DIY: Cloud cushion

I am in love with clouds for kid's stuff. Whether it's cushions or shirt deco I can't resist. So I had to make one for Ragna's room. I used a simple towel from IKEA to make this one. It's pretty easy. Just cut two pieces in cloud shape, sew them together leaving a small gap open. Turn it inside out, fill it and then close the seam and do a contrast zig zag stitching all around the cushion. I used yellow thread for it. But the options are of course endless...

Surprise, surprise

Source: www.almondella.com



Source: www.citruslane.com

Source: www.peekabox.hk



I love surprises! But only the nice ones of course. And what about surprises that come delivered to your house once per month! Yeah, want that.

Ever heard of ALMONDELLA or CITRUSLANE ? Almondella ships for free within Europe and Citruslane within the US (no shipping fee either). You can select your plan, just one box to test it out or boxes over a period of 3, 6 or 12 months. The box content is customised to your baby's needs. And you can skip boxes if you don't like them.

So here was I living in Hong Kong and longing for those cool boxes but no shipping to Hong Kong, sorry la...

But, tatata, a clever business person came up with the same idea. So you can get your baby box in Hong Kong, too. It's called PEEKABOX . They only do clothes though. But that's a nice thing, too. So my boys will receive a monthly box according to their age and my taste (you can choose from several options). I will test it for three months and then see if I like it. Unfortunately all those boxes cover only age 0-3 years. So my daughter is out of the game...

I am already so excited. Can't wait to hold my first surprise box in my hands.

Oh and I think it makes for a great gift, too.

Made by Mama: Summer sleeping bags

I made these sleeping bags a few weeks ago for our trip to Thailand. I can't help it but the sleeping bags I find in shops here in HK are not my taste. So this time I made them the way I like them. Not that much work. Plus I have reduced part of my fabrics piling up everywhere...
(I simply copied an existing sleeping bag for the pattern.)

Birthday boys

Last week we have celebrated the boys' first birthday! Oh my, how fast did that go! One year already...  So many sleepless nights but also so much joy and fun! It's so cute to watch them play and interact with each other. And they are little charmers smiling at everybody. Hope they will keep that good spirit up! They are so different from their big sister. Very very active and strong, just like boys are... On the other hand they love to be cuddled and give hugs very generously. I wonder how these little persons will develop over the next years. They are in love with their big sister and so is she. They have a few fights now and then but not so many anymore. Most of the times they are playing happily together now. But the best fun is still when mummy or daddy join in...

Holidaying with three young children (again)

We did it again! Yes we went on a trip with the whole lot. But this time we took our babysitter with us so that we could enjoy a few hours of peace every day. That might sound a bit over the edge but it was worth it. Three grown ups on three small beasties that's an OK ratio. The big sister on her own is easy to take care of (most of the times). But you can't count on that anylonger once the twins are also around because then she can suddenly become very stubborn and might kick or push her brothers. That's family life. They love and they hate each other... and all of those feelings can pass by within less than a minute. But luckily this didn't happen because there was always someone around each little one. I don't know how people without babysitter handle life with twins plus one. I guess the grannies have to do their share. But there is one big advantage when it comes to the babysitter. There are no discussions she simply does her job and in addition she even enjoyed the trip! We still had a few stressful nights because the boys first had a nasty cold/flu and once recovered started teething...  but overall I would say we had a nice trip. It always feels good to see something different. And then coming home everybody is happy to play with their toys for hours because they haven't seen them for a while.

A quick skirt

I just made this skirt with elastic waistband for my daughter. I simply copied one of her existing skirts for the pattern. I absolutely love the UNIKKO pattern from Marimekko. Originally I had bought it for my ERGO baby carrier. I used it to make strap covers. But there was quite a bit left over and so little one has a new skirt and the boys have stylish strap covers!

DIY: Sammy Snake

2013 is the year of the snake. So here comes an easy DIY project for a big snake plushie. You need a knitted scarf and a rectangular piece of fabric in the same size for the inner cushion. Just fold the scarf double and close the seam on the long side. I have turned the sides of the scarf into half circles and closed the seams like that. If you want to wash the outer shell separately it makes sense to have a zipper in the long seam. Follow the same steps for the inner cushion but leave a small part of the long seam open for the filling. You can use either soft cushion filling (buy a few cheap cushions from IKEA) or beanbag pearls. Decorate the outer shell with big buttons for the eyes.

Too many ideas and not enough time...

Do you have the same problem? Too many things on the list but way to little time? And I am not even working! Plus I have someone to help me with the kids. BUT! Daycare is not the same here in Hong Kong as it is for example in Germany. So I am happy that from next week on my toddler daughter can start preschool. Meaning she will be in school five days a week but only for three hours each day. But never the less it's a start. Once the boys turn one I will also sign them up for some activities. But since each child needs to be accompanied by a parent or guardian we have to make sure it overlaps with my daughter's school. So and I hope that finally I will get some projects done soon. Let's see...

DIY: Triangle bib

This is another t-shirt recycling project. Since my boys are still bringing up a little food now and then I was looking for some bibs that would also look a bit fashionable. But I couldn't find anything. I only digged up one triangle scarf made of jersey that was alright. So I decided to make similar ones out of old t-shirts. I just cut triangular pieces of jersey out of the t-shirt. They are just as long to fit around the neck and be closed with a simple knot. I used zig-zag stitching on all three sides and decorated them with name tags I had bought earlier at www.namensbaender.de . Now they can drool along without me having to change their shirts three times a day!

Big boys

Our little babies have grown a lot! They are already 8 months old. Time has been flying. We had a short phase where things were easier when they were simply crawling. But now they are pulling themselves up all the time and want to stand. Only problem - half of the time they don't know how to get down again and we have at least ten bumps per day. And watching two active babies at the same time is a tough job. So far we had no major bruises or injuries. Hope they will soon learn safety standards, too!

The boys are 5 months old...

The boys are now 5 months old and things are finally getting a tiny little bit easier. They already turn around and try to move forward. This is frightening me as my daughter didn't crawl until she was 7 or 8 months old... we'll see. When I took the photo above the boys were completely dressed in handmade homemade clothes. The trousers are by me (remember the Lotta Jansdotter simple pants?). And the shirts were a gift from my lovely friend in Germany. I really like the outfits, so cool!
Oh and I have been sewing again, showing you the new stuff soon...

Creative again - Decorating bodysuits for babies

I finally managed to steal an hour for myself and be creative. I had a few bodysuits for the boys that needed decoration. Two white ones that I beautified with fabric markers and two with teddy bears on the front. I don't like any teddy bears on clothes or walls. Especially not those cartoon type ones. So there was need for some change. In the end I covered the teddy bears with cut-outs from IKEA fabric which I applicated on the bodysuits. So now we have four more pieces to use for the twins.

Super busy times

These little guys are keeping me busy. For the last six weeks they have either been sleeping or feeding and in between we had a lot of crying. The only thing that settles them is being out and about with mummy in their carrier. So my day consists of 2-hour-intervals between each feed that are filled with lots of walking outside. Because walking inside the house isn't the same in my boys opinion. We have a nice park not far from home so it sees me several times a day at the moment. But in the end it could still be worse with no cure for their crying. I just don't have much time for anything else. All three kids are usually starting their nighttime sleep around 8 o'clock. So I have 2 hours for myself afterwards. Then I have to feed them again and go to bed myself to get at least a little bit of sleep.

Thanks to WEEGO I am able to carry both babies at the same time. That makes things so much easier. Especially as they don't like to be in their stroller but want to be close to mummy. Thanks for saving my life WEEGO!

Our new family members

Here come the new family members. They were born last Tuesday and look absolutely the same. We still haven't found anything to tell them apart. So we just kept the hospital bracelet in place for one of them until we find something else. The entire family is very happy and proud! But you might not see many updates for my blog in the coming weeks as they really keep us busy! Everything has to be done twice...

Super simple sewing with Lotta

I made these four pairs of simple pants for the twins. The pattern is from the Lotta Jansdotter book 'Simple Sewing for Baby':

They are a bit on the large side so they fit my daughter too. But for her they are 3/4 pants. So I extended the legs and added a jersey waistband and I also changed the finish of the waistband. And now we have super stylish pants for her too:

She was so proud she didn't want to take them off anymore...

DIY: Cloud blanket

Since I couldn't find cloud fabric anywhere in Hong Kong I came up with the idea to print my own. So the first step was to make a stamp. I used the back side of an old stamp and a foam craft sheet. I cut the cloud out of the foam sheet and glued it to the piece of wood. And the stamp was ready.



I used white fabric paint for the printing. The blanket was bought from a baby shop. And so I have a cloud blanket now!

A playmat for our living room

While looking for Christmas inspiration last year I came across a very beautiful blanket with a wooden structure pattern. I was hooked at first sight. So now I finally found the time to make one for our living room. I used wool fabric on one side and heavy cotton as backing. In between I put a thick layer of padding. But I wasn't prepared for the quilting. Oh my what an effort it was! Especially the middle part of the blanket was so difficult to put under my sewing machine. But at last it was ready and my daughter fell in love with it immediately. That's the best 'Thank you' one can get...

The little yellow dress

This project had been halfway done lying around for a couple of months. Now I finally finished it off and congratulated myself. I still like the yellow colour combined with crisp white. If you are interested in the pattern just leave a comment and I will add it later.

The sand pit - modern & practical

Here we are. Our new sand pit is ready! It hasn't turned out as the ZEN version I had envisioned before but it's very practical with the lid. The rug serves as a comfy underground. Since it's polyester it should not have a problem to stay outside. We'll see in the long run. Our daughter totally loves it! Only problem the sand goes everywhere as she thinks you have to fill the bucket and share with everyone including sofas, tiles etc. 

Bottle/Cupholder for stroller

I have looked for cupholders for my stroller for quite a while now but without success. So finally I decided to make one. Especially now that I found this great PVC coated fabric at IKEA. Here is the pattern if you want to make one too.
Print the two patternpieces on A4 paper, cut them out and stick them together at the numbers using sticky tape. Then cut the pattern 4 times from fabric. Sew 2 pieces together (inside facing out) leaving a gap open. Turn them so that the coated side is facing outside. Do the same with the other two pieces. Now you can sew the two douple layered pieces together (see pictures above). Add velcro or a snap in order to fix it to the stroller.