.Giveaway Winners.

I'm back! I didn't get to finish the giveaways and draw the winners of my September Cool Shops! so I decided to keep them open a little longer and will announce the winners of the first three giveaways now. Saffron Craig will finish tomorrow night, so you still have a chance to enter if you haven't already.

Kate Conklin Designs giveaway = 2 patterns of your choice + rare and super cute Heather Ross fabric....

Congratulations to Amy!!!

Knitty Bitties giveaway = Camera Strap Cover from the shop....

Congratulations to Carolyn!!!

Funky Polka Dot Giraffe giveaway = Any 2 items from the shop (excluding carseat canopies)....

Congratulations to Leah!!!

Well done ladies - I hope you are excited! Have just sent each of you off an email and your goodies will be in the post once you have supplied the Cool Shops! owners with your postal address :)

.Lotsa Earrings.

Citrus pOp has been restocked with lots more earrings. They are popular little things and I am glad you guys love wearing them :) I'm thinking that my ears may be pierced by the end of the year, when I eventually pluck up the courage to do it!!

Energetic

Coastal Views
Soul Mate

Peace Rose

.Pinwheels.

I'm feeling a little pinwheel obsession coming on.

Perhaps it is because of Spring.

I NEED a pinwheel display somewhere in my home at the moment.

And I need to make them with my children.

Some pinwheel inspiration...

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

source

.Kind Over Matter.

The number of "have to read" blogs out there is getting a little overwhelming! Every now and then I have to go through and cull my blogroll so that I only include blogs I love to read or else I spend all of my time reading blog after blog and it all gets a bit addictive and ridiculous.

I have, however, recently found Kind Over Matter, a lovely blog full of kind acts, great links and inspirational projects.

Recently, Leanne's Art Prints were included in their Positive Printables round up. How lovely is that? Thankyou Kind Over Matter :)

P.S. We are off to Sydney today (minus the children) for a few days. I've got a few posts scheduled for while we are away but if I don't end the giveaways on the days I was supposed to, you now know why :)

.Recipe Monday.

I think I have a thing for coconut at the moment...summer is calling me :) This slice is tasty but very sweet so only cut small pieces!

Coconut Rough Slice
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup plain flour
2 Tbs cocoa
2/3 cup coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
90g butter, melted
250g milk chocolate, melted
Filling
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 1/2 cups coconut
2 Tbs cocoa
2/3 cup condensed milk
75g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a slice tray with baking paper.
Combine flours, cocoa, coconut, sugar and butter. Press mixture evenly over the base of the pan. Bake about 20 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.
Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl.
Spread filling evenly over warm base. Top with melted chocolate. Cut into slices when chocolate is just about set to prevent chocolate cracking.
Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

.A macaron success!.

They worked!!! My macaron quest was successful. Not perfect, but it wasn't a total disaster either and they tasted SO good!

When I went to the Lindt Chocolate Cafe, the coconut flavour was my favourite so I thought I would try coconut first. I have to admit that I did a LOT of reading and research when I was preparing myself to make them and it did get a bit confusing. There are many awesome pro-cooking blogs out there that give tedious step-by-step instructions and dozens of warnings that these are going to be super difficult to make. After reading a few different approaches, I kind of amalgamated what I thought to be the most important points and ended up following Tartlettes basic recipe for the base.


The taste and texture was awesome. If you haven't tried one, try one ASAP...a good macaron is crunchy on the outside and really chewy on the inside, definitely not the texture I was expecting when I first bit into one. The thing I like about macarons, is that they are a really sweet treat so you can't eat a lot at one time (trust me, been there...felt really sick afterwards!) A few in a little box make a great gift for a friend and they look really cool sitting together on a plate for morning or afternoon tea.

Next up, I want to try some coloured versions..maybe some green pistachio ones?


Apparently mastering the "feet" on the bottom edges of the macaron can be a little difficult. Mine aren't perfect and maybe it was just beginners luck, but I got feet! I need to work out why the tops of my macarons didn't end up as flat and smooth as they are supposed to be...mine had little pointed tops that didn't flatten out. I think I read somewhere that may be due to slight undermixing the mixture?

I want to make a couple more batches and try and iron out the kinks, and then I'll share my "how to" with you. My aim is to try and come up with a base recipe that you can add your own colours/flavours to that is easy to follow and (hopefully) fool proof. Wish me luck again!

.She did it.

For about 2 weeks Lil has been incredibly vain. She always thought she was beautiful (and she is...I love how little girls think they are pretty!!) but recently the hot topic of conversation has been her LOOOOONG hair. She makes us touch it and comb it and asks me many times a day if it is growing longer. If I want to put her hair in a ponytail, it has to sit right at the base of her neck so that she can still feel how long it is down her back. Seriously, she is so vain she should have been my sister's child. (Hi Carli!)

Today I was doing a quick stint of sewing (if I want to sew during the day I have to take 5 minute spurts here and there when I am lucky!) and she came into me and said, "Look at my hair Mum. Isn't it beautiful." This is not an uncommon thing for her to randomly say to me and I absent mindedly replied, "it is Lil, I love your hair." A few minutes later I had to go to my bedroom for something and as I walked up the hallway I noticed long clumps of hair along the way. It wasn't until I reached my bedroom and saw a big pile of beautiful blonde locks on the floor that I realised what had happened.

I didn't think I would react the way I did, but it was like my heart stopped beating for a moment and I started yelling, "No Lil, no! It is NOT beautiful hair!!"

Haha, I'm laughing at myself now. It was terribly dramatic - I may have exclaimed that it was the worst day of my life and I even started to cry!!! Which made her start to cry (alot) and when we asked her what was wrong with her she said, "I just want my Mum to be happy again"

This is the good side...


And the bad...


After a helpful phone call from my hairdresser friend, Pip, I think I am just going to leave it for a little while. I don't want to cut her hair all off - it will be so short and I don't think it will suit her face at all. I'll see how fast it grows in the next few months and then see if I can get a hairdresser to work some kind of blending in magic. In the meantime she will be wearing clips and headbands to try and hide it when we go out!!!

Have you had any bad self-hair cutting experiences? What did you do? Is it normal for me to feel so upset??!!!!!

.September Cool Shops! SAFFRON CRAIG.

Last, but DEFINITELY not least in the September Cool Shops! round up is Saffron Craig.


If you have been following this blog for awhile, you will most likely be familiar with my love for Saffron Craig fabrics. I love her fresh and contemporary one-of-a-kind designs and vibrant colourways and feel quite honoured to be reviewing her fabric.

I've already started cutting into the stack of Birdtree fabrics that I was sent to review - Saffron Craig's recently released new range - and will be releasing a pattern in the near future featuring these bold designs.


I was so excited when I received the parcel in the mail and, although I loved the fabric on the computer screen, it is divine in real life :)


My absolute favourite Saffron Craig range would have to be Fields. I love the soft colours and floaty designs and have plans for a few more sewing projects using some of these fabrics.


Forest Elementals is another favourite range...The Elk Landscape fabric is shouting out to be made into a skirt. It is just beautiful!


So, if you are on the lookout for new fabric (um...who isn't?!) to add to your stash or use in your next project, head over to Saffron Craig and take your pick! (You can buy from her online store direct and her fabric is avaliable in many fabric stores around Australia and the rest of the world)

GIVEAWAY

Fabric lovers are going to be excited about this giveaway...One lucky person will win a fat quarter bundle of the Bird Tree Range! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment!


Giveaway will close on Saturday 11th September and winner will be drawn randomly. Your comment will be disqualified if you do not leave an email address in your comment or linked to your profile.

.September Cool Shops! FUNKY POLKA DOT GIRAFFE.

Next up on the Cool Shop! run for September is Funky Polka Dot Giraffe.


If you have a girly-girl in your life who loves pretties in their hair, then I think you will love Funky Polka Dot Giraffe. I don't think I have ever seen clips quite like the ones that Kyla creates...especially Disney princesses out of ribbon! Lil is a big fan of Tinkerbell, so I knew she would be excited when she saw the cute Tinkerbell clip Kyla sent us to review and I wasn't wrong...


Isn't this amazing? I would never have thought to use plain ribbons to make little people - so cool!


We were also lucky enough to receive one of Funky Polka Dot Giraffe's sweet headbands which Lil instantly claimed as her own :)



If you are looking for some seasonal accessories, there are a heap of Halloween-inspired clips to choose from in store now!

How cute is this Rainbow Clip? Seriously, Kyla...where do you come up with these ideas?!

GIVEAWAY

As part of her Cool Shops! review, Kyla would like to extend a giveaway to readers of my blog. The winner will get to choose any two items from Funky Polka Dot Giraffe (excluding carseat canopies). All you have to do to enter is leave a comment!

Giveaway will close on Friday 10th September and winner will be drawn randomly. Your comment will be disqualified if you do not leave an email address in your comment or linked to your profile.

.September Cool Shops! KNITTY BITTIES.

Cool Shop! #2 for September is Knitty Bitties.


Andrea is the creative mind behind Knitty Bitties, a vibrant Etsy store selling a range of bright and funky sewn goodies. I received one of her gorgeous Camera Strap Slipcovers in "Hello Sunshine" to review and it is very cool. I love how it has livened up my boring plain black camera and is also extremely comfy resting around my neck.


Andrea has a great eye for putting together lovely fabric/colour combos - if you take a look at the products in her store you will see what I am talking about.


Knitty Bitties sells a huge range of cute, gathered clutches, camera strap covers, list takers, zippered pouches, and more - you are guaranteed to find something you love and the perfect gift for a friend.

I love this Gathered Ruffled iPad Cover:


And her Gathered Ruffle Clutches are super sweet too:

GIVEAWAY

As part of her Cool Shops! review, Andrea has generously offered to host a giveaway to readers of my blog. One lucky person will win a Camera Strap Slipcover of their choice. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment!

Giveaway will close on Thursday 9th September and winner will be drawn randomly. Your comment will be disqualified if you do not leave an email address in your comment or linked to your profile.

.September Cool Shops! KATE CONKLIN DESIGNS.

(Cool Shops! note...I didn't want to completely say goodbye to my August Cool Shops! so have made a special Cool Shops! archive page (see the link under my header) for you to visit and will be updating each month with new Cool Shops!)

Cool Shop! #1 for September (yep, September ALREADY!) is Kate Conklin Designs.


Kate is a wife, mother of two, speech pathologist and avid quilter who has recently begun not only designing her own quilt patterns, but also writing and selling her patterns! Kate posted me a complete set of her patterns to review and I only wish I had 100 more hours in my week so that I could have actually sewed one of her gorgeous quilts myself! Instead, I have been plonking myself on the couch and taking each of the patterns out of their bags and dreaming about future quilt making expeditions!!!


I must say, I am feeling very inspired and after finishing my last quilt quite a few months ago I am wanting to dive into another now! Kate shares some great tips and techniques that make quilt sewing easy and fun and her patterns include detailed, step-by-step instructions complete with lots of photographs and diagrams.

I love Kate's fabric choice and started reading her blog around the same time her Wonky Donkey Quilt was released. First of all - who doesn't love Laurie Wisburn's amazing fabric? But then to make an amazing wonky quilt out of it and photograph it on a real life donkey?!! That is awesome Kate!


The calming tones in Kate's latest design, Sea Views are just beautiful. I have had a good read through this pattern and am intrigued at the way she cuts the curves using a freehand method and pieces them without using pins...I think this describes my kind of sewing, leaving lots of room to express yourself and do things your own way.



Kate Conklin Designs patterns are available on her website as a PDF download and can also be purchased at well-known fabric stores in Australia and around the rest of the world.

GIVEAWAY

As part of her Cool Shops! review, Kate has generously offered to host a giveaway to readers of my blog. One lucky person will win two patterns (of your choice) from her shop, as well as two pieces of coveted Heather Ross fabric as shown below! (Will someone please enter for me?!) The bicycle fabric is half a metre (20") and the mushrooms is a 5" x 18" strip. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment!

Giveaway will close on Wednesday 8th September and winner will be drawn randomly. Your comment will be disqualified if you do not leave an email address in your comment or linked to your profile.