Bonjour l'hiver

Hello Winter.
Not meaning to be rude but, I haven't missed you.
Why don't you (in the nicest way possible) go back to where you came from?

So it's winter. Fully fledged winter.
Cold, windy, rainy (the only part I don't mind), and just generally miserable.

Though, there are a couple of positives about the predicament that we find ourselves in from May through to August.
Soup. Who doesn't love a thick pumpkin soup for lunch? Not a preferable summer food so it wins out in winter.
Layers. Layers are a good thing for anyone. They look good and keep you warm. What is it about young people (ah, how old am I again?) where they feel that it's most necessary to show off skin in winter? And they don't seem to either feel it or get sick... The most skin I show during winter is my face and fingers. At most. Usually I'm trying to find a way to cover them as well.
Beanies and scarfs. Love them.
Warm drinks in warm places. Enough said.
The fact that everyone is as cold as you and wants to stay indoors, meaning that you aren't the only lamo who wants to stay at home on a Friday night.
Umbrellas & boots on rainy days. I love having to go outside on a rainy day, so long as I can keep my feet dry and I have an umbrella of ample size.

I think my list pretty much finished here.
What do you like about this few months of depressing, cold greyness?

This Is It

Okay, this is the one I want.

I'm not even kidding.

I'm not even close to getting married but this is the EXACT bridal shower I want.
Or birthday party.
Or baby shower.
Or... I'd take any excuse... Amazing.

They EVEN use lisianthus. Hopefully one of my wedding flowers...
How typically female do I sound right now?! I have no plans of marriage for any time soon!
Oh well, I guess there is a small part of me thats a girlie girl! There you go.

Here's another lovely Alice In Wonderland theme, this one is a wedding...

Lucky Kids!

I will admit it.
I'm jealous.

The last birthday party I had was when I was about 11.
I mean, I've celebrated my birthday since then but never with a party.
My 11th birthday party was Bananas In Pyjamas themed.
You know when it was cool to have a cartoon character emblazoned backpack? I was one of those kids.
My darling mummy went all out and teamed everything with the theme. I had a great day and looking back, I think I appreciate her going to all of that effort more than I would appreciate her hiring someone else to do it all.

But in saying that, I do love a full on, over the top themed party.

A couple of my favourites on Creative Hostess are the Buzzing Little Bumble Bee Birthday Party and the Sweet Dress Up Tea Party (how gorgeous are the little girls in their hats and gowns?!) but my most favourite is the Woodland Fairy Birthday Party!

This other Woodland themed one on My Sweet & Saucy is way cute too, so much detail! And that little deer cupcake! Too cute!

The Chanel Photoshoot on the same website is gorgeous too! Lovley little yummies.
The roses in this photo are to die for!

Actually, I could look at that website all day...

Okay, okay, enough of my fantastical party dreaming! I won't start going on about how obsessed I am with Alice in Wonderland themed parties...
I'll leave that for another post...

Hi Thursday, you're very welcome!

This week!
Has it been as hectic for you as it has been for me?!

Here we go:

A very happy Thursday to you!

Cuteness

I would very much love to own these cute post its from Kikki K's new Cirkus Collection. Actually, I would like to own that whole collection. It's just as cute as a button!

Tunnel Art

I like art.
I like art a lot.
I like to look at other peoples and I like to create my own.
I admire anyone who can take something from their mind and recreate it as a real, physical object.
(I don't want to sound like a twat who thinks they know all about this subject because I certainly do not. This is just my opinion.)
I think that there are very wide boundaries on what is considered art and I think that some people need to realise that just because they don't find it beautiful to look at, it's still art. Though, in saying that, I do think that some people need to take a step back and reconsider what they're putting out into the world.
BUT! I digress!
I was on my way home from work the other night, walking through the Central tunnel and I saw a group of people standing around.
Usually everyone is in a hurry to get home in the evening and so I thought that whatever these people were looking at had to be worth a geeze for myself.
So I stopped and saw a guy selling some artworks that he'd done.
They. Were. Fantastic.
I thought to myself 'I love these. I can't walk away. I never buy art. I'm going to buy one.'
He had other versions of the same girl but this one really caught my eye. I love that it almost looks like graffiti.

Unfortunately he doesn't have a website or anything and all I know is that his name is Luca and he paints and draws excellent pictures.
Yay to her, she's fantastic!

P.D.T.

Already?
It's already Thursday?!
Where did the rest of the week go (not that I'm complaining!)?
Here it is, Portrait Day Thursday!

(I've been such a slacker this week - way too much work to do!)

Needless to say, Monday was a bad day...
I'm well over that now - it's almost weekend! Yahooooo!

Portrait Thursday!

So, it's Thursday!
Portrait day!
Here are my faves:

This one is from May the 4th hehe

Hope you have a fab weekend!

Pretty Headbands

Picture from here

Now, I'm not sure if I could ever pull off wearing one of these gorgeous, handmade headbands from Princess Lasertron but I still enjoy looking at them very much.
Perhaps if I bought one for a friend who could pull off such wonderful things, I could just enjoy it on her head?
Either way, they're lovely!

Homemade Baked Beans - Success!

Okay so I didn't realise that these were going to turn out so deliciously amazing.

Therefore, there are very few photos.

Shane and I saw a recipe for spiced baked beans and baked eggs and were interested to try it.

But ever since I came across 2 separate packets of bad eggs, all I can think about when it comes to eggs is that terrible smell. Yuck. Turned me off eggs altogether unfortunately...

Bypassing the eggs was a good idea I think - it turns out that my baked beans were absolutely perfect on English muffins!

Mmmm yum! Perfect Sunday brunch!

So! To make these yummy baked beans (Baked? No. Simmered? Yes.) for 2 people as a main (it would do probably 4 people as an accompaniment) I used the following:

1 tin cannellini beans

1 tin chopped tomatoes

About a tablespoon of sweet paprika (add more (in my case) or less to taste)

Some herbs, I used dry ones: parsley & basil

1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste

A splodge of tomato sauce

and I used a couple of herb/spice blends that we had here at home, one was a Perri perri grinder and the other was a 'hot & spicy herb mix'

1/2 cup water

Salt and pepper

Basically I simmered the tomatoes and everything else apart from the beans and water.

I let it go for about 5 mins and then added the rinsed (in cold water) beans.

Let it simmer for 5 mins again and added the water.

Then I simmered it for a further 25 minutes to let the sauce reduce and get all delicious!

Thats about it! Of course, you should taste it as you go and add more of whatever, to your taste.

They were nice and spicy what with all the chili and pepper hehe. Obviously don't add it if you don't like heat.

I'll definitely be making these again!

Next time I think I'll add some Harissa to it as well.

Button Boxes

It's about time I posted this!

They're the bits and pieces that I made for Art Exchange.

I love the button boxes and plan to make one for myself on a much bigger scale.

The cards were made with my new stamps!

They're fun to use and such a good end product.

This weekend I am working on a softie for my Mum for Mothers Day!

It's my first one ever and I'm excited! I think it's going to work out nicely.

Which is even more exciting because I am just making it as I go with no pattern...

Wish me luck!!

Thursday is portrait day...

I proclaim every Thursday to be "Portrait Day."

I'll put up my favourite portrait of the week.

Fun.

In other news, I have dedicated this weekend to cleaning my house and crafting...

Cant wait to finish some of the many things that I have started!

Thursday, how I love thee!

Here is a portrait of me today, done by me.

My bestest friend in the universe and I do one of these little "Me's"every morning before we begin our work.

Its such a nice way to start your day!

x

New Stuff Makes Me a Happy Girl...

I've been a bit slack on the posting of late.

Not feeling very inspired.

Or am I too inspired?

I have so many ideas at the moment but I can't seem to put them into action. Or I put them into action and then stop before I'm finished...

In other news, I have recently caved in to two small impulse buys.

One is this delicious tea strainer, how could I say no?!

I also bought these lovelies, which I've been lusting after for a little while now:

Back to art!

I have FINALLY posted off my Art Exchange parcels! I posted one to the person who was in position number 1 and also one to my lovely friend Miss Kate, who was starting to loose faith in the art & craft community (she hadn't received much)... I hope they both like the stuff I sent. I'd love to post the photos but I know they wouldn't have received them as yet... Better not spoil the surprise.

I have started to receive some lovely presents from Art Exchange!

The first thing I got was this felt brooch from Donna at Felt Divine. I can't get a link to her work but this is the brooch I got from her:

I can't wait for it to get colder so I can put this on a coat...

The next pressie I got was from Sarah at Gifts Created. I LOVE it.

If I'm not mistaken, I think I met Sarah at Stitches & Craft when I went last year. I am also in love with her mushrooms!!!

I absolutely love him. His name is Albert and he is going to sit on my favourite bookshelf.

And the last fabulous gift I've received is from Kim Wallace.

I can't tell you how pretty these are.

I might just have to buy myself a sage green bowl to boot!

Well, that'll be all for now.

Till next time, I'm off to have a cup of tea and enjoy my new pretties!

x

Brighten up my Wednesdy!

It's raining.
It's getting darker earlier.
It's miserable!

Enter the need for something lovely to lift my mood.
What could be better than a lovely little posey of pinky purple roses?


Hope your day wasn't too much of a dreary one!

Inspired by Elderly Ladies!

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Craft Expo with my mum!

We had such a packed full busy day, it went too quickly!

One of the first things i did was to make this little guy.

I saw so many things that I'm interested in trying my hand at, but sadly - I can't allocate any more house-space to art stuff. I have almost an entire cupboard full and that doesn't include all my sewing stuff!

Also, (very exciting) on that note - I just bought a new sewing machine. One of my very own. Brand new. And HALF PRICE! I saved $150 on it! Very happy with that. Now to find time to use it!

Back to the Craft Expo! I think that I may have been the youngest person there by choice. I saw some very bored looking 11 year old girls following their mum, kicking the floor and telling her that, quote: "We're bored, can we pleeeease go to Maccas now!? ...Muuuum! We've already looked at eighteeeen scrapbooking stores!!"

I am happy to report that I was very well behaved all day.

Not only did I refrain from buying everything that I wanted, I didn't ask for Maccas once!

Though, by the end of the day, I did agree with the kids' sentiments on the high number of scrapbooking stalls. It's obviously the 'in' thing.

I did get myself a beautiful purple dyed quartz pendant and some beautiful fat quarters for my upcoming softies!

There were loads of stalls selling and demonstrating as many things as you can think of...

They had "Discovery Desks" where you can just watch a quick demonstration on how to make something simple. They had "Make & Take" areas where you can book in and pay a small amount to have a go at making different items. On the list, among other things, were: Tunisian Crochet Scarf, Felt Brooches and a Timeless Turquoise Necklace. We didnt have time for any of these as we were shopping till we dropped.

I also decided that I needed to start something new. Meaning I needed to buy all of the appropriate materials and tools for it too. Hello Broke Street for the rest of the month. It'd better be worth it!

Now, unfortunately I have to keep my new 'thing' a secret for a little while - until my lovely friend receives a package from me. Which is part of a lovely email 'chain letter' that I have received. Obviously, like most people, I normally delete chain letter type emails because I don't believe that "if I don't forward it on to my 6 best gal pals that I'll have bad luck with men for the rest of my life..."

This email chain letter was of a different style though. It is a lovely idea but in theory it doesn't seem to work as well is it would in my happy little world. It's called Art Exchange.

Basically when you receive the email, it has 2 names and addresses on it. The person in the #2 spot is the person who sent it to you and the #1 spot is the person who sent it to them.

Your job is to send something arty/crafty/one-off to the person in the #1 spot then forward the email on to 6 of your friends who you think will participate, deleting the current #1 person, moving #2 into #1 and putting your name and address in the now vacant #2 spot (if that makes ANY sense at all).

I have made the main part of my gift but the bit that goes with it is made with my new toys hehe. I hope she loves both things. Now, friends - I would love to receive something more than a highlighter drawing. Which is all I have gotten so far. And although its a GREAT drawing, I would love some other stuff too - so, hint hint friends!

Some of my other recents are here:

I got a bunny! We built his cage...Here it is, almost finished.

This is Jet! :)

And these are my raspberry and cinnamon muffins - delish!

I can't wait to show off what I've made for my Art Exchange!

Next time... Stay tuned!

Girls Night In - Fancy Style!

A proper 'girls night in' usually consists of the following: wine, chat, dinner (usually pizza or Thai food) and maybe a DVD.

Ours consisted of all of these things, but we were a little more spoiled by our hostess in the food department.

Firstly we were treated to some French Champagne. Then some delectable canapes of peppered crisp bread, King Island brie and sundried tomatoes. Next on the list was salt and pepper squid and aioli.

We then stood around the bench watching Missus Amazing Cook construct our main course of duck salad. I couldn't believe my taste buds. Yes thank you!

For dessert I offered to make brandy snaps and vanilla cream.

They turned out great!

Here is the basic recipe I used.

Ingredients:

50g butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup golden syrup

1/3 plain flour (though, i had only self raising in the cupboard and it was fine)

1 tsp ground ginger (optional)

Vanilla essence and caster sugar whipped with cream to fill them

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

Combine your sugar, golden syrup and butter over a medium heat until your butter dissolves.

Making sure to stir it. It will look all separated at this stage.

I kept stirring till it came together and looked like a darker golden syrup.

Once its all come together, take it off the heat and let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes.

Add the flour and ginger to the mixture and combine. Try to get rid of any flour puffs...

Mixture should be a light caramelly colour now.

Line a tray with baking paper

1 brandy snap=1 teaspoon of mixture. I put 4 on to start with but found that although i have a large tray, 4 was one too many.

They all stuck to each other and didn't cook right. 3 worked well. Be sure to space them well apart, they spread a lot.

Bake them for around 5 or 6 minutes. I like to watch them bubble then when they almost stop bubbling i'll take them out.

When you take them out of the oven, you need to work quickly because as soon as they cool down, they are no longer malleable. I like to wrap a wooden spoon handle in baking paper for this job. You need to use the wooden spoon and wrap the brandy snap around it to make your tube.

Alternately you can make baskets by draping your brandy snap over the bottom of a glass. Another alternative I like to do is to let them cool in discs and smash them up. You can serve it almost like nachos with the cream or you can have it over ice cream.

Thats it! Now all you have to do is whip your cream, pipe it into the snaps and DEVOUR them!

Thank you lovely ladies for a wonderful night!

x