Paying it forward 2012 - the list keeps growing!

Hello world,

1. Kelly
2. Kate
3. Amy
4. Jade
5. Clare
6. Alison 
7. Charnee
8. Mel

And my people from last year:

1. Naomi
2. Mum
3. Bec Bubblewrap

1 down, now 10 to go :)

Jodi xo

30 before 30 - another update

 Hello world,

Well I'm plodding along - my list doesn't really have near enough lines through it but here it is tonight:

1. Get a new tattoo.
2. Get my hair cut. (No but my mum is getting me a hair cut and colour for my birthday so this will be ticked :D
3. Spend some more Jodi time.
4. Be a better friend.
5. Keep up to date with my blog!
6. Read a book.
7. Watch a movie from start to finish without interuption.
8. Exercise 3 times a week.
9. Have a girls night out. (planned for my birthday as hubby will be working and I didn't want a party without him - girls night out perfect solution!)
10. Have a baby free date with hubby.
11. Take Pie for more walks. (will do this if it stops raining here!)
12. Take Pie swimming every week! (again if it stopped raining but we start swimming lessons indoors next week!)
13. Spend special moments as a family every day.
14. Kiss my husband (he's helping me make the list)
15. Be a better house keeper!
16. Do something fun and new together.
17. Let Piper have a sleep over at Nannys.
18. Spend a night away/alone with my hubby! (working on it)
19. Make something to donate to a worthy cause.
20. Hang some of our photos to make this place feel ours!
21. Make a meal plan and shopping list every week.
22. Organise my craft space/dining room.
23. Buy an external hard drive so we don't lose all our photos!
24. Finish atleast 5 projects from my to-do basket.
25. Sell something handmade.
26. Learn to thread an overlocker.
27. Dye my hair to cover my grey streaks (there are alot of them!) (as mentioned - all covered with my birthday pressie from my mum and dad :)
28. Laugh more!
29. Express my feelings productively :)
30. Complete the 30 before 30 list! 

So the 5 things from my to-do list:
butterfly leg warmers to match Pie's custom nappy from Bubby's Bott: Designer Minky MCN's
make piper an outfit from the camo shark fabric
make piper an out fit from girls tee I bought cheap!
make piper an outfit from boys tee I bought cheap!
finish off my practice mumma cloth pads

I must say it feels really good to get things finished instead of just adding to the pile of to-do things!

Make something to donate to a worthy cause.
For this I've got 2 different things to talk about.

There is a beautiful new community on facebooks, its called Angel Baby Nappies and it was started by a wonderful lady named Tania who sadly gave birth to an angel baby 2 years ago. Tania's tiny daughter was born 18weeks before her EDD and was given a chux cloth to use as a nappy on her precious little girl. This never sat well with Tania and so now she (and all of us who have joined the community so far) is organising for cloth nappies to be made or donated for angel babies. We are making them in all sizes to fit babies from just a few 100grams in weight to full term babies.
Mine aren't finished yet but I've got my first 4 cut out and itll be an ongoing make because sadly there will be an ongoing need for these :( But I'll upload a picture of the finished nappies in the next few days and if you have any new or excellent used condition small or newborn nappies OR can sew then please join the community to find out how to get involved <3

The second thing I've made to donate is cloth menstrual pads. Yep, its a topic alot of ppl cringe about but I'm going fulltime cloth and I've been making different types, practicing my skills and all the 'practice' cloth I've made and some of the ones I've bought will be heading to some very worthy causes.
Did you know that "For many girls living in poverty, life comes to a screeching halt when puberty is reached. Instead of going to the store to buy pads, too many girls and women resort to whatever is available for free – old clothes, leaves, mud, newspaper. To avoid leaks and stains in public, they stay home and miss school or work each month. Without resources to catch up in school, girls get further and further behind in classes, fail, get discouraged and drop out of school." Doesn't that just break your heart? Imagine being a young girl (I was 12 when I got my first period) having to use old clothes or newspaper or leaves whilst staying at home to avoid humiliation. How heartbreaking! Missing education and money to stay at home using unsanitary products, risking infections etc. My practice pads aren't perfect but they are functional and washable and reuseable which is what counts - for a young girl to recieve them would make such a difference to her lifestyle. To me I see the bumpy stitch here, or the wings aren't as wide or are wider than I would have prefered or they are too short or too long for my tastes but to a young girl they will make the world of difference and are a step in conquering the gender divide in 3rd world countries (a small step perhaps but every step counts!). Check out this info here for a list of places you can donate to (if you have any info on Australian places to donate too please share it with me x)

So what u need to know?? Cloth nappies for angel babies and menstrual pads aren't that hard to make but they will make a big difference in ppls lives so if u can sew give it a go!

Tee vamps! Kids tee to baby romper!

Hello world!

Do you want to turn some big kids t-shirts into some adorable rompers like these?


Its easier than you'd expect - and seriously I've made 4 in the past 2 days - they are super quick - the perfect nap time project :)



Ok so first you need to find a tee that you want to revamp. You can do what I've done, found a small tee so I've left the existing side seams in place or you can cut your front and back peices out of a larger tshirt (or some fabric) and sew the piece together. This is the tutorial for making a romper from an existing tee keeping its side seams in play:

Size 0 romper on the top - the tees are wider but not wide
enough that they will be too big - as I said before, if you need
to just take the side hems in the make it the right width.

The blue shirt is a size 2 and the white ones a size 4.
I'm using the size 2 cos I like the cute print but the 4
would be a great fit for this pattern too!

So first you're going to need a nappy cover pattern - if you've
got one you like then use it, I used this one from made
Its copy-right and for personal use only but you can use
whatever works best for you - if you're clever enough you
could just trace around an existing romper - I'm not :)

Figure out where to put your paant pattern depending on
the length of your tee - if you've got more length than you
need then line up the back part of the pattern first - I don't
have length to spare so will add extra into the butt region.

Once you've got the pattern in the right spot, trace around
it and then cut along ur pattern lines
(be careful to cut thru one layer only!)

Front done!

Back done and because I forgot to unpick the hem
first I did it after cutting to shape :D

Now as you can see, its not long enough in the butt....

But with all this spare sleeve fabric thats no drama!

Pinned the cut up sleeve to the romper bottom
(make sure your fabrics are facing the same way!)

Overlocked it together

And hey presto - I've got plenty of length! Cut out the pattern
piece with ur extra panel and then finish your 'pants'
according to the pattern your usings directions.

Bottom is finished (will do the elastic all at
once later) so now on to the top!

Cut the sleeves off making sure to cut the seam off as pictured

Looks like a boy romper now - If you want to make a boys
romper you could add extra to the crotch and put snaps
in rather than finishing them like I did.

Now cut the top of the romper into a nice neat curve at the right
rise to fit the size you need.

Fold it in half just to double check things are even

If you want to make a backless romper (like the purple one)
Then you'll need to cut the back off along the line I've folded
in the pic - I put a bit of paper behind it hoping you could
see the navy fabric better!

Double check you've got the rise right (and ignore the
messy to do basket in the background!)
Mines a little shorter than I planned but its later and I could
not be bothered up picking the pants and putting more length in
- note to self, check it before sewing up the pants ;)
Fingers crossed it fits!

Then its time to finish off the project - edge the arm/arm back
edge, you can hem it, use bias binding (be sure to add elastic
in the back under the bias binding if you're making it backless so it gathers it nicely!)
or you can use FO elastic like I have.

If its backless you will finish the 'back' from the top of one
side to the top of the other in one piece.

Edging (check out my chipped nail polish!)

When the arm holes or the back is finished gather the
top to be the right width of babies chest and if its got
a back gather it too - I like to make the back tighter - racer
back/muscle tee style but you can make them evenly gathered!

Then use bias binding (with enough excess on both sides to
tie up into cute little bows!) and finish off your project!

Now for the best part!

Find a cute model and put her to work : (comic romper pics to come tomorrow when my model wakes up!)

Neighbourhood watch time!
Back view of the purple romper!
The tee I made it from had cute little ruffles
on it which worked really well in romper form!

Posing with her zebra for a side shot
I really wish I hadn't trimmed the ruffle around
the leg hole!!

And a front view - such a gorgeous tee, so
glad we didn't have to wait til she was big enough
to fit into it!

Comic geek? Try comic chic!

Clearly just a little short in the body, ooops!

And away she goes, leaving no item untouched,
reacking havock on the towns people!

jodi xo

Paying it forward 2012 - Kate's present.

 Hello world,


Well although I'm working on trying to get my 30 before 30 list done I thought I might make a start on my pay it forward pressies too! So I made something for Kate (Something for Kate, sounds oddly familiar!)

Now I don't actually know Kate, she is a friend of my husbands who I haven't ever met (Kate that is, I've met my husband!). But she is married to Dave and like Kev they are big metal heads, they had a beautiful baby daughter last yr too - Maddy! So I thought I'd make somthing a little bit girly and a little bit rock for the gorgeous little girl! Maddy has red hair so when I came across a navy and grey tee in my bag of tricks I thought it'd got perfectly with her milky pink skin and stunning hair! Here's what I made out of the size 2 boys tee -

A ruffley rock romper and matching head band!

A rockin' print

A matching head band

And vintage lace ruffles!

What more can a little metal head in the making want ;) Hopefully Kate thinks its as cute as I do and it fits little Maddie while its warm enough for her to wear it!

Now I'm 1 down and 8 to go!

1. Kelly
2. Kate
3. Amy
4. Jade
5. Clare
6. Alison

And my people from last year:

1. Naomi
2. Mum
3. Bec Bubblewrap

Jodi xo

The 30 Before 30 List - update

Hello World,

So here is the list as it stands today:

1. Get a new tattoo.
2. Get my hair cut.
3. Spend some more Jodi time.
4. Be a better friend.
5. Keep up to date with my blog!
6. Read a book.
7. Watch a movie from start to finish without interuption.
8. Exercise 3 times a week.
9. Have a girls night out.
10. Have a baby free date with hubby.
11. Take Pie for more walks.
12. Take Pie swimming every week!
13. Spend special moments as a family every day.
14. Kiss my husband (he's helping me make the list)
15. Be a better house keeper!
16. Do something fun and new together.
17. Let Piper have a sleep over at Nannys.
18. Spend a night away/alone with my hubby!
19. Make something to donate to a worthy cause.
20. Hang some of our photos to make this place feel ours!
21. Make a meal plan and shopping list every week.
22. Organise my craft space/dining room.
23. Buy an external hard drive so we don't lose all our photos!
24. Finish atleast 5 projects from my to-do basket.
25. Sell something handmade.
26. Learn to thread an overlocker.
27. Dye my hair to cover my grey streaks (there are alot of them!)
28. Laugh more!
29. Express my feelings productively :)
30. Complete the 30 before 30 list!

6. Read a book.
Well I haven't fully achieved this (unless reading The Very Hungry Catterpillar to Pie counts?) BUT I went to bed with a favourite book last night - The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I fell asleep before finishing the 1st chapter but its a start atleast :D

7. Watch a movie from start to finish without interuption.
I did this one last night, Kev was at work, Piper was in bed (tho she did stir a number of times but never enough that I had to go get her up and resettle her) so on went a much loved movie - Mouline Rouge :) I didn't turn on the laptop or play with my phone, I just sat and cried and laughed and sang along and enjoyed a whole movie! Very rare for me to actually stay focused on a whole movie these days.

14. Kiss my husband (he's helping me make the list)
Enough said :)

22. Organise my craft space/dining room.
Tricky business!!! My craft space is our dining room, our place is small and there just isn't any other room. It used to be in the lounge room but as Piper got older (and I acquired more fabric!) there just wasn't enough room for my craft space and Piper's play space so I relocated to share the dining room. Its not much of a craft space - a book shelf which I share with the books, 2 old bedside tables, a very cool old horn sewing table (with the pop up and down sewing machine platform! It was my Nan's but she could never work out how to use it so she sold it to my mum who could never work out how to use it and just had it covered up as a large bedside table in her big bedroom - so when I started sewing and knew my baby would be mobile one day and getting into everything my Mum passed it on to me - she stole all the cotton holders and caddies from it first tho - booo! Must add some new storage options to the insides of the awesome sewing desk at some point!) and a brand new computer chair that my Mr bought me on Thursday as sewing on a dining chair was KILLING my back! So I've done what I can, the dining table has been given back to family meals (tho is not in use right now cos it is way too hot in our dining room at dinner time) the fabric is all put away and I'm sorting my projects into boxes. I also got 3 cheap shower caddies to store things out of Pie's reach (things like scissors and cottons and bobbins and the like.) I will have to get a picture of my craft space to share with you all!

25. Sell something handmade.
I've just sold 3 hand made dummy clips and have orders for 6 bonnets so thats a big ol' tick :) Also working on items for the 2 facebook markets I'm in at the end of the month!

26. Learn to thread an overlocker.
 I must say this wasn't as tricky as I expected it to be but certainly something I hope I won't have to do very often!!!

29. Express my feelings productively :)
Instead of sulking and giving Kev the silent treatment when he pissed me off this week I just told him he'd pissed me off and why!

So as you can see, the list is progressing along nicely :) Will keep you all updated, keep your fingers crossed for me cos I've got 22 things left to tick off and only 32 days to do them!

Jodi xo

Paying it forward...

Hello world,

Here is the finalised list of my pay it forward 2012 craft challenge:

Here is my list so far:

1. Kelly
2. Kate
3. Amy
4. Jade
5. Clare
6. Alison

And my people from last year:

1. Naomi
2. Mum
3. Bec Bubblewrap

 So I've got 8 things to make to gift away this year :) Exciting!

Jodi xo

30 before 30

Hello world,

My mum recently showed me this wonderful blog and the wonderful author of owl really has inspired me!

On the 15th of February I will be 30. My 20s will become a thing of  the past and I will hit the age that as a teen I thought of as all grown up. When I was a teenager I had a list of things to do by the time I was 18 and the things to do by the time I was 30. Unfortunately I have no idea where that list is now and can't remember much of it (15yrs ago, my memory barely remembers 15 minutes ago!) so instead I'm making a list of 30 things to achieve before I turn 30 (in 37 days - so its not a long time to achieve much!) which will give me some positive things to focus on rather than sinking into a 3rd of my life crisis :) They don't have to be major things if you want to do something similar - If I had come across the idea earlier I would have had a much more elaborate list!

I'll add the list here and will update regularly - my list is not complete but tonight I'm going to finish it off so I can get going!

1. Get a new tattoo.
2. Get my hair cut.
3. Spend some more Jodi time.
4. Be a better friend.
5. Keep up to date with my blog!
6. Read a book.
7. Watch a movie from start to finish without interuption.
8. Exercise 3 times a week.
9. Have a girls night out.
10. Have a baby free date with hubby.
11. Take Pie for more walks.
12. Take Pie swimming every week!
13. Spend special moments as a family every day.
14. Kiss my husband (he's helping me make the list)
15. Be a better house keeper!
16. Do something fun and new together.
17. Let Piper have a sleep over at Nannys.
18. Spend a night away/alone with my hubby!
19. Make something to donate to a worthy cause.
20. Hang some of our photos to make this place feel ours!
21. Make a meal plan and shopping list every week.
22. Organise my craft space/dining room.
23. Buy an external hard drive so we don't lose all our photos!
24. Finish atleast 5 projects from my to-do basket.
25. Sell something handmade.
26. Learn to thread an overlocker.
27. Dye my hair to cover my grey streaks (there are alot of them!)
28. Laugh more!
29. Express my feelings productively :)
30. Complete the 30 before 30 list!

So wish me luck, 30 before 30, here we go!

Jodi xo

Paying it forward...

Hello World,

For those of you who are friends with me on facebook you will have recently seen this post

"Pay It Forward 2012... I promise to make something handmade for the first five people who comment. They must in turn post this and make something for the first five people who comment on their status. "The rules are it has to be handmade by you and can be as simple as making a friend a cup of coffee. (Now aren't you curious?? I got this from a friend...I cant wait...this will be FUN...!!!! :~) No telling what I might make

Note I put this up last year and COMPLETELY forgot - so if u were on my list last year please tell me and Ill make u something too :D But I'm only making something for you if you pay it forward!"

I'm posting this on my blog so I remember to do it this year (wooooops!)

Here is my list so far:

1. Kelly
2. Kate
3. Amy

And my people from last year:

1. Naomi
2. Mum
3. Bec Bubblewrap

Stay tuned as I'll update my list as it grows to 5 and I'll add pics of what I make here once its been completed and given too :D

Jodi xo