day LEAP DAY! lets make cookies!

the spreadable, very edible cookies!

day LEAP DAY ... yes in my pinterest 365 this day is a bonus creation day!  didn't think to look ahead last year when i started and see how many days were in february, but as it turns out it's a bonus and i decided this sort of day deserved cookies :)  who am i kidding, the cupboards where borderline bare and the peeps and my husband are looking for goodies to snack on as the weather cools down for autumn.

this recipe is courtesy of mel's kitchen cafe.  after pinning this to my recipe must do's board, i went to check out the her website, this site is full of the most mouth watering yummy things, the pictures alone had me drooling!

the recipe does require the heavy machinery to be lifted out, but apart from that it's a straight forward recipe of just adding in the ingredients as the mixer goes around ... there is something mildly soothing about watching the mixer go around ... ... ... ... ... ... i must get more of a life, honestly ;)

the mix

outcome: these cookies SPREAD, and i mean SPREAD like wildfire .... off the tray and onto the next tray and onto the bottom of my oven (anyone want to come and clean it??).  so the next tray's i put in i gave the cookies more room and put less on the tray, that just gave my cookies the all clear to spread EVEN FURTHER!  ben was one happy chappy ... why?  ... as he was watching the oven while i was preoccupied he asked if he could have the biggest cookie, i said sure absent mindedly as often happens when it gets to the end of a busy day and i am over making sensible decisions.  HE was looking at this ....

the happy boy

i told him if he thought he could get dad to agree to go without a cookie, it was his ... he had no chance ... thank goodness!  he was proud enough to get one over me not to worry about my reneging!   there is no doubt, after the two i had this evening, these cookies are mighty tasty .. unfortunately for my waistline, but i will worry about that tomorrow!  if you can figure a way of not getting these to spread so far, these cookies taste so very, very good.  and if you don't mind the spread and a thinner cookie these are definitely a must make :)

my thanks to mel's kitchen cafe, i loved the taste of the cookies, if not the fact i now need to clean my oven!  luckily it's the taste i care about and i will definitely make them again, just to check i didn't go wrong with the recipe, which is always a definitely possibility!

day 264: ranch dressing mix

whip this lot together and you have your own homemade ranch dressing mix :) 

day 264 and i had a quandary until a few days ago.  a LOT of the recipes i was pinning to my recipe must do's board on pinterest called for a ranch dressing mix in the list of ingredients ...  no such thing have i found in new zealand, it's hard enough to find the tuscan seasoning ;)  this irked me no end because the recipes sounded so good and i wanted to try them! well wouldn't you know it, someone has done me a huge favour and pinned a homemade recipe for a ranch dressing mix to pinterest ... THANK YOU PINNERS!

so today's creation is to make the said ranch dressing mix from scratch so i can have it on hand to make, well, ranch dressing, but more importantly a whole pile of crockpot recipes that have it as a key ingredient!  now you are with me, right?  thankfully the clever erin from $5 dinners (which i now follow, who wouldn't!) gives us this recipe and the best part is it only has six ingredients~!  this took .. oh ... two minutes to make, amazing for a problem that was so serious.

the ingredients ... plus pepper

the finished ranch dressing mix :)  yes indeedy, these are happy days :)

outcome:  it's getting closer to autumn here and that crockpot is going to get some serious use over the coming months so no ranch dressing mix was becoming almost emergency status ... but alas if like me you can not find it at the grocers, you can now make it at home EASILY!  in the meantime, i couldn't wait to taste the flavour of this mix so i put it on the chicken we barbecued tonight and it was sensational ... yes, i love ranch dressing but not as much as i love my new favourite herb mix!

my biggest thanks goes to erin from $5 dinners for solving this major issue for me ... honestly where would i be without the lovely pinners of pinterest and people like erin who try to make the world a much better place for all of us ... my crockpot dinners for the coming season have been saved ;)

day 263: scrabble inspired easter trinket

the easter decor trinket inspired by all the scrabble tile ideas on pinterest!!

day 263 has arrived and one of my dear friends scared the beegeeze out of me today when she said it was only a month until easter ... holy *$*@*@;^% where is this year going?  anyway, while i mildly panic at the fact we haven't yet saved a bean for our 5 week trip away at the end of the year that is coming up WAY too fast,  i felt inspired to make some easter decor today to put out in a couple of weeks time.

if you have ever been on pinterest, you would know there is a big love of scrabble tiles for all kinds of uses including wall art, coasters, ornaments, trinkets, cupcakes, tags, necklaces, and most other things you can think off for the home! i have even made scrabble frame art for my niece and nephew as part of pinterest 365 :)  today i thought  i would kick it up a gear and use letter dice from a game i had as a child called word yahtzee to make a little sideboard easter trinket.

all you need for today's creation is some dice with letters not numbers and some craft glue.  then you use a sentiment and glue it all together ..

the word dice

the sentiment that fits with the word dice ... this is the hardest part!

let glueing commence!

the final trinket, finished and ready for when the easter décor goes up :)

outcome: REALLY easy,  but you have to admit cute!  i love little things like this for decor, understated but people are immediately attracted to them because it's made of something everyone can relate to .... and seriously whether you are good or bad at scrabble, who can't relate to it!

my thanks go to the MANY wonderful creations i have seen on pinterest using  scrabble tiles  ...  it totally inspired today's creation and that is what pinterest and my 365 challenge are all about :)

day 262: a christmas quilt block

the finished quilt block ... cute even if i do say so myself!

totally forgot to blog about yesterday's creation because it was done first thing in the morning on a busy day!  it was a classic case of done and forgotten :)

day 262 and today's creation i have wanted to start for a couple of years but never had the confidence or know how to do.  today, i thought i would take the plunge and make a start.  a couple of years go when my gran passed away, mum found all these little christmas cross stitches she had been made and also given in cards.  i really wanted to preserve them in a quilt but have been so intimidated by the whole quilting craft i have never done anything about it ... until today that is!

i was inspired by a paper piercing quilt block i had seen on pinterest by fairyface designs and that got me thinking ... i could make a paper pierce block each week until christmas and then put the quilt together during december, then it wouldn't be overwhelming or stressful!  i decided my blocks would be 8" x 8" squares and i would end up with about 40 of them, so that will make a nice sized quilt for the sofa :)

as i mentioned, i was inspired by this design from fairyface designs (it's pinned to my quilting board) and used it as a guide for making a paper piercing pattern on a sheet of paper.   i then photocopied it so i could use the same pattern again throughout the quilt and began sewing with a very cute little vintage santa :)

these are my gran's little christmas cross stitches i want to preserve :)

these quilting fats were given to me by ben for christmas, he was really excited i was going to use them finally, but asked that i make a real quilt not a rag one with them as he didn't like that one!  thanks for the honesty ben!

today's little cross stitch i used with my paper piece pattern

outcome:  i've started!  i was really close to my gran and so this one of those projects that is very dear to my heart ... i didn't want to stuff it up because it's not like i can replace them :)  i feel a sense of relief now and am really happy to have it underway ... it was an absolutely bonus the the quilt block lots cute too!

my greatest thanks to fairyface designs for giving me the inspiration to finally start this project ... and also to my dear friend dee who showed me how to paper piece before xmas, which gave me the confidence to undertake this creation ... you rock my sweet :)

day 261: brownie trifle with a neapolitan twist

brownie trifle with a neapolitan twist :)

day 261 and we are out to dinner tonight and i wanted to take something new and sweet ... enter brownie trifle.  i love trifle and the thought of making one with brownies was too good to refuse!  this one from positively splendid looked really yummy but i also liked this one from rock recipes with the strawberries.  i pinned both of them to my recipe must do's board and figured i could do a mash up recipe that used elements of both :)

for this recipe i am using:

• one brownie recipe (see below if you would like this really easy recipe, you can even get the peeps to make this one!)
• strawberry jam
• strawberry jelly mix
• vanilla custard
• whipped cream
• blueberries for garnishing
• chocolate for covering the top 

yeah, that's probably enough ingredients for one trifle!  make the jelly and let it half set.  spread the brownie with a thick layer strawberry jam and then roughly cut into 1-2" pieces. then its a case of layering it together: first the jam covered brownie, then the semi set jelly, then a layer of custard.  then repeat the layers one more time.  finish the trifle off with a layer of whipped cream and decorate with chocolate roughly chopped or grated on top.

the brownie smothered in jam 

half the brownie in the bowl ready for the layering process to begin

layers finished, now for the cream topping followed by blueberries, and roughly grated almond chocolate

 

the finished trifle ... it was so yummy!

outcome: it was REALLY good!  i enjoyed having a trifle that was different from the usual sponge and fruit one. i was worried it would be really dry with the brownie in it and no fruit but it wasn't thanks to the jelly.  this is definitely something i will make again, especially when you need to take something as a dessert during summer :)

my thanks to the two awesome recipes i mashed together today, the  rock recipes  neapolitan one and the full on chocolate and brownie trifle from positively splendid ...  both awesome looking recipes that inspired my trifle today :)

brownie recipe

melt 6oz of butter.  add 12oz of sugar to the butter and whisk together. add a tsp of vanilla and whisk in.  then add 3 eggs and whisk each one well into the mix before adding the next egg.  then add 5oz flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 2 oz of cocoa and whisk it all into the batter.  put the batter in a slice tin and bake on 350F for ~ 30-35 minutes.

day 260: rugby/football subway art

today's creation  thanks to some free subway art from the girls at eighteen25 :)

day 260 and we are in full rugby preparation here today ... we have stocked up on blue foods and treats, got the ingredients for homemade hamburgers, made some team goodie bags, and now we just have to do a little more decorating.  we all support the blues EXCEPT my little worm in the apple barrel ben who supports the crusaders :(  he adores the players in the crusaders team and no amount of coaxing will make him change his mind!

the treats and the treat bags i made and put together today for the start of the season

today's creation helps that as it's a piece of subway art.  unfortunately most of the awesome football subway art i came across on pinterest was for american football, so the sayings on them weren't all totally appropriate for our national code of football, that being rugby union.  i did, however, find this piece of subway art from the girls at eighteen25 that was definitely worth doing and worked for whatever team sport you needed it for.  the original intention of this subway art was as a gift for coaches (such a cool idea), but for today's creation it is also ideal as subway art for the beginning of the rugby season.  even better news is this subway art is also free to download ... yippee~!  the idea is pinned to my autumn comfort board, were all things rugby and crafty can be viewed!

all you need to complete today's creation is a printer and a cheap frame ... that's it, just print and fill the frame!

the cheeeap frame and the freeee subway art ... good economising today, steveeee will be happy ;)

now we are looking more like a home that adores the game of rugby!

outcome: thank goodness today's creation was a simple, timely one as we had plenty going on!  the subway art looks awesome next to the rugby letters i picked up at typo ($20 for the word and heart) .. love that store and they have a super deal on letters at the moment 3 for $10!  well our house is looking much better now and after i have finished this post it will be time to sit down and watch the second half of the rugby .... unfortunately for me the blues are currently behind, needless to say my sweet boy peep is rubbing it in : }
thanks so much to the girls at eighteen25 for another awesome piece of subway art, i think there subway art for all occasions is probably my favourite of everybody's ... have a great weekend you guys :)

day 259: rugby decor

the rugby season is about to start ...

day 259 and i am VERY excited  because tomorrow the rugby season kicks off and i can't wait.  i decided this year we would have some rugby decor about the house, starting with today's creation a rugby ball wreath?!??  not exactly sure what you would call it but i plan to use it like a wreath and show my support for our local super rugby team the blues.

this idea is pinned to my autumn comfort board and comes from amanda at my heart's desire.  i love how she and her friends got together and made diy decor to support the teams they follow in football, so cool!

we support the blues super rugby team as i mentioned and they are a team made up of the upper north island's best players.  as such, my rugby ball had to have a blue's flavour to it and instead of the burlap the girls used to make their's from, i have chosen to do mine in felt.  in between the two layers of felt i have used some quilt batting to make it a little more robust and bulky.

what you need for a rugby wreath thingee!

the batting that gives it a bit more substance

going through the process

done, another creation bites the dust!

a closer look!

outcome:  this is so cute, such a great idea for a bit of sporting décor in the house!  i love that it shows support for our team and is something totally out of the whimsy box i NEVER would have done without pinterest!  makes me smile just looking at it :)

my thanks to amanda from my heart's desire for this neat idea.  love how you blogged about it and showed us craft challenged people with limited inspiration a great idea that you can't find on store shelves ... well not in this country anyway!

and as for the prizes from last week, here's a closer look!  ...

jen's booby prize :)

the real prize pack for michelle aka hey mickey!