Upcycle tie headband

The narrow end was left over from my denim skirt upcycle. 

Turns our it is the perfect headband. If is narrow enough to keep your hair near and tidy. Just the right amount of colour to compliment any outfit.

Upcycle denim skirt

I bought this denim skirt last year, but if seems that the denim has shrunk in size ;-)  

I decided to make the skirt size bigger by sewing 2 ties into the side seam. That way, it is not so obvious and it will be the easiest way to make the garment bigger.

I picked 2 ties in darker colour to match the colour of the skirt. I unpicked the centre seam of the tie. This is not really necessary if you only want to increase the size of the garment to the next. By unpicking the tie, you not only make it bigger, but as the tie is cut on the bias, it means that there is a natural stretch in the ties. Also, the ties are soft in your skin and it does not feel as if you have made this major alteration to your garment. 

Before.....

Cut open the side seam nearly. 

Sew the tie, right side together with skirt.

Finish off the raw edges as you wish. Fold over to form a hem as close as that of the original seam of the skirt. Fold over the top as close to the original waistband of the skirt. Sew nearly into place. Ideally, you should use a zig-zag stitch to give the ties the necessary stretch. By sewing a straight stitch, you are inhibiting the natural stretch of the fabric. The straight stitching will break over time.

FINISHED......! Ready to wear ......

Ginger-nut Brownies

The tallest young boy in the family asked that I bake his favourite brownies today. Thing is ...I have no idea what I did with the recipe. So...I decided to try this ginger-pecan but Brownie recipe.....!

Looks good...making tea to taste....!

On a plate ....

Home made rusks

I baked buttermilk rusks over the weekend. It is just so super with my new Kenwood chef! Needless to say, I have been telling myself the entire weekend, if I knew how nice it is to bake with a Kenwood chef, I should  have bought one a very long time ago ....

I like to put them into glass bottles so that the kids can see them and they can eat them. I then saw my table in the kitchen and I thought the rusks and all else makes for a lovely country kitchen "look". 

My favourite little wooden painted hen (my own design and painted myself!) I have 3 more in the house as they are have such a good "vibe".

Slightly different...cookbook has chocolate mayonnaise recipe...others are just things I have collected (the flower bowl was actually a wedding present ..they bought it on sale and did not remove the label!...mmm) I have been able to make good use of the bowl for a number of years. 

Decadent cheesecake

I baked something different yesterday - a cheesecake. It is very decadent and very rich. This recipe does not contain any eggs.

Upcycle shirt wine bottle cover

A shirt sleeve becomes a very convenient wine bottle gift cover. This one with purple ribbon tied in a tie.

Strawberry and cherry pie

I have (sort of) baked most of the cakes that I think are nice. The exception is the Red-velvet cake which I will bake soon. But...I am still looking for the most delicious coconut cake..will try more until I find the 'perfect' cake.

Today was pie day....strawberry and black cherry pie....

I could use the food processor attachment for my Kenwood :D (yeah!) and it turned out fairly well. The youngest member of the family had a taste...declared it delicious...mighty big words for a fussy 11 yrs old!

Still, he has a point - it is not too sweet, dead easy to make and you could probably have a lot of different fillings. Think I should try apple-raisin next time..