Hamner holiday

It was about time we had a bit of a break from New Brighton - as much as we love it here, the roadworks are edging ever closer to our house....so off we went.  Andy's lovely work gave him a holiday bonus, so we were even able to take the kids skiing.....Lots of fun!

the view from our road as we were leaving New Brighton

the view of the cute wee batch when we arrived in Hamner

family fun round the brazier toasting marshmallows

sparkler fun!

time to celebrate birthdays with a cake the kids decorated

my wee man is growing up!

gracie wanted to take the bunnies home!

isn't he adorable!

some of Paul's handiwork with a gas cutter on the brazier

Jack's Pass looking beautiful

T and G found a snow cave to play in...

It was just what we needed - so blessed to have such generous and loving whanau to holiday with!

Day 3 of Shock Frock to Rock Frock

So day two was a wee while ago - in between it has been school holidays - which had us juggling work and kiddies and a lovely trip to Hamner with family...Speaking of family, my amazing bro-bro in law (my sisters bro-in-law to be exact) made this amazing brazier - he never does things by halves:

Isn't it amazing - he made the words out with a gas cutter

Anyhow - day three of my frock remake is looking like this:

the collar has become the bust ruffle

This is the back - not sure why it wants to be sideways!?!?!

and this shows the slashed sleeve detail

I slashed the sleeve, edged it with vintage satin bias binding and stitched vintage pearl buttons along it - a bit of a medieval touch!  The satin underskirt is some leftover fabric i was given by a friend who had been sewing up bridesmaid dresses...

So anyway,  i have to post it off on the 7th of August - which is coming up fast! Best get cracking... :)

Day two of shock frock to rock frock!

I got to use my new sewing shears for the first time today - i am still mourning the loss of my old Toledo shears - they were cruely butchered by a person who was supposed to be sharpening them!
However here is the progress from day 2:

the upcycling begins

I tried the collar look, but it immediately gave an Elvis look, so ditched that idea for now.  Have cut the pleated skirt and soaking it to get the pleats out, which will give me more fabric to play with.  I am currently searching through my stash to find some floaty fabric that goes with it, to experiment with a flowing skirt look.  

Stay tuned for the next installment of  my frock stars upcycling project!

Frock Stars Rock!

I randomly came across Frock Stars last week.  What a find!!! Some lovely ladies in Fairlie who have an op shop have come up with the fantastic idea to hold a competition with some of their 'ikky' old op shop frocks.  So I now have 4 weeks to transform my frock into a thing of beauty - there are different categories - children, non dress item, street wear, evening wear and day wear...

Eveningwear just happens to be inspired by fairy tales this year, so that is where i am heading.  At the moment i am floating somewhere between the lady of the lake, and the little mermaid.  Here is my frock to begin with:

my lovely polyester op shop dress

in all its pleated polyester glory!

The label says for young women of all ages!?!?

and its made in NZ 

so who knows where this one will head - I am excited to find out what lovely creative journey Frock Stars will take me on! Oh and here is the link to their website:

http://www.frockstars.webs.com/

sew far to go

I got the bunting bug again - but i was quite time poor, and decided an easy peasy one was needed.  So i cut up Andy's old map i rescued from the recycling bin, and teamed it up with some vintage ric rac trim i found at an op-shop...

Here is the result:

I don't think Andy has worked out its his map from student days...

And here is our slice of paradise - Aotearoa NZ

I think i might pop this into the package going to Uncle and Auntie (Hubby's bro) who live over in England....A wee reminder of home so far away... :)