I give to you...

...the winner of the SewMamaSew May Giveaway: Lauri! The upcycled Vintage Sheet bunting flags in pink and yellow will be winging their way to you. Not to mention the little something for the Mama.
Runner-up: is Tara, from Sew Tara. I will be whipping up a little something for you too.

Big thanks for everyone for participating. Unexpectedly detained in hospital during the time the Giveaway was running i was disappointed that i didnt get to wander 'round blog land. Until i realised it came to me! I had a blast reading all your comments and want to share with you a few of my favourite commenter's blogs. You know i read every comment, right?! Well, i come visit too...wander with me awhile and meet:

Jenny Kerr's blogs....Kerrfect - gracious and crafty with a vintage twist (my kinda gal huh?)
and thethriftygarderobe.blogspot.com...an upcyclers wet dream. Er, those last words are mine, not hers!

Allison from fieldwonderful.blogspot.com...mmm, those food shots...

the loveliness that is 3 Giraffes Inc...

Taryn who is Mama Gone Green...i really resonate with Taryn's blog and will be popping in more ...come, check it out!

A Joyful Chaos ... "sharing memories of growing up Amish and the journey that brought me to where i am today"...beautiful.

Sew Flippin Cool - the Handmade Experiment: learning to live and love handmade

So inspiring to have a sneak peek into all these creative women's lives and work and family. Thank you for sharing it all with us.


(Ps- i am experiencing technical difficulties with the links on the blog. Trust me and click on whatever you think you should, even if it is not underlined and looking linkworthy...the links are there, i promise!)

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Everyday Beauty

Firstly my friends, vast apologies for disappearing on you the last few days. I got to ride in an ambulance for the first time this week. I am hoping that to be my first and last. This is my first day back on computer and though wobbly and pale, i am happy to say i am healing well. Good excuse for an unexplained absence, no?!

Secondly, a big welcome to new readers who found GrowMama through the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway this week. Thank you for all your lovely comments, i have starting reading through them and will draw the winner tonight and announce in the next blog post. Wonderful!

And thirdly, i bring you...my book!

Everyday Beauty: finding magic in the mundane.

GrowMama is a member of Kiwi Mummy blogs and Sarah asked me if i wanted to review making a book with Blurb.com. Did i ever!
I want to put the blog into hardcopy book form and this was a great opportunity to trial the software. And for free too. Thank you KMB for the opportunity to make the book.

For those of you considering making a book with Blurb.com...my advice is to check it out. I found the software easy to download (i used BookSmart) and use and Blurb's customer support was fast and unerringly helpful. I will be using Blurb.com again.

Everyday Beauty is a photo book with minimal text...beautiful pictures and words i hope are gentle and tap into a wisdom greater than mine. I will feature sneak peeks into the book over the coming time.

It would make a beautiful gift to new parents or those needing a infusion of inspiration. Makes me wish i had a coffee table to put it on!
You can preview the book, and buy it HERE.

Kraftbombers: I won't be at Kraftbomb market tomorrow...i don't think i can manage a market quite yet, but i will miss being there. Sigh. For those who aren't in the know: Kraftbomb is held at Grey Lynn Community Centre in Auckland from 11-2pm for those in the area...one of the best handmade craft markets out.

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SMS Giveaway - bunting AND bag!

A warm welcome to you, especially those of you who have journeyed here from Sew Mama Sew today!
It's always such a pleasure to participate in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaways, i have been a regular and wouldn't miss it.
Up for grabs here is one reversible set of bunting flags from my GrowMama vintage handmade babies and childrens range...made from upcycled vintage sheets and vintage fabric. The one here is clearly very pink...not my usual, if you would like one for your wee fellow, i will make one especially for him.

I like to include something for the mama's: this year it is a vintage fabric handbag made from Melissa from tinyhappy's pattern. I am always in awe of mama's and think you need something special too.

All you need to do is leave a comment. The Giveaway remains open until the 25th of May and at its' close i choose my 15 favourite comments. Yup, i read 'em all! The names all go into a hat and the smallest of the household pulls out the winner. And, just quietly...i always do a wee runner up prize too. I am more than happy to ship internationally.

If you haven't done so already, pop along to the Sew Mama Sew blog and peruse the lists of participants in May's Giveaway Day...it's an inspiring way to spend an evening, or two.

And, stay tuned for the Creative Mama series starting here on GrowMama very very soon.

Enjoy!

XXX

Anissa aka GrowMama

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{this moment}

{this moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. I moment i want to pause, savour and remember.

Inspired by Amanda Soule - check out her moment HERE...with links in the comments to many others....

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wet fun

Our bikeriding got temporarily waylaid by puddles. Good for the soul a little puddle action.

Especially for this Mama who had her head crammed full of 'things to do' and was having trouble being in the moment. A little puddle splashing sorted that out!

It was funny to watch Jed go from careful wading...

...to more vigorous puddle play...

...to this...

...a lesson in fun, the physics of overflow and consequences: how many days it takes favourite
boots to dry out!



Aucklander's don't miss the Festival for the Planet, at the Auckland Town Hall this Saturday the 21st of May. It's being dubbed the Peoples Assembly for Climate Change with bands playing, workshops, stalls and at 2pm James Hansen, climate change scientist extra-ordinaire is speaking. This is followed by a grass roots action planning session and i believe my dear friend Julie and her chums AK Samba are playing after that. Whanau-a-Apanui folks will be there with a stall so go along and show solidarity with the Deep Sea Oil Drilling issue they are dealing with on their turf, with no consultation from the government. Pixie will be there.

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thrifting blues

For some reason, my thrifting finds often run in themes. Last week it was blue. Everything from vintage enamel plates, to the floral pillowcases were all in shades of blue. The pillowcases lasted about half an hour in one piece before being transformed into bunting flags. Soon to be listed on a online trading site near you.

Autumn's getting cantankerous on us. We have had a long run of sunny warm weather and are running into heavy rains, high winds, reading more and eyeing up the fireplace. Books are always popular around here. It is not unusual for Jed and I to have fifty books out at any one time. I kid you not. They all get read too.

Two of my favourites at the moment:

Liesl Gibson's, Oliver and S, Little things to sew. Jam packed with gorgeous projects and complete with pattern sheets. Sunhats, juggling balls, tulle ballerina skirts,backpacks, smocks and more.

And, Sharifa Oppenheimer's Heaven on Earth -A Handbook for parents of young children....I am only two chapters in but it has me bewitched already. It's Steiner based philosophy. I have to thank Chelsea from Lady I swear by all flowers for the recommendation.

And the small one? Deep in the Enchanted Wood with the fairies, gnomes and other magical folk. Loveliness.

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a bunting jag

I love making bunting flags for people. They are a heirloom piece, likely to be handed down through the generations.
This set was made on commission for the lovely Tia. I consulted with her mama to make the perfect set of flags for her room. Some fabric from my stash, some from hers.


I am looking forward to seeing pictures of them up in her room.
And, it set me off on a bunting jag. Some from upcycled vintage sheets, some from other vintage fabric. I'll be listing some on trademe soon.

Many people tell me at my GrowMama market stalls about how hard it is to find 'boy' themed clothes and gear, so i have a bunch of groovy more unisex and non-pink gear coming up. Sometimes i think i have boys covered but folks still assume they are for girls...i guess i don't have the same guidelines about what boys can wear. I'll do my best.

Sew Mama Sew is hosting one of their epic Giveaways at the end of May. Check it out. I have signed up. Like the SMS folks say, May wouldn't be the same without a little giveaway. I love to give and it is a great way to meet other crafters and a pleasure to welcome new visitors to the GrowMama blog. A set of bunting flags may be my offering, so stay tuned.

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me: on kiwi mummy blogs

Ah yes, that would be me. Busted hiding from the camera in the washing, wearing an apron no less. A very cool vintage one if that helps you overcome your apron phobia...i am a big fan of the apron these days. I am not alone in this nana-cool, Amy Karol from Angry Chicken devotes a whole website Tie one On to the joys of aprons. I am not quite THAT apron crazy, they just let me integrate a bit more vintage fabric into my day.

I am part of Kiwi Mummy Blogs, you can always find their button on the right there. Someone just gave me a heads up that KMB profiled me in March. Check out the interview here.

Sarah and Leonie from Kiwi Mummy blogs let me be one of the chosen few to trial making a book with blurb.com lately. Thanks for that, it was super fun. I'll post a link, and a sneak peek when its up.

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autumn crashing

Autumn is crashing it's way towards winter. The summer garden has died back, the birds waiting for breakfast on the lawn, autumn storms are upon us and my computer is crashing on a regular basis. Argh.

I don't consider myself a techy sort of a person but i have realised that without a computer i flap around like i am missing part of myself. I live a distance from town so rely on my virtual connection for many things. I lived away from NZ for 16 years, across many countries so friends are scattered across the globe. Oh yes, i need this computer! I am writing this between crashes.

Although it is autumn, we are back in shirtsleeves, the smaller of us still swimming and so, it has been nice to be freed from computer related work to frolic a bit more, craft a bit more, connect a bit more.

I can't down load new photos at the moment but am hoping to be back full force in a few days, once this computer goes in for a little loving care. I have big plans for this here wee space in the virtual world. See you soon.

Until then i leave you with the fleet foxes. I just discovered them. And loving it. Click here.

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Mama's...take a bow

Mama's, take a bow...

I am constantly in awe of the love given,
the tears shed and dabbed dry,
the relentless grind of the magic that is the mama path.
And the grace in which you dance down it.
Yes, you.

This work we do. It has long hours. Unpaid. Often undervalued.
And yet it is the most important work,
for what we give our children, walks on,
into a far off future to face times
we can only dream of.
And if that future is to be one where
happiness triumphs more than trauma
there is more healing than ailing,
those seeds are planted today.

Those seeds of hope grow from our tone of voice,
our touch and hugs, dancing wild and laughing free,
and letting our children
teach us as much as we teach them.

I think perhaps the only way
to create the world we want to live in,
is to live it, breathe it.
Day by day, seed by seed and hope against hope,
so it will be.

A few inspiring mama offerings i have gleaned from the web lately:I give them to you.
(Click on them to get there)
Happy Mothers Day. Thank you for sharing the journey with me.


A mothers prayer for her child - Tina Fey



The issue we all face: "mom guilt" - by simple mom



I shed a skin - by Mon of Holistic Mum



DIY Maternity



if i should have a daughter - Sarah Kay on Ted.com

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craftiness at the easter show

I spotted some crafty folks doing a spot of simple wool felting at Auckland's Easter Show. It is one of those things i have wanted to try and hadn't gotten around to yet. We have been doing alot of crafting with hand dyed unspun wool lately and this seems a natural next step. I am so glad i got a chance to see the process unfold. It helped de-mystify for me. I get easily daunted!

They were using unspun dyed alpaca fibre from Cuesta Alpaca's which was super soft.

Recycling bubblewrap to give the texture, added hot water and alot of soap to the mix and a bit of rubbing and shaping with the hands...didn't look hard at all!

These lovely ladies were part of creativefibre.org.nz...worth checking out if you are in NZ and into the fibre arts...spinners, weavers, knitters, dyers, flaxworkers and more.

Old school written instructions on how to felt: click HERE.

Nifty you tube video by Susan B Anderson on how to make felt flowers: click Here.

I'm adding felting to my 'surviving rainy winter days in small house' list.

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grey skied adventure

Simple fun:
The sea. A pebble beach. Flotsam and jetsam. A huge driftwood tree for a pirate ship.
Glimpses into our long weekend wander.

In Napier for a 5oth birthday celebration, we were lucky to miss the wild weather that flooded much of Central Hawkes Bay and caused mayhem with slips on the roads. Seeing all the damage from the earth slips i did have to wonder about the wisdom of how we build our roads and manage logging and farmland. There was nothing to hold that land in place.
Sadness aside for the farmers and folks dealing with the aftermath of the flooding, we got warm grey skies. Perfect autumn adventure and hot pool weather.

Special find for the nature table. A horse mussel shell.

Looking at this picture just now, i wish i had of joined in. We big folks forget the value of losing oneself in the pure joy of just running into the wind. I could do with a good frolic.

Even rocks make music. Rocking out Jed style.

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