jellywares yarn club

hello - back with some more sharing from the crochet department ☺  I think this is fast becoming my favourite hobby!
I recently signed up for the Spring Jellywares Yarn Club which I came across on Instagram - I had seen some of my other friends making beautiful things from this club and I loved the idea of receiving crochet goodies each month and creating something with it!!  

 The September installment arrived - we received some lovely Noro yarn, a gorgeous calico hand-stamped project bag and a letter which included links to projects we might like to try ........................
I couldn't wait to get started!!

 I settled for a circular snood (scarf)  I've made this one before and thought this yarn would really suit the design, showing off the gorgeous colours.
As you can see, I couldn't wait to see all the colours in this ball of yarn, so I went about un-ravelling - probably not the best idea as I spent a little bit more time, rewinding the ball neatly, so I could crochet with it!

 Here is is all completed - I just love the array of colours.

 I used the v-stitch (again) ; has been one of my favourite stitches to work with lately.  I love the finished texture.

And here it is, sitting nicely around my neck. It wraps around twice and I can position it to show certain colours.
I've actually just placed a little order for some more of this amazing yarn - I'm planning to make the scarf a little longer and do another project.  The Noro yarn was beautiful to work with and it has a nice organic feel to it.
I can't wait to see what Jodie has planned for October ☺

Thanks for coming by.
Creating with love + happiness ♥

crochet baby blanket

 hello ☺  oh this last week of Term 3 has been so busy and kept me away from here.  I have lots of projects 'on the go' at the moment - ranging from scrapbooking + canvas art to crocheting + baking goodies - so much to share ........................
Now it's school holidays - so happy about that - a bit more relaxed routine and spending time with my boys ☺

Today I'm sharing a special little project that I've been working on over the past weeks.  I stopped all my current crochet projects to get this one done!

 On a recent trip to Spotlight I came across some beautiful yarn - Baby Bella bamboo blend - 80% bamboo + 20% merino wool. 
It was going out on sale, so I grabbed a bundle in white with the plan to make a baby blanket for my sisters new baby☺

 I decided on a simple, straight-forward design and used the rope stitch (or v-stitch)
This is nice and quick!!  I only had a few weeks to make it ☺

 It was such a lovely yarn to work with - the end result was just beautiful and I was so pleased with it.  I did a border of five single crochet - adding in two rows of grey as I wanted to keep it neutral for 'boy' or 'girl'.

 The blanket falls really nicely and needed no blocking - I would definitely like to use this yarn again.

 I can't wait to see the little baby all wrapped up!!

I hand delivered the blanket a few days ago - my sister had a baby girl - such a beautiful little bundle - I'm a proud auntie ☺

Enjoy your weekend and see you soon ♥

raw lemon + coconut tart

 Hey everyone - today I'm sharing a sweet treat from my kitchen: Raw Lemon + Coconut Tarts.  
I was inspired to create these after a morning out, for tea and cake - I had a lemon + coconut slice which was rather yummy!  So I decided to re-created it in my own kitchen for my family ☺

 You could easily make this into one large slice, but I've chosen to put them in little tart tins - this recipe made five.  Raw cakes are quite rich, so you only really need bite size pieces ☺

 Ingredients + Method

for the base:

3/4 cup of each - medjool dates, shredded coconut + nuts of your choice

process these three ingredients together - I used my Thermomix - process for as long as it takes for the mix to come together - it doesn't need to be smooth

press into little tart tins 

for the filling:

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup 100%

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup cashews (you can soak these for a creamier mix)

2 tblsp coconut cream

mix all of these ingredients together in the Thermomix til it is creamy - you may need to scrape down the side a few times and keep processing until it's quite smooth

spread out filling over the base

the tarts are ready - refridgerate for a few hours and then enjoy.  

raw treats always need to be stored in the fridge or freezer ☺

Each little tart can be cut into four pieces- perfect for that afternoon tea ☺  I hope you enjoy these.

Creating with love + happiness ♥

big helper - scrap the boys

 Hello everyone ☺  Hope your week is going very well!
Today I'm sharing a scrapbook page!!!  I looked back over my blog and realised that my last scrappy page was back in June.  Although I have created a couple in that time, I haven't actually shared any here.
So I checked out a few challenges for this month to give me some direction.  For this page, I've joined in with the challenge at Scrap the Boys - the theme is 'domesticated'.
I had these cute pics of my youngest, helping me with dinner preparations - they fitted the theme well ☺

 The background paper is from American Crafts which I picked up on sale at Spotlight recently.  It had a few pre-printed elements on the page already - I love the stitching.
I've also used some Project Life cards that I received in my box of goodies from the 'snail mail-box swap' - I also used some of the packaging too - it was too creative to throw away and I love the added bit of stitching.

 On the base paper, I used a chevron stencil and modelling paste to add dimension - I also added in a strip of tape that I got from Bunnings ☺

 I had red glitter sticker letters for my title but wasn't really happy with them.  So I removed them and was left with the out-lining - something that I add to my pages .......................  I love how this turned out!!

I do have a banner style design going on here - one of my favourite designs ☺ There are a few little layers behind the photo and here you can see the vellum packaging with stitching peeking out!  The chevrons were created with a photo corner punch and I've also added in an extra circle to the top.  A few wood veneers and mini pegs ................ the page is complete.

So I did have a bit of fun on this page - I'm hoping this is the start again to lots more pages.  I have missed sharing them ☺

Thanks for coming by.
Creating with love + happiness ♥

canvas art - she was a modern girl with a vintage soul

 Hello ☺ I've been doing a little bit more canvas art and thought I'd share this cute piece with you all.
I recently purchased a book called Vantastic by Kate Ulman from the Fox Lane blog.
A beautiful book all about their travels in a caravan!!  I was inspired by the cover to create a canvas with a retro caravan as the theme ................. and I just love how it turned out. 

 Lots and lots of layers of paper, dressing making pattern paper and paint.

 I found this cute little quote and felt it suited the canvas and also says a little bit about me ☺

So this little canvas sits proudly in my home and makes me long for another camping holiday ................................

Thanks for coming by.
Creating with love + happiness ♥

snail mail-box swap

 Hey and happy Monday ☺  Recently I participated in a snail mail-box swap with a few on-line blogging friends.  It was put together by Kellie from Give-a-girl-a-blog and I was lucky to help her out with a few idea's ................................
So last Monday I received some 'happy mail' and just had to share the gorgeous box of goodies I received.
This was sent to me from Tash - Little Bit of Thyme - she has a lovely lifestyle blog and is very crafty ☺
We provided a list of things we love, including colours, smells, hobbies and dis-likes too.  We could use this as our guide to include something hand-made, something to eat + drink, something to use and something to write ....................  lots of fun little themes.

 Tash went to great effort to present each item in such a clever way - each little package was sewn together with pattern paper and vellum and included a bible text - really meaningful ☺

 There was lots of my favourite colour - teal!!  Isn't this bead necklace just gorgeous.

 It all looks so pretty, that I haven't even opened all the packages!!

Thank you Tash for a very thoughtful and gorgeous package.  My first snail mail-box swap was heaps of fun and I would love to do it again.  It's so nice to receive special things in the mail box from crafty girls!

I posted off my box last week, so hopefully the recipient gets it soon ☺

Creating with love + happiness ♥

currently creative .......

 Hey there - hope your week is going well☺
Today, I'm linking up with Give a Girl a blog for 'currently creative'.
I have a few crochet projects on the go .....

The first one is this 'as we go stripey' blanket - the pattern for this one is from Not Your Average Crochet!

 I'm using the pattern that she has available on her blog - the width of my blanket being 193 stitches  - currently I'm up to row 48 - so about 1/3 of the way ☺  I'm using yarn from my stash in 8ply acrylic! 

 It's a very fun project - I love the idea of learning new stitches as I go along and it's being a blanket 'full of texture'.
I'm calling this my 'colours of the sea' blanket ☺

 Another little side project I have going is a crochet cushion cover.  It's a simple granny square pattern which I'm 'making up' as I go along.

 One side is nine granny squares joined together with a border and the other side is one big granny square.I've used Moda Vera cotton/acrylic blend in 8 ply and it's a lovely yarn to crochet with.

 To join my granny squares, I've used the 'join-as-you-go' method which creates a lovely ridge!

 Hoping to finish this one soon as my little man is patiently waiting for it - it's destined for his bedroom ☺

And this cute little crochet glass jar cover was a little project I completed at my Wednesday craft morning group that I go to in our town.  I must make more of these - they would be lovely gifts ☺

So that's what I've been keeping busy with, on the crafty side of things - there's been a little bit of art canvas in between - hope to share a few of those soon ☺

Thanks for popping in.
Creating with love + happiness ♥

apple cake

 Hello and happy Spring!!!  Such a gorgeous time of year with happiness coming from everywhere.  Today I'm sharing some happiness from my kitchen.  I thought it was time to share another recipe ☺

We love apple cake - this one is delicious!!  It's gluten free and refined sugar free.

This cake is actually very similar to my date + banana cake recipe - have just tweaked the ingredients a little!
The cake crumb is moist and soft - the dates and apples give a lovely sweetness to the cake.

 

Ingredients & Method

2/3 cup medjool dates (pits taken out)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

1/4 cup rapadura

Place all the above ingredients into a bowl and add:

3/4 cup of boiling hot water

Allow to sit for about 5mins to soften the dates and melt butter.

Add to bowl:

2 eggs

Process mixture together so it's all blended well.

Add to bowl:

  3/4 cup buckwheat flour

  3/4 cup almond meal

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

2-3 green apples - peeled and diced

handful of walnuts (optional)

Combine all ingredients well.

Pour into lined round cake tin and bake at 180 degrees

for approx 30-40 mins or until cooked

Serve with a dollop of cream and enjoy ☺

This recipe could easily be made into muffins.  Just follow the same method as above;  fill muffin liners 3/4 full and bake for approx 15 mins or until cooked through. Instead of apple, you could add in about 1 cup of frozen berries ☺

I hope you enjoy this one.  You can print the recipe out by clicking on the 'print friendly' option at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for popping in ☺
Creating with love + happiness ♥