day 343: day 342: day 341: all rolled into one nice little (not) post

the apples from day 342 :)

days 34.... and i have been down to tauranga with my mum laying to rest her mum/my gran.  it was a tiring but happy time with all the family and i loved seeing many whom i haven't seen in ages ... too long.  i decided on some felt creations to make while i was away so i didn't need to take all my crafty stuff with me!  i was so pleased i had taken the time to print out the patterns before i left as i got absolutely no wifi reception at the motel we were staying at.  lovely (older) owners who were desperately kind but had no idea about technology!  they tried hard each day while i was out to hook me up but without luck.  as i only had time late in the evening to be crafty and didn't have time during the day to excuse myself to an internet cafe i was stuck calling steve with the details!

the boy cuzzies :)

day 341 i made a gorgeous felt mug of hot cocoa, tutorial and template from flamingo toes who was guest posting on a glimpse inside.  this tutorial is also pinned to my winter wonderland board on pinterest. it is so cute and my aunties were very impressed with my sewing :) i told them it had improved over the year of pinterest creating ... i loved how the little marshmallows look like best friends so i am actually going to attach it to a frame and give it to polly's little friend with a picture of them inside ... then i am going to make some more for some sort of winter décor thing-a-me ...

it was late when i took this photo .,. clearly my eyes were seeing double!

so even though this photo shows them unfinished at least you can see the cocoa in this one!  i will take a photo of the completed one when i unpack tomorrow .. too tired to tonight!

day 342 and i was back to sewing with felt today but this time it was apple coasters, tutorial from the purl bee.  the tutorial is pinned to my autumn comfort board and i am getting in just in time before autumn turns to winter!  i loved making these and chatting with my aunts on our last night in tauranga!  they were such good support and my mum kept on making hot drinks to keep me going :)  i made two, one with a bite out of it.  i didn't quite have the right green to make green ones so they were both rosy red.  They weren't too hard to make and i have really loved all the things i have made from the purl bee over the last (almost year) of pinterest creating.  the tutorials are always so brilliant, easy, and user friendly ... definitely a place i go often for inspiration :)

happiness in apple coasters :)

and today, day 343 we drove home, and then had polly's best friend's birthday this afternoon ... it was a BUSY day!  the party was awesome and hayley's face was priceless when she saw her new barbie house steve had made her, so cool :)  i came home from the party and was exhausted, and was looking for something to make when i stumbled over this pin on my pinterest winter wonderland board.  the pin comes from a season for all things an steve has been putting in some long work hours the last couple of weeks, leaving without breakfast.  i thought these little ready-to-go oatmeal/porridge packets would be perfect for him over winter to take to work. something easy and hot he can put together when he arrives at work, making sure he starts the day with a decent brekkie ... and as a bonus hopefully i will earn some brownie points after all he has had to to for me this year!  the oatmeal pin comes from a season for all things and is an adaptation of a recipe from life as mom.

the ingredients

the added ingredients :)

i used the recipe as was except for omitting the sugar (on account of steve being a diabetic) and added sultanas and coconut instead for some sweetness.  it looked really good in the pack and knowing all you have to do is pour it into a bowl with 2/3 cup of boiling water and leave it to stand for a couple of minutes sounded really good to me!  we will have to wait to see how this one pans out for steve, i'll let you know :)

steve's breakfasts all ready to go :)

my sincere thanks to all the lovely blogs that have helped me complete a pinterest creation each of the last three days: flamingo toes, a glimpse inside, purl bee, and a season for all things ... all great sites with so many wonderful ideas.  that's it from me, i'm off to bed :)

day 284: fall bucket list

our fall bucket list ready to frame and have up as a reminder of all the cool things autumn offer :)

day 284 and things have been hard round here, that's an understatement but not as hard as others and my heart goes out to those families. my family have completely rallied around me and taken up all the slack i have left.  my operation is set for monday and i wanted to make sure the family (including me) had things to look forward to for the rest of the autumn season given the first month has been such a non event.  we haven't even been to a rugby game yet :(

i went to my autumn comfort board on pinterest looking for inspiration for today's creation.  looking at all that inspiration was just what i needed and i found the perfect thing to do today, an autumn bucket list.  i love these seasonal bucket lists that make you realise there is so much that each season offers your family that's worth doing.  i subconsciously know all these wonderful things happen each season but sometimes the grind of each day gets away on me and i forget to make the most of all the opportunities out there.

i found this great fall bucket list by katie at loves of life, unfortunately it is more fitting for the northern hemisphere seasons so this free printable wasn't going to work.  however i did find this free printable for a fall bucket list that allows you to create your own.  the free printable is from jessica of live as mom, her writing is so funny and a little bit addictive to keep reading!  jessica went with a limit of 25 things for her autumn bucket list.  given a month of autumn has almost gone i am going to limit our family list to the 20 things listed below:

the freely printable fall bucket list from jessica at lifeasmom.com, it's also available in colour if your printer hasn't run out of magenta ;)

• go to a blues rugby game
• make a pumpkin pie
• make apple prints bags with the peeps
• make mum's famous carrot and pumpkin soup
• go to the movie the best exotic marigold hotel
• make decorative easter eggs with the peeps
• go to the anzac dawn service at parakai (we go to one each year, this year it will be a local one)
• read a classic storybook, book must have been written at least 50 years ago  (each member of the family)
• make wednesday nights into movie nights with an easy dinner and cuddled up under blankets with hot chocolates
• visit with nana at the mount
• have a family craft day to make an autumn banner
• make an apple pie
• make some mini egg cookies
• make time to play games with the peeps on sunday evenings
• make homemade easter buns
• go to takapuna beach for an autumn walk and finish with hot drinks at the beach cafe
• go to a netball game to support the northern mystics
• make a dessert pizza for doing in the pizza oven
• send easter eggs in the post to all the peeps friends
• make an 'autumn' inspired dinner each week for the remainder of the season

outcome:  we won't know until the end of this season but i already feel more positive and excited about the weeks ahead and doing lots of fun family-focused things.  it is so true, when something is written down rather than thoughts swirling around it is far more likely to be done because it is out there for all of you to remember and make time for.  i love the idea of bucket lists for the everyday and always, it's a way of remembering how important each day is and not just the festive, warm seasons.  i am a great one for getting excited about christmas, birthdays, easter, and all the holidays way in advance and forgetting about how rewarding the every day can be if you put a little effort in.  hopefully a list like the one above with be a great reminder .... now i just need to get steve to go out and buy a frame for it!

my thanks to both katie at loves of life and jessica of lifeasmom.com for their wonderfully inspiring fall bucket lists.  they are such a great idea and something i hope to adopt for my family during every season :)

day 260: rugby/football subway art

today's creation  thanks to some free subway art from the girls at eighteen25 :)

day 260 and we are in full rugby preparation here today ... we have stocked up on blue foods and treats, got the ingredients for homemade hamburgers, made some team goodie bags, and now we just have to do a little more decorating.  we all support the blues EXCEPT my little worm in the apple barrel ben who supports the crusaders :(  he adores the players in the crusaders team and no amount of coaxing will make him change his mind!

the treats and the treat bags i made and put together today for the start of the season

today's creation helps that as it's a piece of subway art.  unfortunately most of the awesome football subway art i came across on pinterest was for american football, so the sayings on them weren't all totally appropriate for our national code of football, that being rugby union.  i did, however, find this piece of subway art from the girls at eighteen25 that was definitely worth doing and worked for whatever team sport you needed it for.  the original intention of this subway art was as a gift for coaches (such a cool idea), but for today's creation it is also ideal as subway art for the beginning of the rugby season.  even better news is this subway art is also free to download ... yippee~!  the idea is pinned to my autumn comfort board, were all things rugby and crafty can be viewed!

all you need to complete today's creation is a printer and a cheap frame ... that's it, just print and fill the frame!

the cheeeap frame and the freeee subway art ... good economising today, steveeee will be happy ;)

now we are looking more like a home that adores the game of rugby!

outcome: thank goodness today's creation was a simple, timely one as we had plenty going on!  the subway art looks awesome next to the rugby letters i picked up at typo ($20 for the word and heart) .. love that store and they have a super deal on letters at the moment 3 for $10!  well our house is looking much better now and after i have finished this post it will be time to sit down and watch the second half of the rugby .... unfortunately for me the blues are currently behind, needless to say my sweet boy peep is rubbing it in : }
thanks so much to the girls at eighteen25 for another awesome piece of subway art, i think there subway art for all occasions is probably my favourite of everybody's ... have a great weekend you guys :)

day 259: rugby decor

the rugby season is about to start ...

day 259 and i am VERY excited  because tomorrow the rugby season kicks off and i can't wait.  i decided this year we would have some rugby decor about the house, starting with today's creation a rugby ball wreath?!??  not exactly sure what you would call it but i plan to use it like a wreath and show my support for our local super rugby team the blues.

this idea is pinned to my autumn comfort board and comes from amanda at my heart's desire.  i love how she and her friends got together and made diy decor to support the teams they follow in football, so cool!

we support the blues super rugby team as i mentioned and they are a team made up of the upper north island's best players.  as such, my rugby ball had to have a blue's flavour to it and instead of the burlap the girls used to make their's from, i have chosen to do mine in felt.  in between the two layers of felt i have used some quilt batting to make it a little more robust and bulky.

what you need for a rugby wreath thingee!

the batting that gives it a bit more substance

going through the process

done, another creation bites the dust!

a closer look!

outcome:  this is so cute, such a great idea for a bit of sporting décor in the house!  i love that it shows support for our team and is something totally out of the whimsy box i NEVER would have done without pinterest!  makes me smile just looking at it :)

my thanks to amanda from my heart's desire for this neat idea.  love how you blogged about it and showed us craft challenged people with limited inspiration a great idea that you can't find on store shelves ... well not in this country anyway!

and as for the prizes from last week, here's a closer look!  ...

jen's booby prize :)

the real prize pack for michelle aka hey mickey!