Lulu Carter

the first month of the new year

*that is the face of someone with a bowl of sultanas in front of him and full cheeks.Anything for a photo....

It seems as though it is already February and yet its clearly not. I find that everything comes to a halt during the summer school holidays and I am at once torn between wishing the boys were back at school so I could find my rythmn, and wishing we had months of this day floating to tinker and picnic and have my babies not really as grown up as they are when they return to school in a higher grade.

In January 2009 I sat in my sisters bed in Clapham and wrote my wishlist for that new year bursting with excitiement and promise. I repeated this in 2010, 2011 and 2012. 2009 and 2010 came very close to realising a dream only to have the rug yanked at the very last moment. Late 2011 it happened again but this time to my husband. Most of 2011 was spent waiting for that disaster to dissipate. I think 2012 I went a little easy on myself because we had a new baby and all I really wished for were baby giggles, watching our now three boys smitten with each other and the day when I would be able to wear a dress and a normal bra again.

This year I am going to make changes. Not the changes  I wrote down that morning years ago because life twirls and leaps and sometimes you simply cannot hold on to your plan. If I'd stuck to my plan that morning and managed to bring it all to life, I'd have published my books that still sit here waiting. I would be selling my art toys successfully, be the worlds best mother to my boys, in a passionate marriage, have mastered all types of cooking, have an incredible garden full of vegetables and chickens and rambling flower beds. I would be able to salsa with the best of them, I'd be teaching yoga, we would have a fantastic home and we would travel regularly following my husband around the globe for work and fun.

Sounds ludicrous. Admittedly since I wrote that list some of those things could have happened, but none of them were achievable alone and other things happen all the time so focus gets scrambled. Also I like to knit until one in the moring not micro manage our lives.

SO. 2013 I have some hopes rather than plans. I will endeavor to make them happen but if they dont it won't knock me down. We have a house, we have healthy beautiful children, we dont know anyone who is ill and the world isnt going anywhere just yet. 

There will be a major change to this blog. In title and appearance and some content. It will be reflecting a project I started long ago and by putting it out there, I will be forced to bring it to life. I am going to limit my time on the internet because it is the greatest dissolver of my time I know (that will be hard because I love the internet).

I am going to plan our meals several nights a week to take the pressure off and I'm going to declutter the roof storage.  The roof declutter is in part because I had a spectacular nightmare about it falling down on our heads. Yet it was empty. I am tempted to google the meaning of that but I refuse to because I will be there for hours and possibly scare myself into a corner after diagnosis.

I am not going to let myself get flusterd by tornado type personalities and I am going to try and loosen up my one strike and youre out relationship wall because, unless its a real doozy, I havent got the head space to be dissapointed and hurt. Duck feathers.

Simple. Its actually not going to be simple but is a short list so it feels doable and thats half the battle.

And we have embraced the green smoothie brigade. Any way that I can get more energy I'm doing.

I hope you have a really wonderful year and your list is short and achievable.

We dont have to move mountains just because its a new year. We just have to nudge them.

xxxxx Clare

nothings changed really

Its funny when you look back over old posts. Did you write differently? Did you feel differently?

This photo has been really popular and it led me to look back at the post. You know what?

I wrote more. Certainly more thoughtfully. My feelings? The same.

I love christmas but I hate christmas in this country. Excuse me while I go and put sunscreen on to walk the boys to school.

xx

 

joy=a pompom wreath tutorial

I LOVE our wreath. And you know what? I made it this morning. 

You need a 20cm polystyrene wreath.

Yarn

Pompom makers

A fork

Scissors and pins

make your pompoms, trim your pompoms, cluster them up nicely ( you're singing now arent you...)

ah the teeny tiny fork pompom

wrap your wreath in long scraps preferably with a selvedge unless you want tatty edges

tie your pompoms on

admire

forgot like us to order those card on time?

Take one white wall, one tripod, one sheet, a willing family and take some photos. Charlies window of tolerance was slim but we actually really like the photo we chose. Its a bit more realistic shall we say, and seemingly appropriate for the christmas craziness! 

Adjust the photo in photoshop ( I only have photoshop elements which is fine) and, when you're happy, add what you want to say.

Race to the nearest officeworks and get them printed on card and guiloteened. 

Take some very nice glitter - Martha Stewart is my favourite.

Run the glue around the edge of each card and sprinkle liberally with the glitter. Use a plate! This is lovely fine glitter and it goes everywhere.

Done.

Merry Christmas

xx

 

 

easy peasy advent

Its here and yet despit my good intentions I decided totally forgot to buy the Lego advent calender. Cue a little last minute panic.

Solve it and go one better? Yes!

Race out and buy a box of Lego. We went for the $17 box so two storm troopers and two clones. Two kids sharing here!

I opened the box and wrapped a couple of pieces to be opened each day saving the telltale helmets and body parts until the 22nd and 23rd. If your kids are like mine theyll take one look at those helmets and pants and know exactly whos coming!

I stuck a plastic ziplock to the fridge so each day they can put the parts in ready for the end game.

On christmas eve they get the instructions. Its great! No suger, didn't cost a bomb and they are bonkers with excitement.

my swoony bed

Its done! I must admit to being a little bit in love with my bed right now

those corner scraps that get cut off? I couldnt bear to waste them

my scrappy binding that I am so in love with

Ihad to stop for days at a time due to the punctures in my finger tips. I should use a thimble. I know I should. Its just faster to keep going you know? She says.

have you noticed how the baby is everywhere these days?? does......not......stop......moving

christmas gift guide

Hello! I have put together the first of my gift guides and the details are over on In Alfies Room right now. 

1st birthday

I cannot believe my sweet little guy is one already. I remember walking in to school the week after he was born with him tucked up in a ball against my shoulder, like a baby possum, held with one hand. He was so so tiny and its pretty amusing that now people stop and ask me how old he is only to exclaim "but he's huge". All I can say is his brothers must have been absolute tankers because this boy is not even 10 kilos yet.

I still suffer that surge of wanting to eat him up when he grins at me but we never really grow out of that do we? He has realised he can chase me around slug style when he wants something and grabs hold of my foot or leg until I pick him up. He has also worked out that he is just as capable as us at blowing raspberries on tummies and he collapses in fits of giggles when he manages a huge farty sound on somebodies belly. Hysterical. Really. 

He throws his ball and slugs around after it then throws it again. This game goes on and on and he loves it when Oliver gets down on the floor and plays this game with him. Climbing up against things is offering a whole new world of possibilites but sometimes he forgets to line his feet up properly first so it can be a challenge. Sometimes though, he does it perfectly and finds he can reach into the centre of the coffee table. I learnt this today when he sent Ashleighs Canon hurling to the ground. Hmm.

We play growling games. Yes we really do. In fact its how he and I get about in the car mostly. He growls. I repeat it. He growls a different tune. I repeat it. This can go on forever. Probably a bad habit to get in to but I can't tell you how FUNNY this kid is.

On Sunday he woke before midday from his nap. He then flatly refused to go back to sleep yet sailed through his birthday in the park with his party hat on and a cuddle and grin for everyone. 

The park? I have never ran a party outside the home before and I wont be again. Even though it was a small gathering by party standards, being unable to set up until the day and actually set up a good hour before your guests arrive because you need to get the right spot ( in our case the right tree) put crazy pressure on to get things finished ahead of time. We then took a car load up as well as walking the pram loaded up with supplies and me carrying the cake on its pedestal up to the park. The cake weighs as much as Charlie I'm sure. My arms were down to my ankles by the time we got up there! It became such a rush that I didnt get a wide shot of the tree with the garlands up and the table set underneath which is such a shame because it looked SO PRETTY. Honestly I would have got married under that tree.

I knew when we decided to have the party in the park I needed a tree for decorating and there is only one 'good' tree in our park, and I wantd Charlie to be sitting for cake and photos.

On ebay I bought a white Ikea Antilop highchair for $8. A quick scrub and it was ready to go.

I bought tissue paper and cardstock and make tassels and sewed randomly cut shapes onto thread. 

A sheet of Heather Bailey felt in white became a party hat after it was brushed with fabric stiffener on the inside overnight. I put a second coat on for good measure. He kept it on the entire party! I was amazed. The pompom was made using some leftover orange cascade 220 and glued on top. The trim was bought in New York at Purl Soho because I loved the colour so it was nice to use it on something special. If you need a cone template for making party hats there is one here.

I had wanted to make a 'happy birthday' banner but ran out of time so cut out scallops and painted letters on then then taped them to the highchair.

The spotty cake idea was from here and the stripes are all over Pinterest. I used a silicone pop cake mold and they did over cook a little on their bottoms so had to be trimmed. Also next time I will make more spots because there were a lot of blank spaces when slicing the cake despite having 6-7 balls in each cake. I didn't use packet mix despite making a huge amount of cake and using a million eggs. I thought about it but I decided I didnt want to eat packet, I'm sure the other adults didnt want to eat packet and most importantly I didnt want Charlies first birthday cake indulgence to be anything other than home made. The spotty cake was sandwiched with buttercream then covered in rolled fondant. The stripes cake was covered in buttercream because I didnt think the kids would all want to eat fondant.

The pinata was great although I filled it with far too many sweets. And they wouldnt share -little monkeys.

Getting us all dressed nicely for a famiy photo completely slipped my mind when I was racing around like a crazy person cutting the crusts off finger sandwiches and dipping marshmallows in chocolate and sprinkle. A little bit of renactment coming up for us I think.

It was lovely! I am so pleased it was a gorgeous afternoon and so pleased it is over. Its time to jump on the christmas crazy train isnt it!!

 

 

 

and then he was one

Snippets from Charlies birthday. 

Tired baby. xx

cloud pinata tutorial

So easy you'll never buy one again!

The last time I made a pinata, it was a Stegasourus and it took me 3 weeks. I put so many layers of papier mache on the poor rather fabulous dinosaur fellow, it took a beating from some enthusiastic dads to crack it open. He was beautiful and as the children stomped him into the earth I nearly sobbed.

SO. This time I went the cardboard route. 

You will need :

an old box ( we had a large rectangular fruit box which was perfect)

tape-masking or similar

3 or 4 packets of tissue paper ( if you want to use crepe paper instead go for it)

felt for the raindrops

strong craft glue

fishing line

thick needle paper scissors

fabric scissors

 

*Firstly you need to trace you shape onto the base of the box. Remember you need both sides to fit so divide the base in half then mirror your cloud shape. Cut the two pieces out.

* Cut the sides of the box off in long strips about 4inches (10cm) wide. You will notice you can bend the strips across the grain so do this as it will help you bend them around the shape of the cloud.

*Cut some pieces of tape and have them ready-they dont need to be very wide. If you tape this together really really well it will hold together really really well when the kids are having a whack and you want those sweets to burst out. Not ideal!

*Start bending the strips around the sides and taping as you go. I taped them on the edge, not inside the edge, as it held the shape better. 

*Cut some raindrops from the left over cardboard

*Carefully cut a flap in the top so you can fill it when you're done

*You also need to cut a large flap across the bottom if you want someone to be able to pull something to open it. Like a one year old ( gulp) using a raindrop. 

*Start covering it in tissue paper-large pieces and not neat as this is just the 'crumb layer' if you like. Leave the flaps open

*Now cover your raindrops in felt-just place a raindrop on a piece of felt and cut it out about 5mm bigger. Do a piece for each side of each raindrop and glue them together with the cardboard shape in the centre. Squeeze the felt edges together sealing the cardboard shape inside and leaving your raindrops nice and neat.

* Now thread some fishing line onto the needle and thread it through the top of a raindrop. Secure with a coupld of knots. Work out where you want this raindrop hanging and then thread it through the flap or edge of the bottom of the cloud. reoeat with each raindrop.
**DONT FORGET to secure the 'pull' raindrop to the flap near the open end so that it will pull open when you want it too

*Cut strips of tissue paper and scallop one edge. The size is up to you. Glue the strips, starting at the bottom, across the front and back of the pinata. When you layer the sides, start at the centre bottom and work your way up the sides so that both sides have the layers going the right way

* Glue them to the flap but not right across-you'll do that after filling it

* Thread some fishing line and secure to the front with several knots then leaving about 1 metre, cut the line then secure to the other side. This way you have a long loop for hanging or securing with ribbon to a branch. The cloud looks so much nicer if you cant see the support lines

* Cut some contrasting raindrops out and stick on randomly on the front and back- I went with silver so it shimmers when hanging

* I glued a number 1 on a raindrop for fun and to remind us which one yank on

So there you go. You can apply this technique to any sape you like.

Have fun!