Testing, Testing, 1,2,3.....

Just wanting to test if using Firefox is better for blogging with a Mac, and so far so good. I can see that I now have lots of preferences like colour, italics, bold, and various fonts to play with.... not to mention text size. How exciting!!!

I am also guessing that I can link to other website and blogs without too much trouble. Here goes..... My Art is My Outlet
Thanks to Dizzy Jadey for posing the question about blogging with a Mac and for getting answers that I can use.

That is all for now, but trust me, I will be blogging a lot more often now that it is so much easier for me. You have no idea what a drawn out process it was using Safari.

Last Two Hats....sob, sob...

I am finishing up my 2 year TAFE Millinery course this week. I am a little sad, as I don't think I will study anything next year and am already feeling a little lost. Anyway, the TAFE Fashion Parade is on tomorrow night, and our hats will be on display (on a display table). I will take some pictures of that later, but for now......




OK sorry I may as well try to get the other pictures in tonight. They are just some pictures of how the hats were displayed tonight...




and my dress.....

Smurfs T-Shirt for James

Just had to post a picture of James wearing the Smurfs t-shirt that we bought from Lottielulu. Thank you Ingrid, James loves it, and so do I!!

Here Comes the Bride....

I wish!!! I would love to have a reason to get all dressed up again. Anyway, I just thought I would pop in a picture of my latest 'complete' millinery project. It has been 'in progress' for quite a few months, but since I saw an advertisement in our local paper for our TAFE fashion parade which will be held on the 20/21st of November, I have started to freak out. I have to complete the 'in progress' headpieces quicksmart!!

So, this is my major bridal headpiece. An off-white silk flower headpiece (using a raw silk, silk satin and a silk chiffon) finished with champagne coloured crystals, and a veil finished in crystals. The flowers were all hand-made using French flowermaking tools.



What on earth am I going to do with a piece like this now????

Multicultural Day

And finally a picture to show you what we did today.....


James' daycare held a Multicultural day. He was dressed as a little Chinese boy/man (we picked up the outfit in Shanghai earlier this year). It is funny because whenever we ask him lately, "Are you Chinese?" he says, "Nooooo, no I not".
We had to take a platter of food each related to our cultural backgrounds. I made Anzac biscuits and had some Dutch Speculaas biscuits too. Well I am not Chinese, am I???

"The" Muesli Bar Slice Recipe

I won't keep you waiting any longer. My favourite 'snacky' recipe at the moment is the Real Muesli Bars recipe from Bill Grangers new (?) book Every Day. I actually really like a lot of the recipes in there, so it is worth buying the book.

Real Muesli Bars
3 1/2 cups Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Shredded Coconut
1/2 cup Flaked Almonds
1/2 cup Wheatgerm
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
1/3 cup Chopped Dried Apricots
3/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

Preheat the oven to 130 degrees celcius. Lightly grease and line a 35cm x 25cm tin. Put the oats, coconut, wheatgerm, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and apricots into a large bowl.

Put the honey, sugar and oil into a small pan and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Pour this over the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Press the mix into the tin and bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into bars (or squares) while still warm. Leave to cool before removing it from the tin.

Now, I don't have any pretty plates like Ingrid, so this will have to do.


P.S. I hope that my glowing recommendation of the recipe and the cookbook will override any issues that arise from copying the recipe!!!

High Tea Anyone???

Last Sunday the Sydney EB girls met up for High Tea at the QVB Tearooms.

It was just lovely. We chatted away and slowly made our way through the lovely sandwiches and cakes.

The day would not have been complete without a group photo.

From Left to Right: Ingrid, Corrie, Cass and Belinda

Thank you for a great day girls, I really enjoyed myself.

Cowboy Pants

I finally have something to blog - James' new Cowboy Pants. I pulled out the Michael Miller flannelette that I bought a while back after James took an immense liking to some Peter Alexander cowboy print flannel PJs that Alex picked up last week.
I was happy that I managed to whip them up in about an hour (I had already traced of the pattern to use before). And he loves them.


I have been working on a few other projects, but nothing complete enough to post here about, sorry.....

In coming blog posts, you will find a Muesli Bar Recipe that is just delicious, perhaps some sewing, and some of the "Me" answers for questionnaires that I have been tagged for. Stay tuned.....

Bag for Baby

This is a bag that I whipped up to give to our friend Amanda for her/her new baby boy Cooper.


We didn't know whether she was having a boy or a girl, so I didn't attempt to make clothes for the big day. But I am sick of buying wrapping paper at the moment, so I thought I would just make a bag to put the presents in.
I used a print from one of my recent Reprodepot purchases, and some medium weight denim. Amanda loved it. We actually visited her in hospital twice, and it turns out she had kept the bag, and a quilt and a little fabric book that my Mum had made at the hospital as they were special presents (all other presents were taken home daily).

For those who have been to the Blue Mountains, you will know that not trip is complete without a visit to the lolly shop in Leura. We went for a Sunday drive yesterday and ended up in Leura. I bought myself a special treat in the form of a Rosy Apple. Unfortunately as soon as James saw it he wanted it. So here is a picture of James with his first Rosy Apple lolly pop. It kept him quiet, that is for sure.

A Bag Swap and some Fabrics

I am involved in the Essential Baby Sewing Groups latest swap, a bag swap.
And before I have even finished the bag I am sending, I have received a package from Corrie!
It contained a lovely reversible black and white bag (I think Corrie has picked the fabric perfectly), and some fabrics from her RetroMummy store. Thank you so much Corrie.....


And the latest instalment from Reprodepot..... The funky stripe is destined to be some summery board shorts for James. The other fabrics are just for my 'collection'.