ornaments on the way

inspired by a vintage community cookbook, I made these retro styled mini aprons for my kiwi ornament swap. They were a lot of fun to make!

catching up

this week I celebrated a birthday, my true love gardenias are starting to flower in abundance, struggled with a awful head cold, starting work on the bach and

finished my kiwi ornament swap items. Here's a hint for those who can't wait (although I've refined the finished product since the one pictured was made). All my ornaments were made from 100% recycled & repurposed materials. I'll be posting my ornaments on Monday and then sharing photos of what I made on Wednesday next week.  

building 101

this is the type of house that we're wanting to build in Samoa. It's styled along the lines of the traditional Kiwi bach. It would be constructed as much as possible from demolition and salvaged materials which would be shipped from New Zealand. I'm a beginner when it comes to the construction and building of houses. So I ask a lot of questions. In some ways the process is a lot like the construction of a garment. Only on a much bigger scale. All interesting stuff!

ornaments on the go

the challenge of doing the kiwi ornament swap is to make sure that I produce 5 identical things. I can't tell you what I'm making yet (that would spoil the fun for those in my group who might be peeking).
Here's a hint - it's red, rockabilly retro.

more roses

this morning I took the time to smell the roses as well as photograph them. This year we hired a rose specialist to prune and tend to our garden roses. They were a little neglected and in need of TLC. We've stuck to the schedule of feeding etc and now they're looking spectacular!

samoan fale

this is our Samoan fale - the first building to be built on our family property in Samoa. It's a modern version of a faleo'o (traditional house) and is found just meters from the waters edge and the swimming rock pool.

plastic fanstastic

Miss 3 came home from kindergarden today with the most gorgeous necklace, that she had made for me to wear. She called it the 'plastic fanstastic' necklace. So I put it on straight away and we went out grocery shopping. I received some really nice compliments that made my little Miss feel as pleased as punch. Now she thinks that I should have some earrings and a bracelet to match. Which I'll of course wear with pride!

divine dresses

I've just discovered Eley Kishimoto dresses (featured in NZ Herald Viva 10/11/2010). They're stocked here in New Zealand at the Children of Vision boutique in Karangahape Road, Auckland. I love the idea of dresses in bold prints and this London based label is well known for it's lavish use of pattern and colour. My favourite is this geometric chevron print dress (pictured) in a bold red and white silk with black yoke and sleeves. A very bold contrast statement indeed! At $665, this dress is set to challenge my dress allowance so I'm going to have to consider making an inspired version of my own. The best thing about this style dress is that it still looks good with a cardi when it gets cooler and can be worn as a tunic too.

vintage roses

this year the vintage roses in our garden are making a brilliant debut of soft pinks. I love their large blooms and sweetly scented petals. Reminds me of everything whimsical.

the 'undie cover' nightie

I had to take a break from my caftan sewing as the slippery, slidey chiffon was wearing my sewing nerves thin. So I thought I'd make something fun instead and digging through the fabric collection I came across this cotton voile print. I can't honestly remember buying it and I obviously didn't look too closely at the print. Let's face it, where would one wear such a fabric? In a moment of inspiration I thought I'd make a long length nightie. I've nickednamed this the "undie cover nightie" in honour of the undergarments printed on the fabric.