tiny happy

It was Father's Day here last Sunday, and this is what I made for my Dad who (I think I've mentioned before) has a pretty sweet tooth. He liked these sweets that I made for him a while ago, so I thought I'd give him a new supply of fudge, but this time chocolate.

This is really and honestly the best recipe I know for chocolate fudge- no beating, no boiling- no fancy ingredients. I first saw it here a few Christmases ago and made some for a cake stall and small gifts. I don't have a microwave and never seem to have two blocks of chocolate in the cupboard (for obvious reasons) so this is how I make it. 

Wishing you a sweet weekend!

:: Easy and delicious chocolate fudge ::

1 block (about 200-250 grams) dark chocolate

1/2 tin sweetened condensed milk

2 tsps vanilla extract + any additions you wish to make (nuts, ginger, fruit, etc.)

waxed baking paper and a smallish baking pan or tin (mine is about 7" square)

Break up the chocolate and place it, along with the condensed milk, in a double boiler (or a smaller saucepan set over a larger one filled with water) and melt over a medium heat. Stir to mix and ensure that the chocolate doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. When the chocolate is completely melted, remove from heat, stir in vanilla and quickly transfer the mixture to the dish lined with baking paper. Chill for 1-2 hours then cut into small squares. 

A little in-progress shot of something I'm working on. Simple running stitches on black linen, nothing flash yet somehow pleasing to stitch, slowly and a bit wonk-ily. The idea was inspired by this photo I found on Pinterest a while back, from Anna Maria Horner's blog, but I can't find the exact location.

This album is on the stereo and the kids will be home soon. Not a bad afternoon. Hope your day is going well. 

Here's what I've been working on over the past week- three sets of three for my etsy shop update today. Not sure why I like making things in trios, but I do. I couldn't resist another wool embroidery session after last weeks' fun, especially once my fingers had recovered from some extreme stitching action.

And as you can see, I've had the stamp set out again, this time to stamp some heavy-duty linen which I thought paired really nicely with soft wool fabric to make these tote bags. I even dreamed about stamps last night… ha.

I've been enjoying Pip's blog Meet Me At Mike's a lot lately. She's very generous, I think, and shares her ideas and skills for so many things. Currently, she's reading James and The Giant Peach to her son, and recording it so he can listen whenever he likes. She shares her instructions for i-phone recording here. 

I've always loved the look of hand-printed linen, and it occured to me the other day that I could use my own hand-carved stamps on fabric. Not sure why it took me so long to figure that out. 

I used some of the simple small stamps that I made a while ago, and carved a new swallow/bird stamp so I could make bird + branch fabric. I do quite like the simple, understated look of block stamps. I'm thinking the possibilites are endless here… stamping clothes, bags, pillowcases, tea-towels… hmm. Better get back to work.

+++ playing with ceramic paints +++ mountainview from the beach +++ spring freesias +++ baby niece in a basket +++ father's day morning +++

It was a bright and shiny weekend here, with a night away in the country, cousins to visit, fabric shopping with a friend, a symphony orchestra and father's day too. 

Thank you to all the caring men out there- Happy Fathers Day!

When my friend K left our town for London in the middle of wintertime, she gave me a pair of gorgeous old linen curtains. They had originally been hanging in the living room of her beautiful house before she bought new ones (you can see them in their previous home here…)

I'd long admired their retro greeny lushness, so I decided to make them into curtains for our bedroom. It's so nice to see the spring sunlight shining through these in the morning, they match well with the tree-ferns outside that brush against the glass, and of course it's great to have a little of Karuna and her family in our home. 🙂

Have a great weekend and I'll see you again on Monday.

I had a bit of a do-it-yourself victory this week in the kitchen after finding a package of pearl barley at the back of the pantry. The children love that special lemon and barley drink you can buy in the supermarket and I decided to try making my own syrup. And also very satisfying, I followed Jenny's recipe to make a multi-purpose spray cleaner for around the kitchen, which is proving very useful indeed. In the past I've also used Hanna's one, which is also brilliant.

Because we have a very generous lemon tree, my recipe is for quite a large batch of this syrup- but you could easily scale it down. I bottled mine in sterilised jars that sealed so I'm thinking it should last a while in the pantry, and I have some to give away, too. And the kids are happy- it only takes a tiny slurp in the bottom of a glass of water to make lemonade, and is even nicer as hot drink. Hooray!

Lemon and Barley Syrup

You will need: 250 grams pearl barley, 400 grams sugar, about 20 lemons or other citrus (or enough to make 500mls lemon juice), 3 or 4 clean jars or bottles.

Wash the barley in hot water and rinse a few times. Place it in a medium saucepan with about 5 cups of water, and the peeled rind of 3 or 4 lemons. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about half an hour.

Meanwhile, juice and strain all the citrus fruit into another saucepan, then heat gently. Tip in the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved.

Using a sieve, strain the cooked barley and peel over a bowl (you might have to do so in batches) then add the liquid to the lemon and sugar mixture. 

Wash and dry your bottles or jars, and place them in a warm oven for 20 minutes or so. I also boil the lids in a small saucepan of water for a few minutes. Pour the hot syrup into your bottles and seal.

I must admit that my fingers are a bit sore after some recent serious embroidery sessions. I rediscovered a basket filled with vintage embroidery yarns that I'd bought in Norway. It's quite fun to stitch with them- they feel sturdy and vibrant under the fingers and I like the strong effect you can make with them on a wool fabric. I made a few daisy-inspired things for today's shop update.

I hope your Wednesday is going along happily. I have the front door and windows open and there's an old Madonna song playing on the radio. (Lucky Star.)

I've been working on this set of embroidered pins over the last few weeks. Each one was inspired by a different native NZ plant, many of them ferns. They were commissioned by Pauanesia, a great little design store in Auckland and they're headed there now. It was great fun researching the plants and working out how I would stitch each one, and it was a good challenge, too. 

I found this beautiful moth mobile on etsy the other day. It's by Amy Ruppel- she also has a hilarious Mean Birds series of prints. It's good to get the truth about birds, sometimes.

There seem to be magnolia trees flowering everywhere in our neighbourhood right now, and they look so beautiful I was getting jealous that we didn't have one in our backyard. There's not really room for any new big trees, but I managed to find this Little Gem magnolia plant, which I'm told will grow to about 5 metres and be covered in smaller creamy white blooms. I can't wait- please hurry and grow, little gem.

In the meantime I got some of my magnolia watercolour/drawings made up into postcard sets, so I can send them to friends and spread some magnolia love around. 

Happy new week to you!