Friends for Breakfast!

We had friends for breakfast:) I understand that my watching of martha stewart is in direct correlation with my table decorating and food preparation.

Watch out Nigella. I made your chocolate croissants. They were good! And so easy. Here is a link to her recipe (so easy).

And thanks Rach at PinkLizzySews for her Strawberry Granita Recipe! Here is the link to that....
May be try putting your glasses in the fridge before you pop the granita in on a hot day... otherwise your glasses can crack! (Hot tip!):)

This was our menu for the morning -

Strawberry Granita
Bircher Muesli
Chocolate Mini Croissants
Eggs
Bacon
Hash Browns
Mushrooms
Onions
Toast
Croissants
Juices:)

We also has strawberry smoothies but we didn't make that.... toooo full!

Holiday catch up! So many things! Sooo little time!

I am on holidays and I still seem to be rushing around!

But i thought i would show you what we have been upto lately! And let you see my completed christmas pudding! There it is. It tasted pretty good too if i do say so myself!



BUT! Before that on the 22nd of December it was my beautiful baby's 4th birthday! And she was soo lucky. I managed to grow a lawn cake for her! YAY! Although she didn't seem to love it at first she then got into it. Literally. Since then she has been having lovely naps in her delicious grass cake.




Then! We had Christmas Day. We had breakfast at our house! Must say we are having to have a second breakfast tomorrow to finish up all the food! Here is the setting and my beautiful niece in her Christmas outfit i made for her:) She could not stop prancing in it. Which just made my day to know i had made her happy for the day:) We also made the tutu so it could grow with her:)
There may be a similar tutu coming up in a give away right here! So stay tuned!



Then here we have a lovely time with my friends. We all have the same week off! This is like the fisrt time since we were all at high school! Luckily 3 of us are teachers so i think that has helped:) But it is lovely to be able to do stuff all together this week!:) They are coming for breakfast tomorrow morning and i am so excited:) But here we were at Flinders beach where I grew up and then we went and had breakfast in the Cafe next to the post office - not sure what the name is... but we chose that one because it used to be my house when i was a kid! Dad renovated it all and then the current owners bought it and cut some holes in the walls and made it a cafe!
It was good food there! They did forget the drinks but were super quick once alerted!:)


So how was your christmas? Are you on holidays?

Getting ready for Christmas!

I know. It's a little late. But I had to work! Now i am on holidays and it feels a little more christmasy! hehe
So here you can see my Christmas time cupcakes in the fridge in their cupcake box... they are surprisingly coffee and nutmeg flavoured.... and if you use your imagination you can see that the icing is a bit like a christmas tree? Wellll that is what i was aiming for!!

And my pud. there it is! only... ooooo about 5 hours of boiling to go.... i haven't even eaten that recipe before so i hope it tastes ok....


And yes. that is the car in the driveway. yes. you can see straight into the house from the street through the splash back.... no nude cooking... well not with the inside lights on!

The Summer Rental...

We have moved! We are out of our Mornington house and are now in our Safety Beach house. We will be here for only four months. Barely worth unpacking! But this is not true:) hehe I need to unpack my craft room. So I thought I would show you the craft room before I have unpacked it.. hopefully this will encourage me to finish unpacking and make it all pretty and stuff so I can take a lovely photo of it finished later! You can even see how the stuff it hanging out the door and edging down the hallway... only a matter of time till the stuff makes its way out to the dining room table...

And this is sad little Suki-la stuck outside the door gate... no carpet for lovely suki to chew on...

Lizzy at the beach- Lovely Lizzy

This is my lovely surrogate dog Lizzy. We are looking after her for a week this time and I love taking her for a walk! This is last year, its not beach weather yet... so she hasn't been for a beach walk yet... just down the street.
I love you Lizzy! xx

I'm back:)

Why hello there! August was a massive month! So many orders and things being made! But now it is September, and September is not quite as busy! Plus. This time next week I will be on holidays, so that fixes most things!
I have a few things for you to look at today... hehe first is my spoonflower samples! I like them:) One is organic stretch and the other (with the bigger print) is uphostery fabric:)



Second lot of pictures is off some cushion covers I was inspired to make by etsy's how to in the storque this week:) Then I got all excited with my new sewing machine and I sewed the red one too... I just wanted to sew stuff together! hehe:)


And when the circle cushion inserts come in at work I have the perfect cushion cover idea for them!:) YAY! hehe

If you are bored and stuck at work... Jacqui... :)

If you are bored and stuck at work I want to show you one of my favourite blogs! Ishandchi - I can get lost here for HOURS. Literally... And what makes it best is that the writer of the blog - Viv - is just LOVELY! She made a custom pink chandelier print for my friend Andrea's "Ladies Lounge". Is was the best. Who can have a ladies lounge without a pink chandelier print?? You can buy them here in her etsy store!

I love to see Viv's home tranform with awesome ideas and lovely finishes. If only I had a house to tranform! Hmmm may be next June, when if all goes well we will be in our new house... hehe saving up those tips from Ishandchi!

Look at Viv's studio transformation.
Before....After....



Anyone who can do that is a genius in my opinion. Especially when only using things from around the house and her K.Rudd stimulus package! Nice! Love that mobile.

Check it out Jacqui! I know you are reading now:) hehe:) Hope you had a lovely engagement party:)

New floor cushion!

I have a great fabric stash... i have many pieces of fabric just waiting to be used... hehe
This floor cushion from the amy butler "gumdrops" pattern did the trick on two bits! And on a few bags of stuffing! Which Suki has loved every single piece of...

Things I have bought... not so recently!

This are some of the lovely things I have purchased... a while ago! I was just scrolling through my camera pictures and there they were! So here they are:)


My lovely Little Mo Cards and notebook:) I now have a larger collection of these and I LOVE them! Perfect for writing notes or drawing in! My cards are mine though. No one else can have them! You can buy your own ones here.
These are my mini moo cards:) They claim to be my new BFF. Time will tell:) But I do love them so:) Hehe
These super cute tags make the ladies in the post office swoon over the packages... before i buy the envelopes in a "fly by the seat of your pants" mailing style... always forget to buy extra bags! You can buy these super cute tags from the lovely seller Koot:)

And I must say I will be picking up some more goodies in the Dust Team Christmas in July Sale on the 25-26 July! Both Littlemoandfriends and Koot have percentage off sales! I can recommend them highly!!

I want. I WANT!

I love this room:)
Although I do think it is just the photo... because I imagine if i slept in that bed I would forever terrified of all the books falling on me... But isn't it such a cozy little nest spot... I can imagine sitting on all those cushions reading a book:) or knitting more likely! hehe

I have a new excitement about bedding... it is ridiculous. I have many lovely doona covers none of which would go with a quilt. And I feel a queen sized quilt is probably a wee bit ambitious for a first try... but i can't help but love the bright pink amy butler quilt on her new pattern dvd... you can try all the different fabrics in the designs and stuff using the program and then you can print out the shopping list... i love a good list...

This picture doesn't show the quilt i want to make... and i probably wouldn't make it in bright pink anyway... don't want to step on any manly toes making the bedroom pink... plus pink is a bit extreme for me... BUT I want that floor cushion too! Nerd al very much dislikes it. Especially the pom poms. Which I a little bit love. hehe Each of those "wedges" is made of 0.5metres of fabric though... and i have many of those just dying to be used in my craftroom... so maybe i will just make it anyway:) Will show you when I have!

Sneak peak in my craftroom - Storage:)

I love looking in peoples craftrooms and studios. I love it. I can't show you mine right now because it is not operating as a craftroom... it is a bedroom for selling the house.... now that we are sold it can be turned back into a craft room though! YAY! hehe

What i wanted too show you was my super cool storage boxes. They excite me greatly. hehe I love making them and looking at them and carrying them around with my bits and pieces in them.


They are made from this tutorial from Orangeflower Sketchbook. Obviously hers look mega cool... but i like mine too:) and they are the perfect place to peg my cloud pegs...:) hehe

Things from my week:)

These are some things from my week:)
Beautiful tulips in my craft room, which is technically a bedroom at the moment for the purposes of selling our house:)
Two owl plushies, in the style i was going to make my door stops (note door stop demonstration picture) but these two are for the two real babies I know who both recently turned 1. Isla and Charlotte:)
And the Amy Butler bag I made for a display at my work, i like it! I might make myself one!:)

Jess had an idea - Handmade Pay it Forward

Jess of EpheriellDesigns sent me a gift today:) It is from her new "handmade pay it forward" plan! To share the love! I haven't taken it off since it arrived in the mail. I love it:) Thanks Jess! You can buy Jess's jewellery here at EpheriellDesigns.

If you would like to participate in Handmade Pay it Forward you should follow these instructions that Jess wrote -

"Those of us in the handmade scene love what we do. Many of us would also love to make a living from it, but I think the love of the craft came first.

I’m sure many of you have participated in craft swaps over the years, but I want to take the concept of sharing what we love that one step further.

And so – Handmade Pay It Forward. The idea is simple. You recieve a handmade gift from a fellow craftsperson. You Pay It Forward by sending some of the things you have made and loved to others.

***

In order to participate in this, there are a few requirements:

1. I will choose an undisclosed number of people who comment on this post to send a gift to. This gift I have made with my own hands, and with love.

2. If you choose to comment, and you receive a gift from me, you commit yourself to Paying It Forward.

3. You must then make a post on your blog, making the same offer to your readers.

4. On your blog post, you must include this list of requirements (basically, all the text between the asterisks). You choose how many people you Pay It Forward to – though it would be nice if it was more than one. However, I realise that some of you make high-end or expensive wares, and I don’t want to exclude you from participating by setting a minimum number above one.

5. In each of your packages, as well as your gift, please include a minimum of 5 business cards (if you have them). Also include the business cards that you recieved in your gift – this allows every recipient to visit the people who’s generosity brought Handmade Pay It Forward to them.

6. Finally, in your PIF blog post, include the history of your gift – i.e. the name and blog of all the people before you in the journey.

Handmade Pay It Forward 2009 – Those that gave before me: Jess from EpheriellDesigns,

7. Please only participate once. Obviously, if you haven’t recieved a gift within a few weeks of leaving a comment on a PIF post, you can probably assume you missed out that time, and try again if you see it elsewhere This keeps the PIF goodness spreading to new people! I think I will start a new one once a year… but we’ll see how this evolves!

Please use this button on your blog to share that you have participated!

***

Handmade Pay It Forward 2009 – Those that gave before me: Jess from EpheriellDesigns,

If you can't comment - send me an email:) bobish45@hotmail.com

Suki-La the Cushion.

Suki-La is going very strange at the moment... i put it down to stuff moving around.

But she is VERY excited about the fold out couch moving to another room. It is her new favourite place. At first it was the cushions.


Oh my gosh cushions! How exciting are cushions! As you can see Suki enjoyed making tunnels, burrowing and generally getting up to mischief and trying to become one of the cushions. This was until she tore the bottom out of a cushion... that was not ok. So cushions were moved. No more cushion fun...

But as you can see still a great place for a relaxing kip. For most of the day.

Process of lay down -
1. Clear non existant obstacles by digging at ground (to clear prickles and grasses in the wild)
2. Do a full circle twirl.
3. Flop in cleared area.
4. Stretch body
5. Stretch legs in Jane Fonda aerobic style.
6. Relax

May be she needs one of these? But.... umm. without the cat.... you can purchase them from likekittysville on etsy! Suki might need on at our new house!

My house is for sale!

Exotic Location of my school holidays.
Originally uploaded by bobishi

Today after having a variety of estate agents through our house we have decide on one and we are going to sell! We are looking for something a little more... unique? Not a unit in a row of 4 that all look the same? Something a little more original that we can play with a little:) Tomorrow I will have to take some pics inside as evidence of how clean it is!

This is an oldish photo.... those plants are now much bigger:) And it is wintery here now! Not that lovely sky look! hehe

I will miss my craftroom which I had to sacrifice as a bedroom... but hopefully i will still be able to make things while we are waiting to sell! Just super neatly:)

Cute things and Delicious things:) Best combination!

I can't help it... the cutest animal is the world (except my bunny of course) is the baby hedgehog... i don't believe I have ever seen one before, but if this is the standard... then man they are cute!

So in honour of the super cute animal, here is a delicious Hedgehog recipe... YUM, from taste.com.au one of my new favourite websites!

 

Makes 

About 48 pieces

Ingredients

• 2 x 250g pkts Arnott's Scotch Fingers
• 200g unsalted butter, chopped
• 1 cup (160g) icing sugar mixture, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 400g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 150g roasted peeled hazelnuts, chopped
• 100g raisins or chopped candied fruit, soaked in 40ml brandy (optional)

Method

1. Line a 20 x 30cm slice tin with baking paper. Cut 16 biscuits in 1/2 lengthways then chop 8 biscuits into crumbs.
2. Place butter, sugar, vanilla and chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in egg then stir in hazelnuts, biscuit crumbs and fruit (if using).
3. Spoon 1/2 the mixture over base of tin. Top with biscuit halves, widthways in 4 lines. Spoon over remaining mixture to cover biscuits. Refrigerate overnight or until firm then turn on to a board and cut into squares.

Friday Finds

Now I must preface this with, I don't have a human baby. I don't want a human baby yet, thanks for asking, my fur baby is keeping me busy enough! But I was in Pounce looking for a Friday Find and I found this designer Meenieandmoe and I think it will just be a matter of time until they are just RUSHED off their feet! I will definately be heading here when some of my friends have the bubs!

Also lately on the DUST etsy forum there has been a lot of photography talk! And I just love this sellers photographs! They are gorgeous! And they definately stand out:) I love how the onesies are layered! Lovely!

Anyway! Enough gushing:) Here are the pics! Check out meenieandmoe!

Wednesday Wishlist (on thursday....it's all good)

I know its late! But tried really hard on Wednesday but I was using a Mac and it was all to difficult...

These are some lovely things I think that my lovely niece from below should have for her 1st birthday next month!
Build a tree - Adhesive fabric wall stickers by lovemaestore, because I love them.... I kind of want them for myself... must resist urge...

Kiki the Little Toy Horse by Neverever, because everyone needs a pink horse to cuddle:)

Frolicking in the rose garden - Hand dyed, Drop Waist dress. By Littlepoppett, because she doesn't have a party dress yet!! ( how cute is that model??)

Yummy Pink Cupcake by FeltfoodCreations, because there will be yummy pink cupcakes at her birthday!

Vanilla Pixie treats!

I have been looking after my surrogate puppy, Lizzy, I like to walk her... everyone likes to walk Lizzy. This is my beautiful niece coming on a Lizzy walk with my sister and I:) She has 4 big teeth. She also is allergic to corn... hence weird rash. Did you notice her lovely clip?? It's by my lovely friend Carley of VanillaPixie. Carley makes gorgeous hair items for both little girls and the older girls. My lovely niece is just turning one and has very little hair and she loves wearing her VanillaPixie clip, and despite being attached to a wiggly one year old, it hasn't fallen out!! Best clippies ever! Stock up ladies with babies!

Banana Custard Muffins

I hate old bananas.... i hate the smell I don't like touching them and yet I don't want to waste them... but now I am a wife I have to be all grown up and resourceful you see! So I went on the search for a banana recipe for my three moosh (yet not black bananas).
Sadly I couldn't find anything exciting due to my lack of other interesting ingredients... no macadamias or figs. No dates.. and certainly no chocolate chips!

So I made my own recipe up! And it was a success! Reviewers claim "The best muffins ever made", "no I will not share them with my friends."

So here is the recipe to my No-Share Banana Custard Muffins.

No Share Banana Custard muffins.

Ingredients

3 old bananas
1 1/4 cups self raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup of brown sugar
50gms butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/3 cup of milk
tbs of custard powder

custard filling:
1 tbs custard powder
1 tbs caster sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Make custard - mix sugar and powder in a pot, add enough milk to make a paste, turn the heat on gradually add more milk and the vanilla extract, bring to the boil then turn heat down to a simmer. Take of heat when it has thickened and put in a new cooler bowl.

2. Sift flour, custard powder and sugar together, make a well in the center.

3. Whisk milk, butter, eggs and mashed bananas with a fork in another bowl.

4. Fold mixture into the flour and sugar until well combined.

5. Fill 8 cupcake pans until 1/3 full and add a dollop of custard, then 1/3 more mixture.

6. Put into preheated 200 degrees celcius oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean:)

7. Eat them all and don't share them with your friends.

:)

Delicious inside custard surprise!:)mmmm

Hehe Saturday Morning Giggle:)

Is this not the funniest thing ever.. it is a real sport... bunny show jumping:) You can see it all over youtube...
These are the professionals.... look how excited that guy in the blue jumper is.... hmm...
:) Check them out! Here

You can train any bunny to show jump... starting with small sticks.. but not my bunny... although I don't believe bunny show jumping is massive in Australia yet.. this would be the lovely Suki-la in a showjumping situation.... here...

I have a wedding photo!

It's true, I am possibly the slackest post-bride person ever... I don't have photos that are just mine... I only have the ones others handed over... or listed in facebook!! hehe
But now! I have one! From the photographer:) It is a low res one so not printing quality... but i do so like it... the donkeys are in it:) I love donkeys:) hehe

The photograph based this one of that Gothic Painting with the pitchfork... yeah? this one:)

Grant Wood American Gothic 1930

Front Page Front Page!

This front page pushed me over my 700 hearts goal on etsy! YAY!:) I have becoming disheartened... but the iphone covers are a hit:) hehe They are sooo fun to make so that is good:)

Bunny watch.

So i know this pic is a little blurry and hard to see, but i hope you can get this gist...
This is my beautiful Suki and she is on the bed. What is she doing?? She is not sleeping... she i watching, she does this every night, sometimes all night... not always... but some of the time... nearly every morning and just after bed time. She is watching out for her family, just making sure we are all safe from predators while we sleep, and then in the evening we watch for her (or so she thinks... we are just watching tv..:) )
So I just thought you might like to see my lovely guard bunny. If you surprise her she will thump at you.

Mothers Day - present for Mum:)

I got my mum's present ages ago... but thought i should probably make her something to go with her new mothers day brooch. So I made her a bag, the top one in the grey with the leaves. It's for her to take to the market to put her goodies in:) Mum deserves a new bag:) hehe


Then I liked it so much I made one for my etsy store! But different to mum's because that is her special bag. Only for my mum:) The orange one is called the "Brunch Bag" and you can see it here. :)

New things!

I have been making something new! Iphone covers:) I like making them! I can use all my favourite bits and pieces together to make cute pretty ones:) This one is my favourite, so girly and cute:) Check them all out in my etsy store! All 16 of them! hehe

Vote For Me! Please:)

So I was very excited to here that my bamboo booties were included in an etsy voter thing for Handmade Babies!
You can vote for them! Here!
Even if you don't wanna vote for me, you should vote for a duster (Australian Etsy team:) Because we are so deserving of some recognition... we work so hard... and we live so far away from the rest of the world so our packages take so long to get there!