A new skort and a big bump!

Look at poor Lizzie's head! One minute she was sitting outside on a chair next to me, playing a game with Louisa and the next minute there was a bump on the concrete - and copious amounts of tears. Poor little thing.

She still managed to model her new skort for me. I made this for all those park visits we seem to be having lately. It's beautiful outdoor weather here at the moment, and while Lizzie owns loads of nice dresses and skirts, I prefer her to climb trees and rope ladders and slide down slippery dips in shorts - or skorts (love that word!).

I had intended for this material to be used for a twirly skirt or dress, but when I was just about to cut out some sensible plain drill, Lizzie insisted she wanted this fabric for her new skort. So who am I to argue with a very insistent 3 year old?

And finally here's Lizzie's lovely painting she did today. Beautiful!

Pillow slip dress

The weather had been warming up a little, although back to cold and wet today. Lizzie should get a bit of wear from this pillow slip dress eventually. It's made from a lovely thin cotton which will be perfect for super hot summer days.

I wanted to have a go at a pillow slip dress with some fabric I didn't care for much before trying it out on nicer ones. So I found this fabric with teensy dots deep in the bottom of one of my plastic tubs. Not sure where I scored it from. But now that it's made up, I really like it - and best of all, so does Lizzie!

Please excuse the lack of ironing, and the fact that I haven't trimmed the ribbon ties to size yet. Oh, and our sad excuse for lawn and half dead pot plants. They've since been watered and are back to looking pretty.

A pretty present

Another little friend's birthday party - and this time I actually sewed something! Well, sort of.

It's kind of cheating, isn't it, to use such a cute fairy image from some pretty fabric and just applique it to a bought Tshirt. I don't think the recipient minded my laziness. A matching headband and an activity book featuring very similar looking fairies and we had a great gift.

A Mermaid's 'Tale'

One of Louisa's favourite books is Can You Catch A Mermaid? by Jane Ray. It's quite a melancholy book really, but both my girls enjoy me reading it for their bedtime story quite regularly. The illustrations are just beautiful, and story (about letting your friend go home even if it makes you sad) is quite moving!

This week was Book Week Parade at school and Louisa decided she wanted to be Freya, the mermaid character from the book. Of course, the tail had to be detachable, as Freya comes onto land and the shy little girl she befriends doesn't know initially that she is a mermaid.

So here's my effort. Admittedly the costume is a little dodgy in parts as I found the stretch velvet a little tricky to work with (and of course my twin stretch needle broke halfway through!), but the tail worked out beautifully.

Well, look at that. I've missed a whole month with no posts at all in July! I guess there's been no sewing to report.

Lizzie has had a wondeful week, turning 3, attending the Justine Clarke concert at a local hall and celebrating with three cakes (four if you include the cupcakes at daycare as well!). We had one cake at mums' group, one at home with the family and one at her extra special party on Saturday!

This was one of the cruisiest and most enjoyable parties I've had for the girls. We only had three of her little friends (plus two older siblings who are Louisa's friends from kindy last year). We held it at home and kept the party games and sugary foods to a minimum. The girls seemed happy enough playing with Lizzie's new doll's house. We did do pass the parcel and a treasure hunt, and applied some mermaid themed temporary tattoos. What fun!

Happy 5th Birthday Louisa!

I can't believe it's been 5 years since this little baby entered the world! A rare shot of her sleeping - it was quite the novelty, being a catnapper from day one. Too much going on to waste time sleeping apparently!

And look at the little lady she's turned into! Such a happy, friendly, clever and kind little girl. I am immensely proud of her. I won't show too many party shots, but here's her sister enjoying the day, even if it was a little damp.
This face just about says it all!

And where better to go on your birthday for dinner than our local Sizzlers! Fine dining it isn't, but to a five year old, heaven on a stick, especially when Mum lets you wear the nail polish and jewellery some friends gave you and have icecream for dessert!

Pay It Forward

Look at the generous parcel I received from Karen. I absolutely love it all! The girls adore their pencil rolls (they're both the little artists, and love to draw each night before bed) and are thrilled with their letter Ts, and have already worn them several times. The appliqued singlet matches Louisa's twirly skirt and hadan outing to a boy's party last week. The coasters are on my coffee table and getting quite a workout, and the tissue pouch has been added to my handbag. Such lovely and useful things! Thankyou Karen!

So now it's my turn. I'm thinking I'll need at least a month for there to be enough responses for me to pick out some lucky winners.

Here are the rules:

I will send a handmade gift to 3 random people who leave a comment on my blog
requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift
will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week… LOL… but you will
receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in
return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Now I really have to start blogging regularly!!

I must share some of Louisa's birthday fun soon. Next post, I promise. I can't believe my little girl is 5!