Thursday 29 August 2013

Friday Resolution

This guy has such an amazing voice - this song has been in my head for weeks...



Hope you enjoy it too!
L xx

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Show & Tell - Warm Tootsies

Happy Thursday!

Show & Tell Thursday's

I dont know about you, but for me... if my feet are cold, all of me feels cold.  So when I see my kids running around in the winter with bare feet that feel like icicles I start to shiver...  Next problem though: how to convince them that wearing slippers will make, not only Mum, but them feel better too?  Make them personalised slippers!

They all got to give me a run down of what they would roughly like.  A chose her yarn and wanted princess slippers.

H wanted Zebra slippers...

L sensed she was being conned and would only relent to yellow... her sisters decided they needed to be yellow bunnies...
Except for the bows, the rest was all made up as I went along and "custom-fitted" for size :)  All are double stranded (one wool and one acrylic yarn).  And they are loved and have been worn! Win!  (Except for L who was not wrong in her sense that this was all a ploy and will only play with them and occasionally wear them... at least she puts some socks on now!)

Last opportunity this week to link up for our August giveaway - one of Lisa from Big Little's awesome patterns!  Head over and have a look at her amazing goodies, as the winner will get to choose one of her patterns and will also receive a copy of the latest Bespoke magazine!





Have you made anything for your kids to overcome resistance?  Please do tell!

Thank you for stopping by and linking in.  You guys are awesome and I'm looking forward to being inspired by your makings this week!
Have a happy day :)
L xx



A quick list...

Late to the party I know but... I thought I would quickly do this before afternoon running around commences!



Making: losts of lists!
Cooking: vege, lentil and bacon soup for dinner
Drinking : coffeeeee
Reading:  work emails...
Wanting:  to comfort friends in pain
Looking:  for the perfect pink fabric to sash the sampler blocks for A's quilt...
Playing: Matt Corby & Caylus
Wasting: time by being indecisive... 
Sewing:   birds
Wishing: for more hours in a day
Enjoying:  our new backyard
Waiting:  for some big news
Liking:  that spring is in the air
Wondering:  if A found her missing school jumper

Loving:  my little one pulling off bright yellow sunnies
Hoping:  for a fun family outing over the weekend
Marvelling:  at how long it's taken to complete this list...
Needing: a biscuit
Smelling:  rain in the air
Wearing: my mummy outfit - jeans, top and comfy shoes
Following:  tricky four and two year old conversations
Noticing: blossoms everywhere
Knowing:  I will be cutting out paper pieces, fabric and do some crochet before the day is out
Thinking: about Christmas gifts
Bookmarking:  craft ideas on Pinterest
Opening: happy fabric mail
Giggling: at funny work-colleagues
Feeling: like I've achieved quite a lot today!
Where are you at?
Hope you're having a happy humpday!
L xx

Sunday 25 August 2013

Shoebox fun

Over the holidays... yes ages ago... the girls were dead keen on crafting and we had lots and lots of ideas.  Unfortunately we just didn't get round to many at all, but we did manage to do something!

We found a couple of old shoeboxes in good condition, pulled out the plastic covered mat, and got some glue, pretty paper, stickers and all sorts of goodies.

The girls went nuts recovering and decorating the lids of their new treasure boxes.  It was so interesting watching them create, only helping when asked to, and observing the different approaches.  One very free and wild approach and the other taking a more planned and considered direction.  Fascinating to watch their minds at work!

They love their wee boxes, so does little sis who was having a nap during the few hours of this session and loves to pull the stickers back off the boxes...

Linking in with the very inspiring Miriam and mums.
L xx

Create Hope Inspire

Thursday 22 August 2013

Come on use your imagination...

He was my fav on the show...and this is a great wee ditty : )



Hope the sun is shining where you are!
L xx

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Show & Tell: P is for Paper Piecing

Hi all you delightful people!

Show & Tell Thursday's

How has your week been? What loveliness will you share with us today?

A while ago uber talented and lovely Juliet from Tartankiwi asked me if I would consider testing her new paper pieced Pukeko pattern... I'd only tried paper piecing once... but I like a good challenge and I was so flattered to be asked there was no way I was turning it down!

Well I was pretty stoked with how it turned out! It's now with Fiona who is turning it into a Quilt for Christchurch : )

As soon as I finished the Pukeko, Juliet mentioned that her Kiwi pattern had been adjusted and... I don't think I finished reading the sentence before sending off a reply saying pick me pick me!

I made this one up in the colours for the Sampler Quilt I'm still working on and the girls all adore it!  I've done another one since, but more about that another time : )  Thanks for asking and trusting me to give them a go Juliet!

Second to last opportunity this week to link up for our August giveaway - one of Lisa from Big Little's awesome patterns!  Head over and have a look at her amazing goodies, as the winner will get to choose one of her patterns!  The winner will also receive a copy of the latest Bespoke magazine thanks to Cat.





Looking forward to seeing your awesome creations!
Until next week!
L xx
I'm linking up with Paper Piecing Party and NZ Handmade this week too : )
Show & Tell Thursday's




Monday 19 August 2013

Scrum Yum Muesli Bars

As a growing family we are always looking for quick and simple ways to reduce the grocery bills without compromising nutrition and volume of necessary food consumed... We've managed to achieve huge savings in general by baking our own bread, making our own muesli, getting clever about ways to make meals stretch further and so on...

The most recent "home-made" conversion has been muesli bars.  All 5 of us have at least one a day on average - tasty, filling and generally not too unhealthy.  It didn't seam a big stretch to make these ourselves.  I turned to my good friend Pinterest and found a recipe that I liked the sound of... not so dense that you feel like your jaw will drop from exhaustion from all that chewing, toasted and full of good bits.

Here's the recipe if you're keen to try it!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup caster sugar
125g butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup rice bubbles
1/2 cu raisins/sultanas
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries/mixed dried berries
1/2 cup almonds/nuts
1/4 cup seeds (combinations of pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, etc)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 180'C.
2.  Grease/line a slice tray with baking paper - I use a cookie tray.
3.  Combine honey, sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
4.  Cook stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
5.  Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes or until the syrup thickens slightly.
6.  Remove from heat.
7.  Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
8.  Pour hot syrup over dry ingredients and stir to combine.
9.  Spoon into prepared tray and press firmly to make sure the mixture will stick together (you can use baking baker to press down so it doesn't stick to your fingers).
10.  Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
11.  To help it stick together when it comes out of the oven, put some baking paper on top of the cooked slice, then stack another tray on top and load it up with some weight for a couple of hours.  I use some heavy dishes, cans, etc.
12.  Once cool, slice and refrigerate until well chilled.

-  Ours keep well in an airtight container and we get about 40 slices from a tray.  Hubby likes a bit of chocolate on his so we just spread some melted chocolate over a few :)
-  I also add a handful of shredded coconut to our slice.
-  The mixture has 1.5 cups of dried fruit so use whatever combination you like.
-  If you need to be nut free you can replace the nuts with coconut, seeds or fruit.
-  You could use half honey, half smooth peanut butter in the syrup.
-  You can make them gluten free by using 2 cups of crushed cornflakes and 2 cups of rice bubbles (gluten free of course) or use gluten free oats.
-  And apparently the sugar content is better than commercial bars too!


So there you go.  Would love to know if you try it and if you liked it!
Do you have any nifty ideas on how to make food go further in your house?
Joining in with lovely Ange.
Happy Tuesday!
L xx

Happy Mail

Hi friends,
How was your weekend?
Here things are trucking along on all sorts of fronts and as busy as ever.  I hope to come back and chat a bit more about our goings on sometime : )

Last week among all the bills and work mail I received this lovely lovely book... to be fair for some reason the postie had left it round the back of the house in the rain?? I discovered it by accident the next day and luckily the book was completely fine... phew!

I had completely forgotten about the promise of something special so it was super awesome - and perfect for a mum of 3 girlies :)

Top of the girls list for mum to make them is Boo the bunny... they pretty much love everything in this book, as do I! Thanks Juliet - it's simply gorgeous : )

Would love to hear what you've been up to over the weekend. Anyone else receive some happy mail or come accross any fantastic books (craft or otherwise) lately?

Hope you're having a happy Monday!
L xx

Thursday 15 August 2013

You're gonna sing the words wrong...

Am really enjoying this wee tune at the moment.
And the video is quite quirky too :)



Have a great weekend!
L x

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Show & Tell - Hoot'n Toot'n

It's Thursday, Thursday!

Show & Tell Thursday's

And time for another edition of Show & Tell!

This wee bag was a labour of love.  It took lots of hours and work, but it was worth it and my #2 poppet was thrilled to receive it for her Birthday (and also that Mummy had finally made her something!).

The pattern was clear with lots and lots of photo's.  And once you get your head around some of the workings, it comes together quite well.

It's a decent size and fits lots and lots of precious things and toys : )  A cute bag for a cute little girl :)

If you're keen for one of  Lisa from Big Little's awesome patterns, make sure you link up!  Head over and have a look at her amazing goodies, as the winner will get to choose one of her patterns!



So, what have you been making?  Go on... show us your goods!
Have a happy day!
L xx


Show & Tell Thursday's




Monday 12 August 2013

One for you, one for me, one for her, one for...

Ok so I may have gone a little blanket crazy... but after never, not ever finding a single blanket until that first time... there may or may not have been a bit of an influx...

On one trip I found these two...

Then a few weeks ago I found 6!

And last week this one...

But! I have purchased some of them for others too as I couldn't bare to leave any behind after the drought in that department.  So I wont keep them all to myself but man I was pretty happy about finding them!

Have you had a tidal wave of goodies?

Joining up with fantastical Max.
L xx

Thursday 8 August 2013

Wednesday 7 August 2013

Show & Tell - Bunting Love

Good Morning Lovelies

Show & Tell Thursday's

Thank you for joining us again today - you guys are awesome!

Aaages ago a bunch of women got in on a mission to bomb a special lady with crochet bunting.  Just to let her know we were all thinking of her, that she is awesome and to make her smile : )


Deb's favourite colour is yellow so there is a bit of that in this collection.  Along with a rainbow of other colours :)

You can read about it here, here, here, and here (sorry if I've missed any!).

Our August giveaway is one of Lisa from Big Little's awesome patterns!  Head over and have a look at her amazing goodies, as the winner will get to choose one of her patterns!




Then come back and link up to be in to win and to share your awesome talent and creations with us!
Looking forward to seeing what you've been up to!
Have a happy day : )
L xx


Show & Tell Thursday's



Monday 5 August 2013

Finally a pretty blanket

This is the last awesome item I found that day at the Sally Store...

A gorgeous woollen blanket... for $5!  Which was amazing considering they've had a few blankies there but priced up to $25!


It's gorgeous and I cant decide if I have the heart to cut it up yet for other uses.  Perhaps if I find some more my attachment to it might become a little less?


Joining in again (yay!) with magical Max.
L xx

Thursday 1 August 2013