cute finds in K-Mart

good evening to you all-
i rarely blog at this time of the day, but dinner is sorted, washing machine is cranking,
dryer is on, Kacey's bags are packed for school camp and the entire
contents of the bag is labeled!

i was on my way into Coles this afternoon before school pickup,
when pure procrastination took over-
i found myself in K-Mart to check out what was on offer
in the home wares section.

i stood for ages staring, trying to decide on spots or stripes,
aqua or latte?
$2 each?? oh please!! how could i not take some home?!

$2 water-come-vase bottles

cute clocks (mr. roman numerals came home with me :)
the larger clocks below reminded me of the ones you can get at IKEA but
these were only $10.

lovely soft blue bath sheets for $10 each.

standard bath towel size were $5, as were the bath mats.
for some reason, the quality of the face washers and hand towels were not
as good, so i left those behind.

my purchases ;)

i made it to Coles in the end :)
Kate x

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pink polkadot raggy quilt for a new bub

happy Australia Day!
hope all you AUSSIES have enjoyed your day so far!
our plans kind of changed due to the masses of rain we have had this week,
but we have had a relaxing, yet productive day at home anyway.

last night our neighbour brought his brand new baby grand daughter over
to show us. she wasn't even 24 hours old and so tiny!
i was really in the mood to sew this morning, so decided to make a soft
raggy quilt for the so far not yet named bub!

i already had a nice stash of pink polkadot flannel, as well as some white flannel
that i used for the wadding.

a quilting square, rotary cutter and board is also needed.

i cut a few squares and laid them out to help decide on the size.
i wanted it to sit well in a cot, but also be a handy size for the pram, bassinette
and later on maybe a play mat.
the quilt was also backed in the polkadot fabric, so i cut twice as many of those as the white.
the quilt was going to be 5 squares x 7 squares, so i cut out 105 squares altogether.
that took about an hour.

you can see the 3 layers here. i then ran a cross through each and every one
of the 35 squares. the centre one got a doily sewn on it. of course!
another hour for this step.

35 squares ready to be made into a pretty raggy quilt.

i then sewed the squares into strips.
(there's my yummy coffee in the background :)

5 strips with 7 squares in each!

the strips are then sewn together. it's all too easy really!

then to get that raggy effect going, all the edges are snipped.
(washing and then throwing it in the dryer gets the raggy edges looking less uniform)

i then went right around the outside with the machine and then snipped those edges too.
yes i really do like polkadots. that's my cute sewing box you can see in this shot!

tied off with a clay tag

i reused a TYPO bag to wrap it up, and glued paper doilies over
the word TYPO on each side of the bag.

a sweet MDF flower i painted with blackboard paint sets the bag off nicely.

i so enjoyed making this quilt and it only took about 3-4 hours.
(i forgot to measure it before wrapping it, so can't tell you how big it is whoops!)
Kate x
house of grace
my romantic home

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back to work wardrobe basics

as mentioned in my last post, it was back to school this week.
so that means back to work for me!
i did go back last week, but it hardly feels like it when there are no students at school!

i am permanent part time, so it was nice to meet a friend for a good coffee
after school drop off today,
and to also have a wander around some of our favourite stores.

i was after some basic tops for work, so started in Target as i usually do,
but they had nothing. after searching all the "cheaper" stores with no luck,
we went into Country Road.

i grabbed these simple sleeveless tees for $29.95 each.
not on special, but CR always washes and wears so well.
i teamed the white tank with some 50c beads i picked up from the markets.

this cute flower necklace was reduced to $2.95 and is from
Forever New.

love the little beaded tassle that hangs behind the flower.

we then popped into Laura Ashley just to look.
but found a huge range of clothing heavily reduced!
This sweet ruffle tee is oh so soft and was
$69 down to $19.95!!

bling necklace $14.95 from Forever New.

and i just fell in love with this gorgeous ecru colured shirt.
the collar and all the trim down the front is 100% silk.
sets it off beautifully!

the actual shirt is a tencel/silk blend.
$109 reduced to $29.95!!

black chunky beads $2 market find.

how teacher-ish is this pretty cardi?! oyster in colour and
ever so soft. all silk trim- including the pretty removable corsage.
i think this will look great with a black singlet and black work pants.
pearl and diamonte necklace market find for $2.

such lovely quality and attention to detail.
originally $139, but down to $39.95!

i would never usually shop here, but so happy with my purchases!
the perfect boost to my work wardrobe.
if you live near a Laura Ashley store, i recommend a visit!
now, to decide which top to wear tomorrow.....
Kate x
beach cottage

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a hole in your fav top?

today is back to school for many i know. my eldest is off to
Leadership Day today, as she is in Grade 9 this year! she is also about 1cm
off being the same height as me, and is fitting into some of my shoes and clothes.
and i'm not short. oh help me!
so i have one last day with Miss 10. we're going to hit the shops,
and do coffee, cupcakes, hot chocolate, and sushi.

anyhoo, here's a little project i got done over the weekend.
so sad when i pulled one of my fav tops in my fav colour out of the
washing machine while away at the beach on holidays to find this.
it was kind of my fault, as i forgot to pack hoisery bags. who remembers
hoisery bags when packing for holidays anyway?? not me :(

so i was truly just going to throw it out, as the 2 holes are right at the front.
of course they are! then i got thinking. and i found the answer
in my HUGE stash of doilies that i showed you the other day.

so i started to pin and photograph.
i thought this doily combination was going to look perfect until i tried it on.
wrong!
looking a bit stupid with a huge doily right at the front!
(mind you, some of you are probably thing that this whole doily fixing idea is totally stupid lol)
so glad i tried it on before sewing!

hmmm, too big i'm thinking.
oh but the cute one on the pocket. yep. great idea.

umm no! tried it on and not liking the pocket doily!

so this is what i went for in the end.
just the one. luckily the holes were close together.
and right at the front of course.

i then sewed a cross through the doily with the machine.

and hand sewed the rest. nearly killed me.
took 200 times longer than i expected.

and if i hadn't done enough hand sewing?
i decided to try some doilies on a pair of op shop jean shorts.

i can't stress enough how important it is to try before your sew!
i thought the bigger doily on one side would look awesome until i tried them on!
it really looked rediculous!

did one on the back pocket though :)

so there you have it. in my mind, doilies can fix up
your favourite top. and make your jeans shorts rock.
i promise i won't wear them together.
Kate x
homemaker on a dime

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