My new love, buttered crumpets and rocket in my wine.

Hi peeps,

My new love is Instagram.  I am quite positively addicted to it.  It gives me such happy flash backs of being 18 again, studying Medical Photography at University.  Back then, I loved experimenting with different photographic techniques and processes.  Now I can do it all on my iphone.  So much fun!

Oh, I forgot to mention we are back in Melbourne now for Christmas.  It feels quite weird to be back in my old home town, it is so familiar yet so unfamiliar, all at the same time.  For the first few days, I found it difficult to contact any one - we were enjoying just hanging out with my mum and step-dad.  We had been missed and we had missed them.  You really appreciate your loved ones when you have been away from them.

But now, let the fun begin.  We can't wait to catch up with so many lovely people we have missed hanging out with.

This is my week in Instagram photographs.  A lot of the week has involved enjoying many of the foods we can't get in Hong Kong.  Like buttered crumpets.  The ones we can buy in Hong Kong are not this good.  

Cheese is ridiculously expensive in Hong Kong.  I am going to enjoy my favourite while I am here.  Often.

Playing in the sand pit is so much fun.  Especially when you are 5 or 2 years old.  Even more fun when you have not done it for over 5 months.

There has been rocket in my wine.

Iced coffee shared with dear friends who have been missed (Hi Nell!)

I now feel like a craft pusher.  I took some unfinished fabric covered button components over to Nell's house yesterday and she loved making them as much as I do.  Her 6 year old daughter had a great time making some too.  They are now addicted.  So I am the craft pusher - all healthy fun at least.

This is our finished hair bobble posie.  So pretty.

Have a lovely week.  I know I will :)

Cat.

This Moment - Her Idea.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining in with SouleMama.

Night, night peeps, Cat.

My (Pink and Sparkly) Creative Space

Hi peeps,

Sham Shui Po has offered up some really unusual fabric finds when Zoe and I have been out exploring Hong Kong.  There is so much different fabric here to choose from.  I love natural fibres and prefer to be sewing with 100% cottons and linens.  When I found these two fabrics though, I had to embrace the polyester.

I think they will be perfect Christmas presents for some special little girls in my life, who love pink and sparkly things.

This bunting has taken me over two months to complete. The pink fabric is quite awful to cut accurately, it frays easily and the little bits stick to everything.  I mean everything.  I have not really enjoyed working with this fabric.  I wanted the comfort zone of my usual 100% cotton fabric.

Along the way, I also found these two fabrics (more polyesters). I had intended to include them, but I think they don't fit with the pink and sparkly bunting.

They make gorgeous buntings on their own (and possibly together, now I see them side by side above) just not with the pink and sparkly bunting.  What do you think?

Have a lovely Creative Space day.

Cat

My (Furoshiki) Creative Space

Hello there,

For the last 2 years, I have been collecting Christmas fabric with the intention of using it like wrapping paper.  For the last two years, I have run out of time to do this.

This year, I have managed to wrap some Christmas presents in fabric, Furoshiki like.  I first stumbled upon Furoshiki a few years ago and ever since I have wanted to give it a try.  Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth used to transport gifts or other items.  There is some great info on Furoshiki here and here and a video here if you want to know more.

I am not using the traditional Furoshiki cloths, I have been cutting up my Christmas fabric stash and overlocking the edges.

So, take one home made zip pouch, add it to a square of fabric, fold, wrap and tie the fabric.

And here you have it, a hand made Christmas present, wrapped in fabric.  

Add a hand made gift tag if you like too.

Here are a few more.  For a difficult to wrap present, I used some Christmas ribbon to fasten the fabric.

I hope to wrap many more Christmas presents this year in fabric.  For me, the best bit about fabric wrapped presents is that the fabric can be used again and again.   There will be a lot less paper in the rubbish or recycling.  Not to mention, I found it fun to wrap using fabric.

Have a great Creative Space day.

Cat.

My little jelly fish

Last Sunday Abbey had her gymnastics display (like a concert) Their routine was to a song from Finding Nemo, so the costume brief was under the sea theme. We were told not to go to any trouble, just dress them in blue as it is a sea colour. My pink obsessed Abbey has very little blue, or green, in her wardrobe, apart from some jeans, which are completely inappropriate attire for 4 year old gymnastic displays.

So a costume of some sort had to be made. One she could easily move around in, do forward rolls (somersaults) and climb in. Luckily, GJ's had another one for their amazing 25% off sales recently that I just HAD to check out, and I found this fabric - it looked just like Nemo to us. I bought 1.5 metres of it, and took it home where it sat around gathering dust.

Chris had some how put the idea in Abbey's head she should go as a jelly fish. I had no idea how to turn 1.5 metres of fabric into a jelly fish costume, a costume she could move around in easily. So it is 8pm the night before her gymnastic display, and I finally know what to do.

I roughly cut the fabric along the long length, every 15cm or so (no measuring) overlock the long edges together of each fabric strip, making these tubular jelly fish tentacles. Cut them in half. Chris turns them all the right way around. I can't be bothered to finish off all the ends, so tie knots in them - which look great, in my opinion anyway. Knot them over a circular piece of elastic (perfect length for Abbey) and voila, done.

One jelly fish skirt. Made in 30 minutes (seriously!)

Perfect - just like Abbey.

Grateful

This week, I am grateful for so much. This week, I feel very loved. So many lovely friends and family have really helped me out. This sole parenting thing is hard work and exhausting. Bring on Christmas, as Chris will be home with us then. We can be a family again.

• I am grateful Chris was able to get a flight home last weekend to see Abbey's gymnastics display. He was here for one night only, but it was worth it.
• I am grateful I won this amazing giveaway. Jennie makes the most gorgeous dolls, and the purple softie I won is adorable!
• I am grateful I can sew, as I made Abbey's costume for her gymnastics display - a jelly fish skirt.
• I am grateful one of my friends Kate had Abbey over for a play date this week, so I could get a few hours of respite, do some yoga to calm my mind and she cooked dinner for us too. Abbey adores your Mia, and was talking about you for hours afterwards.
• I am grateful for this post from Tracey who got me all inspired to make some some of our own Rodolph the reindeer cookie suckers - Abbey (and I!) had lots of fun.
• I am grateful my mum looked after the girls so I could get my food shopping done, so very quickly, as I had no kids with me (thank you for pruning the roses, again)
• I am grateful this week as my step-dad Steve mowed our back lawn and completely made over over our whole front garden - it looks amazing, and is the most wonderful Christmas present we could have asked for.
• I am grateful my dear friend Yvette had us over for a catch up, let us trash her house, and she made gingerbread dough for our big girls to make some cookies. I love our chats, and discovering our never ending similar interests. I am grateful our big girls play so well together (and now our little girls join in, so cute) I am so grateful our paths crossed and we are friends.
• I am grateful for a catch up and kids play date with my dear friend Nell - it felt like ages since we had a natter. Your friendship is so easy and natural and means so much to me.
• I am grateful our local library runs an amazing kids program of story time with singing and dancing and arts and crafts. This week's session was extra special, as our librarian had arranged for Santa to visit - a very funny Santa who rides his motorbike right into the library (his number plate is also "Santa") He reads a story and tells lots of jokes, we had so much fun.

Maxabella loves land is the home for gratefulness today, pop in and visit.

Have a lovely weekend to you.

Cat

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas stocking fillers

I have found a new love: fabric covered buttons. Any excuse, and I am off making them.

I have been making lots of hair elastics as presents for friends and family (we call them hair bobbles in our house)

Making these, has made me look at fabric in a different way, and I am really enjoying the process.

If you need some last minute Christmas presents for any little (or big) girls in your life, I have some for sale in my Madeit shop and also on Facebook. Alternatively, email me on cat@raspberryrainbow.com

Have a lovely weekend.

Cat

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

At my house.....

Well, I can say I survived my first week of solo parenting. I can also admit it is not easy. It is exhausting. It was a challenging week. There were a few moments where I doubted my sanity. There were more moments where I questioned what the heck have we got ourselves into. Chris is now in Hong Kong, having started his new job last week. The role he has taken needed to be filled as soon as possible, so he has gone over first. We don't know when the girls and I will move over - there is still so much to do here, with packing and sorting, and just the everyday running of our house. It is not ideal being apart as a family, we all miss him so much.

And there is this silly thing called Christmas happening soon. I am busy making some little thank you presents for Abbey's kinder teachers and our lovely librarians who host story time every week - almost finished.

I am happy to say my Christmas shopping is finished - but I still have some Christmas present making to do.

At our house this week, there is lots of pretend play. Abbey has been making amazing picnic's. Zoe has started walking. Abbey has been helping me with the hoovering. I am loving online supermarket shopping - delivered to my kitchen table.

I am trying to be positive that we CAN do this. Thank goodness for modern technology, Chris was on skype yesterday chatting to the girls, reading them some books (long distance baby sitting!) while I cooked dinner. It felt like he was almost here with us.

I want to say thank you to my lovely friends and family who have been checking up on us all week. A special thank you to Nell who cooked us a yummy dinner on Friday night, and cracked open a bottle of pink champagne - I so needed that drink!

Lou is hosting At my house, do pay her a visit.

Have a lovely week.

Cat.