30 Ways to Enjoy Winter :: Beating the Winter Blues

Once upon a time I was a winter person. Always preferring to rug up rather than strip off, I liked winter's crisp air and stark light. Then I moved to Tasmania. Winter is very beautiful here, but it always takes some bolstering to be ready for the cold and the shortened daylight hours. Along with some vitamin D, we need to have a bunch of things up our sleeves to make it fun and keep us happy. Here are 30 ideas for keeping us (and hopefully you) active, warm and happy this winter.




Wake up with yoga or some other movement that stretches your body and calms your mind.

Eat something nurturing, fresh and rainbow-coloured.

Try some different teas or warm drinks. Find one you like. Make a ritual of it.

Go for a walk in nature.
Spend time in a landscape that's bigger than you.

Find inspiration in beautiful things that are much smaller than you.

Find a pub with a fire and cosy up over food and drinks, while recounting a long outdoor adventure.

Make something by hand for someone you love.

Send a letter in the post.

Go to a concert or a film. Come to Hobart for Dark MOFO.

Visit a farmers' market. Make it part of your week.

Spend some time in a book shop or oppy and find a book you like. Devour it. 

Do something that challenges you - like my brave and wonderful Dad, on the first day of Winter.

Learn something new or how to refine something you do. I've been doing this.

Take a course -  Maybe an e-course or something local… This looks good.

Plan a little getaway - visit a shack, go somewhere beachy, have a sleepover at a friend's place.

Light a campfire in the backyard.

Cook something in the coals.

Spend time gardening - plan, explore seed or tree catalogues, plant green manure, make compost.

Look for edible winter greens in your neighbourhood. Get to know your weeds. 

Spend time with people who make you feel happy.

Wear something colourful everyday.
Wear what makes you feel good (even if it's texta all over your face, like Tiny).

Buy or knit some warm woollen socks.

Layer up. “There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.” ~ Ranulph Feinnes

Sort through your things. Think about what you need. Make space. 

Decorate a little corner of your home. 

Buy or make some art, then find a spot for it in your home.
Celebrate the dark. Turn the lights out and light candles and enjoy the quiet.

Take a long bath with oils, colours, candles… and someone you love, who makes you giggle. 

What are your winter survival tips?
Happy wintering! xx

The Tooth Faerie :: marketing and magic

There's been a bit of excitement in our house... Wobbly teeth all over and Little Owlet has finally been visited for the first time. The owlets have decided that instead of just one universal tooth faerie, each of them has their own dedicated personal tooth faerie, who happens to be a millionaire (or at least have enough money for a gold coin for each tooth - gosh!). You'll be pleased to know that Little Owlet's tooth faerie is named Marigold and she wears a dress spun from spider's silk. There's much talk of silvery moons, dew drops and faerie magic!

Just as we're watching Little Owlet's teeth with anticipation, we're watching Tiny's with a degree of trepidation and making sure the products we use for her and for her teeth are of the purest and gentlest, most nurturing form. Regular fluoride toothpaste bit the dust long ago. We look for products that support and truly clean her teeth with their antibacterial qualities, and we don't mind that we are ingesting them because they are so pure.

With little changes have come some occasional resistance from the owlets. Switching to homemade toothpaste brought doubts from all of us, but I decided it was all in the magic and the marketing...

So I whipped this up:

2 x heaped tablespoons organic coconut oil
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
10 drops peppermint oil

Mix it around in a small bowl, then pop in a jar and label appropriately. Use as you would regular toothpaste...

They loved it. At first the saltiness of the bi-carb shone through. You could tweak that if you fancied, adding as much coconut oil and peppermint as suits, and I believe you could add a natural sweetener like stevia, if sweetness was your thing. It doesn't bother us now.

Our teeth are cleaner than they've ever been before. And we're quietly surprised and pleased that we're saving money on expensive fluoride-free toothpastes that owlets eat like lollies.

There's also a buzz about having super shiny teeth ready for the tooth faerie's next visit. Yep. It's all in the marketing and in the magic. xx

A skirt for Tiny

There will be more things made for the owlets this year - there will! I made this quick garden skirt for Tiny for a Christmas gift and alongside her Peppa Pig t-shirt, it's her favourite wardrobe item of choice. It's been about four years since I made the first Garden skirt for Little Owlet. Since then I've made lots and lots for friends, family and peeps all over the world! How amazing is that? And how wonderful is this online bloggy world we live in that allows me to do that?! My favourite thing though, is to sit at the machine and make something for one of my owlets and then watch them admire it when I hand it to them to wear or play with... There's nothing quite like it. And I hope to have lots of that going on this year. How about you? xx

I made this :: red pants

Just something small for my smallest owlet. A pair of stretchy, comfy pants... made from the sleeves of an old long sleeved top of mine, with a waistband from an old belly band thingamy I made when pregnant with Little Owlet. I didn't have a pattern, just used another tiny pair of pants as a template and figured it out on the machine... like most of my projects. I am rather loving upcycling right now. It seems to suit my style of crafting as I rarely have a plan, but seem to always make do with what materials I have at hand. And Tiny rather loves her comfy pants.

Have you made anything new from old lately?

I made this...

Around the middle of last week I realised I'm off to Melbourne soon and the weather there was very ridiculously hot. And I don't own any t-shirts. Or many pieces of clothing to wear at all when the weather creeps over 30°C, which doesn't happen all that often in Hobart... I raced off on a cheapy t-shirt hunt (did I mention we froze the credit cards?), and found nothing decent. Anywhere. Until I found the Red Cross shop where having a 2 for $10 sale. Yay! Anyhow, among the bits and pieces was this kaftan...



I liked the colours and even the flowers, but so did not fancy myself walking across the tarmac in a tent. Comfy? Yes. Flattering? On my shape? No. And I'm going to Melbourne, not a tropical resort where I might get away with it poolside.

So I chopped it in half.



Today I had a moment or three to spare, so I sewed some fabric ties from some Japanese quilting fabric I had tucked away. I attached them just below the armpit by picking a little hole in the seam and re-sewing.  So the top half had instant shape and nice long, breezy sleeves.



The bottom half quickly became a very light, breezy skirt. Super dooper comfy and great for the beach, or garden, or home... anything.



Then I glanced at the bottom of the pile at an old denim skirt I wore before owlet times. That almost makes it vintage... Really comfortable and the shape suits me well, but the length. Ugh. Ankle length denim skirt? Not so much.

So I chopped the bottom off it.



See the pattern here? Then I stood in front of my fabric shelf for a really long time. And I pulled out an old fave piece of vintage Japanese scrap fabric and played with it. I had just enough. Exactly. Amazing.



So I made a border and found it works with all my shoes and clothes and I rather like it.



Brilliant stuff. I now have three extra pieces of clothing to play with. And all it cost me was $5. I'm going to attempt to post about more things I make, while I make them. I'll do a little Christmas catch up too. I'm also making a return to making things for the owlet shop and a return to markets! Yay! I'm really excited to be invited to participate in a revamped, beautiful local market, a couple of times this year. So there'll be lots of making going on. Watch this space...