a homemade birthday card for mia

I have had fun today getting a few bits and bobs to put in my niece Mia's bag I made for her birthday which is today. I went to one of those dollar value shops and got a notebook, some coloured pencils and stickers. Had to put in some yummy sweets too! I made a wallet the other day to go with the bag just out of felt with a bit of applique and embroidery for her name on the front. I got the idea from a moochi necklace I bought back when we were dinks (double income no kids!!!) that came in this cute felt bag.

I have just made her a card too- using a blank craft greeting card and scrapbooking letters from the Warehouse. I cut out some small paper bunting the other night as I was thinking of using that my for blog banner so I just stuck some of them on the card and sewed a little line across the top! The flags are a bit big for the card but they do look so cute! Well I think so anyway!!
I got two lovely treats today too- a gorgeous reddish pink necklace from "Rendezvous" in Tauranga where I had a lovely chat to the lady working there who is in her second year of fashion design at the BOP Polytech. She showed me a top she was making and we discussed how to make a really easy pair of boys boxers/shorts. It is so enjoyable meeting and talking to people about sewing and craft since starting my craft journey.

I also got a very cute coin purse from Cat Taylor today thank you Cat- I have put it on the outside of my bag to show it off :)

easy peasy quiche recipe

Well, if I can make this anyone can! A friend from New Plymouth gave me this recipe-great for vegetarians or just a good cheap meal.  Even my toddler aged nearly 3 loves it and that's saying something! Only took me about 15 minutes to prepare the filling even with my toddler wanting to 'help', and then 30 minutes of cooking.
I don't use pastry so I guess it is more like a frittata maybe? Either way, it is quick, easy and delicious!

Ingredients
1 tbls butter
3 rashers bacon (if you want)
1 onion chopped
assorted chopped vegetables- I used chopped spinach, grated courgette and chopped capsicum
2 tbls standard flour
1 cup milk
4 eggs (we have quite a big dish so if you have a smaller one you could try 2 or 3)
half a cup grated cheese
salt and pepper


Instructions
Preheat oven to fanbake 200 degrees celsius
Melt butter in large saucepan, add onion (and bacon if you want), cook until onion is clear.
Add your vege's and cook
Stir in flour and cook until frothy
Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens
Remove pan from heat
Lightly beat eggs in a bowl with a fork
Add eggs and cheese to the saucepan, stir to combine
Season with salt and pepper
Pour into suitable dish
Place in 200 degrees celsius oven for 30 minutes
Serve with salad and bread- yum!

PS: a tip if you are using grated courgette- after grating put the courgette into a paper towel and get rid of as much moisture as possible otherwise the quiche can be a little soggy. When I made it the second time I actually left the courgette out

shoe frou's

I saw these on one of my favourite TV programmes last year-' Lush House' with Shannon Lush on the Living Channel. She made these cute eco-friendly and cheap shoe frou's as an alternative to store bought shoe deoderisers so I made some up last night for each shoe wearing member of my family!

SHANNON LUSH'S SHOE FROU RECIPE
2 tablespoons talcum powder (keeps shoes dry by absorbing sweat and moisture)

2 tablespoons bicarb soda (general cleaner)
2 drops oil of cloves (kills mould, stops shoes smelly musty)
2 drops tea tree oil (kills tinea)
2 drops lavender oil (adds a nice fragrance but also a muscle relaxant)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then spoon them into the foot of pantyhose – tie off and dab in your shoes as often as you like to clean and deoderise.