Birthday party shenanigans

This year I decided to give beads as part of the take home party bag. I bought wooden beads on e-bay, then I had a hunt for really cheap bead containers. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find the right thing for the right price! Eventually I found these little containers - $3 for 12. I think the beads look pretty cute in the little jars!


I decided to make origami boxes to put the beads in -


I wasn't sure if the boys would like the beads, so I put together a crafty alternative -


Here are all the assembled boxes -


Here is the next stage of the pinata. At this stage I was panicking a little - it kind of looks like it could all go badly wrong and end up a hen's night pinata!!


But it all turned out in the end, and my little girl got her fairy pinata.

The Birthday Party

This year I've decided to have a joint birthday party for ChingyPingy and MrMcGillicuddy. Here is the first installment of pictures

Coloured rice to put in Maraccas for take home gifts for the 1 year old age group.

Apparently this is going to become a fairy pinata. We will see....

Craft night

I am lucky enough to go to Hey Bubbles' craft nights. Last week was the last craft night for the year. It was incredible! We all made these really cool little Christmas trees - here is a pic of mine.




My kids love them so much - as soon as I got them home, they took one each and hid them under the bed and under the sofa! Mr McGillicuddy likes to suck on them - I think he thinks they're breasts!! Teehee.

We also got a gorgeous little book with all the recipes for all the meals we'd had over the year. Yummmmmm. I can't wait to make some of them. Thanks Hey Bubbles!!

Birthday season

Yesterday was ChingyPingy's fourth birthday. We'll have a party for her in a week or two, but to celebrate the day itself, I made her a cat cake.



I was hoping to do something a bit more ambitious, but this is what she asked for!

It is Mr McGillicuddy's birthday in 2 weeks and ChingyPingy has informed me that he wants an astronaut cake!! We'll have to wait and see if I'm up to the challenge....

Seven Types of Ambiguity

Just finished reading Seven Types of Ambiguity by Eliot Perlman. This book may seem a bit daunting at first - it's a big book! Not encouraging when you're short of time. But it is well worth the investment of time. It's a clever, engaging book with wonderful characterisation.

It is about a group of people and their relationships with each other throughout an unusual series of events. The book takes you through the story by switching the narrator each chapter. The reader finds themselves sympathising with each character in turn - even in situations where one would think it impossible to see both sides!

I really enjoyed it.

Super A!

I finally made that super hero cape I've been threatening to make.

It didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Firstly because I was in a rush I managed to snag the material in the sewing machine. Secondly I didn't bother to learn how to applique properly, so the A is just stitched on with a zig zag and looks a little bodgy.

I'll try again - hopefully next time will be better! Even if it isn't I'm sure ChingyPingy and Mr McGillicuddy will love their super hero capes just because mama made them!

On the plus side - this took less than half an hour to stitch up.

Sewing machine woes

I have an old sewing machine my mum gave me. I haven't sewed properly for years, but I know how to *theoretically*.

Anyway, today I decided to make a superhero cape for a 3rd birthday I went to this morning. I'd cut the cape out and I figured it would only take about an hour to sew it. So I wandered down to my sewing table. My mother-in-law recently gave it to me. It's kind of exciting - the sewing machine lives in the middle of the table and there is a pneumatic lift that pushes it up to the top when you want to sew, then back down for storage.

My son Mr McGillicuddy was asleep, so I was in a bit of a hurry to finish before he woke up. I worked out how to use the pneumatic lift and started to thread the sewing machine. The needle went and snapped on me!!! Not good. I don't seem to have a spare needle either, or if I do I can't remember where I put it.

So I had to resort to one of my back up presents, a view finder. Oh well, the capes will have to wait for another day.