New Fancypants

Oh how I love new knickers. A week ago, I ordered a pair of Norma Jeans from Miss Fancypants on Madeit. They arrived within two days (!) and oh my goodness, they are the best ever. I'd been eyeing off her swimmers for a while, but when I saw the Norma Jeans I just had to have them. The fantastic photoshoot sold me:

Now, I'm not 15 anymore, I've had two children and I did not bounce back from my baby making like Angelina Jolie, but I'm also not ready for grandma knickers, so the Norma Jeans are perfect. They are high waisted, with cute little legs and are so, so adorable. The sizing is great and they don't cut you off around the most unflattering part of your hips. I wore them to bed the other night and they were very comfortable. Next on my list is the Lucille Pin Up 2 Piece. Just gorgeous.

Ah, the challenges...

I am currently sewing up a storm for my BabyBird Party on Sunday, which is a challenge in itself. Well, this week it's being made even more difficult by my darling angel Eddie, who decided that he might attempt to cut four teeth at once. Yes, four teeth. True to form, he isn't taking the whole thing too badly, but his usual sleep times have been cut short - which means more stops to make snacks/play with/cuddle/amuse. This in turn means that Ollie has to join in and results in very little sewing getting done.

Oh well, these are the days of my life.


PS More info about the party can be found here.

PPS I have a big announcement that will be made at the party, which I will then share with everyone else next week.

More Madeit Gift Ideas

It's coming. The carols are playing in the shops, my mailbox is overflowing with junk, school kids are starting to pour out onto the streets and I can't find a carpark by 10am at our local Westfield. So how about we rebel against the jammed shopping centres this Christmas and do our shopping in peace and quiet (preferrably in our jammies with a cuppa). Here are a few more gift ideas from the ever-lovely Madeit.

Oooh, check out this vintage style sunvisor by gravityaccessories:

This fabulous Owl print by Lino Creative





A summery girls skirt by Lillipilli Lane




A funky handbag by Violet Clothing





Super cool wall decals by Vinyl Wall Design

Happy shopping!

PS. Please don't forget that I am having my first ever BabyBird Clothing Party this Sunday. All details can be found here.

xx

Hodge Podge

My blog posts are often a mish mash of things, aren't they? Sorry about that, but it's a true reflection of my days, I'm often attempting to do six things at once. One thing that often puzzles people is the fact that I make both dog collars and kids clothes. 'How bizarre!' they say. 'What an odd combination!' they exclaim. But I really don't think it's strange. Our dogs came along before our children and I like them to have funky collars, then when the boys were born, I enjoyed making things for them to wear too. As a child, I thought the best part of Barbie was her wardrobe and I loved dressing her up too. Can anyone see the pattern forming?

Last week, the lovely Cindy from Rocstar contacted me to order some collars and leads for her stall at the Boutique Markets at Portside Wharf. I've finished the order and had to share the fact that it's my first order to go out with the new labels. Yay! If you're in Brisbane, pop into the Boutique Markets and check out the Rocstar Stall, Cindy makes a lot of very cool dog clothing. You will also find Love Stamp, Miss Haidee and Little Diva there, amoung the many other incredible stalls.




Just to add to the hodge podge - I made some bunting for Eddie's room this morning. It's my first attempt, next on the list is some Christmas bunting.

And, because my sewing table is already way too cluttered, I thought I'd show you where I do my cutting out - I think I could have a worse office.

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Party Time!

I am very excited to announce my first ever BabyBird Party!

Where: Geebung, Brisbane (near Chermside).
When: 29th November
Time: 9.30am

What is it?!
Well, I will be holding something very similar to a mini-market on my back deck. There will be morning tea and an opportunity to browse through the BabyBird range at your leisure. There will be some specials and new items just for party goers - and no pressure. If you wish to bring your children along - please do so, my house is kid friendly.

RSVP: Please email me (katiebird1@optusnet.com.au) before the 27th of November to let me know you will be attending, and I'll send you my address and directions. Please feel free to pass this invitation onto any friends or family that you think may be interested.

Thanks so much for all your support, I look forward to meeting you.

A Few Little Things

Woah, busy times here right now in the lead up to Christmas. So I have a few little things to share with you. Firstly, there is a BabyBird Clothing Party in the making. It will be held within the next couple of weeks and I will have some specials and new bits just for my party goers. So watch this space Brisbanites...

Now, due to the unexpected success of the Christmas Shorts at Mathilda's, I have unfortunately sold out and was unable to get more fabric. So sad, because it was so gorgeous. But, I have a little bit left that I have used for some singlets and just added to my madeit store.

But wait, there's more! I found some more gorgeous Christmas fabric on the weekend, so all is not lost! It's a really lovely aqua blue and features little Santas, so is perfect for boys and girls. So I've added those new sets to my madeit store, along with a couple of other new singlets. And, as a special little Christmas Bonus, I'm offering free postage on the 'Ho Ho Ho' Shorts and Singlet sets until Christmas.

Peace out.

It's the little things...

My new tags arrived today. I'm so excited and can't wait to sew them onto my clothes and collars. Almost like a signature on a painting.

If anyone is interested, I ordered them through Worldwide Label. They were fantastic, communcative, lovely sellers and I would recommend them to anyone in a heartbeat.

Thanks Narelle!

I've been awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award! Hooray!

Narelle was the lovely person that awarded me. She makes gorgeous jewellery and you can check out her blog here.

So, there are 7 rules to follow to keep this growing:

1) Copy the award picture and post on your blog

2) Thank the person who gave it to you and link to their blog.

3) Write 7 things about yourself we don't know:

1. I am without: one appendix and one set of tonsils.

2. I have a Bachelor of Applied Science (animal studies).

3. I went to South Africa for two weeks as part of my uni degree.

4. I've worked as a vet nurse in the past.

5. I'm allergic to cats.

6. Snakes scare the hell out of me.

7. My taste in music leans to what could be called 'angry young man music'.

4) Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to.

5) Link to those 7 other bloggers .

Lulufroufrou
City of Dionne
Brusselsprouts
Sweet William
Bianca Jae Makes Stuff
Lillipilli Lane
Here We Go Loopy Lou

6) Notify your 7 bloggers.

Phew, all done. It seems a lot of my favourite bloggers have already been nominated. Well done guys!

Must Love Dogs...

I do. I love dogs, little, big, hairy, slobbery... So to continue with the photography theme, you must check out Ruthless Industries' blog. Ruth takes fantastic photos of her own and other peoples dogs, I could sift through them for hours, going back to look at my favourites over and over again. So inspired by Ruth's '10 Facts About' series, I thought I would give you the 10 Facts about Harry and Lola...

10 Facts About Harry

1. Harry was an accident.
Harry is the result of an amorous encounter between a Pug and a German Shepherd. His father got to his mother via human error. To answer your next question - his mother was the pug, she birthed 8 puppies naturally and his father was 6 months old at the time of conception.

2. Harry has serious dental problems.
Harry's jaw is overshot, which means his bottom jaw sticks out a good 2cms further than his top jaw. No doubt his mixed heritage can be thanked for that. Walking him can be interesting, as often people think he is baring his teeth at them.

3. Harry should be bald.
He loses so much coat that I swear he shouldn't have any left. His double coat is short, but very thick and drops out all year round. The undercoat is so fine that it drifts around the place like a mist, occassionally ending up in eyes or mouths.

4. Harry has an addiction.
To balls mostly, but any toy will do. In fact, the dead skin of a tennis ball will do if there is nothing else around. He will constantly drop the ball at your feet, hoping, waiting, praying that you will throw it for him. And if you do, then you will be stuck with him forever and ever and ever...

5. Harry has serious dental problems (part 2).
Not only is he terribly undershot, he has also worn down his canines to the same level as his incisors, due to his ball addiction. This doesn't seem to inhibit his bone consumption.

6. Harry is a dream to train.
He has the drive, he has the smarts and can learn tricks so quickly, if only I had the time and energy to do some sort of sport with him. One day...

7. Harry has no off-switch.
The dog is seven years old and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. He will come back from a 5km run, get a drink and then go grab a ball for you to throw. He is a nutter.

8. Harry is 'the voice'.
He now wears a zappy bark collar when we aren't home, because he gets over protective of the house and yard. He is a completely different dog when we are at home.

9. Harry is a nigel.
He has no friends (except Lola). He is a doggy snob and while out, would much prefer to chase a toy, than play nice with others.

10. Harry takes after my husband.
Just like my husband, he leans towards the skinny side and can be difficult to keep weight on, even though he is a bottomless pit with food. We put this down to his boundless energy and being constantly on the go.

10 Facts about Lola

1. Lola is a man's lady.
Lola attracts men, I have no idea what it is about her, but far more men will come over for a pat than women.

2. Lola needs a hanky.
She will almost always sneeze on new people when they pick her up. It never fails to disgust.

3. Lola keeps me up at night.
Both dogs sleep crated together in the loungeroom. If our bedroom door is open, she keeps me awake with her snoring - all the way down the other end of the house. There is no way she could sleep in our room.

4. Lola is naughty.
She won't let me clip her nails, she is a shocker. She will grunt, snort, cry, wiggle, scratch, hyperventilate and drop out all her coat. She's nuts.

5. Lola has a dodgy hip.
When she was six months old, she was diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, which is essentially a dying femoral head (top of the femur where it sits into the hip socket). She had surgery to remove the femoral head and now she skips and limps a bit when she has been running around. She is on Ester C, fish oil, glucosamine and cartrophen.

6. Lola is a nigel too.
Harry is her bestest and only bud. She annoys they crap out of him by chasing him and chewing on his ankles when he chases the ball. But they have curled up together every night since she was a puppy. She has no time for other dogs, and if they annoy her, they will feel the wrath of her bark. Scary stuff.

7. Lola is a lazy cow.
Some days I literally have to drag her out of the crate and make her go outside to pee. She would sleep the day away otherwise.

8. Lola swims like a brick.
She loves a swim, so bolts into the water. Slowly, her back end drops down, she becomes vertical, egg beaters away for a while and then that head goes under and it's all over. I have to go in and rescue her. Recently, we bought her a life jacket and although she feels embarrassed by it for 7 seconds, she soon gets over it and stays afloat in the water. I have a much nicer time at the beach now.

9. Lola thrives on a raw diet.

She gets right into salmon heads, lamb flaps and chicken frames. Even with a mouth like a wobbygong shark, she quite expertly handles meat on bone.

10. Lola takes after her mother.
We really have to watch her food intake. Just like me, she has the ability to put on 3kgs from walking past a bakery. Luckily I'm harder on her diet than my own and she is quite a lean little monster.

Lounge Wear?

I am a member of a rather large forum, and every month a photography challenge is held (it's not a photography forum). The challenges are for anyone who has a camera, and while most have lovely digital SLRs that I can only dream about, I just have a little point and shoot number. So although I often feel like a very little fish swimming next to the big guns, I enjoy the challenges because they have helped improve my photos, by making me think about what I'm doing before I do it.

This months challenge is back to basics and concerns portraits. One of the most important ingredients in a good photo is light, and this afternoon I noticed that one half of the couch is quite light, while the other half is quite dark. So I propped up my most willing model on the couch for a few photos. Now, this one is a bit dark, but I have been playing with the very limited manual controls on my camera, just to get out of the comfort zone of 'auto'. I also refuse to use the flash (we have a very hate-hate relationship). Here is my little lounger (son of Budda, apparently).

I hope you all enjoy your weekends!

Let the shopping commence!

I started my Christmas shopping at madeit yesterday. I am oh-so excited about all the goodies that will be delievered by the postie very soon. However, just in case any of my loved ones decide to have a sneaky peak at my blog, I decided that I will provide you with a list of gift ideas instead. Here we go:


For that new little one in your life, how about an organic cotton softie toy rattle monster from chunkychooky. By the way, chunkychooky also has an awesome blog, which you should check out.

Prints are for anyone really, and Sweet William has an outstanding range.





For the car nut - an upcycled seatbelt wallet from interrobang.





For the girly girl - a rose blossom hair pin by Percy Handmade.






And lets not forget that every Christmas, a girl deserves to give herself a nice little pressie. My choice is The Josephine Dress by Ampersander.






Happy shopping!

New Bits and Pieces...

Yesterday I added a pile of new things to Madeit. They made their debut at Mathilda's and went quite well, so I'm hoping it continues in the lead up to Christmas.

Firstly, I have Newborn Gift Packs, which include baby shoes, a matching singlet and a plain white muslin wrap. A lovely gift idea for a new baby.

I also added a pile of new BabyBird: Era singlets for little girls. These are very limited edition, not only because I used vintage doilies and lace to create them, but because I have decided to move away from my girls range and concentrate entirely on my boys/unisex range. This is just due to the fact that the market is flooded with girls clothing and there is already so many beautiful girls things to buy. It's better if I just concentrate on what I know best and living with three boys makes sure that I do!

So this weekend I am going on a fabric buying spree to replenish my stocks, which means that I will hopefully have the entire boys range back, aswell as some new goodies.

Can we talk?

..About skincare products?

Moo Goo is my new favourite thing. I've been using their shampoo and conditioner for a while now, with fantastic results. But I recently bought their oil cleanser and the full cream udder cream. Now, I know all this sounds a bit bizarre... ok, really bizarre, but please keep reading.

Moo Goo was developed by dairy farmers to use on the udders of their cows, to keep them in good nick for milking. Then the cream was adapted for a family member with a skin problem, and the rest is history. Moo Goo products contain no Mineral Oil, no Sodium Laureth Sulphate and no Propylene Glycol. All the ingredients are naturally derived and actually listed on the side of the bottle.

I am so in love with the oil cleanser - I want to marry it. Now, I know it seems strange - cleaning your face with oil, but it has changed my skin. It is so soft and brighter somehow - I can't really explain it.

I've never ordered mine online, as I get it from my local healthfood shop. But I've only heard good things from those who order online directly from Moo Goo and they even slip samples into your order every now and then. Who doesn't love that?

So, if you are in the market for some new products, I can really recommend the Moo Goo range. Fantastic stuff.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...

Wow - what a cracker of a day. Mathilda's Market was wonderful, so many stallholders showing off their gorgeous wares. The day started early for me (5.42am to be exact). That's when Ollie woke up and even though Brain got up to him, I couldn't get back to sleep, so I headed out to my office to do a teeny, weeny bit more sewing. I couldn't help myself.

Then by 7.15am, my very good friend and market assistant, Noni, was here and we zoomed off towards City Hall. As soon as we walked in, we were lulled by the atmosphere. City Hall has such a lovely vibe about it. After a bit of unpacking, arranging, coffee and re-arranging, we were ready to roll. I felt a bit like a rockstar when I caught a glimpse of the crowd of marketeers wating to get inside. Eeeep - the pressure! I didn't need to worry though, everyone was fantastic, bought up big and complimented me on the designs. Almost everyone that bought something got excited by the fact that I have a heavy bias towards creating boys clothing - mums of boys - I hear you! The lack of funky and stylish boys clothes is what inspired me to begin BabyBird in the first place.

Towards the end of the market I got enough time to pop over and visit Jo from Lovestamp and Keryn from Lillipilli Lane. Hi ladies! I am also very pleased to announce that my spending was completely under control (can't say the same for Noni though! She did buy some stunning things for her beautiful girls). These lovely birdies from Wall Allure found a new home in our kitchen:

Wow - what a day. Bring on the next Mathilda's!