Home Grown

Egg Free Birthday Party Link Up

2012-01-21T17:48:00.002+11:00

My little gal turned 7 this week and to celebrate we held a small party with her favourite friends. One of her friends has an egg allergy, so this called for me to be a bit more thoughtful with the party food.

I loved that I was able to still do a couple of our favourite party staples:

Honey Joys and Fairy Bread:

Finding the right egg free cake recipe was a bit more difficult. I had read that some egg substitutes still contain egg whites and to be on the look out for ingredients with "ov" at the beginning (as in ovum). I chose this recipe from Eggless Cooking for it's simple ingredients and good reviews as a crumble free cake, good for cutting up.

The birthday girl asked for a butterfly cake with a rainbow.

I found the cake tasty and pretty easy to cut up. The cooking time for mine was way over their instructed time. I think this was due to using 100ml extra of condensed milk and using a square pan instead of a rectangle. So mine was a little "crisp" on the outside!

These mountain bread pinwheels (minus the ranch dressing and cheese; I added yoghurt and garlic powder) are a great idea, easy to eat and so delicious.

I also made a fruit platter, a bowl of lollies and corn chips for a great selection of goodies for everyone.

Add a craft table;

A little bit of swimming

Pass the parcel; and we had a very successful party!

So there you have it, some ideas for you for your next egg free party! (And mine if I have to do it all again next year). Do you have more egg free party recipe ideas? Link them up below for a great "Egg Free" directory!

Thrifty Fifty: Tip #25 De-stash Your Home

2012-01-03T09:12:00.001+11:00

I know I am not alone in feeling like it's time to de-stash around here. After Christmas the clutter and extra "things" in my home start to bug me. Each day they nag at me to sort them out, and while I'm busy trying to have fun and ignore them, they only get worse.

So if I'm going to be able to enjoy the rest of the school holidays, the day has come to do the annual Christmas de-stash, then we can move on, more simplified into the coming year. So here is my plan:

The first step is to work out what toys the children no longer want/play with. These can be put in a bag to give to charity. Because I have children varying from ages 2 to 8 years, there will be some toys that are deemed too "young" by the older ones, these can be put away to be re-gifted to the younger ones at a later date.
Now to find a home for all the new items. The best way to do this is to have toys worked into categories and have a place for each category. Our categories include "cars", "puzzles", "board games", "art/craft", "blocks", "dolls" etc. We have boxes for each one or specific draws or cupboard space.

Let's see how long it stays this neat

If there is not enough room for all the toy boxes to be out at once, store some away for a rainy day (or a really hot day). My kids love it when I bring out a box of toys they haven't seen for a few months, and will play with them with renewed vigour! For more tips on organising toys, make sure you pop over and check out Kelly's post over at Be A Fun Mum.
Kids toys are not the only items that need sorting. My kitchen also needs a good going over at this time of year. It's good to look at what is in the most convenient cupboards and see whether you have used those items in the last 12 months. If something is in there, unused, taking up vital space, move it to a higher cupboard or even consider getting rid of it altogether (one for the charity box).
Christmas decorations can come down, sort through the broken/old ones as you are packing away for next year. Christmas cards can be put away too. I store mine in one of those zip up manchester bags and we use them to make Christmas crafts the following year.
Now is a good time to sort through the kids clothes wardrobes also. Hand down the smaller clothes to the younger ones and make a list of what new items are needed. This helps with overspending as you know exactly what is needed and wont buy too much, it's never good to have too many clothes as this just leads to more washing. True story.
If your children wear uniforms to school, now is a good time to sort these out too, do any running repairs and labelling and make a list of any new items needed. When I say "new", this can mean second hand of course, just new to you.

I think that ought to do it, I'm going to leave the paperwork and filing for another day (I've said that before!) and now I'm going to enjoy the rest of the school holidays, guilt free. Well as guilt free as a mother can!

Back to school holiday fun!

This Christmas

2011-12-28T12:43:00.000+11:00

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from all of us here at Home Grown.

This Christmas we frolicked in the sprinkler on the warm days

Shared meals at this table and watched storms roll in

Lined up the stockings in preparation for Santa

Admired our very patient children

We've had such a wonderful Christmas surrounded by family, I hope you have too. Best wishes to you xx

Buy A Child Some Comfort This Christmas

2011-12-12T08:01:00.001+11:00

Amy from Childs i Foundation recently contacted me about their latest campaign The 2011 Baby Shower.

By buying a gift from the Baby Shower you are helping to cover the running costs of Malaika Babies Home and the Social Work Department who are finding homes for neglected children. You are helping these children start their new lives with essentials such as mosquito nets, clothes, nappies or clean drinking water.

You can be assured that your donation is really helping abandoned children by following their progress on the Childs i website or joining their Facebook page.

Amy sent some photos too, of the children receiving presents from Santa recently;

The Childs I Foundation are doing some fantastic work, this year they ran a very successful campaign promoting adoption in the Ugandan Media. They really are giving these children the hope of brighter futures.

So if you can, this year, buy an extra gift and help these children find families.

Thrifty Fifty: Tip # 24 Our Thoughtful Christmas

2011-11-28T20:12:00.000+11:00

Last year I posted about how to have a Thrifty Christmas.
Since then we have moved home, and you'll know when you've done this yourself, you discover just how much stuff you have; and just how much of it is unnecessary.

So the last thing I feel like doing this Christmas is adding to our stuff by buying all the kids more toys. Of course I don't want them to go without and Santa will be coming, just in a more thoughtful way.
I've managed to pick up some gifts from the op shop already. Mostly books to encourage my budding readers, but I also found a couple of cool toys that were on the "wanted" list.
Santa will be bringing games to assist us all through the school holidays too. This is a great way to bring family members together, I know for my kids there is no better special treat than when I sit down and play a game with them.

Of course there will be a handmade element to my gift giving. So far I have made my 5yo a special wallet, my hubby a gift for gardeners, for the 2yo I've made a car pillow (tutorial here) and my little girl has put in a request for a pyjama bag doll. My 8yo also loves handmade gifts and often has requests, so I'm waiting to see what he comes up with. I've decided to save on the wrapping paper this year and make gift bags instead. These can be made quick and easily, in all sizes and best of all, they are re usable for next year!

It's not all about the gifts of course. We are having a large extended family gathering which I'm really looking forward to. To make it work we are all pitching in and everyone will be bringing something. I recently had a sit down with my MIL and SIL to write a list on who will be contributing what. It was fun to see the menu list coming together and to flip through recipes books gathering ideas (and drooling a bit).

Our garden is currently abundant in cabbage, onions and potatoes, so my recipes will centre around those ingredients. I recently made the most delicious Vietnamese Salad suggested to me by my twitter friend Snappy Shoes. If the eggs and strawberries are still coming in strong, then I also see Pavlova on the horizon.

Good Food Pavlova

Mostly the sentiment of Christmas is about the time we spend together with the people we love. Enjoying the Summer days together in the build up to Christmas and relaxing together in the aftermath. I hope mostly that we spend our days laughing and learning from each other and that you and your family do the same.

This Weekend

2011-11-20T18:16:00.001+11:00

This weekend;

We hired an excavator, to dig things out.

To move large objects into new homes (don't worry, the water tank didn't stay in our driveway!)

To level out an area for our new bike shed and try very hard not to get bogged (or fall off the edge).

The arrival of the excavator was met with joyous cries of "digger, digger!" Our two year old thought all his dreams had come true.

And there was a little bit of time leftover for bike rides down our street.

Turning Eight

2011-11-08T20:55:00.000+11:00

On his eighth birthday:

he asked for a treasure chest cake

and spent an afternoon playing with siblings and friends


and jumped until he was too tired to jump any more.

In The Garden

2011-11-03T21:25:00.000+11:00

In the garden we:


Cut fresh roses...

...to brighten up our home

Harvest Cauliflower to go in our curries and make soup...and give to the neighbours.

Harvest Spinach for our Anchovy, Spinach and Pine Nut Pasta.

Anchovy, Spinach and Pine Nut Pasta

Spinach Leaves
Pine Nuts
Anchovies
Pasta (we use Fettucine)
Chilli
(No quantities given, this is a throw together as needed dish)

Lightly toast pine nuts, remove from heat. Chop spinach and cook with anchovy oil until wilted, toss in anchovies, chilli to taste and pine nuts. Serve on top of pasta.

When We Turn 5

2011-11-01T13:17:00.001+11:00

When we turn five we:

Wake up to balloons.

Open presents.

Play with lego for hours.

Bake and eat Robot Cakes.

In October

2011-10-30T13:36:00.000+11:00

In October we:


Weed. A lot.

Pick Sugar Snaps off the vine.

Put Japanese Mizuna on everything.

Make Rhubarb Crumble.

Forage for strawberries....and kill naughty millipedes that eat them.

Watch our Sage flower.

Rhubarb Crumble

120g Butter
80g Brown Sugar
125g Plain Flour
8-12 Stems Rhubarb
Sprinkle Cinnamon

Cut your rhubarb into bite sized pieces and put in a pot. Sprinkle a little sugar on top and a couple of tablespoons of water. Then heat on stove top until soft.
Meanwhile cut your butter into cubes and add it to the flour, rub in until it becomes like breadcrumbs then stir in your brown sugar and cinnamon and a tablespoon or two of water to get your mixture to clump together.
Put your softened rhubarb in an oven dish and sprinkle your clumpy mixture on top. Bake at 180 degrees C until the top has browned nicely.

A New Beginning: Joyful Creations

2011-06-16T12:12:00.000+10:00

Hi lovely friends!

It has been a while and I am rested, happy and settled into our new country life! So does this mean Home Grown is back? Well, no.
However I have been busy sewing up a storm and starting a new Made It store (thanks for the inspiration and encouragement Thea and Jodie).
I've also started blogging again. I started a new one because I am on a different track and rather than seeing this blog lose followers because you aren't interested in where I am taking you, I thought I'd give you the opportunity to follow me again over there. Or not.
Joyful Creations is my new place and it's really all about sewing and craft. I know that is not everyone's cup of tea, so don't worry, I absolutely will not be offended if you don't follow me over there. I will still talk to you on Twitter. Hehehe.
So here is where you can find me:

Cheers!
Christie xx

Closing Down Shop

2011-04-14T20:18:00.000+10:00

Is this post what you think it is? Yep this is the last post for Home Grown.
I've loved blogging and the journey it has taken me on, it has been so much fun. I've loved the people I have "met" and the connections made too.
Thank you so much for reading and all your wonderful comments that kept me going for so long!
I'm just committing more time to our new property and lifestyle. It seems ironic that now I have the land and probably more to blog about than ever that I am taking my leave, but life can be like that, can't it? Ironic.
No doubt I will see you all about the place, perhaps at your blog? Take care.
Love Christie xx

A new path awaits

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #23 Tips on Moving House

2011-03-27T11:41:00.000+11:00

I have moved a lot over the last 17 years. For the first 17 I stayed in the same town, in the same house. Maybe I was making up for lost time as when I tried to count the number of times I've moved for you and leaving out times where I moved back to somewhere I had lived before; I came to 18. I'm a little bit in shock over that number. I would dearly like the move we are about to do in a few days to be the last one for a very long time.
So I guess what I'm telling you is that I write this post with lots of experience under my belt (unfortunately)!
These are my tips on how to have a smooth move, and if you've had experience with moving around, you will know that no move is without its' bumps, but it doesn't hurt to try and lessen them a bit.

Write a list
There is so much to do when you move. Too many things to remember, so write them down. Pop a list on your fridge or somewhere that you will have easy access to. This way you can update it as you go, crossing things off as they are done and adding new things as you think of them.

Redirect your mail with Australia Post
No matter how good you are at updating your new address with all your affiliates, there will always be one (or a few) that you miss. I recommend paying for a redirection with Australia Post, especially if you're moving from a rental property where you cannot guarantee the new tenants will forward your mail on.

Pack early and whittle away the clutter
Packing is a big job, but it can be a lot less big if you start early. Start with things you don't use often or things you can do without. Pack like you are going on a 2 week holiday (but in reverse) putting the things you wont need on your "holiday" in boxes and leaving out the essentials.

Have a clean out
This is a great excuse to de-clutter, the best way to get rid of stuff is to donate to your local charity op shop or if you are feeling super energetic, make some cash with a garage sale.

Don't buy boxes
If you are using a removalist they will quite often supply you with boxes, just ask (they may not offer). Otherwise big supermarkets are usually more than happy to give you theirs, again you just need to ask. On our last move I rang the local hospital and spoke to their "stores" department, this is the section that receives deliveries. They told me to just drive up to their roller door at the back and happily loaded me up with a heap of boxes.

Label
Label boxes, number them and keep an itemised list of all boxes and contents. Just for the record I did not do this one, mainly because we are transporting the boxes ourselves (and also because I was slack). I think this step is important though if you are getting a removalist in to transport your things. Insurance can be worthwhile too.

Do you have any tips that might help? Do you have moving horror stories? (No, wait, don't tell me, not until after I've moved!)

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #22 Thea's Clever Peg Apron

2011-03-23T05:08:00.001+11:00

When someone has a clever idea, I think "that's smart living" and that's really what this segment is about. This is exactly why I just had to invite Thea to present us with Tip #22, I just loved her Peg Apron idea. So please welcome the ever talented, warm and thoughtful Thea from Do I Really Wanna Blog? to Home Grown:

Over Christmas I made a lot of aprons!

I gave them as gifts to my nieces, sister, sister-in-law, mother and mother-in-law.
I cut out one for myself but didn't get around to sewing it.
I made a comment about it on Christie's post last week and she asked if I would like to guest post about it on her blog.
That was great motivation to actually make it up, which only took a couple of hours.
And here I am. Thanks so much for asking me over, Christie!!
As I was sewing up all of the aprons, I had a brainwave...don't you love it when that happens?
I used this pattern for the kids' aprons and thought that apron B would be a fantastic peg apron.

McCall's 5551

Yep, an apron just for pegs.
I don't know about you, but I'm always losing my peg bag when I swing the line around.
I don't have a laundry trolley to hang it on, we have steps to the clothes line.
Also, I have a very small hand, I can only hold 5 pegs, 6 at the max at a time.
So, to have them at my fingertips...literally!...I made a peg apron!
I tried it out this morning, it works! It's perfect!! I love it.
I made it about 15cm shorter than the pattern said, because not only do I have small hands, I'm a shortie, and I wanted the bottom of the apron to be reachable!
So, without further ado, here it is...

Thanks Thea! If you think Thea is pretty clever and would like to read more from her, you will find her over at Do I Really Wanna Blog?

*Update!! I now have a tutorial for these over at my new blog Joyfoolery: Peg Apron Tutorial.

Child's i Foundation Mother's Day Campaign

2011-03-20T12:56:00.000+11:00

Bec from Bec In Uganda

Bec from Bec In Uganda got in touch with me recently about the amazing work she and friend Lucy Buck have been doing in Uganda. Children are being given up by parents who cannot afford to care for them. Newborns are abandoned and destined for institutions until their adult lives. These ladies have been working to change things.
Lucy founded Child's i Foundation which has opened 3 centres in Kampala:

* Malaika Baby & Family Support Centre - this is a short-term care facility where we care for babies (aged 0-2), ideally for a maximum of 6 months. During this time the family is encouraged to visit as often as possible and our aim is to reunite the baby with their family within this time frame.

* Malaika Drop-In Centre - this facility offers counseling and vocational training to women in the local community. We provide childcare for the mothers while they learn skills which will ultimately make them self-sufficient and able to support their family.

* Malaika Family Placement - Our social work team works extremely hard to place each child back with their family, complete with assessments and home visits. If a family cannot be traced then a suitable adoptive family will be found locally in Uganda.

Bec has written to me to ask that I pass on the message of their work and let you all know about the great Mother's Day (Sunday 8th May) campaign they are running. In her words:

"Keeping with our interactive mantra (and avoiding any overhead costs so all donations can go straight to the charity), we have launched an online baby shower where people can purchase a Mother's Day gift, instead of the usual chocolate and flowers. There are a range of items including a carer's salary, clean drinking water and family transport so they can visit their baby. With each purchase we will send a handwritten card to the loved one, letting them know the gift has been purchased, each card having a photo of one of our beautiful babies. The online baby shower can be found http://gift.childsifoundation.org."

This Mother's Day, why not give a very special gift and support a wonderful cause?

A Peasant Blouse Becomes....

2011-03-16T20:47:00.000+11:00

Remember the peasant blouse I made last week?

I was so sad that it was too big and really the wrong material for that pattern, so I thought I'd see what I could do with it; I did after all LOVE that fabric!

First up, I had in my mind a pinafore for my new farm life (2 weeks to go!). I wanted something I could wear over my clothes, feel cute in and mostly it needed to have HUGE pockets that I could fill with goodies collected from the vegetable patch (in case I forget my basket). Oh and carry my mobile phone too.

Next I just had to do something with those sleeves. My MIL was on the ready with her suggestion to make my girl some pants. Oh yes! She would love that. When I'm not quite sure how to tackle something I turn to the internet and who should have been there, done that and written a tutorial on it, but one of my favourite bloggers, Charity! It's her Happy Bum Pants Tutorial.

And here are the results:

Button Up Shirt With Collar...Sort Of.

2011-03-13T19:52:00.000+11:00

It has been on my list of "things I wanna make one day" since the beginning; a collared, button up shirt. Yesterday was the day. I had found a gorgeous flannel at the op shop that I wanted to turn into a pj top for my eldest son. I was determined to tackle it. Collar? Yeah I can do that. Buttonholes? Yep that too. Gotta keep challenging yourself and all that.
So while I was working on the collar, all was good, I turned it right side out and was mightily impressed with how neat it looked. But there was only one. The pattern had only asked me to cut 2, I'd joined them together...so why was there only one? The pattern instructions had to be wrong (they were just from an old magazine after all). So I cut another 2 and joined them together. There. I had two very neat looking collars.
Break for lunch at my in laws and I casually mention the weirdness of the two collars. MIL suggests that I was perhaps meant to cut the collars on a fold. No no I say, already knowing she is probably right. I get home and look at the pattern again...yep, if you look closely there is a dotted line which indicates I should have cut on the fold. DOH!

I have an excuse. I think it's a valid one. JUST look at the pattern I had to work from:

My pattern can be deciphered by looking for the red lines. See? Look at the hardship I had to work under!

Okay so here is the beautiful, well made, utterly perfect pj shirt I made for my boy:

Wait. What is that at the back? That weird backwards collar thing......

Hey at least the buttonholes worked out well!

Sewing Pattern Review: New Look #6179

2011-03-08T15:25:00.000+11:00

I picked up some sweet fabric from the op shop months ago and I have been waiting for just the right pattern for it. Well, I think I found it!

I love me a cute, hippy, peasant top, so this pattern was right up my alley!

I chose View B for my first attempt. I wasn't sure about the sizing so I used their measurements and ended up making a size 16 (which was too big).

When visiting my MIL the other week, she presented me with a silk, paisley fabric that she had found whilst op shopping (and had thought of me!)
I couldn't resist making another blouse from this pattern and this time chose View D and made it in a 14.

I love the fun, flouncy sleeves in this look. I think the pattern lends itself to a soft fabric, so the second one made with the silky fabric worked better than the first which was a stiff cotton. Overall I'm happy with how my pieces turned out. They are like the pictures shown on the pattern cover and were generally easy to sew, no complicated techniques to throw me.

This is my photographer, my big boy who is 7. Whenever I need a photo of myself he is happy to oblige and does quite a good job, despite my never ending instructions to "just get the shirt, not my head, not my legs either, closer....not that close!" And the above is what he likes to do whilst I fold the washing; he's treating me to a Zac Powers oration.

Zucchini and Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

2011-03-05T20:16:00.000+11:00

A while ago Clairey asked me for this recipe and I'm happy to share it, this one is truly a winner. It was given to me by my Mum who I believe got it from an old friend named Chong. Chong was the best cook, self taught; as her mother had brought her up a bit of a princess and had never expected her to lift a finger in the house. So when she married, she had to teach herself all those domestic duties (as well as English, she was from Korea and married an American). Chong introduced me to Thanksgiving feasts and sweet pumpkin pie. Now here is her Zucchini and Walnut Cake Recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Plain Flour (sifted)
2 Tspn Bi-carb soda
1 Tspn Salt
1/4 Tspn Baking Powder
3 Tspn Cinnamon
1 Cup Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Cup Vegie Oil
2 Cups Grated Zucchini (squeeze the excess juice out)
2 Tspn Vanilla
1 Cup Raisins
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Method:

Sift together dry ingredients, combine eggs, oil, zucchini and vanilla in large bowl. Mix well. Add flour mixture. Add raisins and nuts.
Pour into a greased pan, bake at 180C for approx 40 minutes.

Icing

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese
Icing Sugar
Lemon Juice

Method:

There are no quantities for this as I usually go by feel (and taste) and it depends how much icing you want. I leave the cream cheese out of the fridge to soften in a mixing bowl. Add half a cup of icing sugar and blend with beaters. You can add more or less sugar depending on how you like your icing to taste. I usually add around 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

February: In The House and Garden

2011-03-02T13:00:00.000+11:00

A botched up, but made with love oven mitt for my love

First attempt at some booties

Some packing (exciting!)

Pumpkins off the vine just in time

My new red shoes!

Playing Fair Giveaway Winner!

2011-03-01T20:39:00.000+11:00

Tonight we are announcing the winner of the Playing Fair Kids Clothes Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered for sharing your links, there were some great responses in there.

Okay without further ado, the winner is:

Congratulations Gillian! Nadiah will be in touch with you very soon.

But guess what? Nadiah doesn't want to see anyone walk away empty handed and has offered all entrants and Home Grown readers a special 15% discount from her shop until April. Just use the discount code "homegrownmama". Thanks Nadiah!

Playing Fair Giveaway

2011-02-22T06:52:00.000+11:00

Have you heard of Playing Fair? It's the wonderful, ethical, fair trade shop for kids clothes run by Nadiah. Want to know more? So did I, so I asked her a few questions.

Meet Nadiah, pictured here with her son, Toivo, meeting a snake at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.

What is Playing Fair all about?

Playing Fair is about unique Fair Trade kids clothes, at reasonable prices, from the comfort of your own home. It is about good value and good values.

Why should we be buying Fair Trade?

If you took the 10 things sitting nearest to you right now, chances are that most of them will be stamped "Made in China" or similar. This mass-scale outsourcing of production to the developing world is happening as an inevitable consequence of globalisation, and it is driven by what we, as customers, demand.

One hidden consequence of this process is that companies routinely take advantage of the Third World workers they employ to lower prices and increase profits. For example, an ILRF survey of Chinese garment factories supplying the discount-supermarket Aldi found that workers -- including under-16s -- toiled from 7.45 am - 10.00 pm, 6 days per week, for about $100 Australian per month. This pay is inadequate even in local terms; workers report that it is not enough to live on, let alone raise a family and send kids to school; and they can forget about recreation and other pursuits that make life enjoyable. The juveniles and new workers who sew slower earnt even half that amount - well short of even that region's minimum wage - which is plainly illegal. Yet workers are explicitly forbidden to form unions, so what little power the workers could muster to address this situation is denied to them.

Sweatshops are often as callous with their employees' safety as they are with their pay. Just December last year, 28 Bangladeshi garment sweatshop workers died in a fire, simply because basic fire safety requirements like extinguishers and unlocked fire exits were not provided. This is one incident indicative of a pattern - the Bangladesh Institute for Labour Studies estimates 130 deaths and 480 injuries in 2005 alone. Even something seemingly trivial like the recent fashion trend for distressed jeans has led to workers developing the deadly lung disease silicosis because cheap and unsafe sandblasting techniques are being used. When money is the only determinant of what sells and what doesn't, these tragedies will find a way to happen.

I believe that, because we are the main beneficiaries of this process, and because we hold such power in deciding what sells and what doesn't, we have an obligation to use this power in a way that reflects our values and our hopes for the future. I know for certain that not one person reading this right now would compel a friend or neighbour to make them a shirt or pants under these conditions, yet unknowingly and unwillingly we do exactly that every day. But we also have the power to change it.

"Made in China" is here to stay, and we cannot simply stop buying foreign-made products; nor should we want to when it represents an opportunity for these countries to develop their economies. Instead, I believe that the solution is to vote with our dollar for a better standard.

In contrast to business as usual, the WFTO's 10 Standards of Fair Trade -- to which both of my suppliers adhere -- means that workers in developing countries get a fair price for goods produced in decent and humane conditions. Price and pay is mutually agreed upon. Child labour and debt-bondage is forbidden. Fair Trade workers not only have the right to join unions, but the organisation is obliged to "enable means of independent and free association and bargaining for employees ... where the right to join trade unions and bargain collectively is restricted by law and/or political environment". That's more than just "no sweatshops", that's a step in a positive direction.

When companies see their dollars go to Fair Trade, they will have no choice but to change their practices, and when that happens everyone will reap the benefits of globalisation, not just us.

How did you get started on this venture?

I have been into Fair Trade for a while, and when I had my son, it was natural that his things should be, as much as possible, Fair Trade and second-hand. I was overseas at the time, and I came across Susu Mama who stocks amazingly groovy Fair Trade kidswear (BAFTS recognised). The colourful little clothes were just the thing to brighten what were at that time very grey days for me. When I returned to Oz, I couldn't find anything with this style I loved at such a reasonable price, so I decided to coordinate with her to bring them to Australia. Soon after I was contacted by HOPE Fair Fashion - the makers of the giveaway dress - who are Fair Trade Federation members, and agreed to work with them. And now here we are!

What do you do when you are not working?

Most of my time is spent on my son and housework! However I also volunteer for the Queensland Fair Trade Collective (e.g. web promotion for their recent markets), I do a small amount of casual work for CSIRO as a research scientist (ecological modelling), I recently started coordinating the Junction Park Playgroup, and I'm horribly irretrievably addicted to browsing the Internet.

Who inspires you?

Well, it's a little bit geeky, but I draw most of my inspiration from humanist thinkers and from scientists. It might seem an odd connection to Fair Trade - I think most people think of science as being quite "cold" - but I've found that the more I've learned about the solidity and the incredible nature of things, and of the human condition passing-through within it, the more I've found myself caring about improving the quality of that experience for everyone here.

Thanks Nadiah! I felt truly compelled to be more conscious of my purchases after reading about the consequences of NOT buying Fair Trade. I would love to help get Fair Trade mainstream one day soon.

And there is a giveaway! Nadiah is giving all Australian residents the chance to win one these playful Spin Dresses from her shop (or goods to the equivalent value) and free shipping (if you want to add more goodies to your shopping cart)!

This one is my favourite.

All you have to do to enter is name your three favourite information sources (e.g. a particular magazine, website, or email list) that you use to find new ethical and environmentally friendly ideas.

Winner will be announced on Tuesday 1st March at 8pm. Good luck everyone!

Tomato Sauce Recipe

2011-02-10T23:06:00.000+11:00

This was adapted from a Mary Blackie recipe.

Ingredients:
1.5kg Tomatoes
2 Onions
6 Cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
Chilli
1tspn Ginger
1/2 tspn Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tspn Allspice
1 tspn Salt
1 tspn Paprika
200g Brown Sugar
100ml Red Wine Vinegar

Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender. Chop the tomatoes and chilli into small pieces. Puree the onion, garlic, tomatoes and chilli until smooth. Put into a large pot with the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly. Bring to a simmer and stir frequently until your sauce starts to thicken. I let mine go for a couple of hours and still did not find it thick enough so I added a cornflour paste to thicken it.

Press through a sieve and put into your sterilised bottles.

I used a water bath in the jarring process for the first time, I learned how to do this from Rhonda's post here.
This isn't something I normally do, but because I was doing a sauce and not a pickle, jam or chutney, I thought it might be necessary.

This recipe yielded two large jars of tomato sauce.

With the remainder pulp, I threw some into the curry I was cooking and kept some to have as a salsa with burritos.

This sauce does have a zing to it, so if you are not partial to hot just omit the chilli and/or the cayenne pepper.

Simple Shirt Refashion

2011-02-03T07:43:00.000+11:00

I had a very dowdy looking long sleeved shirt that I decided either needed to be donated or spruced up a bit. I chose the sprucing of course!

I love the fancy sleeves that I am seeing in all the shops at the moment and decided it wouldn't be hard (at all) to replicate. So with my dowdy green shirt, I chopped off the sleeves to my elbows and then created this ruffle:

How did I add a ruffle? Well this is the great bit, I did one line of stitching with elastic thread from the shoulder to the sleeve hem. One line. That's it!

How is easy is that? And how pretty does it look?

Gift Card Giveaway Winner

2011-02-01T20:14:00.000+11:00

Thank you to all of you who entered the Gift Card Giveaway to win a set of these gorgeous and unique Gift Cards made by my completely talented sister, Kim from Flufflepot.

So without any more delay the winner is:

Kym! Congrats!

Kim had a hard time choosing as she thought all the answers were so lovely, but Kym's entry just resonated with her.

And don't forget, if you didn't win, you can still get your hands on them (and other cool stuff) from Kim's shop here.

Tutorial: How To Make Underwear

2011-01-27T14:18:00.000+11:00

After I made myself my very own handbag recently, my seven year old son felt the soft fabric and commented it would make very soft underwear....would I make him a pair?
Well I'm frugal and all, but I've never bothered making jocks - I don't think I could keep up with the supply needed for a family of six.
However I do like a challenge and seeing he asked so sweetly how could I refuse?

So with that in mind I grabbed an old pair of his and picked them apart to work out how to construct them. Here is the step by step for those of you keen to give this a try!

What you will need:
Enough fabric for 1 x Front Piece, 1 x Back Piece and 1 x Lining. I used a cotton knit.
6mm Elastic for legs
2cm Elastic for waist

First step is to pick apart an old pair of jocks to get your pattern pieces.

Next trace around your pieces and add a good inch around the perimeter (for your elastic casings).

Cut out your fabric pieces, you should have a front, back and lining.

Right, onto the sewing! Start by sewing the bottom ends together. With your Front and Back pieces right sides together with your lining piece right side down and laying on the back piece.

Sew and overlock the pieces together (if you don't have an overlocker, replace all my overlocking steps with with a zigzag stitch to finish the edges).

The lining piece will flip up onto the front piece and hide the seam.

Next place the front and back sides together (right sides), sew and overlock.

Overlock around the leg holes, capturing the lining if you can.

Now you need to make a casing for the 6mm elastic around the legs. Use a big zigzag stitch and be sure to stretch your material as you sew, to ensure you have enough room to stretch around the leg. Remember to leave a 1 1/2 inch gap to thread your elastic through. Measure around the inside of your recipients leg (my 7yo measured 15") and cut your elastic so that it will sit snug (but not too tight) and cut a bit extra for joining.

Repeat on the other leg. Next overlock around the waistline over your underwear (we can call them that now, they are nearly finished!)

Now make your waistband elastic casing, again using a nice big zigzag stitch for stretch.

Measure around the waistline of your model (my 7yo measured 20"). Cut your elastic with a bit extra for joining. Make sure you stitch your elastic together in a couple of spots so it's nice and strong.

Before you close your waistband casing, you may want to insert a label in the back.

And that is it, you now have (hopefully) the most comfortable pair of undies ever made...now to make a pair for yourself....

Gift Card Set Giveaway

2011-01-24T22:17:00.001+11:00

I'm not sure if I've ever shared with you all here the awesomeness of my sister, Kim. She is the wit and talent behind the gorgeous and VERY funny site Flufflepot. If you haven't been over to her site to have a look, it is well worth the visit (and I may love you just a little bit more for it too).

Artwork by Kim: Farmin'

Kim offers up her services as a Website Banner Designer (for examples you can visit Mummy Mayhem and Playing Fair and check out their banners).

She can do caricatures:

This is her!

She also did my sweet caricature in the corner.
And she can create scenes with your children as the stars:

This is my 4yo in his own special scene. I love it.

All Kim's services are negotiable and she is as flexible as she is creative. If you are interested in any of her offerings leave her a comment, send her an email or DM her on Twitter (@Flufflepot) and she'll be happy to discuss it with you!

But back to the giveaway. Today she is offering up a 3 pack of her gorgeous gift cards. They are her original artwork and the scenes are simply stunning.

You could win these!

Aren't they gorgeous? You can also buy these from Kim's site. A set of 3 is just $13 plus postage charges (and she will ship internationally).

How can you win? Just leave a comment here saying who you would send one of the cards to and why in 25 words or less. Kim is going to judge the best entry and the winner will be drawn on Tuesday 1st February at 8pm EST. Entry is open to Australian and International readers. Make sure you leave an email address if it's not on your profile so I can get in contact with you if you win!

Auction For Lori

2011-01-23T21:09:00.000+11:00

By now, most of you would be aware of the highly talented and very funny Lori from RRSAHM and the tragedy that struck her family recently.

I wanted a way to help her out and lucky for me, there are some extremely thoughtful and motivated people already on the case. Sarah has organised an online auction being held here! So many people have contributed, even my mother donated some beautiful towels.

I have made a couple of items to donate to the auction, I'll give you a sneak peak here, but if you want to make them yours make sure you go to the auction and start yer bidding! (Auction bidding starts on Wednesday 26th January at 9am, but in the meantime you can "like" items that you...er...like).

You can click here to go straight to the auction:

January: In The Home and Garden

2011-01-20T16:55:00.000+11:00

Visits to beautiful places

The tomatoes are starting to ripen

I spy a pumpkin

The vine is taking over the back lawn

Making library bags for the new school year

Zucchini cake with lemon cream cheese icing for Mr HG's birthday

Birthday cake for our little girl's 6th Birthday

What's been happening in your space this month?

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #21 Save Your Bad Fruit

2011-01-14T14:41:00.000+11:00

Yoghurt Fruit Icy Poles

Ingredients:

Plain Yoghurt
Bad Fruit
Honey
Cinnamon (if you like)

Blend your ingredients together and pour into icy pole moulds.

Freeze. Enjoy!

Too easy.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #20 Give Back To Your Community

2011-01-10T17:08:00.000+11:00

Apron for School Fete

We recently moved town and the children started at a new school. I could see immediately that this school needed their community to help out and they were often asking for parents to "man stalls" at various events (usually during school hours). I started feeling really bad that I wasn't offering to assist at these events, but with such young children I didn't feel I could help in this instance. Then a call out was made for help for next years fete, they needed sewers! Yay! Something I could do!

Flower Apron

I jumped on the chance to finally give something back and I'm happy in the realisation that while I wont be able to commit to every request, there will be things I can do and times that I will be able to contribute more.

I just have to add the finishing touches to the green ones now.

Opportunities to give present themselves all the time if you are looking. Recently the blogging community came together to help out a fellow blogger in need. Lori suffered a tragic event and several bloggers immediately got the ball rolling to help her out. It was wonderful to see that the spirit of community, friendship and giving exists even in a "virtual" world. Lori still needs your help here.

So instead of finding reasons why I can't help, I am now looking for opportunities where I can, because they are everywhere and your help, no matter how big or small, truly is needed and appreciated.

Handmade Hoot

2011-01-05T18:29:00.000+11:00

I just had to share with you all the adorable present my 17 month old son was given from his Nana for Christmas this year.

I had put in a request for Hoot from ABC's Giggle and Hoot show to my Mother in Law, who is a very talented quilter and crafter. I clued her up with a few images and away she went.

Creating this:

Cuddly Hoot

Awesome huh? And he loves him. Even better, his younger cousin got one too, so they have matching cuddly Hoots.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip No #19 Have a Thrifty Christmas

2010-12-19T20:56:00.001+11:00

I want to thank everyone that reads and comments here at Home Grown. I really appreciate your thoughts, support and readership. It's what makes blogging worthwhile for me. Thank you for a wonderful year, I hope you have a special Christmas surrounded by those you love and I look forward to another year of sharing with you in 2011.

This is part of The Thrifty Fifty series. Each week I will give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living. If you have a thrifty tip to offer and would like me to feature it here, please drop me an email (christie(at)homegrownmama(dot)com). I'd love to hear from you.

Christmas is exciting and can be the highlight of your year, but it can also be expensive. There are, however, many ways to enjoy a wonderful Christmas without breaking the bank.

We are incorporating many of these ideas into our celebration and maybe they could be useful for you too.

Share the cooking. If you are getting together with family, make sure everyone contributes, if you do the ham, someone else can do the pudding and accompaniments. This way there is no one person doing all the work or buying all the food.
Plan your menu, don't over cater. If you write your menu out, you can see whether you are making too much. Cull it down to what you really need, chances are you will have leftovers anyway, so don't plan any meals for the next couple of nights.
When buying presents for others a really good place to look is your local second hand/thrift shop, you can find books in very good condition, toys, clothes, kitchenware and craft supplies amongst many other things. I've done a lot of my shopping there this year and I know, my children and family will not know the difference.
Take the focus off the presents. Christmas is about so much more, however you celebrate it. For us it is about family being together, and food!
Hand made is so much cheaper and (for me) more fun! Even if the presents you are giving aren't hand made, your wrapping paper can be, get creative with your Christmas cards and gift tags, even your Christmas Bon Bons don't have to be store bought.

If your family is large or your budget is tight, a Kris Kringle may be a good option. Set a limit to spend and put some thought into your gift, the best gifts are practical, well suited and not purchased on a whim.
Most of all enjoy your day, appreciate the little things and take time to laugh and talk with those that you may not get to spend time with during the year.

Merry Christmas and Many Blessings xx

Spiced Almonds

2010-12-18T17:40:00.000+11:00

This recipe is from this time last year, just bumping it up for the Christmas Season!

My little Mr. Six has been asking me to teach him how to cook and although I thought I had been doing this as he and his brother and sister are always helping me in the kitchen, I realised that he needs an "official" lesson. So today I offered him his first lesson: Spiced Almonds - couldn't get much easier for a beginner and now when I hand them out all nicely wrapped in cellophane as Christmas presents, he can boast that he was the Master Chef behind them!
Here's our recipe:
1 eggwhite
2 tsp sea salt flakes
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
4 cups almonds
(Recipe adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens "Christmas Essentials")

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Whisk together all ingredients except the nuts. Then add nuts and stir until they are completely coated. Spread onto your tray in a single layer, bake, stirring once, for 15-20 minutes. Cool before serving.
Can be stored for up to two weeks in an airtight container.

m

You can find more from my Kitchen here.

A Productive Weekend

2010-12-12T21:44:00.000+11:00

Hubby and my 4yo left for an overnighter on the weekend. Leaving me with just 3 kiddos to entertain. It kind of felt like a holiday for us too, so we made the most of it.

The first item on the agenda was to set up the Christmas tree. We listened to Christmas Carols on You Tube and did some singing whilst we worked.

The finished result.

I got the opportunity to make myself a new handbag out of the softest t-shirt ever. I'm so glad this shirt was a bit tight fitting on Mr. Home Grown!

My 7yo son loved the soft fabric on my handbag and asked if I could make him a pair of jocks out of the scraps, so I got to designing. It all stalled when I realised I didn't have any thin elastic. This project is to be continued.

Christmas Coconut Ice.

All wrapped up and ready to give to the teachers this week.

Some home made gift cards, part of the present for my Kris Kringle.

Christmas Biscuits for bring a plate day at Playgroup this week.

Pretend broken arm with a pretend cast. So creative. She had us all signing it.

Simple dinners, and that is a weekend done. Boys should be home in one hour. I've loved my little holiday weekend.

What did you get up to on your weekend?

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #18 Lubrication is the Secret

2010-12-01T20:58:00.000+11:00

This is part of The Thrifty Fifty series. Each week I will give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living. If you have a thrifty tip to offer and would like me to feature it here, please drop me an email (christie(at)homegrownmama(dot)com). I'd love to hear from you.

It seems these days that everything you buy is made to break, to be replaced, to keep the consumerism turning over. I know I've heard many older people tell me things were made better in the past. The hair straightener that I purchased 2 years ago, sparked and died on me a couple of weeks ago, when Mr. Home Grown took it apart to see if he could fix it, he exclaimed that the manufacturers had purposely made it impossible to get into the wiring without breaking the outside, (he did manage to salvage the cord which will be re-used on something at a future date) therefore keeping the economy flowing as I head out to buy another one. My hairdryer has been going strong for 22 years....that company must have wisened up a bit since then!

So how can we make things last longer when it seems the odds are against us? Look after your things, clean them, think about how they work (not my strong point, but Mr. HG is good at explaining it to me) and lubricate, lubricate, lubricate. We own things that others would have long thrown out because we take care of them.

Image Credit

Chances are, if you own a sewing machine, you have some Singer Oil in your house somewhere. This stuff is perfect for a lot of your appliances. Another that we use is Selleys Ezy Glide spray.
Okay here are some examples in our household:

My Laptop - no, don't oil your laptop! But clean it, you would be surprised how much fluff and dirt (and maybe muffin crumbs?) get caught under your keys. Turn it upside down, give it a little shake and then vacuum the keyboard.

My Sewing Machine and Overlocker - I bust out the Singer Oil on these regularly and sweep out all the fabric fibres. This will keep these machines going for years (fingers crossed).

Stiff Zippers - zippers need maintenance too, a bit of Ezy Glide spray on them and they are good as new.

My Hair Clippers - I oil these up before I use them, every time.

My Kitchen Whizz Stick - this jammed up on me a while ago and I was ready to throw it away (tsk tsk I know) when Mr. HG suggested oiling the blade shaft. I used olive oil (because it's edible) and what do you know, it ran like a dream....and has done ever since.

Wooden Chopping Boards - these get a coating of olive oil regularly too.

Sliding Doors - there is nothing more annoying (to me anyway) than a door that is stiff to slide and always falling off its runners and getting jammed. The runway of the door needs to be cleaned regularly, but more importantly, the rollers need to be replaced. They lose their shape and give your door that "thump, thump"action, they will eventually damage your aluminium frame because they are no longer spinning, so it's definitely cheaper to change the wheels, not the frame!

Door Handles - same goes for door handles, these things get used so much, they need some love and attention now and then. Got a key that jams? Put Ezy Glide in the lock hole! Door that squeaks? Oil the hinges.

There are so many ways to keep things in your home for longer, it just requires maintenance. But when you figure that you have spent your hard earned money on these items, it is worth the effort to make them work for you for longer.

A Party Season Dress

2010-11-26T14:27:00.000+11:00

'Tis the season and all....which means more events than ever; work do's, school concerts, end of year parties, dinners, Kris Kringles....phew. It really does all seem to happen in one short month doesn't it? Well all this activity has set me hard to work at the sewing machine in order to pump out the following:

A special present for a little girl


It's reversible!

My new party season dress

This is how I plan to accessorise

(I'll be practicing in those heels first)

And lastly...and this is a biggie....drumroll....

My first EVER zip!!!!

A gathered clutch for my Kris Kringle at my Mother's Group.

Like any of these projects? Here are the details:

Party Season Dress - Bandeau Dress/Top from Get Creative paper patterns
Reversible Bag - Little Girl Pearl
Gathered Clutch - Noodlehead

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #17 Cut Your Family's Hair

2010-11-18T14:22:00.001+11:00

This is part of The Thrifty Fifty series. Each week I will give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living. If you have a thrifty tip to offer and would like me to feature it here, please drop me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

Some of you may already be doing this and others might feel too scared to try..."what if I mess it up?" but, by cutting your kids hair, you can really save yourself some money.

I know this can be a daunting task. I started out by cutting my husband's hair. At first I was very resistant when he handed me the clippers, terrified that I would cut a big chunk out here and draw a bit of blood there, but thankfully for him, it was fine (clippers are quite foolproof). Luckily Mr. Home Grown only wanted a number 3 shave all over, so that got me used to using the clippers. Then with our eldest I started slowly. He was around 2 when I gave him his first hair cut, with the scissors and as his hair got thicker and he got old enough, I started using the clippers and really shaping the back. I got more confident with each hair cut, but we've had our fair share of "bowl cuts", "Beatle do's" and "wonky fringes" believe me!

Now, I'm not trying to do hairdressers out of a job here, I still visit a hairdresser for a style cut 2 to 3 times a year and I understand there are some cuts that truly do need to be done by the experts, but I will cut my own fringe (bangs) in between visits and I'm confident now cutting all four children and Mr. HG's too. I don't know how much this saves us, I guess if everyone was having a cut every three months at around $18 a cut, well that's $360 a year!

There are books on how to cut your family's hair, instructional dvd's and some of these come as a bonus when you buy your clippers. I would recommend you invest in some good clippers (mine are Wahl), a good pair of hair scissors, a hairdressers cape, fine comb and a water bottle spray and then you are good to go.

Oh and DON"T decide to do this for the first time right before school photos. Just a suggestion.

A Toddler Carrier

2010-11-12T15:01:00.001+11:00

In my household we have a problem. It comes in the size of my 15 month old who likes to be carried. Everywhere. By me. Now I'm quite happy to sling him on my hip and go about my business, but there are some things you can't do when one arm is cradling a toddler. Like squeeze a tea bag, make the school lunches or tie a shoelace. Problems were meant to be solved, though and this one has been! All thanks to Sascha at Piccoli Piselli. Sascha designed The Pea Pod Hip Carrier and offers a free PDF pattern and tutorial on her blog. Awesome. Thanks Sascha and cheers to my new freedom!

He's so comfy in it!

Look I have a free arm to hold onto the towel rail...or scratch my nose..

As a side note, if you would like to win some stunning fabric from Retro Mummy, click over here!

Coriander Pesto Recipe

2010-11-07T21:39:00.000+11:00

Well who'da thought we would actually have a glut of something, you know, without having a garden and all? Let's hear it for the pot plants! Yes one of our beloved patio pots has given us an abundance of coriander, and even at the rate we cook curries we could not use up this lot!

So something different was in order, enter coriander pesto.
Here are the details.

Coriander Pesto Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Cup Cashews
1 Clove Garlic
1 Cup Parmesan
Large Bunch Coriander Leaves
1 Tspn Chilli Flakes (can be omitted if you don't like it hot or doubled if you do!)
1/2 Cup Olive Oil (or more to your liking)
Salt & Pepper

Method:
In a food processor, cut up your coriander leaves. Then add your garlic and cashews and process until finely chopped. Add in your parmesan and spices. While your machine is going, slowly add in your olive oil until you get the right consistency.

You can use it straight away (on bread or pasta or whatever) or pop it in a jar and pour a thin layer of oil on top. Your pesto can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

A Refashioned Man's Shirt

2010-10-30T21:00:00.000+11:00

Before I collected the kids from school on Friday, I popped in to the little opportunity shop next door ( I noticed a lot of the other Mum's had the same idea). While I was browsing I found this quite lively looking shirt:


Wait.....where'd it go?

So $3 and a day of fun sewing later, I had this:

New PJ's!

I love a good refashioning, don't you?

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #16 Do I Really Need To Buy This?

2010-10-28T13:57:00.001+11:00

Image from NYTimes.com

Quite some time ago I posted a link to The Story of Stuff. This video told me a lot of things I knew, some things I thought I knew and some I had no clue about. It also made me stop and question myself, was I just a mindless purchaser? Am I really just shallow and thoughtless? Well I'm not, and even if you yourself LOVE to buy "things", you are not either. Misguided, yep, probably. Do I go as far as to say slightly brainwashed....? Well I certainly felt that way after watching.

So what can we do about it and how can we change? I believe it's never too late to change and that anyone can. Maybe it just comes down to asking yourself a question before a purchase; do I really need to buy this?
I don't think I was a huge shopaholic before this, but I know that I have used shopping for cathartic reasons in the past. Now if I'm stressed or need to escape the house, I try to use other means. Hobbies are much better at reducing stress and going for a scenic walk is a much healthier option for escaping the confines sometimes.
And I'm learning, slowly, that having that new item doesn't change my problems, my status, or my feelings. In fact it can create new problems; not having anywhere to store all this new stuff or debt from over spending.
I'm making small changes as I think that is what works for me. I'm not an all or nothing kind of person, I try to keep balance in all that I do. I've started making more things for myself, like bread, yoghurt, gifts and clothes, these small steps are reducing my purchases. Not only that, the making of these things reduces the time I have to shop and, in fact, my desire to shop.

I'm striving for less mindless consumer and more thoughtful purchaser, what about you?

This post has been linked to Kebeni's Frugal Friday:

Christmas Presents....Ssshhh!

2010-10-17T21:25:00.000+11:00

I have started making some special Christmas presents for my lovely children and I'm going to share them with you, so that if you feel so inclined/inspired you will have plenty of time to create them for someone special in your life.
The first project is for my 5 year old princess. If you have a princess in your life, then this gift is perfect. I found this tutorial by Ashley at Make It and Love It . I must confess to having a small blog crush on Ashley. She not only created this pattern, she wrote up a labour intensive tutorial on how to do it too! And on top of that she shared it with her readers, because she's cool like that!
So here is my special gift for the princess of the house:

I can't wait to show you photos of her wearing it (but I'll have to of course). I plan to make Ashley's accessories to complete the costume too.

This second present is for the bubs of the house (who has just started walking this week!). This project was from Indietutes very popular toddler backpack tutorial and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.

The Big Boy kindly offered to model it for me.

I used interfacing on this bag to give it strength and it didn't come with any instructions. I did a search online to find out how to apply iron on interfacing and these were the results:
* Place the shiny side down onto your fabric (it has glue on it)
* Put a cloth over the top and spray with water to dampen
* Press iron onto damp cloth, don't slide iron.
* Peel cloth off slowly and walah (is that how walah is spelt?)

I'm sure I'd be feeling smug right about now if it wasn't for the fact that there are two kid's birthdays coming up before Christmas and I haven't organised anything for them yet. Hmmm anyone know of any other great tutorials out there?

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #15 Save In Your Kids Lunch Boxes

2010-10-10T17:59:00.000+11:00

1 litre tub of Yoghurt ($0.41 per 100g)

or make your own from my recipe here for as little as $0.10 per 100g as opposed to:

a "Kids Squeeze" package 70g ($2.17 per 100g)

This requires the extra task (!) of dishing out the amount of yoghurt your child will eat into a container with a lid. And don't forget the spoon! This will save you up to $9.00 per week!!

A 1kg bag of sultanas:

$4.13 per kg

as opposed to:

a 6 pack of sultanas in boxes $11.29 per kg.

Again you do have to dish out the required amount into a container, but look at the price difference; you are saving yourself $7.16 p/kg!!

A big packet of pretzels/biscuits as opposed to the "convenient" snack packs with 12 or so bags inside. This way you can give your child the amount of this "sometimes" food you want, not the amount set by manufacturers.
Cut up your own cheese instead of those plastic looking cheese sticks....you get the drift, you can be in control of the amount your child is eating (or at least taking to school with them) and in control of your purse strings too.

More tips include homemade muesli bars as opposed to pre-packaged store ones. These are so simple to make, and can be frozen and popped into your child's lunch box as is, no extra wrapping or waste.
Homemade muffins and slices, cut up pieces of carrots, celery and capsicum with hommus or cream cheese to dip them into.

If you are buying these convenient packaged snacks, be of no mistake, you are paying for this convenience.
I guess the key is to be prepared, use the school holidays to have a big cook up with your kids and freeze it all for the coming school term.
If you don't have time to be putting all these things in containers in the morning before school, make them up in the evenings before....or train the kids to do it themselves!

*All image sourced from www.colesonline.com.au

Sewing From a Pattern

2010-10-06T11:11:00.000+11:00

A couple of weeks ago I bought my first sewing pattern. I'd always been a bit wary of patterns because I thought my sewing skills weren't up to scratch and I wouldn't be able to follow them. So I hesitantly paid my $5 and downloaded an easy pattern from an online sewing pattern shop. It took me another week to print it off and cut it up...I work up slowly to things I'm wary of.

If I wasn't daunted before I saw the patterns, I was at the sight of this:

But I took my gorgeous material:

Followed the instructions (which were nowhere near as complex as I had imagined - I must have thought "real" sewers spoke a different language!) and produced this nifty little Summer top:

And a closer look:

I was so pleased with myself, I made a second, more casual wear one:

Then I felt brave enough to make a variation of the pattern using the fabric that had inspired me to buy a pattern in the first place:

Isn't this gorgeous fabric? Here's the back view:

And because I know I always LOVE to see people's creations actually on, my son took a couple of photographs of me modeling this last top:

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #14 Use What Is In Your Pantry

2010-09-26T16:37:00.000+10:00

This is part of The Thrifty Fifty series. Each week I will give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living. If you have a thrifty tip to offer and would like me to feature it here, please drop me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

Sometimes I find myself popping out to do a grocery shop when I really don't need to. This week our whole family has been down with gastro, which has meant we have been housebound. This has made me look into my pantry and fridge a bit closer and dig a bit deeper for meal ideas for the crew (when we've actually felt like eating). Doing this can help you stretch your grocery shops out a bit longer, use up long forgotten ingredients and expand your recipe repertoire; your family may thank you!

Here's one of the recipes I came up with:

Pancakes With Savoury Filling

Basic Pancake Recipe:
200g Flour
500ml Milk
2 Eggs

Then I went to the fridge to see what was available, I found:
Silverbeet, Carrots, Bacon and Cheese
So I diced the bacon and cooked it in a pan and set it aside. I chopped up the silverbeet and grated the carrot then cooked them together in a pan with a bit of butter. I also grated up a bowl of cheese.

I cooked the pancake mix, making 8 large and fairly thin pancakes.

Then put my bacon, silverbeet, carrot and cheese filling in the middle.

And rolled them up.

Easy and delicious. And the list of fillings is (almost) endless, a can of beans that have been in the pantry for too long, those mushrooms in the bottom of the fridge that are starting to wrinkle or that cabbage that you're not quite sure what to do with. You will be surprised how many meals your pantry and fridge can hold when you think there is nothing in there, go on, do a pantry/fridge challenge today!

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #13 Thrifty Gift Giving

2010-09-15T17:53:00.000+10:00

A patchwork skirt and matching hairband for a 1yr old girl


Reversible hand bag for a 4yr old girl

For handbag tutorial visit Little Girl Pearl

For little boys it may seem a little harder, but there are still options don't worry. I know any of my boys would be happy to receive home cooked goodies (slices, biscuits, spiced nuts) all wrapped up and just for them, backpacks and soft balls (great for throwing around indoors!)

For Spiced Almond recipe click here.

What is even better about home made gifts, is that your children can get involved in the making of the gift, they can learn the true value of your time and the love and thought that has gone into the gift. My son and I have made the last minute dash to the shop before. We ended up buying a plastic toy to give his friend and the feeling was not the same. It taught my son nothing and it really felt like "empty" gift giving. The whole thing can be turned into a great project for them and they will hand over their home made present to their friend with a pride never seen before.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #12 Save on your power bill this Summer

2010-09-11T16:31:00.000+10:00

Cool down this Summer.

This method is so simple, really, it just takes some thought each day. All you need is an inside/outside thermometer (and you don't really need one of those, but it helps).
We have had really hot days here recently 32°C, 36°C, tomorrow 37°C etc, but at night it cools right down to around 10°C. So each night as soon as the temperature outside has dropped below the inside temperature we open all the windows and doors and get that cool air flowing through our house. We do this overnight and the house is quite chilly in the mornings (nothing a light jacket wont fix), then we keep an eye on the outside temperature and as soon as it equalises (same in and out) we close all the windows and doors and trap in all that cool air, whilst the outside keeps rising. Some of our neighbours have had their aircons running for days, but we've only had to put ours on once for a few hours on the 36°C day. We are always amazed when we hear people's aircons running all night, when the air outside is much cooler than any aircon could achieve!
Try it!

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #11 Learn A New Skill

2010-09-06T14:34:00.001+10:00

Progressing on into making my own fashion clothing! This is a skirt I made on the weekend.

Teach yourself to sew (which is my current learning phase) and you have the added benefit of some self sufficiency, providing clothes for yourself and your family. Likewise with gardening, start small, learn as you go and soon you may be providing the food on your plate at dinner time.
Volunteer work could teach you something new also, perhaps organising skills (not to mention social interaction that you may otherwise not get).
So get out there, take that new language course, pick up some knitting needles or grab your wood working tools and make use of what you've got. It's good for you.
What are you learning or would like to learn?

A Spring Sundress

2010-09-03T07:11:00.001+10:00

Sundress inspired by Spring.

Once again my wonderful Mother In Law has provided me with two boxes full of gorgeous fabrics to play with. The light cottons, lace, soft yellows and grassy greens teamed together with the first day of Spring were enough of an inspiration for me to break out the sewing machine and go searching online for an easy Sundress to make.
And it wasn't long before I stumbled upon The One Hour* Sundress by Christine at From An Igloo.
If your sewing skills are at the beginner level (which mine are) and you have a sweet girl you'd like to sew for, then this is the perfect Spring project for you!
Just find your Springiest, prettiest fabric and head on over to Christine's tutorial. Soon you will have a little angel swirling around and enjoying your creation in the sunshine.

*Confession: don't let the name of the dress fool you, it took me well over 1 hour to make (closer to 4 hours).

Dainere is Awesome.

2010-09-02T20:13:00.000+10:00

This is just a quick post to tell you about Dainere. Dainere has Medulloblastoma and she is awesome.
It's not often a 12 year old can make you sit up and take notice (and make you want to slap yourself silly for for whingeing about petty things).
Cate Bolt has written about Dainere here. If you want to be inspired and awestruck and maybe a little emotional go and read her story. I have added a widget on the right --------> where donations can be made to help Dainere in her quest to help others. Please give to this worthy cause and support one little girl's dream.
Thanks xx

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #10 Why Cloth Nappies Are Awesome

2010-08-31T07:25:00.005+10:00

Lori's List of Reasons Why Cloth Nappies (Diapers, Whatever) Are Awesome.

No nasty chemicals. Disposable nappies are full of yucky stuff that can cause rashes and worse. Cloth contain none of these, and you control what you use to wash them. If you baby's skin is really sensitive, you can go for bamboo fabrics that are organic.
They have cool names. Like Cushies Tushies, FluffyBubs and Baby Beehinds.
They're easy to use. No pins. No pilchers. If you really can't be bothered, you can even get ones that require no filding or stuffing of inserts (but really, sitting downwith a cuppa and playing 'fluffy fairy' is no chore).
They're easy to wash. Forget what your granny tells you about soaking, boiling and bleaching. Modern cloth nappies can be stored in a dry pail, washed in cold water with minimal washing powder and even put in the tumble dryer on those days when it just rains and rains and rains.
They'll save you a fortune. Setting up my cloth nappy stash set me back about $300, with a mix of new and second hand nappies. But I've saved over $1000 so far ($25 a week for 50 weeks).
They just look so damn cool. OK, so while disposable nappies may look like this...

Cloth ones look like this ...

and this....

How can you resist such pretty, fluffy bum goodness?!

I'm not sure if all that makes me a hippy, old fashioned or super modern, but cloth is cool. Back in the day, pre-children, I remember recoiling in horror when someone suggested cloth nappies. Almost three years in to parenting, poo no longer scares me, and cloth nappies are definitely the way to go!

Lori, I have re-posted this today to bring support to you and your children while you wait and hope that your beloved Tony will pull through. I wish you strength and peace at this time and hoping above all, that Tony returns to your family soon and in good health.
You can send your supportive wishes to Lori here. Let her know you are thinking of her.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #9 Bake Your Own Bread

2010-08-22T19:35:00.000+10:00

A Fresh Loaf

So how much does it cost to make a loaf? Under $1.50.
And what goes in it?
Firstly, 4 grams yeast.
480 to 500g Wholegrain Flour (I like the Defiance brand from the supermarket, around $11.50, makes 10 loaves)
15g milk powder
15g olive oil
2 or 3g salt
335g water
What is the technique?
I have a bread maker that was given to us second hand. I pop the insert on my kitchen scales and weigh and reset the scales with each ingredient. So I set it to zero grams, scatter in my yeast, reset, throw in the flour, reset etc, etc. The whole process takes less than 2 minutes. Then I pop it in my beloved bread maker and set it to a basic loaf, with a light crust which takes 4 hours.

You can go here for other bread maker recipes.

Apricot and Orange Muffins

2010-08-19T14:41:00.001+10:00

What's this?! A cooking success? Yes! My oven has been fixed, and I'm baking again. Turns out it was only 70°C hotter than it should have been!!
These muffins have no sugar (they use honey and fruit juice instead) and are low on butter and seeing oranges are in season, it's the perfect excuse to bake some of these for the lunch box or an afternoon snack.

Apricot and Orange Muffins

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
zest of an orange
125ml freshly squeezed orange juice (or as much as you can squeeze from one orange and make up the rest with water)
250g self raising flour
175g honey
30g butter, melted
185ml milk (I used full cream)
1 lightly beaten egg

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Put the apricots, orange zest and juice in a saucepan and cook over low heat until warmed through. Allow to cool. Sift your flour into a large bowl, make a well and then mix in the combined honey, melted butter, milk and egg, together with your apricot mixture. Stir until just combined (mixture should still be a bit lumpy). Pour into your muffin tray and bake for around 20 minutes.

This recipe makes 12 muffins.
Looking for more kid's lunchbox recipes?

The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies. Ever.

2010-07-10T20:47:00.000+10:00

Things are slowing down here on the blog for just a lil' bit. We are on a limited internet connection (so if you haven't seen me around for a while, you know why) and we only have 7 more days in our home before we move out. Destination unknown. Well, no, not unknown, we are going to be staying with hubby's family until we find ourselves a new home in our new town! Exciting times ahead.

But in the meantime, we are still trying to sell our house and finalise all those little things and big things. Big things like catching up with friends that we are going to miss dearly.

So please bear with me whilst we go about these big life changes, and before you know it, I will be back with probably more than a few inspired stories (here's hoping!).

For now, I'd really love to share the.best.ever choc chip cookie recipe. Now you know I gotta really love you to be sharing this recipe with you! xx

185g butter
200g brown sugar
225g self raising flour
75g plain flour
150g chopped macadamias
1 egg beaten lightly
1 egg yolk beaten lightly
2 tspns vanilla essence
200g white or dark chocolate, chopped (I use white)

Melt butter, cool. Combine sugar, sifted flours and macadamias in a large bowl.
Add combined butter, egg, egg yolk and vanilla essence and mix to a soft dough. Add in the chocolate.
Pop level scoops onto a greased tray with enough space for growth (oh yeah!) and bake at 180°C for around 18 minutes or until browned lightly. Cool on tray.

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks (good luck with that) or frozen.

Recipe taken from Women's Weekly Food Magazine circa 1999.

Pumpkin Mousse

2010-07-06T09:18:00.000+10:00

I know, Pumpkin Mousse?! Well that's what my hubby, (and the neighbour) thought too. But I am trying to be creative with my use of pumpkin and I love mousse so it made perfect sense to me. And when you find recipes for it on the internet, then it means it's possible, right?

Well I'm sure it's possible, mine however was a fail. A yummy fail, but a fail nevertheless. Here's where I went wrong and why yours (if you feel so inclined to make it) wont:

I added yoghurt instead of sour cream. Hmmmmm....not sure what I was thinking - oops.

AND

I don't have proper beaters in my hand mixers (I didn't think I would need to use my hand mixer again after getting my benchtop mixer, but this recipe requires the mix to be beaten whilst over heat). So I couldn't quite get the fluffy consistency needed.

So, if you don't make those mistakes, I'm sure this could work out perfectly, and I will be trying it again as the flavour was heavenly, (my neighbour and hubby both agreed on that!) I just didn't quite get the texture right.

Pumpkin Mousse
285g cooked & blended pumpkin
1/2 cup Sour cream
1/2 cup Cream cheese
1 cup Sugar
1/2 tspn Salt
2 tspn All Spice
1 tspn Ground ginger
2 Egg yolks
1 1/2 cups Whipping cream
2 Egg whites

Directions:

In a large bowl over a hot-water bath, combine pumpkin, sour cream, cream cheese, sugar, salt, spice and ginger.

(See the mixers? Not quite right.)

Heat water to boiling, beating mixture with hand-held mixer until ingredients are fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat for 3 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whip cream with 2 tablespoons sugar. Reserve 1/3 for garnish. Fold into chilled pumpkin mixture, then carefully fold in egg whites.

Chill for 4-6 hours. Top with remaining whipped cream.

Serves 4 to 6
Recipe adapted from: http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/21303/pumpkin-mousse.html

More pumpkin recipes here.

Blog This Challenge: 50 Things; The Thrifty Fifty

2010-07-04T10:06:00.001+10:00

50 Things...
Take your pick, this one is open. 50 things I want you to know about me; 50 things I would do if I won lotto; 50 things I want to cook; 50 things I have photographed; 50 things I want for my birthday; 50 things I would like to tell my ex....
It's up to you, whatever you want to tell your readers.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be part of the Blog This 50th Challenge! (It's not just because there are prizes...honest!)   Blog This have done an awesome job of bringing bloggers together, creating a community, inspiring blogger with ideas and highlighting new and interesting blogs.

When I wondered what to post about, I realised I am already doing a "50" challenge, my Thrifty Fifty series:

"Each week I give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living.   Some of these tips are reader submitted too, I am welcoming contributions."

Whilst I haven't got to 50 yet, I will, and if Being Thrifty is your thing, make sure you subscribe to catch each new suggestion. Until then here are the first 8 in the series:

1. Giving Baby's Pants A Longer Life

2. Conserving The Heat

3. Don't Throw Away

4. Harvest The Sunshine

5. Old T-shirts Become New Pants

6. Re-using Non-recyclable Plastics

7. Ween Yourself Off Sugar

8. Make Your Own Yoghurt

Voting is open! Visit here to have your say or to check out the other entries.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #8 Make Your Own Yoghurt

2010-07-01T17:39:00.002+10:00

Have you ever tried making your own yoghurt? It really is easy once you get the formula right and OH so cheap. I can't believe I was paying between $4 - $6 for a litre of yoghurt where now it costs me $1.10! The main thing that used to put me off is that I didn't know what to mix with the yoghurt to make it palatable as a snack for the kids. I use several options now; my apricot jam, a sprinkling of brown sugar or a spoonful of honey.

Here is my original post on Yoghurt making:

I'm so excited! I had success making my own yoghurt! I think the reason that I feel so satisfied with this accomplishment is that my first attempt failed, so it made me even more determined to get it right. I'm putting the failure down to using a flavoured yoghurt instead of a plain one as my starter culture.
Credit must go to my Auntie Joy, who has been making her own yoghurt for years and encouraged me to give it a try.
You will need:
1 litre of Milk
1-2 tablespoons Plain Yoghurt mixed with 2 tablespoons Milk (at room temperature)
A sugar thermometer
A glass jar
Tea towel/Hand towel

The first step was to put a litre of milk on the stove and bring it to around 85ºC

(If you use UHT milk you can skip these steps, just heat the milk to 44ºC then pour in the starter culture)

I sterilised my jar in the oven at 120ºC for 15 minutes first, this also made the jar warm before I poured the hot milk in to help bring the temperature of the milk down slowly.

Let the milk sit until it comes down to 44ºC (this takes 1/2 hour or more - so there is time to hang out the washing whilst you wait) then mix the yoghurt and milk mixture in.

Wrap the jar in a towel and put it away in a draft free area (I chose a cupboard) for 10-12 hours, then pop it in the fridge!

The kids enjoyed this with a few grains and sultanas and some of Auntie Bec and Uncle Jon's home made blackberry jam.

I have since bought an Easiyo flask (available from your supermarkets for around $20) and I pop my container straight into the flask to brew for 12 hours. Couldn't be easier!

See here for more Make it from Scratch Recipes

Silver Beet and Feta Quiche

2010-06-29T18:55:00.000+10:00

This recipe is an older one of mine that has been really popular. It's a great recipe for lunch for the kids on a chilly day during the school holidays, so I have taken it out of hiding and re-posted for you.

We needed to use up some of our eggs and silver beet from the garden and we needed a kids recipe, so a quiche was on the menu this Melbourne Cup Day.
I made the base first using 215g plain flour and 100g chopped, cold butter. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add a couple of tablespoons of icy water and stir through in a cutting motion. Roll into a ball, cover in wrap and put it in the fridge for 20 mins. Remove and roll out, then press into your quiche dish and put back in the fridge for 20 mins.
Heat the oven to 190C and blind bake for around 15 mins or until golden coloured.
For the filling, I pretty much made it up, so I'll give you a lot of 'about' measurements.
I chopped up an onion and cooked it in a fry pan, then added a few chopped up silver beet leaves until they just wilted. Put this into your cooled pastry base.
Whip together 3 eggs, 3/4 cup cream and around 150g feta, then pour this mixture over the top of the silver beet and onions. I grated some parmesan on top and put it in the oven at 180C for 30 minutes. Delish!

For more kids recipes see here.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #7 Ween Yourself Off Sugar

2010-06-23T21:33:00.000+10:00

(Photo from: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/10/sugar_skull_tutorial.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890)

Pre-packaged foods are full of unnecessary sugar and I tend to avoid them all together, not only for the sugar levels, but the $$, not to mention the additives for a longer shelf life!
But quite often when I come across a recipe for muffins or slices the amount of sugar suggested in the recipe is way beyond what is required to give the food a sweet taste. I have started questioning these quantities and reducing the amounts, if it works I reduce it some more the next time until I find the right balance.

The more sugar you eat the more you want, so I'm suggesting that you try to wean yourself off it. Consider how much is in the foods you are buying and the foods you are cooking. Break it down to percentages, or to teaspoons (or cups) so that you can visualise just how much you are consuming.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #6 Re-using Non-recyclable Plastics

2010-06-16T19:42:00.000+10:00

This is part of The Thrifty Fifty series. Each week I will give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living. If you have a thrifty tip to offer and would like me to feature it here, please drop me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

Sue from wanderingsue is this weeks' Thrifty Fifty contributor. Sue has recently started blogging about the good things in her life (currently living in London) and from what I have read so far, her blog name is very apt, she's lived in so many countries her own accent confuses her!
Over to you Sue:

Here's my (ex-teacher) suggestion for your excellent Thrifty Fifty. Save any of the awful non-recyclable plastic tubs you can't avoid getting. (Avoid them if possible, of course!) When the kids paint or glue, use them as paint trays, and then when you're done, and have decanted what you can back into the bottles, drop them in the bin. This is only good if they were the type that had to go in the bin anyway, but saves time and effort, and most importantly saves washing water and keeps awful paint and glue out of the water system!

Great idea Sue. When I read it I wondered where on Earth I was going to get one of "those" plastic containers from? It didn't take long for us to come across one, when my son was given permission to spend his pocket money on the weekend and he bought a toy. Of course it came OVER packaged and provided us with exactly "that" type of plastic.
So here is our take on Sue's suggestion:

Making a collage from an old toy catalogue.

No Shop Zone

2010-06-15T10:00:00.000+10:00

It's been two months since I made a half-hearted commitment to not buy any new clothes this winter season in an attempt to reduce consumption.
So far I've managed to avoid buying any clothing items (bar the school uniform that I 'fessed up to). Which has surprised me really. I used to find myself heading off to the shops when I needed some time to myself and my usual "poison" was to buy clothing for the children, I mean, they always need something, right? Well, not so it seems. I have managed quite fine without feeling that they are missing out or really NEED something new. And as for "me time", I have started going out with the girls, and committed to it. We decided every 6 weeks sounded fair to go out for dinner together. In a fortnight we are even going to the theatre! But you can't always escape out to dinner with the girls and I found myself needing some time out today, so what was my outlet? I put my head down into my sewing machine and would not be interrupted for anything (hubby was home to deal with the needs of the children). The product of my morning's work was a new pair of pyjamas for Master 3.

Home sewn pyjamas

And I have to say, it was WAY more satisfying than driving down to Target and just buying something.
I did nearly cave recently when the baby needed a new sleeping suit, and I was at the shops looking at a very warm looking all in one suit. The price tag was fine (that's half the problem!) but the label said "Made in China" and I just didn't want to do it. This was what inspired my recent Thrifty Fifty post on baby pants, I found an alternative solution rather than making that purchase.
Over the past 8 weeks I've made a few other things that I haven't shown you all yet:

Fleecy shirt for Baby

Number 1 son wouldn't let me make a pair of pants without knee pads

See?

This morning it was 0°C on our walk to the bus stop and we were all very rugged up and warm, the only thing missing was a pair of gloves for Number 1 (above). If I'm feeling extra brave, I may knit him a pair (anyone know of a good glove pattern?) or I could do something I've been waiting for the opportunity to do (no pun intended)....visit the Op Shops! With my knitting skills, winter could be just about over by the time I get them finished, but I do like a challenge! (I'm serious about the glove pattern!)

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #5 Old T-shirts become New Pants

2010-06-12T20:23:00.000+10:00

PJ's or Kindy pants? Who can decide?

Yesterday he suggested he needed a new pair of pants, and being the eager to please (more like eager to sew) Mama that I am, I started going through my material stack. When I spotted my husbands' old t-shirt, I thought what a perfect pair of pants it would make! Master 3 thought the idea of the yellow writing was super funky too. Let's just pretend that the shirt didn't use to say "Do I make you horny, Baby?" Thanks Austin Powers!

Side view!

If you are new to sewing, I have a link to a great tutorial for making these pants.

Spunk back view.

He LOVES them, I'm so glad they aren't just sitting in the rag bag waiting to get covered in oil or the like. Instead they are in the washing basket as they have already been worn and covered in play dough; a much better alternative.

French Onion Soup Recipe

2010-06-10T14:44:00.001+10:00

With an over supply of onions, the time has finally arrived for French Onion Soup! This soup is so rich and sweet.
First up, cut up your 2 kgs Onions into thin slices.

2kg onions

Melt 100g of butter into a large saucepan, then add your onions. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the onions are soft.

Stir onions occasionally

Remove lid and simmer for 1 hour until they caramelise, then add 3 stalks of Parsley, a stalk of Thyme and a Bay Leaf. Add 4 cups of Beef Stock, slowly, letting it evaporate before adding more.

Add salt and freshly ground pepper to season

Bring to the boil then reduce heat and cook for 40 minutes until thick.

Stir soup occasionally.

I pureed the soup before serving as I thought this was more "kid friendly" and served it up with some Pumpkin Loaf and Parmesan.

Add Parmesan and enjoy.

You can find more soup recipes here.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #4 Harvest The Sunshine

2010-06-09T19:07:00.000+10:00

Our beautiful, sunny bedroom.

Two rooms at the front of our house get plentiful sun during winter. So we forgo a bit of privacy, pull the curtains back and let it pour through. We put the fans on low to spread the warmth to the rest of the house too.
These rooms are my favourite place to be at this time of year. As an added bonus, adding your own natural heat to the house reduces your heating requirements, and therefore your bill.

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #3 Don't Throw Away

2010-06-06T15:35:00.001+10:00

I love recycling. If I can extend the use of an item (like refashioning clothing) then I am happy.

This cot was made by my Great Grandfather for my Mother. I used it as a child, as did my Niece. Recently my Father sanded and re-painted it for my daughter's 5th birthday. My Mother knitted the doll and sewed the bedding.

Some items are single purpose though and are just too good to see in landfill. Unfortunately with today's "throw away society" a lot of those good items aren't worth much second hand. TV's keep getting up modeled, leaving it's predecessor worthless. You may have a TV, camera, bicycle or building supplies sitting idle, and just because you can't use them, doesn't mean someone else can't.

Have you heard of Freecycle? This is their Mission Statement:

"Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community."

How great is this idea? What a cool way to rid yourself of unnecessary clutter. And it doesn't just work one way. You can browse through your area and see if anyone is offering up something you need. I believe you can even post "wanted" ads.

Don't forget other more conventional ways of giving things away too, like giving to someone in your community that you know is in need or donating to charities:
St. Vincent de Paul
Salvation Army
The Smith Family
Anglicare Victoria
Apex Foundation
Oz Child

Pumpkin Ravioli

2010-06-03T05:06:00.005+10:00

I did promise you I had lots of recipe ideas in store for our pumpkins this year, and seeing I have shared a sweet one, I'm now offering up this delicious dish and it's a winner. Inspired by Christine's Wild Mushroom Ravioli (have you seen her blog? It's worth a look!) I thought I'd give home made pasta a red hot go and use up our over supply of pumpkin all in the one dish.

Home Made Pasta:

300g Plain Flour
3 Large Eggs (60g each or thereabouts)
30ml Olive Oil
Pinch Salt

Sift the flour into a bowl, make a well in the middle, then add the eggs, oil and salt. Knead the ingredients together until you get to an elastic feel and semi gloss look. Put aside and cover with a bowl or tea towel for 1/2 hour.
I used a rolling pin to roll my dough out and to be honest, I don't think I'd do it again. Pasta machines make this job SO much easier and don't cost too much. I probably spent 3 hours rolling and if I charged my labour out at the bargain price of $15 p/hour, I could buy myself a pasta maker and have change in my pocket. (And we wont mention the bruises on my hands...)
The method to rolling your pasta is to roll, fold and roll some more onto a lightly floured surface. When you get a very thin sheet (couple of millimetres) then you can cut out your shapes. I used a scone cutter.

Keep your dough shapes under a tea towel to keep them moist until you are ready to use them.

Ravioli Filling:

400g Pumpkin
4 Cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
1 Egg
1/4 Tspn Nutmeg
Tspn Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Grana Pandano or Parmesan Cheese grated
1 Tblspn Cream Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Set your oven to 210C and roast your pumpkin with a few cloves of garlic and a drizzle of olive oil for 30 to 40 minutes.

When the pumpkin has cooled, mash in a bowl and squeeze the garlic pulp into the mash. Add the egg, both cheeses, nutmeg, sugar, salt and pepper.

Right, your Ravioli is ready to be made!
Use some egg yolk to help seal the edges of your pasta together and just use a teaspoon full of filling in the centre of your dough shapes.

To cook your Ravioli, pop them into salted, boiling water for around 5 minutes.

Sauce:

1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup White Wine
2 Tblspn Butter
2 Tblspn Parsley

Reduce the wine and stock together until it has halved at least. Then stir in the butter slowly over a low heat. Add Parsley just before serving. Drizzle over your Ravioli.

This recipe makes 4 smaller servings or 2 quite large ones. I will definitely be making this again, it was heavenly! Husband was thoroughly impressed (and he's not easy to impress!) and the kids loved them too.
(See below)

Want more pasta recipes?

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #2 Conserving The Heat

2010-05-31T14:50:00.000+10:00

This is part of The Thrifty Fifty series. Each week I will give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living.

Being Winter in the Southern Hemisphere, the focus is on keeping warm. A lot of people spend so much time and energy getting their house warm with fires and heaters, but don't concentrate on keeping that warmth.
So there are a couple of hot tips (get it?) that I can give you:

Close your vents. Hot air rises....right up to your ceiling, out your air conditioning vents and into your roof. And when it's up there, it's not down here, with you, keeping your toes warm. We not only close the vents, we cut out a piece of cardboard and place that inside the vent to block off any extra air flow.
Curtains and pelmets help to create an "air pocket" between your window and your warm air inside. This helps to stop the convection heat loss. To create this pocket, it is important that your curtains sit flush with your flooring and that you have a box pelmet above. For more on the science of convection, click here.
Close doors. If you have a room of your house that doesn't really need to be heated, close the door. Such rooms in our house include the toilet, bathroom and laundry. This means our laundry is often a "cool room" and therefore our chest freezer runs more efficiently in there. Also excess produce and medicines can be stored in there at a cool temperature (the room currently holds our pumpkins and a huge bag of onions).

If you have a great tip for The Thrifty Fifty series and you would like to be featured on Home Grown, send me an email with your idea (and photo if you like).

The Thrifty Fifty: Tip #1 Giving Baby's Pants a Longer Life

2010-05-28T15:21:00.000+10:00

I'm starting a new series on Thriftiness. Each week I will give a tip on saving money, re-using, re-purposing, frugality, energy efficiency or just plain smart living.

So without further ado, I give you tip number 1.

Giving Baby's Pants a Longer Life

You know those socks your baby has? The ones that when bubs is wearing them, one falls off in the supermarket and you have to trawl through the aisles until you find it....or it gets lost in your baby's bed sheets and has you groping around and remaking the bed at 3am because little one's feet are freezing!?
And that pair of pants that are too short and expose too much of baby's leg, but still fit around the waist?
Right. Assuming you've answered yes, yes and yes, you know exactly what I'm talking about. So let's solve it.
Let's combine the two.

It's a really simple concept, just attach the socks to the end of the pants leg. This extends the length of the pants and keeps those socks on. Permanently.

A little daggy looking? Don't worry, you absolutely cannot tell when they are on...see?

What are your thrifty tips? Is there something you do that is completely ingenious? Come on, share!

Home Made Sausage Rolls

2010-05-26T20:18:00.002+10:00

Sausage Rolls don't have to be "the bad for you" kind. These are not dripping in fat and have a healthy dose of herbs and vegetables in them. Of course there is pastry involved though....
Do try them, they were an absolute winner with my family, even my daughter who usually just eats the outside, ate the whole thing. And then asked for seconds. Win!

2 onions finely diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups cabbage finely diced
1kg pork mince
2 eggs (plus one for pastry)
2 tablespoons thyme
1/2 cup parsley
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
salt & pepper to season
6 x sheets puff pastry
(This makes 24 Sausage Rolls)

Heat up olive oil in fry pan, cook onions until soft, add garlic and cabbage, cook for further few minutes until cabbage is soft.

Put all ingredients (except pastry) together in a bowl.

Mix well.

Lay out your utensils and your puff pastry, whisk up an egg to brush on the pastry.

Cut your pastry in half, then spoon your filling into the centre, brush egg onto the edge to help seal.

Then roll it up.

Brush the egg over the top, cut in half and put two slits on top.

They are ready to go in the oven (pre heated to 200°C) for 15 minutes, then reduce to 180°C for the last 15 minutes.

What do you reckon? Look alright?

Tuck in!! I hope you love them.

For more like this, go to my Recipes page.

Shirt Refashion Tutorial

2010-05-22T23:07:00.000+10:00

I bought this shirt last summer and I've never liked the way the sleeves sit. So today I decided to make it a winter shirt by adding on long sleeves.

The first part of this refashion involves finding a shirt that has a sleeve you love the length and fit of, then tracing the outline onto paper.

Add a seam allowance too.

Pin it on to your material with the fold running along the top, then cut out.

Join the right sides of your sleeves and sew together from armpit to wrist.

So your sleeve should look like the picture below (I have overlocked the edges).

Next, pin it to your garment. I've pinned the right side of the sleeve to the wrong side of the garment as I wanted the sleeve of the original garment to have an overhang. (Doesn't make sense? You'll know what I mean when you see the finished sleeve - I hope!)

Then sew together.

Hem it up.

And it's done!

Oh alright....I'll model it for you...

(What?...The watermark is not strategically placed over my belly trying to hide my post dinner gut. It's not....who asked you anyway!!! )

Deliciously Moist Pumpkin Cake

2010-05-17T15:48:00.001+10:00

This cake is good. So good in fact, that it was gone before I could photograph it. Instead, I give you a photo of the offending Pumpkin's brother.

I say this in all seriousness: make it at your own peril.

The evil components:

125g butter
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
2/3 cup sour milk (or normal milk + 1tspn vinegar)
2tspns baking powder
1tspn baking soda
3/4tspn nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar (I use less most of the time to reduce the wickedness)
1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
1tspn salt
2tspn cinnamon
3/4tspn ginger

Whipping up the evilness:

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time. Add baking soda and milk, beat well. Sift dry ingredients, add to mixture alternately with pumpkin. I use a lined, square tin at 160C for 35-45 minutes.

You were warned.

Check out my other Cake Recipes.

Today

2010-05-12T14:56:00.000+10:00

Today has been a good day. Just an average day in my life really, but pleasant. Things haven't gone to plan (my plan) but they have been done.
We all walked to the bus stop at 8.30, me, four kids and the dog. We rugged up for the walk this morning, put on beanies and pulled out winter uniforms. After seeing the eldest two safely on the bus, we walked home with the intention of getting some washing on, putting the baby down for a quick nap, finishing the kindy newsletter before heading off to playgroup around 10 and distributing the kindy newsletters on the way.
I did get the washing on. Then my great friend from high school called and she shared all her latest news and we had a wonderful catch up. The newsletter got done. The baby slept until 11am. We didn't get to playgroup, but we did go to kindy and fill those pockets with newsletters.
We decided a picnic in the backyard was on the cards for lunch (being the only way I could coax Master 3 from the kindy sandpit!) and the boys and I enjoyed a sandwich in the sunshine together.
While I was sitting in the backyard I spotted the passionfruit vine creeping happily over the kids' cubby house and thought how wonderful and cottage like it looked.

So with the boys tucked into bed for a nap, I popped in the ingredients for bread in the bread maker for school/work lunches tomorrow and made myself a cup of tea. Then I wandered the garden with my tea and camera to capture the cubby and whatever else I could find.

Strawberries being protected from the slater bugs that love to eat them almost as much as we do. Now we just have to hide the red ones behind the leaves so that the birds don't catch sight of them.

Our little Cauliflower plants underneath our Avocado tree. It's a daily job wiping off the eggs from the industrious Cabbage Moths before they hatch and eat the leaves, but one that I don't mind doing.

Sugar snaps looking healthy and on their way to providing some delicious peas.

Our Emperor Mandarin Tree with fruit that is already filling lunch boxes and little bellies. This is the second year of fruit from it.

Our little friend, Demi, in one of her favourite warm, sunny spots, under the Cherry Blossom Tree.

Today is a chilly, end of Autumn day and I can see change all around us. Trees are turning different colours and losing leaves, the chickens are losing their plumage, socks are always on my feet...and yesterday I had a birthday. But this year I don't feel like I need to reassess, analyse or change anything in my life. I feel like I am doing this on a daily basis, and I love the way life is going, the challenges and adventures that present themselves constantly, the changes and ideas we have already started implementing into our lives. So this year, my birthday was just about celebrating another year and appreciating where I am at and appreciating those that share it with me.
And now I am going to make yoghurt or I am going to be distracted by the baby waking up and the older two coming home from school, either way, it's a good day.

A Winter Dress

2010-05-08T19:08:00.000+10:00

I had some free time a couple of weekends ago, so I went through my wonderful material stash and found this sweet faux denim fabric. I decided a winter dress for Mimi was in order, so using the same pattern from my Shirt Tutorial, I just made the pattern longer at the bottom and flared it out a little. The result was a sweet dress that Mimi couldn't wait to wear and dance around in.

Lessons Learned

2010-05-06T19:27:00.002+10:00

Katherine Jenkins is a woman with a lot to offer. She is a teacher and a writer. She has lived in Asia and married a former Buddhist Monk, hence the name of her inspirational blog "Lessons From The Monk I Married".

If you haven't visited her site, you should, I believe everybody can get something from her writing and the lessons she shares. I know I have.

Katherine has generously lent me some space on her blog, so please pop over there and read my offering Dance Even If No One Else Is. I would love it if you could comment and let me (and Katherine) know that you have visited...thank you in advance xx

Lovely lemons.....

2010-05-05T18:01:00.000+10:00

Please welcome my first Guest Poster, the delightful Lucy from Diminishing Lucy. Lucy's blog is a journey of weight loss amongst many other inspirational tales. She is also a generous and kind hearted person; currently running a marathon to raise $500 for the Starlight Foundation.

So, because we don't want Lucy to disappear altogether, please give her the very warmest of welcomes!
__________________________________________________________________________________

Lucy here, from Diminishing Lucy.

When Christie and I chatted about doing a post swap, I immediately thought about........you guessed it: home grown.

We have an amazingly lush lemon tree in our back garden.

We are very water wise, and do not water the tree specifically, and it is a fair way from our grey water supply.

So in the past three years since we have lived with this garden of ours, I have always been amazed at the flourishing and bountiful lemon tree.

We have since realised that, on the boundary line that the tree grows upon, that there is a (probably cracked) old storm water piping line. Hence the tree flourishes, blooms and fruits amazingly.

I am always on the look out for recipes for the glut of lemons we enjoy.

And whilst I love the profusion of lemon curd and preserved lemons, and marmalade, of course, I really pricked my ears at the idea of a lemon based cleaning solution.

Lemon Duster Cloths

Cloth squares (I use cut up squares of old cotton t-shirts, but any clean dusters or cloths would do it, I reckon?)

1 cup warm water

1 cup white vinegar

10 drops of lemon oil (available from the chemist.)

The chunky peel of 3 lemons (I used a potato peeler)

Combine the water, vinegar and lemon oil in a bowl

Soak the cloths in the liquid

Wring out the cloths and lay flat

Spread the peel over the cloths and roll the cloths up

Store in a clean glass jar with the lid on until you need to use the cloths

Reserve the liquid in another jar for next time.

Use as required as dusting cloths

I used these today on really dusty with dog haired skirting boards & timber book shelves.......they really did work better than anything else I have ever used on dog hair..............

So, worth a try perhaps?

How To Have "Good Eaters"

2010-05-05T07:35:00.000+10:00

Tired of kids that wont eat?
Sick of having to "hide the vegies"?
Want some tips on healthy eating for the kids?

How To Have Good Eaters is my first ever Guest Post over at Diminishing Lucy. Quick, I'll meet you over there!

Pumpkin, Rocket & Feta Pizza

2010-05-01T09:21:00.002+10:00

Still on the pumpkin theme. Why? Because some time ago we must have composted some pumpkin seeds and they self seeded and delivered us with around 6 beautiful sized pumpkins. We think they are Jarrahdale, they have a rich, orange flesh and taste delicious. We pulled the vine out a couple of weeks ago and let all the pumpkins rest for 10 days before I started making them into some tasty meals.

This is also a recipe the kids will enjoy whilst getting a good dose of vegies too. For more recipes for kids check out my recipes page.

I also harvested some silver beet and rocket from our garden for this pizza.

The Base*:

500g Flour (we used Defiance wholegrain) (This amount makes two large pizzas)
350ml Water (if you want to make a smaller pizza, the key to the ratios is 70% hydration. So if you times .7 by 500 (grams flour) you get 350 (mls water). So if you wanted to halve it you would use 250g flour x .7 which equals 175mls water)
7g yeast (around 1 1/2 tspns) (less if you are reducing the size of course)

We put this in the breadmaker on the pizza dough setting and that does all the work, but otherwise you would knead, let it rest and knead again before rolling out.

*This base recipe is done by my husband, hence the scientific approach.

The Pizza Toppings:

Silver beet and Rocket
Feta
Tomato paste
Pumpkin
Mozzarella

Put your tomato paste on the pizza, then layer it with silver beet and rocket (or spinach). Add the pumpkin (sliced very thinly so they will cook quickly) and crumble feta over it. Then top with Mozzarella.

Ready to go in the oven. I put it in at around 200°C.

10 minutes later.

Best served with a glass of Cab Sav on a cosy Autumn night. Enjoy!

If you are interested in healthy recipes for kids or just want to have healthy eating children you may also like my article on How To Have Good Eaters.

Pumpkin Loaf

2010-04-29T21:58:00.002+10:00

This recipe for Pumpkin Loaf works in a breadmaker on a large loaf setting and it is truly delicious.

1 Cup pumpkin (cooked, mashed and cooled)
500g Flour (I used Defiance multigrain flour)
5g Yeast
15g Milk Powder (optional)
10g Olive Oil
3/4 Cup Water

I also made this loaf just using plain flour, but to improve the flavour I added 10g bread improver and 1 1/2 tspns salt.

This is part of a Blog Hop, come and join in!

Want more great Pumpkin Recipes?

Easy Lemon & Coconut Tart

2010-04-25T14:40:00.001+10:00

Yum right? Yep, it was!

And so easy.

Here is all you need to know.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Grated Lemon Rind
80ml or 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
220g or 1 cup Caster Sugar (remember my tip for caster sugar)
4 Eggs (beaten lightly)
410ml or 1 2/3 cup Milk
75g or 1/2 cup Plain Flour
90g or 1 cup Desiccated Coconut
125g Butter (melted)
Icing Sugar (to finish)

Combine all ingredients except icing sugar and mix well. Pour into a greased 24cm pie dish. Bake in moderate oven for 50 minutes or until browned lightly and set. If it is over-browning cover lightly with foil.

And enjoy.
* Recipe from WW Food magazine (1999)

Want more Desserts?

Honey & Avocado Face Mask

2010-04-23T22:12:00.000+10:00

I recently attended one of those cosmetic parties that a friend was hosting in her home. I'm possibly one of the worst people to invite to these events as I'm so cynical about all the sales pitches; "oh you need an anti aging regime now that you are over 30 and don't forget to cleanse, tone, moisturise, exfoliate, apply eye cream, sunscreen, night cream, day cream, ice cream.....oh...wait..". Anyway, I went to a) make up the numbers for my friend who was hosting the party and b) get away from the ~~brats~~ spunks for a couple of hours. And I had a good time, despite the salesperson advising me that "she could tell I did nothing to my skin". Busted. I'm slack, I don't have a beauty regime at all, apart from sunscreen and a bit of moisturiser. I don't wear a foundation or powder so I don't feel the need to cleanse every day, but maybe I should be doing more. So with that in mind I pulled out "The make-your-own Cosmetic & Fragrance Book for Australians". Everyone should have a copy!
I found a moisturising face mask for dry skin that looked good (i.e. I had all the ingredients), so I gave it a whirl. And in the name of science...or beauty I even offered up my own face for the photographs (I was very tempted to put it on the 3 year old, but he really couldn't be interrupted from his Matchbox car play).
Here's what you need:
2 Tablespoons of Mashed Avocado
2 Tablespoons of Honey
1 Egg (the book actually says raw egg, but you would have known that, right?)
Then you blend them all together to get a smooth paste. If it's watery or runny, you need to keep blending, my electric hand blender worked a treat.

Not very appetizing looking I know, but it smelled alright.

The things we do!

Alright, so I applied it just with my fingers and it went on quite smoothly and felt pretty nice. I left it on until it dried, maybe 10 to 15 minutes (enough time for me to get afternoon snacks for the kids, ask them about their day (while they stared at me strangely) and change one pooey nappy). After I washed it off my skin felt clean, tighter and refreshed, I finished it off with some RoseHip oil, but you could use olive oil or a vitamin E capsule or just your regular moisturiser.

There was plenty left over, so unless you want to share it round the family (or feed it to the dog) you can pop it in a jar in the refrigerator for another day (it will probably only store for a few days to a week).

Atonement

2010-04-21T18:21:00.000+10:00

Remember two posts back when I said I wouldn't buy any new clothes and I put that little clause in "unless it's beyond my sewing capabilities". Phew, I'm glad I put that in there! Because (yep, already!) I had to buy Miss 5's winter school uniform. It should be known that I put the word out first for any pre-loved offerings, but as this uniform was only brought in last year, there are really no used ones around yet. On the upside I did get a bag full of summer school dresses for future years!

So in saying that here are the offending articles:

Now the down side to these clothes is that they are not Australian made. They were made in China.
And the up side is I purchased it from the school uniform shop and any profits go back to the school.

So, restitution was in order. Miss 5 needed a new tracksuit/pyjamas and I, of course, had the perfect material to make them! So using my newly learned skills of making a pattern from an existing shirt and pants, I made these:

Isn't she a good sport? What a great poser!

Material Girl

2010-04-13T12:55:00.000+10:00

I am in fleecy, wintery, material heaven at the moment thanks to my thoughtful Mother in Law, Janelle. She has donated all this fabric goodness to my sewing frenzy and I am so excited. We are moving into cooler weather and now is the time that I would usually go out and start buying warm clothes in the kids' next sizes. Or in the case of the boys, going through their wardrobes and handing down whatever wasn't trashed enough to just throw out. Now, instead of throwing out, I'll be salvaging buttons, elastic, cute appliques, anything that I might be able to use. And instead of going shopping, I'm going to get sewing! There is so much potential in this stack of material. I see tracksuits, long sleeve tees, pyjamas, pinafores, skirts.....okay, I'll take a breath. Wouldn't it be great if I could get through the winter season without buying anything new? Well I'm not going to promise I wont (my sewing skills just can't handle some things), but I do promise that I will "fess up" on here whenever I buy a piece of clothing - that should keep me honest! Here's what I've made so far:

This is gorgeous son number 2 with his brand new fleece track pants, holding his older brother's long sleeved t-shirt. The kids are enjoying picking the fabrics and colours for themselves and practically hang off my sleeve whilst I am making their item.