Little Monster is Growing Up

So today I spent about 5 hours moving all the baby's stuff from his small end room into the bigger spare room. And I left his cot in the old room.

Tonight he's fast asleep, all tucked in [after a few little shouts of course] in a big bed. Not a toddler bed, a proper bed. I figured he was reay for it when we stayed in Tasmania for a week and he slept in a single bed the entire time.

He also has a tv in his room, and our old Xbox. Yeh VINTAGE. So he can watch his Yo Gabba Gabba dvds in peace [ie while Tim wants to play his Xbox 360, or while I want to play Wii Fit!]. That kid is obsessed, even if he's not watching it I'm not allowed to turn it off! No matter, I LOVE Yo Gabba Gabba - and it MIGHT have something to do with the fact that the guy who created it is the lead singer of my favourite band? haha.


I also sorted out a trillion toys, don't ever attempt this job with the actual child with you because they will want to play with EVERYTHING. Several meltdowns on his behalf there. Most of his toys are now packed away and in containers he can't get into - well I don't think he can... yet.

He has a Hotwheels bedspread and a GI Joe movie poster on his wall [soon to be joined by Martian Manhunter {yes I'm aware his head looks like a .... you know what!} and Green Lantern] So his room is VERY boyish. Which is awesome. He loves it. I'm happy and I burned 840 calories doing it! WOO

Now. You know what I'm making now? A BATMAN BIKINI. And a tute to go with it!


In other news, I added a bunch of Photos to my blog's facebook page with links underneath each project to the blog post/tutorial/etc that details it. I think it's a neat little directory and I forget how much I've really done! I'm nowhere near finished, but there's a good chunk up there.

While you're over there LIKE the page, because then you get notified on facebook when a new blog post comes up. HURRAY

Celebrate The Boy!

Celebrate the Boy month starts on the 15th!! So excited! Although I failed getting in on it, hopefully at least one of my projects will grab their attention in the weekly roundup! So excited for this you guys!!

My two favourite craft bloggers are reuniting again to bring us an entiremonth of nothing but BOY crafts. HURRAH

Check out their skills here - Dana and also Rae

Recovered Toddler Couch

I hated the idea of buying a new toddler sofa for the Little Monster for $40, when I was SURE I could build one myself. I'd found this tutorial by ikatbag and so was continuously on the hunt while op-shopping for foam, since foam around these parts is NOT inexpensive. It's actually pretty ridiculous.

Then one day I found this, for $4 reduced from $8 at the local op-shop. Sadly, a week later that shop was one of the many businesses here that went completely underwater, so I guess I'm lucky I snapped this up when I did!

before. gross.

 Check it out though, ew. Stains everywhere and... Winnie the damn Pooh. The character I HATE the most! UGH I CAN'T STAND HIM. He's on par with me as that Elmo character, although Elmo truly creeps me out and Pooh just annoys the frell out of me.

So I cut the cover off, using the pieces as patterns and made a new cover for it! Surprisingly the foam was so clean and pristine underneath!

I used red tartan for the couch, an old Rancid tee I had scored at the thrift store as a patch for the front of it and I even added a blanket to the inside of it so he can snuggle in when he's watching Yo Gabba Gabba [the only thing that is allowed on tv when he is awake, even if he's not watching it]

The back even has an elasticised pocket to put things in. I'm yet to attach the base to it, I still have to go buy some big zips, but it's been holding up okay without a base for a good long month now!

In progress shot of the back pocket!

I will add a tutorial of sorts, and eventually I'll scan the pattern pieces and upload them for you. Let me tell you, if you're doing it the way I did, don't pull all the pieces apart straight away. Do it bit by bit, deconstructing and reconstructing as you go because otherwise you'll have a mass of pieces and have no idea how they go back together!!

I have all the tutorial photos ready, I'm just going to wait for a slow news day to put them up :)

Click below the cut for a happy baby modelling it!

Try This Thursday #8 - Bags!

Guess where I am today? MOVIEWORLD! Yep. That's right, off to see ol' Bats and hopefully Green Lantern and Harley Quinn too. We're going just our little family, which means that we won't get to go on all the rad rides, and if we do it'll be by ourselves while the other one looks after the Little Monster. No biggie, there's plenty to do in the kiddie section and it means we can stalk Batman all day. Have I told you how much I love our VIP passes?

This Thursday's theme is BAGS! Here's the top 9 I liked a LOT.

1. Recycled Grocery Totes

2. Tote!

3. Mini Bowling Bags

4. Monster Messenger Bag

5. Coco Cocoon

6. Feathered Clutch

7. Hipslinger

8. Record Purse

9. Zippered Pouch

Rock + Roll Sew-A-Long #3: Eyeball Skirt

Yeh like we need more skirts right? This month's Rock + Roll Sew-A-Long will be based on Mary Sew's "Have You Seen My Eyeball?" skirt.

I think I'm going to change mine up a bit, maybe make it into a slimmer fitting mini? The eyeball will still definitely be there and so will the blackness, I really need more black skirts in my wardrobe!

Click the link above for the tutorial on how to make this awesome skirt with Eyeball applique!

Don't forget to add your finished skirts to the Flickr Pool, so you can be featured here at the end of the month.

Tutorial: Landon T-Shirt Surgery

This t-shirt surgery is based on one I made for my husband about 7 years ago, when we were newly dating and I sewed terribly ^_^

I named it after Landon Barker, because I dig the collared-shirt layered look under a t-shirt, like in this photo...

Here's a tutorial on how I made this! [and yes, that is salt. Everywhere. Don't even ask.]

Rock + Roll Sew-A-Long #2: Rock n Roll Ruffle Skirt

Tardy? Oh hells yes.

I better put up the bloomers you guys made from last time!

Stacey from Secret Life made these adorable black bloomers with spotty bows and buttons!

I taught my friend Elle how to sew, this was her second project. Cute hey! She used similar fabric to mine, but black polka dots. She used white lace on the hem and white and pink ribbon for the bows. She's now 20wks pregnant, I like to blame these adorable bloomers! ^_^

Now onto the Rock n Roll Ruffle Skirt! Using Thera's tutorial, we whipped up quite a few of these!

1990-1999

[edited to add a massive chunk I somehow missed]

This post is part of my Sew Through The Decades series, inspired by this post from a A Lemon Squeezy Home last year. Read about my version here. Remember that I'm just collecting inspiration for myself and for you, focusing mainly on mens and boys fashion. The challenge doesn't start until the 16th.

Ah the 90s! I never got into the whole music of the 90s, my sister I only ever listend to the Beatles, and Elvis, and Creedence Clearwater Revival - all the music our parents loved. It wasn't until I moved out of home and in with my best friend Annie that the indie 90s music came to me. And it was awesome! I ain't talking indie as in now-a-days indie where you are so hip it hurts and nobody is as cool as you because they've never even heard the bands you like. I mean real indie! Grunge! I think of the 90s and I think of Empire Records, but some of you may be more Fresh Prince of Bel Air inclined, whatever the inspiration, the 90s is what I lived through man. It was so ugly, but so damn cool!

It has been so hard to find good pictures of the 90s, mainly because it's so fashionable now, all I can find are runway shots. No thanks!

The 1990s were the epitome of anti-fashion, and I'm not just saying that because everything looked terrible and nothing went together. Remember that most of the parents of this generation were the hippies of the 70s!

New Hair

Hahah I have new hair AGAIN.

There were three people standing in my bathroom behind me telling me no no no and all I could think of was yes yes yes. I miss having a shaved bit in my hair, I'd had one for about 6 years and it'd been the longest time since I had my mini mahawk.

Yep  shaved the side, added hotpink under the fringe and some pink and purple on the opposite side


Here's some more photos from my week/end...

Craftster best of 2010

So damn stoked! I didn't even know the Craftster Best of 2010 existed until I checked on there the other day for replies to a couch I'd recovered [more on that when I find the pics I took!] I was browsing through the best of when all of a sudden BAM right in the middle of the Reconstructed projects was my tutorial for bras!

So that made me feel all warm and fuzzy!

I'm a Craftster Best of 2010 Winner!

Head over there now and check out all the otehr bests of! Quite a few are my friends so HURRAY FOR YOU GUYS!