Winter is here!

Today is cold! Our first wintery day for 2011. It doesn’t snow here, but the wind is howling and icy cold. When I left with the kids this morning at 6h30, there were no clouds about, just gusting wind and once the sun was fully up, loads of wintery sunshine. Now, the clouds from the cold front have gloomily moved in making it seem even colder!

This will probably last two or three days, then it’ll warm up again until the next cold front embraces us. Fortunately our winters are short-lived.

I’ve been wanting to share this cute little baby’s beanie with you for a while and I think this is appropriate for our first really chilly day!I found the pattern online * here. My ‘babies’ are a little too big for this beanie, so I gave it to my daughter’s vocal teacher for her 7 month old baby girl. It fits her perfectly.

* There’s also a video tutorial (how convenient is that?!)

This is so easy to crochet and (I am happy to say..) really quick. I used a 4mm hook with double-knit yarn in a lovely ecru colour.

If you need a larger beanie, I would imagine you simply add a couple more rows in the top rows so the hat will be larger then in general.

– Disclaimer : I am merely guessing- I cannot claim to be a professional when it comes to crochet! So please offer your expert advice on how to make a larger one!

(You will notice that the first rows are ordinary double crochet with increases as you go along).

You can see in the following photo how it is simply crocheted round and round – you start with a circle and just keep going.

Finished it off with a little crochet flower embellishment – a grey flower, topped with a smaller pink one with a rusty orange centre and a lime green leaf.

I love how the shell pattern creates a pretty scallop edge along the bottom of the hat. So girly. Looking forward to making some more!

Hope you have a great day! To those having cold weather like me- stay warm! To those enjoying a lovely warm summery day – soak up the sunshine! I’m off to make a warm mug of coffee now!

A fabulous giveaway…

Hi there, thought I’d share an awesome giveaway you can win over at

Bonnie has a creative blog flowing over with crafty ideas all prettily portrayed with picture-perfect photography.

{How is that for alliteration! }

I have been following Bonnie’s blog for years – I think it must be around 4 years now. I “met” her when we both were digital scrapbooking designers at the same digi shop. Amazing how I feel I “know” her simply through her blog!

Here is what you can win over at her blog – not one, but two giveaways!

Giveaway #1

Giveaway #2

So pop on over and follow her easy instructions on how to enter! I must add that this is so worth doing! I won the giveaway last time and it was such a joy to open her gorgeous package of goodies she sent me!

Click on her blog header image at the top of this post to be directed straight to her blog! The giveaway ends 31 May 2011.

For Mom

My mom is not a sewer or crafter or even a teeny bit artsy at all. So when it comes to anything like that, she runs to me with her requests. She often asks for some thread and a needle to hem a pair of pants or sew on a button. She knows I have an endless supply of such stuff. Well I decided to make things easier and I’m going to give her her own convenient sewing jar for Mother’s Day. I have seen so many tutorials for these, but I especially love this one with it’s pin-cushion lid from Creative Ramblings:

So I bought a jar, and I found some cute sewing supplies at our local Hypermarket – in little tins! I bought a tape measure in a cute little round tin, a tin of buttons, and a tin filled with pearl-head pins. I added a book of needles, 4 different coloured spools of thread and a small pair of needlework scissors.

I found this cute sewing label at The Graphics Fairy :

I edited it in Photoshop into a label for my jar complete with a little quote:

I am going to hang this matching card off the gift too:

And just for fun I made three other ‘vintagey’ tags which you can use for any occasion:

You are most welcome to download these free printables.

Simply click on each one for a larger image, then right click and save.

(The butterfly & bird are also from The Graphics Fairy)

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day tomorrow!

The Royal Wedding

 

I simply cannot resist anything “Royal”.

Way back in 1981 I remember sitting glued to the TV watching Charles and Diana’s wedding. I was “Diana” crazy at the time – I collected magazines and books that depicted her. I even made a {sticky} icing-clad “wedding cake” for the occasion. Unfortunately I don’t have a photo, just a fond, albeit vague, memory of loads of icing piped on it. I was 12 years old.

My dad’s parents were British and we still have family in the UK  so I guess I was raised to love anything British and I must say, I love the historical buildings, the parks  and the beautiful green English landscape as well as all the historical tradition and glamour that goes with the Royal family.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to watching the wedding this Friday. We’re going to have an English morning tea and invite a few friends- simply for the fun of watching together.

I’ve designed some decor goodies which I plan to use to decorate the room with and I would like to share them with you.

{click on image to download printable A4-size PDF}

{vintage British flag and crown made from images from The Graphics Fairy}

So get decorating, bake some English scones and make some tea. {and maybe enjoy a glass of bubbly too!}

Any excuse to decorate a pretty table, serve yummy food and simply enjoy oneself! If you’re going to watch, download these printables, print, cut out and decorate. Have some Royal fun!

Linking to :

          

A new toy

Oh my , I haven’t been in blog-land forever! No wait, let me re-phrase that! I haven’t been in my little blog for ages! {I’ve been too busy popping in at everyone else’s! }

Once I start blog hopping, I end up ‘travelling’ all over the world devouring every ounce of craftiness I can. I’m sure I’m not the only one that this happens to! I like to think it’s at least a little constructive – at least I’m learning new crafts and gaining inspiration at the same time!

Then my internet connection {and landline at home} bombed out and it took 3 weeks for Telkom to fix it. Thankfully it’s all up and running now again.

One place I’ve visited over and over again lately is the Silhouette website.

I am so excited as I have finally taken the plunge and bought myself a Silhouette die-cut machine! {sigh} I have been oohing and aahing over one for about 2 years now.

We sold my car last month {no- not to buy a silhouette ha ha!} - This month I have no car payment to make- so guess what I did? Yip I spent that money on something far more useful than a car! {giggle}!

Seriously, it was just my luck I had my hubby’s car to drive while I waited {impatiently} for my new car to arrive! Plus no car payment for one month, and I’m off shopping for a crafty gadget! So here is my new little plaything…

What I love is that I can use my own designs using my computer and I can cut out absolutely any font I choose too! Ooh the possibilities are endless!

I’ve discovered how to design my own designs – either ones I can print and cut like this :

Or more simple designs like this which I can cut out of coloured or patterned paper or cardstock like this:

So I’ll be playing with paper a lot again now! {And i got my new car too –yay!}

I’m not sure how big these images will download here on my blog, but if you like them and want to use them, go ahead and grab them!  Enjoy!

PS : If you have a Silhouette and would like the printable files- just leave a comment for me and I’ll upload them for you!