It must be the start of Spring time, the change of weather and the gorgeous sunshine; but all I want to do at the moment is skive off and go shopping.  I get this insatiable urge to hit the streets and just wander on days like this, but it always seems to happen just after I’ve paid off all the bills and don’t have much in the way of ‘walking around money’.

Picking up a new magazine is an exercise in anxiety more than inspiration these days, as they spend so much time telling you whether you’re ‘In’ or “Out’, what new jeans you need, or even if your eyeshadow is too last season. It’s enough to make you want to live in a cave. While I was out today, wandering aimlessly in a large shoe store, I saw two ladies (in their mid 50′s) wandering around with little black dresses in hand, picking up every pair of silver glitter platform shoes they could find.  One says, “Why don’t you just get those pretty black one?” to which the other replied, “They are so beautiful, but black is out so I have to get these glitter ones.” Oh man…. really?!

One of the greatest things about being a vintage style aficionado, is that whatever I love is already so far dated, that its ‘classic’. But that doesn’t stop me falling prey to that feeling of intense shopping lust that can take over when the sun is shining. But instead of just being a consumer today, I decided to channel that energy into something more creative and start planning out some DIY rescue and Make It Yourself projects.

I have a cupboard full of clothes that I can pull apart and put back together, boxes of fabric, flowers and hot glue gun. All I need now is an evening on Polyvore, a list of my favourite craft and DIY blogs like Violet Le Beaux and about two weeks to produce something really amazing. So given that today is the beginning of school holidays, I’ve decided to enlist the assistance of Miss 7 in my office here and turn our shopping bug into a great school holidays project – Be Your Own Fashion House – and let Miss 7 work with me on creating our very own, one off fashion collection to kick off spring!

So with the collage above that I’ve put together, I’m getting started on making my own version of this outfit with some taffeta plaid I have on hand, a pair of wedges dying to a DIY and some old handbags that have been relegated to the back of the wardrobe. Stay tuned to see if we can breathe new life into these outfits and find some new tutorials along the way!

This darling image via Flickr

Here’s a special post dedicated to all you wonderful vintage mummies out there. Especially those of you who, like me, are in the midst of school holidays and the challenges that brings.  There are always loads of general holiday activities for kids at these times, but I thought I’d share with you some of the activities I’ve organised for my girls that have a bit of a vintage bent.

You can scale the complexity of these options up or down depending on the age range of your own mini me’s.

The Art Gallery -

Most cities have art galleries with free or cheap entry for children. Do a little research into which exhibitions are currently showing and pick the one the most sparks your imagination. Spend some time a day or two before hand planning out your art gallery adventure together. Look at some of the images online and plan some thematic outfits for them, because after all, you won’t get away with dressing them like 19th century urchins or mini Monets very often.

Pack snacks, drinks, drawing pads and crayons. Then when you break for lunch, let them start drawing their own versions of the art they’ve seen.  Give them a wall at home to tack their new art works to and invite some friends or family around for their gallery show.

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High Tea -

Yes, there are venues that are running High Tea specifically for children, but you may not want to go to that expense. Hosting your own proper High Tea party, even if it’s just the two of you, can be a blast.  Break out a cute cloth, the cake stands and make up your own finger sandwiches – even if they do contain Nutella. But most importantly, dress for tea.

Here’s where party dresses, petticoats, tiaras and reams of faux pearls come into their own.  Add in a few nome de plumes, creative back stories (‘I was a Baroness, I just gave up my title.’) and you’ve got yourself one memory worthy of the Lifetime Chanel.

Treasure Hunting -

No complicated maps involved in these hunts.  Just a child sized handbag (or backpack), a little pocket money, a calculator (for mum/dad) and a list of the four top op shops or thrift stores in your town. Okay, I’ll admit this one is a little sneaky as it means you can do your own treasure hunting while they do theirs, but that’s half the fun.

Giving a child a small amount of money, freedom of choice and the chance to start learning about their finite resources, is fun and educational. (Gulp) This is one activity that helps to shape the vintage treasure hunters of tomorrow.

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Sewing-

Yes this may be too advanced for the very young, but there is a way to start developing those important sewing skills.  Choose an image that appeals to your child, and find a line drawing version somewhere online. Google Images is fantastic for finding basic clipart for these sorts of projects. Print out and paste this onto some card.  Following the lines, use a hole punch or skewer to perforate holes along the lines, keeping some space to make sure it doesn’t tear.  Giving kids a needle at this point might not be the best choice, but there’s another good option. An elastic threader! The ‘point’ is actually a dull ball so it doesn’t prick, but it has an eye opening at the other end.  Using different coloured wool, they can then start to ‘sew’ along the outline of their pictures. And there you go – basic sewing skills are born.

Flower Pressing -

We’re going a bit Victorian here as far as activities go, but this is one activity that just keeps on giving. You’ve got the flower picking (great for a bit of alone time for you), the identifying (thank you Google), the pressing and drying (under all those encyclopaedias they’re unlikely to use thanks to the same Google), then the craft activities that come from there. Turning the flowers into gift cards, book marks, decoupage; you name it! It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a bit of craft glue and clear sticking plastic (or ‘contact’ as we call it here), and let them go wild.  It’s far less messy than glitter and they’ll learn even more along the way. Another fun fact to add into this activity is finding out what each flower means, the old language of love. Does your flower mean friendship, passion or parental sanity?

These are only a few of the activities in store for my girls this school holidays. And the best bit about these activities is that it gives them even more fodder for their imagination. Basically, think outside the square, think like a child, and think about how much fun things can be if you see everything as a new adventure.

What other activities can you add to the list? Share it is the comments.

Happy Lunar New Year! It’s Year of the Rabbit this year and Singapore is in full Chinese New Year swing!  We’ve been feasting it up, shopping for new year clothes and wallets, enjoying all sorts of customary activities and getting appropriately fat!

Given that this is one of the few days of the year that nearly all the stores are closed, we decided to save today for a family visit to the zoo. Of course there are SO many photos of that I’ll be saving that for a super sized up coming post, but for today here’s some new years wishes from me, my family and my cute bunny friends!!

Xx

If you’re wondering, today’s outfit comes courtesy of my 14 year old self.  That is… it is a dress my mother made for me when I was 14 and I’ve kept! Worn with pewter ballet flats for all the walking, a red stretch elastic belt and red roses in my hair from Bexterity.  Miss 3 and Miss 6 found their outfits at Tesco’s in Phuket as they prepared for the festivities ahead.  I don’t think we’ve ever been stopped for so many photos in our lives!! If we could have charged per picture we would have paid for the whole holiday! LOL.

And yes, that is a cuddly white rabbit in my hands. His name is ‘Carrots” and I just had to take him home with his crazy cute eyes. ^-^

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So when Miss Five turned Six in June, we had a big Sailor Moon party, complete with a couple of Tuxedo Masks.  The amazing costumes for the girls were specially made to order by Violet Le Beaux with only a week’s notice and were the highlight of the day. We have an awful lot of Moon Tiara Magic around here!

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Miss 6 and Miss almost 3, playing musical statues with “Tuxedo Mask”.

Then after those festivities, if having one creative type in a family isn’t enough, both our dogs have birthday’s too! (This makes FOUR Leo’s in one house!)

The tradition is that each year both puppies get lots of dog treats and new coats as their birthday’s are right in the middle of winter. Even though they are pretty fluffy, having overnight lows of zero degrees is enough to see icicles appear on their noses. Given that I’m letting them sleep inside at the moment, I chose a couple of lighter weight, jersey material coats with a super cute factor.

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Both the little jackets are from Shique Pooch, a local online dogwear store.  I love that I can just machine wash these as Miss Lola has a habit of following rabbits wherever they go, muddy or not!

Then in just another two weeks, my tiny little Miss 2 turns 3! I’m off sorting out a ‘big bed’ for her and then getting ready for even more parties in August when the Mr and I will also increase our fabulous quotiant by another year.

But one of the big reasons for the birthday post today is to say this..

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little bro today, who is living all the way on other side of the world.

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Happy Birthday “Fernando!”

]]> http://www.superkawaiimama.com.au/2010/07/07/birthdays-galore/feed/ 9 http://www.superkawaiimama.com.au/2010/05/10/daily-outfit-making-memories/ http://www.superkawaiimama.com.au/2010/05/10/daily-outfit-making-memories/#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 23:59:33 +0000 Super Kawaii Mama http://www.superkawaiimama.com.au/?p=4912

After a month of illnesses at our place, everyone seems finally to be back on deck. A little tired and worse for wear in some respects, but all the better for the unexpected time together. So with the previously house bound in mind, we headed out the other weekend for Anzac Day on a family picnic.  The weather is just holding off, with sunny days, but chilly winds reminding you to make the most of it while you can.

We packed the basket, filled the thermos with hot tea, grabbed some extra layers to keep warm and a bottle or two of cider to keep the chill at bay. Way back in the day, family picnics were the norm when it came to weekend entertainment. When I was growing up, the whole extended family would meet in a park with baskets and bikes in tow, while Nana filled the blankets with all manner of home made slices, cakes and tea.  I have very strong memories of my Grandmother standing in the middle of the park in her apron, handing out golden Anzac Biscuits from a large tin. Some even had that soft, squishy texture of goodies baked that morning and hastily packed away for the day. I would then spend the day eating egg salad sandwiches under the shade of a large tree, reading with only ants for company until I was compelled to risk the safety of my knees on a little blue bicycle.

These are the sorts of things I’d like for my girls to remember. Not childhood memories filled only with Saturday morning cartoons, but the sorts of adventures they had themselves, exploring, eating, experiencing.

Miss Five in her Tram Conductor’s best

My lovely friend Mistress C.

Outfit Details

Pink Angora Cardigan – Made by Mum circa 1980

Pink knit top – Retrospect’d clothing

High waisted plaid pants – Retrospect’d clothing

Shoes – Keds

Snood – eBay

Flowers – by me

Cherry hairclip worn as brooch – My Little Rockabilly

Bag and scarf – Vintage

Some Daily Outfits give me more challenges than most – especially when children and roller skating are involved! I was invited to take Miss Five on her first skating expedition this week along with a group of mothers and children from her school.  She was SUPER excited about going, wondering if she was supposed to win a gold medal and jump off big stuff! Me, well I used to be a big skater, going a few times a week and carving up the floor…. but that was a very long time ago.  I still had the old skates out away in the cupboard, but the have only been out on the rink about once or twice in the last eleven years.  This presented a whole new wardrobe challenge – just what does one wear when rollerskating with a bunch of five year old children??

I had to think long and hard on this one as my first instincts were to go with some of the outfits I last wore and break out the whole Olivia Newton John in Xanadu tpe of look.  But just in case that may cause the other mothers to shield their children from this crazy woman I decided to go with something a little less theatrical.  There was no way I was going to wear my workout gear for this ,as for me, workout gear belongs only in the gym so I had to think of the next best thing.

After a bit of a rummage around in the depths of the wardrobe I came up with an outfit that I haven’t worn in a while – it was one of my last pregnancy staples!  I have this great skull print jersey dress that has an open, cross over back that I used to wear backwards while I was pregnant with Miss 2. I’d throw this over yoga pants for casual days and it did the trick.  So it was the perfect thing to be both cute and comfortable whilst skating too.

Outfit Details:

Skull Print Dress – Episode    Tank Top – Portmans

Cropped Yogo Pants – Puma   Pewter Ballet Flats – U.B.H

Hair Bow -Bought so long ago I can’t remember!

Skates – Check your local skate store!

Of course it turned out that none of the other parents intended to skate and I ended up the only one over 3 foot tall on the rink!

Styled and directed by Miss Five….

Outfit Details:

Dress & Cardigan – Target

Shoes – Grosby

Mask – Costume shop

Necklace – Candy

Today’s daily outfit was for meetings, lunch and generally gadding about in bookstores. The dress is a gorgeous early 1960′s, late 1950′s piece in a cotton waffle weave fabric.  I feel in love with it the minute I saw it at the Love Vintage Show earlier this year and had to have it… even though at the time I couldn’t even get the zip done up. *cough* Perhaps I’d been to lunch too many times that week. Anyway, it hung around in the wardrobe for a while but I could only wear it when corseted down, that is until today! Yay!  Cause let’s face it, corsets might look dead sexy but I tell you, trying to get down and play lego in them is hell and not advisable.  Heels on the other hand (foot?) are do-able. They just need to be cute AND sturdy to work.

Outfit Details

Dress – Vintage circa 1959

Shoes – Paragon dept. store Bangkok

Earrings – Vintage

Gorgeous Baby – Miss 2

I love my vintage and I love my things a little extra fancy, but it is critically important that I can still do everything I need to without fear of dirt, damage or puncturing a rib. And that is why I take a leaf from the book of women of the past to make it work.

The secret? An apron!

Don’t forget to vote for Super Kawaii Mama in the 2 threads Best Fashion Blog Awards Category.

Sesame Street does Mad Men!

Because yesterday’s post attracted so many well written and deeply thought out comments, it seems inadequate of me to answer you all in short sentences in the comments section. Thus I will craft more responses in the form of further posts on my thoughts on Life, The Universe and Everything! This will not take over from all the usual life, style, outfits and vintage posts; but I will create a little corner for more depth and discussion, as that is what gives meaning to the rest of it.

And so, on with the weekend!

The 24th is my little Miss One’s second birthday, which means yet another round of cake, pinkness, balloons and craziness. Last night was spent indulging in chocolate cake and several rounds of “Happy Birthday”, which is sure to continue well into the weekend. I asked her to pose for an incognito birthday photo for you, which results in peering into the camera looking for said audience. Behold Miss Big Eyes! Yes, she really does look like a doll.

This weekend I am also off to the Baby and Kids Market on Sunday.  It is a great way of recycling your good baby and children’s wear, being environmentally responsible and saving some cash all at the same time! So it means that this weekend will see me fully ensconced in baby land, whether that be partying, playing, boxing up or selling – the things that is – NOT the babies!

And it wouldn’t be a weekend without a few….

Links à la Mode

• A Typical Atypical: A look at the unexpected fashion gems on offer at this year’s new designers exhibition in London – cut-out dresses, paper-like jewelry and more!
• Bonne-Vie: Pincurl project – experimenting with glamorous retro style techniques to create a saucy updo!
• Confessions of a Fashion Editor: Polling for the next Vogue Cover Girl – Bonnie Wright’s first fashion shoot.
• Denimaniac: Camo’s SS 2010 “Horses” collection and thoughts of Meryl Streep…
• Dramatis Personae: Celebrating a two year anniversary with a great giveaway – $50 gift card to BeautyTicket.com!
• Duper: Interview with Raoul Keil, founder of NINETEEN74 and Schon! Magazine.
• Fashion Cents: How to get glam for a movie date so that there is real life lights, camera, action!
• Fashion is My Crush: It’s a mosh pit: A studded DIY belt, some jellies from the kids section at Payless and some concrete comfort.
• Fashion Pulse Daily: Hand-picked favorite looks from 10 of the Paris Couture collections.
• Fasshonaburu:Finding a new hair dresser and how to break up with your old one.
• Idiosyncratic Style: A design board of inspiring comparisons of cool sorbet treats and summer fashion choices.
• Retro Chick: Sunglasses to flatter your face.
• Shop Diary: Cozy up with a snood for fall and how to improvise in these recessionary times.
• Style Symmetry: Interview with Cammila of Dressed Up Like a Lady.
• The Coveted: Turning Red, How to go monochromatic…
• The Musings of Ondo Lady: A look at Style Sample Magazine – featuring articles about a wide variety of bloggers across the world.
• Unfunded: Drooling over the sexy styles of Brandon Boyd and Robert Pattinson.
• V is for Olive: Inspired by a road trip through the American West – taking color palette ideas from nature and applying them to your own summer wardrobe.
• WorkChic: Teamed with Polyvore to show examples of a blouse makeover by style and your office type.

Enjoy my Friends!