Making room for another baby Elephant

7 weeks and 6 days until The Elephant adds another baby girl to the herd! Yes, that's right....THREE girls!!

Not being a fan of 'pink and girly', I wanted to pick something femine yet 'different' for this baby's nursery. Not knowing where to start of course, I hit Pinterest for some inspiration for some different colour themes for girl's nurseries and really liked the idea of doing a red theme. So I started with the cot sheets and change mat cover and went from there. (Has anyone else found it difficult to find cute and funky cot sheets and change mat covers? Thinking maybe we might start making some for sale...let us know if you would be interested.)

Sneak peak of the not quite finished room!

Cute little crocheted owl from the ever so talented Jaimie at Pure Tots

The elephant was a gift from my favourite Owl! The teddy is a limited edition collectors piece from the Grandparents who have bought one for each of the girls so far...so cute and shaggy!

Spotty cot sheets I made myself

Little toadstools from Typo

Oh so shabby chic chair!! I managed to buy 3 completely different ones of these so each girl has one to keep. I can see them sitting on them every day, then displaying them in their rooms with their favourite teddys on when their little bot-botts don't fit the seat anymore...and hopefully keeping them as they grow up and move out of home. Josie also grabbed a gorgeous black damask one that her little Owl loves sitting on too.

Spotty Rabbit from The Owl & the Elephant! 

(We only have 2 of these left now, one in a pink damask, the other in a grey damask. Please contact us if you would like one. $40 each)

Got a nice red shaggy rug after MUCH debate and compromise with my hubby who reeealllllyyy didn't want me to paint a feature wall red! *Hrumph!! FINE!

Picked up these gorgeous lanterns so cheap from Spotlight, only $4.95 for the small size and $6.95 for the large size...bargain!!

Change mat cover I made myself, and whipped up a pillowcase to match this arvo too. 

Of course, I still need to add some more bits to her room, like an awesome light switch cover from The Owl & the Elephant, to match the change mat cover.

Any other suggestions?

Thought of the moment:

Having a baby is like taking your lower lip and forcing it over your head.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

spending our hard earned dosh....

The hardest part by far of working at the markets with so many other amazingly fabulous retailers is trying hard not to spend all our takings! We have also developed quite an addiction to online "browsing" in search of further handmade goodness! The credit card does not thank us but it is however an absolute joy to support Australian handmade.

Here are some of the beautiful items we have not been able to pass up from Perth handcrafting geniuses!.....

We both bought two dolls each from the lovely lovely lady behind Elsie and Jim. They are simply too cute to pass up, she is just lovely and her prices are ridiculous!

The littlest Owls are receiving these gorgeous playhouses from the beautiful Nicola at  Poppy and Bea - check out the photos, they really speak for themselves!!

I (Mrs Owl) can now be seen proudly strutting my stuff with my simply divine Charlotte shopper crafted by the clever Maz at  Tex & Joe  :

This stunning upcycled ring:

is a christmas present crafted by Robin Gage designs and purchased from the lovely ladies at foxes of fancy. They have so many beautiful goodies which are all entirly 100% eco friendly to boot!



Robyn at Focus on Art is the mastermind behind this beautiful elephant gifted to MY beautiful elephant earlier this year:

and another of her amazing pieces is heading to a lucky family member in Sydney for Christmas as we speak!

We are both proud owners of delicious handmade necklaces from Handmade by Elbie - can you really blame us?

ALL The Owl and the Elephant offspring will soon be spending their time madly playing these amazing handmade games crafted by Amber from Mollydagmade

This cute as a button "superhero" dress was custom made for Miss Owl by the wonderful Victoria at Brusselsprouts and is definitely a favourite! As is the matching pirate set modelled by Master two!

What have been some of your favourite handmade purchases? We would love to hear about them!!


Thought of the moment:

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping.  Men invade another country.  It's a whole different way of thinking.  ~Elayne Boosler

The Santa Clause.....

We are strong believers in the true meaning behind christmas here in The Owl household ( same goes for the Elephant clan) . The reason for the season and all that jazz. We are also strong believers in the magic of Christmas, Santa stockings, elves that sneak through keyholes, straw that gets scattered on the front lawn and two grown adults who sit on the couch at 10pm Christmas Eve and gnaw on carrots - just like a reindeer would!!! There is something so incredibly magical about the whole season, nothing quiet matches up to those squeals at 5am of "MUUUUMMMM! DAAAADDDD Santa came!!!!" (and his reindeer ate the carrots! Look at the mess they made!!!)

On a recent 'Oh Lord, why did I do this' shopping trip with my 4 children master 8 turned to me with that question I have been dreading since the day he exited the womb (well maybe not THAT long but it sure feels like it!) "Mum, today at school the boys where talking and well, is Santa really real?"

Gulp.

Despite the chaos of the oodles of christmas shoppers and oh too cool high school kids wafting around us everything went silent. Suddenly 4 sets of eyes where all looking at me keenly (admittedly master 2 was just staring and laughing, and poking, and singing) with those "yeah come on mum, you have ALL the answers" kinda looks they give you. Everything went a little fuzzy, I think I felt a tear welling up and I snapped back perhaps a little too quickly with "Of course he is, who else brings all those presents? Its not me - I already think you have too many toys!"
Ok...stop talking now...don't over justify....don't look suspicious "Oh look guys! Icecream!!"

Phew...bullet dodged...or was it... is he onto me? Does he know? Does he now think I'm lying to him?

As Nat will tell you I have this incessent need to poke things with a stick. So as we continued to walk around the shops (and the kids to eat their Quick! Something shiny! icecreams) I poked.
"So do YOU think Santa is real?
What else do the kids say?
What do you think about elves?
Do you remember what Santa brought last year?
What do you think Santa will bring this year?
If it wasn't santa who was it?
What do you think of the current interest rate?"

Then I heard that little voice which at the time kinda sounded alot like my wise ol'elephant slap me upside the head - STOP IT JOSIE!!! If it ain't broke, don't fix it - he will ask again! He will come to you when he wants to know!

So I left it, I came home, unpacked the shopping, I cooked dinner, I bathed children, I read stories, I put children to bed, I chatted to husband, I scoured through 8 years of photos with a block of chocolate a cup of tea and a mountain of tissues.Totally normal right? (Oh and I of course facebook statused my "problem" to get the opinion of the masses - who needs real life when you 've got facebook?)  Then I reminded myself that just because the whole Santa thing may be coming to an end for Master 8, I still have another 3 children who "believe" and it does not mean that he is going to leave home, get married, have a child and forget to call me on Sundays. He is just growing up *sigh*.

And besides... if you don't believe in Santa all you get is a stocking full of socks and undies. Because thats what all sensible 'he has a million-katrillion toys but could always use new socks type of mums' buy, right?

Thought of the moment:

 Don't forget to buy a present for cousin Jack! Or Bruce, or Sophie, or Clare or Ben or or or or ......  www.theowlandtheelephant.com.au

honesty is the best policy

Children are without a doubt the most honest people in the world. When faced with the everyday questions like "do you like my cooking", "how does my hair look" or "does this outfit make my bum look big" I have learnt NEVER to ask ANY of my children!
"Mum it isnt too bad, I just like it better when Nonna makes it".
"Your hair looks great - I like how it is all fluffy".
"No it doesnt make your bum look big, your bum looked big before you put it on and your tummy is like jelly, I like how it wobbles when you laugh" 



So today we invite you to take a leaf out of their book. We really moustache you a question and welcome your responses with the same childlike honesty we hear from our lovelies everyday.....

 What do you think of our flashy new website?

Please be honest, though our feelings (and our ego's) may be bruised and battered we are ready for it!! What do you think? Easy to use? Nice to look at? Marks out of ten? All that jazz?

Off you go... put on your best critics hat (or moustache what ever takes your fancy) and tell us what you think!

 Thought of the moment:

Beware of the half truth.  You may have gotten hold of the wrong half.  ~Author Unknown

Mama told me there'd be days like this.....

So you know those days, the one's where you peer out the curtains and it LOOKS nice and sunny and happy and then something happens and you realise that the nice sunny happy day has lured you into a false sense of security and BAM - the day may have gone better if you had just stayed in bed.

Well my day was kinda a eeny teeny bit like that. It got better but boy did it start out super special!

Max the youngest owl is one of those kids that wakes up super happy, and stays super happy as long as you feed him ASAP once he is up, as in get him out of cot, run to kitchen, throw food at him until he bursts and then continue on with the day.

So today I got him out of his cot, ran down to the kitchen, put him in his why did I not know about these 8 years ago IKEA highchair and went about getting his breaky. No milk - ok so what? no cereal today he can have toast. No bread - ahhhhh crap!!!  I was totally not intending to put my bra on nor brush my hair for AT LEAST another 3 hours.

Get the four kids dressed, pack them in the car (which I have had back for only a few weeks after the last "incident") get the milk, bread and other various non-essential items (mind you those choc chip muffins rreeeeaaaallly came in handy later on down the track!) pack the kids back in the car, reverse out, head to exit BANG car is on two wheels, moment of panic, what have I done??? Car back on four wheels, park it again thinking I have hit a parked car again but NO!! IT WASN"T MY FAULT!!!! WOHOOOO!!! (I know, I know, not REALLY a cause to celebrate but if you read back a couple of blog posts you will understand) feling very shaken I hope out of the car and inspect the damage. Having felt like it all morning, I have just - quite literally, been hit by a truck. Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse having had to drag four kids out of the house before 8am...IT DID.

At home a strong coffee and a couple *cough* of chocolate muffins later I felt a little better. * sigh* its just a car, we are all ok and its insured. Stuff happens,stressed spelled backwards is desserts and if all else fails... smile!!!

Now to Nat's day..... now lets all be honest here... how many (let alone those of us trying to run an online business) could live without the net nowdays? This is the predicament facing the lovely Mrs Elephant today - no net till Tuesday!!! She was reduced to reading a book!! Looking stuff up the old fashioned way and having to go without Pinterest - cold turkey!!! Its just not right..... It has however made her come up with the newest Owl and the Elephant" clause. We solemly swear, no matter how big we get. We will NEVER send your phonecalls offshore. Ever. So my car may be written off, but no internet? Like none? No Pinterest, no facebook, no online shopping? Nat wins.WHat did we do without the net?

Something that makes our bad days better? The days a little sunnier and our smiles a little bigger? Our new repurposed, shabby chic, bus roll inspired, rustic wooden signs. We hope you love them as much as we do!! head over to our website for full details on owning one of these babies or on requesting a custom design!!

Thought of the moment:

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.  ~Author Unknown

refurbished man cave rubbish

So yesterday Mr Owl flew out to a new job. He has always done FIFO but has been at home for a while so today, I found myself home, alone ( well with the kids) without a man sitting on the couch, asking the tough questions like "what's for dinner" and generally getting under my feet (NB: I DO love Mr Owl dearly but you know what they say - abscence makes the heart grow fonder!)

Unsure exactly what I was supposed to do now I had one less child to entertain I busied myself with the housework ( how does one man make so much mess?) played with the kids, got dinner ready and rearranged some furniture. Something was still missing - I could feel it in my bones, this little tingle that I havent felt for oh so long! I felt the urge to be creative!!! So I did what all handcrafters with time on their hands do... I hit Pinterest!!!

Amongst the pictures of biscuit dunkers and Owls in awkward positions all I felt was even more inspired to "do" something.  So off I went and raided Hubby's man cave, with all the bits and bobs I found this is what I came up with:

My very own recycled, refurbished, re-used busroll/word art! What do you think?

Thought of the moment:

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
Steve Martin 

She's baaaaccccckkkk

Just a quick little blog post because with all the excitement of the markets I forgot to mention that my Elephant is back! Blog posts shall no longer contain bad spelling and inappropriate grammar followed by a completely unnecessary amount of exclamation marks. I shall also spend the rest of the week smiling alot bigger!!

In other exciting news over at The Owl and the Elephant website we are having a super dooper sale on our beautiful handcrafted glass dishes - they where $20, now just $15!!!

Thought of the moment: