happy 30th manda

You would think finding a birthday present would be easy for a friend you have known nearly your whole life and is almost a sister! but no. Her wardrobe is already packed from her love of shoes, clothes and handbags. And I wanted to give her something special for her 30th. So I decided to sew a doona cover set. I love it, I want one for myself now! mmm maybe I have enough material left over.

girl & ball

I think this designer is one of my all time favourites. TTABLE-OFFICE, is a design studio based in Seoul, Korea. They create the most subtle and beautiful paper mobiles, gift cards, writing paper, light shades and heaps more. They use paper pop outs and simple folds to give a three dimensional quality and movement to their graphics.

We were given the girl & ball mobile for Hannah from Topp Kate. Hanging from the light shade in the middle of Hannah's room, she balances on her ball, gently spinning. I can't wait for more of their gorgeous designs to come to little Perth.

vegie patch to vegie bake

The zucchini have grown prolifically and the squash have become enormous! Loads of sheep poo, blood and bone and juice from the worm farm have turned our previously struggling vegie patch into a productive green haven. There is nothing better than cooking with organic home grown vegetables. We had such a good harvest of zucchini and squash we needed to find new cooking inventions to make sure we didn't get sick of eating them and use them all up.

The lovely Ailee made this for an afternoon tea party we had in our garden in early summer. It was so delicious it disappeared before I could try any, so she gave me a copy of her recipe... The perfect recipe to use up loads of vegetables. The recipe makes one small vegetable bake, but for big families double or even triple the quantities.

Vegetable Bake
5 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups self raising wholemeal flour
1 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, grated
1 red capsicum, chopped
nuts, chopped
2 onions, chopped
cheese, grated
mix of fresh herbs, parsley, basil, chives
salt and pepper
optionals : corn kernels, squash, green peas, tomato, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, bacon, tuna or anything really that takes your fancy.

Beat eggs with oil. Add flour and mix well. Add vegetables, nuts and seasoning, mix well. Pour into a baking dish and bake at 180 degrees C for 1 hour.

fabric blooms

I made some of these flowers for Hannah's bedroom curtains and as a gift for a friend. They became quite addictive to make.

Cut 5 circular pieces of fabric approximately 6cm diameter, one for each petal.

Fold each circle into quarters. Zig zag the raw edge to prevent the petal from fraying.

Using a needle and thread, gather the petals together along the curved edge using large stitches.

Keeping the thread intact gather each of the petals together and tie off.

Either glue or stitch a button to the center of the flower.

hannah's room

One of the nicest things I found about the final stage of my pregnancy, other than the excitement and anticipation, was thinking about the nursery and making a beautiful space for our baby. I got a little carried away making, sewing, knitting, painting and maybe doing a little bit of shopping. I had so many ideas and plans... way too many for the tiny 3x3 meter room, and the limited amount of time left before the baby arrived. But it evolved into a space I love to escape to, spending many hours each day, daydreaming whilst feeding and tending to Hannah. It is her little garden of flowers, trees and birds.

mr happy apple

They just don't seem to make musical toys like they used to. Battery operated garish plastic seems to be everywhere, with parents wishing batteries would run out and wondering why they bought the toy in the first place. Happy Apple was one of our childhood favourites, and luckily it was one of the many things Mum kept for her potential grandchildren. Soft musical chimes sound when you roll the apple around. It has a gentle sound with differing musical tones depending which way it is rocked. Made by Fisher Price between 1972 - 1984, originally they had a long curled stem, but apparently broke off quite easily. The one we have is a second edition short stemmed version. With only a few marks of old age, Happy Apple is still the perfect baby toy, and seems to be one of Hannah's favourites too.

The toy was even the inspiration for an American experimental jazz trio 'Happy Apple' who used the apple as their backup percussion instrument.