Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I can see Summer coming .....








Truly I can...!! I love Summer!

Life has been incredibly busy here at JaxFancy headquarters,  with lots of orders (which is marvelous!) and we are back into sporting commitments with the kids (sport is good for children...sport is good for children, I will just keep repeating that to myself! ) 
and that has led for little time for fancy blog posts!
But I have to say we are so loving daylight savings, the girls are out there trying to get all their 'work' done before that last ray of light has gone. Reindeer food is very important business at the moment :)

I did get out and snap a few photos tonight, nothing says summer's coming more than pink clouds.
I am off to conquer Mt Clean Washing....I think I can,  I think I can!

How's your week travelling along?
Jacq :)



Saturday, October 22, 2011

JaxFancy Dolls



Just in case you hadn't noticed........ CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!! 
Sorry if I scared you, but in the land of handmade you need to get a head start :)

I have been busy today making some dolls. 
I LOVE making them, it so cool to turn a bunch of stuff into someones best friend!

~A bunch of stuff!~

The more I think about it the more ' Frankenstein' it is! I collect bits and pieces from here and there. 
 Websites, op shops, fabric stores, antique button shops (the list goes on!) and using not much more than my mind and a sewing machine create a personality, a friend and companion. 

Here are a couple I have made recently........



One of the 'friends' I am currently working on is a custom order, 
these are exciting for me to do. This customer had definite ideas about what she would like and its great to see how anothers ideas come together.





I normally make girl dolls, but I have made boys dolls too, this is Sam!






Its best I have 3 weeks or so for a custom doll order, so if your thinking of certain colors speak to me about it leaving plenty of time before its needed.  
But I can make a doll of my own design in a week or so generally.
For anyone that is thinking of a doll as a gift this year here are some of the options you may choose from:

  • Light or dark Skin
  • Any eye color
  • Quite possibly any hair color you can imagine! Hair is normally cut long so that many hairstyles can be made
  • Overalls
  • Pants and short sleeve top
  • Pinafore and pants
  • Cardigan
  • Nightgown or simple pyjamas

To ensure the doll has a long and lovely life I always use the best quality materials that I can, for example the fabric I use for the skin is a lovely thick 100% cotton made in Holland that is produced for doll makers. When deciding on yarn for hair, I try to use 100% natural fibre ie wool, cotton, silk.
Then I can be confidant that when someone holds one of the dolls I have made they will only feel the warmth and good vibes that come from something made with love and the gifts nature gives us.



Both my girls have a doll each that I have made for them, Sunny and Rainbow are their lovely names. They are important members of our family and come just about everywhere with us AND have an extensive wardrobe!  I love that my girls sew and knit Sunny and Rainbow the things that they 'need', teaching them many skills along the way.

I have been made aware that Sunny and Rainbow might like some socks for Christmas this year (how cute!) so after a search I found these socks. I will have to conquer my fear of DPN's to knit them though!

I do hope your Christmas preparations are coming along nicely, do you make your gifts?
If you do, I would love to hear about what you're making or plan to make!



Jacq :)


Friday, October 21, 2011

{this moment} - A Friday ritual

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same,
leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Joining in with Soulemama




A very busy uninteresting week here......but who doesn't treasure a trip to the fabric store 
(with no children mind you!)


Jacq :)

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Mmmm Iced Coffee Recipe!



 Now here at JaxFancy we love coffee. alot.
Actually we like Ice Break Coffee. ALOT  :)

But unfortunately for us ( Mr Diabetic and Mrs Needs to Loose 10kg )  its not very good for us, 
it is very high in sugar   *insert sad face here*
Anyhow I came across this American recipe for iced coffee and I just happened to have coffee in the cupboard .........  so I gave it a bash :) Here's how it went...


I soaked the coffee (covered) in water and let it sit at room temperature overnight and then some, y'know till I got round to it.....
 I strained it using a fine sieve and muslin. Mine was not a very close weave so I used about 6 layers.
Mmmmmmm COFFEE!! I covered the jug and put it in the fridge to get nice and chilled.











Now we need to experiment with the coffee/milk ratio, but full of ice I like it half and half, I did add a spoon of sugar or equal, but the sugar was hard to dissolve!! The recipe suggests condensed milk, and boy do I like the sound of that! Pity theres none in the cupboard.....anyhoo....I declare it a success! Yum!!





So here I am typing and sipping some fine iced coffee thinking about how nice it is to make things for ourselves (and save some pennies) and how much I love the internet!












Today sees the end of  'taking it easy' week, back to work tomorrow! It will be nice to see all the kids and my friends Lisa and Meg. 
I will just try not to think about the 'getting everybody ready for school and work' part......



Jacq :)


Friday, October 14, 2011

This moment


{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same,
leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Joining in with Soulemama

  

Pea Protector??


Have a great weekend! 


Jacq :)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Taking it Easy........










'Taking it Easy' leaves a lot of time for pondering and.........

Time to spend knitting myself something (nearly finished!)

to be thankful for furry company!

Feel happiness when I see the outdoor kitchen Avalon and Zara play in

The chance to see what Spring is doing in my garden, and bid farewell to my fav Hellebores

Cut and iron those gifts ready to be sewn

Poach Mummas chookie eggs for my lunch (thanks to Colly for her poaching advice!)

and bake the loaf to go with our dinner

Ahhhhh here's to taking it easy.....just for this week :)


I have had time to fiddle about with the blog, many people were unable to comment because of some crazy blogger problem, so I have tweaked and poked, fingers crossed it will work better now!! It will look a bit different and hopefully soon I can make it so you can sign in with Facebook (when their page works!?), on give it a try!




 Jacq :)




Saturday, October 8, 2011

Look whats new @ JaxFancy!





Rob has been working very busily up in the shed and has created what I think are some absolutely fantastic cars! I love the hotrod shapes and I am sure they will be a hit for Christmas presents, you just don't see cars with that much style these days! One would make a lovely gift for a special little person :D
I will be adding them to our Etsy Shop this evening.
Keep your eyes peeled because I know there's a variety of trucks coming too :)


 
 
AND while wandering about our local market this morning I was VERY excited to see Hawthorn Cottage with all their wonderful yarns, I would happily have had one of everything but limited myself to 2 skeins! The one above (hand spun hand dyed merino) will be some hair for a doll that's in the making, what a funky looking girl she will be and a rainbow skein (below) just for me :) If your a knitter or a crocheter I do recommend you have a look, their yarns are superb! Check out their tea cosies too, I could just about drink tea to have one of those on my kitchen bench!




Jacq :)

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

3 girls went fishing










After much patience and waiting, we finally had a sunny day that we could go and try out the new birthday fishing rod! No fish caught of course, but we had a lot of fun learning to cast out lol.

We sure live in a beautiful part of the country, we are lucky!

How are your school holidays going??