Frugal Gifts

Boutique Hairbows for little girls

2014-12-01T03:33:00.000-08:00

Tutu Rock HairBow

I have spent this week making boutique hairbows for my friend. She wanted 6 hairbows for Christmas.

They are really easy to make and there are so many tutorials out there. I bought 2 tutorials and found some free tips on www.theribbonretreat.com. You can buy quality ribbon online or at a craft or fabric shop. I have mixed my more expensive ribbon with cheaper ribbon I bought at a discount store for $2.00 a reel.

You can also buy Tulle per roll, or in this case I used black tulle from a "witches hat" I bought two years ago for my husbands "horror" birthday party. I found it in the garden shed when I was looking for my old straw hat, and to my surprise found a very large lizard under the bag and mistakened it for a snake. Long story short..... I squealed like a pig and ran like an emu.

Once you've mastered the art of not burning your fingers, glueing them together or pricking them with a needle, you will be able to make these little treasures very quickly. Little girls love them, and they look fantastic with a matching tutu or slip dress.

It's important to practise first and let your imagination run wild..... be creative. The more bling and feathers you add to the bows, the better. They look fantastic in photos and they can also be added to headbands for babies.

I started off by practising and then gave my finished bows to friends, and they absolutely loved them. They are unique little gifts that will be treasured for a long time.

Getting Started!

2014-09-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to get this started. I never thought I would ever become a crafty homemaker who actually enjoys cooking and sewing. I've surprised myself. It's amazing how life changes you.

My inspiration comes from my two beautiful little girls.........

They are true princesses, fairies or magical gardeners... whichever title they choose to be. My girls love dancing with ribbon sticks and doing Ballet. They love dressing up as a princess, ballerina or Fairy. They love helping me in the garden and collecting seeds - hoping they will grow into a beautiful flower. They love being creative. They love playing in the mud and splashing in the water.

They can't wait to see how the vegetable patch is growing or if the first flower or fruit has appeared. They have big, wild imaginations that always seems to amuse me. They are never serious, except when things don't go their way. They love painting and drawing pictures for their friends and family - they are kind, loving and giving.

The ideas for my designs came naturally because I have two beautiful little muses helping me along the way.

Now back to business.......

I'll be posting my products on the blog soon. I've been trying new International suppliers of fabric and materials and unfortunately it is taking really long to reach it's destination. I'm sooooo excited to start making my new designs that i've been to the post office every day asking the poor local postman if my parcels have arrived. It's been 20days since I ordered my stock...so you can imagine why i'm probably bouncing up and down.

Here is the list of products i'll be making:

Boutique Hairbows and headbands
Matching Tutus and tutu dresses
Slip on country style dresses
Princess/Fairy Bed Canopies
Ribbon sticks
Bunting for rooms and party decor
Cooking Aprons for girls and "big Girls"(mums)
Fairy wands
fabric neclaces for girls and mums
Skirts and leggings
Art aprons for painting and gardening use
Much much more

My idea is to make enough stock for the Christmas Markets on the 6th December 2014. That means I only have 2 months to make all of the above in sizes from newborn to 8yrs old. my goal is to start next week.

This weeks tasks:

1. Get sewing/design room ready for next week.
2. prepare garden beds for new edible garden
3. Make detailed menu plan for the next 2 weeks and shop accordingly
4. buy plants for edible garden according to budget $100.00 per fortnight
5. make trellises for tomatoes
6. make new compost heap
7. prepare area for lay hens

Better get cracking then. I've just realised I had more to do than what I originally had in mind.

It's only the Beginning!

2014-09-18T04:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone. My name is Tracey and welcome to my new post. I am starting a very exciting adventure at home and can't wait to post some of my new creations. Everything is Hush Hush for now, but please sign up for updates, because all will be revealed soon.

Now a bit about me........ It's rather straight forward. I am a stay at home mum of two little girls. I have not always been at home, but cherish the time I am able to spend with them. It's such a happy time in their little lives. Everything seems so magical and perfect to them.

We have recently moved to a new area where everyone is so welcoming and helpful. This move has somewhat transformed me and has helped me look at life differently.

I have been working on my little secret for a while and would like to share it with you all. I have also recently started spring cleaning our lives - especially our finances and have been following blogs about fugal living and those who are true homemakers.

I have never considered myself to be a homemaker because I've always wanted to work or study and show my girls how important it is to have a solid education to fall back on when you need it. To me a woman's independence and strength in society was vital.

But due to the nature of my husband's work and moving around alot, I've had to look deep inside and find something that I would be happy with doing. I think the hardest part is acceptance. Accepting that you are a mum. Accepting that being a mum and looking after your family is an important job. Accepting that you can be happy being a homemaker.