Sunday, May 31, 2009

giveaway madness

Wow....I am all tuckered out! I've just spent the last few hours entering a myriad of giveaways through the may giveaway day over at the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog.

Always one to leave things till the VERY last minute I had to restrict myself to Australian blogs only and only items I really wanted to win (only fair really).

Still managed to enter eleven giveaways from very talented Aussie ladies. What a great way to introduce your blog to a huge audience!


These are the giveaways I hope to win! I'll be using these links myself to go back and properly peruse these newly discovered blogs at my leisure.

badskirt
the art of indecision
bec clarke
blinking flights
buttontree lane
cute as buttons
jettas nest
lauren williams
pigeon pair
the princess and the monkey
sew much time, sew little fabric

enjoy and hope you win something!

Friday, May 29, 2009

Woohoo! x 3


I was very excited to receive my Snailblazer swap items yesterday. Ten beautifully made, unique gifts, made by other crafty persons from all over Australia. I have to say there was a very warm fuzzy feeling as I looked at all these little beauties! I really hope all my swap recipients were as pleased with their items as I was. My swap items included:

Thanks ladies!

And a special mention has to go out to Cass for organising the swap, wrapping each item individually, including a wotcha got list and mailing them all out in such a timely manner - thanks Cass :)

This was my first swap, so I've learnt a few things for the next time. Oh yes, there will definitely be a next time! One thing I learnt is that my VERY small fabric collection weighs quite heavily on the floral side. So in an attempt to rectify this I ordered some fabric from here. Mmmm, can't wait....

Number three on the Woohoo list, another book I ordered from here arrived - and I was pleasantly surprised to find a rather lovely little contribution from the craftroom's very own Belinda. Well I'll be!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

crafty goodness and cooking

Well a splendid evening was had by all the craftroom ladies last night. Everyone's WIP's looked great with projects ranging from crochet and knitting to embroidery and hand pieced hexagons, to the dearest little owl I've ever seen and even a doggy sock softy. We were all so busy chatting, laughing and creating that I believe not a single photo was taken!


There is always room for more crafty ladies, so if your able and willing to travel to the northern beaches once a month with a few Sundays thrown in for good measure pop on over to the craftroom for more info.


I really do enjoy cooking, the only setback is I am not very good at it as witnessed last night with my attempt at Caramel slice. When I tried to cut it, it was like cutting through rock. I then heated the knife with hot water to aid the cutting which then melted the layer of caramel :(




Needless to say it ended up as a totally unappetising mess (which I have to say tastes divine!)

This leads me to the previously mentioned topic of allergy friendly cooking.
Both my daughters have food allergies. They both have an allergy to nuts, my younger daughter is also allergic to dairy and eggs. This, as you can imagine somewhat restricts my choice of meal's to prepare for my family. And as any time poor mother will attest, quick and simple is best!

I like to prepare one meal which we can all share, and as my husband, oldest daughter and I do not share little miss B's fondness for soy milk I need to plan carefully. This has become second nature to me by now, and I have to say we have a very varied, rounded and tasty variety of meals.

So from time to time, I will share with you some of the recipes I use to cook food that is suitable and tasty for the whole family.

This pizza is a real winner. Quick, simple and tasty. I just use soy cheese on top for miss B, which you can buy from most supermarket's.


Easy Pizza Dough!



1 package dry yeast
3 cups sifted plain flour
1 cup of luke warm water (too hot or too cold will kill yeast)
3 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt

Dissolve yeast in water, add salt and olive oil. Mix in flour. When dough forms knead by hand and form into a large round ball. Place in a large bowl covered lightly and allow to rise for 2 hours in a warm place. Punch down and allow to rise again. Separate into two pieces. Roll out to form pizza bases, cover with favourite toppings and bake at 180C for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.


Voila!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Who's a lucky birthday girl



An allergy friendly birthday cake (more on that another time), baked by my husband....




handmade cards and flowers from our garden, from my very own lovely little sweetpeas....


and a special and very much anticipated delivery from our postie.
What more could a girl want!!
********
Just stumbled upon this giveaway and could not resist entering - a lovely pouch and a lovely blog!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

supporting Australian made

I went to Broadway Shopping Centre this morning to do a spot of birthday present shopping and I discovered a fabulous little shop called Pretty in Pink.

I love the fabric range used for the products and really love that the products are designed and made locally in Newtown.

I couldn't resist buying a little something for myself, as well as for a gift. This little purse with key chain is the perfect size for my mp3 player. Now I can carry it around in my handbag without it getting all tangled in everything!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

work in progress

I've been wanting to make a log cabin cushion for a looong time now, ever since I borrowed The Crafter's Companion from the library and the world of good crafting was revealed to me in all it's wonderous glory.

So the other day I was sitting on the lounge (as you do when your a SAHM) when the cushions caught my eye, and I realised how faded and tatty they were. And then shock horror I realised one had a tear in it! Well they would just have to be replaced.
This is what the new scatter cushions look like so far.....
Red and green is a favourite colour combination of mine. I've used exactly the same fabrics in both pieces, but put together in different ways. The one on the left starts off with the lighter fabrics in the centre, going out to the darkest and vice versa with the piece on the right.

I quilted it with white cotton, just using my standard sewing foot. I do have a walking foot but for the life of me I could not remember how to use it. The last time I had it out was about four years ago.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Just off the production line

Today I thought I'd share the things I finished making in the past few weeks.

First there was the Tinkerbell dress. I've been wanting to give shirring a go for a while now, and when my youngest daughter requested a Tinkerbell dress to go with her sister's Peter Pan outfit, I jumped at the chance to give it a go. I copied a little sun-dress my mother-in-law passed on to me (her youngest child is 25!).

Inspired by Corrie over at retromummy I made a crochet hook roll using some vintage fabric given to me by various relatives.
I am very happy with the end result, it is so much easier to find the correct size hook now!
I didn't follow a pattern, but one thing I learnt through trial and error while making this though, if you want to make a pocket big enough for larger/heavier items like scissors, make them at the opposite end to the ribbon used to tie it all up - otherwise your roll won't close neatly.



Last but not least, a sneek peak at the items I made for the Snailblazer swap. I'm soooo nervous. This is my very first swap, but I really, really wanted to get involved in the crafting community.
I guess you have to start somewhere, right?

Monday, May 18, 2009

perfect day

Well, after quite some time lurking on the outskirts of "blogville" and with some gentle nudging from the ladies from the Craft Room, I've finally got myself a Blog.

This Blog for me, will be a place to share my creative attempts with others out there who have inspired me and spurred me on. From thinking about creating again (after the blur of learning to be a stay at home mum) to actually doing it - picking up the crochet hook, pulling out the sewing machine, setting up the mosaic and leadlighting tools.

And in turn, hopefully inspire others along the way.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, spent with my wonderful husband and our two fantastic children.

The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in the sky. What should we do? Go to the park of course!
We enjoyed the beauty of our city,
and the girls were introduced to the joys of the merry-go-round!
So, thank you for visiting my Blog, I hope you enjoy it.