so, sunday wasn't the best ever...

i was wrong. it was just an ok day. after i finished up the custom orders and packaged everything up i got the urge to tidy things up in the craft room. bor-ing. plus it just kept raining so not enough light to do a good tutorial. i have two hot water bottles that need covers, stat. it won't be long before that project is marked off of the to do list. one unexpected surprise project from yesterday's session, a very necessary pair of pj pants for me. by the way, i think that was the first time ever that i spelled the word 'necessary' correctly on my first try. wow. i is smart.
flickr has been rocking my world lately. so much good stuff out there. images as art and images of art, both are blowing me away.
here is my latest mosaic of flickr favorites.



1. Nappy Easter!, 2. Filipendula purpurea / 京鹿子（キョウガノコ）, 3. Yappppppppppy!, 4. Untitled

sundays are so good...

this is going to be a big day. i can feel it. i have some custom orders to sew. my printer is calling my name. my mama delivered her interlocker (i'm scared but excited). my boys are off to the zoo with dada. i have many hours of crafting and sewing ahead of me. if the rain clouds go away i might even be able to get to that mystical drawstring bag tutorial i keep talking about. my little passport sleeve tutorial was so well received. i am addicted to tutorials; to making them and to learning from them. so good. maybe i will see you later.

west is one!

today is west's birthday. he has no idea.
the day started at about seven. west woke up, scott scooped him out of bed, brought him into our room and we sang happy birthday to him in our bed. then we showed him his new toys. he had about fifteen minutes to play with his new stuff in our bed before max woke up. that was a very good fifteen minutes. west hardly ever gets to be the center of attention. the world revolves around max, don't you know that? the birthday boy definitely enjoyed exploring his new toys without getting smacked on the head or pushed around. his eyes lit up when we opened his new little people school bus. he loves that thing.
i have been so slack about keeping track of the boys' milestones. it seems even harder to keep up with it this time around because west is blowing through the big milestones rapid fire. max took his sweet time. i try not to compare but sometimes the differences are pretty incredible. right now i will focus on the birthday boy. he's one. i can't believe it.
west says ball, car, dada, mama, no no no, what's that? and he makes a vroom sound when he plays with his cars, just like max. he loves playing with his cars.
he is a walking fool. so much pride in his eyes when he notices someone watching him walk.
the kid LOVES food. he consistently eats more than max. freakshow.
he points at stuff and says "what's that?" in the sweetest little voice. kills me.
he adores the baby swing at the park. he gets his little body moving and totally swings himself. makes me proud.
west is a very sweet, intensely determined kid. he is so much fun. he rarely laughs out loud but always has a smile on his face, kinda like me.
here's my happy guy on his very first birthday.



i made some cupcakes and a little round cake for our celebration this evening. here's my recipe adapted from this recipe on cupcake bakeshop.

teeny's bday cupcakes
makes one dozen
1/2 c vegan margarine, room temp
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 c flour
3/4 t baking powder
sprinkle of salt
1/2 cup soy milk
1 t vanilla

beat marg until soft
add sugar, beat until fluffy
add eggs, beat for thirty seconds or so
whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together in a separate bowl
add to the mixer bowl along with the soy milk and vanilla
mix well
at this point i separated the mixture into four bowls and added all natural food coloring
fill cupcake papers 1/2 to 3/4 full
bake @ 180°C for 18 minutes or until browned
let them cool and frost as you like

some photos:

linky poos...

neat. ideas on how to help this planet.
i would like to draw like this. check out the food section. so cool.
did i link to this before? i don't care. it is so cool.
need to spend more time on this site. looks like a cross between martha's site and pure style online.
these milk bottles drive me crazy. crazy, i tell you.
trophy... mmm...
i'm a sniper! we won some auctions for diecast cars from the cars movie. max freaking loves that movie. we got rusty, dusty, bob cutlass, darrell cartrip and mario andretti. i can't wait til they get here!
need all of this fabric. wish my birthday was coming up.
craft inspiration galore.
i made homemade silly putty and it rules. for real. try it.

an update from the post earlier today about the passport:
apparently west never closes his mouth and opens his eyes at the same time. five hundred shots later (NOT an exaggeration) i got one that is acceptable. ONE.



i don't think a child has ever looked more like his father than this one. poor kid.
hee hee.

he's our little aussie...

we have started the process of getting west's australian passport. and, um, dang. at least they are clear about what they are looking for. love the "head tilted/portrait style" guy. that is one kickass beard.

i cut my liberty!

oh, liberty. i still can't believe i cut you. the original piece was only about fifteen by fifteen inches. i used about half of that in this quilt top. such a beautiful fabric. i totally understand why it is so expensive. on a recent trip to london my mama picked up a few larger pieces for me at the liberty of london store. i will probably never use them. too special.

moving on, the top is done! this photo makes it look all wonky but it isn't really. the white fabric pieces are flour sacks. using them was not the best idea ever, but it looks good so far. we'll see how it handles the quilting process. i don't think i am going to bind it traditionally. probably just going to use a self-binding technique. i don't know.

and... here's flower mcfuzzystem.

how exciting!

i don't check my blog stats often. sometimes i go weeks, even months, without paying attention to how many people are looking at bunnybum. honestly, i have no idea what all those numbers mean. gobbledygook (um, how is that possibly not spelled wrong?).
but... i looked at it today, just for shits, and forty bazillion people looked at bunnybum over the weekend! well, maybe not that many, but close. it is all because of this post on whipup.net. i would like to thank craftapalooza, aka nicole, for authoring the that post. she is a perth gal! love those crafty aussies. so many of them around right now.
so, if you are new to my blog WELCOME! there are some things you should know about me. i don't really reply to comments unless they are questions, but i always reply to questions. i like to drink beer while i sew. i say many, many bad words. i am thrilled that you are reading this. and eddie izzard is the most attractive man alive.
welcome!

and now for the obligatory photo.



i am making a quilt for someone special. the top is done now but i have no idea where to go from here. my quilting skills, well, they are limited. guess it is time to find some good tutorials to help me on my merry way.

new ings...

watching... yo gabba gabba. max LOVES biz's beat of the day.



listening to... roisin murphy, the presets, the whip and robyn. can't get enough robyn.



eating... popcorn. lots of it. homemade with this thing. just a little sugar and sea salt. so good.

shooting... film. it reminds me how much i love photography and how lucky i am to have studied it.



buying... more threadless tees for max and west.

selling... stuff on etsy. it isn't flying off the shelf but things are going well.

gossiping... about a friend from high school. what a naughty girl!

completing... tasks. so many little obligations that i let pile up. time to check some things off of my to do list.

wondering... what you are up to...

dreams can come true...

good god.
betcha can't guess what i am about to walk into my kitchen and make right now?

update:
made it, ate it, loved it.



the details:
wholemeal bread, nuttelex spread and aged, white cheddar. grilled on scott's pancake griddle. the boys got grilled bread. no cheese for them. bor-ing.

flippin' brilliant...

warning, there are many words, some of them bad, in the beginning of this post but there is a reward at the end. so read through. it will be worth it.

it all started with this article. it is called "why i let my nine year old ride the subway alone". um. not a chance, crazy lady.
my friend travis, aka uncle vc, sent me the link to the article. he lives in brooklyn and rides the subway daily. he says he thinks it might be ok to let kids ride the train alone. crazy. he isn't alone. he sent me another link. a quote from that blog:
"Do you ever... ..let your kid ride a bike to the library? Walk alone to school? Take a bus, solo? Or are you thinking about it? If so, you are raising a Free Range Kid! At Free Range, we believe in safe kids. We believe in helmets, car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school age children go outside, they need a security detail. Most of us grew up Free Range and lived to tell the tale. Our kids deserve no less. This site dedicated to sane parenting. Share your stories, tell your tips and maybe one day I will try to collect them in a book. Meantime, let's try to help our kids embrace life! (And maybe even clear the table.)"
and then i said, "such bs. we don't live in the same time that we grew up in. shit is a little whack now. methheads? id theft? petty theft (like what happened to me)? rampant. all over. rampant. when my boys get a bit older they will be riding their bikes around town to the icecream shop, comic shop, whatever, and we will have many talks about what can and will go on when they cruise around sans parents. that is the key, just knowing that the words we share can prepare them for the unknown. but not on the ny subway. hell no."
then travis, the smartass, said, "well I'm marching out right now and adopting a 9 year old just so I can drop him in time square and say 'have fun, see you at home!' take that lady!"
and then i said, "good luck, nine year old. hope you have some water, toilet paper and some kleenex cause your ass is going to be crying and shitting all the way home."
i thought that the conversation was over. but...
i got this email with attached photos from him today:
"So, when you weren't looking I sent Max and West two tickets and some cash to come visit Uncle VC in the scary big apple. I gave them pretty good directions and a metro card. They found me after some time out and about. After that they did just fine! Here are some of the more memorable times from around the city. (I didn't take all the photos, some people sent them to me after they found out how cool I was to let small children fend for themselves and learn some life lessons!) Enjoy!"











i laughed so hard. so, so hard. i still am. love that travis to bits.

(side note, check out the personal section on his site. specifically numbers three and seven. recognize anyone?)

passport sleeve tutorial...

my very first tutorial!





















hopefully it is easy to understand. please email or comment if you have any questions.

my new bag...

it is made out of an old, thrifted jacket that i bought in seattle years ago with this project in mind. i didn't think i could pull it off until now. my skills just weren't there yet.
it is perfect for me. the whole project is. scoring a thrifted cashmere jacket, recycling it, lining it with one of my very favorite fabrics and actually being confident enough in my sewing skills to just get it done. no pattern. no tutorial. just cutting and ripping where it looked like it needed to be cut and ripped. it was difficult, but in a good way. i had to really use my noggin. every time i look at my new bag i feel proud.
this bag replaces the one that got hurt in the tug-of-war with the dude who walked into my house last month. jerk. but that bag and i had some good times. it isn't beyond repair but i just can't help but think of what happened when i look at it. this photo helps.

have you seen 'once' yet?

if the answer is no, get to the video store asap. i am addicted to all things once. the music, the film, the fashion (if you can call it that), all of it. the film didn't get much press here, but it won the oscar for the best original song. this movie. man. just watch this.

this lady? kicks ass.

holy cow. where has she been all my crafty, internetty, bloggy life? i love finding people in the bloggy blog world who share; share tutorials, patterns, sources, stories, all of it. i have had it ^up to here^ with the snobby inner circle who refer to each other by first name and seem to have lots of money to spend on each other's craft. (jeez. i just wrote and then erased a long rant. wowza. why am i so bitter? i really hope it isn't because i am jealous. am i jealous? whatever.)
in the spirit of sharing i am going to produce my very first tutorial very soon. it will be of something that i could very well make myself and sell in my shop. or, try to sell in my shop i should say. i am such a hero. just joking. be on the lookout for a tutorial from bunnybum very soon. i love this blogging community. love it. thanks for teaching me so much, crafty ladies.

hey, max?

"we aren't going to watch tv. i think we are going to listen to missy elliott."
"nyo?"

the kid has a handful of words that he uses consistently. poop (poo-poo), butt (baht), weener (wee-nor), uh-oh, juice (aahj), ball and car are a few of them. oh yeah, so is no (nyo?). he says it all sarcastic, like a question. "nyo?"

just thought i'd let you know.

30 :: 30

i am participating in the thirty day macro challenge. i am applying the term "macro" loosely. the idea of a daily photo challenge sounded just right for me at the moment. get me shooting the little things again. here are my first three days.







it isn't too late to join...
30::30

i have a love/hate relationship with hotdogs...

i hate they way they smell. i hate the way my mouth feels after i eat one. i hate that they are so bad for my body. i hate hotdog burps. yet, somehow, they are still absolutely delicious. how does that work?

i have decided to blog lots for a little while. mundane, daily, dumb stuff. a journal for my slightly developmentally delayed side. stick around. i'll get back to crafting and kiddo stuff soon. promise.

a big week...

on tuesday last week some dude decided to let himself into my home while i was there with my two babes and collect some of my things with the intent of leaving with those things without my knowledge. though he was pretty quiet i heard him. i thought maybe scott was home a bit early for lunch. so i casually walked into the dining room expecting to see my husband but instead i saw the dude. i know exactly why i did what i did next. one of the things he had collected was my camera. i could not allow him to steal my camera. it is MY camera. so i ran at him with arms flailing and mouth screaming "get the fuck out of my house" over and over and over. i grabbed the bag, punched the dude, and screamed some more. we both pulled at the bag. then, either he let go or he lost his grip and he was gone. hopped over our six foot high wall like a kangaroo. the incident itself wasn't too bad. i had an experience that lasted less than one minute. the tug of war left me with a sore wrist, a small bruise on my arm and a torn bag. that's it. what i didn't immediately grasp was this idea of security and how much it means to me. this is my home. when i am here and the doors are closed it is safe for me and my children, right? i guess not. it is still fresh. i will be working on this for a while. what is funny is that i feel ten times more secure when max is with me. obviously he would not be able to physically protect me if need be, but i have been keeping him up from his nap to keep me company anyway. otis is lousy. that bastard didn't even notice anything was going on until the sniffer dog showed up. lousy.
i haven't shared this story with many people. it is one of those if i don't talk about it it will go away things. but it isn't going away. nights are tough but the alone time during the day is tougher. i'm working on that.
just so you know, my boys didn't see a thing. thank goodness. i am angry with the dude now but if my children had seen what happened i would be much more angry. that sounds too civilized. i would want to punch him in places other than his arms, neck and head, that is for sure. other, more sensitive, man parts. ok, i would want to punch him right in his crotch. hard.
so, that happened. shit.
there are many other great things going on. i met with the chef and owner of an incredible restaurant here in perth. like, one of the finest in the country kind of incredible. we are going to collaborate on a little food photography project. this really is a dream come true. it isn't even the possible contacts and exposure i will gain. i just love shooting beautiful and delicious food. love it. and this chef appreciates me and my art.
possibly the most memorable moment of the week came today. west is now, officially a walking fool. he loves it. the best part is that he takes a few steps and then looks up with such pride and joy that you can't help but melt into a little puddle on the floor. photos of my little, vertical beast to come. today we were too busy with walking practice to break out the camera.
this has been a wild week. the dude joining me unannounced, the chef wanting to work with me, teeny walking and me reopening my etsy shop. one down and lots of ups. i'll take it.

my poor bag.