{Baby Shower Gift: Bunting Quilt}

A dear friend of mine is expecting her miracle princess soon. We celebrated her baby shower this past weekend. It was a beautiful afternoon catching up with friends, laughing, enjoying delicious pink food and drink. It was divine and precious. This precious princess already is very well dressed and has so many cute shoes and accessories before she has made her grand entry to the world. My beautiful friend (center) is the one expecting soon. Here she is with me (left) and another of our friends (right) whom decorated the whole pink affair with effortless style as she is known to do!

A special arrival deserves a special gift. I tried my hand at quilting and I had SO much fun. Albeit without some of the tools which would have made it somewhat easier (i.e. a walking foot). Hopefully I can acquire one soon before my second quilt attempt. 

{HouseWarming Gift}

Recently some friends moved house and I wanted to take them round something.
I found this gorgeous 'crockpot' and decided to dress it up a bit instead of just giving them a box.
So, I filled it with a packet of spaghetti (just take out of packet and wrap with brown paper/ twine), some fresh herbs from the garden, tomatoes and a jar of sauce. Onions and garlic would have been good in here too on second thought.


I love this idea and it only took a few dollars to turn a nice gift in a box to something with 'wow factor!'
Since then I have started playing around with canning and pickling (that's a whole series of posts right there). Including a homemade jar of pasta sauce would just make this look extra gorgeous don't you think?!

This would also be a nice way to dress up a crockpot for a kitchen tea gift. I am sure there are other variations and meal themes you could try. Let me know if you try one ;)

Lauren x

{A SUPER Birthday for Mr. 3}

I love how when you get married your family automatically enlarges. In my case (thanks to my husbands large family) I not only doubled my family, I probably tripled or quadrupled it! One of his cousins in particular we get along with very well. When their little man turned three recently, I was excited to put a twist on a gift I'd crafted before (read here) to help him celebrate.

I made the cape similar to what I have made several times by now. However, this time I made a mini version for his favorite toy. The little 'L' is for his toy lamb "Lambie". Isn't it just darling! My boys are so jealous that I now have two capes for my boys and two for their teddies on order and in progress - lol! 

Here is my little 'Mr 3'  posing for the camera to show it to you with his little lambie friend.

Reports in from the birthday boy, and this gift was a total hit! Maybe one of these days I might figure out how to be clever and put a pattern on here ;)

Lauren x

{Happy Easter Cake Pops}

Well, I wanted to say thank you to some very special teachers and friends that are a blessing to my boys.

This was the kind of activity that I did most of the prep for myself. Had my kids been slightly older, they could have helped with more than pouring the sprinkles on. But I just loved these do much, and was very happy with how they turned out!

If you need more detailed steps, click here for a good tutorial.

Basically it's done in less than 10 steps:

{Happy Love Day XO}

Happy LOVE Day! In our house we have been talking a lot about love this month, it all starts with our February verse :

We have talked lots about different types of love and how we express that, not just romantic love!
So my big kindy boy wanted to send a card to do some special girls in his world.
So, together we made these cards which he hand wrote messages inside for his valentines. I think it's very important that he does most of it - as it was his idea and it isn't about me giving a gift. Rather, helping him do this and then using it as an opportunity to talk about love and use it as a teachable moment....whilst he is not embarrassed about talking with mum about it lol!



1. Take a photo of your child against a backdrop that is quite plain. Show them how to make a fist and hold it up.

2. Then at home or at your local photo developer, print it off on paper or photographic paper.
Cut it out and attach it to some card to make it sturdy enough to hold the lollypop.

3. Using a craft knife, cut a slit in the card above and below their fist.

4. Slide lollypop in and write on the card. Viola, it turns a 2D card into a delicious 3D treat for someone special!!!



I have to say that the recipients were very happy to receive these and they were a BIG hit!!!


Have a great LOVE day wherever you are!

Lauren x

{How foil changed my life}

I know the title for this post sounds dramatic - but foil did change my life.

I thought i would share this post near Christmas time as it is a time of year when people are (typically) thinking most about generosity.

For years now I have always had foil containers with lids of varying sizes in the pantry. I always pick them up in the supermarket for a few dollars.



But how did they change my life you ask?
It has been a practical way that our family has made room for acting out compassion for others. I usually have a meal every so often that I make too much of. Then I label it and freeze it.
Having meals are always handy for yourself.
But having frozen meals ready to go, helps open your eyes to needs in others. As soon as I hear of a friend having a bad week, a baby arriving, someone coming home from an operation, I know I have a meal ready to drop around.
The easy thing is you don't have to worry about getting your dish back.
I have used these to put in such meals as:
- casseroles
- lasagnas
- curries

Not all things need to be frozen and prepared in advance. I have just used them as containers for other easy meal ideas too:
- hamburger kits (patties and salad items separated in zip lock bags)
- fried rice
- mash potato
- salads
- cooked or roasted veggies etc
- brownies and cakes (bake in the foil container)

So, next time you shop, pop a container like this in your trolley and make room in your budget for someone in your world who has a need. I guarantee you I'd you can't think of someone straight away, you will notice a need once your looking!

Lauren x



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{Teacher Appreciation Gifts}

There is not much time left of Joshua's Prep year and before I know it he will be starting Kindy next Feb. He has been blessed with a fantastic teacher on his class and I wanted to find something special to bless her as a thank you. These ideas could easily be adapted for other people in your world too! Here are some ideas I have found.....I had better make up my mind before his last day on Thursday.

Biscuit Tin : Recycle a Pringles can by wiping it out, decorating and filling with homemade biscuits.


'Cowgirl cookies' with pink m&m's. I would change to red and green lollies instead for Christmas.

Initial Art : I have seen these done with crayons too! SO cute

Personalised Soap : A very quick and easy gift idea and cheap too!


Plant with a message


Coffee Card: Thanks 'a latte'


Also seen it done like this


Summer Survival Kit

It doesn't matter whether your kids 'teachers' are from school, church, sport or whatever. These people play a special role in your kids development and I believe gratitude is a great key to life. It isn't about being fancy or spending a lot of $$$. Rather showing them that they matter enough to say thanks!
How do you thank these kind of people in your world??
Comment here, on the FB page or twitter and let me know :)

{A Sweet Housewarming Gift Idea}

Well some very good friends of ours are moving this week. I wanted to give a gift that would help the family celebrate the first night in their new house as a family.

So, I put together a "Build-a-Dessert Kit" for them to create a special memory in their new house.





It consisted of:
*Waffle cones and bowls
*Choc, Berry and Caramel Sauces
*Marshmallows
*Crushed nuts
*Flake Bars
*Cherries
*Mini m&m's
*Gummy Bears
*Coloured and Choc sprinkles

Each bag or jar was labelled and the instructions are simply "just add ice-cream".

The jars I used for the sauce were re-purposes antipasto jars I used in a pasta sauce.

I could see this as a birthday dessert kit too and many other variations possible. I would love to hear if you try this or create another variation.

I hope you enjoy this idea,

Lauren x



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{One bag two ways}

Regular readers may have noticed me posting a picture of the first handbag I made recently.
Since I loved the pattern so much I decided to make it for two up coming birthdays. The first one will look similar to first as it was also for a 6 year old girl. However this time I added a detachable flower clip and a personalised appliquéd Tshirt.






Since the second bag was for a friend of mine, I changed the fabric (so in love with this material - now going to make one for me), added a small internal pocket and shortened the handle. I also added a decorative stitch on the handle that helped keep sone padding in place.




I have a larger version of this pattern and another large pattern I want to play with too.
Can't wait!!!

Lauren x

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{Mothers Day = Pecan Brownies + DIY Soy Candles}

Well, last weekend for mothers day we had some of my husbands side over for a family dinner and we ate very well as we often do! We had a long roasted beef and pork with tonnes of veggie sides inclding homemade apple sauce. Then dessert was individual homemade brownies with a twist of adding pecans (in hommage to my mother law who loves pecan pie) served soft inside with a raspberry reduction and cream. SO GOOD!!!



Then a few weeks ago I had some glass jars laying around and wanted to re-use them somehow as they were too pretty to throw away. So, I decided to attempt candle making and have loved my candle making morning - it was A LOT of fun.
I am not one to just post this and keep the source to myself, I love supporting local ingredients/ buisnesses so check this out. This online store will support you in starting your own candle (or soap) making journey.
With plenty of wonderful supplies and tutorials in text and video, its a one stop shop, and so much cheaper than anything I could find in retail stores. Make sure you give it a go - its fun and a great way to make some homemade gifts for someone special or to fill your own house. And they turned out great I thought. If you have a go, let me know how it went.


Enjoy,
Lauren x

{A gorgeous car mat for my gorgeous nephew}

As a mum of two boys, my handbag is often filled with extra's for them like dummys, drink bottles, crayons and of course CARS. My boys are OB-SESSED with cars!!!

So, when I saw some of these (in varying styles) online in my blog roll, they very quickly made it to my "to-do list" of projects. So, a month or so ago I started to put together something and decided to make it for my nephews 3rd birthday.
It is baisically a small quilt FULL of activity and I was so happy with how it turned out. I think I am going to make one for my little man's 2nd birthday in June too. The things that made this car mat so cool for me was the 'parking garage storage' for the cars and the portability of it, making it really easy to pop in the handbag and take anywhere. My boys just loved the ducky's and the petrol pump (the shoelace pump made it functional and a big hit).

A fun project and I can't wait to do it again!!!!

Lauren x