A little preoccupied right now.

We are trying to win a home deposit. My Dad passed away last month and we want to be able to keep his little home. If you could, please vote "keeping dad's home" on the competition page . every vote is precious. Comp ends this Sunday :)

Here is the link : https://apps.facebook.com/offerpop/Contest.psp?c=223280&u=59409&a=254553244581393&p=162447170489862&v=Entry&id=668199&rest=1

thanks so very much. Back to creative stuff once this is over.

Home made crackers

I found a recipe years ago for home made crackers. The basic recipe is as follows.

WHOLEMEAL CRACKERS

2 cups wholemeal flour
1 2/2 tsp baking powder
50g very cold water
1/2 c butter
1/4 c sesame seedss ( optional)
2 Tbsp grated parmesan
salt to taste.

Place all ingredients in the processor other than the water. Process until the ingredients are blended. Add the water in a steady stream, stopping when it forms a dough.
Roll out thinly on a floured board then cut in to squares.Pile dough scraps on top of each other, then roll out again. ( do not push together to form a ball).
Bake at 190 0c (375 of for 10- 15 minutes.

As I am a flavor freak and loath following the rules, I use the measurements above and then add all kinds of things. Chopped garlic, feta,tasty cheese , fresh thyme, oregano, sometimes basil and sun-dried tomato, a pinch of curry powder or chilli, Moroccan seasonings, chicken stock, smoked paprika.. what ever takes my fancy at the time.

So long as you roll them really thin, just a few mm thick, prick them with a fork, turn them half way through baking. You can't really go wrong.you can tell when they are totally cooked when there is no resistance in the middle of each cracker. Remember you want crunch when they have cooled.

Here are some images of this mornings batch.

Random acts of kindness

Today a friend received a lovely jar of home baking in her mailbox. A random act of kindness and a wonderful thoughtful gift. It has cheered her day so very much, that I thought I just might make some random acts of kindness cards that anyone can print and use when they just feeling like making somebodies day ! Could be a stranger, a friend who needs cheering up, could be whom ever you choose :)

There are endless possibilities, perhaps pop in a petrol voucher, pay for someones coffee behind you in a cue, an act of kindness is not about what it costs, it is leaving the gift of a smile on someone else's face and in their heart. Print and cut out the a4 file, you can pop them in an envelope, print them on card stock, pop a hole in the top corner and tie them to some flowers or a jar of home baking......

feel free to print them and use them, as many as you like and as often as you like. I DARE YOU TO :)

Here is the link for the large printable file.. I hope this works ! It is the first attempt at file sharing lol.


A4 Printable version

Still addicted to vintage

This weekend when I was trolling my garage for things to play with, I found some demensional frames I had purchased cheaply years ago. This is what I did with them. The first image is the first one in progress, the other images are the finished frames.
So much fun with a printer, some varnish and a few buttons.

Recycled gift box

I made this for a friend this morning. After digging in my wardrobe box collection !!

 Disassemble the box, use double sided tape to adhere your paper. Make sure to apply the tap where the joins fold as well to stop the paper from bubbling up and not sitting flat. Keep the tape as close to the edges as you can so they wont lift once the box is assembled.Trim around the paper with a scarp craft knife.

I lined the inside also with a contrasting paper.


Once the box is assembled, start playing with it. I used one of my copic designed 3d teddies, peelcraft and foam dots were used to elevate some of the pieces and give it dimension.
The peelcraft hearts and bow were placed on to the contrasting papers and cut out before adding them.


I adore the teeny holographic peelcraft circles. They shine like little diamonds :)


So there you go. A simple little box, recycled that will hopefully be kept as a little treasure for years to come. This one was filled with hand made jewelery for a friends sister.

Home made stock and soups

It is the middle of winter here now.Cabin fever setting in haha. Time to fill the freezer and keep myself amused. A couple of days away from the craft toys is a good way of recharging creativity.

Ive made hom made chicken stock. I generally do this if the fridge is looking a little sad, the vegies a little old and floppy but I loath to compost them when there is a little too much to waste.

You need one large stock pot, filled with water.
aprox 4-5 chicken frames, from supermarket or butcher. they are cheap as chips.
1 leek
1-2 onions
2-3 carrots
1 parsnip ( if there is one lurking)
celery (couple of stems
roughly chop the vegies, add to pot with the chicken frames. gently simmer for a couple of hours till the bones fall apart. I skim the top of the pot as I go, it keeps the stick clearer.
Allow the bot to sit until it reaches room temperature. Remove any fat from the top, strain and bag for the freezer. I make cup lots to freeze, it is more than enough for most recipies. If you need more simply pop an extra bag out of the freezer.

Home made bacon hock soup.

blob of butter or oil ( I use oil).
3-4 cloves of garlic
large onion
lightly fry, tey do not need to be browned, just until tender and opaque.
optional to taste: chilli,capsicum etc. whatever you have lurking in the fridge.
boil jug and 3/4 fill large soup pot. Add the following:
1large smoked  bacon hock
1/2 c pearl barley
1 c lentils
pack of kings old fashioned soup mix if you prefer, or fresh hebs, a stock cube or two,soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce etc. Don't worry about making it taste right at this stage. let the simmering develop the flavors first .
Simmer for 2-3 hours, remove hock, trim of meat and return to the pot ( bone included)
Then I grate 1 lge potato, cubed pumpkin, 1 kumara ( sweet potato), 1 grated carrot.
Simmer for another 3/4 hour. Just before it is ready, taste test, add more stock, or flavoring as required, maybe a little salt and a good grind of pepper.

I make a huge batch and freeze in to serving lots. I find it best to line the bowl you will serve it in with a plastic freezer bag and fill. tie the bag off and repeat the process. Then you know you have the perfect amount per serve.

 I use larger bags as it is easier to tie them off rather than risking leaking from freezer ties.Pop the bagged batches in to an ice cream container and move them about a little as they freeze so they don't stick to each other. Left over supermarket salad pottles are great to. Just run the whole container under the cold tap to remove the contents to a bowl for heating.

Glass & lace candle jars

I have wanted to try making these for ages. I liked the idea of combining paper and glass, the bonus was working out how to make a frosted effect. yet again, tissue was the key. I watered down pva glue and painted it on to the jar and gently laid it over the surface. the lace effect is cut out sections of paper doily.I added jute string ad a border and newspaper handmade flowers.
they look incredibly stunning with a T lite lit at night. The doily patterns really stand out. Sadly my old camera did not want to deal with the low light.

Fun with aluminium foil and a cuttlebug

What a week for winter bugs. Having spent a couple of days in bed i watched you tube tutorials to pass the time.
I found a fantastic tutorial on using aluminum kitchen foil to emboss on in the cuttle-bug. Today I tried it and WOW. See for yourself.
It is so simple. Carefully fold lengths of foil in to about 6-8 layers. Pressing it flat as you go. Pop it inside the embossing folder and go for it.

I an going to trim and mount these pieces as bits for card embellishing but the possibilities are endless. I may try antiquing them or giving them a pewter look by brushing on black acrylic paint and wiping off the excess. I will let you know how it goes.

Making templates

I love the fancy mat templates from scrapbook shops but why pay $2.60 at least each unless they have fancy designs you just have to have !.
The simplistic way to save money and make the most of the  bulk matching papers in your 180 page scrapbook packs is to use a template.
I simply traced around the one I purchased,using the left over backings from A4 card stock. ( I always use the backing piece for something), cut out the template shape and you have a solid reusable template to trace around.

The larger templates I make I tend to cut in half and rejoin with good tape. That way I can fold and store them easier.If you prefer pop a paper punch hole in them and hang them on a hook.

I am always on the look out in shops for interesting shapes I can template. Same for Google images.

If you are not using Google images when searching you are missing out on a treat. Simply click on "images" on your Google search tab and you are away. I generally alter the settings down the side of the images page and click on "large" so that I get images of a good size to replicate.
Enjoy :)

upcycled watering cans

These cans have been on my hit list for ages.. The blue one has had a hard outdoors life, the tin one is in pretty much new condition fro the warehouse. One was donated by a dear friend, the other was gathered from a garage sale for a couple of $$.

First step was to attack the outdoors one. being that I am slack I simply I scrubbed it with a kitchen Goldilocks, metal scrubber. Then both were coated with 2 coats of Resenes test pots (my fav paint).

I printed out A4 sheets from my collection of vintage images gathered from Google images. each piece was cut out . I eliminated all the extra frill bits that were hard to cut around and made them  more simplistic. One one design I did fill in the white spaces with my copic markers to eliminate the white paper in the spaces. Please also note I only used basic A4 white paper to print on. I like it for vintage images as it makes it look older somehow once the white is eliminated.

Next step was to adhere them using my scotch glue stick.

Only step remaining is to varnish the finished items with polyurethane to protect the images. I would not put these outdoors.

Shabby chic remodelling of a garage sale mirror Tutorial

This is my first attempt at a tutorial, go easy on me lol.
I found this old mirror at a garage sale for just a few dollars. First step was to paint it, I used resenes test pot paints,you I only needed one pot for the mirror but if you intend to match other project pieces it pays to grab a couple of extra pots. The color I chose has a tinted blue/Grey hue. Barely detectable until you pop it near a crisp white.
I used a tiny detailing brush to carefully get into the edges without having to remove the mirror and original backing label.
You can speed up the drying of water based or acrylic paints using a hairdryer, not too hot though!
Next I used Rub-n-buff tube metallic gold paint. You only need the teeniest bit on a rag, wipe off the excess and gently buff the raised surfaces of the design pieces. Apply more layers to highlight as required. It is person preference really.

Now my old mirror has a new life in my bedroom as a piece I really treasure.

Halloween storage jar labels.

I am so addicted to free printables. I have been looking for something a little different to label our glass pantry jars with for ages. as they are see through we didn't really need anything with words to identify the contents. I just wanted something to glam them up a little. This is what I found. I used double sided scrap booking tape to adhere them and will grab some clear adhesive seal next time I pop out to make them waterproof.

Sadly I didn't save the link. ( this often happens when  you have 15 pages open in your browser lol)

Well here we go. I have no idea how this works, but it will be a crash course. No doubt I shall be chatting to myself for now :)