Little Ladybird

Building a Castle Cubby House

2015-07-22T21:37:00.001+10:00

I saw a castle fort in a backyard of a guest house we stayed in once, and since then I had been dreaming of designing and building our own cubby castle. I love outdoor spaces that let kids use their imagination and have fun.

I drew a picture of new design and then we had a couple of days of building. We enjoyed making something together, the kids learnt a few things about building and it was more satisfying than buying one. Here's some pictures to show how we did it.

the planning stage

measuring and cutting the main frame

building the main frame

the door being attached with strong hinges so it can swing open

then decking

outline, cut and drilling some hardiflex sheeting to the pine beams

the fun part, painting time

every castle needs a ladder

and a touch of gold and colour, using paint and a black sharpie texta!

some astro turf laid on the ground for easy play

the door unlatches and swings open to let light in

and the inside panels double as a chalk board

we've enjoyed some sunny picnics from the top of our castle

and some town meetings and card matches from below

we've had knightly celebrations with friends

and a chat with neighbours over the fence

Our castle, with it's shiny turrets at dusk, has only been standing for 7 months, but it has already created some great childhood memories.

Get creative, have imagination, and don't forget to play with your kids!

Little Ladybird

Circus Baby Fabric Book

2015-07-03T16:35:00.001+10:00

Earlier, with the help of Threading My Way we made a fabric book gift for a newborn baby girl, which was pretty and pink with ice-creams, cakes and strawberries. Now we've made a different design for a boy's Christening gift, with a circus theme. It's bright and bold. Here's how you can make your own soft book.

Supplies
- 1/2 yard or so of batting
- pieces of plain cotton material (we used 6 rectangles 44cm x 22cm in size)
- material pictures to applique

How to Make
1) Cut pieces of material to 44cm x 22cm in size. We cut 6 pieces to make 12 pages in total.
2) Applique the pictures to each page. Make sure there is enough room in the middle for stitching down the center.
3) Decide the order of the pages and which piece is to be the front/back cover.
4) Cut 3 pieces of batting to the same size (maybe a tiny bit smaller) as the rectangle pieces (44cm x 22cm).
5) Place the batting to the wrong side (inside/no pictures) of the front/back cover.
6) Pin together the inside front cover/inside back cover to the front/back cover already against the batting. Make sure that this is done with the picture sides facing each other/together.
7) Sew all the way around the edge, leaving an opening at the bottom edge for turning.
8) Clip corners and turn right side out and stitch opening closed.
9) Repeat steps 5) 6) 7) for the other pages. (sew pages 1/8 to 2/7) (sew pages 3/6 to 4/5).
10) Stack pages together to make the book, then center pages making sure pages are in the correct order of how you want them to be.
11) Pin along the center to secure the stack. Then sew along the center.

Little Ladybird

DIY Vintage Wall Hanger

2015-05-15T08:37:00.003+10:00

A simple and easy way to keep jewellery is on a hanger. Here's how to make your own.

Cut a piece of wood to the desired length. This hanger was made using a piece of left over decking wood and measures 44cm long by 9cm wide by 2cm deep.

Pick up some knobs, hooks or drawer handles from a hardware or similar type of shop. Six bits and bobs were chosen for this hanger. Space them out and arrange them in the order you think looks best and check that they fit on the wood with even spaces between.

Paint the wood in any colour or leave it without paint for the plain natural look. Here, a bit of left over ceiling undercoat paint was used and applied easily with a big thick brush. The two drawer knobs that were unpainted were transformed using two colours of left over paint - a gorgeous aqua and a bright lemon colour.

Use sandpaper to rub and scratch back some of the paint on the wood to give a worn rustic look. Using the screws that come with each of the drawer knobs, handles and hooks, attach each of them to the piece of wood. Pencil dot markers were put on the wood first, to make sure they were spaced out evenly.

Once attached to the wall, the hanger is then ready to hang jewellery from. This hanger was attached with some very strong double sided tape.

Other accessories such as bracelets or scarves could be hung from the hanger too!

Little Ladybird

Take Great Photos On Your Phone

2014-09-13T17:40:00.001+10:00

In six easy steps, this shows you how to take clear,
interesting shots on your phone!

Subject: child modelling clothing

Lighting: direct sunlight

Camera: iPhone 5S

Setting: Photo/HDR Off

Orientation: portrait

Filters: none

Phone/Computer Editing: none

Props: handmade paper chain

Rainbow Dress: Threading My Way

If the conditions are right, your phone is the ultimate device to use when taking photos.

Your phone is usually nearby and more handy than your camera and is probably always charged! Plus, afterwards, the photos are instantly at your fingertips to do as you please with them, without having to upload them onto a computer.

Here are my six tips.

1. Lighting - if the lighting is good then your phone will take clear, bright photos very easily every time, even if there is movement from the subject. Whilst indirect sunlight is very effective for taking beautiful photos, nothing beats direct sunlight, to enhance clarity and colour.

2. Subject - decide what the purpose of your photos is. Make sure the subject is showing the audience what you want them to show. Use props that further enhance the theme or feeling of your photography.

3. Background - the backdrop does not have to be stunning for your photos to look great. Use the space around you to create layers or levels in the background so that your subject is not against a one dimensional or one coloured backdrop. This helps your subject to look like they are part of the real world. Viewer's eyes like to see things placed in the real world as it gives our brains something to compare and contrast the foreground against. Lastly, make sure that there is nothing too distracting in the background that would take the focus away from the subject.

4. Aspect - Experiment with the angle from which you take your photos. This is how you will create interest in your photography. Take you photos side-on from the subject so that you background extends beyond them at an angle, and isn't a flat shape behind them. Try taking photos from a low level, looking upwards. The photos in this post were taken whilst laying on the ground. The subject can appear longer and taller at different angles and the viewer is able to see more of the subject this way, compared to what they will see front on. In this instance, taking my photos from a low level allowed me to capture the ground (lower layer), the subject (middle layer) and the sky (upper layer), all in the one photo at an interesting angle and with detail!

5. Movement - Have your subject move freely and play in the space you have given them. This allows more natural positions to be captured and doesn't make your photography look posed or forced. If the lighting is right (tip 1), then the movement won't cause your photos to be blurred.

6. Don't wait - Don't wait for the right moment to press the camera button! You will need to take lots of shots so you can sift through them later to pick out the perfect ones. Click away as much as you can as the perfect line-up for a photo sometimes only lasts a split second, especially when the subject is moving.

Do you have any tips or tricks for taking great photos on your phone?

Little Ladybird

How to take a family generation photo

The importance of angles in photos

Using natural light when taking photos

Cool Kid's Play Areas

2014-08-08T20:14:00.002+10:00

As a kid, growing up, we had a very large backyard with lots of space to run around. My brothers and I had enough space that we were able to claim bits of the yard to do whatever we pleased. Whether it was a small vegetable and flower garden, an outdoor science table or a digging patch to turn into a bike jump, we had some outdoor space that was just ours, with no adult interference.

As an adult, where we live now, we don't have much outdoor space. So we're determined to make the most of every centimetre. I don't want my kids to miss out on having some outside freedom to tinker about and to discover and learn through play. Having a small backyard is a challenge, but Ikea makes it easy.

On one side of our house we have a small walkway which is about 1.5m wide. Here's what we did to turn it into a little area for the kids to play.

The play kitchen had to come outside. I was sick of the mess it was creating inside! We then added a mirror above and a basketball ring.

Next to it we hung some metal rails, hooks, mini magnetic round storage containers and a wall hanging, from Ikea. They were very easy to attach to the wall and are perfect for hanging water play and measuring equipment.

We placed a long seat underneath, also from Ikea, and attached a black board from Bunnings.

The beautiful Australian handmade bunting I picked up from a shop called Bold Australia, who make and print all of their products here in Australia.

Lastly, we made a water wall and a marble run out of pegboard, recycled water bottles and wood. It took a few goes to get the angles correct, but it was fun and a learning experience for the kids in itself!

The kids love it and they can make as much mess as they like. It's hidden around the side of the house which is awesome! And I like it when they call me round to read the messages that they or their daddy have written for me!

Ikea Hacks Pinterest Board.

Little Ladybird

Fabric Baby Book

2013-07-22T14:58:00.000+10:00

I loved making this baby fabric book with the help of Threading My Way. It was a gift for a friend who had a baby girl earlier this year. Here's how to make one.

Supplies
- 1/2 yard or so of batting
- pieces of plain cotton material (we used 6 rectangles 40cm x 20cm in size)
- material pictures to applique

How to Make
1) Cut pieces of material to 40cm x 20cm in size. We cut 6 pieces to make 12 pages in total.
2) Applique the pictures to each page. Make sure there is enough room in the middle for stitching down the center.
3) Decide the order of the pages and which piece is to be the front/back cover.
4) Cut 3 pieces of batting to the same size (maybe a tiny bit smaller) as the rectangle pieces (40cm x 20cm).
5) Place the batting to the wrong side (inside/no pictures) of the front/back cover.
6) Pin together the inside front cover/inside back cover to the front/back cover already against the batting. Make sure that this is done with the picture sides facing each other/together.
7) Sew all the way around the edge, leaving an opening at the bottom edge for turning.

8) Clip corners and turn right side out and stitch opening closed.
9) Repeat steps 5) 6) 7) for the other pages. (sew pages 1/8 to 2/7) (sew pages 3/6 to 4/5).
10) Stack pages together to make the book, then center pages making sure pages are in the correct order of how you want them to be.
11) Pin along the center to secure the stack. Then sew along the center.

Little Ladybird

Non-Bake Lemon & Coconut Slice - GlutenFree

2013-07-08T14:44:00.003+10:00

Here is a recipe for a non-bake lemon and coconut slice that my grandmother gave to me when I was growing up. I've changed it recently to be gluten free.

It's so easy and quick and everyone loves it!

Slice

1/2 cup sweet condensed milk

125g butter

250g gluten free tea biscuits (finely crushed)

(for non gluten free recipe, use 250g of arrowroot biscuits)

1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind

1 cup coconut

Icing

1 cup icing sugar (I use CSR brand gluten free)

15g butter

2 tablespoons of coconut

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

Mix all ingredients well and press into a thin glass or baking dish

Refrigerate for at least an hour

Ice with lemon icing

Sprinkle with desired amount of coconut

When icing has set, cut into squares

Enjoy cooking and eating this beautiful slice with your kids, grand-kids or someone special!

Little Ladybird

Pregnancy Photography

2013-05-19T07:00:00.000+10:00

I love using my camera, but I have no training. So when a friend of mine asked if I would bring my camera with me next time I was around to take some pre-baby shots, I was excited but quite nervous.

My friends are very photogenic, thus that part was easy and they have a cute little backyard that the sun sets gently upon in the afternoons. So we got outside to take advantage of the non-direct afternoon light, had some laughs and got snapping.

My favourite photos are usually ones where the subject isn't looking at the camera and this was the case with these shots as well.

We got out some bits and pieces from the baby's room, which added a nice touch, we thought. Isn't the owl wearing the baby's beanie cute!

A couple of the photos couldn't be used as I didn't pick up that I had the handmade fabric block letters in the word 'peanut' around the wrong way, but I was too busy laying on the ground trying to get the right angle and lighting in my lens, and the mosquitoes had well and truly started biting by then!

I think the photos capture beautifully the glowing pregnancy of my friend and this post might show that you don't necessarily have to pay big to have a professional do pregnancy photos if you don't have the time or the money. I think a few simple shots taken in and around the house where the baby is going to call home, is just as nice.

Little Ladybird

p.s, they have since had a beautiful baby girl!

This post was featured on craftgawker

Four Generation Photography

2013-05-10T19:40:00.003+10:00

We are very lucky in my family to have four generations of woman, spanning 92 years old to 4 years old!

I saw this photography idea on Pinterest and I thought it would be fun (and harder than expected) to do a four generation photo myself.

I took a photograph of my grandmother (who is, from what Google says, the Greatest Generation), holding a picture of my mum from Generation Baby Boomers, holding a picture of me from Gen X/Y, holding a picture of my daughter from Gen Z!

A photo, I'm sure that, in many years from now, will be one of my favourites and will be passed down. But for now, it's a Mother's Day gift.

Published in Family Tree Magazine

Little Ladybird

This post was featured on craftgawker

Making a Children's Car Mat

2013-04-22T17:24:00.001+10:00

I've been MIA lately. Been playing with my kids!

Here's what we did last week. The kids wanted a play mat. And they aren't cheap. So we (mostly me, but that's okay) made our own!

We used;
thick cotton fabric (approx 1m x 2m)
fabric paint
paintbrushes
a sketch outline on paper

AND we painted, we had fun and we did it our way .... even the four house numbers have a personal touch, being the birth dates of our family.

You can do it too. All you need is your imagination and a bit of time (the paint doesn't dry straight away) ...... and you will have your little ones eager to play!

All up, it cost about $30 and it has been used lots and lots already by all the members of our family.

Little Ladybird

This post was featured on craftgawker

Wall Prints - Kid's Sayings

2013-01-21T15:14:00.000+11:00

Words don't really have meaning on their own. Meaning is not something a word 'has', but rather is something that a word 'does'. It is the effect of a word or phrase, when used in a particular time, place or context, that is the powerful and meaningful thing. Friends, couples and families can have a language of their own that is unique and meaningful only to them and it is amazing how many phrases and sayings that have now become common vernacular in our home since our kids have started speaking. They have meaning only to us.

Someone once told me to write down some of my kids' sayings, as kids grow and change so quickly and you soon forget the things they once said. There are words and phrases (both adorable and annoying) that seem to get said all day every day by our little ones and I think that I'm going to hear them forever. And then bam, before I've had a chance to even register that they have stopped saying that particular word or phrase, they have come up with a completely different saying.

I've made prints out of some of my kid's sayings and also some sayings we use with them. We used some of the sayings on the front covers of miniature books in their dollhouse.

What do you think? What are some of the funny, cute or annoying things your children say? Leave your comments at the end of the post!

Little Ladybird

Kids Party Ideas

2012-10-15T17:15:00.000+11:00

Need Birthday Party Ideas? We've had some fun parties lately and I thought I would share a few photos! Maybe they will give you some ideas for any parties that you have coming up.

A few colourful hats purchased from the $2 shop, to add some sparkle to our Mad Hatter's Tea Party!

And a Merry Unbirthday to Alice. Her dress and adorable white apron was made by Threading My Way. See the tutorial to make your own dress and apron here.

Don't be late and please stay, Alice has the table decorated under a gazebo of paper lanterns from eBay! A mix match of children's chairs make it a colourful arrangement. Two white wire candle holders with some feathers stuck into foam balls from the craft shop, create unique centre pieces and are fun for kids to make.

Pastol rainbow vintage straws from eBay added a touch of fun to the personalised Drink Me water bottles we revamped from the supermarket.

We've done robot drink bottles before, for a 1st Birthday robot party and labelled the bottles of coke as Robot Oil, so that all the little robots in attendance could refuel themselves.

Game time! Alice and her friends searched the garden for the Queen's deck of cards. Stuck underneath each jumbo sized card was a chocolate treat. The cards were also used in the doorway for decoration.

Party bags made from paper or sewed from fabric are better than plastic I say! The robot party bags have 'Thank You' tags attached to them with a mini wooden peg. The multi spotted fabric bags and the dinosaur bags, were made easily using two rectangular pieces sewn at three edges and the tops were cut off with pinking shears so they didn't fray. Each bag was tied with a ribbon.

Or you could use an egg carton as a favour package and fill each of the six spaces with a special treat! Thank you for coming to our Tea Party!

Have you had a party lately? Got any fun ideas to share? Please leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you!

Little Ladybird

This post was featured on craftgawker

Photography Tips - Convey Meaning

2012-10-01T20:49:00.000+10:00

A picture tells a thousand words.

This blog post from build a little biz on Visual Marketing tells how many people prefer visual images to text when conveying or receiving information. An image is a powerful way to evoke emotions instantly in the viewer. A body of text cannot do this.

There are so many options available to people now when they are taking their photos. The number of programs and applications available that assist you in taking some awesome shots, seem endless. However, when taking a photo there is something that is important. And that is, what emotion or effect is it that you are trying to capture? What message will stand out and transcend in the years to come when the memory of taking this photo has long gone?

All of the photos below have something in common. None of them have the subject matter facing the camera, and in many of them you cannot see any part of the face of the people that are in them. Without someone's eyes or a facial expression to take information from, the subject matter can still convey purpose, intent and feeling. The viewer makes up their own mind as to what the person is feeling or thinking. More of the focus is on what they are doing and on the background. These two things become the tools for conveying meaning. Gaining information from little details becomes important and so does colour.

So start stalking! Get behind your subjects! And shoot, shoot, shoot away! I would love to hear your feedback and comments!

Little Ladybird

Koala Lou - Scavenger Hunt for Kids

2012-07-30T20:58:00.001+10:00

'Koala Lou' is a lovely story, by Australian author Mem Fox. The main character of the book, Koala Lou, decides to compete in the Bush Olympics, in an attempt to gain the attention of her busy mother. A background summary of how Mem Fox came to write this story can be read on her website.

My daughter loves this book, and it has been read numerous times to her over the last three years since her grandparents gave it to her as a gift.

Here's a Koala Lou Scavenger Hunt to do with your kids.

Below are the verses and clues to write onto cards to use along with the book. The aim at the end will be to find and collect all of the supplies hidden, and for my daughter to decorate her own hat to wear to the Bush Olympics, just like the book characters in the below illustration by Pamela Lofts.

Clue 1

This Bush Olympics Scavenger Hunt

is for a 'baby koala so soft and round'.

Underneath the cushion in the playroom on the ground,

some fabric treasures can be found.

Clue 2

'Koala Lou, I do love you',

Now look near the bookshelf

for some brightly coloured pieces of ribbon,

maybe one, maybe two

Clue 3

One night you had a 'splendid idea'.

You would enter the Bush Olympics and have no fear.

Hop on over to your cubby for a wonderful surprise,

One of your toys is inside, wearing a wonderful disguise

Clue 4

'The spectators roared, clapped and stamped their feet'

Search near the lounge for feathers you will meet!

Clue 4

You 'cried' your 'heart out' when you did not win

Your 'mother had flung her arms around your neck'

and she 'hugged' you 'for a very long time'.

Go to the Lego box to find lots of buttons,

all different shapes and colours, but every one divine.

To finish the activity .....

'Koala Lou, I do love you,

I always have and I always will'

Now together, let's make an exciting hat,

a decorated hat, for your head to fill!

Little Ladybird

Ikea Hack - Bookshelf Turned Dollhouse

2012-07-16T17:10:00.000+10:00

Inspired by the picture on the far left, my daughter and I decided to make our own dollhouse. We went to Ikea and purchased one of those bookshelves divided into four sections. We were going to make a sloping rooftop out of stickers, as was done in the original picture, but it didn't fit on the wall properly. We had no space on either side of the bookshelf, so we created a 'Mary Poppins Umbrella Rooftop' instead.

We had an old piece of thin board from the back of an old bookshelf, so we cut it to the height of the new bookshelf. It then slipped down in between the shelf and the wall for the purpose of creating the back walls of the house as this shelf from Ikea has no back on it. We then picked out four different shades of patterned paper to place on the back board. Aqua for the bathroom, pink for the kitchen (only in a dollhouse), lavender for the bedroom and yellow for the lounge room.

Next step was to find furniture. We looked online and in the local toy stores, but everything seemed so expensive and it was all mostly pink. We stumbled across some cut-out furniture by mistake when I was looking for something else in the Reject Shop. We bought three packages (bathroom, bedroom and lounge room) for $2 each! For a total of $6 the beginnings of the furniture was purchased!

This turned out to be a great choice, as we built the furniture together and my daughter got to choose what colour each piece was going to be spray painted.

Now the furniture was in, but the house was looking a bit bare. Time to find some furnishings, do some sewing and decorate!

We printed some of out own photographs and designs and framed them with a few frames from Lincraft, picked up a mini tea-set at the markets and sewed a lounge room rug from bits of materials and rickrack along the edges to finish it off.

Finishing touches were made by making some curtains for the kitchen window, some matching towels, bath mat and washers for the bathroom. The towel rail was made from two old wooden buttons and a paddle pop stick.

Then it was time for a family of kangaroos to move in to their new home and the imaginative play started to happen!

The rooms are complete, the dollhouse is finished. Time to sit by the fire and enjoy a cup of tea. The side table was made from an old plastic panadol lid turned upside down with a hole in the top to poke a bunch of material flowers from Lincraft through and then covered with a small piece of fabric for the table cloth. The fireplace was found on ebay and I then painted it in white and glued a printed fire image behind it. The plate from the tea-set, was hung up in the bathroom as a mirror with some aluminium foil for some shimmer.

The best part about this dollhouse is, that my daughter and I were able to gradually build it together. We got to cut out and glue together and talk about how we would make the different items in the four rooms. And even better, I think will be that when she and her brother out grow playing with it, I won't have a big dollhouse to dispose of. It will simply be cleared and used as a bookshelf (as we never grow out of those).

Little Ladybird

This post was featured on craftgawker

Photography Tips - Camera Angle / Cropping

2012-07-02T21:40:00.000+10:00

I enjoy every opportunity I get to use my camera and I like to experiment with different techniques. I watched my 3 year old daughter taking photos at the museum recently. I have never shown her how to use a camera, so I was interested to see her take a shot of some crystal rocks, view it, and then rotate it to change the angle of the camera to, I'm guessing, 'get a better shot'. And that is where it all starts. I didn't ask her what she was doing cause I knew that she was simply doing what the best photographers do .... just taking her time to enjoy and play. Here are some examples of how you can create interest in your photos by using a few simple points.

Tilt the camera sideways. The photo on the right is less flat and shows more of the sky, but still allows all three layers (hedge, trees, sky) to be seen. Also, try photographing side on from an angle, instead of front on, to create depth in your photos.

Move the camera around to best capture the subject and get more background in so it looks as though the background extends further than what it does. Left photo - get down low to create height. Middle photo - take from up high to show different angles. Right photo - 'off set' the subject to create interest, don't always place it in the middle. Off setting can actually make the subject stand out more than if it were in the middle, if it is done right.

Crop with the intention to change the mood or to convey a message. In this instance, the photo on the left gives the sense of long rolls of fabric and shows more of the continued pattern, hence giving more detailed information about the product type. However, the photo on the right gives a sense of having a tall, thick, abundant stash of fabric. This is a fairly simple example, but it can be used more effectively in different situations.

Crop to draw attention to certain parts of the photo. In the photo on the left, your eyes are drawn more to what the girl may be looking towards, whilst in the photo on the right, your eyes are drawn more towards the placement of her hands and what is in her lap.

Crop out some of the subject and place it so that it is not centred. Often your eyes find it easier to look at something off to the side rather than something in the middle. With the photo on the left, you look at the subject then scan the background. This is the last thing that your eye sees and seeing as there is a fair bit of background to look at, this is the last impression you take away from this photo. In the photo on the right, you see the background and subject at the same time, as their ratio is more balanced. You don''t need to scan the background.

I hope that you can use some of these tips and keep on playing and experimenting with your photo taking!

Little Ladybird

This post was featured on craftgawker

Possum Magic Lunch for Kids

2012-06-18T17:53:00.000+10:00

Did you know that the author Mem Fox wrote the first draft of 'Possum Magic' titled 'Hush the Invisible Mouse' in 1978 and had it rejected by nine publishers over a five year period before it was accepted by Omnibus Books in Adelaide. Interesting huh!

But not to my 3 year old who just wants me to read her the story. She loves the storyline about the two possum's journey around Australia eating as they go in search of what will make Hush seen again. There are many questions for me to answer when we read it, such as "what does invisible mean?" and 'what is pavlova?" and "do we have glitter and stars in the cupboard like Grandma Poss?". But when I told my daughter that we were going to make human food and have a party for Hush, there were no questions, her eyes just grew large and she exclaimed "Maybe we can make lamingtons!".

It's amazing how the suggestion of a little bit of fun can make a child's imagination go into fast forward. Suddenly the beautiful gum tree outside my daughter's bedroom was occupied by Hush. But we couldn't see her, as she was invisible of course (which made playing along so much easier!). There were kisses, high fives and waves being sent from the window to that gum tree each night before bed for the next week.

I created an invitation and then my daughter placed it in an envelope, decorated it and put it in the gum tree for Hush to find and read. I took it down that night, took out the invitation and made the back of the envelope look like it had been nibbled by a possum. Believable right?.... well to a 3 year old .... um ...... just! She has been conditioned into believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny no worries, but an invisible possum .... not so much. I got given a sideways glance when I told her the nibble was from Hush. But she didn't say anything and smiled, cause I think that she knew that if she questioned, I might tell her it wasn't really true and she has always been a child who wants to dream big and have fun!

For the party we had Anzac biscuits from Adelaide, minties from Melbourne, salad from Sydney, pumpkin scones from Brisbane, vegemite sandwiches from Darwin, mini fruit pavlovas from Perth and lamingtons from Tasmania.

The day we held the bush party in honour of little Hush it was very rainy, so it was perfect for staying inside and digging in!

Happy reading and cooking with your little ones!!

Little Ladybird

We're Going on a Bear Hunt - Activities for Kids

2012-05-14T07:06:00.001+10:00

A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end ~ William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

Well I'm not sure if this is meant to be true after reading a small children's picture book, but sometimes my kids are exhausted after reading We're Going on a Bear Hunt. My kids love it so much that they don't just read it but they act it out with big exaggerated movements. And the only thing I'm required to do is applaud. And applaud the author, I do! It makes a very good bedtime story. My kids are not big on sleep, so the more exhausted they are, the better.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt was originally written in 1989 and is retold by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. It is a beautifully written story with repetition and descriptive language that will delight your child's imagination. The illustrations are equally good with a combination of black and white and coloured drawings. The black and white are used for refrain, the parts of the story in which the characters have yet to discover what is next on their hunt. The coloured pictures are used to illustrate the actions where the characters are trying to get past obstacles.

The Bear Hunt story moved to top position as my children's favourite story last month after we were lucky enough to go and take them to see the play adaption at the Ensemble Theatre in Sydney. When we sat down in our seats, I must admit that I was a little surprised at the lack of set and props. I (cynical adult) thought that they (the actors) we're going to have to work really hard to make this a worthwhile excursion. Well, I was blown away. The three actors were amazing, as were the on-stage sound effects done by another person. It was simple, but very engaging and funny.

I wonder why after watching this play I was more impressed than I have been after watching some big stage musicals? Maybe when I expect a lot and expect a big show it is easy to find things to be disappointed by. Because every element of the performance was in it's very simplest form, it allowed me to appreciate how clever each part of the production was. I was able to use my imagination to fill in parts of the play as I wished, as I wasn't being overly visually stimulated at a rate faster than my brain could keep up with.

I didn't think that my kids would be able to take it all in, remember it and act it out later on. How would this small dark theatre with a single box as a prop compete with the tv shows that they were used to seeing every day? Well, they did notice it, and they loved it! You can see some photos from the show here.

It's amazing how the language from a book can become part of your everyday language and kids are the best at using it! Their imaginations are fantastic, not yet moulded by the fear of sounding silly. Above is a word collage from the book that I did using Tagxedo . Below is a chant from the story that we changed for one of our visits to the library.

We're Going on a book hunt,

We're gonna borrow a good one,

We're not scared,

What a beautiful day!

Ohhh, a shiny still book!

We can't read over it,

We can't read under it,

We're going to have to read through it!

What ever it is in life you are hunting for ...... HAPPY HUNTING!

Little Ladybird

A New Dress from a Wedding Dress

2012-03-12T21:21:00.000+11:00

Wow, is that your wedding dress!?

My eldest is at that delightful age where she thinks anything is possible. If I tell her that something isn't, she asks why and then asks why about that answer too. I'm sure this sounds familiar to most parents of a child under the age of five. However, my daughter seems to have that extra little bit of determination when it comes to thinking up things for us to do, and then making sure we do them. She likes to carry out ideas immediately or a big wave of disappointment flows over her. She looks at me with a hopeful spark in her eye and says "Maybe, we can........" or "I know, why don't we ..........." Excuses don't work as she always remembers my exact answer long after I've forgotten. I have to be very careful to get my story straight if we can't do something, right from the start!

"I don't know where she gets that from" I say to my husband with a slightly (entirely) sarcastic voice. It's like holding up a mirror to myself, although when I was younger, I thought that the mirror I was going to be holding up to myself was going to be a little more rounded than square.

Of course when my daughter has a brilliant idea, I can see lots of reasons as to why we can't do it. But when I have an idea myself, I can't see any reason as to why we can't do it.

Last year I had a wedding to attend, where I was giving a reading. For the last couple of years at all the weddings I have attended I have worn maternity tops or dresses (not just for the fun of it I might add as no one would wear maternity clothes just for the fun of it, right?). So I wanted to wear something new. I thought about going shopping and finding a fabulous dress and then remembered what luck I usually have when trying to find an adult dress that doesn't have to be taken up or in, in several places.

I looked through my wardrobe to search for something that I could perhaps wear again and then I spotted the black bag that held my wedding dress. Excitement took over me as I tried it on to see if it still fit (yes it did, perfect) and then my mind started to wander. 'I don't wear my wedding dress anymore', 'I am never going to need to wear it again' and although I am very sentimental, 'I definitely am not delusional enough to think that my daughter will want to wear it one day'. If she is as independent and determined as she is now, she will want to do her own thing, and good on her! So 'why not turn it into something else that I can use now' ....... a new dress to wear to a new wedding perhaps?

So the idea was all clear in my head. ' ...... turn wedding dress into new dress'. It couldn't have been simplier. I could visualise what I wanted straight away. Now came the hard part. Take the idea to my mum who could actually sew, and convince her to make it happen for me.

I had to tread with caution. I couldn't go in saying, "Mum, I've had this really great idea, and guess what you are going to make it happen for me'. A little confronting. So I had to ease her into it. And so I started saying "Maybe we could ........" and "I know what we could do......."

At first I think my mum looked at me as if I was completely mad, and then when the shock wore off, she said very firmly, "Okay, but you're making the first cut into your dress".

And we were off! I had managed to get my mum onto the sewing run-way, which was the most important thing (she was the pilot after all). Mum wanted to be prepared and did some pattern research, but decided that she was going to have to do it without a pattern and sew solo. She decided this from her experienced judgement, not because I was helpfully telling her we didn't need a pattern, because we could just 'cut here', 'pull here' 'gather here' and 'tie some sort of bow here'.

Mum did a fantastic job at sewing solo (she even made the first cut into the dress herself). The journey was smooth flying, although there were many alterations along the way because we wanted it to fit nicely, which is hard without a pattern. And we both landed safely. Me with a smart new dress to carry off the run-way and mum with the realisation that I think she can do anything (selfishly for me).

I even landed with extra baggage that I didn't board with. My mum had the idea to create a matching clutch purse out of the dress material. The pattern she used, was the Shell Purse, by Nicole Mallalieu Design, You Sew Girl. And yes, this is something that I can pass onto my daughter!

A more detailed account from the sewer's perspective of our wedding dress transformation can be viewed on my mum's blog Threading My Way.

Little Ladybird

Chocolate Snowballs. No Cooking - 3 Ingredients

2012-02-27T06:48:00.004+11:00

Here is a recipe that is very quick, tastes great and actually doesn't require you to turn the oven on (big ticks from me on that account). I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but I have been making this with my friends since I was in high school.

You need 3 ingredients - 1 box of chocolate tiny teddy biscuits, 1 can of sweet condensed milk, 1 cup of coconut (plus a bit extra for covering).

Crush biscuits in the blender, mix in a bowl with 1 cup of coconut.

Pour in the tin of sweet condensed milk, and mix together. Roll into balls, sprinkle and cover with the extra coconut. Place in the fridge to set for 1 hour or more.

Enjoy as a small bite to eat or serve with fruit as a dessert platter at your next special occasion!

Little Ladybird

Photography Tips - Light

2012-01-30T21:32:00.000+11:00

The first thing I can remember really wanting as a child, was a camera. By the time I had turned 7, Santa had delivered me a red and black Konica. After learning how to load the film, I was off happily snapping shots of whatever I could ......... well, for at least 24 times, as that's how many photos were on a film.

Cameras have somewhat advanced since then and I've had numerous upgrades over the years from my Konica. The biggest advantage I think in having a digital camera is that there is no cost involved with taking as many shots as you wish and you also get instant feedback as to how your photos look, making it easy to get just the right shot.

When I take photos I like to play around with the lighting. It is one of the most important things to get right when taking a photo.

Here are some tips for using lighting in your photography.

~ natural light is the best source of light, not direct sunlight as it can be too harsh. find an open window or door and let the light flood in. experiment with different times of the day. natural light is not actually white, it is made up of all the different colours of the spectrum, so different times of the day will omit different shades of light such as blue or yellows.

~ experiment with different backdrops. a white sheet or pieces of cardboard give a fresh clean look and allow detail of the subject to be shown. try using patterned fabrics if you want a more fun and less sterile approach.

~ if it is an overcast day and there isn't enough natural light available, try covering a sheet of cardboard with some aluminum foil and use it to bounce off and reflect more natural light onto your subject.

~ make sure the flash is off . This will show the subjects true dimensions and won't make it appear flat. Use the 'macro' setting when necessary to take up close shots.

~ the best way I have been able to get extra light into my photos though, is by playing around with the position in which I initially focus the camera before actually taking the shot. if you focus straight on the subject and there isn't enough light, then you will end up with a dull photo. by 'focus' I mean to half press the camera button down that takes the photos. try focusing on an area near the subject area that is darker than the subject area. the camera should adjust to let more light in. then move the camera back to the subject area with the focus still being held down. then fully press the camera button to take the shot. if you are using a phone, then press on different spots on the screen to experiment with lighting.

~ here are four shots of the same scene. their quality all depends on the focusing position. all other variables are the same. the first one has too much light, the second not enough. the bottom two photos are the best.

Little Ladybird

This post was featured on craftgawker

Quotes from Albert Einstein

2012-01-09T12:08:00.000+11:00

I had a dream about writing a blog post last night, so today may as well be the day to start one....

Welcome to my blog, Little Ladybird, where I hope to share with you thoughts and images that make up some of my life. Hopefully you will find some of this space inspiring and interesting.

We are only one week into twenty twelve, so I think it is still okay to tell you about my goals for this year. There isn't a list of things to tick off. They are not measurable or tangible, at least not in the immediate sense, which goes against everything I learned during behavioural psychology at uni many years ago. However, to me, they are inspiring. And of course, they are not completely mine. Each one of my 'notes to self for 2012' has been inspired by Albert Einstein. After all, I think he was on to something, don't you ....

Little Ladybird

Photo credit: Albert Einstein, library of creative commons.