Naturally finished cot (crib)/toddler beds

 We got proper beds!

Ever since we moved to Port Wakefield Ive been wanting to get beds for my daycare.
It was always been in the too hard/too expensive basket.Too hard because we live far from shops and its hard to find what we needed second hand. Too expensive because even cheap beds are expensive when you need 4 plus mattresses.
Recently the big boys outgrew the sleeping mats I had for them so I started looking on line and discovered a few web sites in which people sell their old things (Gumtree and Adelaide Baby Bargains in case any one's local and wondering)
I came across some reasonably priced cots that convert to little beds. This is necessary as sometimes I have lots of babies in care that need cots and other times all bigger children that need beds. We  went and picked up two on the weekend and will get another two soon

This one was in good condition and the price was right but the stain is way darker than I like so I decided to sand it back and re finish it with natural bees wax wood polish

Of course the job was much bigger than I anticipated (it always is when stripping off varnish!) But I'm happy with the result

It could still do with some more sanding one day if I get keen (I probably wont!) but for now its cute and rustic looking. Its not perfect but I love it 100% more than the dark stain. I have always loved how light wood adds warmth and brightness to a room

I made some new beeswax wood polish to condition the wood. I infused the polish with lavender from my garden. Because relaxing lavender on an active little boys bed can only be a good thing:)

 here it is before polish

 And after. I didn't expect little boys to notice anything special about the bed but one of the first things Cameron did was smell it. "mmm, you polished it and it smells like flowers"
I will probably sand back the other bed one day too because I love for wood to real like wood

 We discovered that the high ends make them great for cubby/fort making!! So all morning long three little boy-kittens meowed about happily in their new cubby beds. These little boys are all about pretending they are cats at the moment.

I have probably said it about every age group that I work with but I will say it all the same- four years old must be my favourite age, they are so much fun and getting so clever. I really don't want Cameron and Josh to turn five and go on to school at the end of the year.

 They also make good boats, and couches to sit together and read

Our Morgan Engagement Camping Trip

 When we got engaged we didn't really want to have a party so instead Benny had the idea of going camping with our parents, sisters and their families instead so that they could all get to know each other better.

Ray (Benny's dad), Benny, Terleah (Benny's niece), Jason (Benny's brother in law)

Definitely a good idea and definitely very us. We were waiting for fire ban to end and then for a weekend that suited everyone and last weekend was that weekend.

We left Friday morning and had the long weekend at this camping spot along the Murray River. Benny's family have always camped here but their favourite spot was being used so this spot was a new one and nice too.

My Dad, Tegan (Benny's sister) My mum, Ray, AJ (my sister)

 This was the one and only yabbie we got

Terleah with her Nanny Sharon (Benny's mum)

Dylan (Benny's Nephew)

 It was adorable how incredibly grotty Dylan got playing in the dirt and old fire coals with the dogs. I meant to take a picture of him on the first day when he was FILTHY!:) Bennys parents white Labrador Jasper got named 'top deck dog' because of his habit of sitting in dirt after a swim resulting in a thick layer of mud on the lower half of him. By the end of the weekend we all looked forward to warm showers at home

 The sunrise was beautiful. On this morning I was woken by a kookaburra (Australian native bird). It sounded really close so I poked my head out of our swag and it was in a tree right next to me. Of course as soon as it saw me away it flew but it was great to see it up close!

 Benny and his dad love fishing together

 We made lots of damper. This was Jasons damper, it was by far the best!

 Terleah caught her fish. This was her second fish! She carried them around for ages, she was so proud

 The kids had fun jumping out of Dads van

 lots of fun!

 and of course who doesn't love whizzies?

Its an awesome spot and we had a great time

decoupaging my spinning wheel

 I have seen lots of spinning wheels that people have personalised. Many have been painted with beautiful designs. I decided I wanted to add some sheep to mine.
First I thought I would paint it but I didn't have the right colours and was too impatient to wait and get some from the shops. Second I thought wood burning but decided it was too permanent in case I want to remove it in the future. Lastly I thought of decoupage. Perfect! Easy, effective and removable. I used to decoupage lots of things. At one stage I made a decopage cupboard for my bedroom with a collage of beach and surf pictures. Its such a nice craft that also happens to be dirt cheap which was its appeal when I was a poor teen always looking for something creative to do after school. All you need is some pictures and cheap shop craft glue!

 I found my sheep pictures on the internet and printed them out. I first blu-tacked them in place (or in my case orange-tacked) and shifted them around until I was happy with all of their positions.

 I then carefully glued the back of a picture, pushed it in place, smoothed it down and put a coat of glue on top to protect the paper picture and give a nice finished. The first one was a tester. I waited for it to dry to ensure I was happy with it.

 Once it had dried and I could see that it had worked well with no bubbles or smeared ink I proceeded with the rest of the sheep

 I have 7 sheep happily 'running ' as I spin! I also added some of the left over sheep to a bobbin and decided that I like them on there so I will one day add some to the remaining two bobbins so they all match

Here Is my first plied wool made on this wheel.
After asking for a new spinning wheel for my birthday I was so nervous that I wouldn't be any good at it. The last spinning wheel that I had was hopeless and wobbly but I couldn't help but fear that the problem was just my lack of experience. I will admit that my new wheel sat for an entire day just being treadled because I was nervous to try it out. After months of looking forward to receiving it I didn't even want to try it! Its by far the most expensive present I've ever received and I was happy just to look at it:)
Finally I put some wool on it and gave it a go and I have to say its a very different thing to be using a wheel that WORKS! I cant believe how quickly I'm getting the hang of it. And it is indeed relaxing like spinning is supposed to be.

For more inspiration head over to Natural Suburbia for Creative Friday

Recent knitting

 On Sunday I cast on for a little boy jumper for the one day baby pile. It looked a bit wide and short. The size was 0-3 months and here it is on little Mr. 8 month old! I'm hoping I have enough wool to lengthen it so that I can call it size "8 months" and call it a day

 Little Mr. said, why id love to tangle your yarn and suck on your knitting needles. Take all the time you need  distracted with that black box

Here is the happy little pile that slowly grows

 I also made a little yellow bonnet and a stripey sock. Yep, just the one sock. The sock is a match to the little jumper I'm making so I will either have enough wool to make the other sock or have to unravel this one to finish the jumper. Only time will tell, I have my fingers crossed the wool stretches further than I think it will

 Next weekend Benny and I are going camping at the river with our parents, sisters and their families as a little celebration of our engagement (a little late as we were waiting for fire ban season to end) I'm making our niece and nephew hats that I've promised them. Terleahs pink hat is done and I have my fingers crossed that it fits her. The yarn is an 8 ply that she chose in Broken Hill. Its so thin that it sort of seemed more like 4ply, I wish I would have doubled it but anyhow, ill see how it goes. Dylan's green hat was improvised based on a hurricane hat pattern I used a few years ago (made last weekend when I was at the hut and didn't have a pattern) Its looking good but... I might run out of yarn. Yes again!

And I almost forgot to add this picture of my gorgeous little godson in another of my recent knits.I made him a little cable hat to keep him warm. He looks a little un impressed but apparently he keeps it on which means he likes it:)

I got the most exiting package today! Almost 4 weeks before my birthday but Benny let me open it now anyway. He didn't even need bribery but if he did I'm pretty sure I would have stooped to that level:)
Anyhow... I'm off to do some spinning!

my second adventure to Rankins Hut

When I was about 12 our friend Lindsay first took my family and our good friend Miff to this hut that he has been going to since he was a kid. Its such a beautiful spot in a valley surrounded by green hills. We all had such a great time and have been wanting to go back ever since

On the weekend we finally got back there! It was just as awesome as we remembered. It was so fantastic arriving and seeing things almost as we remembered them from all those years ago. The hut is from the 1800s and makes us imagine times long passed. The original family that lived in it had 11 children in the small 2 room home

When we arrived we met Lindsay's brother Phil and his 2 nieces. We all sit and chatted and as the sun began to disappear behind the hills the fire was built up to keep us all warm

 I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful old bits and pieces in the hut and was glad to take some photos. I remember sitting by the fire reading last time we visited. So many good memories came back as I looked around.

 This is the bedroom. We slept in it last time but this time we all slept in tents or swags. I can hardly imagine how the original family managed to all sleep in this little cozy room

 I love the wooden dividing wall. All the walls have names carved in them by visitors over the years

 In the afternoon we all went for a drive up the highest nearby hill to see the view. To get to and from the hut and around the hills you need a 4 wheel drive as its all very steep and rough terrain. Lindsay's son Callum helped him drive and we stood in the back of his Ute hanging on to the roof racks! It was a lot of fun

 We also went to look at a different little hut that Lindsay likes to stay at. I liked the cute wood stove

 Here's the view from the biggest hill

 Lindsay and Callum

 A old lantern lit in the evening

 For tea we made "flame grilled spaghetti". The coals were taking too long to cook so we built up the fire 'a little' maybe a little to much but it definitely cooked quicker!

 Callum had fun piled up high in the back of our 4WD while Benny was packing.
He's a cutie and so full of interesting big words that keep us entertained. I wish I had his memory

It was a little sad to leave the hut but we will go back again soon. We only stayed overnight but it didn't feel like a short visit because we had so much fun. Quality time over quantity always wins