Boys Gift Guide

With a spring in my step, I headed out to the shops on a mission. Birthday shopping. Ugh. Obviously not for my boys but for their mates. This is always quite a challenge because shopping for boys is difficult at the best of times, and when your knowledge of them is limited, it is even harder. Personally I now tend to shy away from Lego packs, especially for a party because there is a tendency for duplication. With Lego out of the mix you need to be a little more creative. I thought I would share with you a couple of the goodies I got:

11 year old boy:
These are notoriously difficult. If it is a big party we tend to all put in to get whatever the boy is into- a basketball hoop or ball, music vouchers, speakers etc. Xandy is the only one celebrating so no option to put in.

The first part is my go to - a hand decorated tshirt. This way I can personalise the gift a little. He isn't particularly sporty, but enjoys fencing, so I cut the 'en garde' on my Silhouette using freezer paper and painted it white on a kmart basic tshirt.

To go with this I got some cycling sunglasses. They come in a good little bag, and we thought they would be useful given the boys are doing bike ed at school in preparation for a cycling school camp.

7 year old boy - twins mate.

These are the ones I struggle with the most, especially since both boys are invited to the party, they both need to do the gifting thing. This particular boy is a bright little button, who has a love of maths. I wanted to get a game for him along math lines.
At the game shop there isn't a lot but I decided on this one- Sleeping Queens which we got for Christmas. Lots of addition in this and simple to play.

From the other twin we got a skateboard. It was on special at Kmart. When giving pairs of presents I like to give something fun and something practical. Then I swap which boy is giving that particular thing.


4 year old boy - into Spy's and Pirates.

There are plenty of spy kits and accessories out there - the big issue is that he is only turning 4. While he is bright, he is still a bit too young for code cracking things. I needed to get creative on this one and realized that he liked to pretend to be a spy, so in reality it is all about the outfit.
A quick trot around kmart lead me to gather this collection of goodies - which tallied up to about $25.
Black tshirt; Black knit shorts; black kids sunglasses; a small torch; binoculars; a stop watch; a black notepad and a black mens toiletries bag.

I wrapped each item with black paper and labelled it with white pen. Like SUPER SPY TSHIRT, SUPER SPY TORCH. This also made the items look like they are meant to be together. Then I packed them all inside the toiletries bag which had plastic zip pockets inside - perfect for keeping all his spy gear together. 

Finally I labelled the bag in the same way.

Presents

I got a bit spoiled today. Mr P and Ms G came over bearing gifts - for no real reason.  Not that we need a reason, and they are all certainly appreciated.

I got this fabulous skirt that I had been eyeing off at Malvern Central mysteriously made its way to my place. Perfect fit and perfect colour. I love the detail and fabrics.

I also had just bought new boots at a sale in Hall Street. I got two pairs of leather boots, each $90. The long grey ones are a perfect compliment to this skirt.

These are the boots that I fought through hoards of women on Anzac day holiday to bring home - and a bit chuffed with both of them.

Presents

With two parties on Saturday, I need to have presents ready. The twins will each have a gift because frankly they are two kids they need to learn the social graces of giving and receiving gifts. While I am not alone in my twin stance, it makes it a bigger pain in the arse to get 2 age appropriate gifts for boys in an acceptable price range.

I have made a decision that I will do one fun gift and one practical gift each time they are both invited and swap each time. This time Benji got the fun - some Lego (still seems to be the go to gift for boys) and I got a Lego tshirt. Spencer got the practical one - this time an apron, bag, cooking utensils and a little cookbook. I made this out of denim with a bias trim I got a card of from Theos. The other bits are from the present cupboard.

Alexander was off to a girls party. She is the eldest of 4 and was turnong 8. I like buying girl presents as they seem to have so much more on offer, but I decided to be practical and get something useful. I bought towels in a print from target on special.

I thought they looked bright and young and then I embroidered her name on the towel and handtowel to personalise them a little. Hope she likes them.

Birthday boy

It was Mr P's birthday today and we happily wrapped up all of his presents. We have a couple of prolific artists in our house and after I photograph their work, we use their artwork as wrapping paper. In this instance I think they came up looking really good.

He loved his gifts and we enjoyed a lovely feast at his place - prepared by Miss G. Thanks for a lovely night & Happy Birthday

Happy mothers' day

I hope the mums. grandmums and mums to be had a wonderful day. The bug squirrel took some incredibly flattering photos of me too early this morning which I wont be displaying here - however here are the mugs that the boys made me at kinder.

Then we hosted lunch for my mum and family. A shot of Mr P , Mum and me. Mum is in the outfit that we made for her. The jumper and the leggings are from fabric at some time from Darn Cheap.
We have decided to run in the jumper to make it less box like - but otherwise a happy day.

Oh and mum loved the cushion!!

Thoughtful

I was raving on about the joy of receiving handmade back here and I need to continue more today. I have been sporting today a beautiful handcrafted dahlia brooch today and feeling really proud as I wear it. I got a bit dressed up (for playgroup and kinder drop off) in all black which really highlights the red of the flower.

I am proud because it is handmade. It looks gorgeous and I love the thought and effort that has gone into it. The creative talent is not only sick as a dog, but coping with a 3 year old and a baby (both have been sick) and sleep deprivation. I don't know where she found the time but I am glad she did.

I am so pleased to tell people that a friend made it for me, A new friend, and I don't make friends easily. We met through our lovely 'knitting' group and I am proud to call her a friend. She is so beautiful and kind, generous to a fault and exceptionally thoughtful.

Inside the ball- surprise!

Sadly I don't have any pictures of the ball being unwrapped, but it was great fun! There was red streamer everywhere and little pressies kept falling out everywhere - and we were in a posh restaurant!! The excitement and anticipation was what I was after and this ball concept really delivered on that.

On Tuesday I spent the day running around Chadstone to try and find some little trinkets to put into the present. This is all that I managed to squeeze into the ball - and I gave her a bag of supplementary stuff too. I will list the things for you from left to right starting at the top.

Hand made Alice in Wonderland purse, chocolate that didn't make it in the ball but hung outside, some face masks for some pampering, some coffee vouchers, a mascara, the red lipstick thing is actually a pen, red nailpolish, a travel jewellery compact (source of lots of problems), a pearl bracelet, lip gloss, a pen with a perfume atomiser at the end, hand cream (I got more Natio creams with a bag that I gave her), Freesia bulbs from tesslars, Computer key magnets, a thong style beaded bookmark, a lipstick brush and some sticky notes (the rest of the set were in another bag.

There are the bits I made - well not the freesias, but the purse - this is the reverse side, the bookmark, the bracelet and the magnets. Yes, real computer keys - there are many days I wouldn't mind pressing Ctl Alt Delete to start afresh!

Surprise Ball....

At knitting the other night, Jo was raving on about surprise balls that she had seen. Check her blog here they are in her inspirations. We were chatting about the idea and thought it would be a perfect gift for a friend whose birthday I was celebrate later in the week. This is my attempt.
Really it is not anywhere near round let alone symetrical but it was the unwrapping idea that excited me...I couldn't fit the chocolates in so they were hanging off the edge. I will show you tomorrow what is inside...........

Mothers Day Craft

This is an easy little idea that I impressed with at playgroup. It wasn't my idea, I found it here via One Pretty Thing. I chose to make these pendants as we (playgroup) all have too many kids but they are simply made out of Fimo or polymer clay. As you know I did actually have this lying around and the kids had a good time.
The kids worked the fimo and rolled it into a nice shapped ball. Then with a little help they pressed their finger in which flattened it out enough. Then with a skewer I put a hole in the top and cooked them for about 15 minutes. Once cooled I slipped a key ring loop through the top which I put some beads on for decoration.
These ones are a little overcooked as I was in a rush and cooking cooking party pies for lunch at the same time. Spencer's is meant to be yellow but it actually looks like Amber. I may try again using white fimo with the idea of putting a bit of black texta to bring out the finger print. (My understanding is you colour in with permanent texta over the fingerprint and then lightly rub over with a baby wipe- but I am yet to try it)
This long necklace is for mum for mothers day. It is a rich coral pink colour with light centres but you can't really see with the flash against my benchtop. Also matching clip on earrings. Lucky she doesn't come here!!

Its the thought that counts...

Mothers Day- it is looming close so I have been racking my brain to think of the perfect gift for my mum.She is one of the original crafters so I have to be careful that it is not too naff, not too young, something she hasn't already done (our house was made of macrame in the 70's) and something she will use. I was however trawling the internet for some new and exciting ideas - these were some of the best here and here. However it is looking like Mr P and I will resort to the tried and true jewellery option!
What I was wondering is while there are all these funky crafty ideas out there for mothers day, who is actually making them for the young and funky mums??? While my boys are interested in craft (especially Alexander) they are still too young to do this undirected. Which leads to my point. The Big Squirrel cannot even turn on the computer. Yes, a man that cant even find internet porn let alone find blogs filled with crafting ideas. His idea of 'thought' is running around late on the evening before often without the kids - thankfully he leaves enough time that its not 7/11 but close!. Nothing makes you feel more special than looking after the kids while your husband is one of those frantic male shoppers that sales assistants pounce on and load them up with useless crap they can't sell.
So while the saying is it is the thought, it is also the action - not so much the product. I would love something the boys have put together - picture coasters for example or even simple drawings. There are loads of ideas - will someone please tell the big squirrel???

Noddy

Noddy is the newest resident at our place. A lovely gift from my brother for Easter - and a real blast from our past. We had Noddy and his partner (in crime??) Big Ears egg cups when we were growing up and while I don't recall them being the most stable of egg holders, they certainly are good looking. He made the hat which I think is better than the original. Now the hunt is on for Big Ears!

Sewing Projects

As you know I am trying not to spend money, (!!) and actually not doing too badly. In the week I have only had one coffee and really thinking twice about purchases. Then I remembered we had a couple of celebrations this month, so it was out to the garden shed and a search through the stash. I found this fabric which is actually cotton lycra and bought the end of the bolt. It has been hanging around for a bit, but perfect for PJ's. For the three year old party I made these raglan sleeve with a swing bottom. The lace was hanging around and picks up the white in the pattern and the bottoms are like leggings.

I used the same fabric for a nightie for a girlfriends daughter. We have been hanging out for her second baby to arrive and this is a present for the new big sister (who is almost 5). Alexander designed the card and i used this to do the fabric painting. The nightie is raglan sleeved - again it is long sleeved, I must be willing on the cooler weather. The book is from the present cupboard.

Total cost - $0, effect on stash - invisible!!

Ben 10 present

Alexander was invited to a Ben 10 party today, complete with a Ben 10. This wasn't his costume however it was the gift that I'd made. The birthday boy is off to NZ for the holidays, so this is a water resistant jacket. It was really hard to find any fabric in green, and this is rip stop nylon. As I was making a jacket, it needed a bit more substance, so I lined it with white flanellette. This has given it some bulk and some warmth. While the 'characters' jacket is leather, the studs and white vinyl make it a pretty good replica. (Someone may bring Alexander one too!)

prep pal

The challenge - to find a gift for our prep pal. Constraints - a boy who is about 11, finishing grade 5. A $5 limit and restriction - no food.
Now I know most people go over a little bit, but even still this was really hard. I have met Daniel and he is a really nice boy and has really looked out and after Alexander in the playground, so I wanted something a bit fun - but I didn't really know what he was into.
I bought this flashing cup from one of those 'promotional product stalls in a shopping centre. I was exactly $5. Check. I didn't count the money to decorate it.Alexander was given a cup like this as a gift and loves it - the lights flash all different colours and we used fabric puff paint to decorate it. AS it has batteries in it, it cant go in the dishwasher so the writing should last. And it was really well appreciated.

7th day of christmas

We have been hard at work around here getting ready for the twins' birthday tomorrow. I have finished my first jumper- well I actually had to do two, so lucky they were little!

The sewing needles were also out making hats and jeans for...
Two colour coded cowboys. I have also finished saddles for the trusty steeds that mum has made to match but I will show you those on Wednesday.

Oh, and just for something else to do, I have had the sandpaper and beeswax out finishing off the table with Alexander.

All this and we are still trying to be 'christmassy'. Tonight I tried to get the kids to do a bit of a christmas disco and put on the christmas carols - but they were not so thrilled!

our fairy door

So this is our fairy door. Its sits on the wall in a little corner of the hallway. The boys can often walk past it and not even notice, but then sometimes there is some glitter and other times there are even little notes.

Here is how I did it. While I had intended to actually make the door, I even bought balsa wood for it, that went in the too hard basket and I bought a dolls house door that is 1/12th actual size.

The door comes as raw basla wood and I got it from The Dolls House in Riversdale Road in Camberwell or you can buy on line via the link. The door is hinged and opens inwards, which for a fairy door is great, because the concept is that only the fairies using their pixie dust, can open the door. I also bought door handles and numbers in gold which jazz it up that bit.

I gave the doors an undercoat, then painted them in normal acrylic and finished them off with a gloss top coat. The reverse side of the door I painted in silver with glitter on it - to make it a bit more mystical, but also it is against the wall so you don't actually see it.

Once painted, the door is ready to find a home. You could rest it againt a bookshelf or a wall, but with curious toddlers, I was keen to connect it properly. I used 3M's wall hanger range, which is double sided and doesn't damage the walls. I cut them to size and simply pressed it to the wall.

We wrote our fairy a card and left the key hanging on the door. When the fairies moved in they took the key and left a sprinkling of fairy dust. Now we use this place to communicate with them, who are always around even though we cant see them....

6th day of christmas

my true loves had a brief time out on the couch watching one of my favorite christmas movies - Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Another busy day - Alexander has a birthday party and I have a baby shower - so I have been busy finishing the pencil case and embroidering the cot sheets as gifts.

5th Day of Christmas

We (yes all of us!!) have been busy making a good friend a birthday present. Her party was today and we finished it just in time. A suburban fairy door.

The time consuming bit was formatting the story which went with the book ( I have a tendancy to go a bit OTT!!) but it is all delivered now - and Alexander had fun at the gymnastics party.

Christmas theme was reading a Christmas story - someone must have known we would be busy!