♥ Krafty Kuka ♥

pretty photos

2012-01-28T21:58:00.000+11:00

I've been playing a bit more with photoshop - this time with graphics-y kinds of things, like my new blog header.

And then there's these cute photo overlays from Pugly Pixel, which is a fabulous blog full of ace tips, tutorials and freebies for using photoshop.

Jinxy

Birthday cake & tea

Gorgeous stack of fat quarters I picked up this morning
There are loads more tricks at Pugly Pixel I can't wait to try out - expect to see a few more soon!!

xo

The muppets movie

2012-01-27T23:24:00.000+11:00

We went to see the muppets movie this afternoon - a birthday treat for the guy.

The movie was lots of fun, but the best bit might almost have been Amy Adam's amazing wardrobe!

Look at the sleeves on this dress:

And the colour in this outfit:

I think this was my favourite - the bodice is reasonably plain (with cute pintucks) but I just adore the flowers around the skirt!

I definitely wasn't the only one distracted by the wardrobe during the film - I came across a number of blog posts on the very same issue, which also have pics of the other outfits (I also love the blue and yellow one!) including here, here, and here. Gorgeous!

xo

In January I am reading...

2012-01-22T18:49:00.000+11:00

We're not having long 'school days' kind of summer holidays this year (quite the opposite actually - it's a very busy time at work, so I have spent most days this month doing at least some work at home) but I think my reading material this month does have a lazy summer holiday feel to it.

I've got a couple of books from previous months that I'm finishing up (I know - my attention span is appalling) beside that I'm reading...

The end/start of the year is such an inspiring time in blogland as people review projects past and plan for the year ahead. I've discovered loads of new (to me!) gorgeous blogs the last week or so - three of my favourites being:

Also inspiring in summer is all the amazing fruit and veg that's around.

I've been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of delicious produce overflow from friends - which has me dipping in and out of my Canberra Gardener and Sally Wise books as I plan both what I'd like have in my garden next season and how to preserve the excellent summer flavours in my fridge now!

xo

***
What's on your summer holiday (or cosy inside by the fire for our northern hemisphere friends!) reading list? Join in with our bloggy book club by letting us know in the comments. Remember to leave a link if you post your current reads on your blog too!

zucchinipalooza

2012-01-09T21:34:00.004+11:00

I've been lucky enough over the last few weeks to get my hands on some gorgeous home grown produce - rhubarb and eggs, and now some amazing enormous yellow zucchinis! (Very exciting, since both my plants appear to be duds - loads of flowers but no fruit =( strawberries about the same!)

So far from my 2.5kg of zukes I've made zucchini slice (nice, but I think I'd prefer half tasty/half Parmesan cheese), zucchini pickle (I think I've mentioned before how much I love Sally Wise?!) and of course you simply can't have a zucchinipalooza without at least one batch of zucchini fritters!

I went with a recipe that has feta in it - and added some peas and corn to the mix. These were a pretty big weekend lunch hit!

I'm still planning to try this zucchini bread and/or these zucchini & carrot muffins - unless someone has a different recipe I should try?

xo

Cheesecake ice-cream

2012-01-03T22:08:00.004+11:00

I haven't used the ice-cream maker for ages, but I busted it out and dusted it off to make dessert for our New Years Eve dinner.

I had a real hankering for cheesecake ice-cream, and after looking around the net a bit I decided on this recipe.

I tweaked it a bit - I used 2 full packs of creamcheese (the recipe asks for 1.5, but I didn't want the half pack leftover). I also folded through a few tablespoons of my delish strawberry and rhubarb jam when I added the biscuit crumbs.

And no special dessert would be complete without sprinkles - I went with the hearts, but edible glitter would have been perfection for NYE, no? I must keep an eye out for some!

Next time (and there will be a next time - it is amazing) I'll half the recipe - this made LOADS.
Did I mention that I love it?

xo

photoshopping

2012-01-02T22:35:00.010+11:00

This week I treated myself to photoshop elements. I'm a complete beginner, but over the last day or so have had a lot of fun playing and figuring out how some of the bits and pieces work. It has mostly been trial, error, and some online tutorials (although I found most of them assume basic knowledge beyond what I had) - here's a look at some of the shots so far...

Mum's new kitten, Topsy Button

before:

after:

Postboxes in Denmark (taken on our holiday last year)

before:

after:

I've made a set on flickr here I'm saving shots I have been playing with, if anyone's interested.
Like I said, I'm a total novice, so would love any tips on using photoshop elements, or where to go for good tutorials! =)

xo

Same procedure as last year?

2012-01-01T00:00:00.002+11:00

Godt Nytår =)

xo

Packing up Christmas

2011-12-31T21:28:00.006+11:00

We arrived home on Wednesday evening, and since Thursday I've been slowly packing away all our Christmassy bits and pieces.

I have quite a few new things this years, thanks to the post-Chrismas sales we were in Denmark for last year! I was especially keen to pick up a few 'nisse' ornaments, since they are hard to come by here - these are two of my new favourites...

As you can see nisser are helpful guys, doing little jobs around the house like peeling potatoes, and are often pictured hanging out with piggies (which are also a symbol of Christmas in Denmark). In any case they are jolly little fellows, and I think I'll have to find an online source so I can pick out a new one each year!

Speaking of Christmassy loveliness, I just wanted to say a huge thanks to Car for hosting the advent blog-a-long, and to everyone else who took part - it was really lovely to see what everyone gets up to in preparation for Christmas, and I just love hearing about other people's traditions, so thank you all for sharing!

And thanks to all of you for stopping by my blog during the year!
See you in the new year!

xo

Gingerbread house

2011-12-27T15:10:00.005+11:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe Christmas!

I gave a little sneak peek of my gingerbread house last week - here's the finished product...

I used Wilton's Gingerbread house mold pan for all the gingerbread pieces, and stuck it together with white chocolate, and decorated with white icing and all kinds of sprinkles.
The pan was really effective - all those details are baked into the pieces, making the decorating very easy.

Let me know if you made a gingerbread house this year too - i would love to see!

xo

24 :: let it snow

2011-12-24T23:33:00.003+11:00

I didn't think it could get any better than Kurt and Blaine's performance of Baby It's Cold Outside last year, but this year's number is pretty adorable

Love the dancing!

xo

23 :: in December I am reading...

2011-12-23T12:54:00.003+11:00

I said I would read it last year - but this year I really will!
In December I'm getting Dickens-Christmassy with my reading - A Christmas Carol and Christmas Ghosts are both on my list!

Of course, I've also been reading about a zillion foody/crafty Christmassy magazines, and have some end of year tabloid trash on hand for the road trip too!

xo

***
Is your reading list festive in December as well? Join in with our bloggy book club by letting us know in the comments. Remember to leave a link if you post your current reads on your blog too!

22 :: a wrap

2011-12-22T23:49:00.000+11:00

Pressies are ALL wrapped - I think we're just about ready for Christmas!

xo

21 :: movies

2011-12-21T22:54:00.004+11:00

Over the past week or so we've been watching our favourite Christmassy films - we have quite a few things on dvd, but there are three at the top of the list that we just have to watch every year:

The Muppet Christmas Carol - light the lamp, not the rat!
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Elf

Today we popped into the local cinema to see Arthur Christmas.
It was wonderful - very funny and clever!

It will definitely be added to our favourites list!

Is there anything you just can't have Christmas without seeing?

xo

This year I'm advent blog-a-longing - check out what cool things the other blog-a-longers are up to here

20 :: gingerbread (part 2)

2011-12-20T23:51:00.001+11:00

We had a bit of a gingerbread baking & decorating session here this morning - here are the results...

The houses and the reindeer are my favourites - I think there might be another batch of those in me before the end of the week!

xo

19 :: stencils

2011-12-19T23:43:00.000+11:00

I came across this website full of cute Christmassy stencils last week - just the thing for some festive freezer papering!

Today was my last day in the office for the year, so I'm hoping to be able to wrap up a couple more Christmassy bits and pieces this week!

xo

18 :: stocking

2011-12-18T23:48:00.000+11:00

I love these stockings - everyone in my family has one, and I've had mine as long as I can remember.
They're also a lot of fun to make - the perfect excuse to bust out those cute Christmassy prints that I just can't resist buying!

This was the second stocking I've made as a gift for friends (the first was 3 years ago), and I hope their little one will love it too!

xo

17 :: busy b

2011-12-17T23:17:00.000+11:00

I been super busy all over the place today with festive bits and bobs...

like testing out my new gingerbread house pan

prepping strawberries for jam

and playing some more with my Christmassy fabric

Don't forget to check out what the other busy advent blog-a-longers are up to!

xo

16 :: inviting

2011-12-16T23:11:00.001+11:00

Tonight a sneak peek at the invites I made for this year's treat swap party, using the dala stamp from this post (which is carved from an eraser based on this free embroidery pattern)

I think they turned out pretty cute - and the dala & hearts fit my Scandi red & white theme nicely! =)

xo

15 :: treat

2011-12-15T23:48:00.003+11:00

It's such a treat to have gorgeous fun friends to celebrate the festive season with...

The lovely sweet things they brought with them are just an extra bonus!

xo

the other advent blog-a-longers are lovely and sweet too - see what they've been up to here

14 :: placemats

2011-12-14T23:40:00.002+11:00

I showed a sneak peek of these Christmassy placemats a couple of weeks ago.
They're pretty wonky, but cute still (at least I think so!)

The design is very much inspired by these Halloween placemats made by Nana Company, based on a tutorial from ever kelly.

Right now they are somewhere between here and their new home - I hope they make it soon!

xo

13 :: cards

2011-12-13T22:56:00.001+11:00

When it came to picking out Christmas cards this year I couldn't go past these gorgeous Belle and Boo cards from Lark

So cute I had to keep one of each for myself!

xo

12 :: gingerbread (part 1)

2011-12-12T22:16:00.001+11:00

Tonight I've been cutting and baking and packaging a mini gingerbread house kit for my boss, who is getting her Christmassy treat early this year since it might come in handy for a weekend with her grandkids.

The recipe is from Gourmet Traveller - it is tasty but it had too much spread on baking, I think.
I have a different dough resting in the fridge overnight to try out tomorrow =)

xo

have you been to see the other advent blog-a-longers yet?

11 :: vanillekranse

2011-12-11T23:02:00.007+11:00

When I looked back through my blog archives over the weekend to see which vanillekranse recipe I generally use I was really surprised to see I have never shared one!

Vanillekranse (literally vanilla wreathes) are one of the most typical Danish Christmas biscuits - tins of Danish butter cookies you get at Christmas always have one of these doughnut shaped biscuits.

Here's my favourite (and long overdue!) recipe (from an old copy of Hjemmet magazine):

Ingredients
250g flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 vanilla bean (or you can use 2 tsp of vanilla sugar - I prefer to use the bean though, since I think the tiny black seeds look so nice through the pale vanillekranse!)
75g blanched almonds (chopped pretty finely)
125g butter
125g sugar (I use caster sugar)
1 egg

Combine flour, salt, seeds from the vanilla bean and almonds.
Rub in/cut through butter until mixture looks like breadcrumbs (I made mine in the food processor and just pulsed until it was breadcrumby).
Add sugar and egg and mix to a dough.

At this point the dough would traditionally be chilled overnight and then put through a meat mincer with a star shaped fitting (like a piping bag) into a long thin sausage. The 'sausage' is then cut into smaller lengths which are shaped into wreathes and baked.

Unfortunately, I haven't managed to get my hands on the right kind of mincer (yet), so I leave the dough overnight, then roll it by hand. I'm not sure whether the overnight chilling is really essential - to roll the dough by hand you have to get it out to soften anyway - but I do it just in case it lets the vanilla infuse for more flavour or something.

Bake your vanillekranse at 200 degrees for 7-8 minutes - ideally they should have only the tiniest tinge of colour, but I think they're pretty forgiving if you go a bit over.

Enjoy! =)

xo

10 :: stamp

2011-12-10T23:56:00.002+11:00

Two kinds of stamps hanging about here today as I sent off some handmade cards

Lovely Christmas tree and pressie 'card only' stamps from Australia post, and the new dala eraser stamp I carved last week - I think its pretty cute.

xo

9 :: magazine love

2011-12-09T22:02:00.007+11:00

It's no secret I'm a big sucker for a magazine - and at Christmas time all the covers are so gorgeous it's even harder to say no!
Here are some of my favourite...

Mollie Makes
You had me at Scandinavian style!

donna hay
Look at those biscuits! So pretty!

Gourmet Traveller
yes I have gingerbread problem... I'll let you know how the recipe turns out

I'm happy to take suggestions - what else should I be reading?

xo

I'm enjoying being part of the advent-blog-a-long - check out what the other a-longers are up to here!

8 :: crackhearts

2011-12-08T22:58:00.003+11:00

I posted about crackstars last week (and Michelle did today!) - but this week it is all about the crackhearts...

xo

check out more Christmas crack with the other advent-a-longers here!

7 :: farm animal quilt

2011-12-07T23:15:00.010+11:00

It has been a long time in the making, but last week I finally got to give my farm animal baby quilt to my friends' dear little girl (she's only 6 months - so that's not too bad, right?!)

The pattern is the Country Time quilt, from Alicia Paulson's Embroidery Companion. I did swap out two of the animals - I popped in a cat and a dog in place of the pattern's sheep and rooster.

The print blocks are all cottons from my stash, and I used bamboo batting. I did some hand quilting on it - there are 6 blocks that are quilted with an embroidery floss running stitch around the edge.

I think it turned out pretty cute!
The embroidery patterns were really fun to stitch up, and it is always nice to play with pretty fabrics from the stash!

I really hope little miss will love it as much as I loved putting it together for her!

xo

6 :: Sinterklaas

2011-12-06T21:56:00.005+11:00

Ever since the year I spent in the Netherlands, December 5/6 are for Sinterklaas and pepernoten!

The pepernoten recipe I use is a Dutch one - it is a super cute handout that a toy shop was giving away, and I love it!
I have blogged the recipe before - you can find it here.

I have a colleague of Dutch decent, and since I had it on good authority that she's been mostly well behaved this past year I gave Sinterklaas a hand to make sure a package of pepernoten was waiting on her desk when she arrived this morning =)

xo

5 :: hand stitching

2011-12-05T22:27:00.000+11:00

I'm racing to finish up a couple of projects I want to pop in the post (although I'm about 97% sure I'm too late!).

I was going to applique felt letters on, but I think I like the much embroidery better.

xo

4 :: adventskranse

2011-12-04T22:47:00.005+11:00

I guess since I've already confessed that stir-up Sunday snuck up on me this year (I finally made my puddings today!) it would be no surprise that the first Sunday of Advent also saw me not quite ready with one of my favourite (non-food!) Scandi Christmas traditions - the adventskrans!

Adventskrans literally means Advent wreath, and is a decoration with 4 candles - one for each Sunday in Advent.

don't mind that wonky candle at the back there - I found the trusty blu-tack right after I took this!

This year is the first year that my adventskrans has been in the shape of a 'krans' - I picked up this pretty star candle holder at Bed Bath and Table a few weeks ago, and it is just perfect. Previously I've used the tealight candles in jars like in the picture in this post - which I still love.

There are some really lovely ideas for adventskranse around - some of the ones in this blog post are super pretty, and the one Suzy had last year is one of my favourites ever!
If you've made an adventskrans let me know in the comments I'd love to see (it's never to early to collect inspiration for next year ;o))!

x

don't forget to pop over here if you'd like to check out what the other advent blog-a-longers are up to!

3 :: can't talk...

2011-12-03T23:55:00.002+11:00

...busy cutting fabric =)

xo

2 :: crackstars

2011-12-02T22:53:00.004+11:00

I'm not really sure what these are called - around the internets I've seen them called moravian stars, froebel stars or German stars, and I like the Danish flettede stjerner (natch) - but here we've taken to calling them crackstars as they seem to be just a touch addictive to make.

Tonight I had a friend over for a gingerbread fuelled folding session.

I'm going with mostly traditional red and white, but I also cracked open some of the special papers I bought in Denmark last year - lovely foily silver strips and also these pretty ones with text and patterns printed on them.

If you're interested in making some crackstars of your own there is a great pdf instruction sheet here, and also lots of videos like the ones on this page to help you out.
I bought star paper (you need four long strips of paper for each star) from Starcrosses on Etsy, and whilst I haven't shopped there I have also noticed the Starcraft also has a good range of colours of paper, in a couple of different sizes.

If you do try your hand at star folding I'd love to hear how youu go!

xo

1 :: advent

2011-12-01T21:54:00.006+11:00

Still no Christmas pudding around these parts (totes missed stir-up Sunday this year!) but I am ready for advent with a calendar (or two!)

I have bought some beautiful calendars from the advent calendar lady (not her real name) at the Scandi Christmas Bazaar over the past few years, and the one I picked up last weekend (I went along with Suzy - we had a lovely time!) is no exception! I just adore these old fashioned glittered wintry Christmas market scenes - much nicer than the chocolatey ones in most of the shops I think!

I also picked up an advent Christmas card for one of my sisters - spookily enough the day after I posted hers off one arrived for me from her! (Is that not some impressive sisterly psychic connection?)

In case that isn't enough adventy-goodness, after seeing some of my friends are playing along, I've also signed up for Car's Advent Blog-A-Long! I'll be trying to blog a little something (probably mostly Christmassy, but sometimes not) each day in the lead up to Christmas. I think this could be a fun way of recording for myself what we do here across busy December, as well as sharing Christmassy goings on with my bloggy friends. I can't wait to see what everyone else gets up to - I love to hear about others' traditions for celebrating - if you're interested you can see the list of participants, or even sign up to play along too - here.

Happy advent peeps!

xo

more baprons

2011-11-30T22:52:00.004+11:00

I made some of these baprons for a friend's baby shower a little while ago, and they are just so cute, and the pattern is so clever, that when I needed another baby pressie this week it was the first pattern I thought of!

The tutorial, including the free pattern, is from Craftyness is not Optional.

I think I might have to make some Christmassy ones next.

xo

bun bo xao

2011-11-29T21:55:00.004+11:00

Vietnamese 'bun' (vermicelli noodle salad) is one of my favourite meals - I go to my favourite Vietnamese cafe at least twice a week for a lunch time hit.
With the cool noodles, and loads of fresh herbs, it's just the kind of refreshing dish that is perfect for summertime dinner.
Tonight I finally got around to trying my hand at whipping it up at home.

I used this recipe, which Luke Nguyen shared on SBS' Food Safari.

It was DELICIOUS!

We'll use the leftovers for making rice paper rolls tomorrow.
mmmmm

xo

i heart gingerbread!

2011-11-28T21:44:00.007+11:00

There's been a lot of gingerbreading around these parts lately, and the latest recipe I tried out was a cracker so I had to share!

I've got LOADS of recipes squirrelled away to try out - the key criteria when I was picking one out last weekend was that it had to be melt and mix since my hand mixers are out of action (!) so there was no chance of a proper butter/sugar creaming.

The recipe is based on this one, but I changed it up a bit with spices and molasses (which I found tricky to get my hands on, but SO worth it!).

The biscuits are lovely and crisp, and taste a lot like traditional Danish brunkager (which makes sense, since now I look at the brunkager recipe they are really very similar.)

Here's the recipe =)

1. Set your oven to 170C

2. In a saucepan melt:

125g unsalted butter
100g dark brown sugar
4 tbsp molasses

3. In a largish bowl mix together:

325g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt

And maybe a teeny sprinkling of allspice and nutmeg, just if it's handy - (I should be more careful to write down what I do when I'm sprinkling willy-nilly!)

4. Let the butter/sugar/molasses mix cool, then add to the dry ingredients and mix into a dough. I found the dough quite oily - maybe the butter and molasses didn't mix or something?

5. Roll thinish (don't worry too much - mine varied between probably about 3mm and 6mm, and all of them worked out fine - just roll them as thinly as you think you'd like) and cut out.

6. Bake, in batches, for 9-10 minutes until light golden brown.

7. Enjoy! =)

xo

sunday crafternoon

2011-11-20T20:20:00.008+11:00

It was a lovely rainy cool day here - perfect for

pinning

sewing

and a spot of embroidery/hand quilting

Hi blogger - why so sideways?

My Country Time quilt is now really ever so very close to being finished!

creative space :: brown owls prep

2011-11-17T10:54:00.000+11:00

This week I've been practising in preparation for this month's Brown Owls meeting - we're making Christmassy decos - including

paper stars (sometimes called german or moravian stars)

And woven paper hearts (flettede julehjerter)

These are so simple and pretty (and scandi!) - I can't wait for Brown Owls on Saturday - I hope all my Canberra Owls friends will be able to make it!! =)

Check out more creative spaces here!

xo

creative spaces :: this and that

2011-11-10T11:00:00.001+11:00

Trying to squeeze as much craftyness as I can out of November, so I have a couple of things on the go this week!
Like more of this

And these - for reals this time (I know, I've said it before - this time I really mean it!!)

More of this week's creative spaces over here!

In November I am reading...

2011-11-08T22:07:00.001+11:00

A bus trip to Sydney is the perfect opportunity to get some serious reading done, so you can imagine how impressed I was on Saturday morning to discover I had left my current novel on my desk at work! Whilst we seem to have about eleventy billion books here it was super hard find something to take in it's place - it had to be soft cover, long enough to last the trip in both directions, not too long so I can get back to my other book soon, not scary, and so on.

Eventually, under the advice of the guy, I decided on Truth - a crime novel set in Melbourne by Australian author Peter Temple. I'm finding it fairly blokey, but compelling - I'll definitely be reading it all the way through, and probably checking out some of Temple's other books too!

***

What are you reading this month? Let us know in the comments, or leave a link if you post on your blog, to let every one know what you're up to and join our bloggy book club for November!!

Enjoy your reading!

xo

Sydney weekender

2011-11-07T17:31:00.005+11:00

We went on a little road trip to Sydney on the weekend to see An Ideal Husband at the Genesian Theatre.

We had lovely weather - and Sydney was beautifully purple with Jacaranda trees in full flower - like this one outside Town Hall (or go here for a much better picture than the one I took on my iPhone while crossing the road!!!)

It was a quick trip (we caught the bus there on Saturday arvo, and home Sunday lunchtime), but as well as the play we did manage to squeeze in a few things - like shopping at Kinokuniya, and onion rings at I'm Angus at Cockle Bay Wharf (the food, and the service, were fabulous!).

We had excellent eggs for breakfast at the cafe in our hotel this morning, and since we were staying on Pitt Street it would have been rude not to pick up some take-aways from Cupcakes on Pitt to bring home on the bus - cupcakes AND macarons!! =)

For the record, I didn't think the macarons were quite as good as the ones I got in the Royal Arcade when I was in Melbourne, but the packaging is super lovely.

This was my third trip for the week (after a day trip to IKEA last Saturday, and an overnight to Melbourne for work on Monday) - so I'm looking forward to taking it easy at home this week, and maybe even getting some crafty things going!

x

pony week

2011-11-06T22:01:00.004+11:00

You know I love an excuse for a theme-y outfit, and with last month's Brown Owls having well and truly re-awakened my freezer paper stencil love affair, I could resist whipping up this outfit for one of my favourite little girls to wear on Melbourne Cup Day.

The t-shirt came from Target (those puffy sleeves are so cute!),and the pony stencil I found somewhere on the internet (I think I just googled horse stencil?)

The skirt is a super simple elastic waisted one - I roughly followed this tutorial by Dana at Made. I had the fabric, and just exactly the right shade of purple ric rac in my stash =)

Brown Owls :: freezer paper stencils

2011-10-23T22:05:00.005+11:00

Freezer paper stencilling is one of my very favourite things I have had the chance to try out through Brown Owls - the results are always amazing!

Today was gorgeous sunny weather - perfect for laying our work out to dry

I took inspiration from here, and used the this free pattern, to print some calico...

...which will eventually become napkins with the help of this tutorial.

Ooh I love the internets! =)

xo

In October I am reading...

2011-10-17T15:13:00.007+11:00

I'm sticking with the Corinna Chapman series in my novel reading again this month - I'm up to the third in the series, Devil's Food

I'm also doing loads of crafty book reading - on her visit last month Mum brought along her pattern books for quilts using jelly rolls and charm packs and all those other lovely precuts, and we did a bit of looking around at the ranges moda have out at the moment and now I am a bit obsessed!

So on my bedside table this month I also have these two gems:

Jelly Roll Quilts

Simplify

***

What are you reading this month? Leave a comment, or a link if you post on your blog, to let every one know what you're up to and join our bloggy book club for October!!

Enjoy your reading!

xo

a new spotty dress!

2011-10-16T15:12:00.007+11:00

I've been super busy the past couple of weeks - both at work and with lots of crafty bits and pieces at home too!

On Friday night I did the most part of the sewing on a new dress to wear to our friends' wedding, which was yesterday (there's nothing like a deadline to get me sewing!).

This isn't the most flattering pic of me or of the dress (the bloke scrubs up alright though! =)), but it was the only one I got that shows the full dress! (bad blogger, I know!)

The fabric, I am almost positive, is cotton - its silky and kind of shiny, and so very crushable (just putting on my seat belt in the car ruined my front pleats!) but it was gorgeous to wear! I have another good length in the opposite colours - yellow with turquoise (it's just a bit greener in real life than it looks in this pic) spots - which I picked up for $5 a metre and that might just also end up as a dress!

I used a bit of a mash-up of two patterns - with quite a bit of creative drafting! I wanted the same skirt as my other spotty dress (simplicity 2886) it does have pockets, after all!!) but, inspired by Michelle's gorgeous tea dress, I wanted a bodice with pleats at the neckline, and then gathers under the bust for shape.

I found a pattern with the bodice details I wanted (New Look 6966), but when I got it home I found it only went up to a size 16 (I generally need a 16 or 18) - and after measuring the pattern pieces and comparing to my own measurements I could see it was going to just be a smidge to small. So I had to add a sizing-up to the FBA I would usually do! I mostly did this just by comparing the pieces to the corresponding pieces from simplicity 2886 - which was actually really helpful for putting the two together, because it meant that the skirt and bodice fitted together perfectly.

I learned a lot from this project - mostly that with the help of online tutorials and my Cal Patch book I can add whatever details I like to any basic pattern I have. In this case I actually did the sizing and FBA on the bodice lining piece which doesn't have pleats, then used a 'slash and spread' method to add the pleats in - of course the gathering across the bust made it very 'forgiving', but it was still exciting to see that I could draft these details into the patterns myself, and that they would work out!

It was really helpful with all the tweaking I did to the pattern to work with a (kind of) muslin before I cut into my lovely fabric. Really it was more of a 'practice' dress - I did a lot of the drafting with tissue paper, a pencil and my french curve and ruler - but I also did quite a lot of basting, trying on, tweaking, unpicking and resewing. Each change that I made I transferred back to my paper pattern so I have it for later, and - best of all - I have not one by two lovely new summer sun dresses! (and both with pockets!!!) =)

In the end it turned out just a teeny bit to big in the bodice, but overall I think it pretty lovely (even if I do say so myself! haha) - it did get lots of lovely compliments at the wedding yesterday!

in September I am reading...

2011-09-25T18:54:00.006+10:00

eeeep, I feel like I'm squeaking my September reads in just in time - I know it's such a boring thing to say, but I can't believe next week is October!

Anyway, a bonus to having been home sick last Monday was that I spent the morning in the lovely spring sunshine with Jinxy finishing Earthly Delights, and over the past few days have started in the second book in the series -Heavenly Pleasures (they're actually about food, fyi!)

I've also been reading the latest Mollie Makes admiring my two newest sewing books - Fabric for Fashion, and its bff Fabric for Fashion The Swatch Book - which all arrived in the post during the week. (Tilly wrote a great review of the Swatch book here, if you're interested!)

***

I'd love to hear what everyone else is reading this month! Leave a comment, or a link if you post on your blog, to let every one know what you're up to and join our bloggy book club for September!!

Enjoy your reading!!

xo

creative space :: country square

2011-09-22T22:04:00.004+10:00

This week is all about trying to make progress on some lovely quilty things (UQTs) I have hanging about here.

This evening I finished cutting the squares for my Country Time Quilt...

The selection of the prints for the quilt was pretty random - I just raided my stash (mostly from my fat quarter collection) and pulled out 30 of my favourites, trying to be a bit balanced with the colours (blue is obviously my favourite! I swapped a few bluey prints out, but still ended up with 10 out of the 30!)

I'm hoping to get these sewn up with my 6 embroidery squares over the weekend so that I can get on to putting it together with the batting and backing, and of course the best bit - giving it to my friends' gorgeous baby girl!

Pop over to our creative spaces to check out more creative goings on this week! =)

xo

whisked

2011-09-21T20:41:00.005+10:00

I made this little play kitchen utensil set for little E's birthday present last week , and I think it's pretty cute!

These are bits from two patterns from Ume Crafts (on Etsy, natch) - the cookies and the cupcakes

Lots of fun - I'm pretty sure I'll make the other bits from these sets too!

xo

UQT week

2011-09-19T17:38:00.004+10:00

After a week of birthday crafting, this week I've decided to dedicate my crafty time to quilting - mum is coming to visit next week, and there are a couple of unfinished quilt tops (UQTs!) kicking around here that I would like to have finished by then in case I need a hand with the next step of basting etc.

This lovely autumny one only needs borders added, and of course there is the country time baby quilt I have been working on pretty much all year - all the embroidery is done, it just needs the other blocks cut and sewing up!

Stay tuned!

xo

3 :: project sizzles

2011-09-18T22:44:00.004+10:00

Today was little E's 3rd birthday party, and I was very honoured to be making her birthday cake!

I have to say, I LOVE doing kids birthday cakes, not that I have done that many, of course, but I just think it is so much fun! I've talked before about how much I love Women's Weekly birthday cake book and I think after all the time my sisters and I used to spend looking at all those lovely cakes it's very exciting to have the opportunity to make something just as nice!!

Last year's cake was Dorothy the Dinosaur and the year before that the Hungry Caterpillar.

The current favourite is Charlie and Lola, so this year's cake had to be Sizzles! =)

Sizzles is two layers of vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream icing and was pretty delish (even if I do say so myself ;o)) .

The party was lovely - with bubbles and cake and a sausage sizzle, and swings...

this little guy is a friend of Suzy's

A perfect was to spend a gorgeous sunny spring Sunday morning!

xo

more bibs

2011-09-10T21:11:00.000+10:00

These four were sewed up last night/this morning and gifted at a baby shower this afternoon.

1. dotty bapron, 2. bear fold-up bib, 3. purple fold-up bib, 4. berry bapron

Apologies for the pics - of course I finished these up about 15 minutes after we were supposed to have left the house, so I snapped them on my lap in the car with my i-phone!

The baprons especially were a hit at the shower - I used this free pattern from craftiness is not optional. I made my own bias binding for the strawberry bapron - making the binding actually took longer than sewing it up! I do love how it looks though - definitely worth it, I think!

For the fold-up-and-snap bibs I used this same free pattern that I have blogged a couple of time already.

We have a colleague due to go on mat leave next week so I'm planning to whip up a couple more tonight for her =)xo

creative space :: bibbing

2011-09-08T11:00:00.000+10:00

I have LOADS of plans on my crafty plate for September - including cakes, quilts, a new dress and a couple of new baby presents too.I'm trying to get something crafty done each night (after spending every evening of last week watching the Borgias, which I adored and which had me so enthralled I couldn't manage any multi-tasking)

Earlier in the week I cut out a bunch of backing pieces for bibs like this one - I have also picked up some flanelette for some of these baprons - tres cute!Check out more craftiness over at Our Creative Spacesxo

Melbourne weekend

2011-09-07T22:28:00.000+10:00

It's been a wee bit mad around here lately - we've had a sick kitty (she's fine - just naughty, really!) and - this weekend - water coming up through the drains in the bathroom (just from the washing machine, thank goodness!) Luckily we also had a fabtastic weekend in Melbourne in between to keep us sane! =)

There was footy (natch) and victory drinks - both our teams won (yay!) - and lunch with family and icecream in the sunshine

There was lovely food and evening walks along the yarra and breakfast at federation square and a tram rides!

We also had the most fun you could ever have buying jeans - Dejour jeans in Brunswick - $40 a pair, and worth it just for the entertainment!
The store motto is "Good Jeans. $40. We make them fit. For free. You go on hot date". Do check them out if you have the chance! =)

more pics from our weekend here =)xo

you know me...

2011-09-05T21:41:00.000+10:00

image from here

well, not quite - but I'll be back soon!

bibbed

2011-08-24T20:01:00.006+10:00

I haven't dusted off the sewing machine for ages, so it was lovely to sit down one evening this week, and sew up something super cute for a friend!

I used this tutorial from Made by Rae - which includes drafting up your own pattern. It was really easy, and (I think) turned out pretty great! =)
As you can see in the pic there, it has a fold up pocket that fastens with snaps to catch crumbs, then unfolds for washing - very clever.

I love this fabric! The colours in this second photo are much better (just ignore the cat hair!) - those puppies are just so cute! I don't have many 'boy' fabrics in my stash - this one was a fluke find on the $5/metre table at my local quilt shop!

Like I said, this was so easy to make - I'm waiting on some feedback from my friend on this one, and then I think I'll probably make about a bajillion of these for presents, since it seems like just about everyone I know has/is having a baby - and I think these will be great presents!

xo

the secret

2011-08-23T16:58:00.003+10:00

I have never been happy with the icing swirls I've been able to achieve on my cupcakes - they always just looked like, well, icing perched on a cake, but just not quite right. Until I discovered the secret. (Well, it might not be sooo secret, but doesn't it sound more exciting and mysterious that way?)

This is one of the cuppies I made for Brown Owls on Saturday...

Aaah - look at that swirl!
And the secret?
Wilton's 1M decorating tip.

I think the other tips I had tried were just too small, and the icing came out a bit precious or something - but my very first try with the 1M and I got exactly the big voluptuous (at the risk of sounding a bit Nigella-esque) ruffly cakeshop swirl I have been after.

I'm looking forward to having a bit of a play and perfecting my 1M swirls - so don't be surprised if things get a bit cupcakey around these parts! =)

xo

Suzy's showcase

2011-08-22T18:31:00.006+10:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of popping along to Suzy Hausfrau's yarn showcase and launch lunch to see all those lovely yarns in person. And, even better, I got to have a squeeze (or cop a feel!) of each and every one - believe me there are some amazingly huggable yarns in her store!

I brought home these lovelies from BC Garn's Semilla range (in colours ob108, ob122, ob110 and ob101). It was so hard to decide what to get - I think when I find the perfect pattern I'll have to knit myself up something in the gorgeous silvery grey Silkbloom Fino and the baby alpaca just felt soooo soft!

I forgot to take any pics on the day (hence the shot above on the sill of my desperately needing a clean window!) but there are some great ones on Suzy's blog and also here and here.

Thanks for a gorgeous lunch Suzy, and all the best with your store - I look forward to discovering many more beautiful yarns as they arrive on you (virtual) shelves! =)

xo

stamped

2011-08-20T21:58:00.003+10:00

We had a lovely arvo at Brown Owls today - check out Michelle's wrap up (and lovely pics!) over here.

And here are the fruits of today's Brown Owls labour...

The little gnomey people are from embroidery patterns by Annie Oakleaves - very cute, don't you think? Some of the carving was quite delicate, so in the little guy on the very end I left the face blank to draw in later.

I have plans for a few more too =)

xo

brown owls :: stampy inspiration

2011-08-19T19:19:00.006+10:00

Oooh I haven't done a Brown Owls inspiration post for AGES, but I've been admiring lovely carved eraser stamps on flickr all week and just couldn't resist sharing some of my favourites with you! click on the links below the picture to see the originals on flickr!

1. penguin eraser stamp, 2. eraser stamps fever, 3. little red - otogicco stamp,
4. dala horse stamp, 5. zero calorie cupcakes, 6. Cheshire Cat Stamps,
7. Sewing Machine, 8. bird tree, 9. Ladybird Books hand carved rubber stamp

I think my favourites are the ones that come in different pieces that you mix and match - like the bird tree above, and the garden of flowers on the Brown Owls blog post.

I'm also collecting inspiration on a board on pinterest, if you're interested in seeing more!

Now to put together some kits and decide on the baking and I'll be all ready!

xo

creative space :: wienerbrød

2011-08-18T22:00:00.004+10:00

This week I've been getting creative in the kitchen again - this time I've been trying my hand at making danish pastry.

I have to say, it came out pretty delish - and the cinnamon smell in the house for the next couple of days was amazing =)

More creative spaces over here!

xo

dollies!

2011-08-16T20:16:00.003+10:00

When I popped in to the Canberra quilt and craft on the weekend I didn't really expect to do much shopping - after all I had picked up a few (ahem, quite a few) lovely thing at the Melbourne fair just a few weeks ago.

But then I spotted a stall that I hadn't seen in Melbourne (the benefit of a less crowded fair, compared to Melbourne where it was almost impossible to see anything!!), and just couldn't say no to bringing home the pattern book for these lovely girls from ak traditions

Look at those outfits! And the accessories!!! The pattern includes a little wardrobe for each girl - they were just too sweet for words! I can't wait to get starting on sewing some of these up - as soon as I finish a couple of other projects!

xo

In August I am reading...

2011-08-07T18:50:00.003+10:00

Hooray, I'm starting a new book this month!

Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood.

The Earthly Delights series was recommended to me by a colleague. From what I gather the series is about Corinna Chapman, a baker with a little shop in a Melbourne alley, who does some mystery solving on the side. I haven't started reading yet - so I can't tell you whether it's as naughty as the cover looks!

***

I'd love to hear what you guys are reading this month! Leave a comment, or a link if you post on your blog, to let every one know what you're up to and join our bloggy book club for August!!

Enjoy your reading!!

xo

creative space :: gingerbread love

2011-08-04T20:57:00.004+10:00

In my creative space this week - more gingerbread!!

The latest recipe is a combination of the bottom one on this page and this one here - so I used half golden syrup and half treacle, and the extra spices. I'm pretty happy with it - very delish!

I'm also practising my decorating - I found this Queen Royal Icing mix in the supermarket so thought I'd use it to have a go at decorating some of my bikkies with flooding and sparkles =)

Lots more creative spaces over here today!

xo

One more reason to love the Royal Arcade

2011-08-03T21:27:00.006+10:00

I do love visiting Melbourne's Royal Arcade! And when I was there on the weekend I found one more reason to love it...

A little kiosk store called "Il Picollino Reale", just outside Suga, selling macarons!

I bought a 6 pack to bring home (vanilla, jaffa, chocolate, salted caramel, strawberry and raspberry) and every single one of them was hands down, honest to god better than any macaron I have ever tasted! I couldn't even pick a favourite, they were so good! They were also the prettiest I have seen - amazing colours, not a single crack or dent, and good height and perfect little feet on each one

Can't wait to go back at the end of the month - I think I might come home with more than 6 this time!

xo

recovery

2011-07-27T20:43:00.007+10:00

A few weeks out from having been stuck home on the couch with a yucky cold I'm feeling so much better. Now my credit card just needs to recover from all the online shopping I did when I didn't feel up to much else! Here are a couple of things I bought...

a new friend from Aunty Cookie - she'll fit right in with the pair I bought years ago

a japanese craft book - carved eraser stamps! Very cute!

Dala cookie cutters

xo

solidarity

2011-07-26T23:51:00.004+10:00

We have chosen to answer cruelty with closeness. We have chosen to meet hate with solidarity. We choose a Norway where freedom is stronger than fear.

Haakon – Crown Prince of Norway

Beautiful and sad words and pictures at In My Tree

xo

Mollie Makes

2011-07-22T18:40:00.007+10:00

Everyone has probably seen this already, but I love it so I'm posting it anyway!

After seeing the cute video I was obsessed with hunting down a copy of Mollie Makes magazine, and when I managed to get my hands on an air freight copy of issue 2 about a month ago I loved it so much I subscribed right away.

(I don't even like fruit, but I have such an urge to crochet those apple cosies!!)

Issue 1 has just popped up in my local newsies - in greater numbers that the air freight copies were (my local only got 2 copies of the air freights!) - so now is a good time to go and hunt it down if you're interested!

I do love a magazine, and as well as being super pretty each issue so far has had loads of lovely projects - issue 3 has the pattern for the fairy tale embroidery on the cover of this book, which I almost bought last week! - and interviews with clever crafty people! Ooh, and free project kits! You can see what people are making from the patterns on the Mollie Makes projects flickr page.

I can't wait for issue 4 to arrive - it has the pattern for those undies flashing dollies in the video =)

xo

Also, I am so going to Bath next time I'm in the UK!!

lazy Saturday

2011-07-16T18:31:00.003+10:00

We're still not feeling 1000% here, and the weather is gloomy, so we're having a nice, lazy, on the couch Saturday afternoon...

I've got the puzzle out - I'm popping in a piece here and there between rows of my knitting, with a (weekend-sized) mug of coffee and a plate of gingerbread for sustenance, and kitties on either side of me (for moral puzzle support hehe).

xo

creative space :: gingerbread take 1

2011-07-14T21:05:00.003+10:00

Another day at home today, but will be heading back to work tomorrow!
I was feeling much better this afternoon so decided to kick off my hunt for the perfect gingerbread (am I the only one who feels better after a bit of baking?) - starting with this recipe from Melbourne Epicure, recommended in the comments yesterday by Cam (thanks Cam!).

These were pretty tasty, but weren't quite as gingery as I would like, and were a bit too crisp biscuity, rather than soft like I'm looking for. I will be keeping the recipe in mind though for if I want to make cut-out biscuits for decorating because they held their shape really well.

Remember to check out more creative spaces here!

xo

ginger

2011-07-13T23:34:00.006+10:00

Still home - with a buddy today (the guy is sick too) - and I spent the day googling gingerbread!

We bought this box of lovely gingerbread stars at Skate in the City and they are just delicious!

It's soft but firm and not too spicy but just perfect - so now I'm on the hunt for my own perfect recipe! I want something soft like this, and also something that will hold a nice shape when baked - rather than puffing/spreading in the oven.

I've started collecting recipes and other gingerbready inspiration on my gingerbread board over at Pinterest (natch) and can't wait to start trying some of the recipes I've found so far.

I'd love any recommendations, so if you have a favourite perfect gingerbread recipe please let me know so I can give it a go too! =)

xo

sick day

2011-07-12T22:23:00.004+10:00

I'm feeling a bit under the weather with a cold today so it has been all knitting and snuggles on the couch.

I'm almost through the plain knit and up to the shaping which is exciting - although I have to admit I had one of those days where I can't stop thinking what I would like to make next!

xo

skate in the city

2011-07-10T21:56:00.007+10:00

Yesterday arvo we popped into Civic to see the new X-men film (loved it!) and then to check out Skate in the City.

For the month of July an outdoor ice skating rink has been set up in the centre of the city, with skating sessions and different events like fashion shows and skating exhibitions.

I thought was fun - there are fairy lights, and snowflakes, and gingerbread and mulled wine. I expected a few more markety-type stalls based on the description on the website, but I do think it is a great idea, and a good start to build on next time. =)

If you're interested you can check out the program here. =)

xo

Creative spaces :: close knit

2011-07-07T23:41:00.003+10:00

Close Knit, a photo by kukita on Flickr.

I'm in Sydney for work this week, so have brought along a new knitting project - the lillen bottoms from MillaMia's close knit gang. The yarn is also MillaMia - naturally soft merino in the seaside colourway.
Unfortunately I don't have my camera or computer here so for now you'll have to make do with a dodgy pic from my iPhone, and probably equally dodgy looking blog post (shouldn't blogger have an app for this???!)

more creative spaces here

delicious Sunday

2011-07-03T21:23:00.008+10:00

Mulled wine, pizza and chickpeas on the balcony at Haha

The best, most delicious roasty type dinner I have ever made

Chocolate slice (a la Sadie and Lance) and a cup of tea (Earl Grey with a teeny bit of star anise) before bed

mmmm - delish

xo

pop

2011-07-02T18:24:00.005+10:00

It looks quite gloomy and chilly outside today - just perfect for popping in a film and indulging in my latest food obsession :: caramel popcorn.

I literally had a dream about making caramel popcorn one night, and just had to make some the next day. There are lots of recipes out there on the internet, many of which use glucose/corn syrup/cream, but I chose this one at real living for its simplicity - sugar, butter and golden syrup.

I like to add a generous sprinkle of salt too (mmm salty caramel!) - its best to do this while it is still warm so that it sticks. I cook my caramel for as long as I can without freaking out that it is burnt, because I like it to set crunchy. If you prefer chewy just cook it for less time.

Enjoy!

xo

Hottie

2011-07-01T20:37:00.007+10:00

In the middle of May, when Cam announced that she was organising a group entry for the Hottie Challenge to raise money for Margaret Pratt Foundation I was super excited and signed up immediately.

You may have noticed I'm rather prone too episodes of super excited and signing up-ness, but this time I actually managed to follow through and get my hottie cover both ready AND posted to Cam in time to be part of the exhibition!

Please excuse the pics - I didn't have any ribbon at home so I picked some up on the way to lunch, finished it while I waited for my noodles and posted it on the way back, so these were taken in the restaurant with my iPhone =)

The pattern is from Alicia Paulson's Embroidery Companion - I sewed it up in soft snuggly polar fleece, and added a chilli for extra warmth =)

It was super easy to make - in fact I like it so much I think it might be a good candidate to make for some presents =)

The hottie cover challenge exhibition opens at Open Drawer tonight and runs through to Sunday 24 July - do pop along if you can. =)
If, like me, you won't be able to make it you can still have a look at all those gorgeous hottie covers - Cam has been featuring them on her blog, and there are loads of lovely pics in the flickr group!

Thanks again Cam for letting us know about such a fun way to support a great cause!

xo

Me-Made-June

2011-06-30T22:06:00.005+10:00

Remember all the fun we had dressing in our me-mades for Me-Made-March?
Zoe has coordinated another Me-Made challenge this month -Me-Made-June (natch).

Although I loved participating in March, I sat this month out - mostly because I haven't sewed a single stitch of clothing since the end of March, but also because July mornings are cold in Canberra - so all my photos would look like this:

but sans the lovely scenery! (Skagen, fyi)

Since today is the last day, I thought I'd share the link to the flickr group and encourage everyone to pop over and have a look! While I haven't been Me-Made-ing myself it has still been fun and super inspiring to see what everyone is making and wearing!

My very favourite this month has been Karen from Did You Make That. Karen took a different approach to her outfit photos for the months, aiming for each of her outfit shots to show her with a random stranger who she invited to be in the photo alongside my stitching. It has made for some brilliant blogging (although I'll admit I am a big fan of Karen's blog at any time!) - do href="http://didyoumakethat.wordpress.com/">go and check it out!

Enjoy, and well done to all of the Me-Made-June participants for getting through the month! =)

x

housekeeping

2011-06-27T22:56:00.006+10:00

I've had a bit of a clean up of the blog today - what do you think?

Other things I did on my day off...
- ironed all the fabrics I washed on the weekend in preparation for selecting and cutting squares for the Country Time quilt (some of them are on the clothes-horse there)

- made Country Chicken soup in my slow cooker for dinner later in the week

- watched a good chunk of season 1 of Bones

- been sat on by cats

- organised a gardener to come around next week and give our front yard a severe cutting back

- made rocky road for the first time - I used this recipe, but used raspberry lollies instead of cherries, and shortbread instead of milk coffee biscuits, and added coconut. Also, I added sprinkles, just because I love sprinkles.

A day well spent, I think =)

x

nostalgia

2011-06-26T23:22:00.003+10:00

It has been cold here the last few weeks, and that along with the passing of the winter solstice has me all thinking about our winter holiday.

I haven't had much time until this weekend to have a good look at Mum's photos since I copied them over to my computer when I was visiting for birthdays in April, but I came across this one tonight, and I think it is so lovely that I just had to share

I think one of the best things about travelling as we did during the middle of winter was getting to see what is hidden when the all plants are fully clothed - the tiny twisted branches on this one are a perfect example of that.

I really haven't shared nearly enough pics from our trip here on the blog yet, but I'm feeling rather nostalgic for Denmark and our holiday just now, so hopefully I'll get some more up soon.

xo

Jamie

2011-06-22T22:00:00.005+10:00

As well as the fun stuff in yesterday's post, I've been sticking to my cookbook challenge too - so today I've got a couple of Jamie's 30 minute meals to share with you today =)

This is my favourite of the recipes I've cooked so far - Moroccan lamb chops (our butcher does the best lamb!) with flatbreads, herby couscous and stuffed peppers

I loved the pomegranate drink too - but it was super messy!

I have never used a pomegranate before - my kitchen looked like a CSI crime scene by the time I got the juice all out! haha

Chicken skewers with amazing satay sauce and fiery noodle salad

This was ok, but I didn't think the sauce was that amaizing - maybe my little blender didn't make it smooth enough? Noodles were delish though! This was probably the quickest dish to make - athough putting the chicken on the skewers took quite a while (I tried Jamie's method of lining up the chicken and putting the skewers through before cutting the chicken up, but the chicken bits I had were too fat for that!)

Steak Indian-Style with spinach & paneer salad and naan bread

This was yummy - we love a spinach/beef/pan-fried cheese kinda salad - but the house smelled like curry for days haha. This was pretty quick too!

I think overall the meals I tried were fun and tasty, but I didn't manage the time limit yet - which isn't really a big deal (Jamie says it will take practice!), except there are loads of dishes I make that are also super tasty and that I can do in less than 30 minutes. The other drawback I found is that there are so many bits and pieces with each meal that I found the shopping got a bit expensive.

There are a bunch more recipes in the book I still want to try, so there will certainly be more Jamie in my kitchen! If you're keen to try some of the recipes too quite a few are available on the website! And if you have tried any I'd love to hear what you thought!

Next up I'm tackling some recipes from Sally Wise's Leftover Makeovers - I've cooked a bunch of Sally's recipes before, so I can't wait to try out these new ones!

Happy cooking xo

catching up

2011-06-21T21:19:00.009+10:00

June has whizzed past like I can't believe!

Here's a tiny peek at some of what I've been up to...

visiting Melbourne

to go to the footy
(well, for work really, but the footy was the fun part! my team won, but even if they hadn't I think it would have been worth the trip just to see the look on my colleague's face when the people in front of us opened their thermos and poured out hotdogs, not tea hehe it was her first trip to the 'G! =))

knitting (in public)

which was so lovely we went bag for brekky the next day - 'Conquistador' a la a bite to eat - A.MAZING
(actually we HAD to go back on account of I was so excited about the knitting and the yarn that I left my phone there, so we had to pick it up on Sunday morning! oops ;o))

eating macarons - from the handmade market

and a spot of Brown Owl craftiness

Loads more to share soon!

Thanks for popping by!
xo

creative space :: woof

2011-06-09T20:54:00.003+10:00

This week I had a over-night work trip to Melbourne, and since embroidery is a perfect travelling craft I took the opportunity to get a start on the final embroidered block for my country time quilt - I went with the digging lab =)

Since the last time I was organised enough to join in, creative spaces have a new home!! To see more creative spaces, head over here.

xo

crafty kitty

2011-05-29T21:20:00.006+10:00

It's been a lovely crafty weekend here!

I've been working on my Alicia Paulson Country Time quilt. (There's a gorgeous finished one here, if you're interested)

I'm swapping out the sheep and the chicken in the pattern for a dog and a cat, but I haven't quite decided on the doggy pattern yet - it's a toss up between a digging lab and a terrier at this stage.

I'm also making progress on my quilt top for the naked bed challenge:

(all under the watchful eye of the kitty supervisor, of course!!)

Hope yours was a productive weekend too!

xo

30 minute meals

2011-05-24T21:54:00.008+10:00

I haven't done a "Cookin' the Books" post for AGES, even though I have been trying to try new recipes from my many, many cook books, but with a few new books coming into the house for my birthday I decided now was the time to get back into it!

To kick things off, I've got Jamie Oliver in my kitchen!
Jamie's 30-Minute Meals

To be honest, I had seen this book around, and hadn't even thought about buying it - until I saw some of the series on TV over the Easter break. I saw the episode where Jamie makes piri piri chicken with dressed potatoes and Portuguese tarts, and couldn't wait to get my hands on the recipe to try it out myself!

Of course, the 30 minute element adds a pretty irresistible challenge too!

My piri piri sauce didn't quite blend down as nicely as Jamie's, and I think the guy at the deli gave me the wrong cut of chicken (it wasn't very meaty), but I loved the mash (mmm feta!) - and it was so easy (slice your sweet potato in half, then in the microwave for 15 minutes). We used the left over mash to make sweet potato fritters to have with our soup yesterday, and they were delicious too.

And look - Portuguese tarts! These were AMAZING, and super easy!

This was so tasty that I'll definitely give it another go - maybe with skin on chicken breast instead, and giving the piri piri more of a whiz in the blender.

And against the clock? 50 minutes! (but I did have to make the caramel twice after burning the first lot) - another try should get me below 40 minutes, I think ;o)

The recipe is available on the Channel 4 website if you'd like to give it a try yourself!

***

this month I'm cooking from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals

hottie challenge

2011-05-12T20:54:00.001+10:00

Have you been over to CurlyPops today?
Cam has posted about a great crafty challenge to help raise money for The Margaret Pratt Foundation, who support research that aims to improve the outcomes for heart and lung transplant recipients.

The challenge is to create a hottie cover, using what any medium you like!
If you'd like to know more, or to join in pop over to Cam's to sign up. =)

Being the Pinterest addict that I am, I have started collecting some inspiration from around the internet - have a look at my 'hot water bottles' pinboard if you'd like =)

xo

In May I am reading...

2011-05-09T22:45:00.004+10:00

Some how I missed the reading update in April - but over the Easter long weekend I did finish reading Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonder! It was a really wonderful story - and told beautifully, and of course the historical aspect was really interesting. I think Brooks did an excellent job of writing in a voice that makes the reader feel transported to that time - I really felt like I experienced a bit of life in the 1600s.
I highly recommend having a look, if you haven't read it yet - and if you have I'd love to hear what you thought too! =)

This month I'm getting a start on another book that's been on my shelf for ages - and also via my mum's bookclub (It's a favourite there - I believe new members have to read it to join =)) - Donna Tartt's The Secret History.

I'd love to hear what you've been reading! Leave a comment, or a link if you post on your blog, to join our bloggy book club for May!!

Enjoy your reading!!

xo

weekend picnic

2011-05-08T22:58:00.004+10:00

Today was a gorgeous autumn day in Canberra - we spent much of it outside enjoying the weather at a picnic with friends.

It was just the perfect thing for a Sunday afternoon!

x

Where a Girl Goes for High Tea

2011-04-29T18:52:00.000+10:00

Last Thursday my sister organised for us to have high tea with two of my aunts at Cristina Re's Where a Girl Goes in Melbourne.

We had the sweet high tea - it was absolutely delicious and so beautiful! Look at the colours of those cuppies and macarons (I think the chocolate ones were my favourite - amazing!)

As well as being a perfect way to pass an afternoon, our visit has me totally inspired to make a batch or two of macarons myself (I haven't made them for AGES!) and to have a play with some gorgeous papers like the ones they had in store (especially since my sister bought my this lovely paper punch for my birthday! So pretty!)

xo

Creative space :: moo

2011-04-28T23:21:00.004+10:00

Another week, another stitchy farm animal

I'm not sure I like the green - too much hipstamatic?

xo

loads more (probably way less green) creative spaces at Kirsty's

Quick 5 :: blog hop

2011-04-27T19:31:00.004+10:00

I'm running a bit behind this week (I think it was the extended footy round that threw me off!!), but I couldn't let this week's quick 5 theme - 5 newest favourite blogs on your must-read list - go by without posting mine!

Cushion & Cake - Pamela is preparing to open her own tea room and has been blogging her plans and inspiration since last April. Yesterday she announced her opening date - next Saturday - and I can't wait to see how it goes!

17 and Baking - Elissa is 19 and is an incredibly talented photographer/baker/writer - I love popping over to see what she's been cooking up, though to be honest I can't decide whether it's the food, photos or gorgeous writing that keeps me coming back!

Gnome Angel - Hi Angie! I love reading the Gnome Angel blog - the posts are frequent and cover diverse subjects, so I always feel like I'm discovering something new. Plus there are loads of links to follow for crafty (and shopping!) inspiration =)

Hey there Alice - I have been friends with Jo for a few years now after meeting through Brown Owls. Her blog is almost brand new, but is just lovely! I am loving reading about Jo's seasonal quilts - and am totally inspired to try something similar myself!

zilredloh - I think I first came across Liz's blog when I was checking out some of the gorgeous coats that were sewn up during Gertie's Lady Grey sew-along (Liz's is here - isn't it lovely?)
I love visiting zilredloh on account of the warm and friendly writing, beautiful stitching and the fact that Liz is just about the cutest sewer I think I have ever come across on a sewing blog!

Pop over to Gnome Angel if you'd like to share the your latest top 5 must-read blogs!! =)

xo

ps. photos from my Mum & Dad's garden on the weekend - we had the most beautiful weather, and everything looks incredibly lush with all the rain they had over summer!

30

2011-04-26T17:21:00.002+10:00

It was my birthday yesterday!

Big thanks to all my family and friends who sent happy birthday wishes, and helped make my weekend super special and fun!

xo

you card!

2011-04-21T14:07:00.000+10:00

In case there is still any doubt that we've gone completely bunny mad here, there are cards too:

I cut out the bunnies from this template, and did the stamping on the inside with my new stamps

I just love a daggy pun! =)

xo

more bunnies

2011-04-20T20:58:00.002+10:00

this time of the marshmallow variety...

I used this tutorial to make around a dozen of these to pop on top of the cupcakes I took in to work today.

They were pretty easy, and super cute - don't you think?

xo

bunnies!

2011-04-18T22:50:00.004+10:00

I'm not generally one to decorate the house for a season (apart from Christmas, natch), but the past week or two I've been so inspired by lovely spring/eastery mantel pieces etc I've seen about on blogs from the northern hemisphere that last week I found myself at Bed Bath and Table buying ceramic bunnies (I know, honestly!)

After a little photo shoot, I've popped them up in a nice Easter-inspired scene on a bookshelf in loungeroom...

xo

Creative Collective

2011-04-17T23:14:00.006+10:00

Have you met the creative collective? You can read all about it here, but basically the creative collective is like a virtual craft group where everyone is invited to share something they've created, in any medium, inspired by a nominated theme.
This month's theme is Easter and the blog has been full of gorgeous eggy and bunny(y) inspiration - so much so that I just couldn't stand it any more and simply HAD to join in!

I'm starting off with something chocolatey! I've been absolutely obsessed lately with chocolatey sweet/salty desserts. I think it started with salted caramel recipes seeming to pop-up all over the place, then chocolate dipped pretzels with peanut butter sandwiched in between. I thought the peanut butter was a bit over the top, but when I ran out of pretzels before the melted chocolate was used up, and I had left over fried noodles from last weekend's mouse bikkies, I decided to mix up a batch of 'spiders' according to the recipe on the back of the noodle packet.

They were gone before I could photograph them, so this arvo I whipped up two batches of 'nests'- one with white chocolate and the other with dark - with mini jellybean or mini m&m 'eggs'. Although the white chocolate ones look a bit odd, they are BOTH delicious - I think the m&ms are better than the jelly beans though!
If you're interested, the 'recipe' (as well as being on the noodle packet) can be found here.

Hop back for some more Eastery projects during the week!

xo

wanted

2011-04-16T22:41:00.002+10:00

Have you seen this bag?

One of Nikki's lovely sample bags was stolen from her stand at the ACQ today =(

Pop over to Nikki's or Cam's blogs to see if you can help them find it!

xo

Prins Vincent & Prinsesse Josephine

2011-04-16T10:25:00.009+10:00

I'm sure by now everyone has caught up on the latest Danish Royal news, but I'm posting about it anyway!

Image from here

The royal twins were christened on Thursday:
Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda.

I watched live on the Internet, first with the stream provided by DR and then (when DR crashed under the pressure) through a Swedish news site.
It is just so nice to be able to follow an event live like that all the way from the other side of the world - I love the Internets!!

The gorgeous official photos from the christening are available on the Crown Prince pair's website, and there are loads of lovely pics from the event here.

Image from here

It is an exciting few days for the Danish Royal family, with the christening just a few days before Queen Margrethe's 71st birthday, which is today, and Princess Isabella's birthday next Thursday.

Also on the topic of the Danish Royals - and I'm not quite sure how I've neglected to mention this yet - has anyone been watching along with The Kingdom - Behind the Scenes?

SBS have been showing this behind-the-scenes of the Danish Royal Family at 8pm on Friday evenings, with episodes also available to watch on the SBS website for one week after they are on tv - last night's episode (which was episode 4) is here. In case you missed the first 3, the DVD will be available from June 1.

Image from here

And just one last royal tidbit - during the week I discovered a lovely newish blog dedicated to sharing news about the European royal families - The Royal Correspondent - check it if you're interested, as I am, in keeping up with what's going on in the royal houses. There is a wrap up of the christening here, and it's bound to be busy over there in the next little while, with that wedding next week, and a royal wedding in Monaco in June!

xo

creative oink

2011-04-14T22:09:00.004+10:00

How is it that the weeks I'm best organised with my creative space are the ones where it isn't on? Haha

This is the latest embroidered square I'm working on for my Alicia Paulson Country Time Quilt

I do love my disappearing marker, but the thing is it always disappears before I get the embroidery done! haha

I'm planning on taking this little project with me when I head to mum & dad's for the Easter weekend, so hopefully in a little over a week I'll have 6 finished farm animals! =)

xo

a plague!

2011-04-13T22:49:00.004+10:00

I made these guys to take to Brown Owls on the weekend, using a recipe from Dita von Teese (!!), found here

The photos are pretty crap, but the biscuits tasted ace...

...and they were pretty darn cute - even if I do say so myself!

xo

Quick 5 :: Favourite Movies You Own

2011-04-10T20:09:00.005+10:00

Ange's quick five challenge this week is to share 5 movies you love that you own.

This was trickier than I expected - I felt like we mostly have tv series on DVD rather than films, but I could have named 5 Kirsten Dunst movies* I love that I own, let along having to choose from our whole collection!

Here's what I came up with:

Bring It On and 10 Things I Hate About You - I LOVE teen movies, and these are probably two of the very best out there.

Romeo and Juliet - Really very nearly a teen movie too! I was obsessed with Romeo and Juliet as a teenager (I had pictures of Leo from the masked party scene all over my school books!) and I think it is really beautifully shot and just lovely to watch.

Crackers - An Australian Christmas film, I think Crackers is hilarious. I had to include it because I am so excited to have got my hands on the DVD after searching for it for a couple of years.

Italiensk for Begyndere (Italian for Beginners) - I have quite a few Danish films on DVD, but this is probably my very favourite. It is classic funny but sad Danish Dogma film at its best. (It is also not too hard to find in stores, if you're interested!)

Oooh, that was tricky Ange!! I had at least 5 more I wanted to include, and I didn't even include the Star Wars trilogy which are my absolute favourite most loved films of all time ever, and we own several different copies of, so it goes without saying!

I'd love to hear everyone else's favourite movies that you own - pop over to GnomeAngel to share them with us!!

xo

*fyi they would be Bring It On, Get Over It, Marie Antoinette, Virgin Suicides and Drop Dead Gorgeous ;o)