Told ya there would be pants

Didn't I promise pants? I was going through all the baby clothes we were given and there were literally no pants.Yes, this still unborn child didn't have any pants. So mum and I started a production line. She did the cutting, I did the sewing. Materials are old linen and mens shirts. The same materials I used to make these buntings HERE, so very well recycled. I think we'll make a few more of these after we've tried them on the baby. I call them groovy clown pants.

Mother dear

Mother dear came to visit. She brought a lot of things for us, and these are the things she brought.

A rocking horse that I was only dreaming off when I was little. Our neighbours had one and I always wished that I could have had one just like that. Now my little girl has one! Thanks mum. And she looooves it. The best part? It's second hand and in such a good condition.

All my moomin cups and three new ones! Now I just need to think of a place to show them off well.

A new bag for Emma, actually it's her very first own bag. Isn't it neat! She wants to carry it everywhere and puts all her treasures in it. See, she's even having it on while jumping on the bed with grandma.

The best treasures of all. She brought with her two dolls that she had made. One for Emma and one for the baby, the third one is mine that she made for me about 25 years ago! She didn't know that I had brought it with me here when we moved, so she was touched to see that the old one and the two new ones she had made were all in the same place now. I love these dolls. The big ones clothes can be changed, so I think I'm going to have to sew some more clothes for her soon. The babies are just wearing that one outfit for the rest of their lives.

It felt like Christmas when she came! Oh the joy!

Looking into myself

Confessions...

... I love the tip, op shops and salvage yards!
... I don't remember when I bought some clothing for myself brand new, I use op shops for that
... I'd want to buy all the clothes for my children second hand too, but there just isn't that much of their clothes at the op shops.
... When we go to the big city, I'm not interested in the shopping centers, I want to go around all the op shops
... I love recycling and upcycling (anything with cycling really) old things and give them new life.

Does that mean I've turned into a hippie? I wouldn't say that. I'd say that I've become more aware of the way this world goes around. I've realised how little people on this side of the world care about the earth and how much they just waste. And I've realised that I don't want to have anything to do with that, but try to show a different kind of example. I'd like to do my part in preventing massive wasting and spending. I want my children to learn that too. Besides we have been able to save a lot of money this way.

The pictures are about the things which I've found from the tip or the op shop. The red coat rack for kids room was $2, it is just the perfect hight for them and I loved the design and the colour. The polaroid camera was free from the tip. I don't think you can buy any film for it anymore, but it was in too good condition for me to leave it there. I'm sure we can have a lot of fun playing with it.

The green winter jacket was $2 and looks so cute on Emma with a belt around the waist. And that oh so gorgeous retro suitcase was $4, now all I need is a holiday destination. Maybe I'll pack my hospital stuff for that. Come along baby!

Crafty shower

 
I'm so lucky, I have such an amazing sister-in-law. She threw me a crafty baby shower, just my kind of thing. And the best part was that she let me be a bit bossy and say what things I wanted to do. In fact she let me organize all the crafties.

I had to think of a crafty activity that would be easy for everyone to make, even if they thought they weren't crafty at all. So I made these origami stencils using THIS free font. Everyone got to choose which one they wanted to make and what colour they wanted to use. The onesies were all the plain secondhand ones that I've been given.

I thought they turned out amazing! I love them all and can't wait to dress our little one in these. Hopefully he/she will fit into some of these as some of them seemed so so tiny. I love the bear and the elephant and the birds, oh I love all of them!

And it wasn't just my darling friends who got involved.. After all the stencils were used, I had an onesie left so one of the guys wanted to draw a little something for the little one. How cute is this little chick onesie.

Thanks Shelley, you truly are the best! And thank you all my lovely ladies who stepped out of their comfort zone for me and did something crafty. I am so ready now to have this little baby. Oh no I'm not actually.. I still don't have any pants for the little one. I shall do them next.

Cpr for an apron

One of the latest finds from our little op shop was this cute apron. Well, the only cute thing about it was the materil. I do not understand the point of these half aprons. I, at least, get all the flour and dough on my shirt so why would I want an apron that covers my pants? Oh well, the material was too cute to leave it there. I think I paid 50 cents for it.

As I looked at the apron closer, I realised that it was handmade. Oh how could I make something new out of it knowing that someone had created this apron with their own two little crafty hands. I felt like I was taking away it's life, and that is just too brutal. All this old apron needed was a bit of cpr. I had to keep it's original purpose alive. I just modified it a little bit and made it into an apron for my little helper in the kitchen.

She loves to "mix, mix, mix", as she says herself, and it does get a bit messy everytime. So she really did need an apron. I'm thinking of wrapping this as a Christmas present though. I think it would be perfect as that. First Christmas present of the year, done!

Proud, so proud

We don't often get to go out on a date. There just isn't much to do in this little country town and we don't have that kind of close circle where there would be someone who could look after Emma. But when I saw on the internet that one of my favorite Finnish groups, Rajaton, was coming to Perth, I just knew I had to go see them. They sing acapella and are amazingly talented. This time though, they performed with WASO, Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, singing ABBA songs.

So hubby, oh my awesome hubby, bought us tickets. The concert was two weeks before my due date. Yes some thought it was a risk, I didn't. I was determined to see them. And they were awesome!

We were singing and dancing, the whole audience was! I felt so so proud to be a Finn. And so happy to see so many Australians excited about them and loving their performance. They asked if there were any Finns in the audience and I went crazy! After the concert I got to talk with them. It was just a little dream come true. So thank you darling for taking me out on a special date.

The pictures are taken with out phone camera, very sneaky sneaky, hence the quality isn't very good.

I'm two, painting

Last year we started a new tradition; whenever our child (soon children) turns a year older they get to make their own painting. Last years painting you can see HERE. This year, her painting looks like this.

Where as last year I chose the colours, this year she got to choose the colours herself. And as last year she painted with her fingers, this year she used two different brushes. Oh she's not a baby anymore! I like this little tradition of ours.

Spring, you beauty!

We felt like Emma didn't have enough toys outside. I whinged and hubby went to the internet and found us a second hand swing set. We set sail to get this swing set, and on our way to Perth we somehow managed to get another one too. And if that wasn't enough, we also got some grass for free.

That patch of grass looks like a beautiful and soft green quilt. It'll take a while before it roots itself, but hopefully it'll start spreading and take over our whole backyard. We also planted some capsicum, tomatos, cucumber, lettuce and snow peas.

Spring, you beauty! Time to start growing things, time to play outside and why not also eat outside. Emma's favorite at the moment, sushi.

There's nothing better than gardening with the family. Loving these moment.

I want to be like daddy - dress

It is Father's day in Australia and it is needless to say (but I'm going to say it anyway) that our little girl is her father's biggest fan. Last night we made him a card, we made him a goodie bag for work with all his favorite treats (as he had to work today) and wrapped the presents. Then after daddy's little girl was fast asleep, I thought what next? And so this super easy and quick I want to be like daddy - dress was born.

I thought, how nice would it be for her to prance around all Father's day wearing a dress that is made of daddy's old shirt! Perfect way to also recycle a shirt that he isn't going wearing anymore. And daddy thought she looked super duper cute.

Here's a how to picture:

1. As you can see, I used her other dress to get the right size. First thing is to cut it the right length.

2. Then cut the sides and the arm holes. I wanted this dress to be a sleeveless. Remember to leave about 1cm-2cm seam allowance.

3. Finish the arm holes. I just used an overlocker, because I was lazy and wanted to finish the dress quick. Then sew the sides together, remember to have the right sides together. And lastly finish the hem. Again I just went around with my overlocker.

That is it! How easy and quick was that!?? Well I did make a belt for the dress too which took a bit more time, but that's a totally different tutorial. You could just use an already existing belt or not wear a belt at all, looks cute that way too!