So life has changed a lot for me since I started and abandoned this blog! I stopped sewing very much, as my little girl was so much more interesting to me than sitting and creating garments, I still upcycle, but now it is more "here is a jar for your button collection" or "this long t-shirt is too small, let's cut the sleeves off" Most of my "free" time is spent meeting up with other mums who I have common interests with, such as babywearing (Google is your friend)

Where I am at now? Trying to get organised so I can start sewing again! two nights ago I actually pulled the sewing machine out and sewed myself a ring sling (baby carrier) and I was so pleased with myself, I went off yesterday to Spotlight and bought some fabric to make both of my children quilt covers :)

My lovely friend trying on my homemade ring sling :)

I hope that what you will see here in the future is lots more daily blogging, and pics of things I am making, but I am not great at planning, so we will see! Peace love and Babywearing
<3 Belinda


Oh and if you want to join a local group in Brisbane you will find us all here - http://www.facebook.com/groups/BabywearingBrisbane/

Soakers now available

Soakers are now available at Nest Nappies at Paddington, Brisbane! I am very excited :)

Thank to Elizabeth and Wally for putting these in their lovely little store, go and visit!!  They have a cloth nappy meet in their garden on the last Friday of every month, so you get a chance to meet other like minded mummys and daddies, and they have a great range of nappies and accessories too, including amber and baby carriers.  I love drooling over all the fluffy goodies!

B

Stockings and winter goodies

For all those who don't know me, I am a Stay At Home and Work At Home Mum, and I only stock this store sporadically as creativity/resources and family time allow. As such I don't follow the standard "stocking" of other stores, but will just surprise you now and then with some goodies! I am going through the process of shutting down my Facebook store, so this will now be where you will find me!

Hello lovely Frugal Mummas!

For all my frugal followers I will finally be doing a tutorial on how to sew your very own GullyGaloo soaker.

Now you too will be able to enjoy the rush of finding that perfect op shop jumper...The joy of feeling each one until you find one that just MUST be wool, check the tag BINGO!

I will also be doing a PDF of a pattern that will be freely available for use...so bring your printer and your scissors, we are going to get crafty together : )


Check back over the weekend....
B x

Pay It Forward

 The lovely Earthy Motherhood on Facebook posted a Pay It Forward blog post, so I replied and am posting the same.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Earthy-Motherhood/125535964131223#!/pages/Earthy-Motherhood/125535964131223

I promise something handmade to the FIRST 5 people who leave a comment here. However, to be eligible, you must repost this message, offering something handmade to 5 other people. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 giftees sometime in 2011. Ready, set, GO!

I dye wool, sew kids clothes and paint kids canvas art, also do a tad of tie-dyeing. Please comment here and repost this on your blog or Facebook page. First 5 comments get something handmade from me - although this may take a few months to organise everyone!

Mums pants past their best before date?

I have a few pairs of these, some are to big, some were always too small (I had kept in the hope of one day....but that's my other blog!) and some are just plain ugly and old fashioned. So here is what I did ...

1. I folded the pants in half and lay them flat
2. I took a pair of Gully's pants and lay them on top to cut out the crotch area careful not to cut his current pants!
3. I then sewed up the new pants, putting a simple elastic waist in. If I had though about it I would have left a small opening and used buttonhole elastic for growth, oh well next time :)

The also have a pretty big rise, which would have been great if he was still in nappies! Anyway he loves them, they are his Karate pants!

Pants too short?

OK so in my circle of friends are a lot of Stay At Home Mums, including me. I do this because I can't bear to part with my children, and despite us all having various reasons, the results are the same, somehow we need to earn a living. I started "GullyGaloo" because I wanted to share my love of up-cycling, but somehow selling took over and the sharing took a back seat. Anyway all I really wanted to say is that I am going to share an idea a day to helping you and your family get the most out of life while still caring for your environment. Some of you may also have ideas to share so please feel free to comment with any further suggestions.


Idea 1. Pants too short?

My son Gulliver is a slim little fellow but average height, so most regular fit clothes are either too large around the waist, or too short in the legs. I had a number of size 1 pants that still fit him around the waist so this is what I did -

1.Put the pants on him
2.Measured from bottom of pants to back of heel (this is now the extra length of fabric I needed)
3.Take the pants of him and send him to play with playdough :)
4.Now I measured the width of the bottom of the pants and cut out a square of cord material (you could use any, I suggest cutting up your baby clothes or unwanted adult clothes)
5.I the folded the squares in half and the sewed them up one side to form a tube, then I sewed the pants onto the bottom and viola! new pants! I also did another pair where I took out the knees. the brilliance of this idea for me is that you can make them too long and just fold up the cuff :)

I know some readers might be way ahead of this but think of those just starting, and also its good for those who would rather not throw away clothing!