"Time's fun when you're having flies."

Crochet hangers

2012-02-14T11:30:00.000+10:00

My grandmother was a prolific crocheter, knitter and sewer. She used to make crochet covered hangers by the dozen, colour-coordinated to our bedrooms. I never really appreciated them, and over the years have given a heap away, thinking they were old-fashioned and collected dust.

I decided to learn to crochet them myself. After scouring the internet for a pattern I came up with one that worked for me, I needed simple to begin with. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and easily they came together.

If you want to make your own, and you can crochet trebles [double-crochet in US terms] then you can make these!!

Just chain 20 to begin with, and then treble crochet in the 3rd chain from the end, all the way back to the beginning. Then turn, and treble crochet back again. When your rectangle is as long as your hanger, slip-stitch to join at one end and along the long side of the tube, fit the hanger inside [the hook part should be sticking out where you're joining with slip-stitches] and continue slip-stitching to complete the cover.

You could then embellish by crocheting a scalloped edge or flowers along the bottom, but I was time-pressured so I have left these plain.

Thermomix

2012-02-11T12:00:00.001+10:00

I did it, I bought a thermomix. After deciding I didn't need one, I saw one in action back in November and I realised this machine is like having another set of very efficient hands. Boy, do I need another pair of hands some days!

I have to say that this machine is truly amazing. I have really enjoyed running it through its paces over the past couple of weeks, and I am making foods I haven't had time to make since BC (Before Children).

It makes a great gluten free loaf of bread, the best gravies and sauces I've EVER made, steams and chops, and much more in just seconds. It sounds very cliched but I use it many times each day. Seriously. I have always preferred making things from scratch. But now I really make things from scratch... I even mill rice and buckwheat flour in it!!

It has also driven me to clean and tidy the pantry... an unexpected makes-me-smile-every-time-I-open-the pantry-doors side effect!

How moving a pot saved me 10 minutes a day.

2012-02-08T12:00:00.001+10:00

I rearranged one thing on my kitchen bench recently. I moved the pot I put the chook scraps in to a different position - over my rubbish bin. Until now, it was located near the back door, which was logical as it helped me to remember to feed them!! However moving the scraps pot has made each mealtime cleanup MUCH more efficient.

When I'm clearing the kid's plates, I scrape the scraps into the chook bucket, put any rubbish in the bin, and then put the plates above the dishwasher. Before this I used to walk across the kitchen to the door, put the scraps in, walk back to the bin, then stack the plates in/near the dishwasher. The simple act of moving the scrap pot over the bin has saved me heaps of time as I'm not walking back and forth over and over and over.

I'm now on the lookout for other things that I can move or change slightly that will improve my efficiency around our home. I'm especially on the lookout in my sewing room. Can you see anything that has 'always been there' that you can move a little to improve how you do things at your place?

multi-zip pencil cases

2012-02-05T12:00:00.001+10:00

Have you seen those pencil cases made entirely from zips? My daughters have, and they thought that this year they would like one. But then they informed me that those pencil cases that their friends have aren't very useful, because each zip opens into the same big pocket. They thought it would be far better if we made pencil cases with multiple zips, each opening into a separate pocket.

So I did.

If you want to make one yourself you will need a number of zips, all the same length, and fabric cut into strips the same length, each strip 1 inch longer than the last.

Place two zips right sides together, with the smallest fabric strip behind. Stitch together with a very narrow seam [2mm or less] using your zipper foot.

Open out the top zip, place the next fabric strip behind, and the next zip on top.

Stitch again with a very narrow seam. Keep on repeating with zips and increasingly larger strips of fabric.

Open out and press well. Add a narrow strip to the front of the bottom zip, and a large piece of fabric to the top zip.

The bottoms of the fabric strips will not line up, they need to be trimmed to the same length.

Make binding or use pre-purchased binding and add to both sides and base of pencil case.

You're done.

Gluten free pancakes and waffles

2012-02-02T12:00:00.000+10:00

This has become my favourite pancake/pikelet/waffle mix. I have tried countless recipes and experimented with all of them a lot over the past 5 1/2 years. I no longer experiment. It is my go-to recipe every time. Mr E likes them, and he doesn't like gluten free food much. I have even had people tell me they prefer these waffles to ones made out of wheat flour.

· 1cup riceflour [brown or white]
· 1/2 cup potato starch

·       1/4 cup tapioca flour
·       2teaspoons baking powder
·       2 tablespoons sugar
·       1teaspoon salt
·       1/4 cup oilor melted butter
·       2eggs
·       11/2 cups sour milk or buttermilk (I sour mine with a couple of teaspoons of vinegar)

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add oil, eggs and milk.  Blend with a stab mixer, electric mixer, food processor, or balloon whisk. Cook as pikelets/waffles/pancakes as desired.

kids backpack - tutorial

2012-01-27T12:00:00.000+10:00

The backpack construction is of two modified rectangles joined by a zippered gusset. Take your main fabric and cut two rectangles of the approximate size you want your backpack to be.

Fold them in half lengthwise and round the corners to the finished shape.

Take your lining fabric and repeat the process, using the main fabric as a guide.

If you want to applique or embellish the front of your backpack, now is the time to do so.

Cut gusset pieces out of main fabric and lining. They must be as long as the circumference of your bag. Cut the gussets in half, then sew together again. I sewed two zips in, one in each end, and stitched in between.

You will have a long strip with a zip in each end.

Make shoulder straps from lining and/or main fabric. I attached a short piece of elastic at the bottom of each strap, rather than making them adjustable.

Hold bag front and lining, WRONG sides together. Do the same for the bag back. Pin straps to back of bag. Baste. Add a loop for hanging if desired.

Pin gusset to front and back and stitch. Bind seams with contrasting binding.

Back to school

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000+10:00

My kids went back to school yesterday for the 2012 school year. This is what I've been doing in the last week to get ready:

Washed, ironed, and labelled all the uniforms.

Sorted out the hair elastics, clips, headbands etc.

Covered and labelled all the books, lunchboxes, and other school supplies.

Named and waterproofed the school schoes.

Made pencil cases and library bags.

We have also practiced our morning routine for the last week of the holidays, to help Miss 4 with her transition to school this year.

What do you do to get ready for a new school year?

Garden update

2012-01-21T12:00:00.000+10:00

This is my eastern fence garden. It is close to the pool and therefore we wanted a tropical outlook.

At the end of spring we planted 18 hibiscus down the fence, ranging in colour from deep reds, through oranges, yellows, whites, pale pinks, and dark pinks.

I am having a little battle with woolly aphids [or perhaps they are mealy bugs] at the moment. White oil is my weapon of choice, I don't want to use pesticides in the garden as we are trying to encourage as much wildlife [especially birds] as possible.

I am really looking forward to the beautiful hedge this will become. In this subtropical climate, I expect they will be flowering most of the year. So beautiful.

Retro Apron Tutorial

2012-01-18T12:00:00.000+10:00

You will need:
pretty cotton fabric
contrasting fabric for ruffle
fusible interfacing

Cut main fabric rectangle 44 x 13 inches. Fold in half lengthwise and cut a curve from one corner to the base of the opposite long side.

Cut two pieces of waistband fabric 38 x 3.5 inches. Iron interfacing to wrong side of bands. Sew bands together.

Cut ruffle 6.5 x 114 inches. Join fabric as necessary. Fold and press in half. Gather the raw edges and pin to the bottom of the apron.

Stitch apron to ruffle, press seam allowance towards apron and topstitich on right side of apron.

Mark waist side of apron with pins at following:

1.5 <-- 3.5 <-- 1.5 <-- 4 <-- centre --> 4 --> 1.5 --> 3.5 --> 1.5 [measurements are in inches]

Pin pleats and baste. Attach waistband.

Cut two ties each 7 x 24 inches. Sew and turn ties, insert into the opening of the waistband and sew closed.

If you need more explanation, please let me know. Unfortunately I didn't take photos when I was making my apron.

Pin cushion bins

2012-01-15T12:00:00.000+10:00

Many years ago I purchased a pattern on ebay for a pin cushion bin, as with a new baby didn't have the mental capacity in my sleep-deprived state to work out how to make one myself.

Since then I have made several - for my Quiltitis pals, for my sewing relatives, another for myself when mine was lost in the last move. Several months ago my aunt and mum both mentioned that their pincushion bins were worn out. I think they use theirs for scrapbooking [as a bin only] as well as for sewing and quilting.

These two were replacements for Mum and my aunt. Mum's is pieced from charm squares that match her sewing room and decor. I managed to finish them by Christmas... just.

At some stage I will have to make myself another one that matches my new sewing room. Just another project to add to my 'To Do' list!

Marbled chocolate cheesecake slice - gluten free

2012-01-12T12:00:00.000+10:00

This is one of my quick stand-by recipes. It's a very yummy slice that goes together very fast, but looks like you've gone to lots of effort. If you don't need gluten free, just use regular wheat flour.

MARBLED CHOCOLATE SLICE

·       185gbutter
·       ¼cup cocoa
·       1cup sugar
·       2eggs, lightly whisked
·       1cup plain flour [gluten free]
·       250gcream cheese
·       1/3cup sugar, extra
·       1tspvanilla
·       1egg, extra

Preheat ovento 180^oC. Grease and line a lamington pan (16cm x 26cm) with bakingpaper.

Melt butterwith cocoa. Remove from heat, add sugar and whisk in eggs. Stir in sifted flourand beat until smooth. Pour mixture into the prepared pan.

Beat cheese,extra sugar and vanilla together, add the extra egg. Pour over the chocolatemixture; swirl through with a knife for a marbled effect.

Kid's backpack - busy bag

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000+10:00

My 3-year old nephew needed a busy bag for Christmas. His big sister is starting school this year, which means lots of waiting. I made this little backpack and filled it with loads of special things to keep him busy while he waits.

It was so much fun to sew, I'm thinking I'll make another for Miss 2. In the meantime I've got a tutorial in motion so you'll be able to make your own little backpack.

Garden update

2012-01-06T11:30:00.000+10:00

This is our western fence. Some months ago I planted tiny tubestock native myrtles down the fenceline. I am hoping one day they will form a lovely aromatic hedge. They have more than tripled in height, but it's slow going. Apparently tubestock seem to be slow until about their 5th year, when they are more vigorous, and with a better root system than regular potted plants.

Up one end are the lemon myrtles. They are an Australian native myrtle with the highest levels of citrol in the leaves [even more than lemons]. I LOVE these plants, and intend to do lots of cooking with them... once they have enough leaves that I can safely harvest them without affecting their growth.

Up the far end of the hedge are aniseed myrtles. They are another native that has an amazing aniseed aroma in the leaves. Mr E wants to use it for cooking also. I am not a big fan of aniseed so I may not sample those dishes!!

We wanted cinnamon myrtles for this hedge also, but were unable to source any tubestock. I am hoping to source some plants for this middle section soon. In the meantime I have planted some rosellas in their place [hibiscus sabdariffa]. They can be treated as an annual so I will pull them out after they 'fruit' and plant cinnamon myrtles in their place.

It's going to be a lovely productive hedge. I am really looking forward to my rosellas in a few months time, and eventually lemon & aniseed myrtle leaves for teas, icecreams and heaps of other dishes.

Practice with purpose

2012-01-04T12:00:00.000+10:00

I have been teaching myself to play piano for a few years now. I purchased a dvd course to learn at home, and if only I practiced, I would probably be where I want to be. Recently I played piano at church [for the first time ever]. I was totally terrified, made quite a few mistakes [thankfully the band covered a lot of those up], and finished much more confident than I ever have been before.

I had forgotten how important it is to have a purpose for playing. When I learnt musical instruments at school I was in the band or orchestra [depending on which instrument I was playing at that time] and that gave me a purpose for practice. I find this with craft - if you don't have a purpose for the craft [eg. a gift, to use yourself] you really don't ever get around to doing it. I imagine this is why I haven't scrapbooked in so long... I forgot the reason why I was doing it.

It is the same with reading my bible. If I am reading because I think I 'have to' [like it's a rule] I will eventually stop because there's no purpose for reading. When I read God's word with purpose, I get more out of it, and I won't stop because I see the value in it. The question is then, how does one read the bible with purpose?

I read the bible to learn more about God, which is the most important thing I can do in this life. It is not a self-help book, I don't read it to improve myself. The more I read, the more I realise it's not about me. It's all about Jesus. And getting to know Him better, by reading the bible, is fun, amazing, and life-changing. Getting into the habit of reading the bible can take practice, but more than anything else in this life He is worth the effort.

2012 is here.

2012-01-02T11:30:00.000+10:00

I don't make new year's resolutions, they always fail. But I do like to think about the year gone, and what I can do or hope to achieve in the year ahead. Sometimes it's a home organisation goal, sometimes a review of my craft 'to do' list, or other things. I'm going to review my blog 'to do' lists, and get them up to date.

Happy New Year.

TUTORIAL - Kid's travel activity organisers

2011-12-31T15:43:00.000+10:00

I made these activity packs back in September. They were a desperate attempt to keep the kids busy on the plane. I had no idea just how useful they would be. We use them all the time. They are very simple to make, here's how:

Decide how big/small you want your organiser to be. I found a notebook I wanted to put in it and added 2 inches to each side. The first rectangle you need to cut from your main fabric needs to be twice as big as this [the organiser is folded in half].

Pick a main fabric, and one or two contrasting fabrics.

I cut my front piece and lining piece according to my notebook measurement [plus 2 inches each side, and double the width]. The cut pocket strips that were the same width but 1 1/2 inches shorter than the last one. Hem one long edge of your smaller strips [this will form the top of the pocket].

Lay the pockets one on top of the other and stitch down the centre to hold them together.

Fuse a fairly stiff interfacing to your outside cover piece.

Make a closure tab out of lining/scrap fabric. Add velcro to the tab...

and to the cover:

Put the pocket pieces and cover right sides together, making sure your closure tab is pinned in the correct place inside this. Stitch around the outside edge leaving a gap for turning. Turn, press, and topstitch around the edge.

You are finished. I made four different ones for my kids, and filled them with notebooks, stickers, books, pencils etc. They have worked brilliantly on planes, while away on holidays, and at church. I am considering making a slightly larger one for myself to carry things for me to do while I wait at school and dancing etc.

STRAWBERRY SHOPPING BAGS

2011-12-28T11:30:00.000+10:00

I have been wanting to make my own strawberry shopping bags since I bought one a couple of years ago. I am so thankful to Lier for her tutorial as it meant I didn't have to work out how to make them myself. I made a dozen for Christmas gifts this year. They looked so cute sitting all together in a bowl, and were very easy to sew. It has been difficult to part with them. Perhaps I will have to make some more for myself!

2011-12-24T12:00:00.000+10:00

God's love...

is bigger than it looks.

Merry Christmas!

HOMEMADE BARBIE CLOTHES

2011-12-21T11:00:00.000+10:00

My niece is getting some lovely new Barbie clothes for Christmas. She is 5 so she needs clothes that are easy to put on and take off. So I googled free Barbie clothes patterns, printed the patterns and cut out some fabric scraps.

I have never sewn something so small and fiddly before... it was extremely satisfying to complete, but it's not the neatest job I've ever done. At some stage I will need to make some outfits for my girls' Barbies, but that means 4 sets. I think I'll have a break from Barbie outfits for a while!

Sewing clothes is fun again.

2011-12-18T12:00:00.000+10:00

During my absence from the blog world, I have rediscovered my love for garment sewing. Being constantly frustrated with the lack of decent clothes in stores has helped me to start sewing again. I have sewn clothes for all my children, myself, and others. It has been so much fun, but of course the more I sew, the longer my 'to do' list seems to become! This is an outfit I made for Miss 4, shorts and a swing top/pillowcase top. I actually made two identical outfits, one for her and one for my niece, Miss 5. It's really cute.

I haven't taken photos of the 9 pairs of shorts, 6 skirts, and one after-5 outfit I have made. I guess I was too busy sewing and then we have been too busy wearing them. At some stage I will take photos of the bridesmaid dresses that are progressing well.

If you've never made your own clothes, don't be afraid of having a try. It's really not that difficult. Sometimes I use commercial patterns, sometimes I draft my own, sometimes I just cut into the fabric. It really depends what I am making. The main thing is to practice. Start with some kid's clothes, they take less fabric and don't have to fit as well as adult's clothing. But then move on to a basic skirt or something else for yourself. You have control over the fabric, the style, and your clothes will be unique.

I have been sewing for over 20 years. I am so thankful I learnt to sew a long time ago. You would not believe the number of times I have had to unpick a seam, or throw something out because I had stuffed up. I still unpick regularly. But with each mistake, I learn something else, and hopefully won't make that same mistake again. Making mistakes and unpicking is part of sewing, especially garment sewing. But I have learnt to embrace that, rather than throw in the towel when I do make a mistake. Sewing clothes is fun again.

POTATO BAGS

2011-12-16T21:26:00.000+10:00

Mr E had wanted to grow potatoes for some time now. But not just any potatoes. Kipflers, Dutch creams, cranberry reds... varieties you can no longer buy at the supermarket. We did some research and discovered you cannot plant potatoes in the same place twice. This can become an issue in the home garden. The answer is to grow potatoes in bags.

I made these bags from a roll of weed mat bought at the local hardware store. I cut lengths from the roll and sewed up the base and sides [with my Singer 'workhorse' machine, NOT my big beautiful Pfaff]. All done in an hour or two, and ready to be filled with compost/potting mix and seed potatoes.

The harvest was not quite as prolific as we'd hoped, we suspect mostly because we forgot them for a week or more in the heat and didn't water the poor plants. But the potatoes we did get to eat - WOW. So yummy.

We will definitely be doing this again as soon as autumn is here [too hot and humid here in subtropical Queensland to grow potatoes over summer].

I'M BACK!!!

2011-12-14T20:57:00.001+10:00

I have decided that you can tell how busy I am by how often I post on this blog. Since my last post [which I apologise it was a LOOOOOOOONG time ago] I have been so busy living life that the blog was just too much for me to try to manage.
Now, it is nearly Christmas, the summer holidays are upon us, and I realised that I not only have a blog, but a heap of photos of things I've been up to [and a whole lot I didn't take photos of I may still write about if I can recall anything about them].
So readers, if there are any of you left, thankyou for your patience. I am back. I cannot guarantee how regularly I will be posting, as I intend to PLAY with my children during the holidays, but I will try to be more faithful in keeping a record of that play.

KID'S TRAVEL ACTIVITY ORGANISERS

2011-09-21T19:30:00.000+10:00

I remember going places as a child with my 'busy bag'. Mum put together a bag for myself and my sister that contained a little doll, pencils and paper, a puzzle, and I forget what else. We loved playing with them: on holidays, at people's houses, at church. Sometimes we'd ask Mum to get them out for us to play with at home.

When preparing for our recent trip to Sydney I decided that we needed a variation of this for on the plane. All four girls would need to be occupied for a considerable time, with only their tray table to work on. Here is what I made up for them:

I filled them with notebooks, puzzle/colouring books, stickers, a new book [picture book or novel], a few coloured pencils, a lead pencil and rubber. They were a hit. I whipped up four over two evenings, no sweat. And the best part is, they can be used over and over at church, when waiting in the car, other holidays.

I will post a tutorial soon. I'm thinking I may need my own, it's just the right size to fit in my bag, and better than any organiser I've ever owned. You could customize it with pockets etc. to suit your own needs.

THE GREAT WEED BATTLE

2011-09-19T14:12:00.000+10:00

At the moment I am at war. It's not pretty. This morning I suffered my first injury. But I'll be back tomorrow to continue my advance.

6 or 7 weeks ago I began the long journey to getting my front garden from work site to garden. I planted 35 baby rose bushes with the intention of them becoming a hedge in a year or three. Then we got sick. I mean, all my girls and me. Really sick. Influenza. It was unpleasant and has taken until now for us to all be over it.

During that time we have had a smidgen of rain, the roses got a bit of water from a hose if Mr E or I remembered, and it has become spring. Beautiful, sunny warm days and the nights are warming up too.

Being a pretend gardener [I'm VERY new to all this] I had thought I would come back and mulch my new babies in the school holidays which is now, and all would be well, no weeds, no problems.

Ahem.

I do not like weeds. At all.

While I was pulling weeds and getting scratched by thorns and crawling around on all fours this morning a passing walker commented "I had no idea there were roses in there".

I have been out early attacking the weeds 3 mornings now. I am not yet halfway. This time I am mulching as I go. On the up side, being outside in the garden between 5.30 and 6.30am is lovely, and a great opportunity to pray and think.

I have no doubt that the victory will be mine. Hopefully soon. Did I mention that I do not like weeds?

Miss 2's birthday cake

2011-09-15T19:31:00.000+10:00

Miss 2 is into dogs and puppies. Really into them. We don't have a dog. But she does have a stuffed dog teddy. He gets carried around the house and taken out in the car most days. Reading books containing dogs is also a favourite thing of hers to do. And each time we see a dog while out driving, or on tv, she gets really excited. For a little girl who doesn't talk yet, we know she loves dogs. So it was easy to decide what birthday cake to choose for her - Spot the dog.

I used my new favourite gluten free cake recipe: the gluten free madiera [pound] cake, but I made it with vanilla extract rather than orange. It was so delicious, that ALL OF THIS CAKE GOT CONSUMED within 2 days. Usually my birthday cakes get eaten for a day or two but I throw the rest away as it goes stale and yukky.

Heat Wheats - another UFO done [including tips for making your own]

2011-09-13T02:30:00.000+10:00

I bought a bag of wheat from our local produce seller ages ago. I had intended to make heat wheats, new heat packs. But like so many UFO's I never go there. I was trying to find a place to put the large, rather in-the-way bag of wheat today, when I decided it would be quicker to make some up than try to find a home for the heavy bag of wheat. I was right.

This is a shoulder/neck heat pack. My previous one was a lovely maroon corduroy, but it had seen better days. Aren't these lovely cotton prints? When feeling sore, I think they have the potential to bring a smile to my face.

Miss 8 also decided to help me out. Here are the two that she made:

If you decide to make your own heat packs at home, there are a couple of tips I've learned over the years I've been making them:
1. Sewing channels every so often while filling your pack make it work better - you don't end up with all the wheat down one end.
2. Spritz with water or put a glass of water in the microwave when you heat it up. Otherwise they could catch fire. VERY IMPORTANT.
3. Add dried lavender with the wheat when filling for a lovely aroma when it's heated.
4. Make up in a few different shapes for the different purposes you need them.
5. They work really well as bed warmers in winter - instead of hot water bottles or electric blankets. Make a soft pillowcase for one out of polar fleece you can throw over after it's warmed. My kids sometimes cuddle them on a cold night!!

FINISHING UFO'S

2011-09-11T03:00:00.000+10:00

While moving into my 'new' sewing room, I found a huge number of UFO's I had stockpiled in different boxes in the shed. There is a huge amount of guilt associated with UFO's, and I did not want them hanging over my head as I started new projects in my new room. So I have been working hard at getting them out of the way. There were two bag-along bags I started out with last year, and never finished, one above, and this one here:

This bag has an alternate colourway on the other side:

It felt good to get these out of the way, they are stiffened with buckram, which I have never used before, so it was a great learning experience to learnn how to use it. I think I'm ready to use it to stiffen a hat brim now [which was my purpose for trying it in these bags].

Gluten free orange cakes

2011-09-09T14:00:00.000+10:00

I thought I'd try a new recipe, for cupcakes, the other week. It's one I've been wanting to trial for a while now. It is for madiera or pound cake [as the Americans call it]. I found it worked brilliantly, in fact, other than being a little dry, I could not tell it was gluten free.

GLUTEN FREE MADEIRA CAKE
1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
170g butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
the zest of one orange, finely grated
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 180 C.
Cream butter and sugar together with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
Measure dry ingredients into a bowl, use a hand whisk to combine.
Add dry ingredients. Mix until well incorporated.
Spoon into cupcake cases, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cakes spring back to the touch.

Ice with butter cream icing flavoured with orange juice [used instead of milk/cream for liquid]. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

MY FAVOURITE GLUTEN FREE PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS

2011-09-07T10:43:00.001+10:00

Oh how I LOVE these cookies. I eat far too many of them at once. I prefer them cold, out of the fridge, so the chocolate is hard and provides a textural difference to the biscuit crumb. This batch I made with crunchy peanut butter [it was all I had in the pantry] and the extra crunch of peanut pieces was lovely. I don't think I'll go back to smooth peanut butter for these.

GLUTEN FREE PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup castor sugar

1 egg

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients in a bowl by hand with a spoon. Form into small cookies. Place on a baking tray and bake at 180 C for approximately 10 minutes. DO NOT ALLOW TO OVERCOOK. Cool on the tray and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

RETRO APRON

2011-09-05T14:00:00.001+10:00

The next project for my sewing circle girls [the ladies I'm teaching to sew] is a ruffled half-apron. It's so cute to wear. I feel like a real 1950's housewife. It's a lovely apron to wear over jeans, like putting on a pretty skirt when I cook.

I drafted the pattern myself and will post it if anyone is interested.

FUNKY GROCERY BAGS

2011-09-02T11:00:00.001+10:00

A very long time ago I decided to work through a sewing book I own "One Yard Wonders" page by page. Then I realised that I didn't WANT to make all the projects in the book, and my To Do list is so long as it is, I should only make the things I want to. My first project from the book was a grocery tote, which I gave to a friend. I liked it so much that I decided to make a whole heap for myself, because I like the idea of making myself fabric bags I can keep clean, and that make me smile when I use them.

I cut them out at least a year ago and then didn't do anything about it... another UFO. So instead of trying to find a place to keep them, all cut out, I decided to sew them up and store them with my grocery bags. It was a pleasure to use them when I did the groceries last week.

Princess, Princess Book Week Costume

2011-08-31T19:04:00.002+10:00

The second Book Week costume I made last week was for Miss 6, who decided to be the princess from Princess, Princess.

Of course, she didn't have any dress that fit her anymore, so I this one I made out of broderie anglaise fabric, and drafted an empire line dress with long sleeves. I threaded a number of beads I found at a dollar store onto hat elastic for the necklace, and made the crown with some dollar store jewels, metallic pipe cleaners and my hot glue gun.

EJ 12 belt

2011-08-28T15:00:00.003+10:00

It was Book Week again last week so I was making costumes once again. Miss 8 enjoys reading a fairly new book series called EJ-12 about a girl-spy who solves mysteries. I was very excited when Miss 8 told me she would be wearing black pants, a long-sleeved black shirt, and black shoes & socks [all of which she owns]. Then she requested a belt, which holds a pouch for a torch.

It came together very quickly, so to finish off I found an extra large black button and hot-glued the letters E and J to the front, then I attached it as a buckle.

I think it was my favourite costume ever... taking me less than an hour!!

UPDATE ON HOMEMADE LAUNDRY POWDER

2011-08-22T11:55:00.002+10:00

I made more laundry powder today. I had enough for one more load. That means that my first batch lasted for 40 days.

Someone asked me how economical it really was to make my own powder so I went through the maths just now to check. As I've had the ingredients in my cupboard for a while [thinking I'd need to make more weeks ago] I couldn't remember what it all cost so I just went on to the Coles Online website to get approximate prices. I'm pretty sure my ingredients cost me less at my local IGA so this is probably an overestimate:

Sard wondersoap $2.50
Homebrand Laundry soap $2.17/pack of 4 so $0.55 each
Borax $4.30/500g pack [I use 1 cup = half of this per batch] $2.15
Washing Soda $4.90/1kg pack [1 cup = 1/4 of this] $1.25

So the batch of washing powder cost me at most $6.45 [remember I paid less for these ingredients, online prices are often inflated].

I wash 1-2 loads every day. Sometimes more than that. My last batch of homemade powder cost me at most 16 cents per day.

I'm impressed with that. I've made another batch today, and I still have plenty of ingredients for another 2 lots in my laundry cupboard [I stocked up on Sard wonder soap when it was on special a while back]. Our clothes are clean and we aren't being exposed to unnecessary perfumes and irritating chemicals, all while saving some money. I suspect Mr E thinks I've become a bit of a hippie, but I can live with that :)

A "quiet" couple of weeks

2011-08-07T22:22:00.002+10:00

It has been quiet here on my blog for a little while again, I'm sorry about that. It's not been very quiet at home, hence the lack of computer time. Let's see, what have I been up to?
- baked 6 batches of brownies for a school fundraiser
- sewed 8 potato bags for raising potatoes
- continued to tidy, unpack and organise the sewing room
- baked cakes, muffins and slices for the family and bible study guests to consume
- helped Mr E build a papaya/banana garden out of the old trampoline frame
- sewed 2 eco shopping bags
- planted out my silverbeet seedlings, and sowed peas, spinach and sugar snap peas in the same garden
- collected, dried and planted an enormous number of paw paw seeds in the new papaya/banana garden
- planted out the new front hedge
- dealt with sick children... a lot...
Needless to say I sleep well at night!! Must try to post more often... keeps me accountable as I try not to blog a project until it's completed.

Super healthy gluten free muffins

2011-07-19T23:11:00.000+10:00

I read in a food magazine recently [which one I can't recall] an idea for a healthy muffin:
Just mix the dry ingredients from a chocolate cake packet mix [I used gluten free] with 2 cups of mashed pumpkin and bake as regular muffins.
That's it. Pretty amazing.

Knitted scarves with more fancy yarns

2011-07-16T14:02:00.000+10:00

After my recent scarf knitting success, Miss 8 and Miss 6 asked me to make them a scarf too. So I found a feathery blue yarn [to hide the dropped stitches that were inevitable] and made this up in a few days. Then we found a purple popcorn yarn and I knitted this one:

I am amazed at how quickly I've remembered how to knit. Of course, these are all plain knit. No purl or fancy stitches for me. I may try my hand at some more knitting while the weather stays cool.

Home made laundry powder

2011-07-13T22:08:00.000+10:00

For a long time now I've been wanting to make my own laundry powder. The more I read about the fillers and foaming agents that are added, the more I think I do not want those things in my clothes, and those of my family. So last week I had a go, and it really does work.
I just used my food processor to grate one bar of laundry soap, one bar of Sard wonder soap, 1 cup of borax, and 1 cup of washing soda. From my reading you don't need the Sard soap, but my kids are such grots I feel I need the extra stain removal powder. I made a batch up without it, and it washed okay, but didn't get the worst of Miss 1's shirts clean. This lot, with the extra soap, works brilliantly.

It doesn't suds up like store-bought powder, so it's fine to use in a front loader. You only need 2 teaspoons in a front loader, and 3 teaspoons in a top loader. This batch is going to last me ages. VERY economical.

Organising my laundry [or I am obsessed with my labeller]

2011-07-10T20:00:00.000+10:00

I have been organising cupboards non-stop since the school holidays started. Getting things out of the shed and back into the house, finding things not seen for months [or longer]. One room that was really bothering me was my laundry. Since the renovation it is an amazing room, and should have been amazing to be in, but it has been our dumping ground since January! It took a day and a half, but now it's beautiful again.

It all started because my new washing machine was being delivered this week. I needed to make space for the delivery guys to be able to get it into the room. And I didn't want to be embarrassed when complete strangers came into this most horrible messy room in my home.

To reward myself for the hard work on clearing the bench and floor, I started to organise my cupboards too. I love to organise cupboards, it's one of those things that brings me joy [strange, I know]. But a cupboard isn't organised to me unless it's also labelled. Otherwise it doesn't stay that way. I sorted the linen cupboard [above and below]: The overhead cupboards:

And the cupboard under the bench and sink also contains baskets and labels:

The funny thing is, now I have a lovely laundry, I've caught up on my washing, and I'm motivated to keep up to date. Having a pleasant room makes it easier to do. I hope this is a turning point in my love-hate relationship with the washing.

puffy painting

2011-07-03T18:40:00.004+10:00

While doing some blog-hopping just before the school holidays, I came across this blog and saved the idea for a possible holiday activity. We had a go the other day, when we had some friends over, and it was truly fabulous. I had 7 kids here ranging in age from 23 months to 13.7 years [the 0.7 is important] and they all REALLY enjoyed this quick and easy craft.

Can I suggest a couple of tips BEFORE you sit down with the kids to do this:

- cut out a LOT of cardboard ahead of time [they go through it pretty quick] I'm sure paper would work, but it would be messier to get in to the microwave.

- use cotton buds instead of paint-brushes [it makes for quick and easy clean-up].

- I made up 6 batches in 6 individual ramekins, then we added the food colouring in primary and then secondary colours, helps to reinforce this with older kids, and the younger ones love the surprise when red and yellow make orange for example.

In each ramekin put 1 tablespoon of self-raising flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 3-4 tablespoons of water. Mix into a nice smooth paste, then add your colour!

When your masterpieces are complete, microwave on high for 20-30 seconds.

That's it.

Fantastic, cheap holiday fun.

sewing room progress

2011-06-27T13:28:00.000+10:00

It's slow-going in my sewing room lately. Partly because our house has been full of flu and other illness for longer than I can recall now, and partly because it takes a LONG time to build flatpack furniture when you have 'help' from a 22 month old and a 4 year old!!

Mr E and I pulled apart my old broken Horn sewing cabinet yesterday to use the pull-out section for my overlocker. Now I have to position everything and we can get the benchtop in place. YAY!! Nearly there.

DIY mini greenhouse

2011-06-25T22:46:00.006+10:00

In my attempt to become a 'real' gardener, I have been trying to raise my own seedlings. I've been struggling a little in these attempts, both because of the chickens, and the extreme temperature swings winter in sub-tropical Queensland brings [the last week has seen our daily range from 4-21 degrees Celcius]. Researching online it seemed that other gardeners use mini greenhouses. They are available to buy, but I was not prepared to pay for something I may not use successfully, and the cheap ones looked very flimsy.

I decided to make myself a mini-greenhouse. I found an old metal shelf in the shed we weren't using and set it up on the western side of the house. I thought in this position it would be sheltered enough from the wind and stay warm. But it wasn't temperature stable enough, and the wind was drying out my trays very quickly. So today I covered it with clear table plastic I purchased from Spotlight. I used electrical tape to attach it around the back and sides, then taped a separate piece for a front access flap.

I'm hoping this will improve my seed germination rate significantly. I guess I'll keep you posted as to my degree of success.

My favourite flower

2011-06-21T12:18:00.005+10:00

I just took this photo. I couldn't help it. What a perfect rose. My daughter was given it after performing in a ballet concert on Saturday and today it has opened up. The colour is exquisite too, darker orange on the edges of each petal and a delicious apricot in the centre.

I know it's cliched, but I LOVE roses. I love the shape, the variety of colours [there's not one I have seen that I dislike], and I find the perfume intoxicating. Yesterday for our anniversary Mr E sent me this beautiful arrangement of roses. I am going to enjoy them for quite a few days as they open up. Just stunning:

I am planning a rose garden in our front yard. I have been researching them and found I need to prepare the soil well so it will take me a while to get to the planting stage. But it will be worth it. In a year or two I intend to be producing roses like these in my own garden. Ones with lots of perfume.

Funky Ruffled Scarf - knitted

2011-06-15T12:10:00.001+10:00

My MIL went to the textile show at the Brisbane Convention Centre last weekend and then came to visit us. She bought some new yarn called Funky Yarn while she was there for herself and me to try out. It is amazing - one ball does the entire scarf and I knitted it in just a few hours. And I'm NOT a knitter, so it must be easy. This is the very first knitted item I have blogged about because it's the first knitted thing I've made since I learned to knit as a kid. Six stitches on the needle, that's all.
The website that was on the information regarding this product looks to be still under construction so I'm unsure where to obtain more. I've emailed them and hope to have some more information about where to purchase it very soon. It's almost like a lacy mesh wound into a ball of yarn, very beautiful. I'm glad we've had some very cold weather for me to try out my new scarf!!

Crochet string bag - complete

2011-06-13T23:44:00.002+10:00

Tonight I finished crocheting my string bag I've been working on for the past few months. I've been working on it in short bursts while waiting in the car for my kids or watching tv. It's made from actual string that I bought from The Reject Shop, not crochet/knitting cotton. My own pattern, made it up as I went along. I think it will be very useful.

An Organised Pantry

2011-06-10T13:39:00.000+10:00

Sometimes I wonder what I've been doing and why there's nothing to show for my time, nothing to blog about, and the house is just as disasterous as it was last week. I decided to sort out my pantry at the beginning of last month and I am proud to say it STILL looks good. This photo was taken after a month of maintaining it. I don't think I've ever maintained a tidy pantry for more than a week before.

But this time I went about it differently. I planned on paper WHERE everything would go [approximately] before I took anything off a shelf. It worked. I decided what my needs were [like breakfast cereals on the bottom shelf so the kids can get their own out; chocolate up high so only I can see it etc.] and planned around them first. My plan had a couple of blank spaces, but then as I sorted things I found I had forgotten about some items, or other things took up much more space than I thought they would.

I know what you're thinking: that woman has too much tupperware!!! I also have a lot of flours and other ingredients on my shelves no one has ever heard of [unless you regularly cook gluten free]. Years ago when I was struggling with how to manage a young child on a gluten free diet while keeping wheat products in the house for the others, I decided to colour-code my pantry and fridge. My dear friend CraftyMummy was a tupperware dealer back then and she helped me to organise it all. I've been buying tupperware since I first got married, she just helped me to add to my collection!!

Every time I wonder what I've been up to lately I open my beautiful pantry and remember I did this. Now I just need the motivation to reinvent a few other clutter holes [I mean cupboards].

Crochet bun covers

2011-06-08T12:11:00.000+10:00

A couple of months ago I was complaining that my three ballerinas didn't respect their hair nets and pins as I kept finding them strewn around the house and the nets of course had holes in them!! Those fine Lady Jane hair nets while ESSENTIAL for ballet exams and concerts [it looks like there's no net at all] are NOT GOOD for an 8,6 and 4 year old for their weekly lessons, they get holes in them and are too expensive for single use only.

When I was about 8 and my sister 6 I think our Mum had a similar complaint and my grandmother crocheted us some bun covers in fine cotton. I remember we had two different sizes for our two different hair lengths/thicknesses. I scoured the net and found quite a few free patterns. Here are my first attempts:I got sick of the patterns pretty quickly and just made up my own, once I got a feel for my crochet hook again [I really do enjoy crochet and must pick it up more often]. I whipped all three up one evening in front of the tv. So easy and satisfying to finish something so quickly.

There are some spectacular bun covers online that have beads and sparkles and all manner of pretty additions. When I get my sewing/craft room in order and find my finer crochet thread and beads I may even attempt some. I have absolutely NO IDEA how to incorporate beads into crochet [or knitting for that matter]. Perhaps one of you very talented knitters or crocheters can help me with that puzzle?

Sewing Room update

2011-06-05T19:45:00.000+10:00

My Ikea Expedit bookshelves are together and attached to the wall of my sewing room. My next task is to fill the shelves with all the sewing stuff that is spread around the house in random cupboards, on the floor of the sewing room and in the shed. Once I have floor space I can get my desks built.

I found a fabulous tutorial to make my own fabric storage boxes for my new sewing room shelves. I haven't been able to find anything that fits the spaces well, and I want it all to coordinate. So it makes sense to make them myself.
Here is the photo that inspired me to coordinate my shelving:

Isn't it gorgeous? I can only hope my shelves will look this neat and tidy all the time. I'm thinking my colour scheme will be pink and white... perhaps with a lime green accent?

ANOTHER RAINBOW CAKE

2011-06-03T13:05:00.000+10:00

There are some crafts that I do with my kids that I think are significant, and then there are the ones that they ask to do again and again. The rainbow cake was one of those silly things we did one day to teach Miss 4 primary and secondary colours. The other day she asked to do it again, almost 12 months since the last time! So I got our our 6 bowls and food colouring and the usual wacky cake recipe, and we started with our three primary colours. Yet again Miss 4 was so surprised at the transformation of yellow and blue into green, and the other secondary colours. But by far her favourite part of this process is licking the bowl.Miss 1 thought it was pretty good too:

If you're going to do this at home here are few tips:

1/2 teaspoon of food colouring is TOO MUCH for each bowl of 1/2 cup cake batter - it won't cook properly and will send your kids cuckoo

Put your children in old clothes and expect that it will take a day or two to get the food colouring out of your toddler's hair

Start with red [or pink] and pour into the centre of the prepared cake tin, then continue on with the colours in order pouring each on top of the one before, they push the first ones aside. When you turn the cake out, put it on it's top and ice the base so when you cut it a true rainbow will appear

I use plain white butter icing and tell everyone it's a 'cloud' cake, then they get a lovely surprise when it's cut

4 YEAR OLD GLUTEN FREE TEA PARTY MENU

2011-06-01T19:30:00.001+10:00

For her birthday this year Miss 4 had a tea party. We set the table with a tablecloth, put little espresso cups and saucers out [just the right size], serviettes, and a red tea pot filled with apple juice.

I decided that a tea party should have tiny finger food so on the table we put:

tiny melting moments with pink icing

pikelets [50c coin size] with jam and cream on top

mini frankfurts from Aldi [they come in a jar and are truly adorable - they're so small]

grapes

It worked really well. The kids loved it. There was also birthday cake of course,

and we played pass the parcel. The parents sat down and had a cuppa, and the kids played. All in all a perfect 4 year old birthday party.

COULD THIS BE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I'VE EVER MADE?

2011-05-30T19:30:00.002+10:00

I don't have any photographic evidence, it all got consumed. EVERYONE who ate this cake complimented me on it, which is rare. Gluten free it was amazing. And huge. The only reason it all went so quick was that I had the neighbours over in the morning and the men's bible study at our place that night. YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS CAKE. It is made like muffins, add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir to combine. I think it will probably freeze well too. I will have to test that next time I make it :)

POSSIBLY THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I'VE EVER MADE

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups castor sugar

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

230g butter

5 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a large baking tray or lamington tray with baking paper. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and allow mixture to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a minute or so.

Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir to combine with a balloon whisk. Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla, mix until a batter consistency. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch. Pour icing over warm cake and cool in pan.

For the Icing:

110g butter

5 tablespoons cocoa

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

6 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter in a saucepan, add cocoa. Then add the sugar, milk and vanilla and stir over low heat until smooth and shiny. Pour over warm cake.

MY WORLD FAMOUS BROWNIES

2011-05-26T19:25:00.001+10:00

Yes, it sounds presumptuous, but I have been giving this recipe out for years as everyone who eats them asks for the recipe. It has ended up all over the world as it's shared with friends and family. So it IS world famous! And easy to make, which is always a bonus.
When you need a chocolate fix there's nothing better. Seriously.

SHELLE'S WORLD FAMOUS BROWNIES
125g butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup flour [gluten free or wheat, depending who you're baking for]
1 teaspoon baking powder
250g chocolate chips [I always use dark, but use whatever you prefer]

Melt butter in a medium saucepan or microwave jug. Stir in sugar, cocoa, salt, eggs and vanilla, mixing well.

Stir through flour and baking powder. Stir through chocolate chips/pieces. The mixture will be quite stiff. Line an 18 x 28cm slice tin with baking paper. Spread brownie mixture evenly in tin.

Bake in a moderate oven [180C] for 25-30 minutes. Brownies will seem quite soft, but will firm on cooling. Leave in tin to cool completely [I put it into the fridge in the tin and cut it later - you get neater cuts when it's less gooey]. Cut into squares.
Store in refrigerator.

Miss 4's birthday cakes

2011-05-24T19:35:00.004+10:00

Here are the two cakes I made in the last 24 hours for Miss 4's birthday. The swimming pool was for her tea party with two friends from church. The koala was for her family dinner celebration. Just as I'd finished cutting the koala shape she asked me if I'd put a baby on the koala's back [I thought you'd better know in case you thought I was confused about koala anatomy].

I always use wacky cake as my base for kid's birthday cakes, because you often need a double or triple batch and they really only eat the icing anyway, which is expensive if you need lots of eggs and butter in your gluten free cake recipe. Wacky cake holds it's shape well when you cut it out, and if you make it chocolate tastes pretty good gluten free.

Now that I'm through the last 6 weeks of "3 kids' birthdays plus various other crazy life events" I will get back into some sort of routine and try to find photos of Miss 6 and Miss 8's cakes. When I find them I will post them here. If only posting photos here meant I was scrapbooking them as well. Sigh.

Update on our Australian Native Garden

2011-05-21T12:48:00.000+10:00

A year ago this week we planted an Australian native garden. Just the other day I was commenting to Mr E that I was frustrated at how little it has grown. We have had a VERY wet season [including flooding, though thankfully not our property] so it has not been the best time for growth, especially for natives like grevilleas that don't like wet feet.

So I thought I'd look back at last year's post where I uploaded photos of our garden when it was new. I was totally flabbergasted at the amount of growth that has taken place:

At the moment our 6-seater outdoor table is on the paved area so we can finish off the new patio near the house. So the back corner looks more cluttered. We also have a low wall in front of the garden to separate it from the turf [yes, we have grass instead of mud now as well - very exciting]. The wall is about 30cm high so that gives you an idea of scale. We have harvested lemon myrtle leaves and made tea, pancakes, shortbread, and added them to roast chicken. Totally delicious.

Ironically, the only plant we lost with all the water was our swamp lily which rotted away! We have added a couple of baby gymea lilies, a couple of aniseed myrtles, a couple of low-growing eucalypts, and another grevillea recently to fill in the gaps that were starting to become apparent. Perhaps it wasn't such a poor growing season after all?

RAISED BED VEGE GARDENING - FIRST ATTEMPT

2011-05-18T12:33:00.000+10:00

Ages ago we bought this colorbond raised garden bed from Bunnings for the kids. We FINALLY put it together just before Easter, and the kids all helped to layer it with the required newspaper, manure, lucerne hay etc.

Mr E put in irrigation [we're hopeless at remembering to water plants, which is why nothing except natives have ever survived for us] then the kids chose a quadrant each and planted their area with seeds like rainbow chard, purple carrots, beans, and flowers.

In the photo above you'll see a plastic box sitting in the garden and one lonely plant:

This is a single strawberry plant that I popped in about 2 weeks ago when we realised there were no seeds left and there would be no harvest for the girls. The reason for the lack of seeds:

Now we use the plastic box to protect our one lonely plant whenever we let the chickens out. And Mr E is going to make a chicken wire screen or dome for the garden bed before we plant anything else in there!!

GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

2011-05-17T12:33:00.000+10:00

I have a new obsession: muffins. I got sick of cupcakes, brownies, chocolate marble slice, fruit cake, and yummy layer slice [my standard baking I seem to do in a month].

Those of you who know me outside of cyberspace will know that I only eat dark chocolate. I have been known to remark that putting milk into chocolate just removes space that could be taken up by more "pure" chocolate. And I never let white chocolate rubbish pass my lips!

Newsflash! I have found a reason to eat white chocolate: raspberries. I tried these muffins with regular wheat flour last week for bible study and they worked really well. Then I had to try to convert the recipe to gluten-free.

The result is delicious.

GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS [makes 12 medium]

2 cups gluten free flour [either blended yourself or a commercial one]

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup caster sugar

180g block white chocolate, roughly cut into small squares

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

125g canola oil [you can substitute melted butter, I was just too lazy to melt]

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup frozen raspberries [don't defrost]

Fill a 12-hole muffin pan with muffin papers. Preheat oven to 190C.

Combine dry ingredients [including chocolate and frozen berries] in one bowl.

Combine wet ingredients in another bowl.

Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry, until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX or they won't rise as much and will be tough.

Spoon into muffin papers and bake for 20mins.

Turn onto wire rack to cool.

I then decided there was only one way to improve them: make them dark!!

I added 1/4 cup cocoa to the dry ingredients and substitute dark chocolate for the white.

Go make some muffins!

TOTE BAGS FOR SEWING LESSONS

2011-05-11T13:46:00.004+10:00

Today has been a lovely day. I have started to teach some of my friends to sew, and I spent the morning making tote bags with them. I actually had one made up and another in pieces when we began. I hadn't expected the girls to get beyond cutting out but fortunately I'd asked them to bring sewing machines as they all got sewing quite quickly. They did so well I had time to put together the second bag and cut out a third. I had intended to leave the butterfly bag and hearts bag in different stages of construction so I could demonstrate the next stages of construction at our next lesson, but I was having so much fun that when they left I quickly finished the bags off!!

There are already a myriad of tote bag tutorials on the internet so I'm not going to post mine here. It takes less than a metre of fabric [the remainder of the metre the girls needed is for our next project]. I guess my next sewing project will be to cut out ANOTHER tote and remain self-controlled enough to NOT FINISH IT so I can use it as a demo.

It's been great to get the machine out again... I've missed Bertha [yes, I named my machine]. Now if I can just get my sewing room furniture sorted, I'll be able to leave Bertha out and visit with her any time I please!

GIANT FRECKLES

2011-05-07T12:33:00.000+10:00

I bake. A lot. More than I probably would but because two of my girls are coeliac I have to. Just for our family of 6 and the two bible study groups we host, I have to bake a 2-3 things a week. Usually it's just my standard easy and quick things like fruit cake, brownies, a slice. Occasionally I bake WITH my kids, which always takes three times as long as you expect AND then there's the clean-up. It's enough to put me off baking at all!

One day recently Miss 3 wanted to bake but I didn't want the mess so we compromised and made giant freckes:

Just melted chocolate poured into patty papers, and then she sprinkled the 100's and 1000's over the top. Pop them in the fridge and eat them when set. Yes, it was messy as 100's and 1000's go everywhere, but it was fun, she could do it all, and the clean up was still minimal.

My new sewing & craft room - BEFORE

2011-05-03T21:57:00.007+10:00

Here are some "before" shots of my new sewing/craft room. I had hoped to have it furnished and in use by now, but that wasn't to be. Hopefully progress will happen steadily from now: my shelves are in the garage ready to put together, then I have the old change table to paint and work surfaces to build [with Mr E's help... if I can drag him away from the cubby house he's building]. I am nearly finished with tradesmen now. Just a few days left and the house will be mine again.

Now to get our things out of the shed, organise cupboards, and get my craft room built!!!

PLUGGED BACK IN

2011-02-18T12:40:00.004+10:00

Almost another month has passed, and instead of blogging more, and crafting more, I've been organising for school and extra-curricular activities, picking out fittings for bathrooms, helping with homework [including some rather big kindy projects], downsizing into 1 bedroom and a rumpus room... very little crafting. I have taken up an adult dance class for fitness, started a ladies' bible study, and managed to juggle 4 kids and their activities for the first 4 weeks of a new school and kindy. I have felt overwhelmed, under-equiped and stressed for much of that time, which is normal for the beginning of a new year, but not ideal. The renovation-that-became-a-rebuild [as I like to call it now] is on the downhill run to being finished, and over the next 2 weeks I will have more rooms come online.

Mr E and I are still sleeping on the sofa bed in the rumpus room - even though we have a second bedroom finished now. It's a beautiful big bedroom with freshly painted walls, new carpet, big wardrobe, and and ensuite just next to it. It appears perfect and ready to be used. But we can't use it because the power hasn't been turned on to that part of the house yet. There are lights and fans, but no electricity to run them. It's a bit like how I've been surviving over the past month: I APPEARED ready for the new year, organised, and coping well [we only forgot show & tell once so far] but there was nothing powering me and keeping me refreshed. This week I plugged in MY power source: I started reading my bible every day. I am so much more refreshed, less overwhelmed, better equiped to cope, and I've remembered what really matters in this life. What a difference!

Now if only we can get the power turned on in that new bedroom!!

Happy Belated New Year

2011-01-26T22:50:00.005+10:00

Well I'm back after a VERY long summer holiday. Looking back at the end of 2010 I got really slack at blogging. I have a few excuses:

- my Mum's health took a downward turn for a while [thankfully she's good now]

- we moved in with the folks while our house got pulled apart [renovating]

- the end of the year is always busy, with ballet concerts, school concerts etc.

- my crafting and cooking became focussed on what I NEEDED to do for that week.

- this situation has continued until today, when I finished sewing kindy sheets for Miss 3 ready to start kindy this Friday.

- it has been Christmas holidays so I've had all 4 cherubs home and too tired at night to craft much

- here in Queensland we've had major flooding, including in my hometown

Anyway those are the excuses... I have a few pics of projects I've completed over the past couple of months. Unfortunately more missed out on photographs than I thought:

Firstly, a nappy cake I made for a friend who had a new baby:

Then, the christmas gifts for each of the girls' school teachers [all 7 of them] - a set of homemade cards in matching box, with a block of chocolate.

I can't find a photo of the 3 string bags I crocheted for my MIL and SIL's for Christmas, or the 5 crocheted kitchen hand towels, or the dress I made for my niece's birthday. I also missed photos of the towel elephants I made as Christmas gifts for other family members. Not to mention the cooking... I even had a go at gluten free crumpets.

Oh well. At least writing that list, I realise I haven't been idle. I'm planning to blog more regularly in 2011. And craft more.

In case you're wondering, the house isn't finished, we'll be living in a work zone for a few months yet.

MODA BAKE SHOP PROGRESSIVE DINNER

2011-01-26T21:40:00.001+10:00

I just found out about this tonight. SO glad I did. Not only am I back in blogland after an extended summer holiday, but I've entered a competition to hopefully win a copy of a new book... all about Moda precuts!

Completed quilt

2010-11-29T22:25:00.004+10:00

I finished the wedding quilt - just in the nick of time. More photos and detail are posted on my other blog.

Lunch bags

2010-10-04T22:25:00.005+10:00

Here are the new lunch bags I've made for my girls over the last day or so. I used the tutorial here, but made a few changes [don't I always?]. I didn't use interfacing, but instead I used Insul-brite, as I wanted them insulated for our hot climate. I also swapped the bias loop for hat elastic, as I thought it would be easier for young fingers to hook onto a button. My last change was to make a handle so they're easier to carry. Miss 5 and Miss 7 picked their fabric and their buttons, and are both very excited to try them out tomorrow when school starts.

A funny photo

2010-10-02T20:17:00.003+10:00

We've just come back from a week away at the beach and I just had to share this photo. Miss 5 is wearing her new skirt I posted about last week, and she decided [for a reason only known to her] that she would walk around with a paper bag on her head. That's right, her ever cautious mother did not request her to go incognito for this photo... I only took the photo because she looked so ridiculous, it's amazing it's not blurred as I was laughing a lot.

AUSSIE CUPCAKES

2010-10-02T20:10:00.007+10:00

I needed to do something special with the girls to pass the time today as we are quarantined [with impetigo no less - that's school sores - but I prefer the medical name as it doesn't sound so gross] and Mr E is away at a conference. I picked up these really cute cake toppers at Aldi on Friday [yes gluten free - I always read labels!!] that were Australian animals. Today we made chocolate cupcakes [brown for dirt] with green icing [for grass] and stuck them on top. Very cute and the kids all thought they were very special. Cake toppers are a great way for the kids to do the decorating and having the cakes coming out looking very presentable. If only we were able to go out we could share them with someone...

Summer kid's skirts

2010-09-24T20:02:00.005+10:00

I spent two evenings this week sewing some summer skirts for the girls, seeing as we were going on holidays to the beach and they didn't fit in many of last season's clothes.

I started out making a couple for Miss 7 and one for Miss 3... but as you can see things got out of hand and I made a heap more. There are three styles of skirt: one is a full circle, one is a tiered skirt. Both are very quick and easy to make. The third style is the stripy one in the second photo. I found a fabulous wide-striped fabric last year just waiting for an opportunity to make one of these pleated skirts. I've box-pleated the stripes in, so it looks like a white skirt with coloured stripes. I love it - I wish I fit into it, but only Miss 7 does.

I can post a tutorial on how to make a full circle skirt here if anyone is interested. Let me know in the comment section if you'd like me to. I use them all the time as they're so pretty on the girls, and lovely to twirl in, plus SUPER quick.

New quilt sneak peek

2010-09-18T23:19:00.003+10:00

I'm making a new quilt [in a hurry] for my cousin's wedding present. I started by cutting the fabric tonight: I will post my progress over on quiltitis, my other blog.

Spring is here!

2010-09-17T21:34:00.001+10:00

I may have mentioned previously that I have never been much of a gardener. But I am trying to change all that. As well as the Australian native garden we plan to have a large number of edibles throughout the yard, and a vege patch of course. This will take us a lot of time [so don't hold your breath] as we have to wait for our house renovations to be over. Just so the builders don't wreck any new plants with their vehicles etc.

I'm itching to get started, however, and have decided that I want to grow rosellas. My Nanna used to grow rosellas and I remember visiting her one weekend while I was at uni and helping her to pick them, shell them, and make jam. Let me tell you something about rosella jam: it's amazing! Nanna's rosella bushes are long gone now, so I started researching the plant in the hope of obtaining a couple.

I found out that the rosella is actually a type of hibiscus [which is another plant I'm very keen to grow, probably behind our pool] called Hibiscus Sabdariffa. I purchased some seeds online and planted them a couple of weeks ago... and they're growing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A couple even have their second set of leaves starting.

They are in pots sitting in an old wheelbarrow covered in chicken wire, as the chooks would devour the sweet new leaves given half a chance. That's been handy, as I've needed to move them every couple of days out of our builder's way... we are renovating at the moment and the house and yard is in chaos!!!

Well, most of it is in chaos. Here is a picture of the native garden I mentioned in a previous post taken this afternoon:
What you may or may not realise is that we have a garden wall now, and TURF!! In the previous post about this native garden the green in the foreground of the photo is all weeds, which the chickens have since made short work of. It looks so lovely, and the kids were really excited to run on grass again. I hadn't realised till now just how depressing and dusty the yard had become. Poor little Miss 1 had forgotten what grass was, I think, and couldn't walk on it properly!

It's so nice to have one part of our home 'finished' so we can escape there at the moment.

Gluten free melting moments

2010-09-17T21:25:00.000+10:00

The other week I made melting moments - something I've been wanting to bake for ages. I haven't made them for years. I have to admit, they're not very good for you [LOTS of butter] but so yummy it's worth making them for a special treat. I checked my recipe books on the shelf, then looked online, and then made up my own recipe based on my research:

MICHELLE'S MELTING MOMENTS

250g butter
1/3 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour [gluten free of course - I make up the Bette Hagman mixture]
1/2 cup cornflour
1 tsp vanilla
Filling:
60g butter
1 tsp lemon rind
3 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cup icing sugar

Beat butter, icing sugar & vanilla essence with electric beaters until pale and creamy. Add flours and mix until a soft dough forms. Pipe rounds with large star nozzle onto a baking paper-lined tray. Bake at 160C for 15 minutes. Cool on tray.

For filling: beat butter, lemon juice and lemon rind until pale. Add icing sugar and beat until combined. Refrigerate until required.

Assemble biscuits and enjoy!!

These biscuits are AMAZING. You don't have to pipe them if you don't want to: roll small balls and flatten them slightly with the back of a fork. You MUST however cool them on the baking tray or they will just crumble everywhere. Don't ask me how I know this.

Wombat costume - tips on sewing faux/fake fur

2010-09-02T22:45:00.000+10:00

It was Book Week last week and Miss 5 had a dress-up day at school [as her favourite book character]. She decided [much to my dismay] that her favourite book was 'Diary of a Wombat'. So I had to make a wombat costume:

I found a pattern in an old Top Kids magazine that I thought would work, and jumped in.

I learnt a bit about fake/faux fur while doing this project which I thought I'd share with you in case you one day have to sew with this medium too. I have to admit I was nervous before I started.

THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT SEWING WITH FAKE FUR:

Expect the sewing room to look like you murdered a small furry animal in it.
Use a craft knife and cut single pieces from the back, then comb all fibres away from seam allowance prior to sewing, that way you won't cut the fur itself and not only is it tidier [see point 1] but you won't see your seam lines.
If you don't care about seeing the seams, use normal scissors - just make sure they're not your bestest most sharpest [or they won't be for long!].
Use a medium width zig zag for seams instead of straight stitches [it doesn't catch the fur as much].
The reverse side of fake fur can be a little scratchy. I lined this costume with satin so it felt lovely on.
Make the costume bigger than it needs to be so that all your children [even bigger ones] can try it on... they'll want to!
It's a very easy medium to work with - on this scale. Making something very small like a stuffed toy could prove more difficult.

I'll be using fake fur again, it was great fun to work with!

My gluten free journey so far

2010-08-20T22:07:00.000+10:00

A dear friend asked me for some advice last week about gluten free food for children. It took a little thought, and while pondering my answer, I thought about my gluten free journey so far, and realised how far I'd come.

A bit of history: my 7 year old daughter was diagnosed with coeliac disease 4 years ago. My MIL and SIL already had coeliac disease so I was aware of gluten free food to some extent, and had cooked some things gluten free for family gatherings. However nothing prepared me for the first shopping trip after my daughter's diagnosis. It seemed there was nothing that she could eat. And anything she could eat, was inedible, either because much of the gluten free food available in the shops is gross, or because she was 3 years old, and therefore a picky eater.

I joined the coeliac society, which was a help, spent a fortune on food, threw out every loaf of gluten free bread [read: brick] I made for nearly 6 months, and had to re-learn how to bake and cook. I spent a fortune on tupperware to colour-code my pantry [black lids are 'bad', red are safe for her], and obsessed about every meal.

Then we had to contend with kindy and school, and lunchboxes - SO much harder to find gluten free food that travels well and is still edible by lunch time. And THEN I got gestational diabetes while pregnant with my third daughter. And let me tell you, low-GI food and gluten-free food are almost poles apart. Now there was nothing I could eat. It was back to square one with meals and food obsessing... I typically made two or three different meals every night as anything my daughter could eat [potatoes, rice etc.] I could not. I am thankful the gestational diabetes ended with that pregnancy. And anyone out there who has both coeliac disease AND diabetes [the two illnesses are related] - I take my hat off to you!

I work really hard to make sure my daughter doesn't miss out on too much: I make fish & chips at home [yes I own a deep fryer], I'm always trying a new gluten-free challenge [eg. donuts, pancakes, dumplings] with mixed success. We have cupcakes in the school freezer so when there's a birthday cake she gets a treat too. When there's cooking at school I supply gluten free ingredients [I used to bake oval-shaped biscuits every Friday morning in prep until I found out they froze well!]. Mostly she's content, but occasionally she gets down and wishes she didn't have to eat gluten free food... my SIL said even as an adult she still has the occasional day like this.

Having a child with coeliac disease is difficult, stressful, and worrying. Each time she accidentally ingests gluten [it does happen] it is an ingestion of poison that has short-term issues, and long-term risks. However it is also a disease that is cured with a dietary change. Yes, a strict diet, but hey, it's not leukaemia or some other devastating illness. As a family we eat very little pre-prepared food so we eat a very healthy diet on the whole [though the countless cupcakes on my blog may imply otherwise].

Why am I telling you all of this? I guess I just want to share some of my experiences with others who may be in a similar situation, or who want to understand more about what it's like. Drop me a line sometime if you, too, have to deal with any of these issues... it's always good to share ideas!

Birthday Cakes - done for 2010!!

2010-08-19T21:28:00.013+10:00

Here are the birthday cakes [most of them] that I made for my 4 girls for their birthdays this year... they all chose their own [except Miss 1], and helped with the decorating for the most part. It's been a busy time! I'm hoping now I can concentrate more on my papercraft and sewing and less on cakes... until 2011.

My latest card day creations

2010-08-15T21:55:00.003+10:00

Here are the cards I did with the playgroup ladies at coffee and cards this week: the black and white card is a slightly different take on a father's day card - not your usual sailboats or tools. The sillouette card is a new stamp I wanted to try - simple but very effective. You can't tell in the photo, but I cut out and mounted a second set of the largest flowers on foam which gives the card a real 3D pop-out factor.

We had a lovely time on Wednesday, it was a great time-out for the busy mums.

DESIGN YOUR OWN FABRIC

2010-08-15T21:20:00.003+10:00

On my other blog, I've just posted about an amazing website where you can design your own fabric. I'm hoping my sister will check it out, as I have an idea for us to collaborate on.

ladybird cupcakes and icing roses

2010-08-13T23:38:00.005+10:00

Here are cupcakes I made for Miss 1 to celebrate her birthday yesterday with her playgroup friends. This is only a few - I actually made 4 dozen!! I wasn't planning on ladybirds, but when I looked in the cupboard and couldn't find anything more inspirational to decorate cakes with than chocolate chips, I was forced to be creative and think of something cute that suited a first birthday. This is the result.

Later in the day I decided to use the leftover icing to practice my buttercream roses. Here is the result:

If you look carefully [though the poor photography may prevent this I hope] you will see one of the roses is actually upside down, as it fell onto it's head as I was transferring it. Others are melting. And some look okay. Things I learned during this process:

1. the people who make this look easy on YouTube are VERY talented and well-practiced.

2. when the icing is warm from being handled it makes gooey, melty flowers that don't look like roses [Mr E thought one of them was a frangipani!].

3. making them and putting them straight in the fridge helps the above problem.

4. although roses are my favourite flower I've never looked that closely at how the petals are formed around each other, cause for the life of me I couldn't recall what a real rose looked like when I was trying to make one.

So this was a process that produced mixed feelings - because one or two were a success, it took a lot of practice and patience and honestly it was mostly an accident!

Oh, and if you eat 4 or 5 of these 'practice' roses in one sitting you feel a little queasy afterwards [experience talking].

Our Australian native garden

2010-08-09T20:04:00.007+10:00

Since moving house, and ripping out everything that was growing in our yard, I've discovered a new love: gardening. Unlike most [read: all] of my hobbies, gardening forces me to slow down, as you have to be patient to wait for the plants to actually grow. This is a very good thing for me. In fact, I'm finding it very relaxing.

On the converse, if I'm cranky and need to get rid of some frustration, or in need of exercise, I can grab out the maddock and rip into the ground and after a short time I'm no longer frustrated [mostly because I'm so puffed - I'm REALLY unfit!].

Over the last 3 months we've been digging out, planting and mulching the back corner of our yard. The plan is to grow up a tall lilly pilly hedge along the fence to screen next door's enormous shed, and when the other plants grow, it will be a bit like an informal maze, with the paths leading to the paved area Mr E has put in the back corner. We've used Australian natives, put in a dry creek bed [with plans for a small bridge over this for the girls]. Now that it's all mulched, it looks amazing.

And all that is left to do is wait...

Initially we were checking on the plants every single day [mostly to make sure none had died, as we don't know that much about gardening]. Our neighbours would have laughed if they'd heard us "Look, there's a new shoot on this one!" "I think this callistemon is growing!" "One leaf on the lemon myrtle has been chewed by something!".

It has been such fun to plan, execute, and COMPLETE this project. Good for the girls too, who all helped with various tasks. Now we're planning the rest of the garden... it's a very big yard, and we've ripped everything out, so it won't happen overnight. But we'll have a ball doing it. And hopefully by the end of the process we won't have killed too many plants and will be able to call ourselves gardeners!

What I was up to last week

2010-08-08T22:49:00.007+10:00

This is the birthday card I made for my MIL to go with the animal doorstops and fabric I mentioned last week. She received them in the post late last week and I'm happy to report she loved them.

I decided before I tackled anything else I needed to tidy my sewing room as every surface was covered [again]. In my tidying I uncovered a panel I'd forgotten all about for a soft book so I made that up:

And I rediscovered my UFO's - a very large tub full - and decided I must use one of them to learn to free motion quilt on my new machine. Here is my first attempt:

I've a lot more panels to quilt but if I remain consistent I should have it complete by the end of the week I hope! It took me ages to work out how to find the menu to set the machine up to quilt... it was actually quite easy to find, but I had no idea where to start! I'm hoping for many more hours in front of the machine this week!

Simple apron

2010-08-03T22:31:00.005+10:00

I finished off this apron for myself last night - I'm such a messy cook, I really need to wear aprons. This fabric is an upholstery grade fabric I picked up at IKEA before moving late last year.

It's a large rectangle, hemmed on all four sides, with the ties attached 8.5 cm below the top edge. I made the ties from scraps of red fabric I had lying around. I modified the idea from the apron in Kelly Doust's book 'The Crafty Minx.

Trialled the apron tonight - I was dubious, as it has no shape, but I just love it. Especially the fabric. So do my girls... they all want one "just like it".

Birthday gift completed

2010-08-01T23:01:00.004+10:00

My mother-in-law is a fabulous dressmaker so I bought her some fabric for her birthday. I also made these cute animals. She used to have some frogs and lizards filled with sand as doorstops, but over the years, with a lot of help from the grandchildren playing with them, they all 'died'. I made a platypus, lizard and frog. The larger frog on the left was made by Miss 7 today under my supervision.

Of course all four critters are a little 'flat' right now, but when filled with sand I think they'll be just right. The critters and fabric will be posted tomorrow. I hope she likes them.

Obedience

2010-07-30T15:47:00.003+10:00

I have a 3 year old. She's having trouble with obedience, particularly in obeying me. Any of you reading this who have or have had a 3 year old will understand that it's not been fun lately. The terrible twos are NOTHING compared with what happens when your child turns 3.

This is an example of a typical 'discussion':
ME "Miss 3 please go to the toilet before we go out."
MISS 3 "I don't want to."
ME "Please go to the toilet - we can't go until you do."
MISS 3 "No I don't want to."
ME "Miss 3 go to the toilet now! Otherwise you won't be coming."
MISS 3 [silence, she continues playing]
ME [voice raised] "I am going without you unless you go now!"
MISS 3 "But I don't need to."
ME "I don't care!"

At this point I'm really cranky, she is upset, I'm yelling as I walk to the car that I'm leaving without her, she's screaming that she doesn't want to be left behind, and THEN she does what she's told. Considering how often this scenario repeats itself during a typical day [sometimes it repeats in the same hour], I'm probably not dealing with it in the best way.

It's so frustrating, and as I took deep breaths trying to cool down after this scenario repeated for the third time today it suddenly occurred to me: just as Miss 3 disobeys me when she wants to exercise her will, I disobey the Lord when I choose to exercise my will, and not submit to His plan for my life. I do this a lot... disobey God, that is.

The first thing I did when I realised this was pray, and ask for forgiveness. The next thing I did was obey something He'd asked me to do a week ago. Tomorrow I'm going to remember my disobedience when I have to deal with Miss 3's. Hopefully this new perspective on the situation will help me deal with her and I will be able to teach her obedience, rather than react to her disobedience.

Fat quarter bag

2010-07-27T23:17:00.003+10:00

Miss 7's best friend is having a birthday tomorrow, which I found out about today! How wonderful to be able to slip into my sewing room tonight and make a gift for her. This bag is made from two fat quarters, one for the lining/straps and the other for the outer and pockets [one internal, one external]. It came together quite quickly, in fact I think I took more time planning how to go about it than I did actually sewing.

I have a few eco shopping bags cut out ready to sew together, and my MIL's birthday gift to finish off this week, then I think I'll tackle a zippered bag, so if I need to 'whip' one up again in a hurry I will be confident to do so. I couldn't get my head into gear tonight to work out a zip in the top of this bag.

I'm starting to understand my friend CraftyMummy's obsession with bags last year... it is a quick and satisfying project that is SO useful. I love making useful things, there's not enough sewing hours in my life to make things that are impractical!

School uniforms

2010-07-26T23:13:00.000+10:00

Over the past week I've been making school uniforms. Skorts, to be precise. They have to be woven, and the style of skort where you have a pair of shorts with a flap across the front to look like a wrap skirt. I have a toddler pattern which I've re-drafted to fit Miss 5 and Miss 7. So far I've made three pairs. They fit better than the ones I purchased at the start of the year. I guess this means I'll be sewing uniforms each year now too...

CARDS

2010-07-13T23:48:00.004+10:00

Here are the two cards I'm teaching at my card day tomorrow. I'm really enjoying finally using the stamps I've been collecting over the past year or two. I discovered Stampin Up about two years ago and have found it very satisfying to start and finish a papercraft project in one sitting [unlike my scrapbooking which is unending].

The first card is stamped then coloured with watercolour pencils and an aquawash pen. The second is stamped in two different colours.

WINTER WRAP SKIRT

2010-07-10T23:44:00.003+10:00

I have been working on a long wrap winter skirt for myself over the past week. It's been on my to do list since Autumn, so finishing by mid-July isn't too bad, I reckon. There was enough fabric left over to make a bias cut skirt for Miss 7 with an elastic waist. She wanted a long skirt "like yours". Tomorrow morning at church we'll match!! I've never made 'Mummy and Me' matching clothing before...

The wrap skirt is a pattern from the 70's that belonged to my Mum. I absolutely love it - the last skirt I made with this pattern I LIVE in. It's an A-line, very flattering, and I plan to wear it with long boots to keep my legs warm!

I'm really enjoying sewing clothing for myself again.

BIBS, BIBS, AND MORE BIBS

2010-07-06T00:11:00.003+10:00

It's funny how I had heaps of bibs for my first three children, but now fourth time around I struggle to find a clean bib at meal times! So inspired by LiER on her blog here I decided to make some new bibs for Miss 0. Here are tonight's efforts:

I printed LiER's pattern, and compared it to my favourite bib that fits Miss 0 really well. Then I altered the pattern to match our bib, and started cutting. I really enjoyed using some of the lovely fat quarters and other remnants I've accumulated in the past few months and had no idea how to use. I still need to topstitch most of these and attach the velcro, which I'll do tomorrow.
I think this bib-making could become addictive...

PS: No, this is NOT one of my projects on my To Do list on the right. I know, I know, I need to focus on them. But this was such FUN!

Our new babies

2010-07-04T23:18:00.002+10:00

Here are our new babies: 5 days old, and already almost twice as big as when we got them last Tuesday. We're planning a chicken coop to house laying hens, but couldn't resist buying them at one day old!

The kids think they're fantastic, and the chicks are getting used to being handled by us all. Problem is, it's winter here in Oz and too cold to put them outside while they're so little. So I have six little chicks living in my dining room in a box. When we get them out for a little run they poop EVERYWHERE so I'm glad I have a steam cleaner to disinfect my floor tiles!

FINISHED: character skirt

2010-07-04T23:12:00.002+10:00

Tonight I finally finished off Miss 7's ballet character skirt. I've been putting it off because it's a full circle, and the hemline is just over 4 metres around! I had to hem it, and sew 4 rows of ribbon around the hem. I sewed a LONG way tonight!!

It's a great feeling to get that monkey off my back!! If I keep my sewing momentum going like this and keep fuelling myself with chocolate I might get all my UFO's finished by the end of August!!

my first twirly skirt for this year

2010-07-03T23:06:00.003+10:00

I made this skirt tonight for a friend's grand-daughter. It's so difficult to find pretty 'little girl' clothes in the shops, and this is a little girl who loves to twirl. Although it's winter, she'll get lots of use out of it cause she wears leggings a lot. I'll make some new tiered skirts for my girls soon - so easy and so much fun to throw together!

Check out this previous post for my tutorial on how to make your own tiered twirly skirt.

Sewing fat quarter bags WITH the kids

2010-07-03T22:54:00.006+10:00

Today Miss 7 and Miss 5 wanted to do some sewing. They both wanted to design, sew, and finish a dress in an hour. I talked them into a bag each. I let them search through my fat quarters and find a fabric they loved, and another for lining. Then I got them to draw what they wanted while I frantically drafted a pattern in my head and cut out the pieces. Miss 7 started sewing her seams while Miss 5 and I decided on her bag design. It was frantic, interspersed with Miss 0 having filled her nappy and Miss 3 asking if she could use my scissors, my machine, my tailor's chalk, pretty much everything in sight. Poor thing heard 'no' a lot.

I think they did a great job. The photo doesn't do them justice. Miss 5's bag is the blue one, it has a curved gusset and a snap close hidden behind the big button. Miss 7's bag is upside down [oops] it is a rectangular bag with a flap closure [you can't see the flap cause I didn't notice till now I'm a very poor photographer]. Both bags are fully lined. While they were in the shower I fixed up a couple of Miss 5's wonky seams so it sat straight and put her lining in. Miss 7 did all hers by herself [I just told her where to sew and I did all the ironing].

The best part is, they feel they succeeded as the whole project was finished the same day we began [unlike many of my sewing projects]. They are planning to take them to church tomorrow morning. I just hope tomorrow afternoon they don't ask to sew again... I'm exhausted!!

How to buy fabric with young children

2010-07-02T23:38:00.002+10:00

I stumbled across this post from IKAT BAG and had a big giggle. If you've ever tried to buy fabric [or anything] with young children you should read this.

Everything Liah says is absolutely true. And I learnt the hard way to do all these things.

PECAN PIE

2010-06-30T10:50:00.004+10:00

Last night we had some bible study friends over for a meal. We shared the meal preparation [they did main, I did dessert] but I couldn't decide what to make, so I made lemon meringue pie, cupcakes, and pecan pie.

It's been ages since I made pecan pie, and I'd forgotten just how easy [and delicious] it is. Here is my recipe, modified from an Australian Women's Weekly cookbook recipe:

PECAN PIE

1 cup plain flour [I used gluten free - of course]
90g butter
2 tablespoons water, approximately

FILLING:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup golden syrup or glucose syrup
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
30g butter, melted
1 1/2 cups [the whiole 185g packet] pecans

Put flour and butter in food processor and process till it resembles fine breadcrumbs [or rub in butter by hand]. Add enough water to make ingredients cling together. Press dough into a ball, knead gently on floured surface until smooth.

Roll dough until large enough to line your pie dish/flan tin. Lift pastry into greased tin, trim edge. Blind bake in moderately hot oven 10 minutes, remove paper and weights, bake a further 10 mins. Allow to cool while you make the filling.

Combine all filling ingredients in bowl, mixing well. Pour into pastry case.

Bake in moderately slow oven 55 mins or until set. Cool.

This pie is delicious served with dollop cream.

Microwave Playdough

2010-06-28T19:36:00.002+10:00

I've been promising a few friends this recipe but keep forgetting to give it to them so I thought I'd post it here. WAY easier than stirring playdough on the stove!

MICROWAVE PLAYDOUGH

3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup salt
6 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 tablespoons oil
3 cups water
food colouring

Place all ingredients in large microwave safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Turn onto a hard surface and knead to finish.

Recent sewing projects

2010-06-25T22:14:00.007+10:00

Despite my family [and myself] having gastro during this month, I have managed to do some sewing lately. We had Under 8's day at school this week, to which the children come dressed up. Miss 3 wanted to go as Sleeping Beauty and this is her dress: Miss 5 wanted to be a Fairy Queen. She also wore white fairy wings and carried a wand:

Miss 7 chose Sleeping Beauty too. Actually, Miss 3 only decided on Sleeping Beauty when she heard that's what Miss 7 wanted to dress up as. I really enjoyed making the standing up collar. The back of this dress is laced with pink ribbon much like the front of the white fairy dress:

They looked beautiful on the girls, complete with tiaras. But I forgot to take a photo of them in the dresses. I had such fun sewing these dresses!

Mastering the cupcake swirl

2010-06-25T22:08:00.003+10:00

I've been practising at least once a week, and I think I'm finally happy with my cupcake swirls, both with fluted and smooth piping nozzles. In fact, I took cupcakes to playgroup yesterday and the girls thought they looked professional, so I'm happy.

Now to master the icing rose...

Another attempt at cake decorating

2010-06-09T22:56:00.001+10:00

Sunday night I made another batch of cupcakes and attempted to decorate them with buttercream. All I wanted to do was a large swirl on the top... but I was very disappointed with my attempt. Remembering my promise to show you my next attempt I took some photos.

After all swirls completed, I spread the swirls out cause I was unhappy with my swirls.

Then piped a mini swirl on top with a purchased flower to hide my untidy swirl ending.

In the end the photos make them look better than I thought they were in real life. Perhaps the cupcakes I see on the internet aren't as perfect as I thought. Or perhaps I'll keep practising...

Mum's coffee & card morning

2010-06-09T12:56:00.003+10:00

This morning I invited some of the Mums from my new playgroup over for morning tea & to make a card or two. They'd never stamped or made cards before so it was great fun showing them how easy it is. I am VERY thankful that Julie taught me so well, I learnt from her that having everything pre-cut and being prepared is the best way to go. The girls are keen to do it again another day, so I guess I'm running coffee & card mornings now!

QUICK GLUTEN FREE FRUIT CAKE

2010-06-08T19:58:00.003+10:00

I stumbled upon this recipe on Sunday by accident, and seeing we had spontaneous guests for afternoon tea [and very little in the pantry], thought I'd try it out on them. Wow. We managed to eat half the cake in one sitting, because I only cut up half, otherwise we would have kept going. The last piece went in a lunchbox this morning. So I'm about to go and make another one to prove to myself how simply wonderful this cake is. You can find the original recipe here, to which I've made some minor changes to ingredients and method.

I'm being honest with you here: 5-10 mins to measure and mix the ingredients, 15 mins to cook in the microwave. That's it.

QUICK GLUTEN FREE FRUIT CAKE
1 kg mixed fruit
2 tablespoons whisky or other alcohol [or orange juice or essence]
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon mixed spice
125g [4 oz] butter
4 eggs, beaten
440g [14oz] tin unsweetened crushed pineapple
1 teaspoon xanthan gum OR guar gum
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 cup bought gluten free flour OR 1/2 cup soy, 1/4 cup rice & 1/4 cup potato flour

Cook the fruit and liqueur on HIGH for 5 mins in the microwave. I used the large deep base of my tupperware stack cooker and also cooked the cake in it.

Add the butter and spices, and stir together till butter melts. Tip this mixture into a large mixing bowl and stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Line the dish with baking paper, pour in the cake batter, cook on HIGH for 15 minutes, elevating the dish while cooking, by sitting it on a small upturned saucer/plate [or the stack cooker lid].

Test with a skewer.

Allow the cake to cool before removing from the container. You can remove the baking paper, put the cake back in the dish it was cooked in, put the lid on and pop it in the fridge. It can be stored like that too.

If you are on the lookout for gluten free recipes do check out the above link. Allan has some great recipes there.

A new cupcake icing/filling

2010-06-06T21:36:00.000+10:00

Last night I made another batch of cupcakes. I am averaging two a week at the moment. Last weekend I was trying out my new cake decorating tips. This week I've been trying out a new icing/frosting I'd read about that sounded interesting. I've trialled it a couple of times now, and just use cornflour instead of standard flour to ensure it's gluten free. This icing is not sugary-sweet and doesn't have the grittiness of buttercream. I didn't realise how gritty buttercream is till I made this icing and buttercream on the same day and tasted them side by side. This is a soft, fluffy icing that I doubt you could pipe or decorate with. It is custard-like, and therefore probably won't freeze either. Mr E and I ate the leftover icing on spoons it was so yummy...

FROSTING

Ingredients:
· 2 tablespoons flour
· 3/4 cup milk
· 180g butter
· 3/4 cup caster sugar [that's right, NOT icing or powdered sugar]
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preparation:
In a saucepan add a small amount of the milk to flour then stir to make a smooth paste. Add remaining milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Cool.
Cream butter using electric mixer. Gradually add sugar; beat well. Add cooled milk mixture. Beat until light and fluffy, this takes 5-10 minutes but it's worth it. Add vanilla.

THE CRAFT ROOM

2010-06-05T20:20:00.004+10:00

One reason I've been unable/unmotivated to craft lately has been that, since the move, I haven't been able to get my room sorted. I've dreamed of my craft room for a loooong time, and eventually we'll probably build it in, but not until I get the design right! I tackled it again last week, and after a number of hours of sorting/tidying/moving furniture etc. I think I'm ready to sew. A good thing too, cause I have to make a character skirt, and a few other things asap.

My papercraft area is still needs a little work...