Finishing the scarf... :)

These flowers...?...

...these buttons?...

...or maybe this flower....

Nope..going for first flower options...with buttons on other end. Had fun making this. I think I have the most fun with my spur of the moment creations...seems so amazing to make something practically out of nothing...and so virtuous! lol...didn't have to make any 'quick trips' to Spotlight!!!

Taking a Break from Ballgowns!!

(For some reason you can't click on these photos to make them open larger...anyone know why? I've uploaded them just the same as all others...taken on same camera etc...same with theLemon Curd photos...and yet the Chocolate Cake pics you can..???? And the pics above of my scarf you can...???)

ANYWAY......TODAY.....the world of ballgown mania is getting the best of me...VOGUE 2890...AAAGHHH!! You are SUPER FRUSTRATING!! Wrongly written and incorrectly instructed...not ok!!!
So I took a break from the 'things you need to do' and started in on the 'things you want to do'!! I've always had this thing with my kids to 'help' them prioritise when so many thing are demanding of their time (in their opinion!)..."well", I say.."do what you have to do/need to do, BEFORE doing what you want to do"...that way you take care of business and then play/pleasure. Mostly it was a way of saying "DO YOUR CHORES" before you go play/watch tv/go to the beach, or whatever. Works too...usually ;) So today...I IGNORED MY OWN GOOD ADVICE!! Kinda...the ballgown is pretty frustrating tho and it was just doing my head in...sooo..when I came across a piece of dusky pink t-shirting (NO idea where it came from or what I had it left over from)...I thought, oh, that would make a nice scarf...just the right colour for what i'm wearing now (dusky pastel shades...you know, end of winter you just want to STOP wearing black!!)...so I set about gathering bits of lace(vanilla dyed to look AND smell divine!) and vintage mother of pearl buttons, some beading and some flowers...and made...well.....a scarf!!...what do you think?

Here I've just sewn the lace pieces along each side...wider pink on one side, narrower beige on the other...I didn't want it just one length of lace...I cut it into even sized lengths, then sewed them one after the other, so that each one had cut edges 'free' every now and then along the length of the scarf...I like that for some reason!! This was to be a 'shabby chic' style scarf, y'know? Lots of 'raggedy' looking lace and trims hanging from one end, perhaps with a couple of my flowers to finish it off...so i had several styles of flowers to consider...


Laying out on my sadly oil spattered 100 yr old scrubbed Kauri kitchen table... :( Needs a sanding but that's a major work...well, not major..but probably a good day of getting it out on the deck and getting the electric sander going...dust everywhere..oh yay! Not today...today...its time to get on with the scarf and just not look at the oil slick!! ;) Ah see that BEAUTIFUL sunshine streaming in at the end of the table...yay..summer is coming!!!



So here is finished scarf with first choice of flower finish...a burnt edged flower with a rolled silk rose....or...

A stamped petal rosette...with vintage button centre...as it turned out the pink wasn't quite right so I went with the first choice. Really happy with how it turned out...

Oranges and Lemons say the Bells of St Clements...

Ah...what to do with a glut of lemons?? I LOVE lemony anything...but particularly good old-fashioned Lemon Curd (which we called lemon honey as children...others call lemon butter...but when I grew up and found the old fashioned name (yes, older than me!) was lemon curd...I 'adopted' that and so my children have grown up with Lemon Curd!)..but as the saying goes..."a rose by any other name, will still smell as sweet"...or something like that!! lol...ANYWAY...whatever you call it, it's delicious!!! I had a lot of lemons waiting patiently in a bowl on my kitchen bench so i made a double batch...I think it filled a quart preserving jar and a smaller (prob medium sized) jar with stopper...m..mmm!

So..I took 6 lemons and peeled them with a potato peeler.

Add this to 2 cups of white sugar in your food processor and 'zap' until the peel turns to zest and is finely spread throughout the sugar. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl.

Next add 8 free range eggs.

And 1 and 1/3 cups of lemon juice - probably a couple more lemons than what you use for the zest.

Add 130g butter, melted. I use salted butter because that's what we grew up with...we didn't have unsalted butter in NZ back in the day (!) and even now it is not commonly used in the home. But you may use unsalted if you wish.

Whisk altogether till smooth.

Now cook on high in your microwave in 2 minute bursts, whisking well each 2 minutes, until cooked...the mix will be thick and opaque. It should take around 8 minutes.

And you're done! A bowl of delicious bubbling lemony goodness!!

(while it's cooking, you could whip up some pancake mix ready to cook while the curd cools...m..mmm!!)

Pour the hot curd into hot jars (cookbooks would say sterilised jars, but I just fill them with really hot water while the curd is cooking and then empty and dry them immediately before cooking...works for me!) Leave till cool before putting lids on (or you'll get an unsightly 'puddle' of white liquid on the surface from condensation forming on the inside of your lid whilst the mixture cools)..store in your refrigerator (fridge)...

My double mix made a quart jar and a smaller, medium sized jam jar of curd. I just love the old Agee preserving jars which is why I use them...most people would bottle this up in small jam sized jars. Whatever you like, that's what you should do!

Enjoy on pikelets, pancakes, as a cake topping or filling, swirled thru whipped cream or simply spread on hot buttered toast or fresh bread!!

As Julia would say...Bon Appetit!!!

luv jessie xx

Oozing chocolatey goodness...

Soo...yesterday turned into an 'I wanna bake somethin' day...well actually, really a 'I wanna eat something desperately wickedly bad for me..."...and so I did!!
Been reading Ree Drummonds blog...have you seen it?! Oh my goodness, a gorgeous woman, homeschooler, wife, cattle rancher, cook, author..tv personality!!!!(and not in that particular order) She has written a cookbook The Pioneer Woman Cooks...I've just ordered a copy from Amazon and it's winging it's way to me AS WE SPEAK!! ...actually probably swimming to me...taking 6-8 weeks to get here! who knows?!! but for twice the shipping cost I could have it in a week! (but twice the shipping was 3x the cost of the book!!! seriouslY!!!) So it's a lesson in patience for me...BUT in the meantime...i was seduced by her Chocolate Sheet Cake...FULL of butter..m..mmmm...and chocolatey goodness...whipped up in about 8 mins, cooked in 20, iced in 1 and in our mouths before you could say "a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips"..haha..so..ALL GOOD!! And it was(is)...scrumptious...warm from the oven, with warm frosting...aaaahhhhh....and then today with coffee...deliciously dense but not too rich...a really good cake that you can whip up for unexpected guests, then graze on it all week!! ...if there's any leftover at all...
Oozy goodness in the pan....(tiny lumps of icing sugar but never mind...didn't whisk it enough I was too anxious to gobble it up!)...

The warm frosting just dribbling over the edge ....



Couple pieces on the plate....(just for the photo, you understand...we didn't eat 2 pieces each!!) Seriously...google the recipe and have a go...you'll be glad you did...and so will everyone around you!! (perhaps not your calorie conscious friends!!) But hey...you only live once!!
If i can have only one vice...let it be BUTTER.!!(OK...chocolate and maybe coffee are the others!)

I just watched Julie and Julia again last night...LOVE that movie...it was what inpsired me to try my hand at blogging...but ahh, the butter - used with abandon! And the deliciousness of the movie...I so loved it...that could be a movie I could own, and watch several times...not many that I could. I can't wait to go to France...be still my heart...and patient my soul!
ciao bellas
jessie xx

And my 'baby' at her Year 12 Ball tonight...

A couple of pics of my gorgeous Beth at her first ball...with her special friend Jono. Aren't they adorable?! She made her balldress herself at school in sewing (or, Textiles Technology, as it's called here in NZ!! Whatever!!)
Anyway...so proud of her making a beautiful job of the gown...and she was so pleased with it herself. Ah they grow up so fast! My baby!! (16)

Ballgown progress...slowly...

Finally feel like I'm making progress with Beth's ballgown...due Sept 18th. She has been making her own one at school for her Year 12 ball TONIGHT! (PICS UP LATER!!)..and has made a beautiful job of it...and this one is for her boyfriends Year 13 Ball in September...can't wear the same dress...OF COURSE1 (can't wear any of your sister's dresses from previous years either! ..sadly...got 3 of them in my wardrobe!!) Anyway...here is the Vogue pattern I am making...
Just about ready to sew bodice front to bodice back...there are three layers...the outer, the lining and the 'foundation bodice'...and in fact there was meant to be FOUR layers...two of the outer fabric however we want the sheen of the white satin fabric to come thru the chiffon so are not doing double chiffon...the pattern instructions are W-R-O-N-G!! Aaaghhh!! I'm a pretty good seamstress but I REALLY like to double check things as I go (is that a type A personality??!!lol)..anyway, so I interfaced and sewed the back bodice pieces (four of them) together...double checked...oh no! I'd interfaced the lining, not the foundation,(which, confusingly are both made of the same fabric, neither of which are actual 'lining'!! and so look exactly the same...)... which meant I'd interfaced the WRONG SIDE!. Couldn't believe it...so recut and sewed...double checked...no..wait! it was right the first time...recut, resewed...had lots of 'tearing my hair out' moments...had to 'STEP AWAY FROM THE SEWING TABLE" on many occasions!!
FINALLY....I sat down and had ANOTHER good read of the pattern..over and over it ...and found the mistakes in the pattern!!...pictures and all...I wish I could take the time to write to Vogue...but too late now I guess. ( I then recalled the shop assistant at Spotlight asking me if I was making a vogue pattern when I went back for more fabric, and her telling me a customer had come back because the pattern was ...you guessed it...WRONG!!)
anyway...the bodice IS half done...yay...looking good and fitting SO nicely...but taking a break today...from all things fabric! lol
(will put some pics up soonish..)
Thanks for checking out my blog today!
have a great weekend
ciao bellas!
jessie xx

Deliciousness for your feet...

From Anthropologie ...absolute deliciousness for your feet...check out these GORGEOUS shoes for the handcrafting woman! Crotcheted trims, interwoven ribbon, shabby edges, ruffles...BE STILL MY HEART!!! Can you tell I LOOOOVE shoes?? So expensive for us here in NZ tho, these styles...from $180 nz to $650 nz..ouch (average wage is about$15 per hour!!)...anyways...let me know what you think...:)

Can you help me? I NEED TACKY GLUE!!!

Ah blogorettes...can you help me? I am trying to buy Fabri-Tak or Ayleens Tacky Glue online but cannot find a company that sells outside the States...so wondering...is there anyone out there who could purchase some tacky glue for me and send it to me? I will most happily send you a money order/bank transfer to cover cost and postage. We CANNOT get tacky glue in NZ..and the THREE...yes T-H-R-E-E brands I have bought, ALL saying - fast drying, superior 'grab', excellent for work with fabric, paper etc....NONE of which dries in less than an hour!! Or completely soaks into my fabric!! Aaaghhhh!!!! So frustrating....deep breath...calm yourself Jessie! ;)

OK..will wait to hear from anyone who can help...:) :)
ciao bellas
xx jessie

Yay adding links...

Hey thanks for your help with me adding links Debra - you're a GENIUS!...trying it here. Do go over to Debra's gorgeous blog...it's worth the trip! (Phew - finally found a fellow blogger who has a url name longer than mine!! lol) Make a cuppa and sit back...she's got a fab giveaway going as I wrote about yesterday...just my 'cup of tea'..haha (even tho I'm a coffee girl!!) So check it out! Today! She also has two other blogs, one a bible study A Day in the Life, so if that's your thing, take your cuppa there! Blogging with Jesus! haha ;)
Ok girlies...no time just now...got sick daughter who desperately needs som cold and flu tablets and a cold lounge that needs warming up...so a trip to the chemist (pharmacy) and back to light the fire...off we go.
ciao bellas
jessie xx

Just a quick word...

ok girls...wanted to add a link to commonground-debrasvintageblogspot.com but could only save the pic above...so please pop over to her blog and check this out...gorgeous blog and fab giveaway...(can anyone tell me how to add links into the text so that they change colour or underline and when you click on the actual word, you get redirected to their page? I've NO IDEA how to do that...but would so love to mention many blogs here and enable you to go 'wandering' thru the blogging world that so fascinates me!! Thanks for any help coming!...now go check out Debras blog and giveaway...off you go...!! :)



Ciao bellas...i'm off to bed before midnight for a change...3 mins to go!! lol
nitey nite
blessings...jessie xx

A bit more ruffliciousness... :)

And a little more ruffle-liciousness coming your way...i'm enjoying this time making some more bags...and now have opened a little Etsy store...oh, how to put that on the blog...hmm...help?!!



Oops, a bit on the blurry side...camera not playing ball...well they can't can they? lol...but cameras and me...not the best match right now...mind you, it is 12.12am...and I should be tucked up in bed...but wanted to put the bags on Etsy...so...all done now. Yay!

And here's just a cute wee pic of what's sitting on my sideboard just now, amongst the family photos...don't you love the week vintage baby's shoes? I just couldn't resist them at my favourite local (and only!) vintage store...saw them a few months ago and hummed and hahed about getting them...decided no...went back a week later in a weak moment! but alas...they were nowhere to be found. "just as well" I thought...but what was there this week when i went in?? YES! There they were...that was a sign, don't you think? Who knows WHAT my hubby will think when he comes home and finds old baby's shoes on the sideboard (that only arrived last time he was away!)...haha..lucky he doesn't mind changes happening whilst he's away :) He's gorgeous..and he loves me!! hehe.

Well...best be off to bed...nitey nite girls...sweet dreams.
luv and blessings
jessie x

Be still my ruffled heart.... :)

OKaaaaaY!!! I've been quite excited at the prospect of making a 'ruffle bag' (tote!) after spying some on Etsy and thinking...oooohh, maybe I could make some of those...great presents!! Sooo..got out an old white damask tablecloth that I've had in a box with lots of others since I don't know when...got them at an antiques and collectibles auction maybe...4 years ago??...and they've sat in a box ever since...waiting to become something or other...they were actually a bonus...can't remember the actual thing I wanted in the auction, but these came with it! SO!...out with the tea bags (earl gray cos I never use them!)...into the big mixing bowl...soak...soak...outside to hang on balcony to dry in the oh so wonderful sunshine!!

So it started like this....white and ready to go...



Here it is hanging drying over the last of my ornamental kale...it's on it's way to the compost but still looked all frilly and lovely...so took a pic of it beneath my drying tablecloth!!..just cos...


And again....

And then it became ..this...the top one...it's on top of a white cloth to show the contrast, but the rooms too bright I think...ah well...you can see it's changed colour! Now a nice old vintagey look..



And here is where I should have taken photos 'as I went'...but forgot! Got too excited to get it made...ah well...(dunno why this is blue and underlining...???)
So...VOILA! My very first ruffled tote...and not too bad if I do say so myself!! I mitred the bottom corners so it will stand up when it has stuff in it...i really don't like bags that have to lean against something in order to stand. Ok...now to accessorize...all my lovely flowers come into play now....


So maybe a couple of burnt edged (a la Bryanna..thanks B!!) on a silk ruffle...or...
maybe a couple of silk roses...pink from a scarf at thrift shop...taupe from a top I cut up!..mentioned in previous post...

..or a taupe silk with a green linen?? from an old teatowel from my mum (thanks mum!)...the colours don't show too well sorry...lighting...
Anyways...what do you think? I"ve decided to make them into pins and then they can be changed to suit my mood...or the mood of the recipient as I make a couple more to give as gifts.
I LOVE BLOGGING!! IF I hadn't discovered this wonderful world of bloggin sisterhood, i'd never have made gorgeous flowers and bags and whatever i'm going to try my hand at next!! As if I haven't got enough to do over the next couple of months, and I really should have been working on Beths balldress today, but I truly am of the 'microwave generation' (I know, that's meant to be my kids, but alas..no..it's me..) ...INSTANT GRATIFICATION! I WANT IT..AND I WANT IT NOW!! That's why I love making things I can start and finish in a day...SO SATISFYING! And then I"ve got it...right away!!
ok...better get making these flower pins/brooches so I can try out my bag soon...well, soon as my eyes have healed and I can face the world again! (bit of a freakshow right now...don't want to scare any small dogs or children!! ;)
Thanks for stopping by :)
blessings...jessie x

A Beautiful Day Downunder :)

So today girls is a beautiful day...the sun is gorgeous, the warmth just soaks into my bones...I LOVE NELSON!! We are pretty lucky really here in Nelson..our winter is practically winterless..I KNOW..I've just been moaning about the cold and the rain! But today's a new day! Thankyou Lord! If I wake and it's sunny, I just KNOW it's going to be a good day.

Took some pics of some of my favourite crosses around my house...I am really drawn to crosses of all kinds...have I don't know how many cross necklaces and earrings...just love them..what they represent and yet just simply they touch my soul...somehow. Hope you like them too...
I totally love hearts as well...
OK...wellll...coffee stirs my soul tooo!! lol...just had to slip this one in...isn't it gorgeous? Vintage look, tho not actually vintage! Love it!And of course my own dinky little coffee maker DEFINITELY stirs my heart...mmm...think it's aroma is calling to me as i 'speak'..haha
And some 'thrift shop' (second hand shops we call em)..finds...LOVE this old metal cake storer..
And a wee collection of things that warm my heart...cast gem irons that were my mums, elephant pie funnel, ex mum, old cocoa tin and old tobacco tin now used as string holder..and a couple of old squashed bottle caps (bottle tops) just because..lol...I love using old rusty looking bits and bobs in my art/scrapping...Well..I think thats me for today...it takes an age to upload pics doesn't it?? And then to find the light wasn't so great so they're not ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS DAHLING! shots...ah well! not to worry...life is like that eh? Not perfect, but definitely worth showing off!!
Have a good day my fellow bloggerettes!
jessie xx