Collaborate for a Cause 2013 - it all starts tonight!

The auction starts tonight and there are so many lovely handmade collaborations listed - you should take a look! 

My crochet items are now part of the most fabulous sets! Here are the finished Mini-Me Handcrafts collaborations:

Milly Peep-Hole Dress (Size 2) by Maddi-Sue
Alice Doll by Little Guys & Gals
Hair Accessories by Enchanted Princess Accessories
14 Piece Crocheted Tea Set by Mini-Me Handcrafts
White Crocheted 15cm Teeny Bunny by i.love.milly.mu

All proceeds are being donated to Make-A-Wish Australia.

OOAK Patchwork picnic blanket by koochie koo
Musk Pink Tutu Set & ribbon wandl by Kylie's Collections
14 Piece Crocheted Tea Set by Mini-Me Handcrafts
Deluxe dolly bassinette carrier by My Precious Baby
Lace Dolly Teepee by Liddle Pea
Deluxe Handmade Doll by Two Little Darlings

All proceeds are being donated to Heartfelt.

This Facebook charity auction will finish start tonight July 26th 2013 at 8pm AEST and finishes on Sunday July 28th at 8pm AEST. I expect bidding may be quite generous! You can find out more on Facebook at Collaborate for a Cause and the auction album can be found here.

Christine xx

The Gallery - I made this! (a long time ago)

Joining Sticky Fingers for The Gallery... the theme this week is "I made this".

I have always loved handcrafts. My grandmother taught me crochet and embroidery when I was quite young. 

You can see lots of things that I have made if you browse through my blog. But here is something that I'm really quite proud of, as this was a big project I completed a long time ago. 

These two double bed sized granny square blankets are some of my early crochet pieces - now almost 30 years old and still in use!

Christine xx

Collaborate for a Cause 2013 ♥ ♥ ♥

It's back again for 2013! If you haven't yet seen this wonderful Facebook page, or missed out on all the fun in the last two years, it's called Collaborate for a Cause and once again it's bringing the Facebook handmade community together for a charity auction event with a difference.

Created by Jen Kennedy of Ainslee Fox, it's all about promoting fun and friendship through collaboration on a handmade item or set of items for the auction. Collaborating Facebook partners create handmade items for the auction and choose a charity to which the proceeds of their item or set will be donated.

Once again I am thrilled to be a part of this fabulous idea - my own Mini-Me Handcrafts will be creating some beautiful pieces for special group collaborations with some wonderfully talented and very gorgeous ladies.

Here is a look at my items... yes, my very popular afternoon tea sets will be making appearances in two wonderful group collaborations.

"Tea with Alice" 14 piece afternoon tea set

"Mint & Rose" 14 piece afternoon tea set

I'll show you the group collaboration sets very soon...

Bidding on the auction will commence at 8pm AEST on July 26th 2013. Please take a look at Collaborate for a Cause on Facebook for more information, and get ready for an even bigger and better charity auction than the last two years - definitely the most uplifting and wonderful auction the Facebook community has ever seen!

Christine xx

A little bit retro

To celebrate the Centenary of Canberra this year, and also the last day of the school term, all the kids at Julia's school wore outfits from different years. Julia's 1/2 class all represented the 60s and 70s.

Julia's retro style dress is a favourite in her wardrobe and one that she wears quite often! 

This bright and colourful dress is handmade by Lee-Anne from Hannah Banannas Designs. Take a look on Madeit for her collection of gorgeous clothes which are "bright and girly, fun and twirly!"

Christine xx

Christmas creativity - Gift bags for Julia's teachers

At the end of the school year, Julia (Miss 6) and I put together some handmade gift bags for her wonderful Kindergarten teachers. Some goodies were handmade by Julia, some by me, and some by friends. 

These gorgeous bags are from Amanda at Appleberry Kids. 

Inside the gift bags... 
handmade card and butterfly magnet by Julia; 
mug cosy, tree decoration and card handmade by me; 
sticky notes note book by Cassy at Cards by Cassy; 
Alice in Wonderland necklace by Kelsie at Pretty Little Piper; 
zip pouch from Johanna at Onepear; 
Christmas tree biscuit from Beck at Becca's Biscuits beautifully decorated by Julia; 
and a Starlight Foundation chocolate star. 

Julia and I had so much fun choosing and making things to include in the bags and Julia's teachers loved their gifts! 

Counting down to Christmas? Eeeek... it's Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas everyone! 

Christine xx

Christmas creativity - Julia's goodie bags

Julia (Miss 6) has had a fabulous year in Kindergarten this year. She has been lucky to have the most awesome teachers and has made lots of new friends. 

She decided to make goodies bags for her classmates this year and fill them with some small gifts like a pencil, balloon, a chocolate Santa and a handmade Christmas card. 

The bags were so colourful and the kids loved them! 

Counting down to Christmas? Eeeek... only 1 week to go! 

Christine xx

Christmas creativity - Julia's first sewing project

Julia (Miss 6) has taken an interest in sewing, having received a toy sewing machine from a friend for her birthday. 

Last weekend, she and I decided to make a Christmas stocking for her much loved teddy bear Lollipop. She didn't want him to miss out on Santa's visit this year. 

We drew a stocking pattern on paper which she cut out. I then cut it out of felt for her (using the "good scissors"), and also some letters for Lollipop's name. She hand stitched all around the edge and glued the letters into place. 

As you can see, she was so proud of her handiwork! 

Counting down to Christmas? Eeeek... only 2 weeks to go! 

Christine xx

School holidays with Enoch and Plonk

Spring is here and we have had some warmer weather over the past 2 weeks of school holidays. Time to share some fabulous arty tees, all hand crafted by Nicola from Enoch & Plonk. 

"Three Windows"

"Two Trees"

School holidays have just finished. Julia is back at school today and I am almost glad to be getting back into the usual routine! 

Christine xx

Twirling

In a new party dress, on a warm spring afternoon, is there anything better than twirling.... 

twirling... 

twirling... 

... and a curtsey to finish. 

Beautiful dress by Alana at Yumminess Textiles. 

Christine xx

Collaborate for a Cause 2012 - it's on right now!

The auction is underway and there are so many lovely handmade collaborations listed - you should take a look! 

My crochet pieces have been incorporated into the most fabulous pieces! Here are the finished Mini-Me Handcrafts collaborations:

This gorgeous set of 2 x pillowcases & matching cushion cover was created by my wonderful friend Jac from Jac & Skeet featuring my crocheted edging and flowers.

This beautiful dress was created by my incredibly talented friend Tracey from Sugar an Spice. This is a size 2-3 handmade "Neveah" dress with ribbon sash and corset style back featuring my crocheted applique heart.

All money raised from auction of both of these collaborations will be going to Raising Hope for Brittany to assist with disabled equipment and medical treatment for Brittany - a beautiful 15 year old girl who has an acquired hypoxic brain injury.

Please take a look at Raising Hope for Brittany on Facebook. Every little bit helps to make a difference and a postive impact on Brittany's life.

This Facebook charity auction will finish tonight Sunday July 29th at 8pm AEST. Bidding has been very generous so far! You can find out more on Facebook at Collaborate for a Cause and the auction album can be found here.

Christine xx

My favourite handmade buys of 2011

I have found so many wonderful and talented people over the past year who can make the most beautiful handmade delights and thought I should share some of my favourites with you. I love to shop handmade, knowing that I am supporting someone else just like me (except ten times more talented).

Handmade dresses are my weakness, and those I will share with you another day. This blog post is about those other handmade items - anything but clothes!

So in no particular order, here are my favourite handmade buys of 2011:

Jac & Skeet

This fabulous oversized order book cover was made for me by Jac & Skeet. When Jac posted a picture of this jelly bean fabric on her Facebook page, I knew it just had to be mine! My order book was a mess and pages were all over the place, but not any more! Jac can make these covers in any size and can make matching business card holders and notebook covers too. 

Also from Jac & Skeet are these Eco bags, made wonderful with a terrific facelift. Both sides of the bag are covered in my fabric choices from Jac's fabric stash. I get great comments from other shoppers when I pull out my bags, especially when craft and yarn shopping!

Becca's Biscuits

My favourite gifts for others last year were these cookie decorator kits from Becca's Biscuits. My initial kit purchase included plain white iced biscuits, edible ink pens, gift box, cello bags and ribbon. Julia loved decorating the biscuits with her own designs, then gift wrapping them for special friends and family.

The ink pens were used over and over for more kits purchased later in the year. I even bought lots of plain tiara shaped biscuits for her birthday party, and her friends loved decorating them too.

Beck makes fabulous custom cookie creations, cookie cards, biscuit bouquets and cookie pops, and her designs and decorations are just fantastic! I bought the letter biscuits for my husband's birthday, and Julia set them into place on the birthday table - what a great centrepiece! The decorated tiaras were a special Christmas gift for Julia's friends at calisthenics. The beautiful work that Beck puts into each decorated biscuit is truly amazing.

There are so many delicious biscuit flavours available, but our favourites are lemon cheesecake and gingerbread. She can post all over Australia too, so take a look at her website and order a sample collection pack today - you'll be hooked too! 

Lella M

My husband was searching online for a cover for his ipad so I suggested he might like one from Lella M. This cover fits perfectly and provides good lightweight protection for travel.

Michelle makes wonderful padded covers and pouches for phones, dvd players and ipads as well as a fabulous range of bags, coffee jackets, notebook covers and lots more. 

The Karma Soap Company

Julia has quite sensitive skin that can dry out easily so I thought I would try some goats milk soap from The Karma Soap Company. This soap is just heavenly! It leaves her skin so soft and smooth and smells wonderful. It's so good that now we are all using goats milk soap in this house!

Felicity makes all her soaps in small batches, and none of her soaps contain preservatives, alcohol or petroleum products. I have tried several fragrances, and whilst Julia's favourites are chocolate and vanilla, my favourites so far are lavender and frangipani. Take a look at the website for more details.

There's a very special offer right now in the shop: Simply spend $20 or more on any products and include something from the seconds album to receive a free 30ml sample tube of the new goats milk moisturiser - this offer is limited so don't miss out! 

Odds & Blobs

I bought this gorgeous passport cover from Odds & Blobs for our big overseas trip last year and it was great! So well made, and how nice to stand out from the usual boring blue covers that all look the same. I bought one for each of us and it made finding passports a little easier in my bag too.

Jess also makes eye masks, luggage tags and zip pouches and you can find a great range in her madeit store.

I hope you enjoy browsing these stores as much as I do. Please support handmade!

Christine xx

Superman - Everyone loves a super hero!

Julia (Miss 5) loves super heroes. She will happily play Batman on the X-Box with her Daddy and she loves to dress up in her magic cape and rescue Barbie dolls from the evil teddy bears.

But there is one superhero that outshines all others - Mario. I'm not even sure that this short Italian plumber can be classed as a superhero, except that he does have to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser, and he has Luigi as his sidekick. Julia loves this guy and can play Super Mario Bros like a pro, on the Wii and the DS. She even has invisible friends called Mario and Luigi who have been visiting our house for at least a couple of years now. They usually get blamed for anything that goes wrong around here... 

So for her recent birthday, I could not go past this wonderful Mario dress from Nicola at Enoch & Plonk. It is refashioned from a fabulous Mario t-shirt which has been upcycled and totally set off by the contrast sleeves and neckline. Julia loved it and I could hardly get her to take it off for several days!

If you like this Enoch & Plonk dress, you should see the others Nicola has in stock and planned! Take a look at her website blog for new collection and design news, then make sure you like Enoch & Plonk on Facebook and sign up to her newsletter to keep up to date with all the E&P happenings. You can also shop direct via Etsy and Big Cartel.

Superman & Wonder Woman
Deluxe Personalised Children's Book
$21.50 each with free shipping for delivery within Australia only.
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.

Ballerina Princess - Party Planning

Last year I had a mermaid party to plan. This year Miss Julia will be turning 5 and her chosen theme is a princess party.

The date has been set, the invitations have been sent and the menu has been selected. The games have been arranged, prizes and decorations bought, and Julia has chosen a cake.

Now all I have to do is prepare the banquet and make the cake look something like a castle. Wish me luck... 

I looked back at my last party planning post here, and I seem to be doing all the same things as last year. All Julia's favourite party things - balloons, streamers, fairy bread and pass-the-parcel. The main difference is the colour scheme this year will be pink and purple instead of green and blue.

All the things on Julia's birthday list this year are still the lovely, simple things that I remember from my own childhood. 5 year olds are easy to please too! 

Julia's party invitations were made by Amy at Duck Duck Goose (now One Sixteenth Designs). 

Ballerina Princess
Deluxe Personalised Children's Book
$21.50 each with free shipping for delivery within Australia only.
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.

Mini-Me Handcrafts - Christmas in July II

I loved participating in The Oz Material Girls Christmas in July Craft Swap this year. You may have seen my crafting efforts in a previous post. Now I'd like to show you the most beautiful gift I have received from my swap partner Jo.

This craft bag is beautifully quilted in such divine fabric and will be perfect for keeping my crochet hooks and all my little bits and pieces together.

Jo also included two little gifts inside the bag: a sweet lucky owl which was happily taken by Julia (Miss nearly 5) and has now found a home beside her bed, and the most beautiful buttons. I just need to find a project worthy of such buttonly prettiness!

Crocheted goodies handmade by me
Available now from Mini-Me Handcrafts.

Personalised Children's Books
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.

My Day on Sesame Street - Alphabet Cookies

It was my husband's birthday last Friday so he took the day off work. Hooray! Julia (Miss four-and-a-half) was very excited to make a special birthday lunch for her Daddy. We made sausage rolls for a lunchtime treat.

Setting the table was the best part. Julia was thrilled that we used a tablecloth (we usually use placemats) and she had chosen some party hats for us to wear. 

But the best part was the cookie decorations. Julia had such fun putting her birthday message together from letter cookies I purchased from Beccas Biscuits.  

They made such a lovely, colourful centrepiece and Beck decorated the biscuits beautifully. Lemon cheesecake is the cookie flavour we love the most - just fabulous!

You can see more of Beck's wonderful creations on Facebook or on her website.

Crocheted goodies handmade by me
Available now from Mini-Me Handcrafts.

My Day on Sesame Street
Deluxe Personalised Children's Book
$21.50 each with free shipping for delivery within Australia only.
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.

Our Handmade Father's Day

Julia (Miss four-and-a-half) was so excited about Father's Day this year.

First she made a card and a key tag at pre-school. She has the most wonderful teachers who put in so much effort to make sure that all the kids could take home something that their Dad would love.

The craft didn't stop at school - at home we made a book for Dad with lots of pictures and special things about Dad. Some of the ideas for the book came from one of my favourite blogs - Toni at Make It Perfect.

Julia loved decorating hankies with fabulous drawings for Dad. Fabric textas are so easy to use and can be used on so many things to make a colourful gift.

Our last craft was biscuit decorating. I bought a fabulous cookie decorating kit from Beccas Biscuits which included six large plain white iced biscuits (Julia and I chose gingerbread), presented in a gift tin with a packet of edible ink pens. Julia loved creating her own designs on the biscuits (and they were delicious too!)

Bec is going to make these kits available on a regular basis; please take a look at her wonderful creations on Facebook or on her website.

Dad loved his gifts and Julia was so proud of her creations!

Crocheted goodies handmade by me
Available now from Mini-Me Handcrafts.

Personalised Children's Books
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.

Justice League - Super Julia

Julia (Miss four-and-a-half) loves super heroes. Batman and Spider-Man are her favourites.

Here she is in her superhero cape made by Roz from Skidamarink (I love you). Roz makes magic capes in a range of colours, as well as gorgeous peasant dresses and applique tops for boys and girls.

Julia loves to wear her cape - sometimes she is a super hero and other times she is a wizard (just like Harry Potter of course). It can be a cloak of invisibility, a pirate cape or even a detective cape. It's one of her favourite dress up costumes.

She may not be big enough to save the world yet, but my favourite super hero is Super Julia of course!

Justice League - Giant Personalised Children's Book
$25.10 each with free shipping for delivery within Australia only.
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.