SnuggleB

Giveaway

2011-08-26T16:40:00.004+12:00

Ok, so here is the no excuse giveaway.

Visit the Snuggleb Toys shop (Click on the Little Kiwis Nest link to the right of this page) and comment either on this blog or on the Snuggleb Toys facebook page.

Finish this sentence "When I was growing up I wish I had a ...."

The prize (by random draw) is the toy you have chosen !!!! and don't forget I am also taking laybys.

Draw will happen on Friday 2 September and is open to everyone.

GOOD LUCK

A New Year

2011-01-15T17:05:00.003+13:00

Well here we are another year, where did the last one go!!!!! I do hope that you had a wonderful christmas and new year. I have decided that I spent tooooo much time on facebook last year and the blog was a bit neglected, so have decided to post here and link through to the facebook page.

On the facebook note, welcome to all of the new likers, the page is nearly at 300 and there is still something up for grabs when the page reaches 300, there will be a draw using the random.org site, I have'nt decided what yet, maybe the lucky winner can decide ?????

The shop has been updated with some new sleepy kids, twisted divas and flopeez all looking very cute.

And this guy, Garth is his name and stomping is his game..... so fingers crossed I will be here at least 0nce a week....

Miss Red

2010-05-13T09:49:00.003+12:00

Just thought I would share the latest girl to come out of the sewing room, Miss Red, I found this fabric on TM and I wasted no time in making it up, don't you just get so excited to the point that you can't waste another moment in making up fabric, I knew exactly what I was going to use this fabric for and here is the result.....

There are only three made, they all look the same, but I have changed the vintage lace on the front, I was contemplating keeping one, but the hubby gave a firm NO, darn it!!! oh well. 2 have already gone so there is only one left, maybe I will just keep her for a little bit, until another favourite comes along......

Well here we are....

2010-04-26T11:39:00.007+12:00

And I have been here before, I wrote a post last week, but there was a button that I hit, don't know which one and the post was gone, just like that!!!! grrrrrr so I had to walk away, my computer was not my friend anymore, until today, we are back on!!!!!!

Well its been a busy few weeks, my daughter turned 5!, so we have had parties, family stay, kids friends stay, plus orders to be filled and all the boring stuff like housework to be done.

To celebrate my daughter going to school I am having a sale in the shop and there are a few things listed on Trade Me, I have also set up a shop on the Facebook page with a few ramdon things. Like these 2

Cute Aye!!!,

Well full steam ahead from now, I have plenty of ideas add to the range of toys and am going to change a few of the designs, well give them a bit of a tweak.

My hubby is moving out of the office, YAY, he is self employed and shares a business with a friend, they are setting up a shop, so that is exciting. I also had a fantastic time at a new fabric market over the weekend, I decided to sell off some pieces that I have had for ages, getting rid of some STUFF will make room for more STUFF. I will attend the next market as a customer. One lady was selling fabric that she has had for forty years!!!! Craftmad is on again this weekend, I am looking forward to that and am starting to see regulars now, the name Snuggleb is getting out there and I am getting some fantastic feedback, which is really encouraging.

Well time for some lunch, the day is getting away on me again, I am finding now that I don't have the kids at home, I can stay and chat to people alot more, rather than having to rush home for kindy dropoff!!!

Till next time, hopefully sooner rather that later........

Super Kids and Bunny Girls

2010-03-19T12:08:00.006+13:00

I have had this vintage book for ever and a day, there is this cute super hero in it.

He was just calling to me to be made into a cute doll. The kids and a friend spotted him on the weekend and had him flying all over the place, it was great to see, my husband thinks I'm a bit mad... "your toys are getting weird" he said, "huh, its the kid coming out in me" I say, " they are perfectly fine see" as super kid goes flying across the room, what would he know!!!!!

But he hasn't seen Bunny girl yet, hhmm maybe he will keep his opinions to himself? probably not....

I love her long ears, she is a keeper, but I have put her in the shop, alas I can't keep them all, Super Kid is there to. Also if you are a member of Trade Me , I have starting listing on there again, just search for Snuggleb, and hey presto I will be there!!!

Boy its the weekend again and I have 1 market, then a bit of a break, there are no Craftmad Markets over easter, the husband, kids and I are going for a break over easter and my daughter turns 5 the next weekend, so the house is going to be caos, not to worry you only turn 5 once!!!! I am making cute little bunnies from flannels (they were in the spotlight magazine) to give away to her friends, oooh they are so cute, anyway better go

Till next time......

Shop Update

2010-03-11T14:31:00.003+13:00

Have just finished this cute girl

Her name is HR Gallop, you can see her here, I have added a few new designs. I made my first sale on Little Kiwis Nest yesterday, was very excited, had to take a double look, it means that the paypal account is working. I am working on another design in the animal family as well so I will post it soon.

I am also holding a stall the the Rototuna Primary Gala on the 20 march, 9am -12pm, that will be it for markets till May, I need to catch my breath, plus I have cut some more clothes out for meeeee, winter skirts, I should post a pic!!! hopefully they will be done THIS winter, ha ha.

Anyway don't forget you can become a fan on facebook, there is a link down the side of the blog, I may have to run a giveaway soon to entice new fans......

Till next time.... have a good one

Babushkas

2010-02-27T13:57:00.005+13:00

Well I have been wanting to make one of these dolls for ages and finally got around to making a pattern, they have turned out ok, I may change the hair style next time, my most favourite site and inspiration for these girls is here, I spent ages going through all the varities and maybe able to afford a set one day, in the meantime I am happy to make my softie version.

The one on the left will be in the shop soon.... also check out the rabbits that I have made for easter. I will be stocked up for the next Craftmad, next weekend the 7th March, also if you are coming to the next Craftmad, bring a can or 2 of catfood, and go in the draw to win Bert and Ernie (here) and help us support the SPCA, each can earns you 1 ticket into the raffle, there is going to be close to 40 stalls at the next Craftmad so it will be a good one to visit, remember there is NO eftpos, so be sure to bring plenty of $.

I have been reaping the rewards of my garden the last few days, I grew Roma tomatoes this year and they are the perfect tomato for cooking, they don't go all watery, perfect for pastas and meatballs, I have also added some grated zuccini to the cooked mix and popped it all on the freezer, also the strawberries were a success, I was picking a punnet or two a day, so we now have strawberry jam, it feels so nice going to the freezer/pantry and being able to use the goods that I have made myself, it always brings back memories of my mum bottling/stewing.

Till next time.....

2010-02-09T11:41:00.003+13:00

Ok, so I had heaps of fun at the Craftmad Market, and you know what, I even had a few people come up and say "I have one of your toys and I love it", yay, I have been waiting for that to happen, its such a awesome feeling and very inspiring. So you can see some photos here and you can keep up to date with all of the up coming markets and stall holders here.

I don't have much to report at the moment, I have a few designs that I want to make up before the next market. Mostly we here are back into the routine of school, kindy, dancing, swimming and bmxing, whew, I am tired already!!!!! Keep an eye out on the shops, a few new guys might pop up, the twisted divas and the Moo N Choo's were a hit, so guess what I'll be making more of.

till next time......

A big task

2010-01-22T14:19:00.005+13:00

Well, I am supposed to be sorting out my fabric, its in a huge mess, I hear my husband sigh everytime he comes out into the office (we share a space) slowly it has become my space over the last week, so I am tackling this daunty task, to keep or not to keep. I have been in that delima before, where I have had bags of fabric sitting there, sorted for weeks and I will need a piece, of course I always find it in the bags sorted to go to the op shop. So I have decided to put up a small table a the next market with some pieces and see how I go.

Now I have a couple of new additions to the softie family,

123 Blast Off - Rocket

And

Flutterby

I really had fun making up the bright colours, and they turned out much better than I expected!!! They can also be viewed and purchased here

Hope you have a fabulous weekend, we had new carpet put in this week so I am also having a BIG sort out in the house as well, yay......

Little Kiwis Nest

2010-01-09T19:13:00.003+13:00

Righto, you can now find my new range at Little Kiwis Nest, I am in the process of adding more, so check up on me next week, also look me up on Facebook and become a fan...... spread the word. The Craftmad market is not far from happening in Hamilton, I will add a reminder closer to the time, its the first sunday of every month, except April, having a break for Easter.

I hope the holidays are going well, my 2 rugrats are off to their grandies next week, yay, so I will be slogging it out on the machine and I have my two weeks palnned to make the most of my child free sewing time.

Till next time.....

Well...

2009-12-16T14:32:00.002+13:00

I'm all sewn out, am finding it hard to get motivated to get to my machine at the moment, so have decided to have a bit of a rest, well for couple of days anyway. I decided one night that I needed some T shirts so they are waiting to be sewn up, plus there are some softies that need their bottoms sewn up as well, I go through spits and starts, I will have heaps of stuff cut out, I mean heaps of stuff and then I'm all cut out, give me a few days and I can't leave the machine alone!!!!! it works well for me, I have a habit starting something and then decide to start something else, oh well they all get finished in the end. This year has been a great year for me on the softies side and I am excited about the new year, I will be able to spend more time at the machine from April, that's when my daughter goes to school and have a few new toys (yes more) in the pipeline, plus I want to expand on my tag snuggly and blankets.

My son had his last day of school today, so the school holidays have officially started, my daughter is at kindy till next week, hopefully we will see some warmer weather and sunshine soon, it has been a bit chilly in Hamilton, I hope you have a great christmas......

So the Countdown to Christmas is on....

2009-12-04T09:48:00.004+13:00

and I have been visiting a few blogs that are doing the twelve days of christmas, my favourite blog at the moment is Fabrication, she has some great ideas for last minute gifts with fabric and best of all there is a shop where you can buy this fabulous fabric, I'm making the needle holder very simple, can be whipped up in a evening in front of the tele, perfect....

P.K.Stomp

2009-11-28T11:18:00.004+13:00

Well I finally finished P.K.Stomp, he ended up being black rather than the bright blue that everyone associates pukeko's with, but he is rather cute. He is in the shop and there will be more, but only after I have finished some more Moo.N.Choos, Pig.E.Dwiggity, H.P.Hop, H.T.Dog and I.T.S.Meow and L.E.Phant, boy thats alot!!! ooh well, it will keep me busy.......

Heres a great Tutorial

2009-11-25T11:49:00.002+13:00

A little while back I found this great tutorial on how to sew softies up once you had stuffed them, I wanted to share, BUT do you think I could find it again, well Melly, has a Tutorial Tuesday and she has just blogged a tutorial here, I have been finishing my softies off this way for a while now and its great. Hope you find it useful.

MAN at the moment, I feel like I am taking 2 steps forward and 1 backwards, everything has snowballed and I can't get enough hours at the moment, as my customer base grows so do the orders!!!!, it is very exciting though and I am looking forward to next year, a few exciting plans are in swing. How are your weeks going leading up to christmas???

Have a great week, till next time......

Don't Forget

2009-11-18T11:24:00.002+13:00

To come along to the kindy christmas shopping night. There will be a massive 28 Stalls, a coffee cart, sausage sizzle and a raffle, going to heaps of fun.

Where: The Kids Club
41 Cate Road
Rototuna
Hamilton

When: 6pm till 8pm 19th Thursday November

A great way to see who's doing what in your community.

The new pattern is done.....

2009-11-13T10:36:00.009+13:00

Now I just need to find the time to make all of the animal family up. I have managed 2, a cow and a pig, one is going into a raffle for the kindy shopping night on Thursday, I need to buy a ticket for this raffle, he was very hard to give away!!!!! and the pig, well I am hoping to load him/her on a new website I am joining very soon, will keep you updated.

So here we have Moo.N.Choo

And Pig.E.Dwiggity

Everything is go,go,go, the madness of the end of year, hope you all have a nice weekend.....

My most favourite Cookie Recipe

2009-11-06T10:45:00.007+13:00

I'm not sure how long I have had this recipe, but I started making these cookies when my husband and I moved in together, now that was a while ago. I have only just rediscovered it this year, after deciding that biscuits were not essential in our household. The kids havn't missed store bought biscuits and what a fantastic saving to the weekly food budget. This recipe says it makes 60 which is a lot, I manage on average to get 50, it depends on how big you want them. I normally mix the whole recipe, bake what I want and roll the rest into balls and freeze for those times when I am not in a baking mood!!!

Yum Cookie dough....

Yum fresh baked cookies...

Milo Choc o Nut Cookies

250g butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 tblspn milo
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup choc chips

Cream butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into creamed mixture, add milo and stir well to combine. Stir in the peanuts and choc chips. Measure tablespoons of mixture and roll into balls. Place onto a tray lined with baking paper, press down with a fork. Bake at 180deg for 20 mins or until golden brown.

yumm perfect with a coffee, happy baking.....

SOOO cute!!!

2009-11-03T14:02:00.005+13:00

This is something my 4 year old says every time I make something, the next thing to come out is "can I keep her" hence I have gotten my story down pat as to why she can't, whew so no more tears. I had fun making this little fluff ball and plan on a dog next, they will get to my shop eventually, just giving a sneak peak on what I have been up to, hope she made you smile :)

A Sale

2009-11-03T13:08:00.005+13:00

I have joined Flickr... now if I could find my memory stick to load some photos grrrrrr... I like this site you can join groups of other like minded people and see what they are making, I've joined 4 groups, Bag Hag, Softies, The Toy Society and Monsters and other creatures. I have loaded a few photos, if only I could find that memory stick grrrrr... Anyway I'm also having a sale on Felt
and yes I have figured out how to link yeh!!! So I have decided to retire the crazy animals pattern, I am making a few changes to it, I am hoping to add a few more animals to the collection, so watch this space. ..... now very exciting stuff happening in the garden, I have strawberries, BIG strawberries and I was having a count up of the plants the other day, 18 I have 18 plants, ummmmm strawberry jam, have already got the receipe sorted so I just need to collect enough, hmmm, gonna struggle with that task I think.. till next time

Christmas Shoe Boxes

2009-10-22T11:47:00.003+13:00

The Junior school, at my son's school, are making up boxes to fill with pressies for kids who will miss out at christmas. Its a great idea, I only just remembered on Tuesday that the class were doing it and our gift had to be handed in on Thursday!!!!! aaaah, luckly I had a beautiful pink tote bag half made up and there was another Rockin Robot that needed a new home, whew!! I did'nt want the break that Handmade Pledge. So off they go somewhere in the world to be loved, yah. Now back to sewing and frantic it is, am sewing like I never have before, the Rotokauri market is next week. We are going away for the weekend, my son has a extra day off, the elusive Teacher Only Day, so we get a 4 day weekend, Omori here we come, there is meant to be plenty of sunshine for a couple of the days, so that will mean some picnics by the lake and a few sleep in's.....
Enjoy your long weekend..

Ok so a big Market is looming

2009-10-07T14:24:00.005+13:00

This will be my first big market, I have seen advertising for it everywhere, so am a little nervous and excited at the same time. My biggest worry is will I have enough stuff!!!, but orders can be taken (with a deposit) and flyers can be handed out. The flyers have worked really well for me and I know they work, this is how I was invited to the BIG Market. I have made two new girls along with the other ten that are ready to be sewn up and the bears and the blankets and the monstas oh dear!!! anyway once school holidays are over I will have some more time to myself. I have made some sleepy dolls they are a mixture of a few of my patterns, kinda frankenstein really, but they look really cool, there is a picture on my facebook page, I will be selling them at the BIG market. Anywho the son is starting to "mum mum mum" till next time...... oh and I have just listed some new dolls on Zillion.

The Toy Society

2009-09-21T16:51:00.007+12:00

Well I finally made a drop today, what a perfect day to go for a walk along the river and feed the ducks, my daughter loves to climb the trees as well. I decided to make the drop along our side of the river where we do most of our bike riding and walking and because there are a lot of mums that walk along there, so Rockin Robot was placed on one of the resting spots, I hope someone notices him, I wonder where he will end up. So that is my first drop, mmmmm wonder where the next one will be.......

http://www.thetoysociety.blogspot.com

Craft Fair

2009-09-17T14:45:00.000+12:00

Well the awesome Craft and Quilt Fair has been and gone and I never miss it, unfortunately when I went this year I was absolutely knackered after a busy weekend and a friend that I go with had to work!!, so that put a bit of a damper on it. I didn't get there till late Sunday afternoon, not really knowing what I was looking for, but I always end up buying something, there are so many things to choose from its like a kid in a candy shop. I found some great fabrics that will be turned into dolls and a bag pattern, its a great pattern it comes with a plastic template with all the markings to make six different styles, so NO tracing out, yah!!! I am itching to make it, I'm having a bit of a bag making session at the moment ( have six cut out!!), I just made one for a friend and it looked really good (I forgot to take a photo!) I will have to get her round so I can take a photo, hopefully she can use it, I put a few big pockets in for nappies, wipes etc. Once I have made the others up I might take them along to a market, it doesn't matter if they don't go, they will make great chrissie pressies now that I have taken the handmade pledge.

Wurzle

2009-09-05T11:58:00.001+12:00

I found this book a little while ago, these characters reminded of the girl guide days, felt has become popular again, mmm I would love to make some but I'm not good at making anything that takes longer than a hour!!, so I decided to make a bigger version of the dog, he is at the bottom left in green.

I really like him, he has floppy arms and ears, I going to have to make some more I think, I have enough fabric!!!!

Now, the book is out of print if you are looking for it, I got my copy off Trade me and I am sure I have seen it again on there, Lovable Mini Dolls by Terumi Otaka. Good Luck.......

Old becomes new

2009-08-30T16:07:00.000+12:00

Well I have these cork placemats (top photo), they have been given a hard time by the kids and I didn't want to throw them away, so they went into the don't throw away cupboard. I was looking at one of my sons school books the other day and a random thought popped into my head, sticky backed plastic would be perfect to cover the placemats, mmm next time I'm at the $2 shop..... well we were at the $2 shop on Friday and there it is just what I need. The kids were fascinated we sat down a discussed what we were going to do, they helped pull the backing of the plastic and hold the place mats down, then they proceeded to find other things to cover!!! any way I must say they come up great and the kids were mighty pleased, "WOW mum they just look like new", Dad got the full running commentary from both of them when he got home, so that is my upcycling this week, watch this space......

The Boys are in town

2009-08-25T13:51:00.001+12:00

Can a boy have a doll?, they sure can, my son was given a cute boy doll when he was a baby and he loves it, Bubba still sits on his bed and quite often is company for him when he is not well. I have had a few requests of late "when are you going to make something for the boys" mmmm I've finally gotten there, I hope they are boyish enough, my husband reckons they look like the Twisted Diva's without the hair, but he is a male and sometimes can't see past his nose!!! I am happy with them anyway. On another note, its raining today, which I am happy about, I re-organised my strawberries on the weekend, so they need a good drenching, we had a bumper crop last year so I'm looking forward to this crop, nothing like foraging in the strawberry patch. Till next time :)

Time to start

2009-08-20T14:05:00.000+12:00

I signed up for this blog a little while ago, I have followed a few blogs over the past year, and thought its a great way to show everyone (who ever is interested) what has been happening, now I'm not the best picture taker so bare with me, but I will start with my latest design, he's a cousin of Bruno who is another monsta I designed but I did'nt like his arms and legs (they were fixed) so back to the drawing board and this guy (above) emerged, cute aye, anyway have included a pic of the girls as well. So thats it I've started, just hope I can get back here at least once a week!!!