Jikana Damaru: April 2011

Our Princess Party

Here are a few shots from our Princess Party

~ Princess Ava came dressed as a beautiful princess bride ~

~ We all wore tiaras ~

~ We even had "Kate's" ring ~

~ I think she was so beautiuful - Simple and beautiful ~

~ The most HILARIOUS photo of the night ~

x S.K.K x

Easter Fabric Birds - free pattern

Easter fabric birds for my Easter tree

A couple of years ago I made felt birds for my Easter tree. This year I wanted to make some but in a style to match the birds on my bird trail fabric so I came up with my own pattern for the bird using a cookie cutter as the starting point, and added wings!
I picked up the cute pastel polka dot brushed cotton fabric from a fabulous quilting shop near Hampton Court called Creative Quilting.

Unfortunately I have only been able to finish making a couple, oh well there's always next year !?!

Easter fabric birds
What you will need:
Pattern printed out
Pencil
Pink polka dot brushed cotton
Blue polka dot brushed cotton
Pink thread
Blue thread
Pink beads
Blue beads
Green wooden beads
White sequins
Pale green embroidery thread
Pink embroidery thread
Blue embroidery thread
2mm double face satin ribbon

Instructions

Print out pattern, cut around edge of bird and wings. Place pattern pieces on fabric and draw around two of the birds, four of the wings
Cut around pattern pieces leaving 5mm gap round pencil line, pin right sides of fabric together
Hand stitch around solid pencil line, leaving the dotted line clear
Turn bird and wings inside out.

Push stuffing though hole, use chop stick to get stuffing right into the beak and tail
Turn raw edges in on bottom of bird and hand stitch close, pull needle and thread up though centre of bird at top, coming through the centre of the seam. Thread 20 small wooden beads down needle so they sit at top of bird. Tie end of threads round ribbon and knot to secure. Tie knot in end of ribbon end and knot to secure
Embroider three lines of stitch down tail
Push stuffing through hole in end of wings, turn raw edges in and hand stitch close. Hand stitch underside of wing to body on one side, repeat with other side, angling the wing differently. Stitch sequin with small pink bead through centre for the eyes

Have a sweet day!

Birthday Afternoon Tea

Today I wanted to share with you some photo's of the afternoon tea I put together for my own birthday last week - of course I had to use my milk cake stands and a few other lovely products from the shop.

A lovely afternoon in the backyard with the gorgeous ruffle cake that Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes made for me, followed by macaroons, meringues and cookie pops.

You can get the instructions for the meringues here and the cookie pops here.

Don't forget I will be stocking all these gorgeous cake stands and bowls in my online store which I will be launching any day now - further information can be found here.

Images: Sweet Style

Linking up with Sarah here

and Darcy here

Stories for Boys...

Now that I have a baby boy, I see it as my own personal challenge to find threads that are (a) comfortable, (b) stylish and (c) affordable. Oh, and for Elliott in particular, I add (d) durable! It's not always easy. Those of you with boys will know!

That's why I'm designing some special little pieces especially for our special little men-in-the-making... first off, some little 'lounge suits' for babies 6-12 months. At six months, when boys begin crawling, you need a pair of pants so little knees don't get knocked about! These pants are super comfy, super cute and each features a special little 'extra' detailing to make them unique. I've also made them extra long so they can be rolled up to start with and let down as your baby starts growing longer 'pins'! Of course, a pair of pants is hardly an 'outfit', so I've also designed a matching onesie that can be worn alone or with the pants... bottom snappers ensuring the top stays inside the pants while your baby is getting about!

Each 'set' comprises of a pair of pants and onesie - onesie length is short sleeves and you can pick the size to fit YOUR baby. Just $27 per set!

1. 'Cars n Trucks'
A gorgeously vibrant orange print with little cars, fire engines and street signs! The pants feature a lime green zigzag edging along the bottom, and the top has three little appliques to match the fabric of the pants. I made this print for Elliott, and he wears his everywhere!

2. 'Scottish Dawg'
Who can resist this sweet tartan print, with little faux pocket with button on the back of these pants, and 'scottish dog' applique on the onesie with blue ribbon 'collar'?

3. 'Ocean Creatures'

This little lounge set features an adorable 'creatures of the ocean' print with feux pocket and creature 'keycharm' stitched onto rick rack on the back of the pants. The onesie features a little whale applique with three buttons as 'bubbles'.

Hope you like! I have some very sweet little 'cheeky monkey' onesies on their way to my shop too --visit my little shop to take a look!

Have a great weekend.... x

Happy Birthday to ... Me ...

Hip Hooray - it is my birthday!

What a lovely few days - a Royal Wedding followed by my birthday!

What better way to celebrate than with my very own ruffle cake

from Jacki at Blissfully Sweet Cakes

Hope you all enjoyed watching William and Kate on their magical day.

I thought everything looked spectacular - I was totally in awe.

Stunning dresses by both the bride and bridesmaids and what a beautiful couple they make.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - hopefully it is filled with a few ruffles!.

I am joining in with Lou from Sunny and Scout for Point and Shoot - come and see what everyone else has been up to!

Images: Sweet Style

A Royal Wedding

Wedding style guide

Bird

Today we celebrate the wedding of Kate and Wills. I thought she looked beautiful in her Sarah Burton designed dress with the delicate lace sleeves and he a true prince! Now it is time for tea parties and bunting!

Some of the traditional cakes that will be eaten at tea parties up and down the country today are cherry bakewell tarts, Victoria sponge, fruit scones with strawberry jam and lashings of clotted cream and Viennese fingers.

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Have a sweet day!

This week I'm grateful for... memories

How was your Easter? Did you get a chance to put your feet up and eat way too much chocolate?

I did!

We enjoyed ourselves silly down at Gran and Pops' house in Fibrotown. We always do. Gran and Pops still live in the house I grew up in and it's always going to be 'home' to me. I love that I can tuck the Tsunamis up for the night in the very room that I used to be tucked up in. I love that they can go wild with their adored cousins in the very backyard where I went wild with mine. I love that there is a memory around every corner (mostly because my dad is one of those dads who refuse to throw anything away, but more on that some other time!).

So, this week I'm grateful for...

118. Memories - and the time to indulge in them. My memory isn't the best, but I love those flashes of certainty you get from time to time when you remember something that you thought you'd forgotten.

119. Chocolate - what would Easter be without it? But I'm especially grateful that these days chocolate is a genuine 'sometimes' treat for me rather than a 'most day's indulgence. And really, who cares if 'sometimes' I eat, like, car loads of the stuff... That's still 'sometimes', right?

120. Support - I'm still a bit choked up over the support my blog received on her (she's definitely a girl) first birthday. Sob. What an honour it is to play a little part in so many wonderful women's and Glen's blogging life. Thank you.

So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) and pretty-please add a link back to me. Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine.

Happy weekend to you!

[Image by Soup and Sunday]

A new baby!

We have some very exciting news to share!!! We are getting a brand new baby!!!

Our beautiful baby was hatched on EASTER Sunday the 24th of April 2011. What an amazing day to be born. Our baby is definitely the example of new life! We will be getting our baby when he/she is 3 weeks old so it will look a little like the above. Very young and very vulnerable needing a mumma to feed, look after and love it. I will be hand rearing our baby which is a very big task but something that Rob and I have been researching and preparing for months and months.Our baby will just be opening his/her eyes so as far as the baby is concerned I will be its mother and we will form a special bond.

Our new baby is an Eclectus Parrot. Over the next couple of weeks we have to come up with a boy and a girl name for our birdy! I like the name "April" for a girl and "Jasper" for a boy. We will not know the sex until their feathers come through. The advantage of the Eclectus is that you can tell the sex by the colours of their feathers. The males are a beautiful green with blue and red under their wings and the female is a gorgeous red and purple.It's exciting waiting to see what sex we will get! At first I really wanted a female but after lots of research and 'you tubing' I don't mind what we get! They are both just as a amazing as each other and I cant wait to form a special bond with my new baby!

A male at 6 weeks of age!

A male and female Eclectus!

I can't wait to actually get our new bird and bring it home and share with you my own photos! Exciting times ahead!!

x S.K.K x

A Real Princess

As you all know I'm a sucker for things magical and beautiful. What could be more magical and beautiful than the Royal Wedding! Mixed feelings all around over this wedding...you either love it or hate it! I'm a lover! I have to confess! I didn't really get 'into' the wedding fever until my baby cousin (age 4) Ava said to her mum....'mummy is she a REAL princess?? to which her mum replied to her yes. Ava got so excited "oh my gosh mummy a real princess is getting married!!!! I had never thought of it like that! A real princess is getting married! So in honor of this 'real princess' getting married tonight we are having a...

Princess Party

My mum and 2 cousins are coming over and of course Miss Ava and we are watching the Royal Wedding together! Ava is dressing up as a bride and we are wearing tiaras! We are having mini quiches and cupcakes and lots party food! What a brilliant excuse for a special little party! The bottom line is 2 people are exchanging vows and committing to a life together. To experience every moment, every emotion, every journey together. As a 'newly' wed myself the memories are still very fresh and real in my mind from my own wedding so I have the excitement and butterflies in my stomach. Imagine how they would be feeling! It is oh so very exciting!

~ Happy Wedding Day to Will and Kate - Prince and Princess of Whales ~

x S.K.K x

baby bump

this book was my Mum's when she was pregnant with me. it's an interesting read!

my house is extremely quiet at the moment as my girls are at school & kinder so after madly cleaning & putting on a load of washing I am enjoying having a look through the latest images on my camera card. I took a friends baby bump piccies last weekend & will show you more when they have seen them. I wanted to give them a gift that would hold special memories & time together before their little girl is born is so precious.

I hope you all enjoy your weekends. I am going to snuggle on the couch tonight with my girls & hubby if he hangs around(he was mentioning a trip to Bunnings?!) to of course watch the royal wedding.....can't wait!

It's a....!!!!!!

BEAUTIFUL

SWEET

LITTLE

BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!

addison mae <3

Fondant Bunny & Butterflies

Fondant Bunnies and Butterflies
What you will need:
White ready to roll regal ice icing (also called roll-out icing, rolled fondant or pastillage),
Sifted icing sugar (also called powdered sugar or confectioners' sugar),
Natural food colouring in the colours you want (I chose pink and blue)
Rolling pin
Plate or tray
Easter cookie cutters

Instructions

Sieve icing sugar onto your work area, rolling pin and plate
Knead the icing to soften, split into three parts (then gradually add food colouring to two parts until you get the desired colour for the butterflies)
Thoroughly knead until colour is even, wrap cling film around the pink icing and around the blue icing, until ready to use
Roll the white icing out to about 4mm thick

Using a cutter, cut out the bunny shape
Gently push out bunny onto plate, leave to dry
Roll the blue icing out to about 4mm thick, using a cutter, cut out butterflies
Gently push out butterfly and lay on side of plate so butterfly does not dry flat, leave to dry, repeat with pink icing

These will last for at least six months if stored in an airtight container, but for best results use immediately.

Have a sweet day!