Pale -Headed Rosella!

I was standing in the kitchen eating my lunch when i looked out in the backyard and there were 2 pale-headed rosellas walking around! I RAN to get my camera. I am so glad i was able to get a good pic this time! SO EXCITED!!

And thank you Graham for not mowing for a while because they were feeding on the dandelion flowers.

Australasian "Green" Figbird

I was very excited to see this one because i didn't know what it was. lol The common everyday birds like crows and magpie aren't very exciting. It took me a little while to identify but i'm pretty sure this is a male Green Figbird. I took a ton of pics but this was the best one. Very hard to take pics at such a distance. Another Figbird came and they had a midair fight. Unfortunately i wasn't quick enough with the camera to take a pic.

BIRDS!

I've decided to take photos of all the birds i see so these are some of them. I need to get photos now of the ones i've observed but didn't capture.

-Darter

-Silvereye

- Rainbow Lorikeet
Pale-Headed Rosella
- Kookaburra
- male Koel aka Storm Bird

Eastern Great Egret
Blue-faced Honeyeater with a Noisey Miner

I'll post more birds as i see them. It's amazing that i never really noticed how many birds there are around until i started birdwatching. I go out in my backyard and the air is full of bird calls. It's so beautiful!

Bird Watching

Over the last few weeks i've started bird watching. It's so fun!! I was inspired by some friends who do it and so i bought a field guide and Graham bought some binoculars and then i found a check list on a website, so i've been finding birds and checking them off the list! Whenever we go somewhere i always take my field guide and my binos. Last weekend i found some King Parrots and Red-Browed Finches. They are so cute and beautiful. Today i saw a bird of prey - it was too far away and flying to fast for me to identify. But it was either a juvenile Periguin Falcon, a Little Eagle or some sort of Kite. I'm counting it as a sighting though!! lol So with that one today i have found 19 different birds in and around where i live.

I found a Kookaburra on my neighbours tv aerial. I need to take more pics of the birds i find.

Spring!

It's Spring although the last couple of days you wouldn't know it. It's been freezing! We had our fire going last night but unfortunately we only have 2 pieces of wood left so it will probably be rationed. Anyhow, since it's spring and we actually have water now and can water our gardens(by bucket after 4pm) i decided to have another go and planting a veggie garden. I bought a 'friend' for our lonely tomato plant and it is growing SO well. I swear it's doubled in size since i bought it last week. I also planted radishes and they have also sprouted! YAY! I love radishes in a yummy salad. I also seem to have sprouted another plant that is NOT a radish. It may be a cuccumber since i planted some of those too but they haven't sprouted. I just have this rouge seedling that is obviously not a radish come up with them. lol I guess we will just have to wait and find out what it is. :) Those are just in pots but i plan to dig up the bigger garden in the backyard soon :) Stay tuned!

Doily Do-over

I was blessed to be given several doilies from my Aunts mother-in-law after she passed away(the MIL not the aunt ;)) So what is one to do with so many doilies? I am not really a doily person. I think they are beautiful works of art and as a crochet-er i appreciate the work that goes into them so i didn't want to waste them or give them away. Some of them are just gorgeous! I've seen cute things been done with doilies on blogs so i thought i would give it a go to do a Doily Do-over!!!

And so i made a shrug. I have never had a shrug and i'm not even su

re i'm a shrug person but i think i can become one with just the right clothes to go with it and maybe if i lost a little weight so i don't look like a quarterback.

I had 4 rectangle doilies that were just the right size. 2 longer one

s for the front and 2 shorter ones for the back.

I sewed them together carefully on my sewing machine with black thread because i was going to dye them since 2 were white and 2 were cream. And thread sometimes doesn't dye so i went with black instead of white. I sewed them down the back, sides and shoulders.

Then i dyed it. It didn't come out black but it did come out this nice greyish blue which i actually really like.

Then i sewed on some velvet black ribbon.

And voila! one doily shrug.

Blog Changes

My blog is going through some changes. :)

Crazy. My blog has gone crazy. If anyone knows how to fix it please drop me a line. Much appreciated.

Singed Flower Hair Accessory Tutorial

What you need -

• Candle
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Organza or Chiffon or other synthetic fabric
• Needle and thread
• Beads or brads
• Matching felt
• Elastic, bobby pins or clips

Step 1. Cut circles of fabric. About 4 or 5 pieces depending on how full you want your flower to be. My pieces start from about 2.5cm(1inch) and the biggest is about 9cm(3.5in).

Step 2. Light your candle and singe the edges of each piece of fabric. You won't need to put your fabric IN the flame, just hold it above and the heat will make it curl. This can take some practice. Don't hold it over for too long or it will melt completely. You need to be quick and move it around.
These are all the pieces done. The bigger ones i've singed in the middle of the petal so it's not so bowl shaped.
Step 3. Assemble. Just lay the pieces on top of each other.

Step 4. Sew together. Get some matching thread or you can use invisible thread and sew them together in the middle. Just a couple of stitches and then you can thread on some beads and secrure them with a couple more stitches. DONE! almost..... Step 5. Cut 2 pieces of felt - one circle and one rectangle that will fit inside the circle. Sew down two sides as shown to make a little 'tunnel'. That's for elastic or clip to go in.

Step 6. Hot glue it to the back of your flower.

Step 7. Insert elastic or clips.

VOILA!!

And if you are feeling adventurous you can even make baby ones and do something like this -

Try it with different fabrics and colours. You can also use them to accessorize your clothes if you want.

I made this one out of ribbon for my 6yr old niece and used brads in the middle instead of beads.

Homemade Cleaning Products

I've been experimenting with homemade cleaning products. I LOVE that i make my own baby wipes. And they cost me $2.77 instead of the $4-5 i was paying. But as much as they are great for wiping bottoms and messy mouths i didn't really want to use them for cleaning other things. I love kitchen wipes. So easy but also pricey. So i found a recipe for homemade cleaner. Who knew it was so easy!? I know lots of people already know about the excellentness that is vinegar but i'm a little slow on the uptake. But that's ok, i've now 'discovered' it. I made my own Spray Cleaner and it is fabulous.

For a while now i've been buying Earth Choice products. They are grey water safe and cheap! So i have incorporated the Floor and Surface Cleaner into my own.

So for the recipe you need-

A spray bottle

1/8 cup Earth Choice Floor and Surface Cleaner

1/4 cup white vinegar (Homebrand. It's so cheap it's like you never bought it.)

And then top the bottle up with water. Give it a shake and away you go! I like to label my stuff too so i know what it is. Total cost per bottle - 11cents. Not including the bottle. Cost of shop bought spray of the same quantity - $3.87

Then came the Cleaning Wipes. You will need -

1 roll of Viva Paper Towel (i recommend this brand because it is the only one that doesn't fall apart when wet)

1/8 cup Earth Choice Floor and Surface Cleaner or cleaner of your choice

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 1/4 cup of water

a cylinder container with lid (cost me $4 at Woolies)

First off remove the cardboard roll out of the middle of the paper towel. You will be pulling from the centre so you don't need it in there.

In the container mix all your liquid ingredients. Then place the paper towel in there pushing down if you need too so it fits inside. Pop the lid on and wait for it all to absorb and for no reason other then my own quirkiness i turn the container upside down while it's absorbing. Total cost for this is $2.10 per roll - 60 sheets per roll. I use it in my kitchen or for wet dusting of furniture. Cost of shop bought kitchen wipes - $4.85 for 40 wipes.

I also made my own Laundry Powder. It so easy!

You will need for 1 batch (32 loads)-

1 cup Borax ( you can find it at Bunnings)

1 cup Washing Soda (in the laundry aisle at Woolies)

2 bars of laundry soap (i use Woolies brand)

A container to put it in (The Reject Shop has cheap jars)

A 1/8 cup scoop (which i already had in my kitchen)

First off cut up your soap, just roughly chop it with a sharp knife. I then wizzed it in my hand blender. You want it to be like a powder. Place the Soap, Borax and Washing Soda in the jar, put the lid on and shake it around to mix it. And that's it. Use 1/8 cup(or 2 tablespoons) scoop per load of washing. The cost of this is $3.44 per batch. That's 10 cents per load!! I compared that with the Aldi brand of laundry liquid that i usually buy and it is $5.99 per 2L bottle - 37 cents per load. Over 3 TIMES the cost.

Homemade Stain Remover

This was a bit of an experiment. And i am pleased with the results.

What you need -

750ml Spray bottle (i recycled one that i had)

1/4 cup bleach( I used White King)

1/4 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon of your homemade laundry powder(i made a seperate batch just for using for stain remover)

water

Put the first 3 ingredients in and then top up the bottle with water. Just mix it all up in your bottle.

I experimented with one of Lachlan's outfits. These are fresh 'stains'of chocolate, warm milo and baby drool. I first washed it in my laundry powder and most of the stains came out. I just wanted to see how much it cleans. There were a few dots of brown still left up near the collar which was the messiest spot.

I sprayed it with the stain remover and left it for 5-10 minutes and washed it again. It came out pretty clean!

In future of course i will spray the stains first and then wash. I just wanted to see how much came out in the regular wash. If you wanted a strong stain remover i'd try experimenting with the quantity of bleach.

The cost of my 750ml bottle of Spray Stain Remover was 22 cents. See if you can find a stain remover that cheap in the shops.

Fingerless Mittens

It's almost winter and so that puts me in the mood for knitting! So i whipped up these cute fingerless handwarmers. I bought this yarn for $1 a ball at LifeLine. It's so gorgeous. 100% Australian wool too. Love the colour! And i have 3 more balls of it left.

I got the pattern here. Now i just need the right buttons to put on as a feature. :)

Baby Shirts

So i'm always trying to find ways of saving money. I also love baby clothes AND sewing. I found a great way to combine all of these. Courtesy of this blog. The 90 minute shirt! Why didn't I think of that?! I raided my drawers for unwanted t-shirts and i scoured the op-shops.

This is what i came up with -

The cutest rock star off all time.

One of my new favourite craft blogs is U Create. LOVE it. I found a cute tutorial for headbands. I am always on the lookout for grown up girly things since i haven't be blessed with baby girls as yet. So i was super exited to find something that I could wear!

The tutorial is here and this is my results -

Hot Cross Buns!

Ahhhhhhhh i love hearing that song played on the recorder. It just reminds me of my childhood. :) Hot Cross Buns are just the perfect comfort food don't you think? Last night was our Easter FHE lesson so i figured i'd make them for the treat. We had the lesson complete with paper cut outs about how Jesus died and was placed in the tomb and on the 3rd day he was resurrected. Then we discussed the symbols of Easter. And how we eat Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday because they have the cross on them that symbolises the crucifixion. Then we, well Graham and I ate a hot cross bun that i made from scratch in my breadmaker. Ethan was opposed to homemade ones for some reason. *rolls eyes* I have to say they were delishious! So good. Here's the recipe -

In your breakmaker place these ingredients in this order -

1 egg
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
60g brown sugar ( i'm wondering if i can replace this with honey...something to experiment with next time)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
520g whole wheat plain flour
2.5 teaspoons dry yeast
310ml warm water

Select your dough cycle. 15 minutes into the cycle add 3/4 cup mixed dried fruit or just sultanas if you don't like fruit peel.

At the end of your dough cycle it will be REALLY puffy. Mine was almost spilling over. lol Take it out and gently kneed on a floured surface for a couple of minutes. Just until it's not sticky. Divide into balls however big you want them and place them on a greased tray. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl mix together -

80g plain flour
80ml water
1 teaspoon sugar

Put into a piping bag and pipe on the crosses on top of your buns.

Put them in a preheated 180C oven and cook for 25 minutes. When they come out of the oven you can put a glaze on them or leave them.

Glaze -
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon gelatin

Combine and heat on Medium for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. Brush over hot buns.

I didn't do the glaze because i was lazy.

Serve your buns cut in half and spread with real butter. *drool* try not to eat them all at once.

Fondant Cake

My second fondant cake! I was asked to make a cake for the Relief Society Birthday Dinner. The theme was "If friends were flowers, i'd pick you" I thought straight away that i'd use fondant since i've been wanting to experiment with it more. I googled cake photos and tutorials and figured i could make roses. Looked easy enough. I decided to make the Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake but in a round tin. Unfortunately that didn't work out. For some reason the bottom of the cake didn't cook. So it was back to the old faithful recipe that i've been using for years for birthday cakes - Chocolate Fudge Cake. It's the yummiest chocolate cake ever! I made the marshmellow fondant and put a little passionfruit flavouring in it. It's so yum. I have some left over which i may or may not get to eat. My kids like it too! I found a tutorial for fondant flowers and the woman doing it suggested putting bits of toilet paper in mini muffin tins. I did paper towel though in case you were wondering. I didn't think toilet paper was all that hygenic since the toilet paper is stored BESIDE the toilet and my boys can't aim that well all the time.
Anyways it worked so well at propping up the flowers while they dried. Here's a pic -

I made a vanilla buttercream to put between the layers of cake (2 layers) and over the entire cake so that the fondant had something to stick too. And then i layed the main pink fondant over, put the flowers on and voila! oh and i did add some sheer purple ribbon around the bottom.

And it was yum. super yum!