Thursday 22 December 2011

Christmas Cheer


With only three days until Christmas (yes ... THREE!), things are looking rather Christmassy in our house now.  It's such a beautiful time of year!  I'm not sure who is more excited - me or the kids! 

Such a busy time too, with lots of lovely catch-ups and social events - and oh, how I loved all the Christmas shopping!  I'm a big fan of shopping in general, but at Christmas time it is even more enjoyable, especially when shopping for the kids.  It is really quite a social affair too - continually bumping into people you haven't seen for ages!  Anyway, I'm pleased to report that my shopping is now done, presents are wrapped and the Christmas baking is underway. 

Before I head off to bed for some much-needed sleep as the big day draws near, I thought I would share some photos of the Christmas Cheer in our home ...

A reminder to spread the Christmas cheer as you walk through the front door ...
Decorating the Tree ...
Our Tree!
Love these Tissue Balls
Counting down the days till Christmas
Scrabble Letters
Our Christmas Stocking Advent Calendar - The boys are loving it!
Yummy smelling Christmas candles!
Making gingerbread Christmas biscuits
Christmas craft
Some of our homemade decorations
A little collection of Christmas books in the lounge
Beautiful Willow Tree Nativity Scene
Santa Bags awaiting Santa's arrival ...

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas.
May you all enjoy the magic of the festive season!

Monday 5 December 2011

Rowan's Room

Time for some photos of the only other child's room in my house that I haven't yet shared ... Rowan's room.  This was originally our guest room and while it was very handy for family members who live long distances away, it was time to transform it into a room for Rowan, since a new little bub was on the way.  It was also a good opportunity for me to start preparing the nursery for the new baby whilst I was in my crazy 'nesting' stage (well, that was basically the whole pregnancy, haha!).


Rowan is a very happy, energetic and inquisitive little two year-old, who particularly loves cars, utes and basically anything with wheels!  With that in mind, I decided on the 'vehicle' bedding as the starting point for his room.  From there I set out to create a modern, colourful and happy space for our little man - inspired by the lovely, bright, primary colours (blue, red and yellow) on the bedding.  I also wanted the room to be suited to his age - I like to decorate kids' rooms as 'kid' spaces rather than as 'grown up' rooms ... I figure kids are only little once, so why not make the room as inspiring and as much fun as possible for that short, precious stage of their lives?  While the furniture can be purchased to last for many years, the bedding, toys and smaller accessories can easily be replaced with 'older kid' stuff when needed.

Here's a peek inside the finished room ...



For my first little project, I took one of the pillowcases into Spotlight and selected some fabrics to match, then used them to make the bunting to hang across his curtains.  Such an easy way to brighten up a child's room!


The next step was the purchase of the furniture.  We decided on white timber complimented with dark-stained trim for Rowan's 'big bed' and bookshelf.  We already had the red ottoman in the playroom and decided it would be a great addition to the new room as a bedside table - it also doubles as a handy seat for Mummy and Daddy for bedtime story time!  Hubby and I made the wooden name for the wall above the bed.  


I created a little reading nook for Rowan in one of the corners of his room.  The cute child-sized chair was originally in the playroom, however I decided it was just right for this space.  The round mat is from Ikea and is great for zooming little wooden cars and tractors on!  As mentioned in an earlier post, the little old bookstand was rescued from hubby's work and revamped, now holding a selection of little books and old school readers from the 70s!



The blank wall opposite the window was in desperate need of some colour!  You guessed it ... just the spot for a tree!  I just love to bring elements of nature into children's rooms.  I couldn't resist another tree wall sticker from Mooo and out of all the trees I considered, this one was the best colour match for his room - I was actually able to select blue, red and yellow birds to fit in with the colour-scheme.  The owls on a branch with the 'Rowan's Room' sticker add a nice, personalised touch also.


The blue shaggy rug (which is sooo soft underfoot) was purchased online for a fantastic price - it actually looks brighter in the photos than it really is.  The toy baskets were a great little find from a discount store and hold wooden blocks and cars.

I painted an Ikea Frosta stool glossy white and added some inexpensive alphabet wall stickers to a bare spot on the wall between the built-in-robes and the opened door.


Finally, it was time to add some of Rowan's treasures to the bookshelf - toys are a such lovely way to add colour to a child's space!

I found the bird shelf-stand in a discount store for a couple of dollars and just had to have it!  Hubby spray-painted it blue to suit the room.  Isn't the owl clock gorgeous too?  It was gift from one of Rowan's aunties.  Also note the CD player on top of the bookshelf - essential for playing beautiful, soothing lullabies each night to help Rowan drift off to sleep!




Rowan was really excited to move into his 'big boy' room!  We were pleasantly surprised how smooth the transition from cot to the big bed actually was.  Now, we are just working on getting him to sleep through the night ...

Oh, and just in case you're interested, below is a pic of the room BEFORE the transition to Rowan's room.


VIBE:  Modern, Bright & Cheerful

SOURCE INFO:
Bed & Bookcase: Sleep City
Ottoman: Fantastic Furniture
Bedding: Spotlight
Bunting: DIY
Chair: The Reject Shop
Floor Rug: Ozsale.com.au
Small Round Mat: Ikea
Tree, Birds & Owl Wall Stickers: Mooo
Alphabet Wall Stickers: Cheap As Chips
Toy Storage Baskets & Bird Shelf Stand: Sam's Warehouse
White Stool: Ikea 'Frosta'
Bookstand: Rescued from Hubby's work
Wooden Name: DIY
Wooden Name Puzzle: Mooo
Squirrel Bookend: Cocoon Couture
Wooden Abacus: Bajo
Shape Sorter: Tupperware
Owl Clock: Gift
Metal Buckets: The Reject Shop
Soft Toys: Gifts

Monday 28 November 2011

Wall Stickers

You may have noticed by now that I like wall stickers.  In fact, I love them!  They are easy to apply, can add such a 'wow' factor to a room and the best bit - they are removable so you can move them elsewhere when you decide to re-decorate!  I fondly remember the wall stickers my mum had in my playroom when I was a kid - they were fantastic but unfortunately for mum, were not able to be removed without damaging the paintwork like the ones they make today!

I must admit that I have parted with quite a few dollars when it comes to wall stickers in my home - mainly the beautiful trees on the playroom and bedroom walls - but in my opinion the money has been well spent!  I've discovered, however, that there are some really inexpensive options available as well.  I thought I'd share my latest wall sticker purchase which has proven very successful in providing entertainment for my little ones during nappy change time!  I found these lovely woodland stickers in a discount store and they cost a total of six dollars, can you believe it?  They are not exactly the same quality material as the designer decals, but pretty effective all the same.

Here are some photos of little Kallan enjoying the stickers in the changing area in our laundry ...


Not only do they act as a distraction, but they are also beneficial for the littlies' language development  - providing an opportunity for discussion about the animals, the shapes and the colours ... bonus!

Nothing permanent either, so I can whip them down when we need a change (pun not intended!) or when the kids are a bit older and we no longer need to provide nappy change-time entertainment!

Now for a sneak peek at what's coming up in my next post ...

Friday 25 November 2011

Four Months

Wow - four months already!  Time to share some more photos of our littlest man, Kallan. What a beautiful age it is too - lots of smiles and laughs, reaching out and grabbing toys, oh and he has definitely found his voice now - quite a loud one at that!  I'm trying to remember to record all his milestones for the Baby Book.

One of the most heart-warming little moments I experienced recently was when I got up to bubby in the night and, despite feeling rather fatigued, I was greeted by such excitement and smiles - just beautiful!







Tuesday 22 November 2011

Banana Muffins

Baking with the kids is always fun - messy, but fun!  My boys really enjoy a good baking session!

Our latest little baking adventure was a batch of tasty banana muffins.  The recipe we used was super simple - I believe the easier the better when baking with the kids, so that they can do most of the steps themselves.  We also chose this recipe as we had some bananas that were getting a bit over-ripe and therefore ideal for baking with.  I thought I'd share the recipe and some snaps of the boys throughout the process ...

Super Easy Banana Muffins

2 cups self raising flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
60g (2oz) butter
1/4 cup milk (more if required)
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix the butter and sugar together.  
Add all other ingredients and stir until combined.  
Spoon into greased muffin tins or cupcake wrappers.  
Bake in moderate oven for approx. 30 mins or until cooked.  
Enjoy!

Rowan eager to start
Damon mixing
Spooning the mixture into the wrappers
All ready to go into the oven
Damon icing a baked muffin
Rowan icing his banana muffin
Normally we don't ice these muffins but the boys were keen to do so this time, so I let them get creative with some 'Writing Icing' pens!

Ready to eat!

Yum!

Sunday 20 November 2011

Bookstand Revamp

Remember that little old bookstand I mentioned in an earlier post - the one my lovely hubby rescued from his work?  Well, it has now been cleaned and spray-painted (hubby ended up doing the painting late at night, with some paint he found in his shed) and it now sits in Rowan's bedroom, holding a selection of books in his little reading nook!  I'm really pleased with the finished project.



The books in the bookstand are mostly old Australian school readers from the 1970s.  I just love them!  They were actually being thrown out during the relocation of the school I was teaching at quite a few years ago, so I saved a few and am so pleased I did!  I love the simple, repetitive text and my boys seem to as well!  Check out some of the lovely, colourful, 70s style illustrations ...





My boys also really like the book, 'Little Owl Leaves the Nest'.  It was a lucky find in a thrift shop and, as well as having lovely illustrations, has flaps to lift and two different endings - almost like a simple, kids' version of those 'pick-a-path' books I used to read as a teenager, hehe.  What fun!


What makes this simple little project even more satisfying, is the fact that every time I go into Rowan's room, several of the books are scattered on the mat in his reading nook - so I know he is enjoying them!