mother's day 2013...

Mother's day has rolled around for another year, and like I said last year I want to take a photo of me and my darling child each year.

Here are some cute photos of our day playing in the backyard on a Sunny Sunday afternoon.

Then to finish, one with Dad.

You are the sweetest darling little girl Summah, and I love you to the moon and back.  I'm glad to be your Mumma and love the fun we have together.

xxx

gift bag tutorial no.2...

Happy gift bag making!! these will be used at Christmas time for my gifts to friends and family, instead of traditional gift wrap. 

This week my kindness gift was given in one of these bags and it was a jar of homemade apricot jam...yummmy!!!

Have a great weekend.

an everyday knit top...

What started out as four amazing fabrics in a remnant bin

are now being created into winter clothes for me.

1. orange knit - long sleeve winter top, cost: $8.50

2. bronze/brown knit - top or leggings (if it's long enough), cost: $7.20

3. Black - a skirt, but maybe cushions for my lounge now?, cost: $8.00

4. Grey/black wool - front panel in a winter jacket, cost $12.50 (completed)

this is the back to my top

Next up on the sewing list was my orange long sleeve top, here is how I cut out my patterns...by lay my favourite tops out or two in this case and cut around with my roller cutter. No purchased pattern required in here! as I watched my mother do the very same thing through out my childhood, I must have picked up a thing or too from watching.

finished product, from the front - I added a pocket to break up the orange, thinking about adding a bit more length in the front too, this will balance out the tail length.

back view, and Summah photo booming....(oops! bombing, mind and hands not communicating to well today :) )

so...

If my daughter is going to photo bomb, why not get a decent photo of us both?! (at this point I noticed the neighbour was cleaning his camper van just above me... awkward!)

Off to make my leggings now.

xx 

I made a jacket!!!...

I have completed my first lined, jacket without a pattern to follow, just logical thinking and playing around with ideas in my head.

The out come has been a success! 

When I say no pattern...I didn't buy one from the shop and follow it, instead I fished out two jackets in my wardrobe and used them as a guideline.

I cut out my pieces, and stitched away to every moment I had free with out Summah climbing over me or the cat for that matter.

How did the idea of making a jacket ever enter my head??? 

it was all because I visited a fabric shop last week, browsed the remnant bin and found 4 fabulous fabrics that I could make winter clothes from.

They were bargains, 3 out of 4 were less than $10 and decent sized pieces.

The front panel on my jacket was most expensive as it is wool this cost me $12.50. The black fabric on my jacket was $5, lining $5 the ribbing was an expensive wool cardigan that shrunk in the wash and I held onto it, and I'm glad I did!! 

A new winter jacket for less than $25 and no one else has one like it!

My new winter jacket, and yes I checked that I could fit a jersey on underneath to layer up.

On to the next new piece of clothing.

xx

a suitcase toy box revamp...

This week we are getting some new occasional chairs for our lounge and I wanted to disguise the toys that sit in the corner of our lounge room. 

I dislike messy looking toys, yet I am aware that I have a small child in the house, so I need to let her explore and play with them when she pleases.

Therefore I can not remove them completely from our lounge but at least I can pack them away tidy at night and now shut a lid on them, so when I sit and relax I'm not looking at a pile of messy toys.

This is the solution I came up with:

My two finished suitcase's, one for general toys and one for dress-up/doll's clothes, perfect solution to a messy toy area.

(I'm not the first person to discover the beauty of a fabric covered suitcase, there are many others, but these are mine.)

kindness gift wk 2: homemade muesli...

Around our house we love homemade muesli, so this week I've decided to make this as my 'kindness gift' as blogged about earlier in the month.

What you need to do:

5-7 cups of oats (I mix wholegrain & rolled oats) into a shallow roasting pan

heat 2/3 cup of canola oil with 3/4 cup of Manuka honey & 2 tsp cinnamon

(very rarely do I actually use that much honey as it costs a lot! cheaper options are golden syrup, honey/maple syrup or maple syrup)

Pour the oil & honey over oats, toss thoroughly, put in oven on bake at 180-200 Celsius.

Toast for about 10mins, stirring a few times so it doesn't burn/stick to dish

When quite golden, remove and cover with the following:

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup flaked/slivered almonds 

1/2-1 cup of unsalted roasted cashews

(or just chop some whole almonds)

other options: sesame seeds, linseed, peanuts, pecans, macadamias

put back in the oven and watch carefully, take out once coconut and almonds nicely browned.

Let cool then add your fruit:

1/2 cup medium/finely sliced apricot

1/2 cup dried apple diced

1/3 cup wheatgerm (or LSA mix)

1 cup raisins/sultanas (or a mix)

1/2 cup craisins/cranberries (optional)

(Countdown supermarket sells: Berry Mix in 400g bag that lasts me 3-4 muesli 

making batches)

Optional extras:

add more cinnamon 

vanilla extract is good too (add to the oil at start)

1 cup Allbran

1-2 cups cornflakes 

(the last two make the muesli last longer and lighten it up a bit)

could try...2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses in with oil & honey.

this is what the muesli will look like after being cooked and dried fruit added.

A batch of this muesli using 6 cups of oats last's my husband and I 2wks and that is eating generous portions of muesli.

It may seem expensive reading down the list of ingredients but you customise them to suit your budget and the more you make it the more you learn what works and what doesn't.  Also Bin Inn or bulk food places are great for picking up the basic ingredients for cheap.

This week's batch of muesli went to my lovely sister and her family, to say thanks for the HUGE 2kg tub of fresh runny honey they gave us, which I use to toast my muesli in.

gift bag tutorial no.1...

My first attempt at doing a tutorial, I little sketchy but I'll learn what works best as I try these things out.