Merry Christmas!

Here are some yummy profiteroles which have become a Christmas tradition in our household. You wouldn't believe how many I made and there is only the 2 of us here to eat them, oh and the dog as well......he seems to have developed a taste for custard.

Wishing everyone has a happy and safe Christmas.

Christmas Rocky Road

I made this rocky road today as part of Evan's Christmas present.

It has white chocolate (Cadbury Dream actually because the supermarket was out of white choc melts), coconut, pistachios, mini marshmellows and turkish delight - the authentic kind from Real Turkish Delight.

Since it is warm here today I really need to keep it in the fridge but I don't really want him seeing it until Christmas so I have put it in a christmas tin I had which is great because he won't be able to see though it and I have taped it shut with packing tape and written a note on it that says DO NOT OPEN! I think that should do the trick. Luckily he almost never reads my blog so it won't ruin the surprise. I am about to go and dispose of the chocolate wrappers so he can't find them.

Christmas Giveaway

This brooch is part of a large Christmas giveaway on fatmumslim.blogspot.com

You have until Monday to enter and be in the running for about $600 worth of handmade goodies.

What are you waiting for?

Sunday Stash #23

Here is the vintage fabric scrap pack that I won from Retro Age Vintage Fabrics in their last blog giveaway. The fabrics are all around 15cm x 15cm give or take a few centimeters.

Secret Santa

Here is a purse I made for a secret santa present. It is smaller in size than the frame clutches I have have previously done.

I made it out of linen with a piece of vintage embroidery embroidery on the front that I salvaged from a napkin. And of course I had to include red and white lining.

Sunday Stash #22

This fabric I picked up at a local op shop. It's some kind of synthetic.

I quite like the colours in it.

Sunday Stash #21

No fabric this week. Instead I have some recently purchased white vintage buttons.

You will be able to see what I am using them for soon.

Bring Back the Hazelnut Roll.......Please!

Image from The Food Pornographer

I just found out that the Hazelnut Roll is no longer being made and I am not a happy camper.

I have been eating them since I was a kid and even now that I am all grown up (well, technically anyway) they are still my favourite icecream.

Peters Icecream the maker of Hazelnut Rolls was bought out by Nestle earlier in the year and are doing away with the Hazelnut Roll. I only found out a when I went looking to buy an icecream on a particularly hot day and couldn't find a Hazelnut Roll anywhere. A blog post by The Food Pornographer confirmed my worst fears - they are no longer being manufactured.

Damn you Nestle!

I wish I had found out sooner so I could eat one last Hazelnut Roll for old times sake. As it is I don't think there are any left anywhere but I have been searching deli icecream freezers in the hope that I might find one lucky last one hiding at the bottom of the freezer. I have had no luck so far.

Another Frame Clutch

This is the clutch I made to take to brothers Wedding a few weeks ago. You may remember the fabric from Sunday Stash #19. I wanted to put a bow on the front the same as the previous clutch but the fabric was too thick and it didn't really work so I had to go plain.

I am slowly getting the hang of making these style of purses.

Another Bird Figurine

I bought these cute birds on ebay.

I think I feel a mini collection coming on.

Clutch

I thought I would show you the clutch I made to take to a friends wedding that I went to a couple of weeks ago.

I have wanted to make a purse with a metal frame for years and have never known a) where to buy the frame and b) how I was going to make a pattern and construct one that looked professional.

I found my answers when I across a purse frame kit from Nicole Mallalieu Design. It came with a frame as well as the pattern and instructions on how make to a beautifully finished purse.



It didn't work out too bad for my first go. I made up a calico toile for practice and then made this one with silk taffeta from Tessuti. I added a bow to the front for a bit of interest and some red polka dot lining.

Attaching the frame to the purse is the tricky bit. I did manage to get some glue on the taffeta (oops!) and am not sure whether I have crimped the frame enough but I guess that all comes with a bit of practice.

I am currently making another one to take to my brothers wedding on Saturday.

Jacket

Here is the cropped jacket I made with Liberty fabric from Sunday Stash #18. I have had quite a difficult time trying to get a good photograph of it.

It's a little hard to tell because the fabric is so busy but the jacket has a revere collar. The sleeves are a bell shape which I have gathered at the bottom and then attached to a lining (which is not gathered) that is a little shorter than the sleeve length so they create a kind of puffball effect (hard to tell when it is not on the body). I hope that made sense!

The pattern is by me.

Sunday Stash #19

I am going a little glitzy this week. It's some Italian brocade I purchased from Tessuti with the plan to make it into a clutch. It's quite silvery and I am not sure my photos have quite captured what it looks like in real life.

Sunday Stash #18

Liberty Tana Lawn from Clegs.

I am currently trying to turn it into a jacket to wear to a friends wedding in less than 2 weeks. Because it is such a lightweight fabric I am interlining it with another cotton to give it a bit of body and also to keep me warm. The chances are with Melbourne's unpredictable weather it might just be chilly on the day and I will need something to keep me from freezing in my strappy dress.

De Bretts World of Antiques

I am slowly trying to discover antique/second hand stores in Melbourne. I have recently found one not too far from Cyclic and the big bonus is that I can afford a lot of what they have on offer. The shop is described as "eccentric antiques and bric a brac"and that explains what kind of store it is nicely. The shop goes back a long way from the street and it is filled to the brim with lots of lovely vintage goodies. I bought this beautiful bird figurine for $24.95, and I am currently in love with it.

With some of the items you will need to rummage through stuff to find what you are looking for. There are piles of books, and boxes of magazines, and linens where you will want to spend a bit of time looking. That's half the fun anyway. It's definitely worth a visit if you are in to that sort of thing. You can find De Bretts World of Antiques at 1043 Mt Alexander Rd, Essendon.

Back Again

I am back in Melbourne again after a holiday in WA. Now that I am back to real life have a huge "To Do List" that I need to tackle.

Here is a picture of how the birthday cake turned out. I am already working out improvements in my head for the next cake. Mum helped me put chocolate on the outside of the cake to pretty it up and I now want to master that process.

Mmmm.....cake!

I am flying over to WA today to help mum celebrate her 60th birthday. I am in charge of the birthday cake, so before I left I thought I would test out an idea I had and see how it worked.

The cake is a chocolate mud cake. I have cut it in half and on top of the bottom layer there is a layer of whipped cream and then some raspberry syrup that I cooked up on the stove with some frozen raspberries and sugar, then another layer of mud cake and then chocolate ganache. It is finished off with some raspberries on top for decoration. It looks a little rustic , so I will try and neaten the edges when I make the real thing. I actually cracked the top piece while flipping it onto the the rest of the cake so I used the chocolate ganache to glue it back it together and it wasn't too noticeable. I guess I need some practice in that department!

I was going to link to the recipe for the mud cake which I found on Taste.com but the recipe is no longer available. I will type the recipe up and post it when I get a chance so you can have a try. Even if you don't want to bother with the raspberries and cream, it's worth trying the mud cake. The recipe is super simple and it uses a whole block of chocolate so of course it tastes pretty fantastic.

Sunday Stash #20

I am diverging away from fabric for my stash this week. This is a vintage embroidery kit I picked up from Savers Footscray last time I was there. The finished product is meant to be sewn up into a cushion.


It came with a piece of linen/cotton that has the embroidery design (cross stitch) printed on in black. The fabric was the only thing in the packet. I am sure originally it came with some instructions and the thread needed to replicate the photo. I guess I will have to work out the colours myself, using the photo as a guide. I plan on giving it a go very soon.

Do Try This at Home

I have mentioned the breakfast crumble from Mitte before - it's fantastic in case you haven't heard. Those of you not in Melbourne can now have a taste of what it's like too, only you will have to cook it for yourselves. The current copy of Delicious magazine has the recipe on page 50, so if you have been wondering what it tastes like, now is your chance.

Sunday Stash #19

I bought this fabric off etsy from twogreenchickens. It's going to be clothing I think.