Fabric covered side table drawer

Today's crafty activity has been in the making for alittle while... I think I purchased the sidetable for little miss' big girl room over a year ago. I had put a couple of coats of paint on the main body, (white of course) but i was alittle lost as to how i was going to finish off the front of the drawer.



the ebay buy! pretty little side table



the fabric covered backing board

i found a pretty crystal drawer knob in a lovely store on the peninsula, and i searched the net for some fabric. i am a huge Amy Butler fan, so i went with one of her fabrics. A quick trip to Bunnings for a few missing supplies, and i was off and racing.

I used wadding to padd out the drawer front. but instead of attaching the fabric to the actual drawer, i cut some thin backing board wood to size and drilled a hole through it and the drawer front, attached the wadding to backing board, then wrapped in fabric. all glued down with kwik grip advanced. i did need to peg the fabric in place while the glue adhered the fabric to the backing board. Once adhered, i glued the fabric covered backing board to the drawer front. I added the crystal drawer knob and it was finished. Sooo very pretty!! i have low line dresser drawers for Little miss' bedroom that i plan on decorating in the same way, using lots of lovely amy butler fabrics, for a lovely bright touch to the room.  now just a lick of paint on the side table and i can then get started on the dresser drawers.

A great project to vamp up a few old drawers or a side table, recycling, and giving something old a new funky feel. Until next time, happy crafting. Elizabeth.

The Mad Hatter's tea party!!!

It's no secret that I'm a sucker for organising a kids birthday party. It's one of the things I'm known for, and many of my family and friends ask me months in advance to see what theme I'll be having for the next birthday party. 
Mr Intellectual's 7th birthday is fast approaching and in the past I usually start planning 4 or 5 months ahead, this time, with my Little vegemite only a few months old, I'm behind the 8 ball and time is of the essence. So i started reflecting back on what themes we've done, what i want to try and I surfed the web for some ideas.

Mr Intellectual's past birthday parties include: 1st- the very hungry catapillar. 3rd - Pirate party at the foreshore park. 5th - Monsters.

Mr Beach Bum's parties include: 1st Space. 3rd- Cooking

Little Miss. 2nd - Alice in Wonderland mad hatters tea party by far the most outrageous of them all. And a hard one to top. I think I'll need to rent out the eiffel tower to beat this one. Some pics below.

From the huge amount of gourmet food, to the giant tea cup for the punch. Miniture hamburgers, tartlets, cup cakes, ginger bread tea pots, short bread white rabbits and jelly slice. The white and red themed decorations and a tea pot cake complete with cake pops.


Each guest was asked to wear their maddest hat for sipping tea, and many of the guests made wonderful and wacky hats that made everyone at the botanic gardens that day stop and have a sticky beak.

We had a wonderful time playing croquet, egg and spoon races, sack races and ball sports. Each of the guests when leaving the party was presented with a tea cup filled with lollies and wrapped in cellophane.

The wording on our invitation read as follows, for those thinking of using this theme for their own birthday party.

Don't be late, don't be late,

for a very important date!

Ava-Elizabeth is turning two.

Join Ava, Alice and the mad hatter,

for an afternoon of tea charm and chatter.

Make your maddest hat for sipping tea,

and enjoy a touch of madness and glee.

There will be games, there will be fun,

running, giggles and prizes to be won.

2pm of Sunday November 21st

@ Botanical Gardens

Follow the white rabbits from the main gate,

and we'll see you for this important date.

RSVP Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum.

(Daniel 'Dad' & Elizabeth (Mum)

By the 14th of November

Or off with your head!!

When it rains, it pours..... through the roof.

What a weekend!! My lovely husband headed out on a 4x4 weekend adventure with some friends, while i stayed home with the 4 kiddies - two of whom aren't well. So i had sleep overs or early nights planned for the kids, and craft projects planned for me. Oh how i was wrong!!!

The wee hours of saturday morning brought a power outage and some home renovating... not by choice! Our roof filled with water, filling the light fittings with water, and making them so heavy they fell through the wet soggy plaster ceiling. creating some lovely holes!! i spent the next few hours tipping water from the fittings and mopping up water from my toilet, and laundry room floors by candle light.

So the electrician came out saturday afternoon and removed the lights, and from the looks of it, I'll need a new ceiling in at least two rooms, and maybe new walls too!!

So the amount of craft i got done this weekend was minimal. I did however get some of Mr Intellectual's school books covered. And I'm not a huge fan of character contact from the shops.... so we bought clear and jazzed it up with his name and some pictures cut out from coloured card stock. A fun way to decorate them, but we left some of the book cover showing in case his teacher refers to his exercise books by the cover colour, and not the 'lined, graph or scrap book'. so here they are, they may inspire you to be more creative come contacting time.

I also had a few orders for my hair clip frames on madeit.com.au So i got busy Sunday night when the roof flooding drama settled down and we had power again. Let me know what you think. They can be found on madeit for $30. 

Hopefully the new week will bring some more creative time and some more projects completed.

Can't wait to show you.

When they break your heart for the very first time.

I have 3 sons, and a daughter, and like all kiddies, they break your heart eventually, but not intentionally. It could be the first time they tell you that they don't want to be your friend anymore, it might be when they tell you that they want to run away. It could be, for some, when they're embarressed to be seen with you or are too big to want cuddles anymore.

My Mr. Intellectual* ( almost 7) The first time he didn't need me to walk him into class. It's a dream really, with a new baby, taking 3 children into the school grounds to walk him into class, while wonderful, was a logistical nightmare!! So now he's big enough for the drop off zone in the morning and again in the afternoon. But at the time, i realised that he was really growing up.

My beach bum*, ( 4 and a half) doesn't let me give him kisses anymore. Just temporary i hope!! He thinks he's too big for them and now we're only permitted to high five him or give a hand shake. Heart breaker!!!

My little miss* ( a very bold 2) broke my heart for the very first time at about 6 months old. Little miss had a horrible habbit of sucking on two of her fingers, her pointer and middle, to soothe herself to sleep. A habbit i wanted to break, and in my wisdom (ha!) thought that popping mittens or socks over her hands would break it. but instead, she screamed for hours. I rocked, i sang, i stroked her forehead, i walked, patted, and swayed. Nothing worked. I ended up on the floor with her screaming, while i sobbed. I can giggle about it now but in that very moment, my heart broke. For more than one reason. I felt like i'd failed in some way as a mum, seeing her so upset and me being the coase of it, and for the first time, my perfect little bundle, was not perfect. silly really, looking back i was sleep deprived and HUMAN.

My little vegimite*. Well at 14 weeks old he's just started crying tears. it breaks my heart that as a mum you can't just fix it all for them.

So when did your little angel break your heart? OR am i the only one?

The start of something new...

2011 is the year of new things, new experiences, new crafts, new skills and new friends. I'm hoping that this blog becomes the first crafty stop for people on their 'creative shop around'. Not everything will be craft based. I may need to vent about anything and almost everything to someone out there..... hopefully you'll be there to read it, comment on it and try it yourself.

I can't wait to show you my favorite finds from my favorite craft sites and my own little wishlist. I want to show you my completed craft projects, and see yours. Swap craft, cooking, and kiddie ideas, and have some great chats about anything. So hopefully you'll spread the word and check in weekly to read my rants and raves and score some lovely giveaways. From the sunny and very warm beaches of the mornington peninsula.... Elizabeth