Ahh Manly - I have missed you!

I thought I'd share a little bit of how I celebrated my birthday with you. A friend of ours was staying with us for my actual birthday, so he shouted us Indian so I didn't have to cook or clean for dinner (So generous of him!!!). Thanks J! We combined it with a little Patritti Canada Muscat...mmm. This is how mine was in the glass after pouring - no kidding!!!

Then on the Sunday we met my niece (who baked the most decadent Red Velvet cupcakes for me - they were sublime!!!) at Manly for a bit of an outing. First we hit up the Markets - which seemed a bit smaller than the last time we were there :(
We had a lunch at a restaurant not too far from the beach (think big juicy Barramundi fillet with salad and chips), and then went for a walk along the promenade towards Shelly Beach where we found some humour...

Let the kids play on a cool sculpture...

And admired some people who were paddle boarding around this boat (Made me think of you Jana!).

I found a cool poster in a coffee shop window... only later did I discover it was in reference to the All Blacks trouncing the Wallabies! lol

Long Black, Short Black, All Black.

There was a really cool building along the waterfront where some guy parked this bike... I HAD to share it with you!!! :)

We also stopped for our first taste of Ben & Jerry's on the way back ... there were a WHOLE lot of rich flavours that were a bit to heavy for such a hot day, but I have to say the boys and I loved "Chunky Monkey" flavour!!! :)

The boys wanted to have a swim, and then we were off home! They were in the car about 10 minutes before they fell asleep. I call that a successful outing! :)

Hope you have all been getting in some good R&R time on the weekends!

S xxx

Farm Birthday Invitations

Little Clam is having a birthday very soon, and I wanted to show you what I did to get the ball rolling. He is at that stage where he loves making animal noises (even though he can say their names) - his favourite being snorting like a pig!!!

I considered making my own graphics, or finding some on the internet, till I found these stickers - which worked just as well, and was much quicker since I had a short space of time to get it all together and into the post. I don't know about you, but I think invitations that you receive in the post are just so much better than an email. Something more personal about it all. (I confess, I both hand delivered some of Jellyfish's invites and scanned and emailed some).

I chose a concertina style strip for the invites, measuring 38cm x 12.5cm (each panel measures 9.5 x 12.5cm). I decided the order of the animals (the last one needing to be the cow, as the cow says "Moo" and it needed to rhyme with two) so it ended up saying "Baa, Quack, Neigh, Moo, Look who's turning two", and stuck them on. Next was typing up the details, printing them, guillotining them and gluing them on. I'd considered wrapping a ribbon around them and tying it in a bow, but thinking of posting it meant that the bow would be too bulky, so I opted for matching stickers to seal the ribbon strips.

Last off was brown paper envelopes -  no farm theme is complete without the simplicity of brown paper, and I just love brown paper envelopes!!! :) These were sealed with piggy stickers, or some other farm animal and then the boys and I took a little walk to the post box! All done! :)

I got the inspiration for the verse on the card here. ;)

Check the party links on the side bar to see where I'm playing!!! :)

S xxx

A Cool Change

Cooler weather has hit Sydney again. Makes me want my thick feather doona, the heater, and a cup of hot dandelion coffee, aka dandelion tea ('cause it's sweet without me having to add sugar!!!)

Enjoy your day!


S xxx

Week of Birthdays... WINNERS!

Well the air has cooled here enough for me to finally sit at my computer for more than 20 seconds! Phew! Summer was trying it's hardest to move Spring along today - thankfully tomorrow will be much cooler (and I plan on getting some baking done!).

SO..... to announce the winners from the Week of birthdays...


The winner of the handmade necklace is...

# 6 Jana!

Congratulations Jana! I will be getting it in to post to you this week! :)

And the winner of the Vintage Golden Books is...

# 12 Sascedar

Congratulations! If you can email me your deets I will get your books into the post too! :)

Thanks again everyone who took part, and to my followers - you are the best! :)
It's great to know that I'm not babbling to myself all the time. I really appreciate your comments and feed back on things.

More birthday related things to share with you later this week...

S xxx

My creative space - dappled day

My creative space today hasn't really been filled with a lot of creating (not unless you count a few loads of washing and playing with the boys :)... they are creative little beans).

Actually, that doesn't meant that I've not been having a good time - quite the contrary in fact. The hubs and boys and I ate our lunch on the picnic rug today, in the shade of  a tree. The air was balmy and scented with the fresh smells of a late spring garden, grass, what is left of the jasmine and other blooms.

Spin forward about an hour.

The boys were both in their freshly made up beds taking a nap, the washing was flapping in the breeze, and the picnic rug was where I left it. So what did I do??? Well, my latest issue of Real Living magazine, pillow, something minty and sweet and I took a little jaunt outside to soak up the scents and dappled sunshine. Ahhh bliss. I could have taken photos to share with you - but, well, I was just enjoying it FAR too much!

I will show you what arrived in the mail though... My final bunting piece from The Bunting Swap.

Back of bunt

This is first swap organised by someone else that I have taken part in, and the the bunting was from Rach herself. :) Kinda goes with what I was working on yesterday... the pendant isn't finished yet. It's for a super spunky friend. I should probably read up on good techniques since what I was thinking didn't correlate with what I got. Close-ish, but not quite. Maybe next time.

If you missed my two Giveaways, try here and here.

All the other creative wonders are playing here today.

A Week of Birthdays... #2 Giveaway

Hi everyone!
As promised I am back with another giveaway. I decided to split the items up this time because not everyone is going to love each thing that is on offer. Different things appeal to different people. I get that.

I have been blessed with a few cool vintage finds over time. This is one of them.

It's not up for grabs! :)

I have a collection of my own Little Golden Books that I had as a child and since having children of my own I have become a happy browser in thrift stores, looking for cool titles with great storylines and pictures that we don't yet have in our collection. Some days I find nothing. Others are gold.

Today I want to give an opportunity to you - my lovely readers - to get a few for yourself if you are that way inclined. Here they are in all their aged glory...

Seaweed & Raine 

Vintage Golden Book Giveaway!

To enter you must be a follower. Because this is my way of saying "Thank you!"
for sticking with me on this journey.

There are 3 way to enter.

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favourite Little Golden Book is.

2. Leave a comment telling me what you read in your spare time.

3. Blog about this giveaway, and then come back and leave a comment 

letting me know that you have.

Entries close Friday October 21.

Bamboo Firsts.

I've been wanting you show you this for more than a week... the first thing I have ever made with Bamboo yarn.

The yarn felt fabulous in my hands - soft, smooth. I did find that it was very easy to split with the hook though if I wasn't paying attention. This one goes into the gift pile for a very special lady. The yarn was Moda Vera Bamboo Cotton in mint. I used this pattern.

Well I'm off to find my pillow now, it's been a big day, lots of sun, some surf, good food & great company.
Good night! :)

S xxx

P.S. If you missed my giveaway, click here. Come back later this week for more giveaways! :)
See you then!!!

Don't forget to check the sidebar to see where I'm having some fun.

A Week of Birthdays...

It started on Wednesday. That was when the first birthday present arrived in the mail.
Here it is.

I love birthday's. I'm not bothered by being another year older. Age is all relative anyway.
So now the cards and such have started flowing in. And to quote my step dad "I think birthdays should be for a whole week... that's how long it takes for all the cards to get to you anyway!".

So in honour of the week of birthdays, I thought I'd share some birthday love with you. (Please excuse the crummy lighting in the photo... it's late at night.) I was going to do this earlier in the week - but I just lost my blogging mojo! If you find it, drop me a line an we'll organise a way for me to get it back!!!

You, my readers, make my day. 

The sweet comments you leave. The encouragement that you give.

So here is something for you.

Seaweed&Raine 
Handmade Necklace Giveaway

Metal case not included.

There are 3 way to enter.

Please note, this giveaway is only open to my followers. Because it's my way of saying "Thank you!"

1. Leave a comment telling me what you love to do for your birthday.

2. Leave a comment telling me what your favourite piece of jewelry is.

3. Blog about this giveaway, and then come back and leave a comment 

letting me know that you have.

Entries close Friday October 21.

All the best, and I look forward to your thoughts!

S xxx

Bunting - "Life's a Beach"

I recently joined The Bunting Swap over at Squiggly Rainbow. This time last week saw me trying to coax my 77 year old Bernina into making some bunting for me. I decided to try a couple of ideas I have seen around in blog land ~ sewn quilting in narrow rows (from the Aesthetic Nest's baby quilt ~ still totally want to give that one a go!) and confetti (from Describe Happy).

This was the first one I started. I was aiming for a kind of beachy feel using unbleached calico and aged denim. (I know some people use calico for mock-ups of garments and the like, but I really just like the colour and texture of it).

In the second picture you can see a little surprise that I added for my recipient... a little feature fabric.

The confetti squares are MUCH harder to sew around then they look. Each one is 1" square, and reinforced with some iron on interfacing so that they won't fray past the desired spot. I take my hat of to Christie doing an entire quilt out of them!!!

Before sending them, I made up a little card to go with it (notice the fabric??? Yup, same as the hidden strip in the bunt).

Linking up with creatively minded people...

Our Creative Spaces

Sunshine in the Mail Swap Wind Up

There were twenty amazing ladies signed up for the Sunshine in the Mail Swap in July. It was lovely getting to know some of them better, and making connections that I may well have missed out on otherwise. Some sent their parcels before I was able to get a photo from them, but you can be sure that there were some serious goodies involved, and some extensive spoiling going on for their partners.

Want to have a peek at what it was all about? Of course you do! :)

Here are some of the fabulous things that were sent. Click on any of the pictures to take you to the creator's blog.


Hope you enjoyed our little bit of Sunshine! :)

S xxx

A quick bite for lunch...

I just made these vegetable fritters for lunch today. They are super easy, don't take very long to make, and are quite tasty. The fabulous Tanya posted about them here (her family like them too) and the recipe is from here.

Jellyfish's Lunch

Both the Hubs and the boys enjoyed them, so they have gone onto the rotation list of things for me to cook.
FYI, I used the following veggies:

1 cup Broccoli
1 medium Potato
1/2 cup Kumera
1 carrot.

The grated veggies actually worked out to be just over 3 cups, instead of 2, so I added another egg, and used 1/3 cup of flour and a very rounded 1/2 tsp of curry. Next time I'll add a little more salt and a bit more curry.

Go on, give them a try! :)


S xxx

A Chip off the Old Block?

For a long time I have known what others may have missed.
My hubby has his own creative streak.
This made itself apparent a little while ago when he decided to make something for friends of ours who were expecting their second baby. Darren is a mechanic (when they were living near us he used to spend his days servicing Porches and the like at a garage that had a "dustless" room that probably would give some hospitals a run for their money!!!), so the Man of the House took a little trip to purchase the required materials, and this is what he came up with...

Obviously, I couldn't resist adding my own little touches to it (aka hand stitched ribbons!!!), but it suffices to say that as the child grows, the ribbons can be removed for a little more 'industrial' look... and then just get pulled apart all together for him to tinker around at home on projects with his dad! :)

I love how it turned out. Tomorrow I will come back with an edit and better pictures (interesting lighting today, and I obviously didn't have any photography mojo to help me out!) if the weather behaves itself.
Stay tuned...

Edit: Here they are!