Things on the go...

Lots of little things going on here, behind the scenes at Polkadot Lane.

I've just enrolled in a couple of online courses - just to formalise my skills in admin. I've worked in admin for about 15 years now, but only have one certificate to show for it, so while at home with a toddler, I thought 'why not?'.

Lots of sewing to be worked on, to really get stuck into and finished up...I seem to be really good with the whole cutting out bit......hmmm...

Some invitation making for my cousin's wedding...

As well as bookwork, gym, housework, the never-ending cycle of washing, school run, sorting through kids clothes and of course, working on what Pinterest project I'm going to share on Friday.

But first, coffee...
In my favourite orange retro-style mug.

Joining in with MPAY at  it's new home at Deb's of Works in Progress.

xxx

Creative Space : Sewing to do

This week I can pretty much break down my sewing into three categories...

Currently working on...

 A lined little vest for Levi

Have to make...

A new hooded fleecy jacket for Miss Alannah, for school

Really want to make...

A cute little cord 3/4 sleeve jacket for Miss Alannah, for autumn, in this adorable bird cord

Joining in with this week's creative spaces.

xxx

All The Little Details....

are what make an occasion all the more special, don't you think?

On the weekend, hubby and I went to the most gorgeous wedding. As someone who had helped with various things over the last month, it was just so lovely to see it all come together and epitomise what the bride had imagined and worked so hard to achieve.

I just thought I'd share a few of the little things that made the atmosphere so special...

 A laid-back wedding picnic

 A rustic ladder with picnic basket allocation hanging from it

 Sunflowers - such happy flowers!

 Umbrellas with doily bunting & paper lanterns

 Vintage loveliness & fresh flowers

 All you need is love, a blue combi van and a 'Mr & Mrs' bunting :-)

 Rustic buckets, glass jars with candles and fresh flowers

 A beautiful place to say 'I do'

 with a stunning view and the sun shining

and a glass of wine...or two

I wanted to be able to share photos of some more of the buntings I made, but it was too windy for the bunting flags to actually stop moving, so here is a shot of one of them I took across my living area windows...

Joining in with 'Make : Grow : Thrift' this week.

xxx

Polkadot Lane Goodies - Sale - At Curious Bazaar

It's moving towards the end of summer now, and what better reason to have a 'Summer Clearance' sale over at Curious Bazaar.

All Polkadot Lane goodies are at least 30% off, including...

Children's screen-printed t-shirts & singlets - all only $12.60 each

 

Pillowcase Dresses starting from $18.20 each

 All tote bags only $7 each and library bags only $9.80 each

Also, included in the sale are :

Girls Market skirts from $11.20

Ladies screenprinted tees now only $14.00

and

Fabric flower headbands now under $7 each

And in addition to that, enter discount code SUMMERART at checkout to get 30% off everything in the Canvas Art category!


Plenty of bargains to be had!

xx

Pin It? Make It! : Peppermint Patties

Yay - it's Pin It? Make It! time again.

I thought for something different, I'd go with a baking making adventure this week but as my oven is currently broken, the choices were a little more limited...

BUT...

my hubby loves mint flavoured things so when I saw 'Peppermint Patties' pinned a couple of times throughout my food board, I thought 'let's do it'!

The filling recipe I had pinned from Sweetapolita, but I didn't want to coat them in a coloured candy mixture, so I went with the always yummy - dark chocolate..

which I had seen on another of my pins from the Saveur website.

They were a little fiddly to coat, and some are a little unorthodox in shape but other than that...
Mmm...yum!

Any Pinterest pins inspired makings in your house lately? Why not link up and share with us here....it'll be fun!

xxx

Friday Nights Curls

My mum used to put our hair up in 'rag curls' when we were kids, and when I mentioned them to Alannah, she was all for giving them a go....if I could remember how :-P

Ah, yep, I remembered....

Resulting in a soft curly head of hair....so pretty.

If only Lana would crack a smile...(she did like it, I promise!)

My Place & Yours : On The Walls

"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be"

our bedroom blackboard door

A painting by my super talented mum, inspired by one of my favourite artists - Henri Matisse -

waiting to be hung on my wall of clouds

our bathroom door people

and some fabulous art by people whom I love..

(photo art by my sister DQ and flower drawing by Alannah)

And as I've done a couple of 'wall' posts before, I wont repeat the images but  here are the links...

if you are interested :-) :

Huge family photo wall canvas

Tile Art by Claire Mahon

Touches of Red

Playing along with Punky & Me...

 

and some other lovely bloggers sharing what's on their walls this week.

xxx

Budget Friendly Baking - Weeties & Choc Chip Cookies

These cookies don't last long in our place, and are a firm favourite for school lunchboxes.

Weeties & Chocolate Chip Cookies

125g Butter, chopped
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1 cup Self-Raising Flour, sifted
2 cups Weeties (can be replaced with Cornflakes)
1/2 cup Chocolate pieces
1/4 cup Sultanas

1. Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Add egg and vanilla, beating well.
3. Fold flour into the butter mixture, then fold in weeties, chocolate pieces and sultanas.
4. Mix until well combined.
5. Drop walnut-sized portions of the mixture onto greased baking trays, leaving space between.
6. Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
7. Cool on trays for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
8. Store in an airtight container.

Makes approx 20-24 cookies.

Joining in with this week's  'Make: Grow: Thrift'.

xx

My Place And Yours : Outside

A touch of candlelight

Waiting to be planted

Miss 8

Textural contrast

A sparkly fairylight canopy

Daisies are such happy flowers

Next step : turn red!

A little front door touch

Playing along with Punky & Me.

And don't forget, if you have been inspired by Pinterest to make, bake, draw, photograph, style, decorate or anything really...why not join in below in my fortnightly link up.

Happy Sunday xxx

Pin It? Make It! : Crochet Cloche Hat

So, it's no secret that I love to wear hats, so when I saw this pin, it appealed to me..

Pattern & Image by PB Designs

...imagining it in a dark charcoal grey or a deep blue or maybe a fresh grass green...yes, cute.

Anyhow, make it I did...

So, as you can see, my model is just a little person.. small problem : the hat didn't fit (and my head isn't huge :-P, just in case you're wondering..he he). Actually, when I followed the pattern with correct hook sizes, I couldn't even get it on Lana's head, so I unravelled it, and went up to a size 8mm hook (pattern calls for a 6.5mm for the braiding and brim) and this is the result..

Hmmmm...oh well

I don't know if crochet has tension issues to consider, and if it does, then maybe I'm a tight crocheter, and maybe my wool wasn't thick enough, but all in all, it is a cute hat, and I'm trying another one out in green, with larger sized hooks.
Again, I'll just say that it could be completely my fault that the sizing is out, and not the pattern writers.
Any suggestions, dear readers?

So, any Pinterest pins inspiring you to create? Maybe you feel like sharing?

Join in with me, by linking up down below.

Happy Pinning!
xx