6/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2014.

Linking up with Practicing Simplicity.

Is there any sound more beautiful than your baby laughing? Ju Ju Man has started laughing in the last couple of weeks, usually when we tickle him, but sometimes for no obvious reason.

Beautiful Mimsy doing a dance for the giraffe. She picked a piece of grass at home and carried it all the way to the zoo because she thought the giraffe might be hungry. The grass was soon forgotten about and replaced with a performance of Mamma Mia when we arrived.

5/52

The 52 Project - A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2014

Linking up with Practicing Simplicity

This week my family has been grieving the loss of one of our own, so my photos for 5/52 are about being grateful for the ordinary moments of life.

For Super Ju Ju Man, somewhere fun to play after his bath.

For Miss Mimsy, a comfy place to rest after a lovely family drive to Woodend for brunch.

A special thank you to my talented photographer friend, Morgan, from Morgan Ellem Photography and my great friend, Tim, who have been helping me with a few tips on getting the focus and contrast a little better in my photos.

4/52

A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014

Linking up with Practicing Simplicity

After some very sad news in my family last week it's better late than never for these photos.

I asked Mimsy if I could take a photo of her playing with her train set, she initially said that I could, but as soon as she saw me stand on a chair to take the photo from above she insisted on standing on a chair too and quickly forgot about the train set behind her.

I can't be the only mother who has children that consider tummy time to be the perfect moment to rest their eyes? This photo made me realise how much Ju Ju Man's hair is thinning out!

Wishing you and your family a safe week filled with love.

One crafty morning I decided to create a three tiered cake stand

On the weekend we celebrated my sister's hens party with a high tea hosted by the mother of the bride and the bridal party.

In order to set out lunch and afternoon tea perfectly, I decided to make some cake stands using second hand tea sets and plates.

With the help of my co bridesmaid, the very talented and crafty Susie, we set about tracking down some vintage china from op shops around Melbourne. 

We came up with a nice little selection including this trio, a bargain I found on gumtree.

I purchased the metal cake stand hardware from My E Room on Etsy. Here is the link for the listing of the set that I bought. It included 5 sets of metal stands, washes and a screw. I also purchased a 6mm diamond core drill bit, made especially for drilling porcelain, china and ceramic from the same store. 

To make the stands you will need:

• Three pieces of china - plates, tea cups, matching or mismatched
• The cake stand hardware
• A drill 
• A drill bit designed for drilling porcelain, china or ceramic the same size as your cake stand hardware
• A tape measure
• A marker
• A screw driver

The process of constructing the cake stand is pretty simple. 

1. Measure and mark the centre of your chosen china
2. Follow your drill instructions to drill a hole through the china on the marker (or in my case ask Susie to do this step due to Susie owning a drill and me running out of time to complete the project!)
3. Screw the cake stand hardware together through each of your cups and plates, with the smallest piece of crockery on the top and the largest on the bottom.
4. Tighten with a screw driver

Easy!

Fill with dainty sweets for a vintage inspired high tea.

Ok confession time, I forgot to take photos of the stands in use at the hens party, but these photos give a little bit of an idea.

The cake stands will get a second run as decorations at the wedding in April. Then I think I'll give them a second life as jewellery stands!

3/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2014

Linking up with Practicing Simplicity

Wild hair, talking to her strawberries and eyelashes a mile long - all fairly typical for Miss Mimsy Boo

Super Ju Ju Man looking quite dapper in his first suit.

I have to admit this week was a little bit of a rush to get the photos taken and up on the blog, so much so that when my battery went flat after taking photos of Mimsy, and I couldn't find my charger before the light disappeared, I had to resort to the iphone for a photo of Ju Ju. Safe to say my editing skills leave a lot to be desired, but I couldn't skip taking a photo of him in his gorgeous suit.

Off to look for that charger now!

2/52

The 52 Project - one photo a week, every week, in 2014

I'm sure every time I wrap Ju Ju Man before bed, he must think to himself 'challenge accepted' before he smiles sweetly and then proceeds to wriggle out. So much personality for someone who has only been in the world for 9 weeks.

Mimsy Boo adores pretty dresses, arm chairs and stories about Winnie the Pooh. I adore her.

Linking up with Practicing Simplicity: The 52 Project

1/52

One crafty morning, while reading one of my favourite blogs Elk & Bloom, I came across the idea of The 52 Project. It's a project by Practicing Simplicity, a beautiful journey of photography throughout the year.

So, on this crafty morning, I decided to join. Time to dust off my old Canon EOS 450D, switch it to manual and take a photo a week of my lovely children.

As you can see, I'm a beginner when it comes to the manual settings, but hopefully over the course of the year this is a crafty skill I can develop. Not to mention at the end of the year I'll be able to look back with fondness and remember some of the special times we have had in 2014.

A portrait of Miss Mimsy Boo - singing the ABCs is serious business

A portrait of Super Ju Ju Man - 2 months old today