No sew wrap top!

This top will take you 5 minutes to make, no sewing what so ever!! Not only a wrap top but it is also a soft, drapey cardigan. I bet you don’t believe me……well it is true!! All you need is 2m of stretch fabric. 2m will actually make 2 of these tops. Because it is one large triangle, you will have another large triangle left. Make yourself 2 or give one to a friend, your mother or as a gift. The only thing is that the fabric must be able to be washed & not unravel. I used a stretch knit that has a little bit of lycra in it. Just ask your shop assistant at your local fabric store & they will be able to help you out. I made one in the light pink colour that you see above, then straight away made one in the navy that you see below. I think I am going to make one in every colour of the rainbow!!!

This top would be perfect with jeans, cut off shorts, over a singlet, over a long sleeved top, over gym clothes, as a yoga top, a zumba top, an around the house top, dress it up with a wide silver belt & you have a stunning going out top & of course it makes a fabulous cardigan. I love the faux hoodie at the back that when you reverse the top, is a great cowl neck. This top can be worn so many ways. It is amazing!! Ok, so you want to know how to make it………here goes……..



Fold your fabric to make a triangle. The folded dimensions are 1m across the bottom & 1m up the folded side. Cut along the long edge to make one large triangle. The below diagram shows the dimensions of the unfolded triangle.

Cut 2 slits large enough to fit your arms through. If you measure the distance from the middle of your right shoulder to the middle of your left shoulder, that is how far apart the slits need to be. Mine are 37cm from the top of the triangle & 40cm apart.


Guess what?????? Your top is finished!! It is really that easy! No sewing!!!

Sewing book review

Ok, so I get a lot of my sewing inspiration from books. I some that I use over & over again. I borrow them from my local library but I think this is one that I need to buy. I have borrowed it 4 times now, it is that good!!

This book is simply stunning!  It is called Sew Pretty Homestyle. It comes with lots of patterns & beautiful pictures. I made a bag last week that you can see on the cover of this book. I used some handles that I had found in a second hand shop on a bag that was not the best. The handles were perfect though! This is what my bag looks like……..

It will be a perfect Sunday market handbag, craft bag, basically it can be an anything bag!! I love the lemon & hot pink that is on the material that I chose. Very pretty, very feminine & very summer!!
There are so many great ideas in this book. If there is one book that you should get for your sewing collection…………. this would have to be it!!

Enjoy!!!

5 minute sponge cake

 

We had this beautiful sponge cake for desert last night & it was simply Delicious!!! It was so quick & easy but still tastes exactly like the way Grandma used to. It was very light & when served with strawberries & cream, it is perfect! Miss G was very happy when she saw it, she does not really like chocolate cake. I know, I know, who doesn't like chocolate cake????? Miss G, thats who!! Each to their own. I had done a lot of chocolate recipes lately so I made this one especially for Miss G. It is not like other sponge cake recipes where you have to beat the egg whites separately. All of this is done in one bowl & only takes 5 minutes to prepare. It serves between 8-20 people so it is perfect for when you are having guests. Now, I know that you are going to want to try it, so here goes.............

5 minute sponge cake

1 cup self-raising flour
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 cup caster sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 x 60g eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder

 Preheat oven to 190°C. Line 2 round cake tins (the same size) with baking paper

Sift flours into the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar, milk, extra butter & eggs.

Beat on high for 4 minutes. Add baking powder & beat for another minute.

Pour mixture into prepared tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer.

Remove cakes from oven and leave in tins for 5 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks. Cool.

I covered the bottom sponge with fresh whipped cream then put the second cake on top & also covered it with fresh whipped cream. Served a big slice of it on a plate with fresh sloced strawberries! Yum, yum!!

Now you can see why Miss G had 2 pieces! And she very rarely eats cake!!

Enjoy!!

Peppermint & brown sugar foot/hand/body scrub

I don't think that my hands & feet have ever felt so soft! I have always spent a small fortune on foot & hand scrubs but NEVER again! My chickadees & I have just done foot/hand/body scrub & I think it would have cost less than 50 cents!! And we still have more for tomorrow nights pamper session! After the cold weather of late, my hands had been looking a little worse for wear. They were very dry & had become very itchy because of it. Now they feel so smooth & silky & it is because of the 3 ingredients that are in this little jar....

To make you own Peppermint & brown sugar foot/hand scrub, all you will need is......

1/3 of a cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
6 drops of peppermint oil.

All of those ingredients can be found in your local supermarket.

Just put all the ingredients into a bowl & mix with a plastic spoon.

Starting with your feet, massage a walnut sized amount all over your feet.

It is great for removing dead skin from around your heels.

Make sure to rub the oil into your toe nails.

When finished rubbing it in, place your feet in a foot spa or large tub of warm water.

Let soak for around 10 minutes.

Now I did not hear any objections from Miss K!! She was quite happy to be the tester!!

Remove your feet from the water & dry well with a towel.

Ahhhh, silky smooth feet!!

Now, do exactly the same with your hands.
Remember to focus on your nails too!!!

Miss G was the tester for this one!

Miss G loved the silky soft hands so much that she did it on her legs before having a shower!!!

The left overs would keep for around a week in an airtight jar.

Enjoy!

Free art downloads!!

OMG!!! I have just come across the most beautiful free downloadable artworks! That's right.....free!! You can print them out & frame them for your own home!! They are absolutely beautiful hand drawn artworks.

Check out this page  Feed Your Soul

This one would go perfect in my new theme for my lounge room! I am going French!!

                                                      My heart is open

And this one would look so pretty in a French kitchen!!

                                                            Steph Fizer
This one would go so well in Miss K's funky 70's flashback bedroom

   

                                                          You deserve

But then again, maybe this one????

                                                         Laura Bentham

Or even this one????

                                                     Stephanie Corfe

And for Miss G's Hoot Hoot room, this would be perfect!!

                                                        Amy Ruppel

Oh, but I do like this one too!!

                                                          Almond J Skelley

I just like this one because it is beautiful!!!

                                                          Fee Harding


Why not have a look at  Feed your soul   (click on that link & it will take you there!!)  There is a whole heap more!


Enjoy!!!

Chocolate lava cakes

Have you ever had a food moment where you have had your first mouthful & you can hear a choir of tiny angles singing????? Well I did, last night!! It was the most sinful desert & was the most heavenly experience all in one! Here is a look at what I am talking about...................

Now it may look like a big mess but it is a little bowl of heaven!! When you break into the top of the cake & find it filled with gooey yummy chocolate you too will here angels sing!! This is what it looks like before you break in...........

It was quick & easy to make. All done with the electric mixer. Now the recipe that I used said serves 6 but I made it into only 4 servings. Next time I will take the advice & make 6 because it is very filling, especially if served with ice cream. This is not for anyone on a diet, it is very sinful. But after eating this I know I can die a happy woman!! So here goes............

Chocolate Lava Cakes
50g soft butter
350g best dark chocolate
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
50g plain
small amount of cocoa for dusting bowls

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts at 100%. set aside to cool slightly

In a bowl, cream butter & sugar with an electric mixer.

Add the eggs one at a time to the butter & sugar. Beat well inbetween adding each egg. Then add the vanilla.

While the electric mixer is running, add the melted chocolate.

Spray 6 oven safe bowls or rameikins with oil. dust each bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of cocoa.

Devide the mixture evenly between the bowls. Cook at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes. the top mill be cooked but under the top should still be runny & gooey.

Serve with a scoop of icecream on top.

When you break into the top of the cake & taste the chocolate "lava" you too will hear angles sing!!!

Enjoy!!!

Winter jacket for your pooch!!

If you have a 4 legged family member, you know that they become more than just a pet! Our beautiful Staffy, Miss M, is a very pampered pooch.

 She may even actually rule our house. She has been known to push the chickadees off the lounge to get the best spot, she has full use of the whole house & can be found sleeping under the blankets on someones bed on a cold winters day, lay down under the car when she knows we are going out in protest of being left behind & has even learnt how to open the front & back doors to let herself in & out.

She makes us laugh everyday. She smiles like a human, now I mean she actually smiles!! Lifts up her top lip, you can see her full set of teeth & smiles!! We have tried so hard in her 2 years of life to capture it on camera but you just never know when it will happen.

Now, when it comes time for Miss M to go outside for the night, it is getting harder to get her to go out willingly with the cold Australian winter nights. She had a beautiful leopard print jacket that had seen better days & by the morning it would have fallen off. The Velcro was no longer working, the under clip had broken & was also a little bit smelly (no mater how much fabric softener I used!). On the weekend I came across a pack of 2 polar fleece blankets that had been reduced down to $6. In total there was about 4m of material so it was an absolute bargain!!! Now, because Miss M is a very fashionable pooch, I used one colour for the top & one for the underneath making it completely reversible!! Pink & purple were the colours of choice!!

Now if you are replacing an old & tired jacket, use this as your pattern.

This was Miss M's original jacket, it had a webbing strap around the middle. This would often cut under her front legs & as you can see, she had chewed on it to try and undo it. I wanted to make the new one more comfy so this is what I did........

The 2 rectangles on either side are actually the under belly straps. Now I cut 2 pieces, one in each colour for extra warmth & so that it can be reversible.

On the right side of the fabric on both pieces, pin 2 strips of Velcro for the under belly strap & 3 for the around the neck strap. This will make sure that it is secure & wont come off during the night. Sew the Velcro on. Make sure that you have the soft Velcro on one colour & the hard Velcro on the other so that they will attach to each other properly when on the pooch.

With right sides together, pin the 2 pieces together. Make sure that the Velcro is on opposite sides to each other so that when you turn the fabric right, sides in, they will match up when on the pooch. Make sure to leave an opening at the bottom of the jacket, about 10cm so that you can turn the jacket in the right way.

Close up the bottom opening. & hay presto...............you have a winter jacket for your pooch!!!
Now in true Diva form, Molly was not very co-operative in the following photo's!! She really just wanted to lay down & snuggle in to her new jacket!! Hopefully you can get the idea on how easy this is to make & how it fits on her................

Notice the placement of the tail for modesty!!! And yes, she does sit up like this!

Yes, that last photo is her Zoolander pose!!!

When I went to get Miss M this morning after her first night with her new jacket, she was very reluctant to get out of her bed because she was so warm!! I am thinking that I may even make her a matching liner for her bed!! Only the best for Miss M!!!!