Lovin' the little things.....

{the Easter edition}

After some minor surgery to remove a cyst from one of my ovaries last week our long Easter weekend ended up being a relatively quiet one (for me anyway). For us, Easter is all about spending time with family, sharing a lovely long lunch home cooked by my Mum and brother. While I wasn't quite up to it this year, Blake and Millie enjoyed the festivities and my beloved Mum delivered my meal to our door - bless her heart. It was delicious, and just what the doctor ordered.

1. A little DIY table centrepiece. Foam eggs covered in washi tape. It doesn't get much easier than that.
2. I made Millie a linen bunny for Easter. I used the floral fabric in the photo to make a gathered skirt and a thrifted doily to make a lace collar. If you follow me on instagram you would have seen a photo of the finished product (@mooseandbird).
3. Part of my 'home delivered' Easter Sunday lunch. Eton Mess with Rhubarb, Strawberries, Raspberry Coulis and Toasted Almonds. The main meal was Lemon Roasted Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges and a Pea, Bacon & Haloumi Warm Salad. It was the best lunch I've had in a long time.
4. Roses from our garden, a welcome addition to our kitchen bench.
5. My Mum made Millie this crochet Daisy Chain Necklace for Easter. She used the pattern kindly shared over on the Her Library Adventures blog. Handmade gifts are by far the best gifts of all.
6. Cute Easter packaging!

I trust your Easter was filled with sweet treats and loved ones.

Happy days to you!

Melinda x

Lovin' the little things.....

1. A homemade valentine.
2. White Chocolate Blondies. Dry and a tad burnt but he still loved them (so he said!).
3. In the afternoon sun.
4. Baby legs.....one of my favourite things.
5. Everyone who has visited us in the last week has left with a bag of limes and a bunch of roses. A petal or two made it into the lime bags too (a little something from Millie).
6. Vanilla & Sour Cherry Cake. My contribution to Friday nights dessert night with the ladies.
7. Our rose bush is out of control (in a really good way).
8. Picking flowers.
9. Homegrown lettuce.

I hope your week has been a lovely one dear friends. Thank you for following my collection of stills each Sunday.

{Linking up with Em from The Beetle Shack}.

Happy days to you!

Melinda x

Him & I

How will you be celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow? We'll be exchanging handmade cards and eating homemade White Chocolate Blondies. Nothing fancy, just a little something to say 'I love you' and 'I appreciate you'.

I thought I would share a little bit of our story.....the story of him & I.

• We met in English class when we were 16 - so I guess that makes us 'highschool sweethearts'. We've been together since we were 17.
• He got down on bended knee and asked me to be his wife at Kondalilla National Park. We were 21.
• We got married at 22. May 27 is our anniversary. We'll be celebrating 8 years of married togetherness this year.
• He's the realist. I'm the dreamer.
• Our proudest moment to date - the birth of our little girl in the winter of 2012.
• The worst present he has ever bought me: an alarm clock. I've never forgotten it, and neither has he.
• I clean the bathrooms. He vacuums and mops. I cook. He does the dishes. I do the grocery shopping. He mows the lawn. We work well together, him & I.
• The thing I love most about him: the fact that he tries so hard to understand me and my creative ways of thinking! His parental skills are pretty awesome too!

May you feel the love tomorrow too, however you choose to celebrate!

Happy days to you!

Melinda x

'Hello' Gift Card Set {diy}

At the end of February a dear friend of mine is packing up her belongings and following her heart to the other side of the country. Upon her departure I really wanted to give her something special, something that would remind her of home on those lonely/homesick days and something that could be used to send a little 'hello' message to her loved ones. I decided to put together a journal (which I'm still working on) with photos of her friends and family, as well as some inspirational quotes which I've been collecting over on Pinterest. I also made her this 'hello' gift card set as I know she's rather fond of sending a hand written note.

This is how I made them.....

Materials:
Old envelope of your choice (this will be your template)
Pencil
Scissors
Double sided gift wrap
Thin double sided tape
Kraft card stock
Cardboard
Craft glue

Steps:
{envelopes}

1. Open out the old envelope and place it onto the double sided gift wrap . Trace around the outer edge. Cut out and fold up - following the fold lines on the old envelope/template.
2. Use double sided tape to secure the envelope.

{cards}
1. Make a 'hello' word template by drawing the letters onto a small piece of thick cardboard and cutting it out. Place the template onto the double sided gift wrap and trace around the outer edge. Cut the words out using small sharp scissors. Use craft glue to stick the word to the front of the card. Once dry, rub out any pencil marks around the outer edges.

Quick. Simple. Effective. Win!

I'm planning on making a few more of these sets for gifts throughout the year. Are you working on any crafty papery projects at the moment? 

Happy days to you!

Melinda x

Note: the double sided gift wrap I used is from one of my favourite online shops - bespoke letterpress. I bought the assorted 6 pack of gift wrap before Christmas and have gotten so much use out of it. The patterns are beautiful and the quality is second to none!

Pinboard: Handmade Gift Ideas

Top Left: from here. Bottom Left: from here. Bottom Middle: from here. Bottom Right: from here. Top Right: pinned here.  Middle Right: from here.

I know it's only early days but so far my goal of making more handmade gifts in 2014 is going swimmingly. A few weeks ago I made this dachshund softie for a work colleagues new baby and at the moment I'm working on a mini journal and a gift card set for a friend who's following her heart to the other side of the country.

I'm on a roll and I love the feeling of 'completeness' I get when a project finally comes together. And best of all, other than time and a lot of love it really doesn't have to cost much to make a handmade gift. To assist my gift making over the coming months I've been collecting lots of crafty ideas over on Pinterest. I've compiled some of my favourites above. What do you think? Have you come across any great DIYs lately?

Happy days to you!

Melinda x

Making: Mini Dachshund

I promised myself that this year I would be more organised when it came to gift giving, basically planning ahead so that I could make more of the gifts we give. 

One of my work colleagues is expecting a new baby in February and I decided I would make her this sweet little dachshund from some wool scraps and vintage linen I had in the cupboard.  The pattern I used is from 'more softies: 22 new friends for you to sew and crochet' and was contributed by Kate from neverenoughhours.blogspot.com.

Now that this little project is finished I'm working on a pair of shorts for Millie (kicking another one of my 2014 goals) using the Bobkin 'Blue Jays' pattern. Are you working on any crafty projects at the moment? Feel free to share in a comment below.

Happy days to you!

Melinda x