Dirty deeds done..

but not cheap!

When we first bought our house one of the projects we tackled soon after settling in was re-doing the garden beside the driveway.  It was seriously overgrown and had become a dumping ground for all kinds of weird things.  We tossed out a whole lot of scraggly lavender shrubs, old pots, rubbishy bits of gardening odds, covered the garden with weed mat and then bark.

Now, 12 years later we decided to re-do it again.  A few of the trees had got too tall and were tangling in the wires to the house.  Some of the shrubs were dying off or getting past their best.  You can kind of see what I mean in this photo.  It's the garden on the left hand side.

So off came the weed mat, down came the trees and after a lot of physical work we finally had a tidier garden.  We got a bunch of new plants - mainly natives - from Oratia Native Plants, Mitre10 and Kings Plant Barn.

Stuff everywhere! We filled up the garden bag and took a huge trailer load to the dump.  There were some stubborn stumps in there that required pulling out.  DH managed to pull 2 out with the car/tow bar/rope but the others we had to dig out.

Weed mat about to go on.

Finished look. DH was keen to make the garden more attractive to butterflies so there are some plants suitable for red/yellow admirals and coppers in the mix.

 I divided up the astelia and put them around the place.

We hope to attract some skinks with these stones and partially buried pots.

The vegetable garden is planted up too.  I'm hopeful of a big harvest!  That is the best part about this time of year... the anticipation and hope of new life, harvesting a crop of vegetables from your back yard.  We're already enjoying radishes, spinach and rocket.

Railway developments: a guest post from Mr8

[DH has progressed with the basement model railway.  He modified his previous plan for a folding up base on table legs, to one attached to the concrete bricks and ceiling so that the trailer can be stored under the table.  Of course, the project hasn't been totally smooth sailing.  He's had issues with trains coming off the rails, switches not working properly and laying the ballast.  Fortunately, there are plenty of people online who post Youtube videos and to forums about potential solutions and some progress has been made.  The following is Mr8's blog post.]

The track is half-ballasted.  Dad has painted the table.  He has made an upper level.

I am moving the carriages along the track.

This is ballast and rail paint by the switch.



This is ballasted track.

Mercy me! Ah've finished ma dress!

You may remember this post.

Butterick 5606 is not a pattern for the faint hearted.  In fact, if it weren't for the power of the internets, I may have chucked it all in.

I opened up the pattern and read through the instructions.  All looked easy enough on paper.  "Yep, yep, yep", my mental dialogue was going, "Not a problem".




Cutting out was okay - a bit tricksy to get all the skirt in but I'm pretty good at getting the most out of fabric.

I adjusted the back so it wasn't so low - do these people not wear bras or something?  Managed to piece the bodice together and then came across the sleeve gussets.  That is where things became unstuck.

Firstly, the pattern pictures didn't make sense to me.  When I attempted to follow the instructions I couldn't get the seam to lie flat... it was all puckeroo.  I consulted with my MIL who was staying and she also couldn't work it out.

I had several tries but each time the seam ripper had to be applied. Again and again.  My temper was disintegrating in inverse proportion to the amount of cotton landing on the floor.  I put it up in disgust because I had to make dinner, but while I cooked I decided to turn to Mr Google, and found this post.  Well, hallelujah it finally made sense!  After dinner I tried it out and it worked first time.  By this stage my fabric was looking a bit worse for wear, but fortunately I could use it for the lining.

The rest of the pattern went ok.  I managed to muck up the pockets a bit and they gaped open, but I've fixed that I think.  MIL kindly did the handsewing on the lining for me while I was at work which saved me some time.

I didn't make the belt as per the pattern - couldn't be bothered.  

Would I make it again?  Yeee-ees, but I'd do some things a bit differently.



Firstly, I'd probably find a cotton with a bit of stretch in it - the bodice is quite a tight fit for a busty wench like me - and I'm not proficient enough to fit it properly to me.  I don't have a mannequin, and it's impossible to do it on ones self.  I like the fitted look, it's just a tad on the tight side.

I would probably make the version without the bow at the back because I can't tie it myself, which means I have to ask DH to do it.  I fear DH is not the most expert in tieing dress bows.  Perhaps he'll get better the more frequently I wear it?  But yes, the button back strap option is possibly better.

(this is my "Great White Shark with Fruit" look)

I'd also remember to factor in a longer zip having adjusted the back hole to be higher. (I mean duh, I didn't think of it at the time but it means it's slightly harder to get the dress on by stepping in).

I like the pleats at the back of the skirt, it fits well over my butt without adding bulk.  The skirt is almost a circle skirt and swishes beautifully.  In fact I'm considering cutting out a skirt from this pattern and attaching it to a waist band because I like the style and length.

And just to get the vintage look, here's one with a Lightroom retro treatment...

Just need some white gloves and a matching hand bag and you can call me Joan.

Taking the opportunity

Home with a little girl who isn't well today, so I thought I would do a blog post!

Excuse the black frame+husband's watermark on the photos. I uploaded them without noticing he'd turned on some settings. *sigh* I can assure you they are my photos! Can't be bothered redoing them.

There has been a lot of jam making in our house. So far I've made 46 jars. Some of which I'll be sending to Jenny as soon as I find a suitable box! Others I've sold at work.

This is my entry to the Scrap the Boys March Challenge. Go here for more details.

Used the lovely Snorkel paper from Cosmo Cricket.

Also managed to do another layout (don't fall off your chair) using my strawberry paper and Stampin' Up strawberry stamp.

We've finished the painting of our room and the curtains are up. :) Very pleased with the end result thought we did encounter some problems. We discovered the enamel tint was too different from the wall paint although they were allegedly the same colour. So we had a choice buying another 4litre tin of the correct colour and redoing the 3 walls, or painting the outside of the wardrobes in the wall paint (inside with the enamel). I'm afraid we chose the cheaper lazier option. I had bought the paint in 2007 so it would have been no point returning it and asking for a refund etc. This photo is of the feature wall.

Painting the bedroom

Last weekend we moved our bed out into the lounge and got things ready for the next big DIY project. Painting the master bedroom. We've only had the paint for..uh.. 2 years waiting to get started. The folks who had the house before must have liked the colour on the walls because they used the same tone for the whole house, including the ceilings. Fine for trying to sell your house I suppose but personally I like my ceilings to be white and to have a bit of variation for the rest. And of course I am the epitome of taste. (HA! NOT).

Here are the bedroom "before" photos. The pile in the middle is our drawers and my scrapbooking stuff. Those blinds are going. I hate them with a passion. I'm putting up net curtains and drapes. Much softer effect, I can wash them in my machine and they don't rattle at night in the breeze when I'm trying to sleep.


Another view.


DS took a photo of Mummy in her gorgeous painting overalls which used to belong to my grandfather. They were soon dispensed with because it was so hot! The scarf is to prevent dust and paint getting in my hair. I always manage to get paint in my hair.


Of course, Missy Moo must be the same as Mummy so we had to tie one around her head too. DS also took this photo ;) And many more which I deleted! After all, one doesn't need that many photos of screwdrivers, paint pots, ladders and other DIY gear. DS might have a different opinion I guess.

DIY Stamp Cleaner

So, I observe a certain company sells a stamp cleaning kit thingy.

Thinks *But I'd rather spend my money on stamps*

My solution:

Go to Mitre10 and get 2 speed brushes: $16.88 x 2
Go to Payless Plastics and get 1 spritzer bottle: $3.60
Go to Foodtown and get a Huggies Wipes Travel container: $2.70 (I think)
Total: $40.06




OK - so it only saved me something like $.300 but I thought it was a good idea at the time.

I put a very dilute solution of my Next Generation detergent in the spritzer. It works fine.

I actually was looking for some softer speed brushes that have a sticky back but they didn't have any in the store I went to. I was going to stick some plastic to the back so I could wash the pads when needed. The ones I got can be washed just fine, but they have a hard aluminium backing. I would have preferred the softer ones.

Vanity is in

Vanity is in

And here is the evidence! Very pleased with it. Am eyeing up some items in Living & Giving to accessorise my bathroom come pay day.

Pose of the child

When I first went to a yoga class and learned the pose of the child I really didn't think it was that comfortable. Until I got pregnant and realised that hanging my big old belly down through my knees was actually very restful.

Occasionally while pregnant, I would say my prayers in this pose, and ...uh ... occasionally I would fall asleep while doing so. *blush*

So I was rather amused to see Miss L sleeping like this.

Thank you for your uplifting comments about my last post. I did appreciate them! I'm over the initial "Wah they didn't pick me!" reaction and am happy not to have to deal with organising child care and other stuff. I do believe that all things work together for good in every aspect of my life. Let it be.

Hey - check out the bathroom progress. Here is DH busy chipping off the old tiles.

Of course, you can't do anything in this house without an audience. Including George the steam roller you might notice.

Euuuwww Glue!

The glue has been scraped off. DH managed to munt his shoulder doing it so there was much application of wheaty heaty, emugel and moans about massages required. It's now had several coats of polyurathane.

And...... da tee da tee didi daaaaaaah! The vanity went in today! Hoooooray! It's still not entirely finished. We need more pipe. So although the sink taps are connected and work, we can't actually use it until the waste pipe gets connected up. Once it's all done, I'll take another photo to post.

So it's all good.

I'm feeling virtuous because I weeded my garden today and now I can look my FIL in the face when he comes down next week! LOL!

Now from the pervasive aroma that occurs when DD walks by, I perceive that duty calls.

Take off the vanity

and you will see
A dirty, scungy wall
Looking at me!

Yuck! Will get on and try to clean it up after this post. Check out the rag on the floor - the navy/yellow one. That was part of DH's honeymoon jammies until they fell apart. ;-)



















Layout for the SBO Cybercrop Challenge 1 using Trina's sketch. I've prettied it up some since the night it was done, and taken a better photo.



I am a lucky chicky! I won some Fiskar's kid scissors from the Fiskar's blog. Neat!

And the lovely Janine is going to send me a book. Yay! Thank you Janine.

So I am feeling special :-)

Have some plans for more baggy giveaways in the pipeline but I need to actually make them. And the bathroom is preying on my mind right now. But keep your eyes peeled if you are interested in eco-bags.

I've got 2.8kg worth of figs on the stove getting made into jam. I've already made 2 lots of jam and there are more figs on the tree. Might have to let the cheeky wax eyes have at them. ;-) It'll give DH an excuse to get out in his bag hide and take their photo.

Bathroom Progress

Before

After Painting

We're getting there! Need to do the window frame, door frame, window and skirting boards yet.

And then we'll have to do the floor and put in the new vanity.