one.  I did this for years before realising I love prints and fonts and so finally decided to give this style a go and it was the best decision for me.  I love love love making these cards. 

Mum & Me Handmade Designs

What is your design process?

Some of my cards are original designs and lots of others are artwork I have purchased. I love to sketch and play around with designs and layouts and to work out how I want my cards to look and what I can do to make my cards modern and stylish.

Where do you work from? 

My business started out in the dining room and I just started taking over the whole house.  I now have a separate area and work benches where most of my stock and supplies are kept.  My craft space is a little dark so I tend to still work at my dining room table!  Each Monday I start the week fresh and I make sure I reorder and stock my workspace and create a list of everything that I need to make.  I also sew so I have fabric everywhere!!!

What do you love most about what you do?

It feels right!!!  I love what I do and it brings me a lot of joy.  It has been a lot of hard work and I have made some mistakes along the way but after 9 years I am very happy where my business is at and I’m looking forward to the next few years. I love hearing from my customers and their beautiful feedback puts a smile on my face each time.

Mum and Me Handmade Designs have the perfect card for every occasion!

A Knitted Necklace

Some more knitted gifts from me. I am now trying my hand at jewelry! I spotted a nifty tutorial in the Mollie Makes Magazine and decided to give it a go. You can find the free tutorial online here.

Mollie Makes Knitted Necklace

I wanted to use up a few of my bits and bobs of wool and of course I had nothing as pretty as the variegated yarn that they used, nor did my craft store have all the pieces required to make one like the above. So I did what I do, I improvised!

Ombre Tones, So Hot Right Now!

I think I could do better, overall though, I'm pretty proud of them as a first attempt. A couple more birthday presents ticked off the list.