To Cover...Or Not?

Earlier today on facebook I asked our wonderful likers what their thoughts were on nursing/feeding covers before I went to the trouble of making one for feeding our soon-to-be-here baby... And I must admit that their replies have me more confused than before I asked the question!  While everyone has totally valid reasons for loving or hating them I think it might be something that might be very useful for us once this baby arrives.

See with baby #1 I could sit at leisure in parents rooms while out and about and take my own sweet time with feeding him and cover up as needed with a muslin wrap.  When #2 came along #1 was small enough to leave strapped securely in the pram, supplied with snacks, while I took the time I needed in a parents room to feed #2. But I worry that with #3, the boys, who will be 5 and 3.5, won't play quietly in parents rooms and I'll be that annoying mum whose kids crazy shenanigans are distracting the other babies from feeding properly.  Plus I have vivid (and painful) memories of #2 craning his head to see what #1 was up to during what was supposed to be feeding time, so I figured some kind of barrier might help the little one concentrate.

Nursing Cover from BabyWilde on etsy

I love the style of the one pictured above, with boning in the top so it doesn't sit completely draped over the baby's face and you can still see bub and whatever else is going on while feeding.  I also love that they have an adjustable strap so it sits around your neck and you have both hands free for bub!  There are stacks of tutorials online so I figured I'd give one a go and if it didn't suit us then I could always give it to someone else having a baby... Now if I could just pick a fabric...

Easter Gifts.

Our boys are blessed to have super lovely preschool teachers and Easter is a chance for the boys to show their teachers a little bit of appreciation in the form of some edible yumminess. However, I'm aware that the teachers are bombarded with a mountain of chocolate at Easter so we kept it relatively simple this year by making these...

I'd seen something similar out in blogland, but didn't pin it because they were made into glass jars, and I wanted something more little-boy-friendly!  So I can't remember exactly where the idea is from, suffice to say it's not my own!

So what we used were some cello bags I had leftover from an old packaging idea (though you could easily use squares of clear cello), with some shredded green paper from the $2 Shop, some decent quality chocolate eggs and a fluffy chick for each bag.  They were sealed shut, a length of ribbon tied around the top and a small gift tag added to identify which gift was for which teacher...or maybe more because the boys were adamant I not mix up the bags they'd each made!! This also proved to be a good counting exercise for Mr 3 who likes to jump from nine to twelve, skipping ten and eleven along the way!  Oh, and the tags were a fortunate find on Pinterest... you can download your own here - just don't send all twenty-six pages to print (unless you want to of course)!!

Market Wrap Up.

So yesterday was our day at Handmade Canberra, and as always it was lovely to meet and chat with some of the nicest shoppers I've come across at markets.  It's always a pleasure to welcome back the regulars too and to hear feedback on how much they love what they've previously purchased!!  Seriously, Canberrans have a wonderful appreciation for handmade products and are always interested in the inspiration and processes behind the various products.  The day was a bit quieter than we've previously experienced down there, but it turns out that it's a long weekend for the ACT and lots of residents seemed to have headed out of town!  On the upside though, it did allow me a chance to get to know some of the stallholders around us and to catch up with old market buddies.

 

If you look really closely, you'll see our stand in the middle of the pic!

Mr IndigoElephant even bumped into his cousin's husband (one of the blokiest blokes I know and not one you'd expect to see at Handmade, though he did state that he'd reached his arty crafty quota for the year!) and daughter out for a bit of shopping.  They had a great time catching up, which just happened to be photographed in the picture above!  

The Face Washers were popular too!

It was great catching up with super talented designer and photographer Ros from Grace Designs who has captured some wonderful images from the market, including all the ones in this post.  The rest can be viewed over here, looking through all these makes me wish I had more time to spend shopping at the market, but Mr IndigoElephant is onto me and conveniently disappears for long periods.  No he's not shopping, just exploring Canberra!!  I'm glad I was able to add to my Six In A Row collection before the market started and while the Mister was getting coffee, because that's all the shopping I managed to fit in! 

Tie Tees are always in demand!

We sold stacks of Tie Tees and Bunny Tees, so I have quite a few custom orders to get made up this week of sizes that sold out during the day.  And I need to get more Pram Blankets made, thanks to their popularity on the day and restocking supplies at Shop Handmade... Actually I need to get a lot of things made this week to fill orders that have come in recently! Better get making!

Canberra...again!

That's right it's time for Handmade Canberra again and so we're off on a quick visit to our nation's capital.  This will be our first market for 2012 and you will only find IndigoElephant there on the Saturday.  Unfortunately my back can't cope with standing for two days + eight-ish weeks of all day sickness at the beginning of this pregnancy has made preparation for a two day event a challenge!  So, if you want to get your fix of our goodies, head over to the National Convention Centre on Saturday 10th March from 10am - 4pm.  You can find us on the right hand side of the far left aisle in the main room, don't forget to come and say hi.  There is plenty of parking on site and loads of gorgeous stalls to shop at.  A full list of particiapting designers can be found here - don't tell Mr IndigoElephant, but I'm already planning my shopping list!

The Week That Was...

Another week has slipped past, faster than expected (again).  Things have been super busy at IndigoElephant HQ, as always there's the constant juggle between parenting and working, which will only become trickier once #3 arrives!  I'm hoping to be a bit better organised by then, or at least that's the aim!  If you'd like to see what's been keeping me busy, read on:

Buying new fabric, washing it and watching it dry!  Can't wait to cut into some of this lot today.  I'm particularly loving the second from the right (above), it's called Ice Cream from Riley Blake's Fly A Kite range, the colours are just gorgeous!

Also arriving during the week was something for me... Lotta Jansdotter's Standing Stones in yellow.  I'm planning on using it to myself a Make It Perfect Versatile Wrap Skirt to get me through this pregnancy.  It'll look great with boots through Winter and sandals during Summer, as long as I don't hate it by then!

Of course most of the week has been spent working on Face Washer sets and Burp Cloths... pinning, sewing, trimming, turning, ironing, top stitching and packaging in the lead up to Handmade Canberra on March 10.  You'll find us there on the Saturday only, as I can't manage a two day event at the moment.  If you do come along, please stop and say hi, it's always wonderful to meet you guys in person!!

The coming week will probably look much the same, with lots of cutting, pinning and sewing squeezed in amongst the regular Mummy-type things that fill my week.  Hope you all have a fantastic week too!

Do you do Valentines?

Social media is buzzing with good wishes, gift ideas and crafty activites for Valentines Day.  But we've never celebrated the occasion, even back in our dating days.  Each to their own though, I have lots of friends who do celebrate the day, and I don't want to take anything away from them!

Each year, in the lead up to V Day, Mr IndigoElephant reminds me that he hasn't gotten me anything, to which I reply that I haven't gotten him anything either! Almost as though we need to have the conversation, in case our expectations for the day might have changed from what we've done for the last thirteen-ish years.  If  I was doing something to mark the day, I'd want to make some of these...

The Smitten Kitchen White and Dark Hearted Brownies have been on my "to try" list for ages. Aren't they cute!! I will get around to making them someday... just not today as the sewing machine is calling me.  

I feel incredibly blessed to have a husband who demonstrates his love for his family every single day, in numerous ways.  Particularly over the last eight weeks, while I've been unbelievably nauseous and ill, he has taken on the full load of caring for us, doing all the meal planning & cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning (including when I couldn't make it to the bathroom before a vomit), all things related to the boys from bottom wiping, to entertaining, to baths & bedtime stories - literally everything. He's a treasure, and I'm so grateful he's my Mister!

We Baked.

Sydney weather has been more than a little damp lately, read rain or storms - every. single. day.   Our garden and nearby parks are a soggy mess, the boys are fast developing cabin fever and there is only so much TV we can handle!  So yesterday we baked some of Emma's delicious jam drops. Such an easy recipe and the kids love them!

I don't think these will last too long!  My boys aren't overly into crafty activities, so I'm being tested in my ability to keep them occupied during this long wet spell.  And with more rain forecast over the next few weeks, I'm fast running out of ideas.  Any tips you have will be more than welcome!