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!