Easter Fun

A Special Request

Prior to announcing my break from sewing I had a special request from a lovely customer that I just couldn't refuse. Kylie enquired whether I could make a pair of booties for her daughter's christening to match her gown. I was honoured to be asked to do this! But there was a little twist ... would I be able to make a pair of booties that were reversible that would also match her after-party dress?? Hmmm ... had to put my thinking cap on for this one!

Kylie sent me through a description of the materials and colours as well as pictures of her baby's two dresses to help me. To be honest, it had me totally stumped. I had often thought of making some christening booties and introducing them to my range but hadn't quite gotten there. I always pictured plain booties made of white or off-white satin, most likely in the Mary Jane style with a matching satin flower to finish it off nicely. Quite a simple look but enough to really finish off a gorgeous christening outfit.

I spent quite a bit of time looking for exactly the right fabric, changing my mind numerous times. Kylie wanted a pair of reversible Mary Jane style booties but I just wasn't sure if I could pull it off. I experimented with a couple of ideas, cutting and throwing out some pieces, sewing then unpicking others, slipping and sliding as I was trying to sew lace over satin (!) but somehow it all came together in the end.

And here they are ......

The end product was nowhere near the vision I had started with at the beginning but I was more than happy with the outcome! The booties are now on their way to Kylie for her little bubba's big day. I can't wait to hear what Kylie thinks of them and am hoping she'll send me a photo to share of the complete outfit.

I'm not convinced I'll ever work with satin and lace again ... we'll have to see about that ;)

HAPPY EASTER

Wishing all of our funky friends a safe and happy Easter!

Funky Friday Finds: Easter Gifts for little ones

Although I love the idea of Easter, especially an Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday morning, I don't want my kids hyped up on too much chocolate. Here are some lovely alternatives for gifts for the little ones this Easter.

1. Bunny Rattles: from A Feathered Nest - $8 each

2. Baby's 1st Easter - Lily & George Rabbit Ring Rattle: from Little Lady Bird - $15 each

3. Easter Rabbit - Softie: By Red Stitch Designs on Made It - $34.95 each

4. Hoppy Easter Bunny Boy Onesie: from Cafe Press - $17.50 each

Wednesday Wish List

I want me an iPad2!

Today's Funky Find

I just discovered this gorgeous Knitted Girls Beret from Kawaii Kids! This is a must-have for my new little niece for winter!!

Melbourne Baby & Toddler Show

One of my Funky Monsters and I took a trip together to check out The Baby & Toddler Show in Melbourne held over the weekend. It was a nice and rare outing just for the two of us. I figured there would be lots for me to see and check out as well as things to keep my little man occupied as well. It's so nice to spend the time one-on-one chatting together, sharing a little treat ... and me having to answer a million and one questions (the kid doesn't come up for air)!!

It was a great little afternoon outing. I met some friends, new and old, discovered lots of new products I didn't know existed, watched Shrek & Fiona dance (a little awkwardly!), learnt more about a few things I had heard of but didn't know a lot about and got some great gift ideas for newborns and upcoming birthdays for little ones. Here is a snap shot of our little trip:

Stopped by the EJ Kids stall to chat with my lovely friend Rose and met the lovely Michelle from Wholesale Baby as well!

The idea of Modern Cloth Nappies has been growing on me so I stopped by the Bambooty stall to ask a few questions and discovered they also make night nappies. Thinking of converting to MCN night nappies for the littlest monster. They feel so soft and comfy!

I didn't know they made little Ducati's to match the 'Big Kids' Ducati's!

All my little monster wanted was an umbrella, and we found one! What a bargain too - $3 from SparkleT.

I hadn't attended one of these shows before but I think it is well worth the visit if you are pregnant or already parents of babies and toddlers. There are so many great products that you can try & buy, and it's a great start to researching all of the funky things you need for your little ones.

2011 so far ...

Apologies for the lack of blog posts so far in 2011, we have been busy little monsters! Here is a snapshot of the first 3 months of the year ...

January & February flew by at the speed of light! Never in my life have I had a busier social life than in those 2 months. Parties & weddings galore!

Feb also saw the birth of my new little niece, my brother's first child. Such a little treasure that I looooooove to spoil with girly goodness (mostly handmade too!)

Personally, I have achieved 2 goals that I set for myself to accomplish in 2011. The first and most important goal for was to start leading a healthier lifestyle and to get fit! I had ended the year feeling sluggish, carrying a little extra weight and not taking the time to look after myself properly. A friend of mine had completed a Boot Camp just before Christmas and was contemplating another in the New Year. It took me a little time to convince myself that I should give it a go and I finally built up the courage to say "Sign me up". Little did I know that this is one of the most gruelling Boot Camps you can attend, based on training for our SAS soldiers :-/ After the first gruelling running session, of which I crossed the finish line last (walking!) and only just within the time frame, I wondered what the hell I was doing to myself!! Did I need to put myself through this? Was it going to be worth it? By the 2nd running session I was fully motivated to do my best and get through the next 5 weeks and show what I was really made of. I started a healthy eating plan, completed my 3 sessions per week and ended up discovering I COULD RUN! And I ran and I ran and I ran and I ran ... (you get the picture!) Never have I run so far in my life!! I used to struggle running to the corner and now I'm running 5km 2-3 times a week. This is one of the best feelings I have had in a long time! I feel proud of myself for sticking it out and getting results and it feels great fitting back into my clothes again and not fitting into some that are now a little too big ;) The 2nd goal I set for myself was to grow my nails. I have been a nail biter all my life and tried numerous times to stop chewing away but always fell off the bandwagon fairly soon after. Well, I'm happy to say I am a nail biter no more! Just decided one day that I'd had enough and quit cold turkey, just like that! My dear mum also treated me to a manicure & pedicure as a little reward and I can tell you I enjoyed every minute. So nice to get pampered and I love getting my fingers and toe nails painted :)

During all of this, Funky Monsters took a bit of a back seat to my busy life but still found me creating lots of handmade goodness. Lots of orders for baby booties, hats and a few dresses along the way as well as a number of art smocks. After a request from a friend for a personalised art smock, I found these became quite popular and have made a number of these for my lovely customers. I have also made some lovely handmade gifts too. Here are just a few.

For those of you that follow my Facebook page, you will know that I am currently taking an indefinite break from the creative process. I just need a little time out for myself and my family. Time flies by and I don't want to blink and miss it! But during this time, although I may not be sewing, I still want to share with you the wonderful funky and mostly handmade things I find along the way and plan to do this via my blog.

So stay tuned ... and keep in touch. Who knows when my creative juices will start flowing again!

Deck the halls ...

What an exciting time of year! It's almost time to put the Christmas tree up and decorate the house for the festive season. I love thinking about different ways to decorate, challenging as it is with two toddlers around!

Here are some great finds to deck your halls from Made It!

1. Christmas Tissue Paper Pom Poms - Tiddley Pom

2. Christmas Tree Wall Decal - Vinyl Design

3. Merry Christmas Bunting - The Earthly Creature

4. Christmas Rules - Vintage Bus Roll Poster - anroldesigns

5. Merry Christmas Banner - Banners and Bags

6. Raggy Christmas Wreath - bekahdu

Funky Friday Finds - Putting the Mo in Movember

We are right in the middle of Mo-vember so to help celebrate a good cause, here are some Funky 'Mo' Friday Finds!

Can't grow a Mo for Movember but still want to be involved? Then you need a Mo Sista Brooch/Necklace available from LittleNikita on Made It

Joining Movember in their annual quest to raise awareness of depression and prostate cancer in 2010, is new Mr. Men character, Mr. Mo…! These tee's are now available at Target and 25% of the proceeds from their sales will be donated to Movember.

Felt black moustache on a stick by feltsogood on Made It

Set of 12 Moustache Crayons Complete Disguise Upcycled/Recycled from chasedreams on Etsy

A ‘Fruity Mustache’ blank greetings card featuring crunchy, fresh ALBERTO APPLE with a real hairy, 100% new wool mustache! Available from Kikichoo on Etsy

Funky Monsters Features

Our Funky Monsters booties are getting around! We have been featured on two fabulous blogs over the last couple of days.

Jo from 'The Crafty Nomad' loves my booties. Having travelled to and lived in various parts of the world, she is currently living in outback WA and has a love of all things crafty especially sewing and papercraft. Our Reindeer Games Baby Booties were featured as part of her 'Made It Friday Focus: Rudolph the Reindeer' post.

Robyn from 'Robyn Lee Handmade' also loves my booties! She featured our gorgeous Space Invaders Baby Booties in her 'Christmas Time at Made It: Something for everyone, beautifully Australian made' post.

Thank you lovely ladies!

'Tis the season

Christmas is creeping up on us, only 6 weeks until the bearded one visits bearing gifts galore!

To celebrate the festive season, I have released some Limited Edition Christmas Baby Booties, ideal for Baby's 1st (or 2nd!) Christmas. There are two different styles to choose from and both are reversible designs. These booties make great gifts for bubs and are the perfect finish to their little Christmas outfit.

These limited edition booties are available in sizes 0-6mths, 6-12mths & 12-18mths and are $20 a pair.

'Christmas Cheer' Baby Booties

'Reindeer Games' Baby Booties

You can order them now in my Made It store or via my Facebook page using my 'Contact Us' tab.

Funky Monsters Baby Bootie Collection

Since our humble beginnings (all of 12mths ago!) Funky Monsters bootie range has grown and grown. Most of our designs are limited in quantity as most fabric prints become discontinued over time, but we also like to keep our range fresh and exciting. In saying that, we have some old favourites that have been with us from the start like our signature Coloured Skulls booties, these are definitely still my all time favourite!

Not only have we had many different designs, we now have different styles of booties for your funky bubbas. Thought I would share our latest and our greatest with you all.

Our popular 'All Stars' Reversible booties in our original style

Our new Baby Booties for boys with elastic strap in 'Space Invaders', 'All Stars (Green)' and 'Pirate Booty'

Our new Baby Booties for girls with elastic strap in our gorgeous 'Leopard Print'

Our ever-so-sweet Mary Jane style booties in 'Funky Floral', 'Zebra Print', 'Cherry-licious' and 'Sweet Butterflies'

Our new Non-Slip range made with suede soles which also come in a larger size 12-18mths

Check out our Facebook page for more details & prices of the current range we have available. There are a number of ways you can order: by emailing funkymonsters@live.com, via our 'Contact Us' tab on our Facebook page or through our Made It store.

Sugar & Spice .... and all things nice!

Early on Sunday 12th September, Funky Monsters took a lovely drive down to Woodend. I was taking Funky Monsters to the Sugar & Spice Childrens Market. It was our very first market we were attending as a retailer!

The Sugar & Spice Childrens Market is a boutique childrens market held in Woodend every 3mths. Here you will find lovely unique items for your children, most of them handmade. The lovely Ali runs the market and once again put on a fantastic and well-organised day.

The crowds were lined up early ready to shop and came steadily through the doors throughout the day. Not only did Funky Monsters have a great time, we made quite a few sales and to top it off, met some lovely fellow stallholders. Funky Monsters new friends include:

• OOAKLY - run by the lovely Jenny, who creates custom artwork for the precious little ones in your life
• Milk & Honey - Cath & her sister came all the way from Echuca to showcase their precious goodies
• Robin Street Market - Sharon has an online store and specialises is sourcing unique and handmade gifts from around the world. You never know what you might find in Sharon's store in the near future (wink wink) !!

Jenny from OOAKLY

Here are some other pics taken from our big day out (taken by me, Jenny from OOAKLY and Kim Selby Photography)

The next Sugar & Spice Childrens Market will be held in Woodend on 12th December (venue TBC) and Ali is also launching in Ballarat on 28th November at St Pat's Hall from 9am-1pm. We hope to see you there!

Funky Friday Finds - Crocodiles & Al E Gator!

Here are some snappy Funky Friday Finds!

1. Kojo the Croc - Zoobies Pets (3-in-1 plush character, pillow & blanket)

2. Crocodile Magnet Clip - Kids Gift List (Bright & funky jungle animal magnet)

3. Al E Gator - sarahsewta.etsy.com (Minky dot boo boo rice heat bag)

4. Fabler Krokodil - Ikea (soft toy)

5. 'Snippy' the baby crocodile - Secret Gully (Interactive and educational soft stuffed Aust Wildlife toys for imaginative play)

6. Crocodile Isle - Jump City (Inflatable water park)

Funky Friday Finds - Spooky Scary Monsters

Keeping with our Monster theme this week, here are some spooky scary Funky Friday Finds!

1. Monster Couture Captain Shaggy Red Bean Bag (Ten Little Indians)

2. Mono Tee by Cried Wolf (About A Boy)

3. Little Bird DecorMonsters Decal (Everything Boys)

4. Munster Baby Fight Night Pants (Ten Little Indians)