My Family Christmas

Here is our Family Chrissy Present from my nephew Jaxon and his mum Cassandra. It was delivered to our door just before Christmas. The red and gold baubles are Ferrero Rocher chocolates with red and gold Lindt Choc stars in between. They are all individually wrapped with celophane around a wire to push into the foam wreath.Very Yummy! and easy to grab when you walk past.




Here is my version of the Gingerbread House....it was my first time ever to make and decorate one and I had a ball....it came with the plastic tray, pieces of gingerbread, icing and lollies...good value from Target.

I bought some new bowling balls for my dad off ebay....he picked them out but does not have an ebay or paypal account so I did it for him. When they were posted they were of course addressed to me, so I didn't let him open them. I checked that they had arrived safely and then wrapped them up to go under the Chrissy Tree! it nearly killed my dad having to wait 6 days before getting them, but he is one happy dad now!

After eating a full Christmas lunch dad suggested we watch a DVD cause there was nothing on TV and with all the rain outside it seemed like a good idea. Not long into the movie....dad went to sleep....this often happens to him after lunch but now I have photographic evidence!

Must have been all the excitement of getting his bowling balls!

Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and have plans to see in the New Year with style.

Owl Bookmark Card

Yesterday was CRAFT time with some friends - thanks Kerri, Kerry and Melissa....(we missed you Leanne and Nicole). Anyway I made some more of my treat box cards to give to special people in my life....just need to buy some more Chocolates to fill them up. I also made some of these owl cards. The paper clip makes the little owl removable and he/she can be used as a bookmark. I just love the stampin' up! owl punch cause these little critters are so cute and very easy to make when you don't have to cut anything out.

Christmas Treat Box Card

I made 3 of these "Treat Box Cards" last night to give to friends in my craft group. The card is made with a folded box on the bottom that holds 7 little chocolates.....a card and gift all in one. I am going to try to make ones that hold chocolate balls in it today. I have also seen them with tealight candles in them. The card can be orientated in any direction....most of the examples I have seen have the treat box on the side. Overall I am very happy with how they turned out.
Hope everyone is enoying the holidays! and making the most of the time with sunshine that appears in between the rain.

What to do with ribbons????

I have started to re-organise my craft room. Stampin Up is releasing new colours in September when the new catalogue begins and some of the old colours are going. They have also organised all of the colours into new families. As a result I decided to rearrange my cardstock. I also have had a challenge of how to sort all of my ribbon spools. For ages I have kept them in a box...it really hasn't worked and it was always difficult to find the colour that I wanted (usually in the bottom of the the box). I thought I would look at some storage ideas on the internet...I found lots of great shelves/racks but didn't really want to spend a lot of money. I went to bunnings to have a look at wood and thought I could build a shelf unit myself. While I was there I saw this plastic storage box with holes that were perfectly sized for 8mm dowel. It could stand up by itself (definitely a bonus), so I decided it was worth taking it home to see if it would work. 10 mins later I now have a fully functional ribbon storage box. Total cost $11....what a bargin!

Patchwork Tablecloth

In my travels around the internet I have found hundreds of projects thatI would love to give a go....one of them was a quilt using a MODA charm pack. I decided that I would make mine into a tablecloth. While there are a number of little imperfections I am happy with how it turned out. What do you think????

Latest Little Bit of Creativity and a Giveaway

My mum and dad are nearly ready to take off on their next holiday. This time they are heading off to Cairns for Jaxon's birthday....I can hardly believe he will be 7 in 2 weeks. Anyway they are going to also be taking Christmas pressie's with them because that will save on postage.
So my first share is Jaxon's Chrissy card, I love this animal set for kids cards.
Then I also had to make a couple of Birthday cards for him too. He is having a soccer themed party this year so I made this card for mum to give him.

Then the paper I wrapped his present in has rockets and robots so this card is mine to go with it.

That's all for cards.

Now a sewing update...I saw this idea somewhere but can't remember if it was in real life at a shop/market or on the web but as usual I decided I could copy it myself. They are cute, flower pincushions, that are designed to just sit on the top of a spool of thread. Great to sit right next to the machine and also tiny for quick and easy storage. I love how I have found a project that is just perfect to use up all my scraps.

I have already made 2 of these so I thought I would offer up one as a giveaway....if you would like to win one just leave me a comment before Friday 6th August.

Stamping on candles

Over the holidays I experimented with some different stamping projects. One of them was to try a technique for adding stamping designs onto tealight candles. I was happy with how they turned out and thought they would make a great gift....so I also made a little box to package them into. This set I gave to another Visiting Teacher, at work, for her birthday.

Another Holiday Sewing Project Finished

Over the holidays I have been doing a lot of sewing.....in my hunt for different fabrics I visited a little patchwork shop in Bellmere and found a fabric panel that I just loved. I have hand quilted around the design and finally found a hanger for it so now it is finished and hanging on the wall.....what do you think?

Folding fabric box

I found a tutorial on the net to make a fabric box that you can fold up easily. It is quite stable with cardboard sides and bottom. You can find the tutorial HERE. It was a challenge to get the binding on the top because you need to sew through the cardboard as well but it makes the sides nice and tight. The bottom can be removed and the sides then fold completely flat. Check out my first attempt.....

I think I will have a little play with this pattern and eliminate the binding on the bottom....other than that I love how stable the box is for storing things and it is a great way to reuse cardboard boxes.

Aunty Peta....Aunty Peta....Aunty Peta!!!!

Yesterday my newphew Jaxon was here for the day!

Dad and I picked him up with his Nana from the train atRoma Street at 6.30am. This meant waking up at 5am, which was a struggle given that I only went to bed a 12.30am after finishing off a sewing project (I will post this up later).

We spent the day with Jaxon and Pam (his Nana) and then they caught the tilt train home to Cairns at 7.15pm from Caboolture.

I had a great day being Aunty Peta but didn't get much time off.....Jaxon has never ending energy. Here is a photo of my little boy..... not so little though he is turning 7 next month.

We played at home with Poppy and his train set, took Lizzie to the doggy park, quick trip to the shops, then off to the beach where we played in the playground and fed the seagulls.

Next we went home for a quick lunch and then went to see 'Marmaduke' at the movies....it was a funny movie and we shared popcorn and frozen cokes. After the movies we went home and Poppy took Jaxon to the park at the end of their street. Jaxon loves this park because it has a climbing tower. When they got home it was time for a bath and some games on the computer until we left to go to Caboolture to catch the train....we had McDonalds for dinner and then waited at the train station....you have to be early to book in luggage and Pam (Jaxon's Nana) was told to be there 1hr before but we only needed to be 30mins early. Oh! well, we know for next time.

This is Jaxon with his Nanna (my mum) and below with Poppy (my dad).

After seeing off the train we got home at 8pm....I was exhausted......so off to bed early. Thanks Jaxon for a great day and I love being your Aunty Peta! xxxx

I love where I live....

This afternoon when I came home I noticed this lump in the tree across the road....on closer inspection it was a koala. I love that I have this sort of nature experience right outside my door!

Here it is.......

Well I know you have been waiting to see what I actually made from that beautiful fabric......well here it is.......
Thanks to a combination of 2 bag patterns from the internet I came up with the pattern for this bag and am very, very happy with how it turned out. It is lined with plain green and has pockets on both sides trimmed with ribbon (so they are easy to find). While the photo gives you a basic idea of how it turned out it looks even better in real life.

Hope everyone has enjoyed the first week of the holidays and you have plans to make the most of our second week. I am going out tomorrow with my mum.....we haven't had a day out together in a long time, especially since she hurt both her knees.....hopefully it won't be too much for her.

And then on Tuesday I am looking forward to spending some time with Annette......she is coming to my place for a little bit of creativity.......who knows what we will create????

Pretty New Fabric, Oh! What will it be?

Just thought I would stop by with a picture of the new fabric that I bought today. Who knows maybe I'll be back again tomorrow with the finished object. I wonder if you can guess what I plan on making???????

Cute Owl Blackboard!

I found this stick on blackboard at one of the cheapie shops, it actually looks better in real life than my photo. I have placed it on the pantry door and thought it would make a great shopping list, only task now is to get myself some chalk. Oh! well can't think of everything at once.

Hope all of the teachers out there make it to the end of the week! I know I am looking forward to the holidays more than usual.

Defensive Driving.......it can save your life!

Well as I mentioned last night I spent all day Thursday at a defensive driving course...paid for by work. It was fantastic and I feel so much more confident.....although it was a very scary and stressful day.

It started at 7.30am....we began with information about seat adjustment, airbags, steering, seatbelt and mirrors. Do you ever drive crossing over your hands?.....DON'T. They explained that if you were in an accident with your hand over the middle of the steering wheel and the airbag is triggered the injury you can suffer is extreme...not only will it shatter your wrist but the skin on your arm!!!!! I won't say any more except make sure you use the push/pull method to steer from now on.

Then we moved on to emergency braking.....thank god I have ABS brakes and don't have to worry about locking up my wheels....makes life so much easier trust me. We had to drive down a hill....to get the car up to 60Km....then drive straight towards the instructor and keep driving until he drops his hand to tell you to stop. It was so unsettling and scary to drive your car straight at someone.....I was so tense after it....but I know that I can safely stop my car in an emergency....hopefully stopping on time or at least reducing speed to reduce the severity of the impact. Then we practiced driving at the same instructor but the time for stopping was reduced so we needed to brake and steer around the obstacle....but stop before hitting the witches hats. This was to simulate a situation where a child might unexpectedly come out onto the road. A very good skill to get perfect.

Next we moved onto doing all the same emergency braking but with water spread all over the road....the instructor also indicated whether you needed to stop straight or brake and turn left or right.....this really increased the reaction time and made it seem all the more real....you have to make split second decisions...that can really save your life.

After lunch we had a demonstration of stopping distances....really I know all the theory about distances it takes to stop but to see it for real in front of you is very confronting. It can take you up to about 2-4 seconds to actually start braking once you realise that you need to....this time actually significantly increases the distance to stop. When John the instructor demonstrated driving with his foot near the brake...this halved the distance needed to stop...simply because it removed the reaction time. Therefore if you drive towards obstacles with the idea that you might need to stop...e.g. when there is a pedestrian....approaching the lights, driving over a hill etc....when you know that it is all safe then you go back to acceleration....really you won't loose anything but if you need to stop it could make all the difference. It was also hard to argue with the need to have 40km zones around schools....the ability to stop at this speed is undisputable and you save so much distance.....to see it in real life is just amazing! I think this demonstration should be part of ALL driver training. It is one thing to read it in a book but to see it in real life has so much more impact. Also part of this demonstration was the distance needed between cars.....you need to leave at least 2 secs....if not 3. This distance will mean that you could stop in time without hitting the car in front of you....any less than that time and there is no way you can stop.....the car that was following at a shorther distance ended up stopping 5 m past the other car....this would have been a really serious impact in real life.....if you value your life and the life of your love ones please don't tailgate.

The last activity was the skid pan....this is a concrete track that they pump water all over and then to make sure you skid they added diesel to the mix. You then drive around at 40Kms, when I started I could feel a little slippery but did not really skid....yeah! but that was not the aim of this activity so the instructor got into my car and off we went. On the first corner as I was turning he pulled the handbrake on.....the car skidded and I ended up spinning 180 degrees to face the other way. I had remebered to steer correctly but forgot to keep accelerating. My initial reaction was to try to stop....so then we kept going...the next time was better....I just ended up driving over the grass and then practicing again and again....eventually your brain learns what is needed to be done and I could easily recover. I hope I never have to use this skill in real life but it is so reasurring to know that I can deal with it if it happens.

After finishing off at 4pm I was exhausted but what a fantastic day!!!! I learnt lots of skills that could end up saving my life. I highly recommend this course to anyone who drives their car with thier precious loved ones...the skills you learn could end up avoiding an accident or minimising impact of one.

Bargain Craft Desk Upgrade

On Thursday I went on a Defensive Driving Course for work (OMG! what an experience....I will blog about that next) but on the way home I stopped off at IKEA. I didn't really need anything...just wanted to have a look and think about something else besides driving. I had dinner there for $3.95 (Chicken Schnitzel) and bought a few things. Before I leave I always check out the discount area...ad that's where I found 2 sheets of glossy white laminate (I think they might have been inserts for cupboard doors but I thought they would make a fantastic top on my craft desk.

Now for those of you who don't know I made my craft desk from 2 chests of drawers and a painted door....the door is attached with brackets to the top of the drawers. It has proved very successful as a desk excpet for the painted surface...I don't know why but it has always been difficult to clean and things get stuck to it. So let's hope the laminated panels will change that. The above photo is of the desk before I started.

Then I removed everything...looks good when there is nothing on it don't you think?

Then I attached the laminate sheet with the sticky strips that come from the 3M removable hooks. If I am happy with it I am thinking about making it permanent with liquid nails. There is a small gap left at the back of the desk but with all the stuff on there I don't think it will be a problem. When I stuck on the second piece....there is a gap of 2 cm left at the edge too....wow! an almost perfect fit. I'm glad I didn't have to cut any off.

This is what it looks like all finished. I have covered the join in the middle with my craft mat and stampin up desk sheet.

I think it looks great....now how much did this revamp cost... a whole whopping $8. Yep! that's right it was $4 for each sheet. Really was a bargain.

Isn't it cute

On Tuesday I went to school to help Annette (not sure if I was actually any help, but I enjoyed chatting and catching up). After we had finished I went shopping....I'm looking for a new lounge suite that includes a sofa bed so I went to Everyday Living and Aussie Living at Morayfield. Now I didn't find what I wanted in terms of a lounge but came home with this.....

Isn't he cute???? Looks good in my white display cupboards (which are now finshed and I will take a photo soon to show you the end result)

Lego Land

When my nephew turned 4 I bought him large box of mixed lego pieces and a lego crane...I also sewed a storage bag (large 1.5 m circle with rope and eyelets to draw it up into a bag). He loved his lego and it was decided that lego toys were something that Nanna, Poppy and Aunty Peta would buy each Birthday, Christmas etc....to keep building the collection. Jaxon loves this and many a Christmas has been spent with him building the newest addition....trucks, cars, boats etc.

Last Christmas we bought him a whole police station playset and posted it to him in Cairns. Earlier this year he mentioned to Nanna that he had seen a police helicopter that he would love for his birthday. Every time I go shopping I look out for a police helicopter but have been unable to find one.

I then thought I would check out the internet and found it on the lego website for $14.99 AUD....I thought that was really reasonable but postage was set at $25. However if you bought up to $100 AUD the postage was only $30 in total.....so being a good Aunty I decided to buy more stuff to go with the helicopter so ....I got a Dump truck, Off road fire engine, Speed Racer and a Tow truck all for less than the $100. Now I just need to sit back and hope that it all arrives safely....so that my mum and dad can deliver it when they go to Cairns later in the year for his birthday.

Karcher Dramas

Before I start this blog entry we need to rewind to April 2009. I went t0 Bunnings to buy myself a Karcher. Then man in the shop talked me into buying the model up from the basic one....it was about another $45 but it came with another nosel and a longer hose etc and a 2 year warranty. I just loved it I managed to clean all the concrete paths at my unit and a large section of driveway out the front of my unit...then I leant it to my dad who used it to clean lots of their concrete and the caravan. It hasn't been used since then.

Now back in February I got it out to clean a carpet mat and it was broken.....what a shit!!!!After weeks of searching for the docket I returned it to Bunnings who just said yep! no problem leave it with us and we will send it off for a repair. It was back in just a week....very impressed........BUT not for long.

Got it home used it for about 15mins and then it broke again. So back to Bunnings I went....after lots of time spent waiting for the lady to serve me it was taken to be sent back for repair. I got a phone call the day after to say they had spoken to the Karcher Rep and they would make sure it was fixed ASAP. Then 2 weeks go by and I have heard nothing.

I really wanted to get my outside area cleaned over the holidays so I went off to Bunnings on Tuesday to find out what was happening. The lady tried to phone Karcher while I waited but they didn't answer. So I left with the promise that she would follow it up and get back to me. I did get a phone call back but the lady said that Karcher didn't know where it was and would look into it and ring me. Wednesday arrives and I have heard nothing so I go back to Bunnings.

The lady phones Karcher who said it was dispatched from them a week ago and to wait while they chase it up with the courier. The courier said it was delivered to Bunnings on 3oth March and it was signed for by a staff member. So then I was told they would just go out the back to look for it and it won't be long. 20 minutes and a cranky face later the lady comes back to tell me they can't find my Karcher in the store so I can just have a new one. WOW! that blew me away....rather than put me off again I walked out of the shop with a brand new Karcher....now that changed the look on my face...I am very happy with a new one.....and I have now cleaned all my front outdoor area. Very Happy!!!!!

Lamb Roast

Yesterday I got to visit Annette and her family......I was rewarded with the most beautiful lamb roast, veges and gravy for dinner. Yum! Yum! Just needed to say thanks Annette for inviting me and thanks Ardal for the good cooking. Having dinner with such a large family was a different experience.....very different to eating dinner on your own. I loved the chance to feel a part of a bigger family....so thanks to the MacMahon's for looking after me. My only problem from spending time with them all....just reminded me how much I miss seeing you everyday. I think if I could just combine the best bits of the 2 jobs (Cath Ed and EQ) life would be grand.

Hope all of you are set for a great week!!!

I didn't have to wait long....

No sooner had I posted the last blog message and then an email came through. It was the Toy Society blog owner telling me my drop had been found......and the person has included a photo. Please, Please, check it out here. It made me feel soooooo good to see it being loved so much....I AM DEFINITELY going to do this again. Thanks Belinda and Alice for rescuing Olly and I'm glad he has gone to a good home.

Toy Society!!!!!

I have been checking the Toy Society website waiting to see if my little owl got uploaded and each and every day I was disappointed until.......TODAY! I got an email to say that Olly had been added to the website.....you can see it here. He is drop number 949. Now I just need to wait and see if the person that found him (he was found before I left the hospital) replys to say he was found......did I mention how much I hate waiting for things.....

Olly the Owl

I found a tutorial on the internet HERE to make a little owl named "Olly". I decided that I would have a go at making one for myself and this is how he turned out....he didn't take very long to make and I think he looks pretty cute!!!
I am going to use him as my first toy drop for "The Toy Society". The Toy Society is about randomly leaving homemade toys in various locations to be found by others...therefore sharing love and joy. I joined the site many months ago and have been going to make something for a long time....so am rather excited to actually be planning my first drop. Hope you will go to the Toy Society Blog here and check it out.....look for my drop to be posted in the near future and then check back to see if "Olly" will be found.

Super Sale for Sewers!!!

Hi everyone...just thought I would get on here to let you all know about the fantastic sale on at LINCRAFT.

I went there by chance tonight to have a quick look at material and found that all fabrics are 1/2 price, yep that's right 1/2 price. I bought some pretty japanese quilting fabric normally $16 a metre for $8 a metre. Home spun normally $5 now only $2.50. What a bargain and the best thing is the sale is on from now until Feb 14th....so if you have time definitely worth the travel to a Lincraft store. I went to the newest one at Toombul shopping centre and think I might try to get back there when I have more time to look carefully.

Hope you have all had a great week!

Cupcakes!!!

Yummy, yummy...everyone loves cupcakes right...but wait I know you're thinking what's Peta doing eating cupcakes...she's on a diet. Well take a look at my new little cupcake.....one that won't end up on your thighs or hips...Ha..ha..ha.

Introducing my little cupcake pin cushion. I made this little fellow on the weekend....isn't it just so cute. How did you make it? I hear you ask. Well I just freehanded a little abstract shape out of the green and then zig zag stitched it onto some calico. I cut the calico into a circle and laid some crochet thread around the outside edge and stiched over it with a very large zig zag....this helps when you gather the edges up to add a little stuffing. Then I just glued it into a little silicon cupcake base with some hot glue. I added some blue rick rack but that's only for decoration....Then the sprinkles on the top are just the heads of all of the pins.....super cute and very practical. I love it! Hope you do too!

Decorated Laptop

Earlier this year I spent some time looking at a range of websites that sell wall stickers for home decorating. One of these sites had specific designs that could be used to decorate a laptop. I just filed this idea away until today when I was shopping in my local cheapie store. I found these beautiful butterfly and flower stickers for $2.50 and thought they would be perfect for my laptop......... Well what do you think????? I love it and now my laptop is not only pretty but it's a one off original peice of art.

Then the next project that I worked on today was a cover for my new diary (the one provided by Catholic Ed) I have included a pocket on the cover for carrying paper and notes. I have decorated it with my very own crocheted flower. I have made a few of these now after watching one of the many tutorials on youtube.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend and is ready for another week!

Stampin Up Sale! - Free Stamps

YAY! Sale-a-bration is here.....and it means you can earn free limited edition stamp sets....just click on the banner above to see what's on offer.

As a way of celebrating this special event a group of demonstrators are having a blog hop to show off some wonderful ideas for using the stamps available in this offer. The ladies are very talented and provide great inspiration for all paper crafters. If you visit all of the blogs in the blog hop and make a comment on each you will be in he running to win some blog candy. You just need to make sure you email leonie@stamp-a-latte.com to let her know you have left a comment on all the blogs.

Now where to start....you will begin here at Alana's blog and then go round until you get back to the start. Have fun!

End of 15 years

Well today was my last day of work with Education Queensland after 15 years of teaching with them. I was so proud of Annette who spoke at my farwell during lunch....she didn't cry at all. While she was talking I got a little bit emotional but also manage to hold back the tears. I know that I will really miss the freindships that I have made in my time at Cab East....it really is those that keep you returning day after day! I am determined to keep in touch with those special people....and you all know who you are (not forgetting those of you that have already left).

I am now looking forward to tackling my new role.....making new freindships.....meeting new children.....new families and having lots of new and exciting experiences.

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho it's off to work I go!

Well my holidays are officially coming to an end with my new job starting tomorrow. I am a little anxious and pretty excited to be beginning this new chapter of my life. Here's hoping it all works out.

In preparation for my new job I bought a vehicle log book to keep track of all my travel to satisfy the tax man. I decided that if I made it look pretty I might be more likely to use it so off I went to the craft room. Here is a photo of the boring book.....
And then here is what it looks like now. I am much happier with this than the original....now I just have to make sure I use it every day for 12weeks.

Lounge Room Upgrade

When I moved into my unit 3 years agoI wanted to get new cupbords that fit the wall at the end of my lounge room. I bought some from Ikea a while back and planned to get them built and installed over the holidays. These plans were put on hold when my mum and dad rushed off to Perth for my Nanna.

Mum and Dad arrived home on Monday afternoon and in discussion they said they would love to help me get the cupboards done before I go back to work next week. So I went home.....took this photo of the cupbaords that I have had up to now.... and then got busy emptying them so that we could move them out to the garage.


Then after lunch Dad came over and we got started on the cabinet for the TV. After starting off with the wrong fittings we got the basic shell completed and then worked on the 2 drawers.


This is the finished cabinet .... but not with the little red thing on the top....that was my levelling device to make sure the cupboard is level....it has 5 adjustable feet on the bottom.

While I wasn't really sure about the white cupboards at the start I think they will look ok when all in together. Tomorrow we are going to work on the other sheving units that will go with it to fill in the wall. I can't wait....

A Day of Creativity

Well Annette and I have spent the day together today and worked on some sewing and other items for her classroom this year.

We worked on creating her hanging pockets.....inspired by Kristie's fabulous creativity. You will have to check out Annette's blog to see the finished product.

Then we worked on name tags for kids, names for hat pegs (yep a peg that we hang up outside for children to store their hat on), names for going on the hanging pockets...so lots of printing, cutting, laminating, cutting and chatting of course.

I then used some of Annette's left over fabric to create a cover for Annette's diary. We added a pocket to the outside (so that when things are put in there the diary will still close) and a loop for carrying a pen or pencil. You can check out the finished product below.....

Yep! looks beautiful and is also very practical.....now let's all hope she actually uses it this year likes she plans to.

Other than all the busy creating we had a great chance to catch up and just have a general chit chat......I love spending time with my friends....thanks for a great day Annette.

New Sewing Machine Mat

Well as I mentioned I have been spending a bit of time getting some sewing projects done these holidays...not to mention watching a heap of DVD's. I have moved out onto the dining table to sew...that way I can also have the DVD playing at the same time. The problem with that is the machine leaves little black scuff marks on my table especially as I push and pull it out of the way.


So my solution was to sew myself a mat....I made it with wadding inside so there is some cushioning to protect the table and also have pockets to keep things like scissors, unpicker (my close friend), ruler, pencil etc close at hand and voila! here it is.
I am pretty happy with how it turned out....great value.... $3 for 1/2 a metre of fabric and I used a left over piece of wadding.

Kristie's Inspiration

This morning I got an email from Annette.....she has been inspired by Kristie's sewing and wants me to help her make some new pockets for her classroom this year as well. She also made mention of the link Kristie had put on for some little numbered bean bags. I have been busy sewing this week (photos still to come) and had the machine and all of my stuff set up so I thought I would have a go at making some. What do you think?????

I didn't have any beans at home so have filled them with rice....I also weighed them to make sure they are all about the same. I hope Annette is happy with them cause they are for her.....but I know this doesn't make up for abandoning her this year...will keep working on that.

New Sewing Project

After searching on the internet for sewing projects I came across a tutorial for making your own fabric binder cover. I decided I needed to make one for my new job. So here is my first attempt.


Have a look at the inside. I used plain black fabric so I would save the printed fabric and have enough to make another couple of covers. I included a pocket on the left hand side and sewed a space for secure pen storage. This also stops things sliding over and preventing the binder from closing.

Why not take a closer look.....

Well what do you think???? I love it and am going to make myself another 2 with the remaining fabric. If you want to check out where I got my inspiration from click HERE