pretend sewing

another

very sweet 'toy' sewing machine

pintrested an age ago

but love it & after the post on friday about fp

had to follow up with this

there is even a tutorial
about how to make it
it does require a few special pieces
cute huh!
so yep ...
i have a heap of smocks to make
should have had them made 3 weeks ago ...
they are all cut out
just haven't made a start with the sewing bit!
mmm .... today is the day!
that way i might be able to
actually blog about something
i've um ..... yeah ... made!

arm's length

 so this creative problem solving little guy of ours

likes to 'play' with most things in a different way

long cardboard tubes have been 

boom gates

washing lines

twirling batons

tunnels & ski ropes 

this last week or so

what started out being a quiet painting session

turned into some

arm's length body art

when i wasn't watching!

wonderful creativity

& a bit of an 'arrhhhhh' .... 

"just don't touch anything ...."

 he was so proud of all his little

brush marks

& honestly i loved it!

not sure this should become a habit

& he just wouldn't stand still to get a

great pic ...

play time

love all the creative play

my boy gets into

tapping into it

giving it all a good old press

lego delivered by the dump truck to the loading bay

(that's my new-to-me elna press of which i need to make a new cover for & give a good old clean!)

& frying up an egg-y storm

gently cracking the eggs open

separating yolk from white ... because not everyone enjoys the "yellow"

complete with a little fry pan wiggle just like jamie would!
(he must have seen someone do all that!? me? really? do i do all that?)

some more lovely creative inventive child's play

here & here

animal parade ...

i've hung onto this set of mix-up animals

for a long time ....

the hippo - the giraffe - the crocodile - the zebra

the kangaroo - the rhino - the camel

they connect together .... 2D to 3D
Oscar picked up the hang of putting these together really quickly

i think i showed him how to connect the
head onto the zebra body & he was off & busy

.... the fun thing will be making them all into crazy creatures

another time .... a hiparaffe or a kangmel or a crocorous??

 they are quite large as you can see in these photos

.... this all evolved into a great time

taking each animal outside to have its 'portrait' taken

photos by me

styling by the 4 year old

thus was part 2 of day 3 Blogtoberfest ... thanks for stopping by!
giveaway coming soon ...

hatching play ...

 truly splendid morning & picnic lunch 

at a lovely park which is walking distance from home

up the secret stairs

to the place where the tram runs wild

stopping at places like the zoo, our house & "the shops"

ding ding ding

there are great places for hide & seek 

loved the warmth of sunshine & a play & a catch up

Oscar here with little Miss G 

hoping these eggs might hatch sometime soon

.... apparently they are baby rosella chicks!

thanks for a fun morning in the sun

'twas just what i needed ....

... so part 1 of day 3 of Blogtoberfest 

hope you've all had a wonderful day!?

transport infrastructure

building the great transport infrastructure

road making essentially

just what you have got to have when your 

Daddy works for a transport company

front & back strips

one a road colour & the other heavy traffic

sewn together length-ways

zebra crossing b&w striped fabric

binding on the ends

then some quick hand stitching 

in a chunky pearle thread to mark the divided lanes

ready for play time

assemble in what ever format you wish

easy to roll up to take somewhere

or do what Oscar does with them & spend time in the kitchen 

threading them through the drawer handles!!?

here's some more infrastructure at the ready

when you have roads you need city blocks hey!

these are mini play mats

to be played with however which ever way the heart desires

scraps in some kind of patchwork wonder of log cabin

cute backing fabrics

then add binding ...

pretend you have a birds eye view 

now can you see it?

or use them to play with the animals 

or whatever suits ... etc

i've also made a couple of larger play mats

with the aim to encourage play within that space to 

create a focus & therefore room to imagine

its very Montessori really... with a burst of colour added

they're each made using 2 fat quarters ...

front & back

basically they are a whole cloth mini quilt

easy ... just make great fabric choices!

or better yet involved your child in these choices 

so there is a sense of ownership!

yarn-ee day-z

 my awesome new crafty kinder friend Cas

made me this!!

(Oscar was my photo image stylist ...

... hence the matching arrangement)

I love love this colour combination

exactly the colours i'm into wearing in spring & summer

i love it & thank-you thank-you Cas!!!

so it seams that Cas & i have swapped genre this week

 that aussie crafty super store

has a spend this save this offer on ...

... so i went yesterday with a shopping list!!

i pretty much stuck to the list

new yarn colours were listed ... 

to make more of these cuties

 & i've made some of these too

for a new little noteworthy project

i'm really into the texture of crochet & 

the feel of yarn through my fingers at the moment!

some solo tv viewing last night

& this came to be

think i'll add some cute flowers & wear at my markets

to remind people that crochet is cool

very inspired to make a whole blanket like this

 more yarn-ee stuff ...

on wed at playgroup at our church

Oscar & I had the mighty long snakes out

he loved racing up & down the hallway space

trailing them behind him

they've been loving knitted by someone handy in the past & loved by many

i adore to watch this kind of play

i've actually knitted a giant anaconda

which my mum has been in the process of completing!

good on you mum ... stay tuned for that one!!

"Its SNOWING Mummy!"

This I just had to share ... too funny!

Yesterday we had a 'quiet' day at home ...
... I spent some time getting my studio sorted ...
..at one point went to check on the little boy ...
hmmm I smelt talc powder!!!
"Its snowing Mummy!

... was the greeting!
We had recently seen a 'Chuggington' episode
where there was a snow storm
... & he does loves the 'Ice Age' movies ...
so this activity does makes sense ...
Oscar is a tactile learner!
There is still talc in places that I can't seem to get to, to clean!
& the floor is still a little 'slippery'
... at least it smells nice hey!
Creative child I have - Glass half full!!!

Little Family Holiday....

... what a wonderful time we had ... just us ...

no technology to soak up our lives .... great food, warm days, simple play with nothing much more than a ball,swimming & more swimming until our fingers & toes were all wrinkly!Met a fun, friendly family from Sweden! Our little boys only 2 weeks apart in age, no common language but watching them interact was
a delight!
... Hello Mia .... we had a great time with you!

Thrifty find .....

Couldn't go past this little guy ...
... I heart wooden toys ....

Time for Tea!

My SIL who lives in PA, USA
took this shot of my niece's Little People tea party ...
...cute huh!
Notice that the T-Rex is about to arrive & disturb the peace!

Spontaneously ....

..... last Sunday,
the little one & I decided to jump on a plane,
& went way north ....
.... with 'Daddy'
.... we played while he conferenced!
So
If you missed me that might explain things!
... Back to my "i.spy" fabric swap ...
hmmm still waiting on x2 parcels ...
if they are not here tomorrow ... oh dear!
I will be sending out the swaps anyway ...

Here's a great idea on how to use your 'i.spy' fabrics ....

What's in the Scrap Box?

Hey so what did you say?
Toys?? . . . ah nah . . .
Mummy's little fabric pieces
are so much more fun!
&
she actually let me
play with these ones!
In the box . . . out . . . back in . . . out!

Amanda Soule

I blog I love to checkup on time to time . . ."Soul Mama" aka - Amanda
I thought you too might like to look?She's written these fab books which one day I will have my own little paws on!
I like her style, her philosophies & her get up & go!

OSCAR W

Playing with/in the Toy Box/Basket!
I got in there myself you know!
Life is so fun hey!

For those Tups fans . . . look carefully!

Simpler Life

Family life with one car means that we have stay at home days.
Fine by me, as it makes life simple
Simple is good!



So we have play time . . .
for Oscar
& for Mummy!