Cook Clean Craft

Baby Shower Gift: Flat Teddy Tutorial and Pattern

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:05:00 +0000

Abby from Things for Boys is due to have baby number 2 soon, and Laura from Craftstorming had the great idea to throw a virtual baby shower. And today’s the big day (hopefully my gift arrived in time!).

When I first got the email from Laura, I knew exactly what I was going to make:

Jacob’s favourite snuggly toy (that must be there at bedtime) is flat puppy. Here’s a baby photo of Jacob and flat puppy together (flat puppy is looking a lot more worn these days…):

I used to put flat puppy in the cot with Jacob to give him something to self-soothe at night. I’m not sure if it made any difference to him sleeping through as a baby, but it definitely gives him comfort now when he’s feeling tired. (Celeste, on the other hand, chooses a different “favourite” toy to sleep with on a daily basis – such different kids!)

While flat puppy was made from a teddy material, I used minky dots – easier to find at my local fabric store, and soft and cuddly. I also decided to go with a teddy, rather than a puppy. It’s easy enough to change to a puppy or bunny by modifying the ear pattern.

The face is embroidered with a matching yarn – just what I had in my stash. I love the subtlety of the matching colours (and it hides my average embroidery skills!).

So let’s see how I made this soft and snuggly toy (which I hope Abby and baby love!):

Dynamo Maximum Review and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:21:00 +0000

Dynamo sent me a sample of the new Dynamo Maximum to review. I’m a long time Dynamo user, so I was curious to see the maximised version, with even more cleaning power. Now that I have kids, I need all the cleaning power I can get! And just to prove I’m not pretending to be a Dynamo user, here’s what’s normally in my laundry along with the sample:

(Yep, I’m a big fan of shopping in bulk!)

My kids must have known about this review because they kindly gave me a giant puke (mostly over Mum!), a nappy “number 2” leak and a set of wet bed sheets, along with the usual food spills (plus my kids like to wipe their hands and faces on their clothes), for testing purposes. AKA just another week with a 2yo and 4yo. (Sorry if that was too much information!)

I also threw in another these extra challenges: the kitchen face washer (see above - which doesn’t get washed anywhere near as often as it should) and my scummiest tea towel (below), which is burnt from the hot pizza stone.

Dynamo Maximum has top loader and front loader variants. I tested the front loader version. Two capfuls into the wash (which seemed like a lot compared to other liquids) and switch the machine on (with my usual settings of 30°C and Cotton and Linens).

The result: clean, fresh smelling clothes, but not an overpowering smell (which I don’t like about a lot of powders). It’s a liquid, so no worries about undissolved powder on the clothes or wondering how well it’s distributed in the load. The usual food stains were all gone, and no trace of the nappy leak. No smell of urine or vomit either. Yay – just what I look for in a laundry liquid. The kitchen wash cloth was looking renewed:

It’s not a miracle maker though: my poor tea towel will never be the same, but it came out much cleaner than I expected (with no soaking or other pre-treatment)!

I made sure the photo was the same section!

Dynamo Maximum is available in all leading supermarkets throughout Australia in 1L (RRP: $9.99) and 2L (RRP: $16.99) variants.

Would you like to win a 2L bottle of Dynamo Maximum? I have 2x top loader and 2x front loader bottles to give away. To enter, leave a comment below telling me the most embarrassing stain you’ve ever had to remove. Include whether you have a top loader or front loader. I’ll select my 4 favourite entries.Giveaway is open to Australian residents only (sorry!).

Entries close Friday 17th May at 4pm Western Australian Standard time. Winners will be notified by email and this blog post will be updated to included the winners names.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Dynamo and Digital Parents Collective.

Help for all things Homemaking

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Wed, 01 May 2013 06:20:00 +0000

Do you consider yourself a homemaker? Have you mastered all things homemaking?

I’ve never really considered myself a homemaker, but well, I guess I am the glue holding this house together. There are a million and one little things that I do that help the house run smoothly (ha! somewhat smoothly!).

I’m a long, long way away from mastering homemaking (whatever impression this blog may give you). I regularly go to bed with dirty dishes on the stove, toys scattered throughout the house, and a long list of things that just didn’t get done.

I’m always on the look-out for tools to help me control the chaos, and this week only, an AMAZING bundle of homemaking books is available:

I can hear your freaking out – where am I going to find time to read 97 eBooks? I can’t even find time to make the bed. Yes, this is a huge bundle, but not every book is going to be relevant to your needs right now. The topics include:

Home & Property {Cleaning, Organizing, Decor}
Educational Children's Resources
Budgeting {Finance & Time}
In the Kitchen {Recipes and Cooking}
Pregnancy & Baby Care
Holidays & Special Events
Spiritual Growth
Marriage & Romance
Motherhood
Health & Fitness
Beauty
Working from Home & Blogging
E-courses

Along with another $140 of bonus offers (some only available in the US).

Personally, I’m well passed the pregnancy and baby stage and I’m not a spiritual person, so those don’t interest me. I already own “One Bite At A Time”, which is an excellent resource in chipping away at the jobs you know you should be doing.

Hare are the books that caught my eye are – I’ve either wanted to read them in the past but struggle with finding the budget for eBooks, or that really spark my interest:

I’m sure my husband will also be pleased with “Kitchen Stewardship in the Big Woods: Family Camping Handbook”. (Yes, I have actually purchased this bundle for myself.) So in that small list alone, I’ve more than covered the $29.95 cost. Plus more books and bonuses that I’m sure I’ll find interesting.

Will I actually find time to read all of the eBooks? I’m loading them on my Kindle so I can read in small bites when I get the chance. One of the great things about eBooks. I like to have something to read before going to sleep each night.

Check out all 97 homemaking titles here – a great resource list and a bargain price. The deal ends at 11:59 p.m. (US) EST on May 4th.

What are your biggest homemaking struggles?

Kids Clothes Week – Done!

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:24:00 +0000

I went into Kids Clothes Week with an ambitious plan of sewing 11 items of clothing for my two kids. I’d cut all the fabric out ahead of time, and just had to get down and sew. I’m happy to say I sewed 10.5 items. I didn’t expect to get so far, especially with school holidays being on. I must be getting quicker!

So you’ve already seen the leggings, bloom dress, dressing gown and hoodie. Next up, we have pyjama craziness.

We had a brief cool snap about a month ago, and I realised that the kids had no winter pyjamas. I quickly whipped up a pair of flannel PJ pants for both of them, which was all they needed for then (it wasn’t that cold), but they still needed the tops and an extra full set each.

The pattern is the Goodnight, Sweetheart PJs from the book Sewing for Boys. The fabric for both of Jacob’s pairs are flannel that I picked up as part of a bulk lot on Freecycle more than a year ago. The piping was made using store-bought bias tape.

I wish I’d used a contrasting colour for the bias tape on the navy pyjamas to make them more fun. I just used what I had on hand.

The buttons are from my stash. I only had 3 cream coloured teddy bears, so I used one white one, and placed it on the white on the fabric.

I used the same top pattern for Celeste, but for the pants, I used the yoga pant pattern from Sewing Mod Kid Style, just because I didn’t have wide enough fabric of the lions print. I made them a size 6 width, since flannel doesn’t stretch and that was the biggest size I could squeeze out of my fabric (leftover from these pyjamas!).

The pink flannel and aqua piping is leftover from her big girl bed quilt cover backing – more details of that one soon…

The butterfly print was purchased at Spotlight.

Buttons were from my stash. I once again only had 3 pink stars, so I added a pink flower. A little random, but good enough for nightwear!

Finally, I made a pinwale cord skirt for Celeste with a velvet ribbon trim. The pattern is “Tammy” from Ottobre Design 6/2008. It’s lined with light pink acetate (I think, from a project I never got around to sewing for myself!). I seriously love this skirt and wish it was in my size. I’m tempted to buy more fabric for me!

The final item on my list was a pair of green cord pants for Jacob. I worked away on them in bits and pieces on Sunday, including my first welt pockets. By Sunday night, I’d got to the point of adding the fly-front zip and my brain was frazzled. I was too tired to work out how to do it, so I packed up for the week. I’ll get back to that soon…

I’m over the moon with the big stack of clothes I made. I’ve wanted my kids wardrobes to have a greater percentage of handmade clothes, and this week has made a big difference.

How did your kids clothes week go?

Hoodie for the Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:55:00 +0000

When preparing for Kids Clothes Week, I headed to my local fabric chain with a long list in hand. My kids have next to no winter clothes that fit, and a hoodie for Jacob was on the list. I was so uninspired by the boy fleece options – the boyish colours are just so drab. In fact, the range of fleece was all pretty boring. I was about to give up, when hidden away I found this navy print:

This is seriously cool fabric – almost wasted on a 4yo boy. Maybe I should go back and buy some more…

The pattern is the “Be Careful Out There Hoodie” from Ottobre Design 4/2012. The pattern is for jersey , but the fleece had a lot of stretch so it worked out fine. The pattern is more for a long-sleeve T-shirt hoodie than a jumper/sweater, so it’s narrower than store-bought fleece ones, but I think that suits my slender boy. He doesn’t look lost in it or get in the way of playing.

The ribbing is dark navy that I found in a thrift store a while ago. I debated using a more contrasting colour, but I’m happy I stuck with navy – it lets the fabric pattern shine. I also didn’t do the contrast top-stitching in the pattern for the same reason. I didn’t line the hood either since the fleece back was so snuggly!

I didn’t get as much sewing time on Day 3 of Kids Clothes Week as I would have liked, so only managed to do the shell of the hoodie, up to putting the zip in. I was a little nervous, having never done a zip placket like this, but it went in surprisingly easy (especially since the Ottobre instructions are so brief!). There is a tiny pucker at the bottom, but I’m sure I’m the only one that will notice that!

So I finished it off on Day 4. I feel like I’m behind on the mammoth list I set myself, so I needed another quick project to perk me up – a quick pair of pyjama pants for Jacob. I’ll finish the top before I show you that one.

So 5 items down in 4 days, 6 more to go – I’ll need a lot of time at the sewing machine to get them all done. Let’s see how we go!

Two days of kids clothes (so far)

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:30:00 +0000

Kids Clothes Week is on and I’m up for the challenge. One hour a day of sewing kids clothes – I can do that. I’ve set myself the ambitious target of sewing 11 pieces of clothing for my kids. I probably won’t quite make it, but we’ll see how things go (and my kids desperately need cold weather clothing!).

I planned ahead, and traced and cut all the patterns ahead of time. I like the idea of just getting into the sewing. And now that all 11 items are cut out, I have to make them sometime. The list includes a dress, skirt, hoodie, pyjamas, leggings and pants – no cookie cutter sewing here!

I decided to start with a quick win and went for a pair of leggings for Celeste. The pattern was from the book “Sewing Mod Kid Style” and the fabric was a pink Stella knit from my stash. Quick to whip up and the fit looks good.

With time leftover on day one, I thought I’d stick with knits, since I had a ball point needle in my sewing machine. I went with the Bloom dress from the same book, in a fun bright green flower print in Jersey (by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman – previously blogged for Fav Fabric Friday – yes, I actually do buy the fabrics I recommend!).

The dress is simple with a slight A-line. The next isn’t sitting very well at the moment, but I’m hoping it will settle down after a few washes. I’m thinking about a belt/sash or something as it looks a bit like a nightie to me. Maybe it’s that it’s a bit too big at the moment too.

I love the bright green colour – fun and a bit different for a girl.

So that was more than enough sewing for day one (and well more than one hour!). On to day two, and I stuck with projects requiring a ball point needle – this time a bathrobe for Celeste for winter.

I used a fleece for my local chain fabric store and the Beach Robe pattern from Made. I made the bias tape from a fat quarter. There wasn’t enough to edge the belt pieces, so I just made a normal belt with two pieces of fabric sewn together and turned.

I made the largest size (3-4) even though Celeste is in Size 2 just so she’d get a lot of wear out of it. With the belt, you only really notice it in the sleeves, so they’ll just be folded up this year (and maybe next year!).

So two days down, three cute pieces for Celeste. Time to do a little bit of boy sewing on Day 3, methinks!

How is your Kids Clothes Week going?

Getting out of the breakfast rut

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:29:00 +0000

I’ve always struggled to eat breakfast. My stomach just doesn’t wake up first thing in the morning (a bit like the rest of me!). I know breakfast is important, so I’ve always forced myself to eat it. I’m not too creative first thing in the morning, so it’s usually toast for me, and occasionally muesli – I wish I had the time and energy for cooked breakfasts (which I’d probably enjoy more), but it’s not going to happen!

There are times when I’m sick of toast or cereal. Then I get funny looks from my husband when I eat seedy crackers or other random food for breakfast. (I remember reading once that a chocolate bar for breakfast was still better than no breakfast at all – I’ve never done that though!).

When I was offered a sample of belVita Cranberry Breakfast Biscuits, I was intrigued (and also in a breakfast rut, so the timing was perfect). Here’s part of the marketing spiel:

belVita can help, offering a delicious and easy way to fuel busy mornings. belVita has a unique point of difference: not only is it tasty and convenient, it is the only biscuit that is scientifically shown to deliver 4 hours of sustained energy release – helping mums to be at their personal best for the morning mumathlon.

To put them to the test, I ate them for breakfast before my first day as Kindy Parent Helper - sustained energy release was definitely needed, helping 17 fun-filled 4 year olds !

A serving is 4 biscuits, with 6 individually-wrapped servings in the box. The biscuits were smaller than I expected, but I ate my serving with a mug of flat white (belVita recommends including a piece of fruit to make a balanced breakfast – fruit comes later in the day for me!).

What did they taste like? A bit sweeter than what I’d normally like for breakfast, but nowhere near as sweet as a lot of breakfast cereals (or the biscuits I make for the kids!). The sweetness was mainly from the dried cranberries (aren’t they popping up everywhere these days?), so it wasn’t sickly/sugary sweet. You can see the wholegrains in the biscuits, but they are chopped up so the biscuits aren’t too chewy (I have problems with chewy food for breakfast). Overall, it was a nice flavour and easy to eat (and my kids liked them too – can’t eat biscuits in front of them without them wanting some too!).

I’m usually starving by mid morning, and I was concerned about the smallish serving size, but after a morning hanging out with kindy kids (oh my gosh, they’re cute!), I wasn’t hungry until about 11am – well after my usual morning snack time and about 4 hours after breakfast.

I won’t have these for breakfast every day, but will keep a packet in the cupboard for when I’m struggling with the usual breakfast options, or I’m in a rush and want something for the road. I’m curious to taste the fruit-free flavours to see if they are not as sweet. As well as cranberry, they come in Honey & Nut with choc chip, Milk & Cereals, Crunchy Oats, and Fruit & Fibre.

What do you eat for breakfast when you can’t face toast or cereal again?

Disclosure: belVita breakfast biscuits were provided to me for free for review purposes as part of Product Talk by Nuffnang. All opinions are my own.

Getting Sassy Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:45:00 +0000

Way back in December, I made my first Sassy Librarian Blouse and mentioned that I had the fabric picked out for my second one. Surprise, surprise, it’s taken the motivation of the Spring Top Sew-Along at Made By Rae to actually get it sewn!

The fabric is a soft and silky voile, which I’ve never sewn with before. It’s Diamond Mine in the Little Folks range by Anna Maria Horner. I’ve had it in my stash for a LONG time. (Side note: I should do more selfish sewing!).

Since it was a long time between blouses, I had to watch some of the Craftsy videos again (gotta love access for life!). It was good to get all the tips and tricks, but also took longer than just following a pattern. I tried to multi-task and listen to the next step while finishing the previous one.

This time around, I did the pin-tuck variation with no collar. I didn’t go with the bow and tab for a simpler design and kept the sleeves. I struggled to decide which buttons to use from my stash (as seen on Facebook and Instagram!). I wasn’t sure, but took the daring option to go with bright pink fabric-covered buttons that match the pink in the fabric. I thought I could change the buttons later if they were too over-the-top, but it turned out that I love them! It makes a prim and proper blouse that little bit more fun and young.

I made the same modification to the pattern as last time, extending the release pleats at the front to give a bit more shape at my true waist.

Now I have two Sassy Blouses that I love. Fancier than my usual knit tops, they look great with jeans or a nice skirt. I’m feeling a bit more stylish than my “Mum uniform”!

The Sassy Librarian Blouse with full pattern and video lessons is available on Craftsy.

What fabric would you make it in?

Linking at:

Sewing Diversions

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:19:00 +0000

Why is it the smallest breaks seem to throw my routines out of whack? A short Easter break (plus an extra kindy-free day for Jacob) and the house is a mess and I haven’t achieved anything this week. Well, that’s not quite true – I just haven’t done the things I planned.

With Kids Clothes Week coming up, I headed to my local fabric store with a list of things I needed for an ambitious “to sew” list. I mostly stuck to the list, but got distracted by this knit fabric for myself. Slinky and soft and the colours are just perfect for me. So I bought 1.5m, with no real plan for what I’ll make with it.

Heading home, I dug out an old pattern for a knit dress with a cowl neck, thinking that might do. But then I got distracted again, and googled knit dress patterns. This lead me to the Hope wrap dress on Burda Style. Unfortunately, the pattern’s not my size and as I started playing with it to fit, I thought it’s about time I properly draft a top to fit me perfectly. I’ve wanted to do this for AGES!

I followed the directions in Design it Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch, but it turns out measuring yourself in a room with no mirrors results in some dodgy numbers (who would have thought?!). So muslin #1 (from some knit fabric in my stash) is in the refashion/turn into kids clothes pile (the benefit of having kids!).

Next up, I carefully measured myself in front of the mirror and made another muslin. This fit much better but had saggy fabric above the bust, which I kind of pinched out into the side seam, for a much better fit. The armholes also came in way too much, so muslin #2 is destined to be a tank top for bedtime!

Onto muslin #3 with armholes corrected and a much better fit. Then I started thinking what is the proper way to do the bust adjustment –hello internet, bye-bye a few hours!

Then I discovered “Pattern Making for Fashion Design” has three different methods for drafting knit tops (depending on the fabric type) which includes dealing with the moving of the bust dart. Morals of the story: the solution to the problem was right behind me all along and start with the pattern-making bible first! I’m still debating whether I should stick with my self-fitted version or draft another version the “correct” way.

I was meant to be tracing and cutting out fabric for Kids Clothes Week and went off on a completely different tangent (and am really no closer to making a dress!). Life in the sewing room can be like that, but I think I better venture out to the rest of the house and do a bit of cleaning…

And by the way, if you’re looking for a distraction, Craftsy are having a Spring Sale, from April 5th to April 8th, with a different set of classes on sale each day (up to 75% off their normal price).

What has been distracting you lately?

Easter Egg Foil Art Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:59:00 +0000

Do you carefully open your Easter Eggs, trying to keep the foil intact, and then delicately smooth it out? Or do you rip and tear to get at the chocolate as quickly as possible? I do both, depending on whether I have a craft project in mind ;)

Colourful Easter egg wrappers make a great craft supply, and today I’m going to share with you a fun craft for the kids (or yourself):

My wonderfully-crafty Year 4 teacher told us to collect our wrappers before Easter so that we could make Easter egg foil art (let’s not talk about how long ago that was!). We chose colouring pages for the design (I’m pretty sure mine was Strawberry Shortcake!), and folded and scrunched the Easter eggs to create cute art.

It makes a sparkly decoration for a kid’s bedroom, or if you have some fancy wrappers (like my husband’s vintage collection, recently found at my in-laws place, see below), it wouldn’t be out of place on a mantel display.

Aren’t they gorgeous! I’m still trying to work out what to make with them!

The butterfly image is from the free Butterfly quilt pattern by Alex Anderson for P&B Textiles (which I’m using to make Celeste’s big girl quilt – another work in progress…).

Here’s how I made my Easter egg foil art:

Personal Planner Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 04:00:00 +0000

The winner of the customised Personal Planner from Personal Planner AU is:

Tammy Wallis

Congratulations Tammy! I’ve sent you an email to confirm your details. Thanks to all who entered!

Incaberry and White Chocolate Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:13:00 +0000

Have you tried Incaberries? They are the latest superfood – high in fibre and anti-oxidants and packed with nutritional goodness. But do they taste any good? I was sent a sample of incaberries to try, and was pleasantly surprised.

(Image source: Incaberry.com.au)

I’m hit and miss when it comes to eating dried fruit. I like dried apricots and cranberries, not such a fan of sultanas, raisins and dried apples. Even though I have a sweet tooth, I don’t like sickly sweet dried fruit. Incaberries are described as “starting with a sweet palate and finishing with a sour delicate note” (got to love promotional material!).

So what did they actually taste like? The taste was vaguely familiar, but it took me a while to put my finger on it – tropical fruit juice!Passionfruity-pineappley-juiciness in dried fruit, and they do taste a little sour at the end (which I like, but I love a sour lolly/cocktail).

Incaberries can replace any dried fruit in recipes, and I decided to try them with white chocolate in cookies. The white chocolate adds a bit of sweetness to the slight sourness of the berries. (My husband asked me if I was detracting from the “superfood-ness” of them by putting them in cookies. I told him it just made it easier to justify eating cookies!)

Here’s my recipe for Incaberry and White Chocolate Cookies (note: you can substitute dried cranberries/craisins or other dried fruit):

Quilt as You Go Puff Quilt/Mat Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 05:41:00 +0000

This post has been a long time in the making… I made this Puff Quilt Mat (using my own quilt as you go method) for my Mum as a Christmas present in 2011. I really procrastinated writing the tutorial for this. It was a fiddly project and when it was done, I didn’t want to think about it for a while. But finally, here is the tutorial. But firstly, here’s what I’m talking about:

The colours aren’t really my taste, but it looks great in my parent’s bathroom (it’s not for standing on when you’re wet, but to keep your feet off the tiles when you’re standing at the sink – this always confuses my husband!).

The final size was 33” x 21”. Each finished puff is 3”, so it’s 11 puffs by 7 puffs. You can make it any size you want that can be divided by 3” (unless you want to do a different size puff – but I’m not going there today!).

Other puff quilt tutorials make the individual puffs and then sew them all together. A backing fabric is added and the whole quilt is bound. I decided to do things differently, and stuffed my puffs as I sewed to the backing fabric. It saves a layer of fabric (yes, I’m stingy with fabric!) and might be slightly quicker (but it’s still not a quick project!) Click through for the full photo tutorial:

Sewing with Knits

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:02:00 +0000

There haven’t been as many crafty projects on the blog lately. I’ve been busy doing the Sewing with Knits course, run by the lovely Deborah from Whipstitch. If you’ve been following me for a while, you may be wondering why I’m doing a course – I sew with knits all the time!

While I have sewn clothes for my kids out of knit, I’ve never been confident that I’m doing it right (since I’m mostly self-taught). I get frustrated that my son regularly breaks stitches in the knit clothes I’ve made, and then they don’t look as good as they could. I wanted to start from the basics and learn how to do things properly.

This course was just what I needed – forcing me to slow down and get things right with simple projects (rather than diving in headfirst into complicated projects). The projects were all useful though, so I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time.

I made a couple of headbands (for my daughter as my head is not designed for headbands!), a doll’s blanket, camisole top, T-shirt, skirt with a yoga waistband and lounge pants. Better yet, all the clothes were for me! The patterns were all included in the course.

I’ve read a lot of guides on how to sew knits, but this course helped me work out what works for me and my machine. After sewing a stitch sampler and the projects, I’ve found I don’t like sewing with a zig-zag stitch with knits. I don’t like the look of it and it doesn’t have enough stretch for the fabrics I was sewing with.

Funnily enough, I prefer the two stitches my sewing machine manual recommends for knit fabrics – the lightning stitch and the triple stretch stitch (this is incredibly slow since each stitch is sewn three times, but I love the look and it’s the only one I couldn’t get to break, no matter how hard I pulled my fabric!). The course also reiterated how important it is to do a test run for each new fabric – knit fabrics can behave so differently, so it’s best to experiment on scraps first!

For an online course, there was also a great sense of community – through comments on the lessons and two on-line chat sessions. Because everyone starts the course and works through the projects at the same time (well, within everyone’s busy lives!), it’s more like an in-person class than say Craftsy, where you can start anytime. People also seem more willing to share their experiences and work together.

So I definitely recommend Whipstitch’s Sewing with Knits e-course (there aren’t any scheduled at the moment – maybe you should just try one of the other classes instead!).

Now I just have to find the right patterns (or draft my own) for all my dream knit clothes. What are your favourite knit patterns?

Little Angel Peg Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:38:00 +0000

As part of the goody bag for the Blogs and PR Perth meet-up last month, I received a Little Angel Peg Kit from Imogen’s Angels. The kit was all packaged up in a cellophane bag with all the bits and pieces needed to make a cute angel peg magnet:

It included two dress options, a cute little face, crazy hair and “jewel” stickers to decorate her dress. The pieces are small and it’s fiddly to put all the pieces together, but you end up with an adorable angel.

I will confess, I didn’t look at the picture too carefully, and put the ribbon loops on the wrong side, so her angel looks more like a loop and she doesn’t have the ribbon loop for her arms. (Maybe a picture of the end product on the instructions would have helped instead of just on the packaging – or maybe I’m just a bit thick!).

It’s a fun, quick craft and great for a school-age child (my 2yo and 4yo are a little too young – that’s why I got to have the fun!). Perfect for holding the shopping list or kid’s art work on the fridge.

Disclosure: I received free product as part of a Blogs and PR event, and was not required to review this product. All opinions are my own.

Personal Planner Review and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:04:00 +0000

I’ve been trying to get more organised this year (ha! the usual story). With a kid going to kindy 5 days a fortnight, swimming lessons, playgroup and other activities, on top of the usual household chores and blogging, there’s a lot to get done each day.

I’ve tried online and smart-phone to-do lists, but haven’t found one that works for me. Turns out I’m great at ignoring them. I’m more motivated by writing something down and crossing it off. I’ve printed out my own organiser sheets, but like the idea of a personal planner so I can schedule things more than a week in advance and also flick back to see the last time I did stuff.

I’ve used a few personal planners in the past, but never seem to stick with them. Just like the on-line stuff, they’re never exactly what I want. For the last month, I’ve trialled a customised personal planner and so far it’s working for me!

There are 4 different sizes you can choose. I went with A5 – easy to stick in my handbag and plenty of space to write. When you order it on-line, after selecting the size, there are 5 different screens with customisations:

front cover (colour, images, text, elastic colour),
layout, plus whether you want the days ruled, striped, timetable and extra features to put on each day.
extra modules at the bottom of each page (to-do, idea of the week, list of the week and more).
types of pages you want at the back (squared, ruled, year at a glance, music, specialist teaching pages, colouring pages, Sudoku and more!).
Owner information page

You can even add birthdays or any other special dates. You can also choose which month you want your planner to start with (mine started in February).

I went with a minimalist design – mostly lined pages which I freeform to suit myself. I’ve ended up using the daily planner pages with the top section for activities and appointments, the middle for household tasks and the bottom of blogging tasks.

I spend a few minutes each Sunday (or Monday!) mapping out what I want to get done in a week. It doesn’t do the jobs for me, but I feel much better with a plan (not that I always follow it!). I’ve also got my own colour scheme for tasks I hadn’t planned (so it becomes my did-do list) or rescheduled.

The prices are about mid-range for personal planners, but the quality of the pages is great. Writing from the other side of the pages doesn’t show through at all. The planners have a stiff plastic cover on the front and back and are bound with a metal spine.

There are a few more options I’d like in the customisations, including a menu planner, water droplets to colour in for my 8 glasses a day, and a few other checkboxes for day-to-day habits. Nothing’s perfect!

Now that you’ve heard all about mine, who wants to win a customised Personal Planner of their own? If you’re thinking, come on, it’s a strange time of year to be ordering a planner, don’t let that stop you. Remember, you can pick the start date (or order one for next year).

To enter, leave a comment below telling me your favourite features in a personal planner. Click the box on the Rafflecopter form (which also to unlocks more entry options).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary Personal Planner to review and an additional planner to giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Fav Fabric Friday: Chevron Flannel

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:10:00 +0000

While we’ve been having heatwave after heatwave here in Perth (Australia) and the hottest summer on record, it’s time to start planning my kids’ winter wardrobes. This is the first year that I don’t have a big pile of clothes in waiting from last year’s end of season sales – a great excuse to get sewing!

The fabric that caught my eye this month is this Chevron Flannel by A.E. Nelson:

I just love all those colour-ways and the Missoni-feel to the prints (without the price-tag!). Double-brushed flannel (fuzzy on both sides) – hmm, I think I actually want to make pyjamas for myself out of this – stuff the kids!

The colours aren’t all girly – I’m thinking coordinating boy-girl PJs. I could go really crazy and make some for me and my hubby – how funny would that be?

What do you think? What are your favourite winter fabrics?

The Great 2013 Cookbook Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:57:00 +0000

My fridge hasn’t been working well lately, so I had to defrost it – what a boring job. While I was at it, I pulled it out of its cubby hole to clean the back. I then discovered the shelf above (with all my cookbooks) had bowed and I couldn’t get the fridge back in. All the books had to come down, grrr…

As I was pulling all the books off the shelf, I realised there were some I’ve never used and some that haven’t been used in a long time. I have no idea what wonderful recipes are hidden in them. And so became…

The Great 2013 Cookbook Challenge

The challenge: no cookbook can go back on the shelf until I’ve cooked as least 3 things from them (and liked what I’ve cooked!). From now – no claiming recipes I cooked 5 years ago!

To make it more interesting, I’ve set a deadline of the end of the year. If I haven’t cooked 3 recipes from a book by then, they are off to the charity bin (a bit like if I haven’t worn an outfit in a year…)

I have 45 cookbooks (although only about half fit on that shelf), so I’ve got a lot of recipes to get through! I must also resist the urge to add to the collection (and make the challenge any bigger!)…

My books are now all piled in my craft room. If you don’t have the space, maybe you could put a divider in your shelf so that all the cookbooks you’ve used go on one side of the divider.

I’ll post monthly updates as I go! Some support would be great, so do you want join in?

I’ve created a Flickr group. Share your cookbook collection (how big is your challenge?), progress photos, food that you’ve cooked and the pile of books to donate at the end of the year!

If you’d like to, grab a button and share the challenge:

How many cookbooks do you have? How many do you regularly use? Do you want to join me in this challenge? Let me know in the comments.

Fabric Business Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I recently went to a Blogs and PR meet-up here in Perth. It was great to see new and old faces in the growing local blogging community (and to receive a fantastic goodie bag – but that’s a whole other story!).

The day before, I realised I should get my act together and get some business cards (how long have I been blogging?). I didn’t have time to order any fancy ones, and without any cardstock, I had to get creative. I bought some printable art canvas a while ago from a deals site (the same time as the magnetic paper used for my dolls here), and thought I’d give it a go.

I’ve been playing around with my header design for a while, and used the new design on the business card, adding my contact details with Photoshop. I also got a little fancy and added a QR code (generated at this site).

The first attempt with grey writing wasn’t very sharp (although the QR code turned out well). Changing the text to black was much better. I may also have had a slight printing whoopsie, so some are a little smaller. They’re my back-up cards!

I was going to glue the fabric to old (work) business cards, but the art canvas was fairly stiff and I liked the different texture and uniqueness. I printed a few sheets, cut them out with a rotary cutter and tied them up in a fabric scrap.

So now I feel like a pro-blogger, handing out my business cards… (Still a bit of work to do there!)

Linking at:

Chicken Fajitas Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 05:55:00 +0000

We’ve recently become a camping family – I haven’t done a lot of camping so it’s a big learning curve. Luckily, we’ve got a camper trailer, so it’s not too rough! For all three of our camping expeditions, we’ve wanted an easy meal for the first night, after setting up camp. Chicken Fajitas has become my go-to, make-ahead recipe.

I cook them up before we leave, wrap them in foil and then reheat them in a frypan at the campsite. Unwrap, add a dollop of sour cream and enjoy. Quick, tasty and healthy – my husband thinks I’ve taken camp food to the next level!

I really should have a big cook-up and fill the freezer with these, so we there’s some ready for the next camp adventure (one less thing to worry about before a trip has got to be a good thing) – or for when I want something different for lunch!

Here’s my Chicken Fajitas recipe:

Number 4 Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

After making a Choo-Choo Train Cake, Teddy Bear Cake and Smiley Face cake, the pressure was on to keep up the standard in birthday cakes. (Why did I do this to myself?)

Months before his birthday, Jacob fixated on the Number 4 road cake Australian Women’s Weekly Kids’ Party Cakes cookbook (not surprising with his cars obsession!). He remembered this cake in graphic detail and wanted it exactly like the book. I tried my best:

We were visiting my family interstate for his birthday, so to make things easier, I used a packet cake mix (just used one packet - the book said use two but we were only feeding a small family gathering). The cake was baked in a rectangular lamington pan and divided into three long, skinny rectangles. These were trimmed to make the number 4.

(Photo of Australian Women’s Weekly Kids’ Party Cakes cookbook)

I smothered it in a batch of green buttercream (green is Jacob’s favourite colour and I liked that it looked like the roads were surrounded by grass). The book said to tint white ready-roll icing with black food colouring, but I found black buttercream fondant at a local kitchen supplies store – win!.

I bought the chocolate cars when I saw them at the supermarket before Christmas! Tic-tacs were used for lane markings. I set aside some signs and cones from Jacob’s toy collection before we headed on holidays, but somehow forgot to put them in the suitcase. We ended up buying more (just what I need – more toys to step on!) – at least this set included a boom-gate, which he loved!

I rolled the black fondant too thin, and on a hot day, it stretched as I transferred the strips to the cake, so the roads weren’t perfect (but still perfectly good for a 4yo’s cake).

The birthday boy loved his cake (but hated everyone singing Happy Birthday to him, hence the very angry look – he was yelling at us to shut up!).

So we had another happy birthday boy. I hope the cake’s don’t get any more complicated than this!

What was the last birthday cake you made?

Linking at:

A little bit of housekeeping

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 05:13:00 +0000

I had a good chuckle reading all the entries to the Palmolive Ultra Dishwashing Liquid giveaway.

Congratulations to the lucky winners:

Kim M
Mum-me
Mary Preston

I’ve sent the winners an email. Please reply with your address so I can get your prize pack sent on.

It’s also the last day to buy the Sew Fab Pattern bundle. If you’ve been humming and ha-ing, now is the time to commit. 18 fun patterns for $24.95.

Click here to buy and download your patterns instantly.

Finally, I’m playing around with my blog layout and design. If you’re reading this in a feed-reader, pop over and have a look at the (work-in-progress) design. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Miss Mod Top Pattern Review

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:14:00 +0000

When looking through the patterns for the Sew Fab Pattern bundle, I was happy to see the Miss Mod Top from Seamingly Smitten on the list. I’ve been eyeing off this pattern for a while in Go To patterns and it was the first thing I wanted to sew from the sale.

This pattern was a really simple sew and came together quickly – it’s definitely a beginner pattern. If I didn’t have a small boy constantly coming out of his “quiet time” interrupting me, I would have finished it in under 90 minutes.

The fabric is an old one from my stash that is hard to find now: City Weekend by Liesl Gibson for Oliver + S for Moda. It’;s a very pretty pink with blue flowers – I was going to make a dress for my little girl out of it, but I thought it would make a great top for me instead – goes great with jeans.

The fabric is a little stiff for the style of top though, and the top drape more nicely with a lighter weight fabric.

(yep, I’m still working on my self-portrait faces – make up and a hair brush might have helped!)

I’m not 100% sold on the style of the top. I’m not sure if it’s the drape of the fabric or the neck line that I don’t like. It feels like it needs a little something. Maybe if I wore a necklace?

The Miss Mod Top is part of the Sew Fab Pattern Bundle, which you can buy here before 11th Feb, 2013. It’s also available to purchase individually here.

Linking at:

Sew Fab Pattern Sale and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 05:25:00 +0000

I gave you a hint that this was coming last week. The Sew Fab pattern sale is on. Here’s all the details, and a chance to win BIG!

Today is the 1st day of the 1st ever Sew Fab e-Pattern Bundle Sale and giveaway, sponsored by The Southern Institute and Fat Quarter Shop!

Over the past eight weeks a lot of behind the scenes work has taken place to bring you this amazing bundle of ePatterns from several of the top pattern designers and bloggers in the sewing and blogging world. The result is a bundle of 18 PDF sewing patterns that you don't want to miss.

For one week only, ten pattern designers have come together to bring you 18 of their best PDF patterns, valued together at over $139.00, for the incredible price of $24.95! That's over 80% off of the combined retail value! Plus you can enter to win a dream of a giveaway valued at $390 from some really great shops! For less than $25.00 you will have a library of resources that you can use over and over again. The designers that have joined this sale are experts in their craft. They have been sewing for a very long time and are well known in blogland and elsewhere. Each designer has contributed one or two of their favorite patterns to create a bundle that is sure to please! Whether you are sewing for your own family or making gifts for others, these are patterns that you will love to use. If you've never sewn with a PDF pattern before, let me tell you how great it is! After downloading your pattern instructions and your pattern, you will print out the pattern itself, creating pattern tiles, if you will. Simply tape the tiles together to create the full pattern! At that point you can cut out the size that you need and pin the paper pattern directly to your fabric or you can trace the pattern size that you need onto sewing paper or tissue paper and cut it out, saving the paper pattern for later when you need to sew another size. Pdf patterns are so convenient because you can print them out as many times as you need!

Click here to buy the bundle!

Now let me tell you a little bit about the giveaway!

The Sew Fab Giveaway is amazing! One lucky winner will win a bunch of amazing prizes from Craftsy, Fat Quarter Shop, fabricworm, Jennifer's Jewels Custom Labels on Etsy, Green Bee Patterns, author Deborah Moebes, Mee a Bee, Gussy Sews, I'm Feeling Crafty, and Ball and Chain on Etsy. See the end of the post for giveaway details. This giveaway is not to be missed!

I know you're dying to know "What is included in the pattern bundle?"

18 well-loved ePatterns from 10 well-known designers are instantly accessible to you by PDF download upon purchase of the Sew Fab e-Pattern Bundle. Here are the patterns that you will receive (click on the links below to see more details):

Goodship Dress by One Girl Circus, Mommy & Mia Apron by Sew Much Ado, Ruby Lou Doll by Sew Much Ado, Mini Maxi Dress by Seamingly Smitten, Miss Mod Top by Seamingly Smitten, Love Your Lunch Box by Ginger Cakes, Modern Folksy Bunny by Ginger Cakes, Banyan Pants & Shorts by Figgy's, Banyan Top & Tunic by Figgy's, Go To Shift Dress by Go To Patterns, Go To Gift Bags by Go To Patterns, Sidekick Suitcase by Sew Fearless, Madeline Dress by Me Sew Crazy, Forget Me Knot Dress by Me Sew Crazy, Alex & Anna Summer PJs by Peekaboo Pattern Shop, Alex & Anna Winter PJs by Peekaboo Pattern Shop, Commuter Cowl by luvinthemommyhood, Scirocco Dress by Figgy's The Sew Fab e-Pattern Bundle is only available for one week and will never be available again! You can purchase the bundle from February 4th at 8 a.m. EST (US) through February 11th at 8 a.m. EST (US) and there will be no late sales offered. Due to the nature of the sale there will be no refunds offered.

You don't want to miss this unique opportunity to purchase a ready made collection of 18 PDF sewing patterns from 10 of the best designers out there!

And now for The Sew Fab Giveaway!

You are not going to believe the prizes included in this giveaway! Can't buy the bundle? It's okay... purchase is not required to enter. Take a look at what you have the chance to win:

A Sewing Themed Box of Goodies from Pick Your Plum Fabulous Wristlet from Gussy Sews (not necessarily the one pictured) The latest release, Stitch Savvy, by Deborah Moebes Sterling Silver Sewing Machine necklace from Ball and Chain on Etsy $50 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop $50 Gift Certificate to fabricworm A free online class from Craftsy.com The Scoop Tote Pattern from Green Bee Patterns 60 Custom Tags from Jennifer's Jewels Red Riding Hood Little Girl's Satchel from Mee a Bee Handmade Sewing Machine Cover from I'm Feeling Crafty

YES, ONE WINNER WILL WIN ALL OF THOSE GOODIES!!!

There are lots of chances to win and no purchase required to enter the giveaway. Just use the Rafflecopter widget and enter to win this amazing prize package that will inspire you in your sewing as well as keep you stocked with fabric for many projects to come!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Sew Fab e-Pattern Bundle Sale!

Sew Much Inspiration right at your finger tips...

only $24.95!

Get your bundle now!

Graphic design by Andrea Panell.

Everywhere and nowhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Narelle Heath) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:50:00 +0000

Things have been a little quiet here this week. We visited my family in Adelaide last week. I was all organised and scheduled posts for while I was away, but have struggled to get back into it this week. I’m still tired from a week of (not) sleeping on a sofa bed!

So while I get my energy back, here’s where you can find me when I’m not blogging!

The latest addition to my social media collection is Instagram – yep, I’m a little slow to jump on that bandwagon! My username is @CookCleanCraft (surprise surprise!).

If you prefer to follow along on Facebook, like me on the sidebar, or click here.

If Twitter’s your thing, follow along here.

And what craft blogger isn’t on Pinterest?

Here’s a few other things that might interest you. There’s a great bundle of homemaking e-books on Bundle of the Week:

If you’re looking for a bit of motivation and inspiration to get back onto your homemaking New Year’s Resolutions, this might be just what you need!

Speaking of bundles, next week sees the release of a fantastic pattern sale:

For one week only, ten pattern designers (Figgy's Patterns, Go To Patterns, peek-a-boo pattern shop, Seamingly Smitten, One Girl Circus, Sew Much Ado, luvinthemommyhood, Gingercake, Sew Fearless, Me Sew Crazy) will be joining together to combine 18 of their best PDF sewing patterns (valued together at over $139.00) and selling them to you for the incredible price of $24.95!

But you have to wait until Monday to find out exactly which sewing patterns are included in the pattern bundle. You won't be disappointed!

There’ll be a giveaway too! One lucky winner will win a bunch of amazing prizes from some of your favourite companies and online shops.

Well that’s all for today. Come back for more soon…