Hi. I've been completely out of craft mode of late. Picked up some cross stitch yesterday but other than that its spring here now (finally - although the winds and rain over the past couple of days have been horrendous) so I have been busy planting seeds in my potting shed. So far I have lebanese cucumber, bright lights beet, black beauty zucchinis, tomatoes - roma and delicious, and for the first time corn. I've never put corn in trays but apparently it can be done with some success so I thought I'd give it a go. Hopefully my crop matures earlier than it did last year! We have also had an abundance of citrus which includes grapefruit so its been out with the jam pot and here comes the marmalade. Have managed to make enough to supply about 3 households ..... yummy on toast for breakfast!

Birthday apron

Well ... what a month! My daughters 6th birthday came and went in a flash but it was certainly a blast. She decided on a cooking party with 4 friends. They made cupcakes, pizzas and fruit kebabs. It was a huge success and quite easy for me once all the preparation was done because the girls made their own party food!!! I made them all calico aprons to use then take home and kept them completely plain so they could decorate them as they chose. I did have trouble finding a bias binding for the ties that I liked until I entered my first ever patchwork shop. Oh my goodness - I'm hooked. And the lovely lady helped Madeleine pick the fabric she liked best and then showed me how to use a bias tool - my new fabric craft item. Called a bias tape maker - I used a 25mm (1") one but they come in many sizes.

Sadly, I don't have a close-up of all the girls in their aprons - we were having too much fun but I have included a couple of snaps of the bias tape as it was made.

embroidered cushion cover

Hi. Good grief - can't believe its already Sunday and I haven't posted since Tuesday. Obviously I have to be more vigilant with my postings.

This is a cross stitch piece that I took over from my mums collection and the second to last one I believe (finishing the last one now). I have backed it with a beautiful green fabric and once I've stitched the end up it will find a home somewhere near the couch!!!

Strawberry Bag

This is a lined drawstring bag I made last night.

Its for my daughters toiletries when she has sleepovers and it was a hit when she saw it this morning.

Am abit worried though that I've created a monster - her first words after admiring the bag were "what are you making me tonight mum?" .....

Tooth Bear

This is something I found on the martha stewart website and has been a hit also. This tooth bear is made with cream felt and machine sewn then stuffed after sewing on his features with a contrasting coloured thread. My daughter lost her first tooth just after I finished this little guy (literally - she thinks she swallowed it with her lunch). We wrote the tooth fairy a little note explaining the missing tooth so she'd still leave a coin in the bears little pocket.

PS: I must apologise for the quality of these photos - they're off my phone. I will remember to get more camera batteries!!!

removable clip cakes

Decided last night to dress up a couple of my daughters hairclips because I had found my hot glue gun and some felt and beads (yes, I am still sorting through the years of bags put in the spare wardrobe).

What a hit these cupcakes were - they can be removed just by sliding them off the clips and Madeleine can change them depending on what she wants to wear.

She had a brain full of ideas for different designs - suns, stars, fairies, flowers .... better get more glue sticks!!!

Hi. As this is my first blog I thought I'd share alittle about myself first. My name is Karen and I am married with one school age daughter and live in a small town in New Zealand. I work part-time in our own business and like to spend time in the kitchen cooking, baking, preserving etc. I also like to grow alot of vegies and I keep chooks as well.

I learn't as a girl to knit, sew and abit of everything in between but have only recently rediscovered my craftier side and am having fun reading all the AMAZING blogs that are out there. There are some very clever people about.

This blog is my account of things I create, cook, bottle and make. I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to comment on my postings - I love making contact with new people.