A Week Of Vintage Illustrations - Day Five

These gorgeous illustrations are from a sweet little pop up book called "ABC Pop-Up Book" which was printed in London but it has no date on it. The book itself is very old and tattered, and most of the pages have already fallen out, and we're missing most of the letters... but even so I still love it!
The children in the pictures are so sweet, and I just love the clothes they're wearing. I love the little girl's polka-dot dress on the front cover, and the little boy's red shiny shoes! I think my favourite illustration is of the girls with their wellingtons and raincoats underneath their umbrellas.
These pictures just remind me so much of my childhood, and now my little girl enjoys them just as much!

xx just like mama

Easter Craftiness

So today we outdid ourselves with the Easter craftiness... As anyone who has young toddlers knows, generally boisterous young children plus food dye plus eggs isn't the wisest idea, but somehow it worked out quite well and all involved got away virtually unscathed!
In the spirit of doing something a little different for Easter and rather than buying something bland off the production line, we decided to make dip-dyed eggs. You remember the kind, where you poke a hole either end and blow the gooey bits (and your lungs!) out and draw Easter-egg-inspired patterns on the shell?
What started out as 12 plain eggs in a box, turned into 10 (one got dropped, and another blew up in my friend's face!) beautiful and individual works of art. And at the end of the day, I really can't tell which ones the kids made, and which ones the adults did.


Happy Easter!

xx Just like mama

A Week Of Vintage Children's Illustrations - Day Four

Aaahhh... Who can resist a classic Little Golden Book? This little gem is such a sweet story about the Swift children, Ernest and Mary, who go camping with their parents for the first time. They meet Smokey Bear, the fire warden of the forest, who makes sure all the fires are out after the campers have gone to bed, and who teaches the children about fire safety.
This copy was published in 1973, but I have a feeling the pictures are from much earlier... maybe the 50's? The car looks very 50's...
There's just something so wholesome and good about these illustrations I think this will continue to be a favourite for a long time!

xx just like mama

Oh and don't forget to keep checking Pip's list to see who else is joining in for this wonderful week of vintage children's illustrations!
xx

A Week Of Vintage Children's Illustrations - Day Three

I've really been looking forward to putting these pictures up, as this book has been a favourite in our house for many years now. This book is so simple and sweet I can't help but feel so happy by the end of reading it!
I particularly love the little girl standing in the wind with her dog, looking out onto the horizon.. you just have to wonder what she's thinking about!
I'm not sure when this particular copy was printed, but the original publication was in 1957. I've never come across another book by this same author, but would love to hear if anyone else has seen his illustrations before?

xx just like mama

A Week Of Vintage Children's Illustrations - Day Two

These gorgeous pics are from a cute book called "Dan and Debbie In The Sportscar - adventure series" which I think I picked up at an op-shop for maybe 20cents... There's no date of publication, but there is an inscription on the first page marked "christmas 1974". Makes me think it would have made a little boy very happy!

I just love the illustrations in this book, they're so happy and colourful it makes me want to be in that sportscar too...

enjoy!
xx just like mama

A Week Of Vintage Children's Illustrations - Day One

I have decided to join in with the wonderful folks at Meet Me At Mike's in posting some gorgeous vintage children's illustrations every day this week... like I really need an excuse, these are just too cute!
This quirky colourful pics are from a book called "My Word Book" and was designed by a wonderfully clever man Ken Woodward. Not sure how old it is, but its in excellent condition.
These are just a very select few of the many fantastic illustrations in this book, it was very hard trying to choose just a few! I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do!

xx just like mama

button badge bonanza!

So yesterday was my first button badge crafty day! Yay! It was so much fun and a big thankyou to the wonderful Gemma Jones for letting me come along... we had yummy crunchy crackers & dips, marble cake and bubbly ice tea!
I brought along some reprints of my little girl's picture books which came out so well I'm so proud of my efforts. I've already given away a couple of badges to friends and family and they just thought they were so sweet...

Makes me want to buy my own badge-maker and make badges all day long...

xx just like mama

i heart rock and roll

Don't know what to do with those old-school t-shirts that you just can't bear to part with but you will never wear again? I solved this dilemma for my partner who is a big punk & ska fan and has enough band t-shirts to clothe the population of Tanzania for a whole year! These canvases that have pride of place above his genre-classified CD collection used to be t-shirts that he never wore, but couldn't bear to part with to the salvo's bin. They are so easy to make, just get a plain el-cheapo canvas (these are both 40cm x 31cm).
Here's how to:
1. split the t-shirt in half by cutting all the way around the seams.
2. place the section with the print you want displayed on the canvas, making sure its even and balanced (be careful not to stretch it at this point as t-shirt material is much stretchier than normal cotton and it can become warped if pulled.)
3. flip the canvas over carefully, making sure the print doesn't move. Carefully pull one edge across towards the middle of the canvas, but don't pull too tightly otherwise the material will look warped. Staple with a staple gun at various intervals along the wooden frame. Continue this process on all 4 edges, periodically checking that the print on the other side is still in the desired position.
4. And voila!! There you have a cool rock'n'roll canvas made with tender loving care!

These make great presents, just make sure you double check that the t-shirt is no longer needed... boys tend to be very protective of their band t-shirts....

happy crafting!!
xx just like mama

bluebirds outside my window...

Aaahhh kids....

My children are always surprising and delighting me in the most wonderful ways, especially my daughter who comes out with the funniest and wittiest anecdotes and stories I just have to write them all down so I don't forget them!

Yesterday in the car my little girl confided in me:

"mummy, this morning when I woke up I heard some birdies outside my window and they were singing 'tweet tweet tweet' and then I opened my curtains and they flew away! They were singing so sweetly mummy!"

It was so sweet I felt like the proudest little mama ever!

xx just like mama

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

My colour-coordinated button collection. Too much time on my hands obviously.















Mama Fish with her bubs.




















Just wanted to share a few of the things that inspire me everyday, from my button collection to my obsession with Japanese kokeshi dolls, and my Mama Fish that reminds me of me and my little brood. Enjoy!

xx just like mama

Bonjour!!

Bonjour! Welcome to Just Like Mama's first post!

Let me tell you a bit about myself: I am a crafty young thing from Melbourne, and when I'm not being mummy to 2 little young'ns, I'm busy crafting and sewing beautiful things for little hearts and souls (and big ones too!).

These are some piccies from my summer '07 range called "Tea Party Singlets". They were sold at Hoochie Coochie in North Fitzroy over the christmas period and did quite well!
I'm now in the process of developing some new ideas, so stay tuned!

xx just like mama