Saturday 29 June 2013

Drops Of Love


 Hi Everyone,

Today I'm showing off one of my all time favourite pieces,"Drops of Love".

I absolutely love the frosted red beads that add richness to the necklace.

 It is such a simple design, but very striking when its worn. 

And would look great dressed up or down.

Take care
 
 xxx
 
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Friday 21 June 2013

Lighthouse Love

A couple of months ago, while cruising around a thrift shop, I spotted this lighthouse in all it's awful glory....
And I decided for $8, I would take it home and work some magic!

It sat for a few weeks until I got up the courage to sand it down and paint it..

Well paint it, I did.... Then after distressing it, I decided a nice rub down with some dark wood stain and it would look awesome...

Ummm!!! Yeah....not!


Again, the poor sad thing sat waiting for me to give it another try.
I worked harder to get it looking even and weathered. 


And it's perfect with my beachy themed decor.
 I'm really glad I gave it a second chance! 
I bet my family thought they were going to have to live with that ugly lighthouse! It's cute now though!


And so...a before and after..... aaah I love my lighthouse!


Take care everyone
 
 xxx
 
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Tuesday 18 June 2013

Beef Bunny Chow

**Disclaimer: No actual bunnies were harmed in the making of this dish**

I shared this recipe over at Inspiration Cafe for our Traditional Foods Series.

As you all know I live in New Zealand, but some of you may not know that I grew up in Durban in South Africa. 
So I am sharing a traditional Durban street food called Bunny Chow, which basically consists of curry served in a scooped out loaf of bread. 

As theories go, this dish originated in the early 1900s, when Indian workers would get their curry "to go"  the shopkeepers served the curry in hollowed out loaves of bread. The name "bunny came from the word "banias" which was the term for the Indian shopkeepers at the time. 

The curry used in a bunny chow can be chicken, beef, lamb or vegetable and the level of heat varies... a lot!  I couldn't decide if I should make a beef or chicken curry, as both are really delicious. Finally I decided to go with a mild tomato beef, I hope you all like it too...

Ingredients I used:

500g cubed beef
2-3 potatoes
1 onion
a clove or 2 of garlic
crushed ginger
a teaspoon of curry powder
1 can of chopped tomatoes
3/4 sachet of Indian simmer sauce ( I used Taste of India)
coriander
A loaf of fresh bread (unsliced)
Fry onion, garlic and ginger together with curry powder. Brown the beef.
Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and leave on high for 6 hours.

Alternatively you can cook this on the stove top if you prefer. I just like to toss everything together and leave it.

Cut the load of bread into half or quarters. I like mine to be a quarter and hubby likes the half size helping. Hollow out the bread and keep the soft bread aside.

Once the curry is ready, serve immediately into the bread "bowl" and place the chunk of bread on top. The bread is used to dip into the gravy and the whole meal is eaten by hand, breaking off pieces of the bread and using it to scoop up the curry. 

Be warned though ..this can be a pretty messy meal, but really worth it. Yum!


Take care and have a great week.
 

 xxx
 
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Tuesday 11 June 2013

Windchime Ideas

So... you know my addiction to Sun Catchers and Windchimes?

Well, I was so excited to be approached by Hometalk to curate a 

And I had so much fun doing it!!!
 
As well as giving me some new ideas for Summer, I was amazed at the creativity of the projects shared on Hometalk

Love Hometalk!!! 

Follow NorthShore Days there and sign up too if you havnt already!

I hope you've been inspired to create today... 
 

Take Care Everyone,

xxx

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Thursday 6 June 2013

The Key to Love

 Someone asked me yesterday why they hadn't seen most of my pieces, here on my blog...

And I really had to think about it. Am I only going to post tutorials? And keep my finished pieces strictly for Etsy and Felt?

I am really busy these days creating and I havn't had much time to write or craft. But I'm not posting my creations on my blog and really I should! 

I dont want this to become primarily a jewelry blog and I don't want my blog to be about selling but I am about sharing...
 So I what I'm getting at, is that I will start showing my creations here on my blog and I hope you will enjoy seeing them.

This piece is called "The Key To Love"

Take care
xxx
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Tuesday 4 June 2013

Spiral Suncatchers


Well its officially Winter here and I mean cold, rainy and absolutely NO sun at all...none!!!

I made these easy Sun Catchers a few weeks ago when we did actually have sun and thought I would keep them to share when it was really miserable here, so I could cheer myself up too...

They are so easy to make and look really pretty and cheerful hanging against the window...

What you need:

memory wire 
a head pin
a large glass or faceted bead
beads
pliers (not pictured)

Following my picture instructions you cant go wrong.

What to do:

Thread the faceted bead onto the headpin and secure it.
Using the pliers form a loop at one end of the memory wire. 
Thread the large bead on and close the loop.
Thread beads onto the memory wire
Form a loop at the end 
Thread string or wire through the end loop, and hang the sun catcher up.


 I made a girly pink one for the kids' room, using plastic beads and its just as sparkly in the sun...

 I love how they bounce around and catch the sun, so cute and so cheerful.


Take care
xxx
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