Something for me! or A new baby! (not that sort!!)

You know what? I bought myself a present. I am generally not an 'over consumer'. I like op shops. 

But when I feel the need for something, I like to have it! (of course!) 

A couple of years ago I bought myself a professional Kitchen Aid, I make bread in it and
I love it. It replaced poor old Ken ( Robs Mums old Kenwood Chef ) I consider it to be child # 7..

Numbers 1,2 and 3 are my own children, then there's Jade and Rach (#'s 4 and 5) my faux daughters and Clancy (Griffins best mate) is # 6, Kitchen Aid is #7...just to clarify!

And so, I have a new baby, child #8. A Canon 550. Oh my     a w e s o m e     !

I have also started an ecourse (never done anything like that before!) 

with Erin from http://bluebirdbaby.typepad.com/. Its a 6 week photography course.

 I have switched my camera to manual and I am loving it!

Something for me, no one needs to share it with me. 

.mine.

Heres a couple of photos for you :)

 

That look is a  'Mum......thats like the 20th picture.....can you stop now?'

Oh so much fun! 

Mums and Dads are such good sharers......

but what is something you keep for yourself? 

We all need a little something of our own don't you think?



and....I have been working so hard on a big secret project! (can't share yet though!) I have done my part now, so its up to the universe now to make it happen.  I hope to get back to blogging more regularly now I have a weeny bit less on my plate! 



:) Jacq

Lets talk about Christmas!

'Is she crazy?' I hear you say?? Quite possibly.

But in my defense, I am talking about Advent calendars. These things take time, thought, preparation. After all, it is April..soon it will be July.....then in a bit it will be October....then Christmas! 

So if your wanting to have an awesome Advent Calendar, now is probably a good time to start! My friend Dana from Tootypegs came to me recently looking for small things to fill her daughters calendar which reminded me of the sticky note stuck on my computer that reads 'blog advent calendar!'

So lets begin! 

As always the Internet is the greatest source of inspiration and ideas, so I have been entertaining myself at 2am while my body thinks it doesn't need any sleep, looking for ideas to share with you!

So, there's a few ways you can go. Firstly you can make your own, now those of you that have craft-fobia, please don't freak out! I will show you some pictures of super simple to not quite so simple and some links to tutorials. 

Or of course you can buy one and fill it, there's a lovely wooden one brought out by kaisercraft that I saw in spotlight recently, ready for you to paint and/or decorate how ever you fancy. I am sure there are plenty more out there, but if your wanting something hand made, I plan on making some bunting style calendars that I think would just look spectacular hanging in a house in the lead up to Christmas (also good if you have a few children to hide treats for!), also I have had this idea that kept me awake even longer, a very special JaxFancy Advent box. 

Imagine each day peeking in the advent box, looking for the right number package, opening the beautifully wrapped bundle, over the whole month you would unwrap a new piece of a JaxFancy playscape...perhaps a farmer one day, a duck next, then a cow? who knows! Ah! that would be so much fun! Golly, I am very excited about that one....but anyway lets look at some other ideas to inspire you.

Simply peg cute baby socks on a ribbon and fill! 

These are toilet paper rolls squished and glued on one end, paint them and add numbers and hang! 

Simply colored envelopes strung up with pegs

Getting a little fancier now, a shadow box filled with brightly colored packages.

Simple Bunting

A paper chain tree, write an activity or treasure hiding place in each loop taking one off each day. 

Small gift boxes glued to a frame, you can adhere the boxes straight onto the wall too for a striking decoration!

Now, this one really tickles my fancy! Paper stars hung from a pine branch

If you still need some more Christmassy goodness how about a few links to tutorials??

Printable numbered Christmas Boxes

Little Santa Sacks

Small ornament templates

Scroll down a little to see the tree etc

Matchboxes!

Christmas Bingo

Advent Calendar Pattern, available to purchase

Well I think that should give us something to think about! So remember when your deciding what type of calender you would like to keep in mind the type of things you want to have in your calendar.

So what to put IN the calendar? Chocolates, activity notes, tree ornaments....
I will think about it at 2 am when I can't sleep.... and now have a new note on my computer....blog advent calendar fillings!

Have you made your own calendar before? Leave us a comment and share your ideas! 

Jacq 

:)

Easter Holidays Crafting

hello! 

Yes its been a little while since I have written in this space, there has been plenty of writing going on.....just for different reasons :)

We had some lovely visitors today which made it the perfect time for making some easter friends! 

Using this pattern we made the sweetest little bunny finger puppets! 

These girls did a great job with a little help and I am sure any grown up could do a respectable job too :)

I used acrylic felt bought for 70 cents a sheet, and some cotton and embroidery thread that I already had. I think any child all the way down to a small toddler would love to have a bunny to have an easter adventure with! Here are some pictures of our day to inspire you to make your own...

Cutting out the pattern

How do you use pins?? Some new skills were learnt

Our bunnies had spots in their ears :)

Go on, make a bunny :D

Jacq :)

Yogurt!

I am defiantly starting to think I have a 'thing'. 

You know, some people collect teapots or elephants with passion, some people have ultra clean houses all the time (not me!). It's their 'thing'. 

I am a compulsive maker of stuff! its just my 'thing'!

My latest stuff to make is yogurt. 

All of us like to eat yogurt here, so it made sense to try and make it so we can enjoy it free of whatever yucky stuff food manufacturers poke into it. And truthfully I cannot figure out why they bother, surely it costs more to conjure up all that crappy stuff to add to the yogurt, than to just make yogurt out of milk and that's it??

So yogurt making was mine to conquer. I had done plenty of reading on the net over the years, I had used the Easy Yo method for quite a while, but it was still out of a packet and had a lot of sugar in it.

I had plenty of failures, generally because I could not keep the yogurt warm long enough... or accidentally kept it way to warm! (see below!)

It looks bad, but it smelled just like yogurt :)

Eventually I had success using the Easy Yo equipment and my own ingredients, but I could only make less than half a litre at a time, which seemed crazy for a family of 5, we needed to go BIG!! So this is my method which renders about 1 litre of real super yummy creamy yogurt. 

Firstly you need...

~2 litres of milk ( I used full cream)

~8 tablespoons of natural unflavoured yogurt 

(I just save some from the last batch, it can be frozen!)

~a saucepan big enough to hold the milk

~a big crockery pot with a lid big enough to hold the lot (I use the one out of my slow cooker)

~an oven

~a towel or woollen blanket

~other bits of normal kitchen stuff

Firstly you need to warm the milk up till there's steam coming off the top of the milk ( not boiling! yuck!) this kills any bacteria already present in the milk that might upset the nice yogurt cultures.

*Now I am very distractable and have burnt many litres of milk, over flowing it all over my stove and floor. So if your like me, this is a good time to make coffee and stand and watch the milk, while thinking of all the things you will do with your yogurt!!*

Let it cool till its a bit warmer than body temp, you know just kinda cosy ;)

Scoop out a mugful of the warm milk and tip it into a bowl with your 8 tbls of yogurt and mix until its all blended. Stir it all back into your pot of warm milk. 

Turn your oven on the lowest possible setting, I turn mine on till I just hear the fan switch on! 

Pour all the milk into the crockery dish, with the lid on put the whole lot into the oven. Now the idea here is to warm up the dish, I can't tell you how long that will take in your oven. I jam a tea towel in my door so it stays open a bit and wait a few minutes then check.  When its winter I use this method to rise my bread too :)

 My slow cooker dish is really quite thick, which makes it perfect for holding the heat. 

Take the whole lot out when your satisfied and wrap the pot up with a snuggly towel or woollen blanket and pop it somewhere warm. Its going to need to be warm for 8 hours or so which can make things tricky! If your oven doesn't get really warm on its lowest setting you could just leave it in there with the door wedged open, or you could sit it near your wood heater. Sometimes I am co ordinated and bake bread etc at the same time so sit my pot on top of the stove/oven and it stays warm. You *could* put it in your bed with the electric blanket on (whatever works!!). Most of the time I just put the pot back in the oven like I did the first time, every couple of hours or when I feel its getting a bit cold. 

So after 8 hours or so you should have a pot full of white stuff that's kind of thick, you can eat it like this, or if you want it nice and thick you can strain it off. 

I use a piece of fabric from my stash, it looks like sheeting to me, or you could use a clean close weave tea towel or muslin if your fancy ;). I line my colander with the fabric and sit it on top of another bowl.

One of these days I will make a elasticised liner that fits in there perfect!

Pour in your yogurt carefully, the whey will start to drain off into the bowl underneath.

 Now more than likely its getting kind of late in the day because of the long warming time, so I stick the 2 bowls on top of each other in the fridge and deal with it again in the morning!

The benefit of leaving it in the fridge over night is the yogurt drains really well and you'll be left with a beautiful thick creamy yogurt.

This is the whey that drains away. There are plenty of uses for it, google is your friend! Have a look, you can use it in cooking..rinse your hair with it......or tip it down the sink like it do LOL

here is the finished product

mmmm yum!

pop it in a fancy Italian preserving jar that you're in love with OR any old container :)

scoop out in big blobs and enjoy! 

It tastes alot like sour cream but not as strong, you could replace it in recipes I am sure. You can add some honey, my girls love it like this, I love passionfruit, any seasonal fruits fresh or stewed would be delicious.... add muesli as well and have a breakfast fit for a king! Use it to make the dip tzatziki...The sky is the limit really!

I like to daydream about having a completely homemade diet, 'grind the wheat to make the bread' kind of complete. Besides me thinking its fun and getting a kick out of it, it would be so much more healthier to eat this way :)

Yogurt Facts!

•  Yogurt has been around for over 2000 years, and like many foodstuffs, came about quite by accident, after ancient, nomadic Turks found that milk they had transported in goatskin bags over many hours, had curdled in the heat.
•  The Turks called this new found product, yogurt ( proper pronunciation yo - ert) a derivation of their word yagmak ( don't pronounce the ' g' ) which means to curdle.
• yogurt is considered a cure for diarrhoea and a soothing lotion for sunburn as well as being used for other stomach ailments and irritating skin conditions, as well as fungal and /  or yeast infections and some bronchial conditions.
•  Due to the zinc content in yogurt, it is also known to be beneficial to sufferers of acne, which can be applied to affected areas of the skin.
•  Scientists and nutritionists have found that daily servings of yogurt have proved beneficial in children to help intestinal absorption of certain food types, that it heightens the immune response, increases fat loss, can help alleviate the symptoms of arthritis, guard against colon cancer and lower dangerous LDL and raise healthy HDL (cholesterol)

:) Happy Days

Jacq

We're really looking forward to being in Bendigo this Saturday with all our goodies! Pop in and say hi, we'd love to meet you :)

A recipe to share!

Quickie Apple Slice

Mix 3/4 of a cup of melted butter with 1 packet of vanilla cake mix, you don't need a fancy packet just a cheapy will do! Mix together well and press into a dish (mines a 30cm X 15 cm lasagna dish) that has been lined with baking paper. Cook in a 180 degree oven for 15 minutes. 

Mix 1 container of sour cream with 1 tins worth (bought or home made) of pie apple then spread on top of the base, sprinkle with some cinnamon and bake again for 15 minutes.

Let it cool a bit then refrigerate until its cold.

Slice it up and eat!

I do normally try and avoid packet anything (its part of my compulsive making of stuffs!) but hey, this is a quick and yummy recipe great for when you just need something and dont want to fuss! I am sure you could change the fruit to whatever you had and it would still be great. 

I have a whole weekend of making stuff planned....pizzas...yogurt...bread...hot cross buns...nighties....

If you could make something, what would it be??

Jacq :)

Jacq makes a new Dress (or two!!)

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a bit of a 'thing' for making my girls OOAK (one of a kind) dresses using a combination of new and re-purposed fabric and vintage doilies ( and this pattern), they really love it as you can well imagine! They are completely involved in the designing process, which means they end up with a dress that is all there own and they completely love! Here are two favourites, coincidentally they both have a bird theme....

sorry both unironed....!

Anyway, I thought it was time to make one for........ME!!

I was feeling a great lack of comfortable summer wear during our recent heat wave so I did some Googling for a pattern that wasn't too fussy and came across this one. 

 After my last dress failure (wrong style, I looked like a hippo??) I had been a bit nervous about attempting something for myself again so I was over joyed when I found it, because it was very similar to one I had already, so I knew it would look ok!!

I ended up making two dresses... I started with the blue one so if I needed to make any adjustments I would know for the black one, black is my favorite color! 

I *did* make a few changes (of course, I can't help myself) 

• I made the dress'  WAY shorter, the original was down to my ankles which was longer than I wanted this time.
• I didn't do any hemming, I just zig zagged instead which left the skirt much flowier and the top of the bodice less ruffly (yes I am making up my own words).

• I also made the pockets (I LOVE pockets!) about 1/4 less deep. I am a lady not an ape! plus for them to be in the right position for my hands they would have nearly poked out the bottom of the dress and we can't have that :)
• Blue has straps, while the black doesn't......

Here's a look at the blue one on....sorry for the dark photo (awnings are down on the windows!) 

The shirring on the bodice is easier than you think, just follow the simple instructions and you will be fine. I did have a couple of sweary moments when it wouldn't work properly, but only because when I changed the bobbin I hadn't it hadn't threaded properly and it took me a minute to figure out what was going on!  ...and then some unpicking.... The only downfall to the shirring is it takes some time to do, I did each dress in a few sittings because it made my arms ache! I will definitely do it again, its very effective.

What a cute model!

I am already thinking I could dress up the black one with a cute necklace and fancy shoes and look half decent (and super comfy!) to go out! 

 

and then you could embellish one with embroidery or fabric flowers ...and and and......... 

see what goes on in my head!! Its scary!

Next on my agenda is a super glamorous sunhat.....all hats look ridiculous on me so I will just aim for one that keeps me cool and shady..... :)

I would love to know what creativity is going on in this sunny weather (or not so sunny weather depending on which side of the world you're on!)

What are YOU up to?? 

Jacq :)

Lets make bread? C'mon! you CAN do it! Its easy!

Anyone who knows me personally knows I love to make bread!
I think I might have yeast in my veins (along with coffee!) :)

I have been making bread for what seems like forever, I am going to guess about 10 yrs? and in that time I have had *alot* of failures and learnt alot of lessons!

My breadmaking got to a point where I had a little business going, and many family and friends would buy freshly made bread for their families. Now I have heard some of you have been missing those Tuesdays, so that's prompted me to share how I make my bread! And I really hope it will encourage anyone who reads it to have a go and make their own.

 

Lets talk about the ingredients first. I am a no fuss kind of girl. The ingredients I use are easy to come by, I am also a frugal girl, while I would love to live the organic life its just not a viable option for my family at the moment! 

I use a Lauke Flour ~Wallaby bakers flour~ available in most supermarkets 5kg bag for about $10 (that will make you about 20ish loaves!) Lauke support organic farmers and buy organic wheat when they can, but are not certified organic (and its made in Victoria!)

Other than flour I use

•  Salt, if you want to use fancy salt go right ahead! I use boring salt ;)
•  Sugar, doesn't matter what type! I use raw, white is fine, you can easily substitute it with honey
• Yeast, I buy the Lowan yeast you can see in the picture, its the cheapest way to buy it.
• Oil of some sort, we use olive oil, sometimes a veg oil, marg if that's your thing and butter is very yummy too!
• I have a multigrain mix that I make up, which we can chat about another time, so if you want a bit more substance to your bread a good handful of oats or even quick cooking oats is a good addition. 

Easy so far right! I would guess that you have most of these things already, the flour and the yeast will set you back probably $15....not much of an investment..... :)

Ok, next lets think about equipment. I am lucky enough to have a professional Kitchen Aid (still loving it!). Bread has been made by hand for about a gazillion years, if you don't have a mixer with a dough hook, your bread will still be awesome!
The one thing I have that absolutely guarantees perfect bread everytime is a set of digital scales.

go. buy. some. now. Trust me!

Ask Santa, steal your neighbours, whatever!...actually you can pick them up pretty cheap these days so no need to steal!
Other than the scales a big bowl, a spoon and some kind of baking tray and bread/cake tin are good too!
So.....are you ready??

The Recipe and Method

My recipe makes about 1400gms of dough, if your gonna do it, you may as well make extra and freeze it or just eat more :) This is enough to make 2 large loaves, or 1 and a couple of pull aparts. If you're making it by hand, go ahead and use the quantities I give, if you are using a machine you will probably need to divide it by half, check your machine instructions on how much it can handle! 

•  In a big bowl add 420gms of warm water (yes weigh the water too!)
• Add 9gms each of salt, sugar and yeast
• Add 30gms of oil
• Add 750gms of flour (and your handful of oats if you want) 

• Mix it either by machine, or spoon and then your hands
• Knead the dough (plenty of great diagrams/instructions on Google) until it becomes smooth and elastic

 

• Now its time to let it rise, cover your bowl with something like glad wrap, or even a plate and put it somewhere warm (sometimes I put mine out in the sun, or on the oven if its on etc). I think humidity is a key factor at this point so while most recipes suggest covering with a tea towel I prefer my own way!
• Let it rise until its about twice its original size. 
• Give it a bit of a knead again until its back to its normal size.
• Here's where the fun starts! Decide WHAT shape your dough will be! I weigh my dough as well which helps to know how long to cook it for and in your presentation :) (yes I am anal about it!) 300gm is a good amount of dough for a plait, so out of my recipe I will make 2 plaits and use the rest for a loaf
• So using your scales divide up your dough.
• Lets make a ham cheese tomato plait! (my kids fav!)
• Roll out your dough into a long kind of shape (like the photo, though no need to be perfect) and place it on some baking paper
• Using a spoon, spread on some ready made (I know, I know I should make my own!) pasta sauce

 

•  Lay some ham on top.....we like a good ham, double smoked is yum

• Then some cheese, whatever sort! Mine is just block tasty cheese chopped up ( I hate grating cheese!)
• Now for the fun bit! If you look closely at the photo below you can see I have made 1 inch wide? cuts along the edge (on both sides about 1/3 through) these are the parts we are going to 'plait'

• starting on one side fold one flap on an angle towards the middle, the do the same to the other side trying to fold it over the previous flap. Don't be afraid to stretch them, its only dough :)

• Continue alternating all the way until the end, with any odd bits just tuck them under or fold them over, its doesn't really matter! Sprinkle some cheese on if you like. Don't be too concerned with neat and tidy consider it 'rustic'! Its still going to taste great! Lift it using the baking paper on to a tray.
• Its now I preheat my dinosaur electric oven to 180- 200 degrees (and sit my tray on top for the 2nd rise)
• Cover if with plastic again and let it rise again for about an hour if its in a nice warm spot, it won't want to double its size again with all the filling in it but it should look nice and chubby :) perhaps a little more than the photo below!

• For a loaf, follow the same rising instructions but in a tin sprayed with cooking spray (any tin will do!)

• Cook then in your preheated oven till they are nice and brown and sound hollow when you tap them on the bottom!

 

And that's it! I know it seems like a lot of instructions but its pretty quick really, other than the rising time you could make it with only 20 minutes at your kitchen bench. There are many many fillings you could use, don't be afraid to experiment!

I often make the plaits, chop them up into kids size bits, freeze them, then I can just put them in their lunch box instead of a sandwich and have happy kids :)

Something I would like you to keep in mind, don't expect your beautiful homemade bread to be like white bread from the supermarket, it WILL be much better and your house will smell heavenly!

If somethings not clear, please feel free to ask I am happy to help :)

So go on.....just do it!

Jacq :)