Daisy Chains and Picnics

I wanted some cactus art work for our summer house but didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that would possibly get sun bleached so I decided to channel my inner artist 😆 and attempt something myself. I bought a couple of blank canvases and some acrylic paints then set to work. I can't profess to be an artist of any shape or form but thought I would give it a go. I started with pencil drawing a cactus shape onto the canvas which to start with resembled a squashed lobster 😏 Then started painting, I was worried that I would take it too seriously and give up because they wouldn't be perfect but I actually found it therapeutic. The girls even got involved by painting the sand and sky I am really pleased with the finished results, not bad for a first attempt 👌 and what's even better is that they are unique and were done as a family project.

  My kids love anything with sprinkles, come on!, who doesn't love the humble sprinkle, those teeny tiny colourful bits of sugary fun that remind you of your own childhood, they brighten up any dessert or cake. This is the mother of all movie night snacks. Make them, choose a movie, settle down for the evening and enjoy them, because no Saturday night sleepover is complete without popcorn!! These are great to get the kids involved, soak up some of that school holiday boredom, a ll you need is some ready popped popcorn, melted white chocolate and sprinkles. Dip popcorn half way in melted chocolate Then dip in sprinkles Lay out on a board covered with baking paper and refrigerate until hardened. Grab a movie and enjoy.

A delicious refreshing drink for anytime of the year, so easy to make even the kids can join in 🍓🍋 Ingredients 6 large strawberries, husked and 1/4   1 Tbsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp lemonade 1 Tsp sugar Method Put all above ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour puree into a tall glass about 1/3 rd way up. Top with fizzy lemonade, garnish with strawberries.

One day during the holidays my youngest wanted to bake cookies, when I asked if she wanted to put anything in them or on them she chose sprinkles, getting out my wide variety of sprinkle containers she couldn't decide on which one, well you know with kids, the more the better, never less is more so she sprinkled a whole heap of different shaped and coloured sprinkles on top of the cookies, once baked they actually looked quite effective. So I decided to try it myself, I put a variety of sprinkles in a bowl, mixed them up a bit and set to work. Ingredients 120 g unsalted butter 120 g granulated sugar 250 g plain flour 1 egg, beaten 1 Tbsp milk 1 Tsp vanilla essence 1/2 Tsp baking powder 1/4 Tsp salt mix of various sprinkles Method 1.  Preheat oven to 180° C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. 2.  Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. 3.  Using an electric stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light ...

I found this gorgeous scarf in the charity shop and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Remember my turn a tea towel into wall art post a while back, well this is another DIY wall art that is gracing the wall in our family room. Simple yet effective I love the uniqueness of these pictures. What you need.. .   A pretty scarf  .   Photo frame of your size choice .   Cardboard Step 1.   Iron scarf. Take back off frame. Neatly fold scarf around cardboard, making sure the front is tight and straight. Step 2.   When folded, place into frame and carefully put the back of frame on top of the folded scarf and close the tabs. Ready to hang somewhere it can be admired 👌

A delicious alternative breakfast, baked instead of fried. This can be made with any kind of bread. The ingredients is for a single serve, just double up ingredients per more servings. Ingredients per serve 2 slices brioche bread 2 mushrooms, sliced 1-2 slices deli ham, roughly chopped 2 cherry tomatoes, sliced sprinkle of dried chives 1/4 Tsp grated Parmesan cheese Method 1.  Preheat oven to 200° C. Grease ramekin with butter. Lightly fry mushrooms until golden.  2.  Cut crusts off bread, flatten slightly with a rolling pin, cut bread into triangles and line the ramekin with the bread, pushing down gently, drizzle and brush round with olive oil. Bake for 4-5 minutes. 3.  Take out of oven and layer mushrooms, ham and tomatoes, sprinkle with a little dried chives. Carefully crack egg on top, season with salt & pepper, sprinkle with Parmesan. 4.  Return to oven, bake for 12-15 minutes or until egg is cooked...

There are so many pretty patterned tea towels to buy, it almost seems a shame to use these works of art as towels. I came across this beauty in Target a while back and decided it was much to cute to use and wanted to frame it for our family room. What you need.. .   A tea towel of your choice .  A picture   frame of your preferred size .   Scissors .   Sticky tape or staples Step 1.  Iron tea towel. Take back off of frame. Place the frame backing on the back side of the towel and measure how much you need to cut off to fit snuggly in frame, allow at least 1 1/2 - 2 " for folding over. Cut tea towel to size. Step 2.  Fold over corners and stick down with sticky tape or staples, I just used sticky tape for ease and it has held in place no problem. Place the covered frame backing into the frame and close the tabs. That is all there is to it, and now you have an unusual piece of wall art that wi...

View of Maria Island from Raspins beach As it was a beautiful day on Saturday, Scott and I took a leisurely drive along the east coast towards Orford and Triabunna stopping to take photos of the stunning scenery along the way. As it was lunch time when we arrived in Triabunna we decided to have a seafood takeaway from The Fish Van, they also serve burgers. We have eaten here before and it is amazingly fresh and tasty, cooked while you wait the seafood then comes to you arranged in a large paper cone. Triabunna is also the departure point for the Maria Island National Park which we have yet to experience.   The delicious seafood basket from The Fish Van We also indulged in a Cray pie from The Fish Van and at only $8 this beauty was value for money, chock full of delicious sweet cray. We stopped off for a refresher from The Blue Waters hotel in Orford It is such a beautiful part of Tassie to enjoy a leisurely weekend drive. ...