School Christmas markets

'You won't let me have fairy floss Mummy, so I'm buying it with my own money!'

Every year, my son's school has a Christmas market. It is a lovely idea that takes place in the evening a few days before school finishes for the year. Anyone who wants to (from the school community) can have a stall for only $5. Lots of children get busy making things or finding their old toys to sell. Mums and dads also get busy, sometimes making traditional food from their country of origin, making crafts (guess who) and helping the children get their stalls ready.

I have had a stall for the last four years selling children's clothes, jewellery and other crafts that I have made. This year, my boys were keen to get involved for the first time so half of my table was donated to their cause. We had a whole load of fart bombs, practical jokes in little packs and plastic cockroaches (as you do), which we had accumulated somehow, mostly as surplus goodies from the little bags we gave to friends at birthday parties. The boys were super-keen to sell these and also made some paper ninja stars to supplement their income.

Learning from experience, we got everything ready beforehand. We made the labels and packed things into containers which could just be opened and displayed on the table.

My merchandise consisted of simple bracelets, necklaces, baby tutus, baby ruffle pants and vest sets,  girls' clothes, fabric flowers and Christmas fairies (get the tutorial here). The best sellers at these school markets are things that appeal to children spending 50c to $2 of their pocket money. The mums sometimes buy a more expensive item, but mostly it's just the cheap rubbish stuff that sells. 

In the past, I have used a proper clothes rail for my display. This time I wanted to be able to set up and pack away quickly and carry things easily to and from the car, so I used my camera tripod. I adjusted the legs so it sat on the table perfectly and it packed away to nothing.

I covered a cork pinboard with fabric to display the jewellery and other knick knacks. This could be taken straight out of a bag and propped up on the table.

So, once all the merchandise was ready, I just needed a sheet for the table, a float in a lidded container, spare labels, sticky tape, pens, scissors and a money belt. At the last minute I grabbed snacks and water and I borrowed a trestle table from a friend. I didn't bring a chair as you tend to be standing up at these things anyway.

I used strong bags with handles, bought very cheaply from Ikea, to pack everything into so it was easy to carry.

We only had about 15 minutes to set up the stall as we were rushing there from the boys' guitar lesson. All the preparation paid off. We carried everything over in one trip and set up with time to spare. Stress-free marketing!

Here we are in business! Despite a rainy evening, the market was packed with people and we sold lots of stuff. As predicted, the fart bombs were the biggest hit. We had crowds of boys, girls and dads (!) around the stall buying them up. Later in the evening, loud bangs and dubious smells were emanating from all corners of the market!!

The boys earned $20 each for their hard work. LJ did ten minutes of busking with his guitar and was thrilled to get $3 from that! I sold a few things and generally had a fun time watching the children and soaking up the atmosphere. All in all, a very successful evening.

Quote of the day:

JJ (aged 7): 'What happens if Father Christmas is watching you on the toilet?'
Me: 'Oh, he doesn't watch people on the toilet. He doesn't want to see that'
JJ: 'But what if you are being bad on the toilet??!'
Me: 'Errr, well....(help!)'

Tumble dyed baby outfit

This was a quick little refashion and sewing project for my darling baby niece. I had found the leggings at an op shop for $1. I decided to make them more girly by spraying some Tumble dye flowers on to the legs. I just made a simple flower cut-out from some printer paper and held it in place by hand while I sprayed the dye. I used some scrap knit fabric to blot the excess dye from the paper.

I used pink and yellow dye, which mixed in places to make orange. When I'd finished the leggings I decided that they just had to have a top to make a proper outfit. I found an old baby pattern (Kwik Sew 2596) and made this cute little top from some more knit fabric scraps. Then, I used the blotting fabric, now covered with pink, yellow and orange dye, to cut out little flowers. I sewed these on to the top and pants with a quick spiral stitch.

A very quick and cute baby outfit. It was fun to make too. I can't stop using these Tumble dyes - my wardrobe needs to watch out!

Click below to see my other Tumble dye projects.

Ombre dyed, polka dot t-shirt


Tumble dyeing with a stencil

Natural deodorant

In my recent quest for all things natural, I came across this recipe for natural deodorant from 'Smashed Peas and Carrots'. I gave it a try recently and I love it! It is simple to make and lovely to wear. Best of all, it keeps odours away completely - amazing :)

To make it, mix together:

2-3 tablespoons coconut oil (warm up to a liquid if necessary by standing in hot water or out in the sun)

1/8 cup baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

1/8 cup arrowroot powder or cornflour (cornstarch)

Allow to set in a container that allows you to press the solid bar out. A travel soap canister, like mine above, or shallow plastic dish would work well. When set, rub on as required.

At the moment we are having temperatures in the low to mid 20Cs and the deodorant stays in a solid bar, like soap, that is easy to apply. It kind of melts on to your skin from your body heat. I imagine that in the summer it will be more liquid so I'll have to see how it goes then. There is no residue left on clothes, although it's probably a good idea to be careful of the oil on some fabrics.

Star Wars light saber card

I first saw this idea on Brassy Apple blog (such a talented blogger, also called Megan!) and I just had to try it. The original idea was for a Valentine's Day card, but I changed the wording to make it into a birthday card. It is so simple to make, just print out the design, cut a slit and insert a glow stick. I think Grandad will be chuffed!

Christmas presents I made WRAPup!

Hi All, as always, I got busy this Christmas and made lots of presents for family and friends. I got the children in on the action as well and we all had a lovely creative time.

Christmas was special this year as my mother-in-law came to visit from Canada. She loved being in Perth, but unfortunately there were some extremely minor medical issues on the flight over which meant that Mr Meggipeg had to fly to Hong Kong to collect her. The airline were very unhelpful and, despite having medical clearance for my MIL to fly home, they insisted that she be accompanied by a family member. This meant that Mr M has had to pay for a flight and go all the way back to Canada with her. We are currently out of pocket around $8000 for the flights and the travel insurance are being difficult about the claim as she continued to here from Hong Kong (where she had the initial problem) instead of retuning home. Anyway, I'm just looking at the positives - the family got to see each other after many years and spend Christmas together and MIL had a lovely holiday here. The other positive - I made most of our Christmas presents so the money saved there can help pay for MIL's very expensive holiday!!

So here we go. Present number 1 was a christmas skirt and matching hat for my niece made with crushed red velvet (a similar skirt is available in my Etsy shop).

The skirt has flower brooches that can be pinned to a t-shirt, headband, bag or just wherever!

She is such a sweetie

and the hat even made it out to the beach the next day!

Present number 2 was some maternity cropped leggings requested by another family member. These were so much easier than I expected and they look fab on. I will definitely be making more leggings.

Present number 3 was another request, but a rather odd one! My dad has exposed his skin to far too much sun over the years and is now paying the price. Rather than wear a long-sleeved shirt to cover up, he asked if I could make him some sun sleeves. However, he didn't want the usual style, which is close-fitting lycra that covers the arms, he wanted them loose and ventilated. I did my best and here is the final result:

They have bands to hold them on the upper arm and they cover half the hands, held by thumb holes (which are a bit folded inwards here, my Dad doesn't have conical thumbs! Unfortunately they are even weirder on than off and I told Dad that I wouldn't be offended if he didn't wear them. It is now Jan 6th and he hasn't worn them, despite several hot days since Christmas! Looks like thumbs down for these!!

Present number 4 was some gorgeous pictures that I got my boys to make for the grandparents. They drew messages and designs on squares of foil tape and made little beaded wire decorations, which we then placed in frames. These were fun to make and were very well received.

Present number 5 was also made with the boys. We found a simple recipe for chocolate truffles and made a large batch. They turned out as rather rustic looking balls but this just added to the charm! We then made little boxes from Christmas cards to put them in and we gave them to family and friends. This was such a sweet and simple gift and the boys were so proud to give gifts they had made themselves.

All in all it was a successful handmade Christmas. There were, of course, way more bought things than handmade, but hopefully these things made with love will be treasured and remembered as extra special - especially the sun sleeves ha ha!

I wish I could have posted this before the big day, but that would have ruined the surprise. Maybe you can get some ideas from these for presents throughout the year, or pin them for next Christmas. I may post a quick tutorial for the little boxes, they are such a good thing for the kids to make.

Cheers All,