see ya 2011!

wishing you all a safe and happy new years~!

from myself and the team at Dee*Construction

XO

make my week:: FINALE!

hello!

i hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas. 

this is the last Make My Week for 2011!!

(i totally stuffed up the week numbers, did you notice? you should have told me! oops~)

for the finale i wanted to show you Jada's 2011 Christmas dress -  it was restyled from a red shirt, bought by JR in Thailand about 10 years ago...

::before::

::after::

doilies for the collar and bias tape for the straps. 

super, super simple!

and inspired by this sweet Modcloth dress:

::and here you go, a 'before & after' in one::

you get bonus points if you remember Jada's restyled Christmas dress from last year which was featured on Rachel Denbow's blog !!  (i know, shameless name-dropping but it's my only claim to fame and i'm gonna claim it thankyouverymuch! ;) )

did you make something new for you or your kiddos to wear on the 25th?

X

It's Christmas Eve!!

wishing all you delightful people a happy and safe Christmas 2011

~Dee

XO

make my week #48 - ugliest doll makeover

remember the ugliest doll (failed pirate doll) from last week?

well, i had some great suggestions on facebook and he is now a she!

it's better...but i'm still not completely won over!

:) 

{baby #5} 30 weeks

(it's tricky to get the same angle and lighting!)

i can barely SEE any difference between these 3 pics but boy, do i FEEL it!!

my placenta is right at the back so i'm really feeling every last little movement this time which is a special bonus for my last time being pregnant...even though sometimes i swear a foot is going to bust right through my skin!

it's a really very responsive babe and i'm enjoying having him/her all to myself for this brief time.

Then & Now

{16 December 2009}

{16 December 2011}

a million smoochy kisses to you today our precious 'Danny-Arlo-With-Curls'

XO

(i lost my camera this morning while out at Monte's kindy concert! waahh, that means blurry phone birthday photos!)

{dee.i.y} photograph your own bunting holders!

if you want to keep the kids occupied these holidays, why not have them hold your Christmas bunting for you!

(a variation on this smaller version i made earlier in the year)

::here's how::

1. take pictures of your kiddos holding an invisible bunting - think about how you want to position your frames and give them spots to look at while taking their picture so that it will look like they are looking at each other once hanging on the wall: 

 

(because they've done it before they understood my instructions. i gave Danny a small piece of paper to hold between his fingers though)

2. select the best photos. fiddle with the images until satisfied.

3. choose your frames and remove the glass. 

4. print your images to fit the frames you have selected and prepare your bunting (i soaked mine with a tea bag to give it a more aged look)

5. for support, place some tape on the back of the image where the kids fingers are then poke a hole where you want to thread the bunting. thread a small piece of bunting through this hole and tape again to hold in place.

position and hang!

now i know it does look kinda awesome to have a fistful of kiddos to hold your bunting for you this Christmas, but if you only have 1, or even none you can still swing a bunting (or Christmas greeting - i'd love to do this one) between two photos...even if it's just of you and your pug :)

will you make one?

show me if you do, i'd love to see!

X

come on in~

it's been raining all week here and we've been stuck inside, so why don't you come on in and join us too...

...

...

...

...

...

...

'emmanuel'

God with us.

...

hoping this rain goes away soon!!

X

{dee.i.y} guest post

has anyone else noticed the newspaper gift boxes covered in red polka dots by Citta Design this Christmas?

i'm sharing how i made my own, using vintage music sheets instead, over at Make it Dear today!

thanks for having me Mandi~

X

make my week #47 - ugliest doll ever

we made it there and back! safely and sanely! hurrah.

we had a lovely time, gorged on cheap Hawke's Bay fruit, met some blog readers and got to (briefly) catch up with some super special friends.

meeting Anna's new little person, Nathan, was definitely a highlight:

(Danny is baby-crazy!)

on the Thursday morning before we left (when i should have been packing) i thought i'd quickly whip up a doll for wee Nate.

ha! 

whip-up's turn out to be either just that...or the total opposite. you guessed it, this time it was the latter. 

it took precisely a million years longer than intended and ended up being the singularly MOST UGLY doll i have ever made.

not for a moment was i tempted to actually give it to Nate. (their dog, yes - but not the baby!!)

curious? wanna see?

here you go:

//shudder//

it was supposed to be pirate-ish but i kept having this overwhelming urge to add a french moustache...

..and then i realised its only salvation would probably to be reincarnated as a french female doll.

what do you think?

we're off!

(i lightly straightened my hair last night and was pretty shocked at how long it had gotten! woah, hair-growing hormones anyone?!)

thank you for your sweet responses and wonderful suggestions to yesterday's post - it was so nice to hear from the real actual people who are represented by the numbers on the sidebar! :)

we're about to head off on our long(ish) trip!

and i'm pretty excited because i LOVE the Hawkes Bay. have you been there? you should.

see you next week!

X

10

1. i used to think croup was an ancient disease, like 'consumption' or something. now, it's a much-too-common dirty word that gets hissed through vapouriser steam in the middle of the night. how is it They can transplant hearts, hands and faces but there is no prevention/cure for common childhood croup? 

(still, i'd rather croup than asthma, allergies, whooping cough or a million other things)

2. i suspected my reason for decorating our home for Christmas was so i could showcase it here, not for us to enjoy. and so - to teach myself a lesson - there will be some strict Christmas Decor Posting Guidelines! 

3. i'm getting weary of the word, "vintage". you?

4. we are heading off on a 4-5 hour road trip tomorrow to the Hawkes Bay. any travelling-with-a-million-kids tips?

5. the burst of followers on this here blog has been unexpected and quite lovely, but i miss making friendships like i did when there were only 50. please introduce yourself and comment often so i can get to know you. that'd be real nice~

6. confession: i've been really struggling to enjoy the kiddos lately. i hate these phases. parents who treat their kids as inconvenient make me so mad...and i've been that parent recently. it usually comes from a self-absorbed preoccupation with slaving for my family vs. serving them. gah~ 

7. i still have a bunch of Christmas presents to get - and am totally stumped on most of them.

8. this time 2 years ago, i was 40 weeks +1 with Danny. but no one knew i was "overdue" because i never tell my EDD. ha

9. guess what else? the kids are all in the same room! and we are in a room by ourselves for the first time in 4 years - such a novelty to talk loud and turn lights on when we go to bed! will give you a tour soooooon.

10. lunch time...gotta go!

X

{dee.i.y} quick & cute lacy shorts

mkay, it's a only a minute until Christmas and eek! you need some stocking fillers for your daughter/grand-daughter/neices...

what are you going to do??

here's what:

buy (or thrift) some denim shorts, cut off some length (if necessary) and add a prettifying piece of lace. bingo::

very quick. 

and very cute.

::action shots::

X 

Make my Week #47 - the latest batch

here are some of the dolls i made last week

::dolls for sisters:: 

::dolls for boys::

::dolls for baby girls::

 (naughty middle doll doesn't have her shoes on for her picture!)

::dolls for a wedding anniversary::

X

(full photos can be seen on facebook...when I get them loaded up)

we're back!

wow, that week went quick didn't it?

here i am sewing 50 million (13) dolls while we were on our pre-Christmas holiday at the beach last week. it turns out that Nina isn't claustrophobic or prone to travel sickness! hurrah, she may become a regular holiday-goer :)

and now that the Christmas doll orders are crossed off the list, it's time to get festive.

this is my decoration inspiration this year:

{source}

the tree goes up tomorrow!

X