Australia Day

Happy belated Australia Day to you all. Here in Australia it was a public holiday, so NK hubby was home, and with the kids we enjoyed a lazy day around the house, besides a little trip to our local cafe for an iced coffee for hubby and myself, and a little chocolate milkshake for the kids. Here in Sydney yesterday it was a very humid day, which continued into the early evening. But by around 7.30pm it was comfortable enough to sit out on the deck and share an Australia Day dinner together...with a twist.

You see, in the NK household we are a bit of a mixed bag, so to speak. I myself am born to an Aussie mum and Italian dad, and NK hubby was born in England, to Irish parents, who then emigrated to New Zealand when NK hubby was about one, and then arrived on Aussie shores when NK hubby was 16.
So in the spirit of having a household of "mixed bags", our Australia Day dinner consisted of lamb, a nod to the kiwi's, sausages, good ol' Aussie BBQ fare, roast spuds, for the Irish and a salad of tomatoes, basil (fresh from the NK garden, unfortunately we had eaten all our ripe tomatoes last week), and fresh mozarella (which we fondly call "monsterella" in our house), drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And I threw in a baby spinach, pumpkin, fetta and pine nut salad, with a lemon and olive oil dressing, just because we like it...yum.

I hope you all enjoyed your Australia Days. Let me know how you celebrated.
So that's it from here today. I am off to pack some bags for a little weekend getaway with my hubby.
x manda

A hunt, a find and the latest pickings...

Good afternoon there ladies. I do hope you have all had a lovely weekend?

Nanny Kate headed back down the South Coast at the weekend, to help in a few more bits and pieces for the reno. Which consisted of  NK hubby and NK dad, putting up a new ceiling in the downstairs bathroom...which involved lots of hammering, and NK and NK hubby shifting our bedroom around...which I was so very happy with the result, I wanted to stay another night (boo-hoo). And NK taking down the old curtains and curtain rail in said bedroom and putting up a new curtain rail (insert cranky sweaty NK here) and new lovely floaty white curtains...aaahhhh...(insert sigh of relief and big smile here)

Not only did I sweat a bit, I also put in a bit of treasure hunting at the local op shops. Now I must say, I absolutely love an op shop! And I have great difficultly going past one without poking my nose in to see what treasure awaits me. And it seems that the local op shops down there have a very good following, so much so, that there was really was very little in the way of treasures to be found :( But I didn't come away empty handed, I managed to find myself a little white rectangular dish, just what I was after for our bedroom down the coast, you know what I mean, a little dish to put all your bibs and bobs in, like your beads and bangles and bits. And I also found this, very stained and worn, but I have a bit of a "thing" for platters and bowls, so this one at $5 I just couldn't pass up.

 And I also wanted to share something else with you that makes me smile..todays pickings from my garden. Not much but oh so colourful and pretty, not to mention tasty.

Thanks for visiting.
xx manda

Nanny Kate goes coastal

Good afternoon my lovelies. Well the Nanny Kate abode has finally returned home after just over a week away down the South Coast of New South Wales to a gorgeous little hideaway, Culburra Beach.
We are lucky enough to have family holiday house down at Culburra Beach just 3 houses away from the beach.
This old 50's fibro has been in my family for 25 years now, and I have spent many a summer and winter down there, enjoying the beach and surrounding areas such as Berry, Gerroa and Gerringong.
Since I was young, I have loved nothing more than fossicking for natures treasures such as shells, rocks and driftwood. I used to, (and still do) this hunting with my mum, we actually enjoyed a lovely fossick down at the Crookhaven River yesterday looking for suitable piece of driftwood for our newly renovated upstairs bathroom at the beach house. Photos of what I plan to do with my driftwood will follow when I have completed my little project :) And now my daughter joins Nanny and I on our hunt for shells, but she is usually after ones with a hole through which she can thread a piece of ribbon so she can make herself and her friends a necklace. Too cute!

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you some photos I took while on my little coastal break. Please be kind and excuse my lack of photographic skills, they were all taken on my iphone...just point and click. But I remember a little tip that the lovely Sarah from A Beach Cottage gave her readers on taking pics on your iphone....don't zoom in, as you tend to lose detail. Since that day forth, this has been the law for me when clicking away on my iphone. Thanks Sarah ;)

the view from my deck chair

Culburra Beach

Culburra Beach

our feety-feet...note the lily white skin, obviously the start of our holiday ;)

looking back at the dunes

my beach babe

yes...yet again....Culburra Beach

making sandcastle with my baby girl makes me smile

beach babe kicking back on her deck chair..such a hard life ;)

a bit of coastal decorating. The print you see if by the lovely Emma of Chitter & Chatter

coastal christmas tree created by my mum.
Branches courtesy of Culburra beach track, Vintage glass baubles from Culburra Vinnies

a coastal decoration courtesy of Emma's (of Chitter and Chatter) mum and dad...also coastal dwellers

What a find! Mum and I had a mother/daughter day our in Berry and we came across this gorgeous shop...I may have even purchased myself a pair of earrings ;)

the facade of Roots & Wings Design of Berry. This was another great find on our little dally into Berry. The building was originally the blacksmiths shop. Very appealing to the metalsmith in me.

another pic of Root & Wings Design

Bales of hay make me smile, as does "the green" of the south coast

Thanks for stopping by, please leave me a comment..comments make me smile.

x manda

Craft swap...Part 2

If you have arrived here and haven't yet read my previous post, Craft swap...Part 1, please scroll down and read that post first.
So...a few months back I signed up to do my very first craft swap, at a fabulous blog called Craftaholics Anonymous. It had been arranged by a lovely lady called Linda, she is based in the US and very kindly matched us all up with various people / Craftaholics worldwide. And what a fabulous job she did. Thank-you Linda. xx
I had a fabby swap buddy named Ros, another funky mama who loves to sew. Check out her fun blog here. And leave her a comment, trust me..she will LOVE you for it.
So here is what I made for Ros.

A tote bag and a zippered pouch, which fits in the tote bag. And these gorgeous patterns were from a lovely blog called Noodle-head, which was created by the talented Anna Graham. If you would like any of these patterns, and others, pop over and see Anna and her blog.

Well, that's it for tonight readers, must get back to the sewing machine, I hear it's sweet call.

xx manda

Craft swap...Part 1

Yesterday...I heard the crunch of footsteps coming up my path....I raced to the front door...for I had been awaiting a special arrival....and there it was on my doorstep...the package from my Craftaholics Anonymous handmade gift swap buddy! And I actually squealed with delight when I saw it there, lying suggestively on my doorstep ;)
I raced back inside and ripped it open..to find the most beautiful handmade delights from my new found blog friend and funky mama, Ros.
And here they are. A gorgeous handbag with beautiful big button (vintage I think?, which is my absolute favourite kind of button!), a gorgeous Christmas apron, or pinny, as my mumma would have called it (can't wait to swoon around in this little number on Christmas day, it is sooo gorgeous!), and a very cute felt and button Christmas tree decoration, which is taking pride of place on my tree this year.

Thank you so much Ros. This was my first swap, and this has given me the desire to do more. You are a gorgeous funky mama with so much talent. xx

Please check out Ros' blog Sew Delicous, leave her a comment to let her know that you dropped by via Nanny Kate. Trust me, we bloggers absolutely squeal with delight when we get a new comment. Listen closely and you just might hear a funky mama squeal tonight.

xx manda

A little something for a rainy day

Well we have had a little something for a sunny day...now here is a little something for a rainy day.
For the last few days here in Sydney the rain has been steadily coming down. I don't really want to rug up in winter style clothes, as let's face it, Christmas is just around the corner. So today I threw on a scarf and added a little brooch from Nanny Kate which has added a little sunshine to my rainy day.

x manda

A little something for a sunny day

Here are some little sundresses that I have been working on here at Nanny Kate. And I must say, that I have enjoyed making these. Just selecting the fabrics is enough to bring me out in "the happy dance"

As you all know by now, I absolutely ADORE fabric! And the fabric prints for these dresses needed to be different to the fabric prints I may usually use, for say, my little dollies or the lining of my big and little sister bags, this fabric needed to suit a big dolly...a real life dolly...a little person!
So I ran these up...let me know what you think.

They are currently available in my made it store in sizes 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4
And are priced at $28 + postage.

frilly pant-a-wear

Frills, frills, frills...now who doesn't love a pair of frilly knickers, or pant-a-wear as my little girl calls them! (too cute, not that I am biased or anything)
I have had so much fun making these beauties, it is actually really hard to stop thinking up all the combinations of fabric I could use. Such a great way to use those little treasured pieces of fabric up, that you just couldn't possibly part with, because they are just too gorgeous and one day surely you will find a use for them ;)
Enough of my day-dreaming / (dare I say) fantasising about fabric..mmmm
Onto the frilly pant-a-wear..these particular ones are all sized to fit the 12-18 months, but I will be making more in other smaller sizes, and am very happy to make to a particular colour combo and size requirement. Just message me if you want to order any of these, I am yet to put them up on my MadeIt site, but will get around to it. They are priced at $16 a pair or two for $30, plus postage.

xx manda

school holiday fun..and a bit of sanity

Here is a little something which I did with my kids today. I found the idea on this blog.
When I saw this idea, I put it in my memory bank, and those of you that know me well, will know that my memory bank isn't always available for withdrawls ;) But today was the day I needed this one.
It is only day 2 of holidays here, and the kids were starting to climb the walls already, and therefore drive this mama around the bend! So I dipped into the memory bank and remembered this little nature palette which I saw a while ago.
All it takes is some cardboard, (my weetbix box came in handy here) a marker, some crayons or textas, and some double sided tape...just a few of the usual things a crafty mama has at her disposal.
Draw the outline of a painters palette on the cardboard, then mark some circles for the colours and write the name of a colour under each one. Then set the kids to work on colouring in the circles with the relevant colour (this is where the big ones that can read, can help the little ones who can't quite just yet), then when they have finished that, you can stick on some double sided tape into each now beautifully coloured-in circle...then put the kettle on...open the back doors and "set the monkeys free"
Where upon they will (hopefully) happily roam free in the garden/yard and pull leaves off plants, petals off your flowers and dig in the rocks to find the bits and pieces they need to complete their nature palette.

Give it a go...you might even get some time for a quiet cuppa ;)

before...

and after.

xx manda

Happy Anniversary

Well, this isn't strictly a Nanny Kate thing, but I thought I would share it with you all anyway.
Last Wednesday was my 9th wedding anniversary, and this is the card I made for my much loved hubby.
I really enjoyed making this one, and I think he quite liked it too ;)
The products I used are from stampin' up, with the exception of the 2 light blue rub-ons. If you want to find out more about stampin' up and their gorgeous products go and see my friend and stampin' mama Juliette. She is a very talented and very lovely lady, she even has classes, where you can go along and make some cards or a project. Go on, treat yourself, you won't regret it..it is sooo much fun, and trust me, anyone can do it!

xx manda

Yummy chocolate truffles

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend and are ready to take on Father's Day tomorrow (for those of you who are in Australia that is)

A couple of weekends ago I shared a lovely weekend away for 30 or so other stampin' mamas in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. And it was all organised by a gorgeous lady who is beautiful both inside and out..Marelle Taylor (find her blog here)
And on that weekend away we were all asked to bring a little something to share for morning / afternoon tea. I decided to bring some yummy choccies truffles. Now this recipe was given to me by my very dear friend Mel, a truly inspirational woman.

Now Mel assured me, as I will assure you, that they are so very easy to make...and very hard to stop eating!

Here is the recipe:

300g Oreo cookies
250g block of cream cheese
dark or milk chocolate (for dipping)
white chocolate (for drizzling)

-chuck the cookies in the food processor and whiz until finely crushed.
-chuck in the cream cheese and whiz again, until it is all nicely squished together.
-roll mixture into whatever size balls you like (I like to do mine slightly larger than the size of a macadamia nut, but it is totally up to you)
-then I put them on a tray and throw them in the fridge for about an hour.
-then you can use a toothpick if you like for this step, dip them into the melted chocolate.
-if it takes your fancy, you can drizzled some white chocolate over them (I like to do this, because it hides any choccie dipping boo-boo's and makes them look pretty!)

Have fun making these yummy treats...maybe even some for dad tomorrow? If he is lucky enough.

x manda

A rose for a rose

Just a quick one to share with you all today. I wanted to liven up a little denim pinafore I bought for my daughter and thought I would try my hand at making fabric rolled roses...and I must say they were so very simple to make, and a good reason to save those little strips of fabric offcuts, not like I need an excuse though ;) And I love how there are all the little raggy bits show up too, it gives it a fun, casual feel. Oh, and of course, I had to make her a matching hairclip! Which she refused to model for me so I could take a photo. Those of you that know my little girl, know that she is strong willed and won't change her mind until she wants to, so sorry, no photos of the little one with the golden curls today.

What do you think? Have any of you out there made these little beauties before? Any tips or tricks?
Would love to hear from you all, please share what you have been up to in the crafting room lately.

x manda

made it..

...the online store that is.

Today was the day that I took the dive and finally set-up my madeit.com.au store.
It has been ages since I have meant to get my backside into gear and list some things on made it.
Please check my store out, look around and see if there is anything you would like to take-away with you!
This is the link www.madeit.com.au/NannyKate