Category Archives: DIY Goodness

Going a Bit Hoopy!

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I have a thing for hoops. As in embroidery hoops. Op Shop found ones at that. It’s one of my bazaar fetishes which perplexes Mr Vick.

I blame Pinterest. It steals away my brain and warps it into some creative universe which makes me believe I am actually going to create the crafts that I pin. Hoop craft desire has gone as far as collecting a whole shit load of hoops. Exhibit A:

That is only some of them.

At first they were hard to spot and at times they were a bit pricey, even for the op shop, but then I found a bundle of a zillion for $1 and my heart was so ecstatic I could have danced with a ….er, hula hoop. This elated state was only dashed by Mr Vicks judgement of my loopy hoopyness (I know, I’m loving the hoop references a little too much).

Anyway, I think we can conclude here that I have hoops. Plenty of. So now it’s down to the nitty gritty of crafting with them. That’s where you come in. See, Pinterest is so wonderful that it’s confusing my preggie mind (not difficult) about which creative project I should be doing. There are many an option. Care to take a look?

I was initially thinking hoops for a baby room was a fabulous idea. Adorable and I have plenty of op-shop scored material which would rock it.

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Are you getting my drift? It’s super cute, am I wrong? My problem here is… what materials do I use that would be unisex? If I have a boy is it a bit too girly?

Then I found other ideas which has only opened up the possibilities far too wide but I like them too. Very much.

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Embroidery in an embroidery hoop… who would have thought? But I like the idea of using an old doily or someones handy work (like my Grandmothers) to be featured.

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Or something a little more contemporary?

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Earrings or brooch display. Photo Source

And some placement ideas….

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I’m fairly in love with that last one actually but would Mr Vick allow me to have material hoops above our bed??? Mmmm… He has been heard saying - why would you do that to hoops? It doesn’t seem practical. What about home decoration is ever practical? Tsk, tsk.

I wonder how practical he would find this one?

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This is super arty farty isn’t it? I think I would be kidding us all if I said suspending hoops dangling in our house with 2 kids knockin’ about was a great idea.

And now I just don’t know. *Vicki shrugs and sighs*. They’re all hoop-liscious right? Care to share your thoughts and favourites to help de-clutter my feeble, preggie brain???

Either way, I think we can agree I’m onto something:

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:) (If you wanna follow along with Knocked Up & Abroad’s creative daydreaming on Pinterest you can here)

The DIY {Cheap-skate} Valentine

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Valentines Day. I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to think about it. Mostly, I think I think it’s a pain in the fat toosh. I mean, really. It’s a day where you do what you should just do regularly anyway right? I don’t mean buy way crazy, elaborate presents but rather tell that special one that they’re a stud, or that you really want to do a nudie run with them everyday forever, or that they’re the only one you will share your favourite lollies with or maybe even just that you love them.

Now that I’m married (there I go sounding all old and mature again) I must say the anticipation of Valentines Day has worn off quite a lot.

We’ve done the Valentines thing. Many a yupi dinner and a rip-off bunch of roses have been given for the occasion. Hell, I was way good at it. I remember once buying Mr Vick and myself a helicopter tour over the 12 Apostles for Valentines Day. Yup, loved and cashed up. Those were the days.

I don’t tend to make such funtastical financial investments these days. Frankly, I think I have invested enough in this relationship to signal I’m fairly serious about it. Still, it’s always nice to get a little love surprise or just to be told you’re still their girl. I’d take that any day over a God aweful fluffy teddy which ultimately isn’t that cute and will end up at the Op Shop.

Mr Vick has always said everyday should be Valentines Day. That’s his moto. I’m yet to see it everyday, but his sentiment is surely sweet.

Now I’m married and conveniently against commercialism I have to get a little bit creative with my Valentines gifts. My thing is DIY is straight from the heart… and let’s be honest cheap. The cheaper the better in fact.

Yep. I think I just admitted I’m a cheap-skate. It’s all true.

Last year I had newly discovered Pinterest so I consulted with it only to steal this idea:

Soppy, yes. Yummy as all Hell, yes! I’m all for the gift you can eat.

This year, I had zilch inspiration. Not even Pinterest could stimulate my create wooer. Mr Vick is actually away working this year and I’m headed for some camping with my parentals instead. Now that is Valentines hotness. However Mr Vick came home 2 nights ago with a bunch of flowers and a fancy packet of chocolates which we inhaled no more than 3 minutes later. The flowers were from the supermarket with the price tag still stuck on, but I like that. It’s real. I still got the intended buzz. It made me smile which was the reward he wanted (well maybe…). I was impressed he even knew the date and that Valentines was on AND that he had thought ahead knowing he was going to be away. It did mean however I couldn’t pretend to forget.

So, this year with zero for a budget (we’re saving for a car, a house, a life..bla bla) I got my baker on.

We had 2 mouldy looking bananas, so the cake was destined to become a banana cake – not even a sexy mud cake! Did I mention cheap-skate? I did however manage to muster up some icing sugar and get a little love into it

Ultimately he took 2 pieces for the plane and had to leave the rest with me, his pregnant wifey. So really, Happy Valentines to me!

So what’s your love gift this year? Big and fluffy or simple? Happy loving team xx

 

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: Why Thank-you… DIYing Again!

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You may remember some months ago my epic DIYing efforts for a certain wedding. There was all the hand made material invitations & the numerous crafting antics for the reception decorations…. and now, the final DIYing efforts surrounding the wedding…. the DIY thank you cards….

Like the invitations, many of them are uniquely individual & made from recycled materials
The wording: Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours is a poem written by Beethovan found on his desk upon his death to an unknown lover. It was read at our ceremony.
Materials: Left over paper from the wedding
Type writer for the wording
Recycled doillies from charity shops cut up
glue, sissors
and easy peasy!

DIY Goodness: Travel Toys for the Toddler

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We are embarking on a 4 hour plane trip with an almost 2 year old toddler shortly to Darwin. Sounds like fun times right? If it’s anything like our flight to Thailand I might just jump out of that plane upon take off…. think 8 hours of torture in terms of tears, squeals, grumpiness, tantrums and NO sleep (for anyone). Not how I imagined the start and completion of a holiday but I’m going back for more anyway. Just the price for a little bit of paradise right?

This time I’m going to work a little harder to combat the toddler air troubles. Thanks to Pinterest (my part time lover) I have been playing with some ideas…. getting into a bit of DIYing for the cause.

Here is my colouring soap box. It’s compact. I can take it on the plane or just have in the nappy bag for a quick fix… I reckon it’s a little bit of genius….. check it out….

See what I did there? It’s simplicity at it’s best. Old skool soap box purchased. Sticky notes stuck into the lid of the box and crayons placed in the tray section. That’s one transportable colouring system!

And I was assisted by a little decorator

Then I made some Sticky Sticks!

Sticky sticks are actually just big, coloured popsicle sticks from the cheapest cheap shop you can find…. these cost me a big $2!

 Team it up with $2 velcro which you cut into small squares

 And here is the trickiest part of all…. sticking the Velcro onto the sticks!

Stick them all together and you’ve got another cheap, compactable travel toy which ideally Little Vick will love pulling apart and sticking them back together for hours (hear my optimism?)…. or he can make shapes too

Pretty rad if I do say so myself. So, I reckon I’ve got about, ah, 5 minutes worth of entertainment for our 4 hour flight, what do you reckon? Aside from a new book, and some new games on my phone, what do you do when faced with a long flight with children? Give me some comment luv about your ideas on travel entertainment… please, I’m a desperate woman……. :)