Are you keeping up..

With the challenges?

Day 5 of the My Organized Chaos challenge is Decadence! How often to you treat your kids but not yourself? Today it's time for a mini upgrade, treat yourself to a posher bottle of wine or fancier chocolate, whatever your mama pleasure is. Instead of the economy class version, choice business class - savour it and enjoy it. I've been saving this bar of chocolate from the award winning @welovechocolate

Day 6 of the challenge is Take A Bath. A quick hop in and out of the shower gets you clean but we need time to rewind too. Nothing beats a long soak in the bath, add some bubbles, light some candles, maybe even a glass of wine...

Day 7 of the challenge is Talk A Walk! Explore a bit, use a new route or have a wander around the neighbourhood, you never know what hidden treats you might find. Fill your lungs with fresh air, feel the weather on your skin, listen to every sound, take time to look around.

Day 8 of the challenge is Do Your Hair! So easy to fall into the 2 second mama ponytail trick, you deserve more, your hair deserves more! So today, style it differently, give it some love, a deep condition maybe. Or if you have been putting off that hair appointment for some crap reason, BOOK it today.

Day 9 of the challenge is Love Your Purse! Feel embarrassed when you take your purse/wallet out to pay for something? Time to fix that, take everything out, give it a clean and only put the things back in that you really need (ditch all those store cards you never use). Show your purse some love and it will love you - lesson learned from the lovely @deniseDT

Join the fun,  

1. Take a pic
2. Tag me 
3. Use #myorganizedchaos

Simple!

The challenge is running in conjunction with the free training series for busy mamas, pop your name in the box below and you will learn so easy to apply tips to get your life more organized and back on track...

Give yourself a lick or a squirt...

Day4 of the My Organized Chaos challenge - making yourself feel good doesn't have to take much time, give yourself a squirt of your favourite perfume or a lick of lipstick. 

It doesn't matter if you don't plan to leave the house, you are doing it for YOU!

Join the fun,  

1. Take a pic
2. Tag me 
3. Use #myorganizedchaos

Simple!

The challenge is running in conjunction with the free training series for busy mamas, pop your name in the box below and you will learn so easy to apply tips to get your life more organized and back on track...

Day 3 of the My Organized Chaos challenge....

Let's talk undies! 

You know that feeling you get when you put on your best undies? Well, why wait for those "once in a blue moon" special undies occasions? 

Put them on today (or tomorrow if you're already dressed) and feel sexy without anyone knowing why !

Post a pic to Instagram or Facebook - you don't have to flash your undies over the net, just a wee sneak peep or an abstract pic that captures your feelings! tag me and use #myorganizedchaos

To follow me on Instagram CLICK HERE and Facebook CLICK HERE

Looking forward to seeing you over there! Don't forget to sign up for the busy mamas free training series, pop your name in the box below and you will learn so easy to apply tips to get your life more organized and back on track...

The My Organized Chaos Challenge - Are You In?

OK, this is the deal...Moms often get pushed to the bottom of the pile, and self care and feeling good about yourself gets thrown out of the window, the #myorganizedchaos challenge is to help you start making a bit of time for YOU and get you back on track!

To join you need to follow me on Instagram HERE and/or Facebook HERE the check in for the daily challenge. We started yesterday, so you can jump in now!

All you have to do is take a quick pic with your phone doing the challenge of the day...for example, Day 1...

Take time for me, make yourself a nice cup of what-ever-you-fancy and take 10 minutes to sit and actually enjoy it, no distractions!

Your pic could look like this...

Or the view from your deck as you sip your cuppa, or maybe your sleep babe as you catch a bit of me time as they nap!

Post your picture on Facebook and/or Instagram* tag me and use the #myorganizedchaos so I can find you if the tagging doesn't work. Easy peasy!

*You can set up Instagram so it posts directly to your Facebook wall.

We are on Day 2, come and join the fun...

Looking forward to seeing you there! Don't forget to sign up for the busy mamas free training series, pop your name in the box below

Cook a nice meal...

I have been doing Sarah Jenk's LMWL challenge, each day she sets you something to do and day #12 was make a nice meal. Well, I have to say, I always make a nice meal lol. It had to be something that Ebi-kun could manage with his sore throat so I decided to make the first cream stew of the season and try my hand at foccacia.

I used a Jamie Oliver recipe from one of his magazines, it was supposed to have grapes and honey on it but I swapped it for cheese instead.

And...success, the bread was lovely, my pan was a little bit bigger than the one recommended in the recipe, so it wasn't quite as deep as it should have been but it tasted good and that's what matters.

I put the stew on in the afternoon and we settled down to watch Laputa, I haven't seen it for years so it was fun to watch it again. 

We went the whole hog and got out the best plates, wine, fresh flowers and candles, a very fancy meal for a Saturday night - usually my night off from cooking!

April Challenge - round up

Doing this challenge really helped getting back into a creative swing of things, I decided not to think of every project as some way to make money, which when you run a business like mine, a tendency of that seems to happen. There was no real pressure, no actual deadlines and I could enjoy the creative process for what it is. I surprised myself on how much I managed to get done and a lot of new ideas have come out of this little project.

I enjoyed making new items from the squillions of books I own, a good way to pick up new techniques or a different way of putting things together, I didn't make a massive dint in my stash but it is a start. I finally finished tidying the craft/guest room, we could actually get a guest in there now! I have sorted out a pile of things that have to go, I think I will do a bit of a garage sale on Facebook, I need to get photos of everything first.

I set myself the following rules.....

Everything has to be made from fabric I already own - yes, stuck to this one, the exception was curtain fabric but I hadn't included those in the challenge.

The only things I am allowed to buy are thread, cord, snaps etc. - almost, I found some of Melly's fabric in Nippori and just *had* to have some.

There must be at least 3 large items (to use up lots of fabric)- laundry bag, quilt and the bucket are all  biggish items.

At least 3 items are for gifts - the dresses, 2 bags, brooch

At least 3 use new to me patterns (from books I own) - the dresses from the Craft Hope book, the bucket from Scandinavian Stitches, the zipped pouch from a Japanese book.

1 item must be a treat for myself - The fish and a couple of pouches, was hoping to make a top, oh well.

3 items must be for the home - laundry bag, quilt, cushions, curtains

Some of the items are to go into the shop - pouches and at least one item to develop into a pattern.

and something to donate - item 20, the shoulder bag is for a charity project.

Pretty much did it all, 'pats self on the back'. Ebi-kun is back at yochien today, full days so this is my first full week since the quake (except I have to go to yochien on Thursday), so now I am all organised and ready to go, here's to a super-duper productive week...

April Challenge - 20

I hope that those who were celebrating Mothers day had a good one. Mine was quite, I had gifts made by Ebi-kun at yochien and new chopsticks except daddy-ebi picked up the wrong size and they are in fact kids chopsticks, so Ebi-kun got new chopsticks! Daddy-ebi was off to work early so Ebi-kun and I hung out, watched a DVD, made a ping-pong ball shooter (I'll put the tutorial up this week), lovely laid back day.

Yes, and I know it is May, I didn't get round to blogging about the end of the April challenge. I designed this bag with a specific project in mind, it is easy to put together and the strap is adjustable so you can wear it as a shoulder bag or messenger style.

 It also has two pockets under the flap, I have a small size made too. I hope the project comes through, these are easy and fun bags to make... fingers crossed!

Drawstring Bags - Challenge 19

Did you miss me? We went camping for a few days but I had the posts scheduled so you probably didn't even notice I was gone! I did manage to finish the challenge, got these bags and a couple more to show you, I ran out of time to organise the posts before we left.

I have discovered a new way to make drawstring bags which are perfect for this fabric

and this one, 

once I had made two, I cut up the rest of them and made a pile, 

I will list some in the shop after Golden Week

but I think I will have to keep one for myself!

Happy Birthday Mom!

The parcel has turned up so now I can show you two more of the projects and one of Ebi-kuns...

Ebi-kun decorated a little wooden box for moms birthday.

He used a butterfly punch and origami paper and LOTS of glue.

He got bored after doing the top, he was going to cover the whole thing so I suggested just sticking a few butterflies as detail on the sides, he liked that idea and used his special gold origami paper for it.

And from me are projects 13 and 14. It is the first time I have tried making anything with these type of handles, top stitching was a bit of a fiddle but the rest came together quite easily, I made up the pattern as I went along...my type of sewing!

It is lined with beautiful Thai silk and I decided it needed a bit of something on the outside too.

A silk flower with a vintage button in the centre.

The flower is a brooch so mom can take it off if she feels like it.

Sorry it was so late getting to you mom, I did post it in plenty of time!

Happy Birthday!

The Queen gets two so maybe you should have two too!

April Challenge projects 17 and 18

Ebi-kun has homework this year and so he needs a bag for his homework book, surprise!

I made him a pencil case to go with it too, I'm not sure if he needs one but he has got one anyway.

 I lined it with the stripy fabric, I really like the pencil case done with the jousting print, if you want any of this fabric it is some that I designed and you can buy it here.

April challenge project 16

This is a design that has been in my sketch book for ages and I have only just got round to making it, I won't tell you exactly what it is for just yet, I'd like to make a pattern for it but need to figure out a better way to do one section of it, it came together out of luck not skill and I probably couldn't pull it off a second time.

April Challenge sneak peaks....

Projects 12, 13, 14 and 15 are finished but for various reasons I can't show you the finished pieces just yet, so here are sneak peaks...

April Challenge 10 and 11....

I made a couple more pouches, I absolutely LOVE this turtle one, this fabric was a big seller in the shop and I saved some for myself, it is no longer available sadly. The cute starry ribbon is from paper-and-string.

Then, I thought I should make a more manly pouch, Ebi-kun has his eye on this one!

 9 more projects to go, actually 7 because I have two that I am waiting to share, moms birthday package hasn't arrived yet, grumble, grumble...

April Challenge number 9....

Ebi-kun needs a new bento bag this year for yochien, this time it needs to have ribbons to tie so that the kids can learn to tie a bow. It is a good idea since in Japan few people wear shoes with laces and those who do tend to leave them tied and just slip their shoes on and off.

 It took me quite some time to figure out the pattern, I think it was because I didn't  have a clear picture of the finished product in my head but it all turned out in the end.

testing, testing 1,2,3....

I was trying to think of something to use my bag of scraps with and came up with this little rattle but I needed to test it for size.

So, when T-kun came to visit, I set him to work....

hahaha babies are brilliant.

Just look at how much hair T-kun has! 

It used to stick straight up but I think gravity is starting to win.

That is number 8 in the challenge done.

Challenge item number 7

A new camera pouch made with scraps.

I might make more of these for the shop.

I have a couple more things made but I can't show you yet, birthday presents, 

I need to wait until the lucky person has received it.

4, 5 and 6 done....

Still going with the April Challenge. I wanted to make a dress or skirt for my niece who will be 4 soon. I spent ages looking for a simple pattern and one that was flexible with size since I don't have her measurements. I settled on a pillowcase style dress and used the pattern/instructions from the Craft Hope book.

I didn't have any pillowcases but I do have lots of fabric, the dress is super easy to make so I ended up making two and then I had some bits left over so I decided to make matching bags. After seeking advice on twitter on what style of bag a 4 year old is likely to prefer, I went with the handbag and made it reversible so it matches both dresses. Now, my niece is in the UK and unavailable for a photo shoot so I needed a local model to take her place, introducing Ebi-chan.... who incidentally was not impressed with wearing a dress....

act like a girl                                                       BOY

kawaii                                                       NOT

reversible bag

I LOVE how the bag turned out, the placement of the fish fabric is just right.

If you have a little girl and have never made clothes for her, I can recommend the pillowcase dress, it would be even easier if you actually started with a pillowcase but not a Japanese pillowcase which is a lot smaller than a western one, unless you were making a dress for a really little girl of course.

3 down, 17 to go....

My next project was to make a fabric basket, under the computer desk is a a large paper bag with various bits and bobs that Ebi-kun needs for yochien. We just dump everything in the bag because at least then it is all in one place and I will know where to find it! Anyway, the bag is annoying and ugly so I decided to try a fabric bin, it is the first time I have made one and I used the instructions from Scandinavian Stitches.

 My plan was the have the cream as the outer fabric and the bright pattern as the lining but.... when I was quilting the layers together the machine started playing up, skipping stitches and what not. So I changed the needle but that didn't help so I thought I should have a look inside. Oh My Goodness, there was lint the size of a large hamster inside, no wonder it wasn't running properly! After a good clean and a test drive, she was running perfectly again. **Mental note to self, must clean machine more often.** Anyway, that meant that the stitching on the cream side isn't very nice so I decided to make that the lining instead.

I have finished a couple more projects, haven't taken the pictures yet, what projects are you working on?

1 down, 19 to go....

First off the list for the April Challenge....the ginormous laundry bag!

Every time we go camping I think to myself that I need to make a laundry bag, and at home we air dry the laundry but the last couple of weeks the pollen count has been so high that we have buckled and taken it to the laundrette to dry it. Of course, we have no laundry bag, but do not fear, I can fit the dirty laundry for everyone in the street in this bag....

I used some curtain fabric, it is our old curtains from the apartment, when we moved they didn't fit anything here so I stashed them, that was 3.5 years ago! The fabric is lovely and was quite expensive so I couldn't bring myself to chuck it out. The bag itself is basically an over-sized, square bottomed tote.

I wanted to practice my free motion sewing, so I added a washing line, this little owl cracks me up...

I reckon this fits the categories of large item and something for the home, not a bad start, I am full steam ahead on project two now....

Aprils Challenge

I have a problem, (some would say more than one), but the current problem is that I have too much fabric and not enough shelf space. Hmmmm.

So to in an effort to get out of this non creative funk, tidy the sewing room and make a dent in the fabric stash, I have come up with a challenge for myself.

 I have decided that this month I have to make 20 new things.

The self imposed rules....

Out of the 20 items

Everything has to be made from fabric I already own.

The only things I am allowed to buy are thread, cord, snaps etc. 

There must be at least 3 large items (to use up lots of fabric)

At least 3 items are for gifts

At least 3 use new to me patterns (from books I own)

1 item must be a treat for myself

3 items must be for the home

Some of the items are to go into the shop

and something to donate

***

Initially I thought of making something new everyday but then when I looked at my schedule I realised that was doomed to fail from the start, 20 items are achievable, I think!

I made a start yesterday, I will post about that when I have taken the pictures.