Panda party favours

 I spent far too long trying to find panda party favours that would be enjoyed by kids of all ages, not lollies, food, noisy or annoying for the parents and hopefully not something that will be thrown away as soon as they get home!

I settled on Play Doh and a cookie cutter that I designed and added to Thingiverse. We're not sure about the safety of using 3D printed items with food since the filament is porous and has lots of gaps so I'd suggest not actually using it as a cookie cutter!

I added a lollipop but warned the parents first!

Easter Chloe Dress

 Does anyone else get excited when they find super cute free sewing patterns? This one is the Chloe Dress Baby from Vintage Little Lady. It also comes in girls and tween sizes.

It was the perfect pattern to make a little bunny dress, just in time for the long weekend - luckily bunnies are cute any time of the year!

I did snap closures instead of buttons just because they're so much easier to do, and also quicker when dressing a wriggly baby!

The lovely bunny fabric is Boho Easter from Frankie Bear Fabric.

Elderberries

 I have an elderberry that wasn't meant to be planted in the ground, but it chose to root through it's pot so for now it is staying!

It is quite a lovely plant but my little fence to stop Archie getting into my vegetable garden is falling down - helped by the elderberry growing through it! Soon I'll get to that section of the garden and it will have to come out, but until then I have taken cuttings so I can grow it along my back fence. I'm hoping it will help prevent the neighbours smoke blowing into our house!

Now while I've always had elderberry in pots they've never produced enough for me to do anything with the berries so I've just left them for the birds. Obviously it's happy being in the ground because it's been so productive the birds aren't eating them all.

All those tiny berries don't look like much now they're all dried out. The dried ones can be used to make a syrup that is beneficial for your immune system. If I get enough fresh ones I'll attempt the cordial and jam recipes I've seen.

Galaxy Matching Outfits

 Christmas 2021 I made all the nieces, nephews and sibling in laws matching clothes using this galaxy fabric. I love this fabric, it works for both male and female, and I have enough leftover to make myself something one day!

For my daughter and her little cousin I made matching Overall Playsuits from OhMeOhMy. I shortened the straps and the front top by one inch since it's already too long for my tall baby. If you want to see what changes I make when sewing this pattern you can read my other post here.

For my little nephews, I used the Sycamore shorts pattern from Sew Like my Mom. I was lazy and didn't add the pockets, but I did a size bigger and added buttonhole elastic to the back so it will fit them longer.

For my nieces, I used the elastic waist skirt tutorial from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom. I made a size bigger for my nieces and added buttonhole elastic to the back as well.

For the pocket tshirts I used the tutorial from See Kate Sew, before you cut your fabric, just hold the template up to your shirt as I found them to be too big.

And for my newest sister in law I tried adding flutters to this cute store bought romper, I didn't take into account the fraying edges until I'd already started. It's probably not going to be a problem since babies outgrow clothes so fast, but if I ever do this again I will use lace since it doesn't fray.