DIY Easy Peasy Flower Hair Barrette

This little crafty project is so simple and easy! I love wearing fake flowers in my hair, and this barrette is perfect for everyday wear. It only took about 10 minutes to make!

Here's what you need:

1. florist's wire  2. foam fake flowers  3. jewellery pliers  4. something to cut the wire with  5. a hair barrette

I would also recommend having a large needle handy, to poke holes through the flowers.

Begin by deciding how many flowers will fit on your barrette. I decided that four would be the perfect number for mine!

Take your first flower and poke a hole through it, using your needle. The hole should be a few mm from the bottom of the flower.

Now, remove the needle and thread the wire through the hole. Repeat the same process with all of your flowers, threading each one onto the same piece of wire.

Next, you will need to thread one of the ends of the wire up through one of the end holes in the barrette from the bottom. Using your pliers, wrap the wire around the end of the barrette as tightly as possible. Ensure that the end of the wire is folded right back and is under the end flower. You don't want it to get caught in your hair!

Wrap the flowers back over the barrette, positioning them nicely as you go. Snip the wire a few mm after the last flower, then wrap the wire around the second hole, as you did at the beginning.

TA DAAA! Super easy and super cute!

DIY Pillowcase Bicycle Basket Liner!

I bought this pretty old sheet and pillowcase set a while ago on etsy. It’s so bright and happy. Practically made of sunshine. And it always reminded me of my bike. They’re both blue and yellow and a little old and faded. I'm planning on using the sheet to make a pretty summer dress!



Jack bought this lovely basket for me last year. While I love the sweet pink material, it’s getting a bit faded. I decided it was time for an upgrade! Perfect use for my pretty pillowcase!



Here’s what you need:

One pillowcase
A bicycle basket
A sewing machine
An overlocker if you have one
Scissors
Thread
Ruler
Iron

Begin by ripping your pillowcase apart, into one big piece of fabric. Place your basket on top of the fabric and trace around it onto the material. Of course, you could be a pro and use proper paper, but I’m a bit lazy. Cut your shape out. You won’t need to leave any extra fabric for seam allowance, as you traced around the outside of the basket, which is obviously a bit bigger than the inside. Next you will have to measure the sides of your basket. Begin by measuring around the top rim of your basket, from one side to the other. Mine was 55cm. Then measure the height of your basket. Mine was 25cm. Next, measure the bottom of your basket, from one side to the other. Mine was around 44cm. Add around 10cm to the height of your basket (mine becomes 35cm) and draw up the shape using your ruler. Leaving a few centimeters for seam allowance, cut out two of your side shapes.

You should have three shapes that look a bit like this:



You will then have to snip a wedge out of each the top hand corners of the side pieces. This is to allow room for your handles! Simply draw a straight line down, around 3cm from the top corner of your piece.



If you have an overlocker, serge down each side of your side pieces. Then, with the right sides facing each other, sew down the two edges. Do not sew the top parts where you snipped off the triangle.

Now you will have to pin your bottom piece to the bottom edges of your side pieces. Once they have been pinned in place, sew all along the edges. I went round with my overlocker as well.


Next, you should fold out the edges of the liner, in the top triangles where your basket handles will go. Press them down using your iron.

Now move on to the top of your liner. Fold the raw edge over once, leaving a very small amount of fabric. Then fold it over once more, leaving more room – approximately 2cm. Sew along the edge. This is where you will pop your drawstring!

You could use a pretty ribbon for the drawstring, but I chose to use the same fabric as the rest of the liner. Cut two pieces of fabric approximately 6cm by 80cm. Fold the right fabric in half, with the right sides facing each other. Sew down the edge, then turn the long strip out the right way. This is a little bit tricky and you will need a paintbrush or pencil to push it through.

Using a big safety pin, thread both of your strips through the tops of your liner. Pop the liner in your basket, tie it up at the sides, and you’re good to go!

YAY!!







xoxox

ohmygosh yum: vegan easter cupcakes!

Easter can be a little dull for vegan atheists like myself. I'm not a huge fan of vegan chocolate. It tends to be a little disappointing. Whenever I've been to the supermarket recently, I've found my self lingering a little while walking through the Easter egg aisle. While vegan chocolate may be a little disappointing, vegan baking definitely is not! So I decided to bake myself some easter-themed cupcakes. They are deeelish. Sure to cure any chocolate cravings Easter Sunday may bring on!



Cupcake Ingredients
2 cups of soy milk
2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
1 and a half cups of sugar
2/3 cups of canola oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of plain flour
1 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

Chocolate Eggs
1 egg mould - I bought mine from Let's Cook & on Little Bourke Street
125 grams of dairy free chocolate - I used Whittaker's

Icing Ingredients
110 grams Toffutti Better Than Cream Cheese
3-4 cups of icing Sugar

Chocolate Eggs Method
Break all of your chocolate into small pieces. Place a pot of boiling water on the stove top. Put your chocolate into a bowl and sit it on top of the saucepan. The bowl will heat up and the chocolate will melt. Keep stirring the mixture until all chocolate has dissolved. Then spoon the chocolate into the moulds. Put the mould into your fridge until the chocolate has set - this should take an hour or two.

Cupcake Method
Begin by whisking the soy milk and vinegar together in a bowl. Set the mixture aside for a few moments while it goes all curdley. Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Gradually mix the soy milk mixture and the oil into the dry ingredients. Spoon the mixture into patty pans, filling them approximately 3/4 full. Pop them into a moderate oven for around 20 minutes.

Icing Method
Put your cream cheese into a medium bowl and add about 2 cups of icing sugar. Beat them together with an electric mixer. Gradually add more sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Continue to beat it until the sugar has dissolved completely.

Put the icing on top of the cupcakes in any way you desire and decorate with your chocolate eggs.



YUM! Happy Easter!

ohmygosh yum: Vegan Passionfruit Melting Moments!

We have a big, beautiful passionfruit vine that has been absolutely covered in fruit for a good few months now. I eat a few every day and just can't get enough delicious passionfruity goodness. On Sunday afternoon, however, I decided to mix it up a little and make some melting moments. I haven't had a melting moment in many a year, but these are just as good as I remember them to be! All buttery and crumbly and melty and delicious. As usual when I make a new recipe, I looked around at a bunch of recipes, both vegan (such as this'un) and non-vegan (like this one!). The recipe seems to be fairly universal - here is what I went with:

Biscuit Ingredients
250 grams of vegan margarine (eep not so healthy)
a few drops of vanilla extract
half a cup of icing sugar
one cup of custard powder - most supermarket varieties are vegan, but make sure you check the ingredients!
one cup of plain flour
three passionfruits

Icing Ingredients
two cups of icing sugar
a few teaspoons of margarine
around three passionfruits



Make your Cookies!
Begin by lining two trays with baking powder.
Cream the margarine, sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Remove the seeds from your passionfruits and add them to the mixture. I did this by spooning the pulp into a sieve and then stirring it around and around above the bowl. The pulpy bits all came through and the seeds were left in the sieve. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until your mixture forms a soft dough. Roll teaspoon-sized amounts of dough into balls and place them on your trays around 3cm apart. Gently press them down with a fork and bake them in a 150 degree oven for around 15 minutes. Allow them to cool on a wire rack before icing.



Make your Icing!
The icing is very simple! Pop the margarine and icing sugar in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, gradually add the passionfruit pulp, little bits at a time. You probably will probably only need about two. When the icing is light and fluffy, sandwich about a teaspoon-full between two cookies.











My Mama and I sat down to a little earl-grey and melting moment tea party. They are just the most perfect combination!

xxx

ohmagosh yum: vegan red velvet cupcakes!

While I was away, I constantly found myself dreaming of all the delicious things I would cook upon my return. Red velvet cupcakes were up the top of my list so, over the weekend, I got baking! They turned out beautifully! I haven't had a red velvet cupcake in years so they are such a nice treat! I love the combination of the chocolatey-vanillary cake along with the creamy icing.

Here's what you need for the cupcakes:

2 cups of soy milk
2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups of plain flour
4 tablespoons of cornflour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2/3 cup of oil
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
red food dye - make sure you get a vegan one! most of the supermarket varieties have cochineal in them. i got a natural, vegan one from the health food shop.

Here's what you need for the icing:

one tablespoon of vegan margarine
1/2 tub of Toffuti Better Than Cream Cheese
around about 2 cups of icing sugar



Here's what you do for the cupcakes:

Pour your soy milk and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl. Give them a whisk and pop the mixture aside. Sift all of your dry ingredients into one big bowl. Gradually stir in the soy milk mixture. Add the oil, vanilla extract and red food dye. How much dye you need will depend on the brand. Just add it gradually until the mixture is a nice dark red.

Fill your patty pans about 3/4 full and bake in a moderate oven for 20-25 minutes.






Here's what you do for the icing:

Place the cream cheese and margarine in a medium bowl. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until it is a thick, fluffy consistency.



When the cupcakes have cooled, ice them in any way that you please.

YUM!

DIY iPod Pouch!

Not so long ago, I got myself a new iPod. I needed something to keep it in, so I made this little pouch from some old teal fabric. Of course this is a super easy little project, which took me less than half an hour to complete. I think that the white piping along the edges makes it a little more special than your average drawstring bag! Ha



Here’s what you need:

- fabric of your choice for the bag itself
- fabric of your choice for the piping
- scissors
- thread
- a zipper presser foot for your sewing machine
- a sewing machine
- ribbon
- twine – I used hay bale twine as it’s nice to put something to use that is only going to be thrown out. Any old string should be fine.

First of all, begin by making your piping! You will need approximately 75cm of string and a long strip of your piping fabric – around 75cm by 3cm should do the trick. Place the string in the middle of the fabric, length ways, and fold the fabric over.



Using your zipper presser foot, sew down the fabric, as close to the string as possible.



Now cut out the fabric for the actual pouch. You will need two rectangles approximately 16cm by 11cm. Round off the bottom corners of each piece.

Place the two pieces of fabric together, with the right sides facing each other. Take your piping and insert it between the two pieces of fabric, along the edges of the bottom and two sides. Pin all three together. Now, still using your zipper foot, sew along the edges, as close to the piping as possible. It might be a little fiddly around the rounded edges. Turn it the right way out to check that the piping is sitting smoothly.

Cut out a strip of fabric around 20cm by 5cm. Turn your bag back inside out. Pin the strip around the top of the bag, with the beginning and ending of the strip at the front of the pouch. Pin the excess fabric back the other way and sew around the top.




Turn your bag the right way out, then flip the strip on top over so it’s on the outside. Fold the very bottom of the strip under and then poke your piping under too. Sew all around the bottom. Thread your ribbon around the top, tie it in a bow, and you’re done!

Too cute.

sew darn sweet

For my birthday a few months ago, my darlin’ little sister put together the sweetest present for me! She collected all kinds of sewing necessities and made me a little sewing kit!



She got this old second-hand basket and lined it with doilies! Then she sewed a little piece of embroidery to the top! So pretty.



She filled it with all kinds of sewing things. But my favourites are the little salt and pepper pin cushions!



This is such a great idea! All you need is the prettiest salt and pepper shakers you can find, and some cotton wool or stuffing. Take the bottoms off the shakers and stuff as much wool as possible through the holes. Squish it in nice and tight so the pins will stand up.



The shakers can hold quite a lot of pins and are a great way to put something old to use again, especially as no one uses salt and pepper shakers anymore!