Kiwifruit and Banana Jam

My sister and I made some lovely homemade Kiwifruit & Banana Jam.  To sum it up in one word....delicious!!

Thermomix

Yes, we bought one and it arrived last week already!
We have made some lovely recipes already, meals in it every evening, yummy breakfast smoothies, porridge, cake, jam, butter, cappacinos, strong! irish coffee, hot chocolates, boiled eggs, foccacia bread, garlic butter, whipped cream and the list goes on... 
We also experimented ..if we steam really fresh eggs, they peel sooo much easier!!

To sum it up:  We love it...it suits OUR family situation to the brim!  We are looking forward to a more healthier diet from now on!!  The kids know that we will no longer get takeaway twice or three times a week, and they aren't too disappointed...they like getting to taste lots of different things, and take interesting sandwich toppings to school (more on that tomorrow). and I, well, lets just say, minimal preparations, and the fact that it cleans itself and so easy is just the tip of the iceberg.  Chatterbox....well...i think about the whole world knows now that we have a 'mysterious machine' in the kitchen which means that we are no longer allowed to go to the golden arches, the local DOME, the subway, the local Fish and Chips shop.  Dear hubby loves it, lets just say, he said yes, before I had made up my mind ;)

A Pillow

Remember the lovely fabric from this project?  I still had some fabric left over and I wanted to create a pillow for our outdoor setting.  I had bought a pillow liner at the RSPCA opshop in Port Kennedy for $2.50.  The pillow slip I created just like you would a normal bed pillow cover except the sizing is different.  Now, where to put it...it looks pretty on my favourite chair inside, it also looks pretty outside.   Where do you think I should display my cute little pillow?

Iron Board

My ironing board is over seven years old, the fact that I know that was because it was a wedding gift from some fabulous friends.   Anyway, the foam kept bubling underneath, the cover was dirty and getting old.  You're guessing already what I have made, havent you.  Yes, a new ironing board cover.

I laid my old cover on the ground, traced it, allowed some room for some cord casing, cut it out, and sewed.

I also stitched my foam to my board as it kept sliding around.  (not neat, but no one will see :) )

And voila, here it is, a new ironing board cover!   The fabric....the only piece that I had that was long enough to cover the ironing board!  I spend maybe just over half an hour fabricating it!  I even wipped down my iron (which I have never done before, but it was getting dusty)

Ironing

Now that hubby wears more 'business' shirts, it means I also have t o do more ironing.  I saw this product advertised the otherday, probably in a sideline on a craft blog :) .  So last time I did groceries, I bought one.    It is making my ironing a breeze!  Spray it on the shirt, and iron, and the iron just glides over it!  Love it!  It will make ironing maybe a tat more enjoyable :)  Tomorrow I will show you what will make my ironing even more enjoyable :)

Wild Lupins

I have been spraying weeds last week and came across this one.  A friend of mine was able to identify it for us.  Wild Lupins.  I rather like them, and I wonder if I should poison them or just let them grow?

Giraffe Softies

I made these two giraffe's for a friend who has just been blessed with twin boys.   I searched high and low for an appropriate gift, even tried the art of hat making (but even dear Hubby's head swam in the hat - so the hat wll be saved for our scarecrow one day ;) )  I hope they will like it (I am yet to organise the baby visit, and as I know she will probably be far to busy to check my blog, I feel comfortable posting it early :) )

I followed this very easy to follow tutorial.

Lots of Crayon Rolls

Lots of crayon rolls for the Craft for a Cause project. Can't wait to see the stall and see all the other creations on Saturday. I hope the organizers will take a photo before it is all sold out :)

Heatpack

I just had to make this! Somewhere on my blogging travels I came across this idea for a wheat-pack. The material I bought a little while ago as I just couldn't resist :). My computer printed pattern was used by chatterbox for some colouring in.
With a loveheart I can now give extra love to my kids when they get bumps and bruises (freeze in a ziplock bag), or for flu's and colds (microwave under a watchful eye for few minutes with a container of water) or for the dreaded growing pains in chatterbox's legs in the middle of the night (they are not for sleeping with tho - fire risk)

Recorder Bag

I inherited three recorders from my parents - it helps when they are at the moment their only grandchildren. I had found this lovely music fabric a while ago - and remembered a tip I read somewhere - fabric with printed words is hard to come by - so when I saw this fabric I couldnt resist. I am glad that my kids don't have to practice the recorder yet :)

A thermomix - yes or no

If anyone knew me well enough they would know that I try to stay out of the kitchen. I love food, but have never learned the love of preparing/cooking food. Lately dear hubby has been cooking for our family (while I try to do the homework with the kids). This past week a lovely friend of mind introduced me to the thermomix in her kitchen. I wonder if one of those would solve my cooking issues at home? Hubby and I both have a love for technology & gadgets, and apparently the thermomix is to the kitchen what a iPhone is to communications. So, I am consulting my readers for their input. I love the idea of making my own butter, jams, chocolate pastes, mayonnaise within a few seconds/minutes. The idea of whipping up a salad in one machine, mixing cake mixes, meals prepared within minutes. I wonder if it will solve our problems of take away twice (sometimes more) per week. Just cutting out takeaway the machine would have paid for itself within a year). It would involve a bit of meal planning, probably plant my own herb/vegetable garden (which has been on our list for a while), and a trip to the health shops to purchase flours etc. I have read various review pages online, and apart from the cost, most are very positive... I love the idea of feeding my family less preservatives and more healthy foods. Tell me, what do you think???

Cardboard Patterns

I have learned a very good tip in the sewing world! For sewing patterns such as the Crayon Rolls or the Pyramid door stopper, use cardboard as your pattern piece. In actual fact, pull apart your cereal boxes and draw the pattern on there. You can use it multiple times and just draw on the fabric around the edges.

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Carseat Belt Cover

My little girl has been taking her arms out of her seatbelt recently and I couldn't find the straps from when one of his brothers used to do that.  I didn't want to spend $15 or so for a new strap so I made one instead.   I will feel a whole lot safer driving now knowing she can't get out anymore!

Flags for boys

The boys have been trying to make flags and asking us to make a flag when we are doing our outdoor jobs on Saturdays. So after a busy Saturday at home, and after I was getting sunburnt (and that just a week and a half into spring!). I made use of Miss Muffets naptime and the boys being outdoors with dad. I created some flags for them. This time I didn't google for ideas... It was pretty straight forward! I had the perfect fabric for the job :) I also appliqued for the first time. I considered using Velcro or making a slot to slide a pole into, but I know boys will be boys and will want flags tied to trees, sticks, bikes and who knows what - so some ribbon it was. And there won't be any fighting as to whose flag is whose with their first letters appliqued. They are now off to "conquer the world" :)

Servicing Sewing Machines

Darling hubby fixed and serviced my sewing machine for me. He even found a broken sewing needle head somewhere in the bottom... Oops. I love how hubby is so mechanically/technically minded - he continues to save us lots by servicing and fixing everything himself - everything he gives a go! As I couldn't sew that evening while he had it pulled apart I cleaned up my craft room. Hmm, I wonder how long it will stay tidy for? I noticed my fabric stash is getting bigger much to my delight! :)

Brunch Strata

I have been getting 35 eggs (just under 3 dozen) a week from our chooks (chickens) and I have been trying to find some recipes that use a lot of eggs :)

The recipe for tonight was Brunch Strata - really designed for breakfast, but it had so much goodness in it that I figured it would go fine for a dinner too.  I used 13 eggs and now I have another  3 meals invent freezer.   Btw it was delicious!!   Here is the recipe, it comes from this website and you can adjust the ingredients to how many servings you would like.

Pencil Cases

I have been working on some pencil case designs for the "crafting for a cause" project. They have been rather fiddly - especially the round one - and as I only have another week and a half for contributions I shall give these patterns a miss. To be honest I think the rectangle cases look more like toiletry bags. The boys have already laid claim to these cases! Anyhow here and here are the tutorials that I used. I hope to revisit the pencil cases next year for "back to school".

A headband

As part if a gift to a friend who has recently been blessed with a baby girl I created a headband. Very easy to make. See here for the tutorial. I did change the sizes to make it fit a smaller head.

A bag Bag

This week, as you might've guessed, I focused on cleaning the kitchen. I think I may have to class my pantry as a separate room to clean as I haven't gotten around to cleaning the pantry yet - my greasy oven (from the lasagne that had an airbubble and burst in the oven last week :( ) is at the moment a work in progress (three days of spraying with bicarb water solution - tomorrow is the wipe clean day if I get around to it).
Anyway... I have this bag Bag and it is getting a little old...(and small) So using the old as a sample here is my new one :) I shall pop up a tutorial if you like one but it is pretty self explanatory. I made some changes to the old design - added elastic instead of string and put a proper handle on it. I like the fabric, although I am not sure it matches our house decor which is mainly red and browns. But I am not worried as it hangs in the pantry anyhow :)

Crayon Roll

I am working on the "Crafts for a cause" project which some ladies from my church are organizing. I created this crayon roll - actually I have created three - but this is the best one! It is a well known project on the web and I used a variety of tutorials to come up with this.

Duffel bags

The kids are having a sleep over at my parents this weekend. I came across this tutorial a little while ago and I thought this would be perfect for the kids to take their clothes in. The red is slightly bigger because I couldnt find 3 16" zips so I bought one 18" zip. I figured girls always need a bigger bag ;).
I like to make one for myself now! I took the red one with me to the gym today and it was handy!