Cake - it's art!

So my dear dear friend Mel is getting married in 2 weeks time! Yesterday we had her hens night celebrations!

To start the afternoon we went to Crumbs Cake Art. This place is just amazing! Jon and Lexie worked with us to make 2 flowerpot cakes and another pot to take home. Below are some pictures of what I made. Everything you can see is edible!!!!!! The first picture is my flowerpot with mum's real african violets! The others are the creations up closer.

It actually wasn't as difficult as I imagined it would be... partly I think it was the clear instruction we were given and all the tools we had right there in front of us.

I think I could get into this. I've always been fascinated by cake decorating and love looking through my endless cake books but always though it to be beyond my reach. Perhaps not! Can't wait to try something again.

If you are interested in doing a course Crumbs Cake Art offer all sorts of things and they are so easy to work with! All the supplies are there and you seriously needed no pre-requisite skills to do the course we did yesterday! Give it a shot!!!!!! They are awesome!

Check out their facebook page for some of the AMAZING creations they have done including an xbox cake, a dalek cake (for all you Dr Who fans), weddings cakes, disney cakes! Just amazing!!

De-cluttering week 1!

Uh oh... that sounds ominous! But it wasn't too bad. Although, I managed to fall behind almost straight away! I sprained my hand this week so a lot of my time has been spent not doing things and being chauffeured around the place! But a quick catch up!

Tuesday – Be courageous ~ Declutter and item that someone else gave you that you are only keeping out of fear they may notice it gone.

I was given many years ago by a student a wooden photo album. It's not really my thing, I prefer to scrapbook and most of my photos either sit in a frame or in storage before that! Except for my really special albums! So I am selling it on ebay. I'm not sure that it will sell but hey - it was kinda fun!

Wednesday – Be generous ~ Donate something today that you are considering selling. It is quicker to donate anyway.

I have lots of doubles of books, lots of doubles - maybe even some triples! So I thought that I would start by looking in my bookshelf. I was thinking that I could sell them on ebay - but instead I'll give them to our minister. I'm not really sure of someone they would benefit at the moment and he might have a better idea! So, A Sneaking Suspicion by John Dickson is the first one to be given a new home!

Thursday – Be impulsive ~ Declutter an item today that you have never really considered for decluttering before. Go on there is bound to be something you haven’t noticed that really is excess to your needs.

I thought about this most of the day, but was coming up with blanks. So I'm going to do another book today. It was something that, until yesterday, I hadn't thought of. So the next one is Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris.

Friday – Be decisive ~ Find an object you have been procrastinating over decluttering for some time and get it out of there.

Well today, it's not really a single item. But something I have been procrastinating about is the paper build up in our study. Gradually over this week I've been attacking it and we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. So today I am going to spend 5 minutes more working on this paper back log and declutter. It's such a good feeling.

So, there you go! My week of de-cluttering so far! If you or anyone you know could benefit from the two books that I mentioned about let me know! Happy to pass them on to where they might be used!

360 less things!!!! Whoo!

The list that never ends, the house that is never tidy....

Have you ever sat down to think that there is always something more, something else that we "must have", something else that "must be done", something else that is so important we can't do the things we love, or perhaps ought to be doing?

Well. You're not alone - and it seems I'm not either!

Today is Monday, the start of a new working week. So, it's time to do something! But this time not something more, something less.

My inspiration? 365 Less things! This great blog began in 2010 with a lady who wanted to reduce the clutter in her home. She decided to de-clutter one item a day and blog about it. I LOVE this idea and I have a feeling that getting rid of one item not only de-clutters the home it is probably great for de-cluttering your mind!

So today Colleen has given us 7 mini missions. Today is Be Realistic! Declutter an item of clothing today that no longer fits, is probably never coming back into fashion or really never suited you.

Probably not hard given my abundant wardrobe of pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and post pregnancy clothing!!! So today this is my goal. Today I am going to declutter a dress. I love this dress, but to be honest... no.1 it doesn't fit me anymore, no.2 a friend of mine wore it and boy - it looked better on her! So Amy, this is for you!

In other news, Phoebe is almost 7 months now. This morning she woke at 6:10am. Not my ideal time to start the day. So I got up and lay on the couch. I dozed off and woke to find no Phoebe! So naturally I got up to find out where she was and found her halfway down the hallway. And so it begins!

We took her to the beach yesterday for the first time. It was great fun - especially having Jono's side of the family all there. Phoebe loved the beach, especially the sand. She wasn't quite so keen on the waves coming at her - but she had only slept 1.5 hours during the day and it was about 3pm!!

Chillin' on my towel "Oh hello!"

Playing with the sand and Daddy

Some of you also were asking how Phoebe's new routines went. Well, she almost always goes to sleep in her cot without being held and she's actually much happier. We have less tears, less stress and I have more time to myself!

She's eating like crazy now! She LOVES food and chews like nothing else. For dinner last night she had the same roast as Jon and I. Tonight, Chicken Parmigiana! We're doing this thing called "baby-led weaning". Probably doesn't work for all - but for us it's been great! There's lots of information on line for those interested.

Anyway, now that I've made my de-cluttering decision, there is a bit more tidying to be done before bible study tonight!

Also, if anyone is interested in joining me on this de-cluttering mission I'd love to hear from you!!

New routines for Phoebe

Our little poppet is 4 months old tomorrow! How that time has flown! I guess the "new born" phase is wearing off now. Phoebe is chatting, squealing, playing, rolling over and many more things you begin to expect (although each one is still exciting when it happens)!

Jono and I have been starting to think about things for further down the track. Do we want Phoebe to settle herself down to sleep? What about using a dummy? How long should she be sleeping in the day? What about at night?

We have been very blessed with our little girl in that she has always been a pretty good night sleeper. From a few weeks old she would almost sleep through the night! This has changed in the last couple of weeks and it's made me question a little bit more about whether there is something different I am doing or should be doing! So I am trialling some different techniques at the moment.

We had our church camp this weekend! It was a great time of reflection and fellowship. But I bought a book today called "Calm Baby, Confident Mum - A common sense guide to managing your baby". It was recommended by a friend of mine. It is perhaps one of the best books I've read so far on what to expect and ideas. It's easy to read, clear, set out in age based chapters and I have already got some different things to try!

So, what's new! Well, tonight I tried putting Phoebes down and not rocking her to sleep. Normally she protests bed time and cries for a good 10 minutes when you try to put her to sleep. Instead tonight I tried something different. Bath time, cuddle, say good night and into bed. I am a little astounded - she didn't cry, looked at me for a minute or two and then just rolled over and put herself to sleep! Wow. What a change! Now, I don't pretend to think that this will always work but hey, it worked tonight!

The book also suggested a few reasons as to why she may not sleep through the night at the moment, and why day sleeps may be hard to come by. All things to consider and trial!

Anyway, in other news. I've gotten even more excited about my new online store. The *working name* at the moment is Lavender Lullabies (thanks Jem! :D) and I have so many ideas on what I want to make and things. If I get a chance this week I'd like to start to make some prototypes and maybe get some feedback.

The other thing I'm getting excited about is photography. I got a new camera for my birthday (Canon EOS 550D). It takes stunning pictures and I am gradually learning more about how to use it and what makes a good photo. I am so blessed with a family who spoils me - thanks mum, dad, Andrew, Bess and Jono for my great gift! I took a few shots (as seen throughout this post) at camp testing out my manual focus skills and some earlier in the week.

A little plant I found when I was wandering across the campsite!

catch up and new ideas

I was reminded about blogging yesterday by a dear friend and I thought I should get back into it.

Lots has happened since I last wrote. Jono and I have a beautiful baby girl Phoebe. She is almost 4 months now - boy has that time flown! She continues to delight us every day and has given us such a great joy in our lives! She is currently asleep so I have a few minutes to post!

Yesterday we had a beautiful day celebrating Phoebe's baptism. We had all the family come from all over the place to church in the morning and then we had our friends and family around to my parents place for lunch. It was a special day making commitments of how we are going to raise Phoebe and to share that with friends and family was even more special!

About to be baptised

Jono, Phoebe and I

Phoebe's cake made by mum and me!

I've been doing a fair bit of sewing lately too. I've been learning embroidery, done some more quilting, cross stitch and a bit of scrapbooking too. It's been keeping me out of mischief (that and a new born baby!)

In other news, I am thinking of starting an online shop selling handmade baby accessories. At the moment I'm working on some sample designs and getting myself ready to be set up. I've been doing lots of brainstorming about names for this store - nothing yet, but at the moment I'm thinking of something to do with lavender! This is a picture I took down at my husband's parents place and there is something about the purple and green of the lavender against the autumn backdrop.

Holiday Creations

I've been doing lot of sewing this holidays (the only time I get a chance and a great thing to get done before the baby arrives!). So, I thought I'd post pictures of some of the creations I've made!

The first one here is 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar" quilt. Thanks to my mum who machine quilted it for me :)

Last Friday mum and I went to a workshop called "Embossing Technique Card Class" at Fantasia at Bella Vista. The cards below are designed by Belinda Lewis and it was so much fun learning new things and making these lovely cards. Shame that the photos don't do them justice!

The last completed project so far this holidays (apart from a "lovely" christmas decoration) is this cute owl. It's made from a sock and the pattern/design is by Craft Schmaft.