First birthday...Pond Party

It is hard to believe that my youngest darling daugther is one year old already!

A dear friend has just had her 3rd, and when I look at how small he is - I can hardly remember Charlotte that size.

She has certainly had a busy first year, and hit most of her milestones well before her older sisters...yet she is not as fast on her feet as they were on their first birthdays I must admit.

I am usually deep in planning for the weeks leading up to one of my girls having a party...but this time I was short on time & budget - so with that in mind...check out the little pond party we had today!

The Cake!

In my usual fashion - I did get a tad carried away with the detail on this one...but love the way it turned out. I might do a tutorial on making fondant toppers a little later if anyone is interested.

Swan Rice Crispies...
There will be either toppers or a pdf pattern for these available soon on my site.

The Pond...

Nice to set a little scene for them to play in at this age - complete with lilypads, ducks and frogs.

It was a great little party - perfect for a first birthday, and this theme can be used for boys and girls. I am going to be making some little frog & swan toys in the coming weeks to follow on from this theme...so watch this space. I promise it wont be as long between posts this time. I have been swamped with orders and with my little kiwis nest site as well as the aptcreationz one, but I am almost on top of the orders again and some very special new designs are on their way. Think vintage chic with lots of lace and ruffles.

To keep up to date on a daily basis - pop over to my facebook page

Knitting up a storm!

Ok, as some of you may know I have recently started to dabble in the art of knitting & crochet. It is something I learnt as a youngster & managed to just about fully erase from the old memory banks over the past quarter of a century.

I just LOVE the look & feel of a well knitted item, and am in ore of those who can whip something up in a matter of moments. I am nowhere near that level...and lets face it - probably never will be. Mine is a labour of love, I find it quite therapeutic and a great deal more social than sewing which leaves me hidden away in my little room for hours on end.

I now have my knitting on my knee while I watch a movie or chat to hubby with a glass of vino - bliss.

I have become quite familiar with the term 'frogging' which is basically the unravelling of rows of work when you discover a flaw.

If you have ever been tempted to try, but are worried about tension as I was (and still am a little), then I highly recommend picking up a loom. They are pretty cheap really & the results are pretty instant.

These round looms can be found at places like spotlight in packs of 4 and only cost about $20NZ.

I am currently working on a baby blanket using my largest circle loom & must say it is turning out very nicely.... touch wood.

Here is a peek at what I have so far...

Tutorials anyone....

Well by now you will have all gathered that I am someone who explores many crafty pursuits...never stopping long enough to catch a breath if truth be told!

I have always enjoyed art and creativity in general, and so it is of no great surprise to me that I fill my days (and nights) dreaming up the next creation. My childhood was filled with art and crafts, I have memories of sitting with my mother as she worked on her latest graphic art project, and knitting scarves for all my toys with my grandma.

I had my first sewing machine when I was about six (similar to the one in the picture) - complete with much needed finger guard to stop me sewing my hands together.

Creative expression is so important to me, and I love sharing it with you all.

I am now wondering if anyone would be interested in learning to make some of my designs by way of tutorials and patterns...and if so....what items are of the most interest?

Would love to hear from you all!

Patterns and tutorials would be available here and through my site some for free and some with a small fee attached.

fashion shoot fun!

I am so lucky that my three little angels help out when I need a model for my latest designs. Here is my middle daughter having fun in the new asymmetric skirt and dotty peasant top combo.

It can be hard to fit in real photo shoots...this one was after breakfast, just before the school run for my eldest.

I love the way the outfit turned out and may even attempt a version of the skirt for myself.

Like a kid in a candy shop....

My work station is attached to our dinning room, which I must admit often becomes engulfed in my design process...lets face it - the dining table is just asking to be used for cutting out and drafting designs! Well at least mine is...and luckily I have a very understanding hubby (though even he rolls his eyes from time to time).

I have my laptop set up on an antique singer sewing table most of the time, though it does get transported to the lounge if there is something good on the telly and I am working late.

I am very fortunate to actually have a room for my sewing in our current house - for the first few years I was in a corner of the open plan lounge/dining - which was not exactly conducive to creativity. Now I feel like a kid in a candy shop with my own room.

I have so many different designs, creations and mediums meaning storage is always an issue. I have lined one wall of my room with shelves which house more fabric than I know what to do with. The other side has a bench desk I made from skirting board panels I found under the house, and shelving units are it's legs.

After finding that the seals on some dry goods jars were not exactly air tight, I have transfered them from kitchen to work room and the 'candy store' comes to life with jars full of buttons, flowers, beads and more...

My machines are far from new, but are in great order. The oldest is 25yrs+ followed closely by a 22yr one and the over locker is by far the newest, being only 6 years old. My dream would be to have a flash new machine with embroider & quilting capabilities...but that is still a long way off for now.

I draw inspiration from everywhere! Sometimes the colour of the sky will trigger me to think of a fabric I have in my stash, or one of my daughters will need a dress, hat, scarf...so off I go designing it. Often I will see something in the adult fashion world and adapt it to suit a child. I am also in love with the Arts & Crafts and Deco eras - shapes, design and fashion.

I draft my own designs & patterns using lunch paper as a template for the future. Hopefully one day I will work out how to create patterns to sell as well (it's on my VERY LOOOOONG to do list).

I have about 6+ design books overflowing with sketches & idea...some have been made and others are waiting in the wings for when I get the chance to bring them to life. With three daughters 5yrs and under, it may be a little while longer yet.

I hope you have enjoyed stepping into my world for a moment.

Amy x x x

Allergy Free Easter...

Easter is a time of year which can be very hard for those of us with little ones who have food allergies. Tracking down something for the Easter egg hunt which is dairy free, wheat free, nut free, egg free, gluten free, etc can be a very difficult exercise.

This year I decided to make some little goodies for my middle daughter for just that reason.

When we think Chocolate we generally think it contains dairy of some sort...and for the most part this is true. However, many dark chocolates (such as those used for cooking) are actually dairy free. Check the ingredients list on the back - you'll find most dark chocolate uses cocoa butter and no dairy.

For my batch of goodies I took some dark cooking chocolate drops and melted them down, then using some heart shaped gluten free marshmallows and ice block sticks I made 'mellow-pops' and dipped one side in the melted chocolate as well as dipping some individual marshmallows too.

Next it was time to dip the plain rice crackers - though you can dip any of their favourite foods really.

Finally I mixed some rice bubbles into what was left of the melted chocolate and using a silicone ice cube mold I made little crunchy heart shaped chocolates. Once they set (which took all of 5 minutes in the fridge), I then wrapped them in tin foil. You can get coloured foils for this, but I just used what I had in the draw.

Now the Easter bunny has some allergy free treats to hide around our place, and my little darling can join her big sister hunting for them.

I hope you will all give making your own chocolates a try, it really is fun.

Have a wonderful Easter everyone x x x

For some non food treats pop over to the site.

New range of mini quilts

Well I think it is safe to say that winter is on it's way!

The days are getting colder and it is time to break out the snuggly bedding once again.

I have just started making a new selection of mini quilts to help keep the little ones warm.

They are the perfect size for baby and tot alike, measuring 75cms x 50cms - big enough to wrap them up snug and warm, yet small enough they wont get tangled.

Use it as a bassinet or basket quilt, cot throw, pram snug or even a treasured blankie to be toted around by your precious little one.

They are available through my little kiwis nest store and my website.

Alice in Wonderland party...

My eldest daughter had been dreaming of her 'wonderland' themed party for a year, and came up with some pretty fantastic ideas as to how it would all work. Between us we managed to transform our home inside & out... here are some of the things we created to add to the magic!

I put my background in art to use, and painted some props for the day... they included a small door for the children to crawl through, a rose bush for one of the party games (see further down for details), and my all time fav... a caterpillar with the face cut out, just like the old seaside carnival ones where you stick your head through the gap.

Then came the sewing...on the list were... a full Alice outfit, queen of hearts costume (for my 3yr old), playing cards, tweedle dee & dumb hats, mad hatter, march hare, white rabbit, door mouse...

Each child was able to join in as we loosely retold the tale of Alice in Wonderland. One of my daughter's best friends was the white rabbit... to start the fun, she ran through the house with rabbit ears and a giant cardboard pocket watch shouting the classic "I'm late, I'm late..." The other kids chased her down the hall till they came to the kitchen where we had placed a small round table with some bottles labeled 'drink me' and the small door prop was there to crawl through to the deck. There were the classic party games with an 'Wonderland' feel...

Pass the parcel, was in place of the Dodo 'Walrus & Carpenter' scene.

Painting the roses red - I cut out white card in the shape or roses and gave each child a red crayon or pencil to colour them in, they then put on an over sized Hatter's hat and played pin the rose on the rosebush.

The Mad Hatter's tea party was the main event! I called around the family & friends to get teapots and tea cups of all shapes and sizes (I even got some off trademe). We had 'decorate your own cupcake' , with bowls of coloured icing, sprinkles, lollies etc... The teapots were filled with a variety of juices, lemonades, water and so on...it was a huge hit!

We put up a gazebo in the back yard and had dining chairs around a full length table.

Then there was the cake!

My daughter came up with the idea of having a pocket watch cake and getting the white rabbit to bring it to the tea party...just like in the story...we filled it with jam and cream!

I hope you have enjoyed this post - it was such a fun party, I loved sharing it with you all!

Party, party, party!

Happy New Year to you all...I am sorry for neglecting you all until now, but it has been a rather hectic time in our household, with Christmas being followed closely by my 2 eldest daughters birthdays. We were selling our house this time last year, so they both missed out on the 'BIG' party...well we certainly made up for that this year!

My 3yr old opted for a 'Mermaids & Sharks' theme. I had lots of fun with the girls making props like jelly fish & crabs to decorate a gazebo tent.

There was a sand pit treasure hunt, pass the parcel, a bubble machine, pin the fin on the shark...and then there was the food!

Ash has a number of food allergies - so my challenge was planning 'ash friendly' party food that everyone will enjoy. I made a shark cake (gluten, egg, dairy, soy & nut free) chocolate mud cake. I will post the recipe soon for those who have kids with allergies ;0)Then there was sushi, jelly, rice crispies, fruit, crackers and so on.

I will be writing a full themed party guide for this and putting it on my site soon, along with my 5yr olds 'Alice in Wonderland' Party - which deserves a post all of it's own!

I am actually going to have a full section on my site dedicated to kids party ideas & some d-i-y ideas to make them magical! Please leave a comment if there is a certain theme you are interested in.

http://aptcreationz.co.nz/site_feedback

x x x Amy