Kidspace sneak peek!

I was excited to be invited to check out the new Kidspace store in Takapuna yesterday. I mean come on, the invite promised free cupcakes! (which by the way were absolutely AMAZING). Anyway, complementary hot choccie in hand, Zoe and I wandered around and around the fab new store soaking up all the pretties.

The store was set up beautifully with girls and boys decor on either side of the space and bedroom sets on display from toddler to teenager. There was a big emphasis on wall decorations, including creative pin-boards, quirky mirrors, wall decals and these gorgeous Umbra Wallflowers (below - of which I just couldn't get enough of!). I was impressed to see heaps of kitschy, craft inspired elements throughout the store - including some gorgeous party accessories.

Umbra Wallflower Wall Ornaments, they come in other colours too, aren't they gorgeous? I'm smitten!

Some other things I loved...

Loved the text language cut-outs, the Wanted Recording Tape Purses, the Wanted Flip Down Clock (OH MAN I WANT!) and lastly, the Umbra Snap Photo Frame - doesn't this look familiar? If you've been following my blog it will! Yes! It looks just like my Polaroid Photo Board {here} that I made. Well if you are creatively challenged and have been admiring my Photo Board - these are perfect!

Kidspace officially opens today so if you are in the area - go check it out!

57 Barrys Point Rd, Takapuna, Auckland

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A creation a week for a year: No.30

This week, I thought I'd show you the other two 'Mama Bears' that I made for some cute birthday girls recently. Along with Erin's bear {here}, I made one for Aria's first birthday and one for my niece, Amy (below) who turned two. It was a real hit with Amy who seemed to love it as soon as she opened it, Debra asked her what it's name was and she promptly said 'SILLY' - of which Debra insisted we spell with a 'C'. Haha.

Some of you have asked if I designed these myself, no sorry I didn't! I got the cute little pattern from the 'Softies' book, which you can get for yourself here.

Check out more of my weekly creations here.

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Maths + Science + Art + Crochet = Underwater Wonderland!

Wow, so I'm loving crocheting at night in front of the telly like a little old granny, it's so relaxing. I'm on my way to creating a scrummy blankie to keep my knees warm (told you - little granny) and have experimented with a few little things here and there. Anyways, before you think this post is getting rather boring... I thought I'd share this with you...

Hyperbolic Crochet Coral. What? Yeah I know, Crazy.

A few weeks ago I went along to a craft market - lets say Devonport Craft Market cos I'm not totally sure. I drifted on past a stall that ended up sticking in my mind, a Google later and I've found a gem. Mermaid's Purse. Excellent blog and beautiful crafty projects, including some Hyperbolic Crochet Coral, check it out {here}...

Turns out this Crochet Coral thing is HUGE...

Crochet Coral Reef, Dublin {source}

Crochet Coral Reef Installation, Scotsdale {source}

UK Hyberbolic Crochet Coral Reef ~ Emma Charleston {source}, Crochet Coral Reef {source}, Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef {source}, Deep Sea Crafting {source}.

The inspiration for making crochet reef forms begins with the technique of "hyperbolic crochet" discovered in 1997 by Cornell University mathematician Dr. Daina Taimina. The Wertheim sisters adopted Dr Taimina's techniques and elaborated upon them to develop a whole taxonomy of reef-life forms. Loopy "kelps", fringed "anemones", crenelated "sea slugs", and curlicued "corals" have all been modeled with these methods. The basic process for making these forms is a simple pattern or algorithm, which on its own produces a mathematically pure shape, but by varying or mutating this algorithm, endless variations and permutations of shape and form can be produced. The Crochet Reef project thus becomes an on-going evolutionary experiment in which the worldwide community of Reefers brings into being an ever-evolving crochet "tree of life." ~ Project Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

So, err, say what now?

Well, I'm still getting my head around all this amazing Crochet that somehow includes both science and maths, but you can read all about Hyperbolic Crochet Coral on the Project Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef website.

Who's a granny now?!!

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I feel nerdy but very frugal : An update on my grocery savings post + a big thank you!

Firstly, thank you all so very much for the wonderful and incredibly helpful comments you left on my 'Gather around and tell me your grocery shopping secrets!' post. I am so overwhelmed at the response and all the creative tips everyone shared, what a great way to get tried and tested ways to be frugal. Joel and I went through them all and picked out some fantastic ideas that suited us and used them on our grocery shop last Friday.

Well...

I can tell you that I was well within my budget and very happy (and proud) about it. Now to keep it up each week! Here are some of the things that stuck out:

• I loved the meal plan idea and was all set to do this and then realised that we eat the same meals often and are quite happy with it that way. This means that there is no real meal plan because the meal is based on what meat we have in the freezer (vegetarians wince around the world). Whether its roasted, grilled, fried, a casserole, a curry, a crock-pot meal, stir-fry, bbq, whatever - we don't really need to plan it. But I loved the idea all the same, it seems to have saved everyone a lot of money along the way.
• I made a master list at home and then went around the house crossing off things I didn't need. Then once in the supermarket I added things to the list I'd forgotten like makeup wipes, shampoo etc other essentials that belong on the master list. I'm about to type it up today and keep some copies to use each week. I feel nerdy but very frugal.
• No matter what you say, you can't convince me that cloth nappies are better. I may get there in time but my cheap disposables from 'Nappies for Less' only cost me $10 a week and I'm quite happy not adding to my daily laundry pile. But thanks! hehe
• I am giving the home brands a go, and loaded up my trolley with 'Budget' products that I would normally buy in other brands. Giving them a go this week, so far so good AND CHEAPER.
• I made a lot more effort to look for cheaper brands and prices on the shelves instead of naturally grabbing the usual brand or favourite. Be proud of me.
• I already only use half a scoop of laundry powder and yes it really does go a long way and I'm sure I could probably use even less! Great tip!
• I used to bake goodies every weekend, so have decided to start this up again. This week it was Anzac and Ginger Biscuits - I think I made about 50 of them! Easy and cheap and yum - how can I go wrong.
• I am about to try out this baking soda and vinegar thing to clean stuff today. Wish me luck. I've heard so many awesome things about this mix as a cleaner and I can't wait to try it out. Can't believe it's taken me this long either.
• Growing vegies is a little hard here at our rental even though I could try doing them in pots or troughs etc. I might put that one on the back burner and try it one day. After all, I'm hardly wonder woman. I do have a dream of one day growing my own medicinal herbs...
• Cheaper cuts of meat in a crock-pot meal is genius - will be trying some of these, thanks for the ideas there. Joel is excited about the yummy stews that I'll be trying out (men! *rolls eyes*)

So there you go, did I say thank you? Really? How many times already? TOO BAD here's another one.... THANK YOU!

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Auckland Art & Craft Fair

I had a busy day on Saturday and finally made it to the Auckland Art & Craft Fair {website here} near the end of the day. It was great! Although very crowded I made my way around the stalls a couple of times to settle on a few purchases. I got a cute stationery set from Miss Ellie May, a swallow necklace (I've had my eye on for ages) from Karin Jewellery and a hair clip from Bonjour Sweetie.

I got to meet the lovely Bronwyn from R.W. Scissors - although fleetingly, and said hello to some other lovely crafty ladies. I wish I had had more time and maybe got there earlier in the day to make my way around casually and alone, haha.

Thanks to Jess and team for organising such a cool event, I will be back next time for sure!

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A creation a week for a year: No.29

This week's creation was made in minutes and comes with a tutorial. I've just finished making birthday presents, I'm halfway through my first crochet baby beanie and about 2% through my granny blanket so I thought I'd chuck up a quick and easy this morning.

After drooling over Tee's 'Nomad Couture Hair Trend' post on nzgirl the other day it reminded me about how much I've always loved sticking odd things into my hair. No not stuff like dirt or pencils, I'm talking about ribbons, threads, clips, bows, feathers and even shells! I've always thought my hair to be very boring, yes, I know I'm a ginger and it's supposed to be marvelous (kinda) but to me it's just my hair and its boring. I'm never happy with my 'do' and always have to add a ribbon or clip or any of the previous things I've talked about above to spice it up.

So this Nomad Couture Trend (read the article here) talked about 'contrasting textures and volumes' and the use of a hair clip with threads woven through to use throughout your lovely locks. Well I didn't have a big hair clip, and my embroidery cotton is down to one lonely make-do roll of odd ends wound onto it. So I used some of my Crochet wool. It's a bit thick but works nicely if you don't over do it. Here's what I did... (in my PJ's this morning with no makeup and dirty hair - all the more Nomad-ish I say!)

Nomad Couture hair trend by Stephen Marr’s Creative Director, Lauren Gunn and far right - some feathers on a clip I bought YEARS ago that gave me the inspiration for this look and tutorial.

What you'll need: Wool, thread, ribbon - anything really! Oooh beads would go down nicely too! Scissors and bobby pins or any hair clips you have lying around.

Cut some quite long lengths of wool and ribbon, thread onto a hair pin, pull the hair pin through to the centre of the threads and tie a knot close to the pin.... and you're done! Phew! Hard work huh?! Man this tutorial ROCKS!

Of course you can cut the threads to any old length, knot them, add beads and shells and go nuts! Push the pins into your hair throughout, I find that they go really well with teased messy hair and also look really nice tied up and messed up inside a bun. It's quite a good idea to section off a top part of your hair and clip the pins underneath this so that when you bring it back over top to style it, the knots and pins are hidden underneath. Add a plat and away you go!

If you'd like this full look, you must wear old PJ's, a hoodie you picked up off the floor, no makeup and forget to wash your hair for a week...

Check out more of my weekly creations here.

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Things I Love Thursday: Mystery gifts in my letter box

I was having such a 'blah' day yesterday. I blame the weather mostly. That was until I braved the rain 2 metres to my letterbox and found a pretty pink parcel of love waiting for me.

This is the second mystery package that I've received from miss Angela Noelle from Striking Keys. She obviously loves giving gifts and I'm lucky enough to be on her 'cool' list of people she likes to bless.

Inside the pink box were heaps of pink hearts and stars and a little note with these SUPER arm warmers! I mentioned in a previous post about Zoe's Piwaiwaka Riding Mitts {here} and how I wanted some adult sized ones. Well Miss Angela read it and came to my rescue and sent me some... it made my day! Thank you!

By the way, it's super hard thinking up some lame pose to do in front of my webcam to show you these rad gloves. So here I am doing a 'oh my! these gloves are delicious!' pose. As you can see I am clearly insane...

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Gather around and tell me your grocery shopping secrets!

Now that I'm a stay at home mum looking after Zoe everyday, I'm obviously not working and so corners have needed to be cut here and there so that we aren't slowly drowning in money woes. It makes sense, I'm sure a lot of people are the same. You can't just spend what you want all the time, we all have budgets, mortages, debts and things we are squirreling away money for to buy some day. It all changes when you go from two incomes to one.

All of this seems pretty simple, except I'm a spender - not a saver. The accountant husband of mine is the SUPER saver and so thus balances me out (thank goodness otherwise our bank statement would be around '0' or have a '-' symbol glaring back at us each month). So I've found being at home and on one income with less spending money on fun stuff, a bit hard. Fair enough right? right? I'm a girl, I LIKE STUFF!

One of the things that I find hardest to do is to buy a decent amount of groceries for the week on a budget. Of course there are extras now like nappies, baby wipes, baby food and copious amounts of laundry powder so the cost has gone up. Not to mention the fact that food is now just more expensive, it really is. Things that were affordable like Cheese and Butter are now the 'extras' or the 'treats' we add to the trolley as a bonus. Plus I'm really bad at that 'treat' part, it would help if I didn't LOVE food so damn much. AAGH!

I found out from a friend that they feed their family on $100 a week. I'm not sure if that includes veges, but I'll bet it does! This made me feel pretty stink, as my bill is, well, just a tad *wince* more than $100....... So I'm out to fix this, get good food for a reasonable price, cut my treats down and get on target.

I'm after any tips and tricks that you might use to get through your groceries without coming to the counter and cringing at the total staring back at you. I'm going to live and breathe Destitute Gourmet and see how I go.

Here's a few things that I do/don't do currently to help you with your tip** giving:

• I buy all the grocery items from Pak'n'Save.
• I buy veges and fruit from a local fruit store. Although their prices are lower and quality higher than the supermarket, I do feel I spend more or buy more here.
• I don't buy my meat at a discount butcher - should I?
• We really like salad and try to buy salad as long as possible in winter until the lettuce runs out and we have to resort to broccoli, pumpkin, cauliflower etc...
• We like to have a good selection of veges in our dinner meals. It's also important that we have potatoes every night or a constant carbohydrate (rice is good but potatoes are better) portion to keep hub's sugar levels* consistent and normal through the night. So we can't just up and have a large salad only or a fat bowl of pasta or a pizza, get what I mean?
• Free Range Eggs and Chicken just taste better and is better for you..... eeek.
• I don't always make a list.
• I don't bake anything but am wondering if I should be?
• I am never on budget, the odd time I am under, I have had to go get extras during the week as I've forgotten something.
• We shop weekly.
• I try to shop on a full stomach as to not buy food for myself. This NEVER works. haha.

So there you go, any tips? tricks? Should I shop online? Should I shop all in the one place? Should I give a discount butcher a go? Should I try and shop monthly with veges and essentials weekly? Should I have more faith in the 'home brands'? I would love to hear from you. Email me {here} if you'd rather not comment below.

(I must be serious! there is NO IMAGE on this post!)

* Diabetic if you must know!

** I mean advice ~ not money when I say 'tips' haha

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Mary Jane Booties from Grandma G

A little while ago I won a booties pattern from Natural Star in a giveaway they were having. I was stoked but worried as I don't know how to knit. Ok so I've learnt to crochet - one thing at a time people! So I enlisted the talents of Joel's Mum, Grandma G who kindly knitted up these cuties for Zoe. I chose the wool and buttons and chose the largest size as Zoe has ridiculously large feet. She currently wears size 1-2 socks! So these fit just right with a wee bit of room to fill out as she grows over these colder months. They make her look nice and girly :-)

It was really hard to get a good photo of them on her as she is off around the lounge these days. Not crawling forwards yet, but lots of up on all fours, rocking, moving backwards and rolling around. Any day now and I'll have to child proof the house.

Oh and she decided to sleep in slightly this morning so I feel all capable and fresh, ah love this well-slept feeling (although realistically its more like 'kinda-well-slept').

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Stuck in my head ~ and loving it

Have this song in my head at the moment...

Went and saw Eclipse last weekend, it was really good - better than the other two movies (New Moon was terrible). I made a point of not listening to the soundtrack before the movie this time which was a good idea cos I love this soundtrack 10 times more than the New Moon one and the NM one was pretty good!

I'm looking forward to the movies being all finished, although they are splitting the last book into two films, I will be glad to have them all over. I feel like I'm just going because I have to now... to see how close to the books they are or how good or bad they turn out. Like um, anyone notice Bella's terrible wig? gah!

Other goodies on the album are Sia & Metric. I am feeling rather nerdish and tweeny writing this... off to coffee group for some bubba socialising...

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A secret squirrel left a present in our mail box for Zoe

I knocked together a little ad for Izzy from Piwaiwaka to display on Kiwi Mummy Blogs for a while and as a thank-you she popped a pair of handmade merino Riding Mitts in our mail box for Zoe. They are super cute and make Zoe look super cool and of course keep her hands nice and warm. I am a tad jealous as I would love an adult sized pair for myself.

Izzy makes these gorgeous mitts, along with other cool stuff like Fighter Hats, Heritage Waistcoats and 'Go Another Round' Chairs. They all sound so intriguing don't they? Well you'll have to go check out her blog and see them all for yourself {here} then order some while you're there!

Here's my little chicken modeling the mitts and trying to grab my camera strap while I take the photos...

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A creation a week for a year: No.28

I've been busy making softies for some special little birthday girls, here's one for Erin. Made use of one of my Crochet flowers from last week too!

Check out more of my weekly creations {here}.

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Me Update: Yet another blogging funk...

I don't know what's wrong with me, I am uninspired today! So lucky you! You get a few juicy bullet points of things that are going on with me at the moment...

• Done something embarrassing recently? I HAVE, sat down in a park on a kiddie-train track (which for some reason I thought was a seat??) and got promptly smashed into by four terrors on a very sturdy metal train. Someone even laughed *cringe*. I now sport a giant BLACK and PURPLE bruise on my hip *sigh*.
• I lost my phone this week. At first I was annoyed, then excited I could get a new one, then annoyed again once I'd gone back to Spotlight and found it buried in a bin full of balls of wool. No new phone for me, but man do I feel like an idiot! Talk about nappy-brain!
• Just found out Aunty Debra, Uncle Jonathan, Jess, Amy and Rebekah are moving to Perth for work in a matter of a few weeks. There is so much to do and no time to do it in and the family will miss them terribly :-(
• I'm really enjoying reading nzgirl, lovemaegan, green valley crafts, pacing the panic room, paisleyjade and striking keys at the moment.
• I'm dreaming up cool new things for Kiwi Mummy Blogs, now to find the time... ah dreams are free.
• Have started crocheting my first granny square of many (hopefully).
• Have been making softies for little girls (will post tomorrow if I get them finished!)
• Am worried that Zoe doesn't like to drink any milk at dinner now... and has decided that she doesn't like sleeping past 6 or staying asleep the whole night. I am sure I have more wrinkles today than I did yesterday.
• Have some pocket money to spend and am not sure if I should by music or wool...
• Can't stop thinking about blimmin Grey's Anatomy the other night! Sheesh!

Here's some cute photos so that this post isn't naked... well almost...

How's your day/week going?

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Party Time!

Ok I may be a teensy weensy bit early on all of this since Zoe doesn't turn one until early October, but dammit I am just so bloody excited I can't hold it all in!

So I've been on the hunt to find inspiration for my little girl's party and I want to go ALL OUT. I've chosen an 'Under the Sea' theme as Zoe loves her swimming and has a seahorse night light toy and a turtle bath toy and, well, it's just a rad idea. Thank-you very much.

I'm out to find bits and pieces that I can nab and be inspired by to create the perfect first birthday for her. After all soon she'll be older and ordering me to have whatever theme she wants, so for this birthday I GET TO CHOOSE! I'm sick of people saying that she won't remember it and that she won't really know what's going on the whole time. TOO BAD! Joel and I have worked very hard all year and we deserve a celebration with all of those that helped us out along the way. It's a celebration of life and that we actually survived this first year. I think it should be celebrated and captured on many many photos for Zoe to look back on one day and done with excited over-the-top-awesome-ness.

Here are a few things that are making me giggle with excitement at the moment. I could spend hours looking at all this stuff and lusting after every decoration and piece of candy. Oh and by-the-way Zoe's party will be on a budget so I'm thinking it will have a heavy underlying 'handmade' theme to it too! OF COURSE!

Chocolate and Turquoise ~ Loving these colours and table presentation. Loving the polka dots and the little touches. By Sharnel Dollar Design - event styling {more here}.

Girly Girl Party ~ Just loving all the little extras and the presentation. The frame at the front is a cool idea and I love the coloured or fabric covered board at the back to tie everything in. By Sharnel Dollar Designs - event styling {more here}

Finally found an 'Under the Sea' themed tablescape, love the colours, the umbrellas and what looks like REAL goldfish! By The Celebration Shoppe {here}. Needs to be a bit more girly though, I think I will have to introduce a little pink and lilac into the 'sea' colours for Zoe's.

Princess Party by Amy Atlas Events {website here} and {blog here} Holy Crap this woman is amazing, check out her site and make sure you have at least 3 hours to trawl through the eye candy.

And I'm just loving the little things too... (all by Amy Atlas)

I also found this cool idea for streamers... aren't they gorgeous?! OK OK this post is far too long, I'll stop, I'LL STOP! {get more DIY ideas and the streamers tutorial here}

(you like this don't you maddie?!!!!!)

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I WANT: Audrey Kawasaki Wooden Brooch!

Check out these beautiful engraved wooden brooches by the talented artist Audrey Kawasaki. I lust after every piece of art she has ever created and now she’s creating limited edition jewellery that I absolutely must have!

Check out more info on the brooches {here} and more on Audrey’s website and beautiful art {here}. *swoon*

Check out her post {here} with images on how they were made with engraver Bryan Cowe. The pics are awesome! If you're keen to get one they will be for sale on her website from July 17th for $45.

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