What does an Elephant make an owl for christmas?

Ok so fairs fair, you got to see what I made Mrs Elephant for Christmas so now it is time to show off what Mrs Elephant made me!!!

Not one......

But TWO gorgeous handcrafted beautifully beautiful owls!

Henry here is created with a repurposed jacket. Check out his wee little eyes and that gorgeous "jacket" pleat on his back:

And Marcel - well he is just too cute for words!!

I just love them!! Isn't she clever?

On a sidenote - don't you just love the little chair? Did you see the one in the newest little unborn elephant's room? The littlest Owl loves to sit on my one at snack time:

Love them just as much as we do? Register your interest below in the comments section or send us an email at sales@theowlandtheelephant.com.au - we think it is time to share the love and get some in stock for all our lovely followers!!!


Thought of the moment:

Winning moments:

Free school holiday fun with small children....and snails!

Before Josie got chickens, this is what we liked to do with our snails....turn them into pets! Beautiful, shiny, sparkly, glittery pets...

A little nail-polish can go a looonnnggg way on a snail! We transformed their shells into moving works of art.
Now I thought about writing a tutorial on this, but figured you would know what to do! Don't worry, they aren't as hard to catch as you might imagine...try the stalk and pounce approach, then when you pick them up dangle them by their shell and then make girly squealing noises when they start "blowing bubbles, Mummy!!!"

Then of course we had to name them all. 

So what does one name a snail?

With a four year old and almost 2 year old this is what we came up with...

Ruby

Snow White

Mandarin

Sparkles

Rosie

Pinky

Violet

Pearl 

What do you think? Better names than the 7 dwarfs right? I know, my girls are VERY creative!!

And the fun didn't stop there. Once we had painted and named them all we had to:

Watch them race (I know, its cruel and should be banned!)

Watch them climb Rapunzel's tower (aka an icecream bucket)

Hide them in the garden and play "where's the snail"

Make snail towers (no snails where harmed in the making of said towers)

And then the next 3 or 4 days, EVERY morning the first thing we had to do was race out to the garden to play 'find the snail'!

The look on her face says it all really, doesn't it? ❤

Now before you go thinking I have become a big softie...this was the last snail-loving activity we ever performed in our garden...as only a week later The Owl household got CHICKENS!! Yes, my snail loving days were over in an instant..we became the Snail Hunters in The Elephant garden and those chickens started getting FAT!

What do you do with the kids to create memories during the holidays?

Thought of the moment:

Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly

What does an Owl make an Elephant for Christmas?

Josie The Owl is one of those 'awesome present givers'...you know, the type that spends ages thinking about the perfect present for someone? No gift vouchers, socks or chocolates from that gal...she takes present giving very seriously!

So what did The Owl make for The Elephant this Christmas? Something she was bursting out of her skin to show me and tell me about days before Christmas...that's what!!

NOW I know why she was asking me what my favourite scripture was...I couldn't pinpoint one so she had to stalk me on Pinterest and see which ones I had been pinning!

Seen here with Earl the Elephant, yet another awesome gift from The Owl, made by the ever so talented Robyn at Focus on Art

We love doilies here at The Owl & the Elephant, and are busy pinning LOADS of projects to captivate their frilly goodness! Have you seen any good doily repurposing?

And if you like the look of this one, be sure to check out Josie's hand-made rustic wooden signs made from repurposed palettes on our website. She custom makes a fantastic We Are Family sign which incorporates all your family names in a scrabble board style format. Or do you have your own favourite inspirational quote you would like? Contact us for a quote.

This is another of our favourites: 

Available on our website

Stay tuned to see what The Elephant made The Owl for Christmas!!

Thought of the moment:

Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock.
Walter Benjamin

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