DIY: Pirate treasure map

 

I decided to sew the lil one a sturdier pirate treasure map (out of fabric) since his cousin ripped up his paper treasure map. I was quite lucky that I had a small stash of calico to use as the base. I quite like the fact I left the edges raw so that over time the map will have frayed edges & look "old".

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cut up an old fleecy baby blanket for the "water". I raided my craft drawers &  found scrap fabric for the island, felt for the "sharks", ribbon for the map marker, beads for the "cocunuts" & lace for the "water" ripples. It was quite tedious to hand sew it all (except the green & blue fabric which I machine sewed on) but it turned out quite great. I finished it off with a key (for the treasure chest) which was hidden in the "mountains" off an old necklace & some old hoop earrings for the "treasure".

 

 

 

I roadtested the treasure map among some of Kobe's lil friends. They loved the scavenger hunt & I got lucky that the place we had the treasure hunt had some elements that looked like the map like the "mountains" & coconut trees. (I pretended to be the octopus). They were quite happy with the easter eggs hidden in the tiny chest I buried (I couldn't find any chocolate coins at the last minute). The only near disaster I had was when I buried the trunk the second time too & forgot to mark it (with a shovel) so we really had to find it:)

 

 

Happy Thursday friends!

Grace

 

 

 

 

 

Love and laughter

 

"If love is the treasure, laughter is the key"

Yakov Smirnoff

 

 

 

 

Just a few snaps of this lovely little family. A quick note that all photography sessions with me you receive a minimum of 10 photos which will be emailed (via onedrive) once edited. Only 3-4 will be shared on this blog & your copies wont have my blog logo on them. Its your call if you would like to do multiple outfit changes or include more family members in the photos. Message me here for all the details.

 

 

Happy Thursday friends!

Grace 

 

FREE Valentine gift ideas that mean something

Its that time of year where couples show their love by grand gestures of buying bunches of crimson red roses, heart shaped chocolates, an oversized teddybear then finish it off with a meal at a fancy top notch restaurant. If your after something a little bit different this year, have a think about these meaningful gestures that wont cost you anything (but time & organizing) & will make your special someone feel valued.

*Looking for a BIG gesture? Write a love note & place it in your local newspaper. West Australians you can place a love note ad in The West Australian newspaper & go in the draw to win a TV. Obviously your placing an ad for your loved one not just to win the tv...

*Looking for a smaller but still just as meaningful gesture? Write a love letter. Write down all the many things that you adore about your partner but never get a chance to say. Stuck on words? Maybe you can borrow out (or google) some letters from the book "Love letters of great men" for inspiration. Plagiarising them & passing them off as your own will get you in the sh1thouse...

*Handmade cards are the cutest things ever. If you have kids then even better to get them to do a little scribble which you can glue onto a piece of coloured paper to make a card. (Or I quite like the scrunched up coloured pieces of tissue paper which is glued to make a heart, cards). Then all that is left is to write something sweet inside the card & your done. Kobe & I did this for Luke & also my sister last year.

*And borrowing an idea from my younger days. Why not go old school & make a mix cd of all your corny but super awesome love songs that define all your special moments shared. I would have to include "Come on Eileen" (by the Dexys Midnight Runners) on mine as it use to come on the radio in the car on most of Luke & my dates in the early days of dating. Oh memories.

*A sleep in. This is quite possibly the biggest WISH any parent would cherish!!! Now to choose which parent who gets it...

*A picnic. The weather in Perth over the weekend is sunshine (with partly cloudy on Saturday) which means perfect picnic weather. Plus the majority of Perth people will be watching The Giants which should clear up some space at the local parks. Throw down a rug, bring a packed picnic hamper & talk about your future wishes & plans together.

*Give a break to the cook of the house (like me!!!). Cook a meal, anything, seriously us cooks aren't choosy whatever gets us out of the kitchen. For extra brownie points, cook all the meals for one day!!! You wont hear me whinging that day:) If your in a baking mood, you cant go past these cookies with a heartfelt message on it. Who wouldn't want those? I would also enjoy these truffles! For those with a  partner on a health kick, try making these coconut bliss balls.

Enjoy!
Happy Thursday friends!
Grace

Sidenote; If you don't have craft supplies to make a card,  or you need more ingredients to bake/make something special or you don't have a blank cd to make a mix cd why not ask/borrow from family/friends/neighbours?

Brotherly love

 

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero"

 

-Marc Brown

 

 

 

 

When I see these brothers interact it makes me want to pop out a brother for Kobe (ah one day...). Big brother A is so kind towards little brother M. Its so endearing!!!

 

Happy Thursday friends!

Grace

 

Sidenote; Just a few photos I took of these cutie patooties. If your in Western Australia & interested in a photo session. I have bargain rates til end of March. Message me here for the quickest response.

 

 

Greener beauty treatments

 

Well I can say Im far from being green; I like driving my car, yoghurt pouches & water balloons a little too much. But I am working on greening up my beauty routine. Its all about balance & striving to do the best I can to minimise what chemicals are absorbed into my body.

 

 

I have neglected my hair for far too long so I went to the hair dresser & chopped off all my dead ends. Unfortunately this meant the collarbone length I was hoping for ended up a far bit shorter. (Oh well it could be worst one time I went to the hairdresser with a photo of Nicole Richie's hairstyle & came out looking like Carol Brady off the Brady Bunch. Not happy Jan!!!). After the initial shock of absolutely hating my new do I realised I could amp up looking after my hair. My hair type is wavy with oily roots, dry ends & dry scalp. Lucky me... but I have experimented with a few DIY beauty treatments that help maintain it to normalcy.

 

*Apple cider vinegar; this stuff is gold. I haven't touched conditioner in over 6 months as I use this instead. As a guide I use a capful to about 600ml water. I rinse it thru my hair & the vinegar smell pretty much disappears within a few minutes leaving my hair feeling soft.

 

*Lemon; once a week I squeeze some lemon thru my roots & rinse off after a few minutes. I swear this combined with the vinegar are slowly lightening up my roots & one day I hope they will catch up to my old dye job.

 

*Egg hair mask; my friend Kaysey (thanks!) gave me this idea. Any eggs that are close to use by date which we wont be eating, I massage thru my hair then wash off. I am careful not to leave it on too long that it goes stiff. I try to do this once a month.

 

*Saltwater; yes salt water. Next time you head to the beach, scoop up some ocean water in an empty bottle then spritz it on your hair. It gives my hair a bit of volume & keeps the waves bouncy.

 

*Jojoba oil; to moisturize my dry scalp I massage some jojoba oil once a week & leave it overnight (I sleep on a towel so no residue gets on my pillow) then wash it out with vinegar in the morning.

 

*Shampoo, I experimented with the no poo hair experiment for a month which the bicarb left my scalp extra dry (& itchy) & my hair stiff & smelly. Instead I have opted for Baby U goats milk shampoo (which Kobe uses also) for the time being.

 

And a few more treatments too...

 

*Yoghurt; any plain yoghurt nearing use by date, I cut up some mint & mix it up as a face mask. It leaves my face feeling fresh. Sometimes I add oatmeal which I find soothing. Apply it to a cleansed face. Its best to avoid this if you have an intolerance to dairy which my poor friend discovered after her feet swelled up straight afterwards, eek!

 

*Coconut oil; handy as a lipbalm if you run out. I do favour Sukin lip treatment. (Coconut oil also leaves my hair ends moisturized & shiny).

 

*I also tried this footscrub which was lovely & substituted the sea salt for sand (its a good exfoliator).

 

  *To relieve pms, I burn rose geranium oil in an oil burner to calm me (I also recommend staying away from men & eating Lindt seasalt chocolate in moderation- ha!)

 

 

 

Happy Wednesday friends!

Grace

 

 

Tunnel Vision

 

The other weekend I teamed up with the cool, calm & collected Brighita of fashion blog The kids are in trouble to shoot some photos of her. Here is a sneaky peek of one of the fashion shoots in a Fremantle tunnel.

A bit more about Brighita
Describe your style in 3 words?
Unfussy, classic & masculine.
Worst thing you ever bought/worn?
A very cheap pair of black heels that I thought could take the place of good quality leather shoes. How wrong I was!
Style icon/s?
Diane Kruger & Olivia Palermo.
Finish this sentence, "Perth is..."?
Perth is the quiet achiever.
Why did you start a blog?
Fashion is how I express myself creatively everyday. And blogging allows me to share that creativity.

If you want to check out the other photos you can see them at her website. Plus keep an eye on a further 2 styling shoots (styled by her, photographed by me).

Happy Saturday friends!
Grace

If your interested in a photosession with me, please message me here for the quickest response.

Upcycling an old shelf

 

I finished this shelf quite a while ago (& its been sitting in my drafts for about 6 months, oops!). This year Im motivated by wasting less, so I thought why not publish it now to highlight how important upcycling is. I love a bit of upcycling, as most outdated furniture items just need a fresh coat of paint or a sand down & it eliminates the need to throw it out & buy a new piece.

 

 

This shelf was originally a standing shelf with legs which I removed as I wanted to hang it on the wall. I sanded down the ugly poo brown colour, then added a lick of primer, once that was dry I used some leftover black chalkboard paint. I sanded the edges raw to give it a slightly industrial feel, it came out bumpy in places but that seemed to go hand in hand with the vintage pieces I was going to display on it. Luke supported the shelf up with zenith brackets.

 

 

 

We had to make sure the shelf was high enough so this cheeky monkey wouldn't hang off it. Unfortunately he has had a growth spurt & can now reach items off the lower shelf. His old cot now moonlights as a couch, a storage area he throws his toys on, a hiding spot or a make believe rubbish tip.

 

 

 

 

I lovingly decorated Kobe's shelf with thrifted finds & things I wanted on display that I don't want broken (ie. the tin cowboy & icecream man) or special keepsakes like the thrifted Enid Blyton books I use to read him at bedtime (which I hope he enjoys reading when he starts reading on his own) & those kitshy animal blocks he use to mixmatch to form strange animals I cant bear to part with (yet). I threw in a picture card of rubbish bins I found at Many 6160 because he adores them.

 

 

Happy Wednesday friends!

 

Grace