christmas gifts on a budget

As Christmas approaches I get very excited about giving presents to all our friends and family ("gift giving" is definitely my love language!) but then all the reality sets in about how much everything costs. So rather than getting sad or mad about it I try to get creative with my present ideas to come up with special gifts that don't break the bank.

This year a few of Little Man's friends will be receiving these custom t-shirts.(I'm clearly banking on the fact that their parents don't read this blog.. oh well, if so, early Merry Christmas!) At $3- $4 each (for the plain tee) at KMart, they really are a bargain!

The doilies on the pink tee were $2 a pair from the Reject Shop (seriously, can I say enough how much I love that place??) the fabric and button on the aqua tee were scraps I had around the house and the white lace band on the yellow tee was off an old shirt. I love that all 3 girls will have a completely unique shirt to wear this summer. 

And for a couple of the other little men in Little Man's life I've done tie tees. Again, the red and white stripy fabric were scraps I had lying around - never throw out your fabric scraps, you never know when they'll come in handy!

So there you go. With a bit of imagination you too can create unique and AFFORDABLE gifts for friends and family this Christmas.

or... if you're really not the crafty type, there are some pre-made tops for women for sale over on my etsy store and I'm happy to take custom orders too!

Farmyard Party

Inspired by other stay-at-home-designer-project-mode-y mums I decided to try my hand at creating party printables. I mentioned this to my friend Jen who cunningly got me to design some stuff for her daughter's upcoming 2nd birthday. Miss 2 loves animals so it had to be a farm party!

yummy food! I love love love the butterfly fairy bread! 

Here are some of the printable bunting, cupcake toppers and tags I designed.

 I do love how cute labels and ribbons make even the simplest things look lovely. Printing the juice labels onto a4 stick on labels was a stroke of genius on my part (if I do say so myself!!) much easier than glueing every single one  - like I did for Little Man's 1st birthday!

Here's the birthday girl herself! All the other kids were invited to dress up as farm animals and Miss 2 was the farmer. Jen picked up these cute overalls and hat at Kmart (I think?) and I added the fabric  belt and flowers to it just to girly it up a little more. Don't you think this gorgeous family look like they belong in a magazine?

Speaking of farm animals... here is Little Man as a cow.. You can see the hat didn't last long. Fluffy chickens were far too interesting to bother about a hat.

 Jen had a Kiddy Farm come to the party and it was so cute seeing all the different reactions the kids had. Miss 2 was besotted with these chickens (perhaps she knew how well they matched her outfit??) and sat with them on her legs for ages being very gentle. I love her little hands carefully holding them.

 Another little cow makes his way through the party and this little miss on the right may forever be known as chicken choker! I've never seen 1 year old hands go so fast for a chicken's neck. It was hilarious!!

 The party favours were these super cute piggy banks - such a great alternative to lolly bags!

All in all a very beautiful party. Jen did such a wonderful job putting it all together and lovely time was had by all!