dirt party!

A very special little person we know turned three a week or two ago.  It was a gorgeous 30+ degree day, and in a beautiful garden with a light breeze blowing...

 ...Josiah had a dirt party with a few of his friends!

Lucky Jasper was invited, and Toby tagged along too.

Despite being armed with a dump truck and lots of spare clothes, even paddling pools to wash off the mud...Jasper didn't want to get dirty!  Didn't matter - there was plenty of good clean fun to be had as well!

After an awesome dump truck cake and some kebabs it was time to head home.  Thanks for turning three, Josiah!

It's a special year for Josiah and his family.  They have a heart for South Sudan and its people, and are heading over there later this year.  As a family, we pray that God will smooth the way for them and daily open doors (both here before they leave and in once they arrive in South Sudan) to allow them to proclaim His name where it may not have been heard before.  You can learn more about the Pooles and their journey here.

scraps of colour

I just love colour!  Mixing it up in fabric is one of my favourite ways to play with it.  I keep all my scraps in colour groups so I can find what I want quickly...

But it does mean that I have rather a lot of scraps!  I love piecing them together to make something new, so I'm always on the lookout for projects that use us smaller bits of lovely fabrics.  Jasper has a special little friend who's turning four next week, and I thought a sweet cushion with her name on it would be a cute gift (together with a book, of course!  Couldn't have a birthday present without a book).  So I pulled out a rainbow of scraps and got busy sewing and ironing with some favourite fabrics...


...while Jasper got busy making a card for the birthday girl, using his favourite colours.


Definitely a gift made with lots of love!

ps:: we had a lovely time at Inspire Handmade Market in Deloraine on Friday night!  Thanks to all those who came along to check out all the amazing goodies available - we met some fabulous people and had some great chats!  Nothing quite like meeting your customers face-to-face!  I haven't heard how much was raised for the primary school, but it was a busy night so it's sure to be a good amount.

off to the market(s)

With a couple of markets coming up, there will be lots of lovely goodies to browse and buy!  I'd love you to come along and say hello at one (or all!) of these exciting markets...
 

I'll be at Inspire Handmade Market in Deloraine next Friday 2nd of March, which is on from 6pm - 9pm at Deloraine Primary School. The gold coin donation entry will go to support the school, and it looks like there is a wonderful array of stall-holders coming along - head over to their website to have a peek.

On Friday 27 (6pm - 9pm) April is a market very close to my heart...The Branch Handmade Market!   My sweet friend Christine (of little red clog) and I run this market at our church, and the Autumn event will be our third.  The first two were wonderful, and we have thus far raised a total of over $3500 for Elizabeth Home in India (lots of info about Elizabeth Home over on the market website).

Applications for stall-holders are open until the end of March, so if you'd like to be part of the wonderful team of stall-holders at this event, pop over to our website to apply - we'd love to see you there!

And then in August (Friday 24th and Saturday 25th), I'm super excited to be part of Niche - All Wrapped Up for the first time!  This market is held in the Tramsheds in Inveresk with the aim of raising money for St Giles - 20% of stall-holders' takings are contributed to the cause, allowing St Giles to purchase some great equipment to support some very special people.

Hope to see you there!

little triumphs

In the middle of the busyness of starting school(s), it's so lovely to pause and celebrate some little triumphs! We went out in search of a big grassy space today where Jasper could have his first bike ride without training wheels.

A few little wobbles and one big tumble...but it's so good to know there's always someone there to pick you up if you fall.

And after a little perseverance and some special big brother encouragement...success!

Well done Jasper!

what i've been doing instead of blogging...

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying the sunny new year!  There has been a lot going on in the happy nest lately...

strawberry picking at Hillwood

loving the beach

learning to skim stones

and just a spot or two of sewing!

some new things in the shop

I've been having lots of fun lately putting together some little tea wallets.  If you like to tote your favourite tea in style wherever you go, but aren't so keen on having it squashed in the bottom of your bag, then these little wallets are just what you need!

 Putting different colours together and playing with lots of gorgeous fabrics is lovely...are so many wonderful combinations!

 

They each seem to have their own personality.  I'm quite fond of this cheeky orange and blue one.

But really, how could I pick just one?

welcome

Welcome to the happy nest's blog!  We are so pleased you've dropped by for a visit.

I hope this space will be somewhere to share the day-to-day creative happenings in the happy nest.  So...to get past the "what-do-I-write-in-my-first-blog-post" dilemma...here are five things I like.

Fabric!  Big piles of it, little scraps of it, colourful, pastel, patterned, plain...I just love playing with it.

Eating our garden.  Nothing tastes as good as peas fresh from the pod!

 Colour.  How amazing are all the colours around us, if only we really look?

Christmas cards.  So exciting to peek in the letterbox and find a handwritten card celebrating the joy of Jesus' birthday!

And of course, my three gorgeous boys.  I like them a whole lot.


Phew, first post over!  Hope you'll pop back in again soon!