My Aussie Stash

The delightful Pip has invited us to share our stash this week, how could I resist? I am glad again that my hubby does not read my blog so I can share my stash in all it's glory. (I always feel like a 70's pusher when discussing my stash)

I decided to start with the homegrown roots, so here is my finest Aunty cookie (Right hand side), Cheeky Beaks (At front), PippiJoe (Left hand side) and Lara (Middle) fabric. I love them all and always have to think long and hard before I dare cut! I do have plans for them, some summer outfits in PippiJoe is next once I finish my custom orders. I will never be able to pick out just one piece of fabric so please excuse the smorgasbord.

This is ... My Show Off

I struggled a bit with this weeks theme, especially after seeing Miss Hoppo Bumpo's fabulousness. I contemplated something to do with the kids, Caleb's toilet training has been going great, but I don't think you need pictures or details, and I decided it should all be about me - me I tell you! I think I have "showed off" enough sewing and bug and pop lately.

I bungee-jumped this baby. I had to scrap around to find a photo, it was on film (remember those). My hubby is a Kiwi (as you may of gathered from the All Blacks love) so our last holiday 6 years ago was to the homeland. We hired a campervan that spent most of the holiday parked in hotel car parks, but that is another story. Glen told me it was just a little bungee, but it was enough for me to be proud. It was funny as he kept saying, very matter of fact, that if you are in New Zealand, you have to do it so I didn't really put much thought in to it. Once I came back and everyone thought I was mad that I realised that if I had spoke about it first I probably never would of done it. Then I would of had to spend the rest of the week-end trying to perfect the Hoppo Bumpo move!

So a Hip to the fabulously funny May the Cloth be With You and Hip to our lovely hostess Miss Handmaiden and a Hooray for Miss Three Buttons.

And of course I have a sewing project, this is a little outfit for one that is still cooking, so it had to be non-gender specific. It was my first applique attempt and I think it came out pretty cute.

How Do You Like Them Apples?!

I love Miss Emily at Black Apple!! I was looking forward to her update today and had my fingers in training as these babies go like grease lightning. This is my 3rd shot at getting something and I had my eyes on three different things. Of course Caleb chose that precise moment to chuck a tantrum and I forgot to click Paypal as a payment option on the first one and by the time I realised it was gone. I finally got it together for the last one and got this Sweet Sleepy Sam.

Does he remind you of anyone or is it just me?

On My Desk

On my desk this week, well it was before I took it outside in the sun to try and take a decent photo, is another custom dress using my favourite box pleat design with the same beautiful Park Slope fabric. I just love how this one looks, I am thinking I will make Poppy one but with orange highlights instead of pink. It is a bit like the plumber with the leaking tap though, and Poppy and Caleb are rapidly growing out of their clothes with no new threads in sight. Don't forget our fabulous desky host, Kootoyoo.

More exciting news though, I have decided to do Matilda's market at Malvern in November, perfect for the Christmas pressie shopping and there are some fabulous women rocking it too. I am so excited to be in their company so I am busy sketching bits and pieces and get sewing once I am finished with these last lot of orders. Yeah - I love it!

This is ... What I want to be When I Grow up

First up, thanks to Miss Sharon for being so lovely as to let me pick this week. I also have to say that I think no-one will put it quite as eloquently as Miss Curly pops. More players over at Three Buttons.

You would think if I picked this week's theme I would have an inbuilt witty post, when I am in fact struggling, though I have loved reading everyones responses so far and I hope that it was an interesting one. I found it really interesting that so many followed the aspirations of their youth in some form. I on the other hand was always one that never had an idea of what or where I wanted to be. At the end of high school it was a film-making revolutionary and then I realised that at some stage I wanted to be able to afford to eat. Then came interior design, which one day I would love to finish, but a really hard industry to get into. Finally it dawned on me I think what I really would like to be is stay at home mum to my beautiful babies, with my dream of just one more little one with a day or 2 to myself to keep sewing. If anyone chose a doctor please let me know as my Hubby may need one after he reads this!

I can't believe how much creativity I had inside (Not that I am saying I am amazing). Ideas are coming all because I just decided to listen for once. That is so what I want to be!!

Speaking of which here is the latest custom dress that I have done. I love this fabric and have a box pleat dress coming in it. As you can see my model is back and they are all slowly on the mend, thanks to all for your well wishes.

Pants Down

Just a quicky today as the sinus fairies are still visiting. Caleb does though seem to be on the mend, he is well enough to be grumpy so that is an improvement. Hopefully tomorrow he can be well enough to be happy. So since I don't have much time what could I share but MORE pants, another custom order with a matching backpack. It is the same Sprout fabirc as yesterday with different red stripes.
I hope you all enjoy your week-end.

I love the Blogland, Can I move in

Thank God it is Friday. Caleb is still really under the weather and has taken Poppy with him. She at least seems to just have a horrid cold and what is a gift if you can't share it with Mummy too. I am hoping that she can stay away from the fever though. Only a few things have made him smile this week and they happened to of come from Blogland.

When I got my necklace lovely Mikes threw in a Owl necklace as well and he is in love with it. You always feel better with a bit of bling I say.

Then the sweetest Beth found an insect book that she thought Caleb might like. He got it yesterday, with stickers and a tiger card. He was in heaven. So thanks to these fantastic people for bringing a long missed smile!!I have also finished a pair of pants for a red loving customer with some more Spout fabric. I think these make sure a great boy combo, Sprout and stripes! I have also designed the cuff, extra long so that it can be folded up or down so you can get the most wear out of them before those legs shoot up. I am thinking of doing it all the time from now on. Sorry for the 2D photos but my model is definitely on sick leave.

On My Desk

I am a day late again, but my poor bubba was super sick for the last few days. Well I guess he isn't really in bubba category any more, I can't believe he is going to be 4 in December. I am sure he got twice as sick as he needed to be on sheer defiance of not taking his medicine (another bonus of asperger's). At least he is finally eating and drinking today which is fantastic as I didn't want to take him to the hospital because nothing has passed his lips since Monday. He also hasn't stopped talking since he got up, so that is a sure sign he is feeling better.

Thank-you all again for your support with the opening of Bug and Pop! I have on my desk today, my orders that I am working through, including my first Etsy sale (Hooray for Hoppo Bumpo, a lovely lady with good taste of course) On my desk is my orders that I still working my way through (I can fake organisation in photos so well) and my beautiful new apron from Miss Curly Pops. I love the colours. More desk over at the fabulous Kootoyoo.

On a side issue, Poppy is nearly 15 months and bored with all her toys, but at that in between stage for toys. I would love to know if you have any suggestions for good things for that age to play with!

Woo Hoo

I am super pumped about this post, it is the highlight so far. So here we have my little etsy shop, Bugandpop. I would love to know what you think if you go over and have a look and remember if you live in Melbourne, I can do a Bug and Pop party for you and your friends and you can choose one free item and receive 10% off the rest of your purchases. It can be anywhere, a playgroup meeting, home, where ever and then everyone can mix and match fabrics and styles, the beauty of hand-made and custom-made and I am definately not a pressure seller.

If that wasn't exciting enough, our hostess with the mostest Handamaiden, has asked me to pick this weeks This is... So to go with my dream of getting Bugandpop up and running I want to know This is What I want to be when I grow up. It can be what you would do if you had no commitments, maybe you are already doing your dream job or it could be what you wanted to be when you were 5. I can't wait to read what everyone comes up with because you know we never too grown up to dream.

And sometimes you Pick a Good One ...

My hubby is a lovely man, does he rate high in the romance, thoughfullness stakes, not so much. (Thankfully his usefulleness on the internet only extends as far as banking and All Blacks.com so he can't be offended) Then today like a gem he surprises me with this gorgeous Miss Mason necklace in the shape of a measuring tape heart to say how proud he was of my sewing efforts which he got from the fabulous Mikes. The ring is our engagement/wedding ring with a gorgeous black pearl, which he also picked out on his own, my other FAVOURITE piece of jewelery.

Hooray for Hubby!!

Hooray for Mikes!!

Hooray for Miss Mason!!

He does have great taste, even if he did choose me?!

This is ... What I do with a Spare 10 Minutes

This is a 2 for 1 post today, so you get twice the bang for your buck, not that I charge for the privilege of my company but you know what I mean.

I struggled with this week's this is from the lovely Hoppo Bumpo. I don't normally ever have a spare 10 minutes, there is always something to be done, cleaned or attended to. My general week consists of 45-50 hours of work, which I do from home so still trying to interact with the bubbas, then I sew 35 plus hours a week trying to get BugandPop up and running (this though is all out of love of doing it) then week-ends my hubby works and I spend my beloved quality time with the kids and in between is the blogging, Caleb's appointments, cleaning and other house duties, though thankfully hubby is a chef and looks after the cooking side of things. I don't mean it as a look at what I can do, it is more that I feel guilty if I don't fill-in every minute with as much as I can, most of it I love doing . It has been a bit of an eye opener actually that I need to reel myself in a bit and give myself a break every now and the so thanks Liesel. So as my new Cindy I would spend it reading a special story with Caleb while he twirls my hair, build blocks with Poppy, have an All Black conversation about their brilliant win with my rugby mad Hubby and have a lovely Hot chochie at the park, with my sketchbook and draw some more design ideas that I had floating in my head and not have to share my marshmallows (or does that go with out saying).

Due to my computer difficulties last week I missed Miss CurlyPop's great your favourite band theme. i was trying to decide whether to go with my somewhat cooler current self and say Ben Harper or Jack Johnson, but I was inspired by Katie to share my first true band crush - New Kids on the Block (to all the youngsters out there, I wish I could share a film clip or picture but I am still trying to figure out how to do that). My beloved mother even drove my out to the airport twice so that I could see them come and go, not that they even acknowledged that I was there but Joey McIntyre was only a bus window away from my future husband and that was exciting enough. Oh the memories...

Thanks to Handmadien for being our gracious host while more players are over at Three Buttons.

To complete the 2 for 1 them here is a reversible dress that I finished. I really love this fabric and I think it is great as a top or dress. Please forgive the rambling post.

Oh Sweet Sleep Where are you

I feel like I am madly trying to get 100 things done at once at the moment, all of which I am enjoying but you know. I have decided that this Tuesday is the day for my Etsy shop so I have to take all the photos and write blurby bits too. I so wish these days that I had a Nana or a sister (I don't have one, but always wanted one) close by to take the kids for the week-end so I could get some stuff done. I find though if you don't give a deadline all of a sudden 3 years have past and your still procrastinating, so jumping in it is.

I finally got the "evil dress" done. It came up so cute with the matching binding. I also got done a lovely twirling skirt with apples and super sweet Japanese linen animal front panel. I have also done 2 more pairs of custom pants but forgot to photograph them so I am hoping to follow that up this week.

Is a rose by any other name?

What is in a name? I have been thinking since I read yet another great post by Handmaiden about branding your product - That everything you do should all be in line with who you want to be. It is a really great read. It made me think how often in life we label, people, situations, etc. I said to Caleb when he didn't want to say hello to someone, "Are you feeling shy?". Now he says all the time, "I am shy, I can't do it". Labelling with Asperger's autism is a really powerful thing, but I think it applies to everyone, one way or another. By the same token, he says to me when we are playing "Goog Job Mummy, Thank you." and I put my hair up with a "You look beautiful" reply. This meant that these positive ones were also leaving a mark on his slate. Now on I am aiming to choose my words carefully to make sure my labels are the ones I want people to hear.

On My Desk

Well what a week and it is only Wednesday. Thank-you all for your lovely comments from my last post, there I was declaring my computer bloggy love and he stood me up at the alter. How is that for appreciation?!? I tried to turn my computer on on Sunday and nothing apparently my motherboard was mothered. They fixed it yesterday arvo, all except for my internet - YEAH THANKS FOR THAT. I rang them for help and they told me to download more files - Hello NO INTERNET. At least it is all sorted now and only lost 2 days work, which is a bit of a bummer as a sub-contractor I don't get paid, my google readers in the 300's and I have some many photos of sewing that I need to compile it is not funny. I did though enjoy my days off, they are few and far between. I took Poppy shopping, did some sewing in daylight, had long walks and hot chocolates - I am threatening to quit now - it was great fun.

So what's that on my desk today, I hear you ask - orders, for me, for my clothes - WOO HOO!!!! At least this has helped my missed work. The party for my official Bug and Pop launch went really well and it was good to practice on friends, even if I felt like I was walking down the street naked. I even had my first referral party this morning, I was so nervous I couldn't even keep breakie down, and I have another 2 lined up. So here is the plug, I am selling boy's pants for $25 and girls dresses for $28-32 and skirt/tops for $23-25. I use my base designs and hand make them to suit your material requests and sizing. If you live in the beautiful Melbourne town you too could have me and my wares in your very own home (try to contain yourselves) and you get 1 piece of clothing FREE and 10% off the rest of your order. I even bring homemade cupcakes, so please email or comment if my shameless self-promotion appeals to you (this doesn't come naturally to me).

More desky love at Kootoyo. Thanks Kirsty for the drink too, as you can see I can use it!

Yeah for Blogland

Thank You Flicker.
Originally uploaded by Crabby7

I have been blogging for just over a month now and I remember when I started, if one person read it I woul be so excited and if I ever got a comment - Knock me over. I just wanted to take a quick time out to say thank-you for everyone who bothers to read my ramblings, and THANKS to all of you who take the time to comment. I really appreciate it. I have found it so far to be so much fun and it has pushed me to get myself into gear and get selling my clothes, that kind of stuff is priceless. And thank-you for everyone that takes the time to do such beautiful blogs and pass on inspiration. That's all big squishy hugs for everyone, especially Pip without her lovely blog I would never of started and A little sprout for her "why don't you" comment. Sorry no time for other sewing bits, I have finished up some cute little bags to show soon. I am sewing in mad preparation for my first BugandPop party on Monday and hoping to list few things on Etsy the following week - YiPPeeeeee!!!! I am still amazed at how manny ideas are inside you when you actually take the time to listen.

On My Desk

The big clean-up has been continuing, look at my beautiful stash. I am finally happy with it, thanks to PolkaDotRabbit for the idea to stack my babies like books - I so LOVE that idea.

Also here is my new (woot woo) desk that Hubby lovingly picked up for me for my sewing table. There is a slight mess on it already, what can I say - it is hard to change your spots. On my desk is my beloved Heather Ross material that I am making into a shirring style dress with matching pantaloons. You can also see my new Black Apple prints that I got recently from the Miette sale, I love her imagary. More "On my Desk" beauties over here.

This is the first shirring style top in a different Heather Ross material that I made yesterday for a friend so it is a little small on Poppy, but you get the idea. I even made a cute little matching clip.

Wiggle it, Just a Little Bit - As you Groove

I am keeping up my walks inspired by Miss Pip the best I can but with 2 little ones and a full-time job, blah-blah-blah it can be a bit of squeeze, especially since walking with Caleb involves being overtaken by ants. I have though figured out how to get the best work-out. I was inspired by pottymouthmama's running action and as I sat on my fat ass reading I thought - that is cool, BUT running is not for me unless I am chasing bargain fabric. I then devised a plan - haha - using what I got, namely children, they have to have a use at some point in time. So we run, well lets not get too excited and call it a jog down to the shops. Wave the promise of an ice-cream in front of a 3-year old and it helps to get those stunted legs moving. This has 2 benefits, 1. Keeping up isn't too hard (refer to stunted legs) so no feeling bad about yourself and 2. no-one is looking at you, well you know, all eyes are just on the crazy kid foaming at the mouth for ice-cream and if they do notice you it is only in a "OOhh isn't that a cute family moment" as opposed to "OOOhh you don't see that everyday". Once one has acquired the said ice-cream keeping them happy the trip home is Mama Koala style carrying you 15kg weights home on your back, giving cardiovascular and the arms a shot too. Don't knock it, it is working a treat - though not endorsed by the Chiropractors Association - and my child's weight increases slightly everyday increasing my work-rate slowly. See it's all about working with what you got, and if you don't have kids I am happy to rent mine out for a nominal fee - a coffee and a magazine that I can finally read in peace would do just nicely. And chocolate ice-cream makes a great hair moisturiser too.

Shear Genius

It is so funny that Pottymouthmama was talking about children's haircuts today. Caleb was complaining that his hair was getting in his eyeballs (why he just doesn't call them eyes - I don't know) and the thought of taking him to a hairdresser sends terror through my soul. We take him to those "child friendly" ones, but have never seen the same cutter twice - I think that is because after dealing with Caleb they have retired to a life of drinking HEAVILY. You know the kids I mean, you have rolled your eyes as they sound like they are having an appendix removed rather than a little fringe. Times that by 10 and welcome to haircuts with Apserger's.

So anyway with this image in my mind I all of a sudden thought - How hard can it be, I can cut a pattern, I've shaved heads - why not have a crack. All of a sudden I am Vidal Sasson with a muse. It actually didn't look too bad but then I couldn't stop myself - I had found my calling. So now the poor thing has a little, well I don't think that there is a term for it, except if you keep ruffling it, it is not TOOO bad. After I showed him in the mirror, he said "I look beautiful mum, thanks". If only he knew - here is the finished product. The upside though is that there were no tears, no screaming, no drama - WOOHOO-HOOT. Unfortunately for him this has only encouraged the Vidal in me, maybe I will do streaks next time. (You may be able to see the bowl like resemblance on the fringe.)

And of course - more pants. These are some Plane cuties from Duckcloth with denim stripes and a full skirt with gorgeous Japanese bird print panel at the front. (Please note my poor model had a little disagreement with our cat. I have been assured it was an accident.)