Bath salts made by Miss G

There is nothing better than a nice relaxing bath. Ahhhhhhhh, thinking about it just makes me relaxed. What could be more relaxing? A nice warm bath with your very own home made bath salts! Miss G loves her bath so when she was reading a "Kids gifts to make" book & found bath salts, there was no stopping her!! We had to drive straight away to the shops to get the ingredients. Now, this is not just a kids thing to make. They also make a great gift. For the person who has everything, why not give them something they don't have, a pretty jar of bath salts made by you!! So here goes................

Bath salts

You will need;
Small gift jars with tight fitting lids
Epsom salts, enough to fill the jars
Food colouring
Essential oil of your choice, we used peppermint
Some old jars for mixing the salts in, we made 3 different colours
decorations for the jar

Fill up one of the gift jars with the Epsom salts. Pour that amount equally between 3 mixing jars.

Into each jar, add a couple of drops of food coloring & a couple of drops of essential oils. Shake well.

 Using a funnel, pour each colour of the salts into a gift jar so that you can see the different coloured layers.

Decorate the jar & attach a label. You only need about a tablespoon or 2 of these salts so make sure that you write the directions on the back of the label.

 Miss K liked this so much that she also made some bath salts for herself!! She made her salts blue with orange essential oil.

Now, who wouldn't want a gift made with love? They really do smell beautiful! You could make your salts with lavender, rose, vanilla, coconut, the options are endless!!
Enjoy!

OMG!!!!!!!!! Cookie dough for cookie dough icecream!!!!!

OK, I have to admit from the start, I forgot to take photo's of all the steps to making this!! Miss G & I were just so excited to be making it that we got a little sidetracked!! This would have to be better than any store brought cookie dough ice cream & is a fraction of the price!! I just added this dough into cheap plain vanilla ice cream but you could add it in to any flavoured ice cream that you wish!! Here is a photo of the finished product.......

It is so yummy!!! So here goes.......

Cookie dough for ice cream
2 cups of plain flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of butter/margarine, melted
1 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
1 tablespoon of milk
1 packet of small choc chips



Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.
Wrap in a log shape using alfoil, freeze for 2 hours.


You can then let a 2L tub of ice cream slightly melt, place it in a large bowl. Cut up the cookie dough into bite sized chunks & mix through the ice cream.

It is that easy!!!

It is the first official day of school holidays here so we spent the morning with some lovely ladies & lots of kiddies at a great park next to the beach.

 So now the chickadees have a DVD on, Furry Vengance with Brandon Fraser (eye candy!!), & it looks like it is time for some cleaning for me. I think I drew the short straw!! What ever you are up to today.........enjoy!

Ahhhhhh, memories!

Today, I am dreaming of Summer! The above photo is one that I took at one of my fave places in the world. Bribie Island! We love to take the 4wd out on the beach, drive to one of the lagoons & sit & watch the world go by.

We have the ocean running in our veins. The beach is calming & soothing. Today, I am dreaming of summer!

7 scarves for 7 days!

7 scarves for 7 days! I started sewing my first scarf yesterday & only thought I would make 2-3, I ended up making 7!!! The pattern that I made was so quick & easy that I just kept going!! Once you start pinning, a scarf can be completed in around 15-20 minutes!!! I have so many beautiful pieces of fabrics in my stash that I have brought over the years but could not decide what to do with them. So I turned them into scarves!!! The first 4 in the above picture are made from sheer Italian silk blends so they so soft & luxurious. The next 2 are made from beautiful stretch lace. The last scarf is made from 100% cotton. It shows that you can use any material to make these scarves. I am going to make some more in stretch jersey next. I think I have found a new addiction!! I have always loved scarves but I do find that the woolly ones can become itchy & pick up fluff, pet hair, etc.

I made the simple pattern by joining 2 pieces of the local newspaper together.

The newspaper pattern measures 115cm long so you can use it across the length of the material. You need 2 pieces of fabric & sew 2 of the short ends together to make one long piece. I did not even use the overlocker as some of the material I used was see through so I did not want bulky seams. Fold the material in half length ways as in the diagram below.

Sew along the 3 open side but make sure you leave a gap (as shown in the diagram) so that you can use the gap to pull the material out the right way. Then once you have turned the scarf in the right way, close the gap up with a small straight stitch.

Your scarf is then finished!!! Very simple & easy but very beautiful. It is a quick way to update your winter wardrobe & add a splash of colour. I find that black & denim jackets are timeless & a staple in my wardrobe. It is how you add accessories that bring them into fashion.

Now I have a scarf for every day & every fashion trend!! Go on, what are you waiting for!!! Grab your machine & get sewing!!! Enjoy!!

Dreaming of summer!!

When I see a big bowl of strawberries, I immediately think of summer. I don't know why, but I just do! Now strawberries are at their best & cheapest in winter so now is the best time to use strawberries for cooking. In our family we love to go strawberry picking at a local strawberry farm near us. The chickadees love going through the fields & have competitions looking for the biggest ones! Here is the winner form last year.....

It was nearly the same size as Miss G's face!!! I think that visiting a local farm & letting the kids pick their own strawberries is something every family should do. And you can't forget to have some of the yummy foods that the farm often has on offer.

It is a great way to support your local farmer. Now I do have to let you know that Miss K does not like strawberries at all but she loves to go picking too!! She just doesn't like having her photo taken!!

The girls have already been asking when we will be going picking this winter, hopefully over the school holidays we will head up. It is a great way to keep the kids amused on the holidays.

Now, Miss G has been waiting for weeks for the price of strawberries to drop, she checks every week. When they are under $4 a punnet at the shops, she knows that it is time for home made strawberry ice creams!!! Now these are so simple to make & are chocked full of strawberries. It is all done in the food processor. So here goes........

Strawberry ice creams
1 punnet of fresh strawberries
1/2 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of icing sugar

Remove the tops of the strawberries & slice them. Add the strawberries, milk & icing sugar to the food processor.

Process until smooth & creamy. Put the mixture into a pouring jug.

Fill the ice block moulds to the fill line at the top. This amount of mixture should fill a tray of four.

Place the ice block handles on securely & freeze until solid or overnight.

To release the ice creams, run warm water over the base for approximately 10 seconds, then pull the handle to release.

Now, as you can tell by the smile on Miss G's face, these are so very tasty!! As soon as she walked through the door after school, she made a beeline for the freezer. She did not utter a word, she was on a mission!! She had been thinking about these all day at school & said the wait was worth it!!! LOL!!!

Why not plan a trip to your local farm this holidays!! Enjoy!

Pumpkin & sweet potato soup.

If you are feeling the chill this winter, then it must mean that it is time for some soup! I have to admit that I don't just save soup for winter, I love soup at any time of the year! Not only is it tasty & delicious, it is also the best way to fight off colds, flu's & just a good way to keep warm. If I have indulged a little too much on yummy goodies (chocolate!!) I will then have a couple of days of soup for lunch to make my brain think that I am being really healthy!! LOL! My all time fave soup is this version that I created of an old fave, pumpkin soup. I have added sweet potato but you can substitute the sweet potato if you don't like it.

 With pumpkin in season, this is quite a cheap  way to make dinner & have leftovers for lunch during the week. My local green grocer has whole pumpkins for $2 each at the moment. This massive batch of soup (& I only used half of the pumpkin!) would have cost less then $5. It would easily serve a family of 4 with 2-3 lunches to put in the freezer. So here goes.................

In your largest saucepan or stock pot (I use a stock pot) 3/4 fill it with pumpkin cut into 1 inch pieces.

Fill the rest of the pot with sweet potato, peeled & chopped into 1-2cm rounds.

 Add  1 medium onion cut into quaters & a generous amount of olive oil. Place the lid on top & turn the stove to a medium-high heat.

Make sure to stir the veggies every 5 minutes or so till they are softened & lightly browned. If needed add more oil if they are sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add in 1 tablespoon of minced or crushed garlic & 1 teaspoon of curry powder.

Toss the garlic & curry through until all the veggies are coated

Fill the pot so that all the veggies are well covered with water.

Turn down low & let simmer for 30 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree until it is nice & smooth.

Serve with a few chopped chives & parsley to garnish.

You can also serve with some crusty bread or croutons.

This soup will certainly warm your belly!

Enjoy!

The best bag you will ever have!

OK, have been going on & on about this brilliant bag.........& now i can finally share it! Phew, I had no idea how much effort is put into a tutorial! I ended up with over 100 photo's!! I could have written a book! I tried to put myself into the followers shoes & what I would want from a tutorial. I think the most important part is lots of photo's to make it easier to follow. This bag is truly worth sharing! Now I am not a professional sewer, I am self taught, I have never had a lesson & I have definitely had my share of disasters! The Internet has been on of my tools of the trade. Google is a sewers best friend!! I do however have an pretty unique ability, I can look at a finished product & in my head, I can see the pattern. When I look at a bag, I can see the main shape & make a pattern, I can look at the pockets & make a pattern, I can look at the handles & yep, you guessed it, make a pattern!! I have a stack of old newspapers which are the best thing for pattern making. They are also the basic shape for a large tote bag. This is the bag that I have made (above picture). The pockets for this bag are on the outside, not the inside. You could make this bag in any colours or patterned  fabric that your heart desires. It could be blues for a boys daycare bag, pinks for a girls ballet bag & if you have taste similar to mine, the bolder the better!!! I am going to use mine as a "day out with the girls" bag. Whenever I take my chickadees somewhere, I end up carrying every ones purses, hairbrushes, lipstick, phones, etc, etc, etc. I then can never find my own stuff in my own bag. This way I can have my things on the inside & the chickadees can use the pockets on the out side. Now I am going to attempt to show you how to make this bag!!



You will need.....

Approximately 1.5m of main fabric

0.5m of contrast fabric

0.5m of heavy weight iron on interfacing

Off cuts of wadding to line the straps (optional)

small piece of hat elastic

Matching button

2 sheets of newspaper

tape measure

pins

safety pin

scissors

sewing machine

iron (for pressing seams)

If you need to, you can click on any of these photo's to enlarge them.

For the pattern I used a piece of the local newspaper & fold one and in so that the finished shape was a rectangle 48.5cm x 40.5cm. Cut 4 pieces of the main fabric to this size. This will give you the outside & lining of the bag.

Fold that same piece of newspaper in half length ways, do not unfold the first fold from the main pattern piece. Cut 4 of this long rectangle. This will give you the front & back pockets.

Pin the pocket pieces in pairs, right side of fabric together,  pinning along both long sides, leave the short sides open. The short ends will not be sewn at this stage.

Sew along the long sides, make sure to leave the short sides open. Turn the fabric inside out so that the right side are now facing out.

Press the seams flat with a warm-hot iron.

Pin the pockets to the front & back 2 outside pieces of the main fabric. Pin them 10cm up from the bottom edge of the main fabric.

Sew along a line along bottoms of the fabric for the pockets. 

Measure in 15cm from the edge of the pockets and pin 2 lines to form the dividers in the main pocket.

Sew the pockets following the pins to form 3 pockets on both the front & back pieces.

With right sides together, pin the main front & back pieces (with the pockets attached) together. Pin along the 2 sides & the bottom. Do not pin along the top of the fabric.

Put your finger inside each corner of the bag, press open with an iron to form a "point" on each side of the bottom of the bag. This is how you make the base. Measure in 8cm from the tip of the sewing in the corner, & mark with pins.

Following the pins, sew straight across. You then have the rectangle base for the bag.

 Pin the 2 lining pieces of the lining fabric the the shiny side of the heavy weight interfacing. The shiny side is an adhesive that is activated when you iron the fabric to it. This is what gives your bag structure & shape.

With a warm-hot iron, iron the fabric to the interfacing that you have cut to the same size as the lining material. Iron back & forth, starting from the middle. This may take a while for the adhesive to firmly attach to the fabric. Just make sure you do not stop the ironing, keep it moving.

Pin the 2 interfaced lining pieces together, right sides of the faric in. Pin alaong the sides & the bottom but make sure to leave a gap of about 15cm in the middle of the bottom edge that will not be sewn. This is how you will pull your bag through at the end.

Sew along the 2 sides & bottom, remember, make sure to leave an opening along the middle of the bottom.

Doing the same as you did to the outside of the bag, make a point in each corner, press flat & sew a line 8cm in from the tip of the corner.

The lining should be able to "stand up" by itself. You have now made the same base in the lining as you did in the main bag.

Take your second piece of newspaper & cut down the middle fold so you have one page of the paper.

Fold that piece in half length ways then cut along the fold. you now have the pattern pieces for the shoulder straps. Pin those pieces to the leftover of the main fabric. Make sure that one end of the pattern pieces is on a fold of the fabric so that when you cut them, the fabric pieces are twice as long as the pattern pieces.

Fold the strap pieces in half length ways & pin along the long edge. Leave the 2 short ends open. 

Sew along the long ends. If you prefer a wide strap, use the edge of the presser foot as your guide. If you like a more narrow strap, sew a bit further in from the edge of the material. I prefer the strap to be around an inch or more wide.

Turn the 2 straps, right sides out.

Press the straps out flat withthe iron. Cut 2 strips of wadding, about 0.5cm thinner than the strap & about 5cm longer. 

Put a safety pin in one end of the wadding & thread it through one of the strap cassings. repeat for the other one aswell. Make sure the wadding sits flat inside the strap casing. Press flat with a warm iron.

Pin a line along the middle of each strap to hold the wadding in place & sew along both long edges of each strap so that the wadding is securely in place.

Measure in 12cm from the the side seams of the main bag & pin the straps in place. Do this for the back of the bag as well so both straps are in the right position.  

Put the main bag inside the lining, right sides together.

Pin along the top so that the lining & the main bag are together. Make sure to match up the side seams. At this point. tie a length of hat elastic to form a loop. make sure that your button can pass through the loop. this will be how the bag stays closed. Pin it in the middle of the 2 ends of one of the straps. make sure the know is above the fabric. Pin either side of it securely.

Sew the full length of the top of the bag. make sure that you back stitch over the elastic to hold it securely in place & so that it does not pull through the stitches.

Put you hand in the opening that you left in the bottom side of the lining & pull the right side of the fabric through.

You now should have both the main bag & lining joined together.

Pin along the opening so that you can sew it closed.

Sew close to the edge of the opening.

Turn the bag in the right way.

To finish the bag off, put it over the end of the ironing board, press the top edges flat & pin.

Sew along the top edge so that it stays flat & neat. On the opposite side to the elastic loop, attach your button. I used a self covered button with matching fabric but you can use any button what so ever for this.

You now have your very own handbag/ nappy bag/ sports bag/ beach bag/ daycare bag/ whatever bag!! You will wonder how you ever lived without this bag!!