morning tea with .........

 

I always make time to have a cuppa so I thought

it would be nice to chat with some other crafters while I'm having one.

 

Starting next Wednesday I will be sharing the goss with a crafter each week .

 

Some you will already know , some you won't .

 

We will be chatting about crafting (of course) , designing ,

balancing a business , working from home or going out to work .

The design process , getting ideas out there and lots of other things.

 

The chatty crafter will have this button on their sidebar so

keep a lookout for it , hard to miss really.

 

Who would you like to know more about ?

What would you like to know more about ?

Would you like to be interviewed?

 

I have quite a few fabulous crafters ready to have a chat with me

but I'd love to hear from you if you are interested .

 

Will you be joining us next week for a cuppa ?

 

 

 

cheaters sometimes prosper

 

Maybe not really cheating , let's call it a shortcut .

 

I found a delicious recipe for rainbow cake the other day

and thought I had saved it somewhere safely .

Well I didn't save it safely so I had to improvise.

 

I had very little time (Clare speak for I wasn't organised)

and needed to whip something up that looked good.

 

I just used a plain old vanilla cake mix and made it up.

Then I  divided the mix into three and coloured it .

I would have done more colours but this was all I had.

 

It was all so very easy but I will tell people it was hard .

That's just the sort of girl I am .

loyalty

If I was silly enough to have plans for my life someone
somewhere is having a great laugh at them .

A repeated post just so you know I'm not dead ........or something .

 

A tribute to a very special friend .

I am so grateful to you my uncomplicated friend .
Although you came with no instructions
I understood you completely and you me from the moment we met .
My friend , you and I were meant to be together .
Through thick and thin (fabric) and when I've felt I've lost my way ,
you were there to gently guide me .
You never pretend to be anything you're not and never laze about on the cutting mat limp and uninspiring .
You don't try and seduce me with false promises of greatness or flash your cottony goodness at me and demand my attention .
You have never complained about threads caught in your bobbin or squealed and whined about needing an oil or dust .
You have always been prepared to work really , really hard for me and you are always ready to spend lots of time with me .
You my friend are loyal and true ,
I thank you x

and sew it has been

Again I have been missing .

Everyone but me has had the flu .

My daughter has been off school for three weeks.

My very elderly in laws (who live next door) have had hospital stays

and have needed a little extra care .

My husband has man flu .

I'm back with the real world this week

and have even managed some extra cooking .

These muffins are so delicious and easy but I wish I

had of known about Caramel Bits earlier .

Here's the recipe ~  Whisk together ~2 cups S/R flour , 2/3 cup caster sugar

100g melted butter , 1 egg , 1 cup of milk , 1 tsp vanilla

and 1 cup of chocolate bits but I'll be making mine with caramel bits.

Spoon into muffin tin and bake at 180c for about 20 minutes.

Make 12 very , very yummy muffins .

I had to make a trip away from my little town the other day

so I took the chance to pop into Spotlight .

I had sick kids in the car , the shop was about to close

but I needed to be in amoung some craft !

With seconds to spare I decided on some charm squares

to make myself a quilt .

What a shame I can't quilt .

How are your family ?

Have they had this terrible flu ?

Does the male in your house get man flu?

it's in the bag

Those little gift bags that are made in China at the $2 shops

are getting dearer and tackier so I thought I'd make my own .

I do hope you want to make some too because I took lots

of pictures to show you how .

The one I'm showing you here is about 4' high when finished

but once you get the hang of making these you can

change the measurements to make any size .

Righto the template I have been using is the inside of a cereal

box but so you could see the measurements I used A4 white paper.

Rule your lines as shown above , the middle panels are 4' high.

Fold and finger press all lines.

Fold down and glue the top of bag.

Cut the base flaps as shown below.

Use paper glue on the small side flap and attach

 it to the opposite side forming the bag .

Fold in the base square flaps and then fold over the cut flaps .

Glue all together to form the base .

If you would like a firmer base cut some cardboard

and place it in the bottom of the bag .

This size bag uses a base 3.5" x 2".

I have been recycling paper to make mine for kids parties

from old story books....

Christmas ones from gift wrap ......

teenage party ones from fashion magazines....

but my favourite ones have been made from old

knitting books for wooly friends !

I love recycling , do you ?

What do you recycle ?

love in a jar

In an effort to become a little more organised this Christmas

I've been trying out some jar gifts .

Of course I have to test that they all work out and

my family think it's wonderful !

Anyway in case you would like to try some of these I'm putting

all the recipes here so I can find them again .

What you will need is a glass jar equivalent to about 4 cups.

All ingredients will vary from jar to jar .

Chocolate Bars.

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cocoa

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 choc bits

1 and 3/4 cup of plain flour

1 tsp baking powder.

Layer all your ingredients in this order in your jar.

Decorate the jar with a piece of ribbon .

Now you will need to make a little card to go with your gift

and listing the remaining ingredients and instructions .

Chocolate Bars .

1 jar Chocolate Bar Mix

3/4 cup melted butter

3 eggs lightly beaten

tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients and blend well.

Spread mix into slice tin and bake at 180c about 30 mins.

Cool in pan before cutting into squares .

Enjoy !

Mix will keep in this jar for about 3 months.

As you can see this slice has been tested and passed by my family .

It was rated as ~ delicious !

warm hands

As I told you both recently I have been walking

and the early mornings have been freezing!

So being the clever chick I am I made myself some handwarmers.

These are just 10cm squares of scraps stitched together .

Leave an opening , turn them out and fill with rice .

Pop two in the microwave for a minute before you go out.

They stay warm for about 20 minutes by which time

I 'm nicely warmed up from walking anyway .

I made a few because I might need to throw one at a cow

or leave them in the car so I have some spare.

You can also put these in the freezer for little ice packs too .

Do you walk or excercise?

Do you throw things at cows ?

Have you had a great week ?

new sponsor ~ kelsey's kuties

Welcome to Sharlene from Kelsey's Kuties !

Sharlene is a very talented crafter who makes the most gorgeous toys.

All of Kelsey's Kuties are carefully handmade in Queensland .

There really is something for everyone .

Kelsey's Kuties also has a growing facebook page here .

Thanks so much for joining me here Kelsey's Kuties .

If you would like to become a sponsor here please

read the info in the advertising tab at the top .

well hello Jack Frost !

This is what is  keeping me sane at the moment .

I drop my kids to their bus at about 6.45 each morning

and then I go walking .

I'm not a runner .

I hobble for 3kms on my shoddy knee .

Most mornings lately it has been freezing .

It clears my head .

It gives me thinking time.

It helps me feel stronger.

It is a beautiful way to start the day .

Very , very cold ....

but very , very beautiful .