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Good morning! What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? I'd love to know! More than half the week was written off with our entire household knocked flat with the flu. Thank goodness for a stocked pantry and freezer, and for a meal plan on the fridge. No one who felt like eating went hungry and the medical pantry was fully stocked with all we needed to survive. By Thursday I was starting to feel a bit better and started to get a few things done. *canned 18 pints of ugly chicken *canned 5 quarts of corned beef Yesterday (Sunday) I went shopping, specifically to buy brisket and mince, and was blessed with finding both on markdown for great prices. It meant they needed to be processed and preserved straight away, but that's what a summer Sunday afternoon is for. I was able to *can brisket *canned mince *can 6 quarts meatballs in broth  Meatballs, canned and shelf stable, ready to heat and eat  Ugly chicken - it may be ugly to look at but it tastes great and is fabulous to have on the pantry shelf The tomato plants are loaded! I can't wait until they all start to turn red. As soon as I see even a hint of red I'll be picking them and letting them ripen inside. The birds and possums, and now the bats, are quick so I need to be faster. I made some cards for the Happy Mail Project, using a new range of papers and a fun new punch. I love them! These will be going out later in the week.  Happy Mail Project cards - bright and cheeful with cute little bees buzzing good wishes everywhere
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 MOO pita bread, delicious and soft Good morning! Well the dreaded summer lurgy has struck our house. First it was No. 1 Son, then it was Hannah and I succumbed last night so forgive me if the list is a bit wonky! When I sat down this morning, I wasn't sure I'd have much to share for Make It Monday, the week has flown by and things were done, but they didn't seem to be much. Here's the list I had on the fridge:
I did a little shopping over the weekend, the back-to-school sales are the ideal time to stock up on sticky notes and folders to add to the craft stash. There are packs of 15 sticky note pads for $5, making them 33 cents each. These are handy to have in the stash for quick little thank you gifts, stocking stuffers, a just because gift when you cover them. They're also great for stalls too - Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas etc. What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week?  Good morning!
Welcome to the first Make It Monday for the new year. It's exciting to have a whole new year to plan what we're making, baking, growing and sewing. I've been away for a couple of weeks, only home for Christmas and New Year, so my efforts have been curtailed by this family emergency. I made some salads and a lasagne to take with us, and some pantry ingredients to make meals while we were away. We had a lovely Christmas day, just the five of us, very quiet and peaceful. I didn't take any photos but Hannah was in charge of our main meal and it was delicious. Roast lamb and chicken, baked potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli in cheese sauce and peas with gravy and mint sauce. She followed up that huge meal with a beautiful pavlova and traditional Christmas pudding with custard and ice-cream. I did get some crocheting done, in the form of daisy dishcloths. They are a small project I can carry and work on sitting waiting at the hospital. While I've been away, the tomatoes have gone crazy. Look at this neglected garden! I feel so bad, but I'm grateful for the rain and the effort the boys put in to keep the plants alive. I snuck three raspberries off one of the canes yesterday - they were delicious! Hopefully we'll get lots this year, enough to make jam because frozen berries have gone up again. What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week?  Good morning! What a crazy week I had. Every day was flat chat, I felt like I was running from job to job, getting lots done, but nothing to show for all the running at the end of the day. Well except for the most untidy house I've ever had - it is a disaster, so today will be tidying up and putting away day, then I can do the Monday cleaning and we should be back to normal. Phew! Spoke to Sue Dunstan from ABC radio in Horsham about Christmas and how we can enjoy a fun and faith filled Christmas without going broke. All the Christmas cards are written and ready to post on Thursday. We also had rain, and a good drop too, on Friday and Saturday, so the garden has had a nice long drink, no watering needed. Making Pot Puff Scrubby - a new pattern that will eventually get into the shop Crocheted a face cloth Used the ends of cotton to crochet some dish cloths for the kitchen    Baking Fruit cup cakes for lunchboxes Made a double batch of potato salad to last the week Made quiche to use up eggs, cream and sad veggies and Hannah and I had it for tea on pizza night with lots of lovely fresh salad, it was so good too. Made berry jam Made rhubarb apricot jam Dehydrated rosemary Made rosemary salt (it's so good on roast potatoes)  Growing Put new stakes next to two pear trees and an apple tree and tied them up. The wind (or something) had blown them over and they were on a good lean. Now they're standing tall and straight again. Tied up the tomatoes again, they are growing well. Cut back the rhubarb that had gone to seed. Sewing Made four hanging kitchen towels.  What did you make, bake, grow adn sew last week?
 Good morning! We had a lovely week away, the weather was ideal and the company was wonderful. Lots of laughing, relaxing, plotting and planning was accomplished around the campfire, or on the bank of the river. It's good to be home though, even if there is a big basket of washing and lots of cleaning and repacking to be done. My making, baking, growing and sewing for the week was a little different, being away, but lots still happened. Making Daisy dishcloths for the shop Spa set for the shop Tanning puffs for the shop Perle scrunchies     Baking Creamed rice in the camp oven Scones in the camp oven Growing The garden took off while we were away, I came home to tiny tomatoes on some of the plants, the rosemary is out of control again, Lacey's rhubarb is growing again, and there are lots of little apples on the apple trees, and the potatoes!  What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week?
 A sneak peek at what has kept me busy this week Hello happy makers, bakers, growers and sewers!
Last week was frantic for me. On top of getting everything ready to go away this week (yes I'm away again), I had to rethink the 12 Days of Stocking Stuffers due to a camera malfunction. That meant recreating the 12 ideas, photographing them, writing up the instructions, then uploading them. I was frazzled, tired, hot, bothered, cranky, frustrated and the whole time I was having fun because I had the opportunity to sit and craft for days. With the videos, I made every item, things I can use on camera, in real time. I love to do things in real time, so you know exactly how long the project takes, no speeding up the filming or cutting out the boring bits (sorry, you have to suffer through those!). So everything had to be made from scratch again. And that's why my week was frantic; the usual things still had to be done. I had lots of help, with boys getting cardstock and setting up the photos, and unloading the dishwasher and sweeping the floor and checking off the shopping list, opening paper packs and putting their weight behind punches. And it was all done. So, if you'd like to see what I've making this week, hop on over to the 12 Days of Stocking Stuffers. Baking: ANZAC slice Cranberry Hootycreeks Fruit cupcakes Growing: Feeding the garden Tied up the tomatoes again, they are growing so fast you can almost see it if you watch long enough. Fed the back lawn Sewing: Two lots of bowl covers (for an order) Set of scrunchies (for an order) What have you been making, baking, growing and sewing this week? Good morning! It's time for another Make It Monday round-up. Last week was an up and down week in our home, and it showed with all of us being particularly stressed and frazzled. But life went on, and we are grateful for that. We’re finally seeing some real spring weather too, with days getting a little warmer at last. Remember a week ago we lit the fire and there was snow on the hills? Today is going to be 30! Gotta love spring time in Australia. Last week was spent tidying up the craft room. After a year of crafting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, stencilling, making cards and scrapbooks and everything else it was a bit of a mess. Two afternoons and the papers and cardstock are back in order, and the stamps, dies and embossing folders are sorted. The fabric boxes are nice and tidy, and the yarn boxes are back in order. This week I'm going to tackle the craft tables and get them tidied up, dusted and wiped over and make sure all the tools are in the right spots. When that's done I'll be ready to start on next year's handmade Christmas. Making: Face scrubbies Shower puffs Crocheted scrunchies Baking: Mini fruit cakes All our meals were cooked from scratch using ingredients in the pantry 8 small garlic, sea salt and rosemary focaccia 12 pizza bases for the freezer  Growing: Tied the tomatoes up again, they are growing so well with the warmth and rain Picked the last of the broccoli Collected the seed from the rhubarb crown I let go to seed Picked rosemary and hung it in bunches to dry Sewing:
Scrunchies Fabric gift bags (made from scraps of fabric - waste not, want not) What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? Good morning Cheapskaters, it's Make it Monday, week 44. The year is flying by. Making: Fabric gift bags from leftover pieces of material, all different sizes depending on the size of the scrap. A spa set - shower puff and face scrubbies  Baking: We ate from the freezer for morning teas and snacks, to make room for Christmas baking. All our meals were cooked at home using ingredients in the pantry, including some MOO convenience meals using canned foods: Corned beef and potato salad Spag bol sauce used a jar of mince, a jar of tomato sauce, some frozen garlic, dehydrated onion and oregano Pumpkin soup Wedges using canned potatoes One dinner was simple baked potatoes, they needed to be used as they were getting soft, it was a quick and easy dinner. I stabbed the potatoes all over with a fork, then put them on a plate in a circle and cooked them in the microwave for 20 minutes. They were done to perfection! The toppings were simple: butter, coleslaw, grated cheese, sour cream and spring onions.  Growing:
Started more tomato seeds Started more beetroot seeds Harvested rosemary and hung it to dry Sewing: Two sets of bowl covers made for orders What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? Hello! Another week has flown by. This time of year everything seems to speed up. Days have been busy, a combination of garden, baking, crafting and the usual household chores. Making: Finished off some tea cosies with cute buttons and pompoms. Tested a crochet pattern for a gift idea. It is really big so I'll need to rejig it to make it a better size. It's for a gift so I'm keeping mum about what it is for the moment. Two batches of Gardener's Soap made and ready to be wrapped. Started putting together card in a box kits.  Baking: Meat pie using a little leftover pasta sauce and pastry scraps. Bread for lunches. Foccacia for lunches. Five kilos of tomatoes from the freezer cooked down to make sauce.   Growing: Planted more lettuce and beetroot. Fed the garden with compost tea. Picked rosemary to dehydrate, it smells divine. Picked broccoli from the garden. Sewing:
Gardener's aprons - I'll pair with a cake of Gardener's Soap. Dish scrubbies. What did you make, bake, grow and sew last week? Happy Monday! I've just realised that last week's post didn't! It's out there in the virtual world somewhere. So what have you been making, baking, growing and sewing this week? Making: I've emptied the present box onto the family room floor and started the sorting (and I'll do a show and tell once the parcels are in the post). I'm having fun finding everything and remembering who it's for. Thank goodness for a gift list. Worked on Christmas cards so they'll be ready to send on 30th November.  Christmas card with a gift card and pocket Baking: More lemon butter using lemons found on my walk. The fruit is soaking to start baking Christmas cakes and puddings. I like to soak it for a week, giving it a little drink every morning. I'll start baking next weekend with the puddings so they have time to mature. Then the cakes. Banana walnut bread for Wayne's morning teas. Onion jam. Zucchini pickle to replace the jars that had dodgy lids. 17 pints mince; 2 quarts mince; 5 quarts meatballs for the pantry.  17 pints of mince ready for the pantry shelf Growing: Rhubarb - the plant Lacey-dog dug up has come back! And it is going great guns. Stalks were pulled from the other plant and stewed. I split the crowns and replanted to get three new rhubarb plants. Planted out tomatoes, pumpkins, beetroot and lettuce. Sprinkled sweet basil, oregano and thyme seeds under the apple trees, and violas in some empty pots. Picked tangerines and oranges. Picked broccoli from the garden.  The famous rhubarb plant that Lacey kept digging up has come back!  One head of broccoli, they were slow to form but they have been huge Sewing: Spent time each day finishing off the sewing for this year's Christmas gifts. While I was stitching on buttons and cutting threads I was thinking of next year's gifts. Yesterday Hannah helped me pull out the fabric boxes and they are now sorted into projects. Every piece of fabric has a project assigned to it, and it's been listed so I have an idea of what to work on. Next will be the cottons and then the wools.  Fabric all laid out for future projects |
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