craftjuice

squirrely sleep bag

Miss M takes a blanket and pillow to day care each day to roll out for sleepy times.  This week I saw this all in one sleep bag at the local discount store - for only $4! It is a simple fold over design and you slip a pillow insert into the top.

It is perfect for Miss M and not so bulky as the blanket and bottom sheet she (I) lugs around each week.  It was very plain so I cut out these cute squirrels and appliqued them on to make it a bit more personalised and fun. I hope she loves it. I used this pattern for the squirrel and adapted the shape slightly. I sewed thin ribbon on as the tail detail and looks great.

In hindsight, this is a very simple sleep bag design that you could make yourself very easily. But for $4, I couldn't go past it.

the magical rainbow pony birthday cake

This year we decided to have a 'pony party' for Miss M at a great place just down the road called Mini Mates. It's a miniature pony riding school and they do a great kids party with riding, wheelbarrow and hay races, brushing the horses and feeding them. Awesome.  Theme set. Now for the cake. What to do? 

Miss M had been to a birthday only a few weeks before and Miss K had an awesome birthday cake with a fabulous rainbow, my little pony's and fairy floss for the fluffy clouds!  It clearly made an impression as I was asked to replicate said cake. And here was I dreaming of cowgirl cakes...oh well.

Now I need to do two cakes. One for day care and one for the actual day. So I usually use the day care cake as a dry run and then work up to some sort of cake masterpiece (if only!).

So I involved Miss M (who is very good at mixing food colouring) and set about making every colour of the preservative rainbow...

Scary eh?

I then made a simple square butter cake and thinly iced it, Miss M sprinkled green dessicated coconut for 'grass' (Miss M was very handy with the whisk to make this!). Note that the result of fingers in the icing has already kicked in...

Now onto the rainbow. I pulled out my throwaway icing bags and a fancy schmancy nozzle and boldly squeezed out this rainbow. Lucky four year olds don't care about technique!

Sprinkles make it look more magical don't you think!?

Then to finish, I just whacked on some $2 shop ponies, more icing and sprinkles and wha la!

Magical Rainbow Pony cake :)  Note to self: ensure flammable pony hair does not get near candles...

Here's what the bigger cake looked like for her 'real' birthday party...

I added some icing flowers.

Miss M added fingers...

Happy 4th Birthday Mackenzie. I love you baby girl.

my gifted child

Miss M being a dead fly...well, ok then!

yo yo flower singlet

My very talented friend Belinda and I are sending a little welcome package to brand new bub Evaline in Sydney.

I've made her a little yo yo flower embellished singlet!  Here's the start of the yo yos...

and here's how it turned out...

Too cute!  Be cute under a little cardi in the cooler months too.

I'm also a bit excited because this week sees the return of Crafty Craft Nights with Susan and Gail. Baileys on ice, trash talk and crafty mojo...here we come!

but they both have monkeys...!?

Miss M: who is that on the tv mum?

Me: that is Michael Jackson - one of the great entertainers of our time!

Silence...

Miss M: I want to watch Dora.

miss m's new playroom design

On the weekend, I rearranged Miss M's playroom and added an Expedit bookshelf and dragged some Lack shelving from the TV room in. I added this playful rug and inspired by this book, really like the result. So does Miss M too!  I tried to divide the room into activity areas - a cosy nook for reading and puzzles + a more stimulating activity centre with chair and table. I managed to get all of Miss M's stuff into one room, rather than spread across the house, so I am very happy with that! I've reclaimed the TV room as adult space!

Here's some pics...

 

Reading and puzzle nook...(maybe will add some nice big pillows!)

 

And the activity corner - still a little cluttered for my liking, but what do you do with all that random stuff...?

 

(Any suggestions for improvement most welcome!)

as tall as a tree

Check out this great growth chart from Byrdie Graphics!  Gorgeous. I love when good design and function meet.

(via Kenzie Poo)

little cook

Today Miss M helped me with making a delicious lunch - she dressed up in her mini rhubarb chef set - a gorgeous birthday present from The Aldersons.  Lovin the puffy hat!

rainbows and unicorns

Me:  Quick Mackenzie! Come and see the big rainbow in the sky!

M: Ohhhh...Mackenzie and mummy fly in the rainbow?

Me: I would love that Mackenzie!

M: But how we get there mummy?

Me:  A big aeroplane?

M: Noooo....I KNOW! Mackenzie and mummy ride a unicorn in the rainbow!

Me: That sounds beautiful Mackenzie - that is definitely what we should ride on!

M: Mummy?

Me: Yes?

M: Where do we get unicorn?

happy birthday miss m *mwah*

It was Miss M's 3rd birthday last Saturday (where has the week gone!?) and we had a lovely party in the park with all our friends. Miss M  chose a mermaid cake and I did a trial run with day care late last week in prep for the 'big day's cake'.  For the mermaid I coloured some royal icing with food colouring and just molded it like playdoh. The hair I made with my garlic press! I let it sit for a few days to harden up and then decorated with glitter food gels and sprinkles.

The seaweed was celery leaves, the rocks were rice bubbles coated in chocolate and I also dotted on some 'jewels' I found at Spotlight.  The water was thick blue icing just slathered on in wave like motion.

I did not make Miss M anything this year as we bought her a bike which she was thrilled with!

Here she is at her party in her Mini Mermaid dress I recently bought at Mathilda's Market

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Clearly, she had a good day!

Check out what Susan made for her...so gorgeous!