stills: doilies and buttons

 

 

a bit of doily crafting

jam drop baking

a stack of Country Style mags and scissors: starting a new inspiration journal

all ready for the vintage button swap

 sweet pea seedlings

 

x

 

winter baking: jam drops

the weather of late has been pretty cold. then there has been the days and days of rain, with a minor flood of the chooks shed thrown in too.
perfect weather though for a spot of baking. i have made jam drops before but thought i'd try a new recipe this time and i'm so glad I did. with the addition of coconut this is a new favourite.

jam drops

125g butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar, I used coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
1 1/4 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
2/3 cup coconut
1/3 cup jam

preheat oven to 180 C (170 C fan forced). line two trays with baking paper. using an electric mixer beat the butter, sugar and vanilla essence until pale and creamy. add the egg, and mix until combined.

add the flour and coconut into the butter mixture. mix well to combine.

roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls. place each ball onto a baking tray, leaving some room for the biscuits to spread. flatten each biscuit slightly, then use a finger to poke an indentation into each biscuit. fill the indentation with jam.

bake for 12 - 15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. cool on tray for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

this recipe is based on this one by Leisl for coconutty jam drops. i made a few alterations- using coconut sugar and wholemeal flour. next time i'll try softened coconut oil in place of butter to make these dairy-free too. and as for jam filling I used the three berry jam by Anathoth. as far as supermarket jams go this is one of the best I've tried. and the ingredients are simple: fruit and sugar.

stills: muesli bars and frost

1. a new set of kitchen shelving holding Pyrex, milk glass, morning coffee making supplies and glassware

2. homemade muesli bars (ground almonds, rice flour, rolled oats, sunflower kernels, goji berries, chopped dates and apricots, peanut butter, honey and coconut oil)

3. the latest Frankie mag

4. a beautiful parcel filled with vintage linens and milk glass, from the beautiful Mel

5. & 6. a minus 7 degree morning & heavy frost

x

10 little things

now i love getting to know more about my favourite bloggers through reading their posts.. so i thought i'd share 10 little things about me.

1. i dream of one day living on a little farm and opening a bed and breakfast/café/cooking school/homemade crafts business/local produce shop. all while raising a few kids and living as self-sufficiently as possible. i shall be busy.

2. after studying for three years to achieve a Bachelor of Nursing, my first year out was a bit of a shock to the system and had me questioning if i'd wasted my time at Uni - full-time shift work and some less than supportive colleagues and patients relatives. a change this year to working in a medical centre and i'm really enjoying this area of nursing and am glad I stuck it out for that first year.

3. i'm intrigued by permaculture. it all started back in 2008 when I completed certificate 4 in agriculture and was introduced to the topic. the whole concept is just amazing.

4. my first job was at a dairy farm milking cows. i loved it- being outdoors, getting to now each cows personality (yes they do have funny personalities and certain cows are first in the bails and some last every single milking), and having the middle part of each day between morning and evening milking to do whatever.

5. i love cooking and baking- pizzas, date loaf, banana cake, fried rice, pies, soup, roast dinners, Anzac biscuits, melting moments, choc self saucing pudding & brownies.

6. my favourite season is winter and my birthday falls right near the middle of this season. living in the Southern Tablelands I get to experience real winters too (compared to the mild coastal ones that i grew up with). i love the baking, the rugging up in layers, wearing boots and the frosty mornings.

7. my other half and i have been together since 2007. Darron was my first boyfriend and i was his first girlfriend. he proposed in 2010. there's no wedding date set as yet.

8. i'm a fairly shy person. i tend to stand back and let others do the talking. but once i get to know you i'm fairly chatty, and talk about whatever comes to mind.

9. i've always been into creative stuff. i learnt quilling with my great grandma. & did pottery lessons for a while (which i'd love to get back into one day). now i'm more into sewing cushions and bunting & a spot of watercolour painting.

10. i have a fair few collections- silver cutlery, Johnson plates, tea towels, vintage floral sheets, woollen blankets, suitcases, Pyrex dishes, milk glass & Little Golden Books.

do you have 10 little things that you'd like to share?

 

x

woollen blanket repurposing

as promised a bit of woollen blanket crafting...

in the past couple of months i have come across some lovely woollen blankets while op-shopping. now i'm not usually one to cut into woollen blankets- they are becoming rarer in the op-shops and the prices can be a bit on the expensive side. these few are cot size and had a couple of marks that soaking and washing didn't remove so this made for guilt-free cutting.

if you're on the lookout for woollen blankets don't forget to check out the shelves/boxes marked 'pet bedding'- i've come across several blankets in the past (even king and queen size) without a hole or stain for less than $5 here.

so my first spot of repurposing was this blanket come beanie. lined with a striped cotton sheet. it was super quick to cut out and stitch.
i based the pattern on this one from lucykate crafts and made the same pattern in the striped sheet to line it, simply putting right sides together stitching around the base, leaving a small gap to turn through and stitching the hole closed. and yes its keeping my head warm right now.

and i'm already planning my next one, this time with a floral lining and maybe even a pompom on top.

 

 

any more ideas for woollen blanket repurposing?

 

x

stills: this week

1. stitched some more cushions
2. i shared part 2 of the Johnson collection
3. & 4. received a parcel from the lovely Lea. full of sewing goodies and a new Johnson design
5. thrifted woollen blankets all ready to be repurposed. i shall share the results this week
6. the chooks enjoyed some warm mash for breakfast (pellets, grain and oats soaked in boiling water, with a spoonful of yoghurt)

x

Johnson of Australia: part 2 of 2

 

the final instalment of the Johnson of Australia stoneware crockery. all op-shopped or gifted.
there's sugar bowls, milk/cream jugs, mugs, salt and pepper shakers, a serving platter and tea sets.
& the boxed fine giftware:  cake serving plate and a butter dish.

joining in with

Max's op-shop show-off

&

Kim's second hand styling

stills: woollen blankets & bird watching

1. op-shopped blackboard scoreboard
2. one little nasturtium plant sheltered from the frost continues to bloom
3. evenings see the lounge being unfolded, snuggling under plenty of woollen layers to watch tellie
4. pretty feathers from the chooks
5. & 6. the cats have taken to climbing the apple tree for a spot of afternoon bird watching
7. chard, beetroot leaves, silver beet and spring onions for pie tonight

 

x

a busy week.

another quiet week on the blogging front again. but life has been busy.
work. more date loaf baking. a change in hair colour. a birthday/retirement dinner on Wednesday night. my mum and sister coming to visit. a spot of shopping in Canberra. and plenty of café dining.

hopefully this coming week will see a bit more blogging. there's part 2 of the Johnson collection to share (part 1, here). woollen blanket repurposing. my latest op-shop finds. vintage styling (at feather & nest). and maybe even an outfit post.

what have you been up to this week?

x

stills: the first of winter

1. date loaf with plenty of butter

2. floral fabric, wallpaper and cards: part of my give-away gift from Taz

3. my latest sewing project

4. & 5. more watercolours- chooks by me and Tilly the cat by the other half

6. the chooks snuck inside

7. dreaming of roast beetroot

8. the almost bare apple tree

 

x