From Curtains to Cushion Covers

Ages ago, in a little local op-shop, I found a pair of old cafe curtains made from a creamy cotton printed with many beautiful blooms of Australian native flowers. The fabric features detailed prints of Qualup Bells, Christmas Bells, Swamp Wattle, Bottle Brush, Blue Pincushions, Banksia, Waratah and many others beautiful blooms. Each flower's botanical name is printed underneath too. Gorgeous!

Op-shop cafe curtains.

I adore botanical sketches, stitching, paintings and prints and love our beautiful native flowers so, for just a few dollars, I brought these old curtains home with me and stashed them away until I had time to make something from them. 

Printed with gorgeous Australian native flowers.

I followed the steps of this online tutorial, which includes a YouTube clip, to re-purpose these old curtains into a pair of pretty cushion covers. They were very easy to sew and I'm very happy with how they have turned out. 

Cushion covers from old curtains.

Perfect for someone besotted with plants!

Meg

Lined Drawstring Bags

From fabrics leftover from earlier projects and some reclaimed ribbon, I sewed three little & lined drawstring bags. 

Little lined drawstring bags.

This is the YouTube tutorial, from Whitney Sews, that I followed to sew up these bags. While I used an A4 size sheet of paper as a template for these bags, you could make a larger or small version.  The only change I made was to thread one long piece of ribbon right around the casing at the top of each bag before tying the ends together to form a long loop for hanging the bag up.

One little drawstring bag sewn from a sweet fabric.

 A peek at the soft blue lining inside this bag.

These drawstring bags are the first handmade things I've crafted for gifting this Christmas.  I am going to fill them with scented bath products, like these soaps that I purchased a little while ago and these bath bombs which I am very keen to make this coming weekend from ingredients I already have on hand. Together with a soft organic cotton hand towel, that I bought at Aldi much earlier in the year, I think they will make sweet gifts. 

 A pretty and reusable bag. 

Drawstring bags like these are also a very pretty alternative to wrapping paper and can be re-used over and over again. Something to keep once all the sweetly-scented bath products have been enjoyed.

What are you in the midst of making at the moment?

Meg

Some Small & Simple Savings

The savings we make here are not usually of the jaw-dropping kind. While hubby saved 15% off our car insurance renewal last week, with a phone call and a question, most savings here are of the small and simple kind. They are the little things that save a $ here or a $ there. 

$2 for three little plants purchased from a school market.

(One plant at a nursery would cost more than $2 so three is what I consider a bargain!)

Homegrown tiny tomatoes for salads.

(I'm growing these in pots and they are fruiting well.)

A stale bread roll made into breadcrumbs.

(I froze these for later use.)

I purchased an "odd bunch" of pears.

(These are sold more cheaply because they are not quite "perfect".)

Free entertainment for a boy who loves flags!

(Perfect for when it's too hot to kick the footy at the park.)

$2 birthday cards from Big W. 

(Given cards can cost upwards of $5each, I bought 5 and saved at least $15.)

I mended the pocket on my son's school shirt.

(This weekend, I have to mend his hat!!)

I added these half-price crackers to my stockpile.

(My son takes a little tub of these with cheese to school for a snack.)

While none of these little savings are particularly astounding, they all add up. What simple savings have you made lately?

Meg

Sweetness on Saturday

As the sky warms here today, and Saturday dawns, from my old verandah chair I watched and listened to daybreak. While the world was only half-awake, I thought of the many sweet and gentle joys in my life: from the way my almost-teenage son still lays his head upon my shoulder to the loving voice of my Mum on the phone; from the warm and happy hugs of dear friends to the generosity of a simple-living blogging community; from the soft yet insistent nudge of a Labrador's wet nose (when dinner is less than one-minute late!) to the creamy petals of a new Magnolia bloom unfurling. While I can hold some of these special things in my hands or capture them on camera, there are many that are tucked away in my heart.

Creamy magnolia petals and honeybee stripes. 

(Such a happy, buzzy bee!)

A slice of homemade birthday cheesecake. 🎂

(On my favourite plate!)

Twinkling lookout lights that sparkle across the night.

Handmade goodness that arrived in my mailbox.

(Thank you, Nana Chel and Judy.) Xx

The soft colours of orchids in my Mother's garden. 💛

(They remind me of a fading sunset.)

May there be some sweetness in your Saturday too. 

Meg Xx

Comforting Caramel Puddings

Puddings like these, which make their own sauce as they bake, are among my favourites. With a soft, cakey top and a sweet sauce that thickens and bubbles away underneath, they are warm, gooey and comfortingly delicious. Served with a dollop of naturally thick cream and they are even better!

Mmm ... sweet self-saucing caramel puddings. 

I made this version of a caramel self-saucing pudding for the first time recently. I followed Donna Hay's recipe but reduced the amount of sugar, in both the cake and the sauce, to lessen the sweetness somewhat. I also used spelt flour instead of plain flour as that is what I generally cook with. They still turned out beautifully!  Here's the recipe with my adjustments:

Self-Saucing Caramel Puddings
** not suitable for those with a nut allergy**

Cake Mix:
75g melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup almond meal 
1 cup white spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sauce:
50g butter
1 cup  brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water

1.  Preheat oven to 160C and lightly grease 6 x 250ml capacity ramekins.

2.  Make the sauce by putting butter, brown sugar and water into a saucepan. Stir over a 
     medium heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool while you 
     make the cake batter.

3.  Place all the cake mix ingredients into a large bowl and mix until well combined.

4.  Spoon cake mixture evenly into the six ramekins.

5.  Pour the caramel sauce over the top of each pudding (I transferred the sauce to a 
     heatproof jug and poured it very slowly over the back of a spoon and onto the top of each
     pudding.)

6.  Bake for 30mins.

7.  Allow puddings to stand, for at least 5-10minutes, to allow sauce time to thicken more.

8.  Serve with a big dollop of the freshest, thickest cream you can find:) 

While we've had some hot Summer-like days already this Spring, many nights have still been cooler so perfect for a warm and comforting pudding like this one. Its nutty sweetness and gooey sauce will see you scraping every last little bit you can out from your own little ramekin.

Have a lovely weekend!
Meg

p.s. I found my little ramekins at the local op-shop. The set cost me just a few dollars and I think they are as sweet as this pudding.