gigideedeemimi

nouveau lengthens too-short pants

2009-07-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

bit of a mouthful that title ... but anyway, the little one, who is three, is still wearing jeans in a size one. they're a great fit on her, but getting too short in the leg - you know how it is. i scrounged around the local op shops but didn't find anything satisfactory. so i scrounged around at home, looking for some material i could use to sew her new pants, when i came across a whole bag of trims i stashed away for some reason (still haven't found the reason, though). i swear it was a lightbulb moment when my eyes happened to rest on that superb blue fabric whilst holding a handful of trims in one hand. i'm pretty chuffed with the final result. as the little one would say: "hooray for mummy!"

upcycle lean cuisine

2009-06-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hannah's current lunch box is highly unsatisfactory. It's plastic and already the top bit is broken. She can't take it in and out of her school bag by herself as it has no handles and is too wide. I was going to buy a Tupperware lunch set for her, but then, strolling along past an op-shop - as you do - I spied this Lean Cuisine insulated lunch bag. It was just perfect for her. Except that it has mould spots - which didn't come out in the wash - and it says 'Lean Cuisine' on the front. So, I decided to upcycle it! Using this lovely fabric by Michael Miller called Candy Dots, a bit of sewing, a pair of pinking shears and a hot glue gun, the luchbox now looks fantastic, is water-resistant and totally functional! As long as she doesn't lose it, I think we can get at least three years of wear out of it. And all for a grand total of $5. Whoo-hoo!

party

2009-06-28T03:21:00.000-07:00

Hannah turned six last Wednesday and to mark the event, I decided to throw her a proper party - one where she was allowed to invite her friends. We played loads of games and had heaps of fun. I did very nearly break my back decorating the deck, but it was all worth it. The day was fine and sunny with a good breeze. The kids played the games - gamely - and were awarded with (lolly) prizes in paper dumplings.

first sewing project in the new house

2009-06-28T03:07:00.001-07:00

I sewed this little bag for one of Emma's little friends from playgroup. She turned two a couple of weeks ago and I thought a pink girly bag might delight her.

recipe for friendship scarves

2009-05-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

Whipped up a couple of scarves for the girls this afternoon. (I was supposed to be packing, heh-heh...) For something that was made up on the spur of the moment, they turned out brilliantly. I think I can squeeze in one more for myself before it's time to cook :)

no longer babies

2009-04-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

where has the time gone?

holiday

2009-01-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

Another year come and gone and we are all still replete with feasting and relaxing, both time-consuming activities. I've given myself the best present yet: my driver's licence, whoo-hoo! It's wonderful being able to go places and do things for myself without having to wait on anyone. The next challenge is to get a job, any job. Wish me luck!

prep graduation

2008-11-30T23:37:00.001-08:00

Today Hannah graduated from prep - where has the year gone?! I know she's no longer such a little kid because I have seen her confidence grow day by day. They gave out graduation certificates to commemorate the event. I was either to slow or Hannah was too quick for me - I only managed to catch a glimpse of her running off with the certificate - could this be a premonition for the future?

sabrena and the singaporeans

2008-11-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

My friend Sabrena saw the pictures of the things I made on facebook and she showed it to her friends. She's on her way to Melbourne to visit some family, so she and her friends put in an order so I can post it over to Melbourne to save on international postage.
It was an interesting experience to sew on demand. The order wasn't overly large, but it still saw me stressed out. But I finally got the order ready and sent out last Saturday. She should receive it by late this week - I hope!

kenilworth auction

2008-10-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

My in-laws have finally sold their farm of 15 years after it being on the market for nearly a year. About three Saturdays ago, they had an auction for all the stuff they can't fit into their new little house. Which means to say, they sold almost the entire contents of their old house.
I gave Hannah the old digicam to have a go at being photographer for the day. She didn't manage to take pictures of the whole auction as she's only five and there were hundreds of people milling about - I wasn't about to let her out of my sight! - but she had fun nonetheless.

pifah's baby

2008-10-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Pifah is expecting her first baby in December and she's asked me to make some stuff for her ... or rather, for her baby. I had a lot of fun making up stuff for the little one. Her name is Maisarah, very similar to mine!

silent auction

2008-08-15T01:12:00.000-07:00

Hannah's school is organising a Carnival Under the Stars at the end of August and I've donated a few little bags for the silent auction. Hope they sell!

sports day

2008-08-15T01:05:00.000-07:00

Hannah had her first sports day last friday. She took part in the races and mini-olympics events. It was a load of fun. Sean was there to watch her run and she was very pleased about that.

my work sew far

2008-08-13T21:13:00.001-07:00

smile, giraffe

2008-08-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Found some onesies at a discount store and bought a whole bunch to applique. Of course I had to start with a set for Emma :) I think it turned out quite well. The onesie is actually a little small for her - well, she's nearly 2 and a half! - so I only buttoned the middle snap fastener on her bottom. For once, I managed to sew the pants so it fits perfectly. (Pat on the back for me :)

hat and bag

2008-07-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

I cut out some fabric to make a new hat for Hannah as she doesn't have one that she can wear socially. (I didn't realise how much harder it is to make sure she has things to wear outside of school uniform!) Anyway, it turned out too small so this hat goes to Emma. I'll enlarge the pattern and start another one for Hannah ... soon :)

A friend of mine is having a baby girl and she's asked if I could make some stuff for the baby. She hasn't actually gone into specifics yet but I got all inspired and started this bag.

ipod nano holder

2008-05-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

Sean bought an ipod nano for me when he was over in the US recently. I've finally figured out how to charge it after the battery went flat a couple of weeks ago -yes, I know, I am definitely NOT a techie! The earphones that came with it wasn't working out for me so Sean gave me one of his. It is much better because it allows me to wear the ipos around my neck like on a lanyard. I made a little bag for it using a 'Monkey 'n' Around' fabric with a matching red lining.

anzac day

2008-04-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

Friday 25 April was Anzac Day. We wanted to take part in the march held in Nambour but unfortunately, missed it. We ended up participating in the celebrations at Quota Park instead.

that's not a fish!

2008-03-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

I bought this plain sleeveless white tee for Hannah last summer and of course she had to go and play in the dirt when she had it on. No matter what I did, the dirt would not come out. So I got out all my novelty buttons and came up with this idea to cover up the dirt and spiffy up the tee.

christinas

2008-03-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Received the giveaway from christina's today.
( http://christinasetsyshop.blogspot.com/2008/03/drawing.html )
Emma was very excited to have her own set of colouring things in a big girl's bag. She was so engrossed in her 'painting' - as she calls it - that she threw a monster tantrum when it was nap time. I hung the bag near her bed so she could see it and that appeased her a little.

reversible hoodies

2008-03-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

The local Salvation Army Op Shop is a truly magnificent place. Hannah (before she started school), Emma and I always pay it a visit after mainly music, which is held in the Salvos church hall right next to the store - how convenient :)

Last week, I found a huge stash of knit and heavier weight cotton fabric in nice prints, pleasing plain colours and good, usable lengths. I bought them and could hardly fit it all in the basket underneath the pram.

I made a sleeveless hoodie pattern to fit the girls using some of their t-shirts as a basic guide. I made the body piece wider, the hem longer and the armhole larger. I wanted them to have a few sleevelees hoodies to run around in, as Queensland winters are fairly mild and they can often get away with only long sleeved tees all day and night long.

Today I managed to finish one for Emma and one for Hannah. The hoodies are reversible so they don't have to look like matching twins, or worse. (I never liked having to dress like my sister when I was younger and so do not wish either girls to experience that sentiment.)

easter hat parade

2008-03-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

Hannah's prep class and the adjoining classes held an Easter Hat Parade today and all parents were invited to attend. It was very nice to see all the kids with the hats they had decorated themselves. There was also a simple play on the story of Easter followed by the Easter Egg Hunt. The kids all seemed to have had a good time judging by the amount of noise they made :)

fat quarter clothes sets

2008-03-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

(Please excuse the picture layout. For some reason blogspot has rotated them automatically no matter how I saved them on my computer. Darn technology ...)

When I received the fat quarters from my swap partner, the little nut in my brain started whirring non-stop ... all the possibilities.
I finally decided on making sets of clothes for Emma. Being the second one, almost all her clothes are hand-me-downs from Hannah. Not that it was a problem as Hannah's clothes were in quite good condition when she was done with them. It's just that Emma has a birthday in a couple of weeks and I thought it would be nice for her to have something new, just hers, to celebrate turning two.
Although the pink polka dots is the best looking, my favourite is definitely the orange.

first ever swap

2008-03-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Participated in my first ever swap this month. I joined this group on flickr http://www.flickr.com/groups/fatquarterswap/ and was partnered with SrapStampSew who has a shop here on etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5432361
I really like her choices!

in the mail

2008-03-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Look what I found in the mailbox today! I am in absolute raptures, so it'll be a while before this is made into anything :)

two weeks' shopping

2008-03-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried out the bags today and they were perfect! This is two weeks' worth of shopping for my family. I ended up with only one shopping bag - and that was for the meat. Feeling quite chuffed :)

fabric grocery bags

2008-03-09T16:34:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon this recently : http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.msg1837265;topicseen#msg1837265 and decided to make some.

I already have some from Woolworths and Coles but I find that they tear quite easily near the mouth. I also wanted something more unique and let's face it, I was looking for excuses not to clean the house :)
So I raided my linen closet and found quite a few quilt covers bought long ago from op shops that have either never been used or rarely so. After a factory-style assembly, I made 10 bags in a day. These bags are so easy to make that they're very addictive! I think I've found the 'generic' christmas/birthday present to make for this year :)

lucy in the sky with diamonds

2008-02-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

This bag is custom-made for Lucy. She came across my etsy shop and was interested in the nappy bags I had on offer so she sent me a message. She's due in about four weeks' time and even though she told me not to hurry, I went ahead and sewed it up quick-sticks. I hope she'll be happy with it.

one down ...

2008-01-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well, here is the result - after fiddling with it all morning. I had to re-measure and then re-cut several of the fabric pieces as it was too large for the basket. But I think the finished product looks quite good. I can just see this hanging off Hannah's bedpost, filled with her special little treasures. If she had a bedpost, that is :)

project

2008-01-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

Spent all day measuring and cutting these fabrics for an upcoming project. I think it's definitely time to invest in a rotary cutter and cutting mat :)

drawstring-less bag

2008-01-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

I really need to go to the shops soon. I made these bags today but they're not quite complete. You see, they're drawstring bags - sans the drawstrings. They're all lined with three pockets inside - one big pocket for a book, etc (A4 size) and two smaller pockets for other things.

first day

2008-01-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

Oh dear. How time flies, eh? One minute she's a little mewling and the next she's all kitted out for her first day at school.It's an exciting new beginning for her - one of many, I'm sure. She's all happy and settled in when I last popped in to bring her lunch. Now it's just Emma and me. I feel a little lost, to be honest. Now I have to remember what I used to do with Hannah when it was just us during the daytime.

fabric rose

2008-01-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

I did a fair bit of sewing yesterday, mostly from the Tilda book - it's completely addictive! I made a bag with wooden handles and it turned out beautifully. I've had that spotty fabric for a while now and it looks great as a bag. Later on, I made the fabric rose - that took a fair bit of figuring out. I also made a letter/thing holder for the door to Sean's room. I think the fabric used is very appropriate as he is an IT geek. Initially I wanted to make cushions using the fabric but he thought it was a bit too much. I know, a computer nerd commenting on home decor - what next?!

strawberries

2008-01-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

I managed to get my hands on Tone Finnengar's book, Sew Pretty Homestyle - Tildas Hus in Norwegian - for $1. I have made myself the promise that I would buy more books for Hannah, Emma and myself this year in place of clothes.

drawing strings

2008-01-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

I made this simple drawstring bag for Hannah to use when she goes for sleepovers. It has a large pocket inside that allows for (colouring) books and the like and a pocket on the front for her toiletries, etc. The bag itself is a quite big since she still sleeps with her special toy, Oggie - short for St. Augustine the Hippo - and thus has to be included as part of her 'things to bring'.

Such a simple bag should have taken no more than half an hour, no? It took me two days to complete. The reason is those bunnies on the front pocket. They require so much extra work. They're lovely, though I won't be making them again any time soon.

bella

2008-01-13T14:42:00.000-08:00

After much help from members at flickr and much scrounging around on the web, I managed to find the pattern to make this snail. It was created by Tone Finnanger, a Norwegian lady, and can be found in the book: Sommer i Tildas hage. I think that loosely translates to Summer in Tilda's garden.

This snail's name is Bella and she's a working snail. Her job is to pull the cart. But as you can see, the cart has no wheels so poor Bella is not getting anywhere at all. Just as well, or we wouldn't be able to find our keys ;)

nappy bag

2008-01-13T05:34:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little proud of myself today. I managed to finish painting the two sets of drawers I bought a week ago. They'll go in my cupboard so that I can take the set of shelves out to put against one of the walls in my room. I'm reorganising, you see. At the moment, my room is so messy with all my projects lumped all around, on top of and under the sewing table. I couldn't bear to look at it anymore - I got a big blanket to cover the mess. Out of sight, out of mind - at least for the moment :)

I also sewed a new (nappy) bag for myself. I found some exquisite broderie anglaise or cutwork fabric at the op-shop sometime last year and I promised I would make it into a bag for myself. I wanted the bag to have a big circular base so that when I put it down, it wouldn't fall over - merely slouch gracefully . The fabric is white so I had to get some plastic over it so it wouldn't be easily soiled. Last Friday, I got my hands on some and so, after months, finally completed that project today. It's not as tight as I would like it to be - sewing with plastic is an interesting adventure - but I'm quite happy with it.

sock doll

2008-01-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Helped my in-laws mix cement to make the walls for the rooms downstairs. They're coming back today to do more. Hopefully they'll get much more done today. One of my flickr contacts is a lady by the name of Anat Divr. She makes the cutest sock dolls and sent me the tutorial to make one. http://www.flickr.com/photos/anat_dvir/657630545/
I managed to complete one yesterday. It's not as cute as hers, but Hannah still liked it.

sunny days

2008-01-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's not exactly sunny - in fact, it hasn't been sunny for nearly three weeks now. The garden's overgrown with weeds about as high as a two-story house and the ground can now safely be certified as swampland, nevermind that we live on a hillside.

Right, NOW I'm exaggerating. Just a little bit. As much as I am thankful for all this rain, it is getting a little laborious. Would be nice to have a little sun every now and again. You know, just for a little variety. So, as a result of all the rain, I haven't been able to finish the treasure chest before the new year because the paint took that long to dry in-between coats. I was also having trouble with the silver paint for the trims. For some reason, the paint dried quite clear, not silvery at all. I have given it at least three coats but it's still not looking good. I went and bought some silver spray paint today and will give it a shot tomorrow. Wish me luck!

treasure chest

2007-12-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

Found a kit at Bunnings for a treasure chest and could not resist it. Kit included everything needed sans paint. Am currently putting it together and have had several swearing sessions already - girls were having a nap, so I don't feel too guilty :)

The screws they provided in the kit were not properly marked - as in, which should go where. I know your average handiperson could soon figure it out, but it took me a little longer than it should have.
Also, it wasn't stated how many screws there are, so if I have a few extra after putting it all together, should I be worried?
The longest screws provided were not nearly long enough to hold the bottom to the sides. I found this the hard way when I tried to turn to the chest over to the other side to screw the pieces on - the first side came off the bottom piece. In the end, I had to glue them together before screwing them back together.

So now I've got the main body of the treasure chest together. I've decided to pause for a cause for the moment. I think I need to paint it first before further assembly. I wonder what colours would be nice? The girls room is red and white. I don't want a red and white chest as it would blend in. I guess brown and black are the natural choices, but I wonder if anyone else has a better idea?

boxing day

2007-12-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas day came and went. The girls had a lot of fun at great-grandmother's place with all the other family. Sean managed to finish the bulk of the doll's house on christmas eve. It still needs a lot of work to make it 'livable' but the girls don't seem to mind.

I managed to sew the curtains, cushions and bean bag covers by christmas eve, phew! Although I'm going to have to take down the main one in the living room because there's too much white cutout fabric - it looks all rumpled and sad. The other three windows look fine. I would have preferred the white cutout fabric to have had a bigger cutout feature, though. It looks fine for smaller things like a skirt or dress, but for things like curtains, it seems a little dainty. I'll leave it for now, but secretly, inside, the quest continues ... :)

I love the way Emma's dress turned out. It was a fusion of the twirly skirt pattern and the halter dress pattern. The fabric combination worked out better than I had expected, so that was a big bonus.

Well, now that the holiday sewing is all done and dusted, I have to think about the new year. I have yet to come up with a solid, viable plan to approach some shops to sell my stuff. I quite like the idea of doing the markets, but they are too dependent on the weather. We wanted to go to the Noosa markets last Sunday but cancelled on account of all the rain. I definitely need some help but don't know whom to ask :(

let's roll

2007-12-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

I manged to stamp the twill tape - arrived in the mail about two days ago - with the label and the result was .... satisfactory. I think it would have looked better if the tape was a little thinner. I'll have to remember that for next time. These pencil rolls turned out better than I expected; they are stiff enough to withstand daily use and pretty enough to encourage neatness - I hope!

bottle holders

2007-12-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Well, finally managed to get all the bottle holders finished. I couldn't think of a way to tidy up the ends of the drawstring cord. Initially I hot glued the ends to stop it fraying. This worked well, but it wasn't as neat or as pretty as I'd like it to be. It also hurt if you happened to flick it at anyone! Then I got my yo-yo makers in the mail and after trying them out, I decided to try them out on the cord ends. It turned out quite well. I thought it softened the look of the cord itself and it made the hot-glued ends less dangerous :) Can you see them nestled in-between the bottle holders?

hold this bottle

2007-12-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

One of the staples of my childhood in Singapore was a water bottle holder. I had plenty of them over the years. Now that the girls are old enough to go a-wandering on their own, I've decided to make a few for them. I've noticed that there aren't any - or more accurately, many - in the shops here in Australia. I've made this lot for the upcoming market and I hope they'll be well received. I'll sew the rest up tomorrow.

advent calendar

2007-11-30T15:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I managed to finish sewing and then putting up my very first advent calender for the girls. I was inspired by pictures from another blog but ran out of time to do anything more elaborate than little drawstring bags. The girls have not yet figured out what the advent calendar is all about, but I'll wager a bet that by the time at least two weeks have passed - two weeks in which they get chocolate right after breakfast everyday - they'll understand it :)

tag - you're it!

2007-11-29T21:01:00.000-08:00

Managed to find a proper mount for the stamp today. I wanted to use instagrip as the mount, but they don't sell individual pieces and certainly not in the size I was after. Finally found a hard rubber stamp hiding amongst the huge piles of plastic erasers in the right size. Got some double-sided tape and Bob's your uncle :)

I've stamped the price tags but have yet to do the clothing labels and twill ribbons. The cotton tape I got previously is too narrow and the ones I've bought eBay have yet to arrive. I'll have to go get some wider cotton tape instead if they haven't arrived by mid-next week.

bookclub and inkpad

2007-11-28T21:55:00.000-08:00

Met up with my bookclub today. We had opted to read Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" and only three of us had finished it. Quite disappointing as I really enjoyed the book and thought the writing was sublime. Had looked forward to discussing it, but was impossible due to numbers. Hopefully we will do better next time. This time around we've opted to read "Infidel".

On the way home, stopped by the local scrapbooking shop and got a VersaCraft Inkpad so I could make my labels and mini-lanyards. I wanted a black inkpad but they only had chocolate. I haven't tried it out properly yet as I need to mount the stamp first. Will try to do it this weekend and photograph the results.

up and running

2007-11-27T22:23:00.002-08:00

Well, after a few fits and starts, I've landed here in blog-land for my label - gigi*deedee*mimi. The name was an inspiration from my older daughter. We came home from playgroup one day with an extra-large cookie cutter of a gingerbread man. I traced it out onto some cardstock and cut out three gingerbread children. I then made some paper dresses for them - the kind I used to play with when I was a little kid. We eventually named them Gigi, Deedee and Mimi. Hence the start of an idea for me.

After about six months of sewing, sewing and more sewing, I'm finally ready for a stall at a market. It's being held in Boondall at Nudgee College on December 9 - not too long now! It's a Baby and Kids market and most of the other stalls will have second-hand (branded) clothes and good condition pre-loved toys. I'm not sure what kind of reception my items will get at this particular market. However, my comrade-in-arms, Dani, has assured me that her boss is willing to stock any and all things that will not sell at her new baby shop in Ascot.

So wish me luck and enjoy the pictures of some of the items I've put up. Please excuse the bad photography, though!