A TASTE OF HOME ...

There's nothing like heading to the kitchen and creating something "traditional" to ease that homesick feeling when it creeps in !!!!
That's precisely what I did this morning ........ I made a great traditional South African treat - Koeksisters !!!!
They're fiddly and quite time consuming to make, but oh so worth it. The process started yesterday, when I made the syrup needed for dipping them - it needs to be ice cold when you dip the cooked dough into it. That's why you make it 24 hours ahead of time.
So let me walk you through the steps .....
Syrup is made ..... so is the dough ....

Next the dough is rolled out, and rectangles are cut from it. The rectangles then have 3 legs cut into them, and are gently and loosly plaited, to form the little plaited things you see above. 

Into the hot (and I mean very hot) oil they go. They only spend about a minute in there before they're removed and ....

Drained on paper towel.

Next they head over to the syrup pot .......

Where they spend some time soaking up all of that lemony, gingery, sweet syrup ....... yum, yum, yum !!!

Once that's all done, this is what you have .... a plate of delicious, crispy, sweet/tart yumminess .....
Oh I can't wait to sit back and enjoy one, while I think of Africa ..... the place that holds my heart.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

THE GREAT CRAFTROOM REVEAL ....

It's been a long time in the doing, but it has finally happened !!! I am so happy with the way my perfectly, pretty, creative space turned out.
I have it all organized into different stations - Papercrafting, sewing and a Cricut station ...... everything I could possibly need for those specific crafts is right at my fingertips. The best part about this entire redo - I had to buy nothing except 2 small plastic storage containers, and a yard of fabric. Everything else I either repurposed, or already had on hand, just waiting for the right time to be used.

So please join me on a tour of my space ...... just a quick warning - there are alot of pictures and a lot of words !!!

At the top of the stairs, on entering my space. The shelves are there for storage. At the moment they have my 3 brad containers on them. I've used round containers that have detachable boxes. They are  typically used to store beads in for jewelery making. The brads fit perfectly into the small compartments, and I have them all seperated out - One stop brad shopping at my fingertips.

The green boxes are my photo storage boxes - they are empty at the moment. Top of my "To Do" List once the kids go back to school, is to sort and box my photos ..... it will make scrapbooking them so much easier.

The tension wire  ...... FANTASTIC !!! It is from Ikea and is meant to hang photos on. It has all my patterns, clearly marked and packed in Ziploc bags hanging off of it ..... this might just be my favorite part of this room.

Moving on now ....





 This is my papercrafting (and general crafting) station. All my scrapbook papers are arranged by color or theme in those plastic drawers on top of the desk. My stamps, stamp pads, pens etc are conveniently placed here. I have lots of table top space available to spread out my scrapbook layouts while I work on them :-)

 Onto my sewing station we go ..... zips, piping, elastic, bag handles ..... all stored in the plastic drawers you see. Pincushions at the ready ..... love how I now know where everything is. My cutting table is all set up, complete with cutting mat and rulers at the ready.

My Cricut station ..... lots of space to cut, clip and glue. How I love this machine .... it's like magic !!! The 2 filing cabinets you see in the picture house all my sewing patterns (left hand side), and all my scrapbooking stickers and chipboard accents ( on the right).

Here's another Ikea special ..... these bars normally have plastic cups that hang off them. They do a brilliant job of keeping my paper punches organized and at the ready. 

I used to have this metal thing in my grocery cupboard .... it's for storing your canned goods on. I changed my grocery storage system a little while back. Not wanting to waste them (I have another one packed away, for when it's needed), I tucked them away. Just so happens that they are the perfect storage solution for my acrylic paints. I have them grouped by color.

Moving to the other end of the room now, 2 bookshelves that were no longer needed in the kids rooms. Here glass jars store ric rac, buttons, embroidey thread, ribbons of every color, binding, sculpey ...... let's just say it's my version of an old fashioned candy store without the calories ..... it makes my heart flutter !!!!

Here is the other bookcase, rescued from Girl Childs room in a terrible state. Not to be detered, I cleaned it up, and hid the ugly backboard, by modge podging some lovely fabric to it ...... voila !!! Here you'll find my reference books, felt (wool and acrylic), as well as my fabric scraps and fat quarters. On the top are my DMC threads (I bought that beautiful wooden threadcase when we still lived back home). Pretty jugs hold my knitting needles and crochet hooks.

Now this idea I saw on Craftgossip a long while back. This is a fold up side table I got on clearance at Walmart ($3) many moons ago. Anyone that sews knows how often you have to iron little, fiddly bits .... here's the perfect solution. I glued some batting to the table, then glued a layer of Insul Bright to the batting. I let them both dry and then cut off any extra batting that was hanging over the edges. I then laid the table, upside down, on the fabric, and cut the fabric 4 inches larger than the table all around. Trusty staple gun in hand, I stapled the fabric to the underside of the table, pulling tightly as I went around. This little item has proved invaluable for those small ironing jobs.  

This blog has been such a blessing to me, in so many ways ..... I don't have a huge following, and I dont have hundreds of people visit it every day, but that doesn't make me sad. I have met some of the most wonderfully creative and sweet ladies as a result of my little space in Blogville. Ladies that I would absolutely be great friends with if we lived near one another (Sometimes I sit and imagine the craft parties we could have). In celebration of this blog, I felt I wanted to have it represented somewhere in my space ..... after all it motivates me to craft. Soooo, I bought chipboard letters that spelt out my blogs name and set to work prettifying them. I painted the edges with paint, and then modge podged sewing/knitting/crocheting themed scrapbook papers to them. I finished them off with another layer of modge podge to seal them, and then hung them up ....... they really do just make me smile :-)

   

Here's a close up of what they look like.

I still want to make valances to hang at the windows, in that pretty green and pink rose fabric, when the budget allows. I'm in no hurry though, it will happen when it happens.

So there you have it. I look forward to many, many, many hours of crafty fun in my space. 

Thank you for joining me for my big reveal ..... you're the very ones that make this blogging adventure of mine so worthwhile:-) 



HAPPY BIRTHDAY ....

Girl Child turned 14 yesterday !!!! Am I the only mother who gets emotional when my children's birthdays come around?  I've done it since both of their first birthdays, I just can't help it !!!!
We had a lovely family day, just the four of us, doing activities of her choosing.
Gifts were opened on waking up .... Lunch was enjoyed while paying MUCH attention to one of the above mentioned gifts ....

After the 21/2 hours we spent in the AT&T store sorting out this new toy (ok, so we upgraded our long overdue phones too), we felt she deserved a little "play" time.
We ran a few more errands - mostly birthday related, and then it was home to enjoy some birthday cake. Her cake of choice this year ...... A strawberry dinosaur cake !!! I love that she is old enough (and interested enough) now, that we can make and decorate her cake together.

I must apologise for the icky pictures, but he was suprisingly difficult to photograph. I had never worked with fondant before (there's a first time for everything!!!) It wasn't as difficult as I'd anticipated it would be though :-)
I love his cute little head and face, she sculpted it all by herself.
But of course, no birthday is complete without something handmade ...... meet Spot, the stripey Birthday Monster !!!

Looking back at the pictures now, it looks like we intentionally had a purple and green color scheme going on - this happened by chance !! Girl Child chose the cake colors the day before her birthday, and Spot has been on my knitting needles for a while ..... he was a pick up and knit a few rows type project, between other projects, that she knew nothing about.

So all in all, it was a lovely day, for a lovely young lady, who we are extremely proud of.
Happy 14th Birthday Sweet Girl ...... We love you tons XXX

LITTLE MISS, WHAT SHALL WE CALL HER ....

Hello everyone, and welcome to my little corner of Blogland - thanks for stoping by for a visit :-)

Over the past few weeks, another little, knitty being has been under construction. Today I knitted the last few stitches, and put her together, and here she is !!!! I'm not sure of her name yet ..... I'm still thinking about that - any suggestions anyone?

She is another pattern from Rebecca Dangers Book, and as always there were new things to learn while making her. This time it was knitting using the Magic Loop Method. Honestly, not my favorite, but perhaps I just need to practice it a little more. These little feet just tickle me pink .... her chubby, little toes are so very endearing :-)

I also had a go at knitting stitches mid row onto scrap yarn, and then comming back later to pick them up, and continue knitting with them .... this is how her legs were knitted onto her feet. Very clever !!!!

She will be taking a little visit somewhere soon (more about that at a later date), but she will eventually come home. Girl Child has already laid claim to her :-)

Texas is roasting at the moment ..... sweltering, sticky, just plain yukky !!! Hope you're enjoying your weather wherever you are. Until next time ..... Toodles !!!!

MY INSPIRATION BOARD ....

My craftroom redo is almost complete ..... I just have 2 decorative things to get done, and then I can reveal all !!! It has been so much fun redoing it ...... my perfectly, pretty, creative space !!!!
I do want to show you the inspiration board I made - I'm so happy with how it turned out. Hubby hung it up for me this afternoon, so we're in business.
I got the black frame at Hobby Lobby for 90% off !!!! I don't think I've ever scored such a great bargin. I cut foam board to fit the aperture and covered it with cork. I then staple gunned (I just had to use that thing) the fabric to the foam board. Another layer of foam board slotted into the aperture,and I taped it all down with Gorilla Tape ...... Hey Presto - A cute inspiration board !!!

It needed a bit of prettyfying (I know, not a real word, but perfect for this purpose!!!) Bunting is just so cheerful :-)
I crocheted up a few flowers .... the patterns came from a variety of different sources. I added some cheerful colored buttons, and they were complete.
I have some pretty, pink push pins to use on it too .....
Pink .... bunting .... flowers ...... these things all make my heart skip a beat !!!!
  

A MEETING OF BLOGGY FRIENDS ....

Today was such a fun day, a real treat ........ I met up with a blog friend !!!!
Jill and I were partnered in an apron swap about 3 years ago. We've been partners in other swaps since then, and have kept in regular contact. Lucky for me, she's on vacation only 40 minutes from where we live ........ definately too good an opportunity to miss :-)
We had a lovely lunch and visit ...... she spoilt us so. She also has the cutest daughter !!!

Thanks Jill for taking time out of your vacation to meet me for lunch - I'm so glad we did. Hopefully we can do it again one day soon :-)

Of course I didn't want to go empty handed .... here's what I made and gave to Jill.

 

I knitted her a frilly scarf .... a varigated black, white and grey one.

I made her a set of owly notecards - I used the owl images from 2 of my Cricut cartridges (Paisley and From The Nest)
I popped both of these gifts into a gift box I made ...

I used the Card Making Companion that my mom left here for me .... thanks Mom, I use it soooo often :-) This time I used a plain black cardstock for the box base, and I then Modge Podged a patterned sheet of owl paper to the cardstock for the lid. I then finished it off with some ribbon. I love that I can make my own gift boxes in any size I need in 5 minutes flat using this tool (and they turn out perfectly every time) !!!
No gift is complete without a handmade card to finish it off. So ...

I have used this owl stamp so often - I really love the simplicity of it. The sparkly fiber was some that Mom and I bought at the GASC ..... we did get it in every color they had!!!!

Meeting new friends has most certainly been the best part of writing this blog for me. Thanks again Jill .... it has definately been one of the highlights of my summer.

MINT, MONSTERS AND MORE ....

Hello lovely visitors, hope you're having a fabulous day !!!!
As the title of this post indicates, we've been up to a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, in our household. The hot, lazy summer days, are well underway, and we're spending a fair amount of our time, just trying to stay cool - although in saying that, we don't have those crazy, hot mercury readings that our northern neighbors are experiencing. I feel for them, we had it last summer, and it was just awful !!!

A fair amount of time is still being spent in the kitchen ..... someone please explain how 3 dozen cookies can disappear in less than 24 hours .... crazy stuff !!! We must have a resident Cookie Monster (or 3 !!!)
I went ahead and made my mint jelly over the weekend ...... green perfection !!!

There is something so satisfying about preparing the "juice" to make jelly .... Julia Childs, move aside !!!!

An hour or so along in the process, and look (at this point I may have actually squealed) ... clear, green, mint jelly !!! Now we just need to keep an eye out for a reasonably priced leg of lamb (why oh why, is lamb so horribly expensive !!!), and the process will be complete - roast leg of lamb with mint jelly ............ yummy yumminess :-)

And just in case you thought that crafting of any kind had taken a backseat to all things culinary, this should reassure you otherwise ...

Look at those chubby, little toes :-) Another monster is in the works ... there were some new techniques to be learned in this pattern. Precisely why I love Rebbeca Danger's patterns soooo much. They allow you to learn new techniques on small pieces. It helps too, that she explains things so clearly:-)
The reorganizing of my craft space is underway - It's probably 75% complete, and looking quite marvelous, if I say so myself. Tonight hubby will be hanging some storage stuff on the walls for me, and by the end of the weekend, I'm hoping to be finished. I want to make pretty little curtains for the windows (I have the fabric I want to use picked out), but this part is going to have to wait a little while. I will share pictures with you, when it is all done.

Wishing you all a fun filled weekend ...