Babylost, Motherhood, Mother's Day, Photography {and me just crapping on}

I guess you can call this 'part II' to "My Mummy's Day" post. I blogged all about the early Mother's Day gift I received from Mr R and the kids. I thought I'd post the photos, that were finally printed and framed!

pho·tog·ra·phy  (f-tgr-f)

n.

1. The art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces.

2. The art, practice, or occupation of taking and printing photographs.

3. A body of photographs.

'Photography' - everyone has their own style, likes and dislikes. However I'm almost certain that when a professional photographer takes a photo, even they are biased, and perhaps love a photo that they've taken more, just because it has someone they love in it...

Now, more importantly, Mother's Day, and motherhood. Once again, everyone has their own style, likes and dislikes.

moth·er·hood  (mr-hd)

n.

1. The state of being a mother.

2. The qualities of a mother.

3. Mothers considered as a group. [read as gang.]

There was no purpose to me adding the dictionary definition of 'Motherhood', other than to make myself feel important.

It only dawned on me the other day, that this coming Mother's day will be the 13th Mother's day that I've celebrated as a mother. Not bad, considering I'm only thirty.

Thirteen years, wow. What an exciting time it's been too! There have been ups and downs, but mostly ups. What a rewarding role it is to play!

Did you know that the 2nd of May is International Babylost Mother's Day? Babylost Mother's Day is for all the Mothers out there that have lost a pregnancy, baby or child. What a wonderful idea.

We have had our own 'Babylost' babies -

❤ Firstly Mark {born sleeping 2000}, and also a little girl {around 14 to 16 weeks gestation 2006}. It was such a tough time trying to conceive Miss [almost] 2, we had seven miscarriages in a three year period. Heart breaking, in fact it slowly ruined me.

I'm still their Mother...

 

So to all the women who love a child - regardless of whether the child is yours, if the child is your niece or nephew, your angel baby, or even that baby you've been praying for... Happy Mothers Day.

xx


I thought I'd post up the photos Mr. R and the kids used in the photo frames.  

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A then Miss 9 and Master 5, painting the inside of their cubby house - I will be blogging about that soon!

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I really don't know why I love this photo so much. I remember we took my Mum out for a picnic on her birthday, out to Dayboro - I love that park so much! It was Mum's first birthday since Dad had passed away... they were married for 40 years. 

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A then Miss 11 took this photo of Mr R and myself snuggling on the couch.

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Playing dress ups with her big sister, and her big sister's best friend. It was a fun afternoon!

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Playing 'peek-a-boo' in the cubby house.

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Ms 13 with her best mate "Mozzie"

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Mr R took this photo - Afternoon at the park

Teddy Bear's Picnic - Part 2 {How to: Make 'no-sew' Pennant}

This ‘no sew’ pennant is very easy to make.

This is actually one of the ‘Hand-made ❤ Home-made’ gifts I’m making, and it will be apart of Miss [almost] 2's birthday present. Some of the fabrics I’ve utilised in this project are the same ones I used making her quilt, so they will tie in nicely together, without being too similar.

The pennant will not only make a nice addition to her bedroom, but it will also make a nifty decoration for her ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’ themed birthday party.

Get your shit together woman!

❤ Dodgy template, cut out from a piece of A4 paper.

❤ Scrap material, re-purposed old clothes, and old bed sheets for the fabric.

❤ Bias binding, the widest I could buy. {I've made this pennant 10 metres, the binding is $1.30AU per metre. } 

❤ Spray glue, decent brand. I used Bostik.

❤ Sewing machine. HAH! I lied, there is sewing involved! OK, so I twisted the truth a little...  [insert evil laugh]

Pin the flags to bias binding - Ready for sewing

It's pretty straight forward...

Do most of my sewing in
the 'bat cave' at night,
to avoid a certain 'little helper'.

Step 1. Make template. Well dur!

Step 2. Cut out lots of triangles. Mine were approximately 19cm wide x 22cm long. 

Step 3. Pin the fabric triangle in between the folded bias binding and sew together. 

Step 4. Spray the glue over the back of the fabric triangles and let dry. Try not to make it too thick as you don't want the fabric to be stiff, just enough to stop the material from fraying. *Best to take step 4 outside.

I used coat hangers on
my clothes line,to prevent
the line from getting sticky.

•Hang pennant up on clothes line,  and trim loose threads.

•I hung an old painting sheet behind the pennant, and laid some more painting sheets on the ground, to protect the area from spray glue.

•Be careful to only spray the pennants that are open straight - you do not want them glued to themselves, or another piece of fabric for that matter.

I didn't see any other tutorials that did the no-sew the same way, so I can't vouch that it is entirely fool proof, but it worked for me. So please don't send me hate mail because your pennant didn't work out for you. :P

End result in Miss [almost] 2's room.

If you found this helpful why not leave a comment, and let me know!

My Mum's Day... ❤

You must check out my early Mother's Day gift from the kids (and Mr R).

Finally got some of my photos printed,
framed and hung in the kids play room. *sighs with contentment*

I had been threatening to do this for some time, gradually picking up photo and picture frames cheaply at thrift shops. I painted three of them 'off white'... I'm not sure why though - I was possibly high on caffeine at the time. [shrugs]

This is also a great time to mention just how much I love my husband. One thing I love is that he makes me laugh, although most of the time it's his toilet humor that amuses me.

However this time it was his genuine interest and enthusiasm while we hung my pictures. He was unsure initially about the styles and lack of consistency in the photo frames I was bringing home - you could physically see him cringe.

When we were about half way through hanging the photos, he was saying how he really loves the "chaotic arrangement of the frames" and how "the different styled frames make it 'work'".  I looked at him adoringly, and resisted the urge to say "I told you so!". If you read this babe, I love you! :D

The wall the photo's are hung on is approximately 4 1/2 metres in length, excluding the window.

The photo frames I picked up would have only come to about $40 in total, if that. Most of these photos were printed in 8x 10" size, so it covers a pretty large area of the wall. 

Anyway, what more would a mum love on Mother's day, than pictures of her stunning children strewn across the wall?

Do you know what you're getting for Mother's day?


UPDATED: If you're interested in seeing the photos we had enlarged for these frames, check out my post called Babylost, Mother's Day, Motherhood {and me just crapping on}.

Where All The Action Happens! {Our Play Room}

Our 'Play Room' - Thought it was time to dish out some posts I've had sitting in my drafts folder.

We use our rumpus room as the kids 'Play Room'. It wasn't easy to create a space for a Teen, tween, and toddler combination.

You and I both know that this isn't the way our play room normally looks - picture this room completely trashed. That's the way it ought to be, right!

Corner cupboard stores board games and puzzles 
Hallway table stores toddler toys and
underneath stores the keyboard.

If you've followed my blog or are just one of my friends stalking me, you know I'm a thrift freak - I can tell you it doesn't have to cost the earth to set up a play room. It would have only cost around $140 to furnish this room.

Your main battle will be finding the space, which we are very spoilt to have ample.


Everyone needs a table and chairs, and with a teen almost the same height as me (5'8") teeny tiny stuff is out - we need the Real McCoy now. 

Craft Cupboard - This stores all the goodies and dress ups.
Plastic drawers for more toys, blocks and Lego
- lots and lots of Lego!

Miss [almost] 2's inside play area is in the corner of the play room, placed next to a nice big window for natural light. Miss [almost] 2 sits here to have her morning tea sometimes, hence the vacuum cleaner.

Note the strategically placed vacuum cleaner -
it gets used so much, I rarely even bother packing it away.

So now when you see a post  on my blog of painted windows, contact 'stained glass', or a handmade birthday card  - you know where all the action is happening... our play room.

Granny Tribute! (oh, and Daddy's birthday)

Well as the title suggests, Grandparents are awesome and Granny {MIL} came to visit us over the Easter break!

Really, I'm just going to brag about my MIL so you will be envious of how good I've got it! [insert smug look]

Mr R on his birthday with 'Mummy'- He is such a ratbag and I wouldn't want him any other way...

We've had an 'eventful' week... I could lie and say it's been 'fabulous', but the truth is it sucks when you're unwell. Yep, I think I had the dreaded.... [whispers] 'man-flu' - for the life of me I couldn't stop complaining!

Poor Granny, she was stuck here for 5  l o n g  days, with myself and Mr R sick. I have to say it was nice to have someone here to justify my need for chocolate. Husbands just don't 'get it'.

It was a bit of a bummer, Mr. R had his birthday on Friday, which turned out to be pretty lame, because we were unwell [and poor]. 

We did stop off at the 'beach', which is, come to think of it, more like a mangrove.




Anyway, having Granny here was a great excuse to pull the camera out and start clicking....

'Deception Bay' - looking very... deceptive.

In my defense, I was sick, it was about 11am, and the sun was in full swing. I don't own any fancy filters or lenses - only my trusty 50mm and two zoom lenses that came with the camera.

That isn't sand, that's mud - so soft and fine,
you could shovel it up and use it as a mud pack

We also did the "stock standard" photos in the back yard, of Granny with the kids. As you do.

Granny with her 'minions'

Ms 13 and Master 9 have had Granny and Grandad in their lives since they were 7 and 3. It's nice to think that Master 9 wouldn't remember a time without them in his life. Very special.

Granny is one of those people who genuinely loves children (well, to some point). Granny is a kindergarten teacher, so you can imagine that some days she probably loathes school and snotty little children.

One thing the kids and I love about Granny, is that she is a firm believer in 'play comes first and housework comes later', so it's always fun to have Granny around.

Yep, I must have the only MIL who doesn't check for dust! Really, it's just like having another big kid here. Awesome! 

Miss [almost] 2 is their first paternal grandchild, but they've already built up their grand-parenting skill set years prior to little missy coming along. 

Aside from my immediate family (husband and children), I really only have my mother left - all my grandparents passed away when I was younger, and I never grew up with aunts, uncles and cousins.

I can't stress enough the importance of extended family, especially grandparents.

We would love to drive down sometime this year to visit Mr. R's Grandparents 'Nanna and Pop', so they can meet Miss [almost] 2 in person - not just by photos...

Everyone's sad when Granny has to go home...

Teaching The Kids How To Vandalise, Yay! {Window Painting}

Who would have thought vandalising could be so much fun! Can't take credit for this, I 'yoinked' the idea from Childhood 101 - Christie and the team over there are just amazing!

Miss [almost] 2 working her magic.

Master 9 "In the zone" - He is such
a character...

We had so much fun as a family painting the window, it even felt a bit rebellious!!

This totally gives away I'm Virgo right?

Mr R and I dug out some basic poster paints from the craft cupboard and set Miss [almost] 2 and Master 9 up to start being little vandals.

I'm still unsure if the paint will actually come off the windows, but it's our house so we don't care if it does or not.

Wasn't long before Ms 13 joined in the fun after her morning walk with Granny

This lovely family activity will more than likely backfire on me, I'm certain I could see it ticking over in Miss [almost] 2's mind, pondering what she could deface next.

Ms 13  Geez-Whiz I love that girl to pieces!

One day there will be no more cheery
pictures being drawn on my windows,
they'll all be grown up

Eat your heart out  Michelangelo

Darling Desk, Precious Plates And More {Latest Thrift}

I know you're all insanely jealous of my thifty finds, and I'm OK with that. [smirks]

This pint sized desk was a bargin at $5, of course it needs some work - but not much. Perfect size for Miss [almost] 2 to grow into.

Al it needs is a coat of paint, handles and a new latch.

  

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Miss [almost] 2 looks well proportioned to her new desk, don't you think?

I know I don't come across like a plate collector, (because I'm not) but I do love thinking about how many afternoon teas or dinner parties some of these pieces have seen. Paid about $3 - $4 each, can't remember exactly. I have some platters of my late grandmother's that date back to the late 1890's.

Simpsons Potters 1940's ::  Grimwades 1920's

Yet another awesome buy, two cute little chairs - $1 each

Made for a nice prop in one of my weekly photo challenge entries for "Jewellery"