Sunday sweetness

 Why am I still making hats when it's nearly summer? I just can't get enough of them. This one is from Ravelry called Autumn Slouch

I've read so many recipes over the last few years (mainly on American blogs) that use or call for Graham Crackers - even the children have been asking what Graham Crackers are (thanks to US kids shows) but they aren't something that I have ever seen on the shelves in NZ. So I found a recipe this morning to make my own.

I filled them with chocolate buttercream and they were a delight. I have no idea if they are anything close to authentic but they are pretty nice!

I don't have much more to show you on the Ripple Blanket as I have been busy making Christmas pressies, but I can't post them here as I know a few of my wonderful family read my posts ;) I can show a wee taggie blanket/playmat that I have made for a small person though.

It's been a busy day of baking, playing, housework, sewing - but I also got in a wee bit of peaceful time as we have pulled the caravan out near the house (in preparation for summer getaways) and the girls are using it as an extra playroom. Fabulous! They played schools and shops out there for a good couple of hours today before they had any tiffs ;)  I love sneaking up on them to see what they are doing - scrabble classwork with slightly interestingly spelled All Blacks names (the rugby obsession is not fading).

I also had a beautiful wee surprise in the mail this week, I sent something to a lovely reader a few weeks ago after she asked about something I'd made, and I was so touched to know that she had appreciated it - she sent me the most beautiful handcrafted items. Shirley, thank you so much - the sachet in hanging in my wardrobe, the pot mat is very handy in the kitchen and the Pin Cushion - wow I was so excited by that (it's the gorgeous apple below) was exactly what I needed.

I have dreadful hayfever at the moment - the pollen count is very high. I don't react well to OTC drugs (antihistamines) even the non-drowsy ones make me drowsy, so I used medicated eye drops, homeopathic allergy spray, inhalations of Eucalyptus and Lavender, Peppermint teas and try to stay inside when I'm really bad, but I'm still struggling. Do any of you wonderful people out there have any good suggestions???

Anyway I must get these children to bed and then get the hook out again.

Have a wonderful week all xxxx  Kylie

Madness

We have a tap dancing lamb. Seriously she likes nothing better than to come a dance on the deck. It's pretty funny! (I tried to upload a video but it seems the file is too large, so you will have to imagine her dancing and jumping around- pretty cute!)

The last two weekends have been really busy with a family birthday party complete with a South African Potje (first time I'd tried that - yum!!), playdates, garden work and refereeing bickering children ;) I've been busy making some yummy recipes the last few days too.  We have a fair few Avocados so I've busy creating new recipes for using them up.

My latest one,Creamy Avocado Mousse with Sweet Chilli Syrup is pretty yummy!

Another thing I've been making a fair bit of is Chocolate dipped Macadamia Nuts (oh so divine!!)

I have a new household cleaner recipe as well. It is amazing! It's from one of my favourite household books "A Home Companion" by Wendyl Nissen.


Peppermint Paste

1 cup baking soda

1 tbsp cream of tartar

10 ml liquid castile soap (She recommends Dr Bonners Castile Soap which you can buy directly from her website or places like Bin Inn)

5 ml water

1ml peppermint essential oil

1. In a bowl mix together baking soda with the cream of tartar.

2. In a small jug mix liquid castile soap and water. Slowly pour into the powders and mix with a fork until you have a paste. Add more water if you need to. (I actually left out the castile soap as I had none and it worked perfectly well, in fact I don't know if I would add it as it's great without it!)

3.  Add peppermint essential oil and stir to combine.

4. Store in an airtight container and use to clean kitchen and bathroom sinks, baths and toilets.

Do you remember the tea towels I bought the other day? Well here's the first cushion I made out of one - that will look so cute in the caravan.

Busy too doing a little hooky goodness (a giant Granny blanket for one of the girls - which one hmmmm they both have their eyes on it - think I will need to make two).

I'm not sure why these colours look screwy - the peach is actually a pink and the grey/brown below it is really lilac! Odd..

Night all, I'm off to watch a little trash TV since hubby is working - I have the remote all to myself!

K xxx

Tea Party Sunday

Yesterday was my big girl's 7th Birthday, so of course we had a chintzy tea party to celebrate. Now my eclectic child "gets" my vintage love, she was so proud of it all - but I think the other children were really struggling with the time warp they walked into .... Oh it was so cute. Individual place settings with a handmade crepe flower each, charity shop glasses (perfect size for the girls), pink lemonade, sweet treats, doilies and anything else that made my heart skip a beat on the day.

One of the biggest successes was with a recipe called "Pink Passion Lemonade" that I found here (courtesy of Pinterest). It's essentially not lemonade at all, but lemon juice with a few other things. My big girl loved it!!

Pink Passion Lemonade
Juice of 4 lemons
Juice of 4 Passionfruit
3/4 cup unrefined sugar
3 cups water
2 -3 drops natural pink food colouring (mine was a bit darker than in the original recipe - kids liked it darker)
Ice cubes

Mix all together and serve (in vintage cups of course!)

The girls also loved these dipped marshmellows - no recipe required, but they did look fabulous on the lollipop sticks I found at Spotlight.

Honey rice bubble slice also went down well with the girls - lucky we have plenty left over as it's a treat we enjoy.


Now the crepe flowers were fun to make, I followed a few tutorials that I found on the internet but none of them worked well for me so here is my own mini tutorial.

Crepe flowers

Cut 2 widths (about 5cm - make sure both are the same width and about 1 metre (or just over 2 feet) in length) and place one on top of another.  Sew close to the edge with the longest stitch possible, and the loosest tension possible. The crepe with sort of gathers as you go.

Roll into a flower shape that you like, mine were fairly loose (tight rolling just didn't work out right) and glue with a glue gun as you go.

 Especially cute with contrasting crepe. You could make big or small - it wouldn't really matter.

Oh so gorgeous. My daughter was fascinated with them - even gave me a great big cuddle to say thank you for making all the beautiful flowers.

The birthday was simple, yet fun. So much Chocolate!!!

And the birthday girl herself, can't believe what a wee lady she is turning into.

My morning project.....

A nifty little Crochet hook holder using my favourite vintage fabric. It's been ages since I had the sewing machine out, still haven't found the love again but I'm pretty happy with my effort.