Wet weekend!!

Well it has rained pretty much non stop for the whole weekend. So i found some ways to keep myself from getting Cabin fever.

I brought myself some magazines to curl up on the couch with. 'Spaces' by Frankie Magazine is absolutely inspirational and the photography is beautiful. Have already read it cover to cover more than twice!!

Mr. Fox and I splashed out and brought a Nintendo Wii......what fun!!! Seriously addictive. Can't wait to take it home for Christmas day. Definately in for some laughs and good times with this little baby around. Could be a big time waster tho...hmm must try and limit ones gaming time.

I have been crafting too tho..last minute crafting tho, so i cant share yet. And with high hopes of Summer returning to us soon I washed my beloved sneakers....



 

Sneakers waiting for summer!

And i also to some more photos from my 1954 Ideals Christmas issue (see this post Thrifty goodness). I do so love the pictures in this magazine...

They just seemed to make everything so wholesome and cheeful in the 1950s don't you think?

I saved my favourite til last...everytime i see this picture i smile. I think its super cute, I'm sure you will agree.

Adventures on Stewart Island

I spent a wonderful week on Stewart Island with the whole family.  It was really really cold but even more than that it was beautiful.  I will definately being heading back to Stewart Island sometime.

One of my favourite days was the one we spent on a Ruggedy Range Guided Tour to Ulva Island ( http://www.ruggedyrange.com/ ). Our guide Furhana was wonderful, we certainly would not have seen as many different kinds of birds without a guide.  I managed to get a photo of a precious Stewart Island Robin, they are fearless and follow people along the tracks hoping that they will stir up some insects when they walk.



A Stewart Island Robin

The day started out very sunny but ended up very windy and grey.  We came across two Weka who were fighting on the beach....circling each other then leaping in the air and kicking!!



Two dueling Wekas

 

We had a great day and and even saw some dolphins on boat back to Stewart Island.

On Stewart Island we did lots of day walks and also went out on fishing trip.....I didnt join in on the fishing (I'm vegetarian) but really enjoyed the trip. It was a beautiful Southland day; blue skys and hardly a breath of wind.

The Skipper and his son were both so kind. Big Mollymauks flew right in close along with Seagulls hoping for a scrap of fish. Not fishing meant lots of time to snap photos of the wildlife.







The name of the fishing boat was 'Rawhiti' which means 'dawn' in Maori i think. The Rawhiti tows a little red dinghy that the Skipper rows to and from his boats mooring place.  Dad and I were lucky enough to get rowed across to a little island in the wee row boat. 
 

View of Stewart Island from
 the Rawhiti Fishing Boat





We saw some cute seals but no Paua!!  Everyone mangaged to catch some Blue Cod and apparently it was ever so tasty.

A view from the dinghy looking back at the Rawhiti and some hungry fishermen !!

One last picture....

Half Moon Bay,  Stewart Island. NZ

Back in the Home Den

Well I am way down South at my parent's den and it is lovely. After a busy weekend in Dunedin catching up with friends and a couple of lazy days Mama Fox and I have sprung into action.

Mum has been transferring her favourite pictures onto material for embroidering using a lightbox. The image is from a lovely book " It's not always black and white. A colourful take on life's grey areas." by Kate Knapp (http://www.twigseeds.com/)

Gorgeous Mama Fox made pincushions

And she has been making pincushions in lovely vintage teacups. There are lots of tutorials to make these out there....this one we found helpful but used a glueglun to secure the cushion. http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/06/how-to_tuesdays_vintage_teacup.html

And I made a batch of Chocolate Sauce using the same scrumptious recipie I have used for the past few years. Its delicious on ice-cream or strawberries....or both!!



Chocolate Sauce awaiting decoration and labelling

I cant recall which magazine that this recipe came out of and I cant find it anywhere on the photocopied page but I thought I would share it and if anyone knows which magazine its from I will reference it then. Making this sauce is so fast and easy and licking the bowl is rather good too.

This sauce has always gone down well with the men folk and is also a great gift to whip up at the last minute. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does. 



EASY CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Makes just under 3 cups

• 375ml can of evaporated milk
• 50g butter
• 2 Tblspn sugar (I like to use brown sugar)
• 1 cup drinking chocolate (The Trade Aid stuff is my fav)
• 1 Tbspn vanilla essence

1. Put the milk, butter and sugar into a large microwave proof bowl or jug and cook on high power for 3-4mins
2. Whisk in the chocolate and microwave for 3-4 mins, stirring once or twice. Stir in vanilla essence.
3. Bottle in hot sterilised bottles or jars.

Bath salts for Mama Fox

I also made some Lavender Bath Salts for Mum, looked at a couple of recipes and then kinda just used them as a guide.

It was so much fun grinding up dried lavender and dried lemon verbena leaves and mixing it all up in a big bowl. Very good for the soul and it smelt heavenly.








Have been really enjoying being at home with Ma and Pa Fox. So nice to be out of the city and back to the place I grew up in. Thought i would share some photos of just how lovely it is.



Fruit in the evening sunlight



The garden

 The lovely garden and a cute little Santa. The little Christmas pudding is a tiny bath bomb from Lush. It smells good enough to eat!!

I just love how every part of home is decorated, there is always a little surprise in every corner.

There really is no place like home.



"Err those sheep are creepy" said the fox...

.........oh yes they sure are...and if you don't believe me have a look for yourself......

Creepy creepy sheep!!!

I mean what were they thinking....and its a double page spread....there are more of them!!! They almost look like sheep, almost but they do seem to be thinking rather sinister thoughts about that young boy....run boy run!!  Tee Hee what a crazy pattern and its soo BIG too.

I found this in a craft magazine i have never seen before; American Home Crafts, Vol 2, No.1 from 1974.

And amongst the pages i also found this pattern that is sooo cool...i love the styling.....



Awesome crochet!!



I mean whats not to love...alll that colour, those cute kids bundled up in rainbow woollies and so many of those 'Roly Poly Pillow Seats'. I just wish that my sky den was a little bigger so i could go crazy and craft a great big colouful pile of Roly Polys

Heres my thrifty finds from today, some more balls of wool and a cute little tapestry that I think i will hang up...too cute to craft with. And some delicate little hankerchiefs to add to my collection. I do love hankerchiefs. They really are beautiful little artworks and some have such tiny stitches it would seem that a pixie must have been the crafter.

Here is the off cut from the owl t-shirt I had thrifted. The t-shirt was so cute i tried it on and voila it was perfect but too long!! So no grocery bag goodness from this little gem but it is now one super cute headband and a perfectly fitting tee


Well i must get dinner started, my tummy is grumblin

Thrifty goodness

This little fox has been-a-thrifting!! and a-sewing and a-crocheting....................

I have a great love of books, and especially childrens books. I find them so inspiring and positive.

Golden books are always special but the ones I found recently are the cutest. Donkeys are special to me ( there are three at Mama and Papa Fox's house in the countryside.....oh sweet creatures).
 

So when I found this a Golden book about a sweet little donkey I was so excited.



Sweet donkey Golden book


















 This wants to make me head straight to the beach....

Double page spread from 'The Golden Book of Numbers'

Some other thrifting finds, the Santa spread is from the beautiful 'Ideals Christmas Issue, Vol 11, No.6, December 1954.  It is a scrumptious collection of poems, songs and pictures all with a christmas theme.

 I will share some more pictures from this gorgeous book as the weeks lead up to Christmas

Hiding at the bottom of a dusty shelf under some old Womens Day mags was some more treasure.... 

......a sewing book for infants...minus its cover but not missing any pages.

And another collection of Mon Tricot patterns. Love these so much.
 

Other thrifting finds are of the 'Top Secret Christmas' variety but the cute owl T-shirt is destined to be sewn into a wonderful new grocery bag as seen on http://pm-betweenthelines.blogspot.com/ . A great blog i stumbled upon over the weekend.  Lots of really cool tutorials that I am itching to try out.

There is a bag of grey wool that is trying to edge into the photo....what a score! Hidden between the acrylic balls are three balls of 100% merino wool . Oh i was pleased!

You know Christmas is coming when.....

.............A christmas tree appears on the side of the Sky tower

.........Chirstmas bunting of the most splendiferous kind (Mama Fox made!!) in the post

.....A sneaky little santa appears....not that this fox minds at all

..........the sewing machine is on, the bobbins are full and there are lots of scrumptious fabrics mingling. (sorry fabrics shown inside out to help keep my Foxy Family presents top secret.



.......the doileys are pulled out of the sewing box ready to adorn the fabrics

Beautiful yarn waiting to be a christmas gift, tiny Christmas tree and Sew La Tea Do by Pip Lincolne of http://www.meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/ . BLISS!

........and the Christmas tree is waiting for decorations!!! Tiny but oh so cute.....rather like our sky den....perfect.

Oh yes this little fox is starting to get into the Christmas spirit, and yes i know that its only November but crafty goodness presents dont happen overnight

Crafting....

Well i have photos of the tapestry i sewed edging onto..

Thrifted tapestry with soft, grey cordrouy edging



And i finished MY beautiful 'raspberry beret'.......and i adore it.  Love how soft the undyed brown wool is. Love that it holds its shape without being too stiff. And love, love, love the gorgeous petal pattern in the center! So here it is.....

My 'raspberry beret' !!



Spout Farm!



I have been growing things too....living in a sky den limits ones gardening oppurtunities, oh how i miss putting my paws into a vegetable garden! Anyway i have my little sprouting kit...what a find at a local Salvation Army store!

I tucked it under my arm a few weeks ago and have been growing Mung bean sprouts since. Such a treat to watch them grow and so scrumptious to eat.

Dont you love the little coffee grinder sitting on the bench!!

I have been a industrious little fox of late, am trying very hard to finish some WIPs at the moment. Finally stopped procrastinating about weaving in the ends on a little crochet blanket made from scraps of thrifted yarn, all the colours of the sea. I started it when i was on holiday in Sydney, Australia with Mr. Fox and his family. Great for passing the time away on the trains and plane trips.

Holiday blanket finally done. Woohoo!

The beautiful fragrence is of Honeysuckle and Carnations is wafting through the sky den....the Honeysuckle vines have been 'thrifted' from a local carpark where they grow untamed, and the Carnations are from the supermarket. Hehe reminds me of the 'town mouse' and 'country mouse' seeing them in the vase together...one so tame and the other wild and rambling

Sweet flower joy!

Love Little Fox xx

Back again

Hi all,

My Mr. Fox and I had a lovely break away to the north of Auckland and it was soo splendiferous.

What a lovely country i live in. We breathed in the ocean air, soaked up the sun and admired the views.

First stop was a place called Sandspit, what an amazing camping ground they have there...right on the beach...perfect for dipping foxy paws as much as possible.



Sandspit, Rodney District, NZ



Here is their website http://www.sandspitholidaypark.co.nz/.

Mr. Fox and i had a great time. The actual tent sites were big and they had quaint little cabins that i really wouldnt mind staying in sometime soon. There was a gorgeous cafe too.

Sandspit on spring evening



Our portable den!!!



The next day we went to Russell in the Bay of Islands...AMAZING. What paradise!! so did not want to come home. Our break away was only for two nights but it was so refreshing and inspiring.

Russell Lookout at Sunset

Of course this fox cannot leave crafting at home when she goes away..oh no siree!! I crocheted some little booties, 'gumdrop booties' from Crochet Today Nov/Dec 2009 issue. I just have to pick out some buttons and sew them on. I am really pleased with them...not quite perfect but sweet anyway.

Almost finished booties

I do love the green and brown combo! They whipped up so fast that i started a 'raspberry beret' for myself in the brown.

Before we set of on our adventure i cranked up the sewing machine and put an edging on a 'thrifted by Mama Fox' tapestry. So chuffed with it, looks super cute beside my bed. Thanks so much Mama Fox xx

Bundle of Goodies!!

Well this lucky little fox got a parcel from Mama Fox...oooohhh the goodness. Thought i would share with you how much sweetness and thrifty delight she managed to bundle up and send my way. Oh am soo lucky. What fun, crafting with these goodies will be, just look at those colours..yummy!

Happy weekend everyone xx