The basket or the box?

So if you were Ernie or a pig or a lion or a dinosaur...


...would you rather live in this overcrowded, broken blue basket that frustrates Mummy because things fall out and it looks so untidy...


...or in this fancy fabric covered box that fits everything and looks so neat?

(I don't think poor little piglet understood the question!)

Because the kids are quickly accumulating a collection of little toys, the tin and basket they were thrown into were no longer doing the job. And while I love finding hippos under the couch, pigs in the kitchen drawers, people in my handbag and monkies in the ducts, when it's time to pack up, I wanted them to have a place to call their home that also made things look tidy (I live in hope!).

I loved the look and feel of the barns I made the kids for their birthday, so some thinking, planning, drawing, angsting, testing, fiddling and sewing produced these fabric covered boxes.


I used 3mm plywood, covered with a heavy denim and a cotton lining. The border around the top has a layer of pellon so it is soft to touch and will be a little more forgiving than uncovered plywood if accidently fallen on!


When deciding on the size, I made them to fit neatly into the shelves in the kids' room,

(look how neat they look.... sadly, this makes me happy!)

but they are also easy to grab to go out on the verandah for some serious playing!

The Houses I Built.... well, made!

I really wanted to make something for my babies' 1st birthday, and knew I had found the perfect present when I came across this tutorial from Dawn... fabric houses.


The houses, or barns, are made from plywood covered with pellon and fabric. One side wall and roof opens up to reveal a garden and the inside of the barn. They have handles on top of the roof so they are also like little suitcases, ready to carry important things.


These were really tricky at times to make and took a long time to finish. The tutorial says to use plastic for structure but I thought plywood would make them more sturdy... which it did but also made it very difficult at times to sew (there is a rumour that a barn was seen flying across the loungeroom with a crazy lady cursing at her sewing machine with its third broken needle... a rumour I choose to neither confirm or deny!). I used dowel wrapped in pellon to make the handle and handstitched all the detail on the outside of the barn and the garden using felt.

In the gardens there are paths, a flower garden, vegie patches and ponds.

My sister Truj helped me with the self cover buttons as these are something I cannot do no matter how hard I try. I was going to put regular buttons on the barns but I am so glad Truj helped me as I love the way covered buttons look.

So even though my babies are probably a little too young to really enjoy these, I figured they will sometime within the next year and they are something they will have and hopefully love, for a long time. Something their Mum made them for their first birthday.

It's Tuesday and I can't wait...

It's Tuesday and I can't wait... to finish by babies' 1st birthday presents. Their birthday was last week but rather than feel terrible they weren't finished on time, I'm going to feel good that I have given lots of cuddles, wiped lots of snotty noses and changed way too many nappies as both kids suffered through their first colds and bout of gastro!

We will celebrate soon with finished presents, cakes and balloons.


Thanks for Louise from Buttons By Lou Lou for starting and hosting It's Tuesday and I can't wait.... Visit Louise to see who else is playing...