Day to Day

Market find

One of my favourite things is finding little treasures at op shops, garage sales or markets.  It's not often that I make it to garage sales or markets anymore, usually only if we're out and about and happen to stumble across one.  Op shops (thrift stores) are a different thing - I call into them all the time, simply to hunt down woollen jumpers to felt. Oh, I found three of those this week and one was the prettiest yellow - it's hanging on the line drying right now, all felted and yummy.

Anyhow, I found these little gems at a market several years ago.  They were a whole 50 cents - I know, how could I pass them up?  James used to play with them when he was small and Bella has made several designs over the years as well.  They live in a tupperware container in our games cupboard, perfect for rainy day weather and those moments of I'm bored, Mum. 

What are your best op-shop finds?  Do you go to markets, garage sales and op-shops?  Is there something you're secretly hoping to find one day?  I always keep my eyes peeled for Blythe dolls and vintage quilts!

Celebration week

{photo source}

Thanks so much for playing along with my celebration week blog posts.  Thank you also to all of my lovely guest bloggers that joined in:

Lynda from Live. Travel. Blog.

Katrina from Windsor Deli.

Jodie from Kitty Robot.

Aleta from Hinterland Mama.

Tamar from A Collection of Thoughts.

Tammy from Girls wear Blue too.

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There's also time to enter my two give aways that are still open:

A Tarisota Collection + 12 hand made flowers - go HERE.

Purse kit - go HERE.

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Plus, don't forget the two special offers:

15% off coupon available at the Kittyrobot Etsy store, available for one week (ending 5th May 2011), simply use the code: CRAFTY on checkout for your discount. Go HERE.

25% off available at Tall Poppy Craft Products, available for one month (ending 28th May 2011), simply use the code: ONECRAFTYMUMMA on checkout for your discount.  Go HERE.

Now, time to announce the first give away winner for the pattern and charm square pack:

Cindy said...

Yay! I get to participate in this one! Thanks Mel.

Cindy Bee

Cindy, can you please email me your address details (goodsellmx@internode.on.net) and I'll pop your goodies in the mail this week.

Celebration! Guest blogger: Live. Travel. Blog.

My second guest blogger for today is the delightful Lynda from Live. Travel. Blog.  If you're looking for an inspiring and interesting travel blog to add to your list, Live. Travel. Blog. is the one.  I've been popping over there for a few months now and love reading about Lynda's travel tips and trips that she generously shares.

As you know, I recently had the pleasure of visiting Hong Kong Disneyland (those blog posts are coming very soon, I promise) so when Lynda sent me through this post of her USA Disneyland travels, I found myself drooling, looking back through my own Disney photos and wishing that I could hop on a plane and fly straight over to Florida.  

So, enjoy!  I'll hand you over to Lynda now and I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did :)

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Holla! I'm Lynda, a wannabe travel writer who, for the time being, has settled with travel blogging over at Live. Travel. Blog. Having just hit the big quarter of a century last month, the fact that I haven't skipped the country in seven months has left me twitching in anxiety... I call this my quarter life crisis. My aim is to see as much of the world as I can before I hit 30 and right now, I'm sitting on 23 countries so I think I'm doing kinda OK. I blog about my crazy adventures abroad, my quest to move to the USA, my year spent working at the happiest place on earth (Disney World) and I also enjoy analysing social media within the travel and tourism industry. I have an incurable case of twitter obsession (@lynnie11) and I am in love with my obese cat, Cookie. 

Wishes Really Do Come True!

Like most children growing up, I dreamed of going to Disneyland. Yep, I was a dreamer - I wanted to frolic down Main Street USA towards the magical Castle, fly with Tinkerbell and Peter Pan and high five Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Fast forward through to 2009 and my dreams became somewhat a reality, only there was a slight catch… I wasn’t only going to be visiting Disney on vacation, but I was actually going to be working there for 12 months… and not just Disneyland, but Disney World!

Walt Disney World is located in Orlando, Florida USA and is the largest of the five Disney resorts around the globe. Unlike all the other Disneyland’s that are made up of only one theme park, Disney World features four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom), two water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), a Downtown Disney entertainment precinct and a whopping 25 themed resorts ranging from value accommodation to the ultimate in luxury! Employing over 60,000 cast members alone, Disney World is almost like its own little country.

Working at Disney World had its perks – I was able to visit any park I wanted on any day I wanted as many times as I wanted! Yep, life was sweet and let me tell you, no body throws an event or party quite like Disney!

The fun starts blooming in March when Epcot kicks off its yearly festivities with the Epcot International Flower & Garden Show. These are topiaries like you’ve never seen them before – Disney style! All your favourite Disney characters are on display in tree-form and the park is buzzing with colour and style.

In May, the force was with me. Why? Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, of course!!! I may have been just a tad too excited for this event, you see, I am some what a tomboy having been raised in between an older and younger brother and being the only girl, I was brought up in a Star Wars-loving environment. When you cross Mickey with Anakin Skywalker and R2D2 dons a pair of Mickey ears, you just know it’s going to be a great day!

September came around and it’s back to Epcot for the International Food and Wine Festival. Epcot is unique in that it’s a theme park that focuses on cultural differences. It is made up of a ‘showcase experience’ that takes you through 11 different countries ranging from Canada and China through to Morocco – it’s awesome. The main focus of the Food & Wine festival is to “eat your way around the world.” Each country showcases the best of its edible offerings for the festival. My belly promised to remain on its best behaviour for the day while letting me chow down copious amounts of delectable global noms!

Spooky season comes around in October and we’re off to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! The park has a complete make over to get into the Halloween spirit and during the special night time events, guests are encouraged to dress up in costume to get into the spirit of the holiday. This is a family-friendly fright-fest featuring parades, trick-or-treating, face painting and a whole heap more!

Once Thanksgiving has passed in November, the official holiday season kicks off right around Disney World. It begins with The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Basically they take one entire section of the park and deck it out in Christmas lights from bottom to top. At night, the 5-million fairy lights dance (flash) to the tunes of Christmas carols that jingle throughout the crisp, night air while faux snow flurries fall from the sky.

From here it’s back to Epcot for the Candlelight Processional. Every few days over this month-long event, different celebrities are invited to read the Christmas Story to the guests in attendance, backed by a full band and choir. People queue for hours in the mere 10˚C (this is freezing cold weather for Florida) to score themselves a seat for this line up. The session I attended back in 2009 was lead by Whoopi Goldberg and was absolutely sensational.

Well, like they say, you save the best until last, and Disney definitely does this. Held at Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party was, hands down, the highlight of my entire time at Disney. As cliché as it sounds, it was so magical, I actually cried, several times – happy tears. The extended holiday fireworks show over a frosted Christmas Castle was one of the most spectacularly stunning things I’ve ever seen in my life; it honestly left me speechless, and if you know me well, you’d know this does not happen often. Mickey’s Very Merry is definitely something everyone needs to attend at least once in their lifetime!

Blythe doll house extension - part 2

My second guest blogger post for the day should have been magically appearing right now, but the photos aren't quite loading properly onto the post for me, so I will be back a little later in the day once I get it sorted.  For now, I'll share our Blythe doll house extension - part 2!

In the past few days Bella has been doing a whole lot of planning and dreaming about her dolly house.  Paint samples have been acquired, quick floor plans sketched out on paper and there's been a whole lot of  - when is it going to be finished, Dad?

She's been drawing a lot of inspiration from Georgia's lovely dolly house that appeared in Frankie magazine a few months ago, pouring over all the details inside. Below is a super quick sketch of what the bedroom is going to look like.  I might add that we don't actually own the bed, bunk beds or wardrobe that features in the drawing, but it's all about the planning and dreaming, right?

Working out which wall colour to use in which room is a tricky process, apparently.

Here's our Richard's structural progress.  He's up to the filling in the imperfections at the moment and then sanding, joining it properly to the original box and undercoating is on the plan for the weekend.

Perhaps by the end of next week it might even be ready for flooring, we'll see.  In the mean time I'm just enjoying watching Bella's designing  progress and excitement build.  

P.S. Just so you get an idea of size, it's huge! The three levels are now sitting at 1.1 metre high and 70cm in width - eventually they'll be a triangular roof structure added as well, to make it more 'house' like.

P.P.S. I'll see you back here as soon as I get these photos sorted!

Giveaway - A Tarisota Collection + Handmade flowers

Hello again :)  I am so happy to bring you this wonderful giveaway from the generous Tamar at Tarisota Collections.   The give away includes one of her paper crafting collections and the sweetest fabric flowers. These are a new product Tamar will be offering to match with her collections but for my readers she has made a special rainbow dotty set.

One lucky winner will receive a Lost Wonderland Collection (pictured) 

and one dozen flowers - they are 2.5 inches wide - 6 dotty colours and 6 pretty cream.

Over the weekend there will be a new gallery at Tarisota and lots of lovely scrapping goodies for my papercrafting readers. So do keep an eye on Tamar's blog for all the announcements.

To enter the give away, leave a comment on this post and I'll close off the entries on Wednesday evening (4th May 2011) and announce the winner on Thursday.  Good luck!

I'll be back again a bit later with another lovely guest blogger.

**This give away is now closed**

Guest Blogger: Windsor Deli

My first guest blogger for today is the lovely Katrina from Windsor Deli.  You've all met Katrina on my blog before, when she shared her delicious Monte Carlo recipe.  Today she is kindly sharing a scrumptious Lemon Curd recipe that she used to make with her Grandma. I know this is another one that I need to whip up soon, it looks totally yum.

If you're in Melbourne, you can pop over and visit Katrina at Windsor Deli here:

33 Hornby Street, Windsor.  Or phone (03) 95293001

Over to Katrina for now and I'll be back at lunch time with another give away for you all :)

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Hello! My name is Katrina Higham and I am the proud owner of Windsor Deli in Melbourne with my husband. 

Being a lover of home-made classics and revamping some old school treats, the one I wanted to share with Mel’s lovely readers was a Lemon Curd that I used to make with my grandma. She would make this and spread it into a sweet tart pastry and have it with whipped cream. You could also use this classic with crushed meringue and some fresh strawberries, similar to Eton Mess.

Lemon Curd 

5 lemons (zest and juice)

250g sugar

120g butter, room temperature

6 eggs

Method

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice until just combined. Add the butter.

2. In a medium sized saucepan add two cups of water and bring to the boil. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan and whisk slowly until the butter has melted and been completely incorporated. 

3. Bring the curd to 80°c. Take it off the double boiler and continue to whisk for a further 4-5 minutes to help cool. 

4. Place it in a sterilized jar or container and place in the refrigerator until cool. 

By Katrina Higham

http:www.katrinahigham.com

Guest Blogger: Kittyrobot + special offer

My second guest blogger for today is the lovely and talented Jodie from one of my most favourite handmade Etsy stores, Kittyrobot.  We have quite a few treasures from Kittyrobot in our house and Bella is especially fond of everything in the store - cute necklaces, buttons, pretty rings - you name it and it's on her wish list!

Kittyrobot is also offering an awesome 15% off for all of my readers - see details below.

Okay, I'll sign off and hand you over to Jodie :)  See you tomorrow morning. xox

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Hi everyone! My name is Jodie, I am one half of a little handmade shop called Kittyrobot, and blog at jodiekittyrobot.
It's exciting to be included in Melissa's celebration week, and to introduce you to Kittyrobot.

Kittyrobot began back in 2007 on Etsy.com, it started out as mostly a handmade button shop, we loved creating with clay, and creating something a little different, with crafters, especially sewers and Scrapbooker's in mind, so we started stocking a wide range of quirky buttons made with sculpey, and it grew from there.

Over the years Kittyrobot has expanded to include fabric buttons, and hand cast resin buttons, which are made using classic designs, that come colored, glittered, or even full of real cake sprinkles embedded, kind of like candy, you can craft with! 

We also have a number of wearable cuties, like Cupcakes, bikes, birds, flowers, robots, and other assorted things, in the form of rings, necklaces, earrings and pins, created with a mixture of mediums like clay, plastic, and resin, and the occasional one of a kind sewn piece too.

I am a sucker for all things cute, kawaii, retro and kitsch, adorable animals, and kittens, all with a little hint of pretty vintage, and so we like to combine all of those elements together, to bring forward unique, bright and fun original pieces other crafty lovers can use in their projects, to add a little bit of quirky cuteness, and to provide something that people can wear on a daily basis, to bring a smile to their face.

Everything in the shop is handmade at home, in Newcastle, on the east coast of Australia, and available online at: Etsy as well as Madeit.




To share some love, for Melissa's Celebration week, we would love to share a discount to Mel's blog readers.

We have a special 15%off coupon available at the Kittyrobot Etsy store, available for one week (ending 5th May 2011), simply use the code: CRAFTY on checkout at etsy, for your discount! 

LOCATION: Kittyrobot (on Etsy) - go HERE.
DISCOUNT: 15% OFF Total Order
CODE: CRAFTY

Thanks for stopping by my guest post, and Happy celebration Mel!

xx

Give away - Purse kit + 25% discount for purchases

Hello again :)  My give away today is a clamshell purse kit from Tall Poppy Craft Products.  The give away includes the completed purse (pink one above) and a "blank" purse to make your own version.  It's a no-sew project that is very quick and easy to make, you'll just need some cute fabric from your stash.

In addition to the purse kit, Tall Poppy Craft Products are offering 25% off all orders for my readers.  The special offer will run for one month (from today) so you have a little bit of time to use the discount code.

To receive the discount, enter the following coupon code when placing your order:

ONECRAFTYMUMMA

Go HERE to start shopping.

To enter the give away, leave a comment on this post and I'll close off the entries on Tuesday evening (3rd May 2011) and announce the winner on Wednesday.  Goodluck!

I'll be back again a bit later this evening with another lovely guest blogger.

**This competition is now closed**

How to make a scrunchie

For my celebration tutorial today, I thought I'd share something fast and easy - scrunchies!  They're great for piggy tails and pony tails on little (or big) girls.

You'll need:

♥ Fabric scrap - (x2) 56cm X 5cm

♥ Elastic - 22cm

♥ Sewing machine + pins + needle + cotton + small safety pin

Step 1: Cut out two fabric rectangles for the scrunchie - each measuring 56cm X 5cm.

Step 2: Place right sides together and sew down one of the 56cm side seams.

Step 3: Now the two lengths have been joined, fold the end seam in about 1cm and pin (see above step photo).

Step 4: Place right sides together again and stitch along the second 56cm length.

You've now created a tube :)

Step 5: Turn the tube, right side out. Cut a 22cm piece of elastic - pop a pin in the end for easy threading.

Step 6: Thread the elastic through the tube and tie in a knot to join.

Step 7: Close the fabric tube and add a few stitches to hold into position.

Ta-da! You're all done :)  These are also great sellers for school fairs - whip up a batch and pop in some nice cellophane bags.

I'll be back around 4pm with another give away :)

Guest blogger: Hinterland Mama

Today I'd like to introduce the lovely Aleta, from Hinterland Mama.  Aleta is sharing a wonderful muffin recipe, but I also wanted to mention a great tutorial that caught my eye on her blog. 

Making your own hoola hoops! Pop HERE to view the tutorial.

I'll be back at lunch time with another tutorial.  Now, over to Aleta:

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Hi! I’m Aleta. Mel has kindly invited me to be a guest blogger here on One Crafty Mumma (Thanks Mel  ღ).

My blog “ Hinterland Mama “ shares  many of the things I find ‘delectable, creative, natural and nourishing’, in our daily lives. I use it as a record of the activities my family get up to (both for big & little fingers); many kinds of crafting, healthy cooking, gardening & all other manner of goings-on!

You’ll find tutorials, links, recipes and ideas to hopefully help you nurture your own family and yourself.

I would like to share one of my most popular muffin recipes with you, which I bake for friends and family.

 

Aleta’s Tasty Date & Orange Muffins

(Healthy ~ Egg & Sugar & Lactose free)

1 cup dates (½ + ½ cup)

1 cup warm water

½ of a whole orange

2T Ghee (or a light oil)

1 t (or 1 pod, seeds) vanilla

2 cups wholemeal plain flour  

2 t baking powder (OR omit the baking powder & use 2 cups of wholemeal Self Raising Flour)

½ cup soy milk (or any milk!)

[Optional - 1T of maple syrup or honey – if more sweetness required}

 

Grease a 12 pan muffin tray. Warm oven to moderate (180°c for most ovens)

 

Soak ½ cup of dates for about 20mins in warm water

Cut the pith from the orange and remove any seeds – keep the flesh and rind

In a food processor, blend the dates, soaking water, kept orange, ghee (syrup) & vanilla to desired consistency. (=wet mix)

Separately combine flour & baking powder. (=dry mix)

Chop up remaining ½ cup of dates.

Combine wet mix, dry mix, dates & milk all together by hand and spoon into greased muffin tin or patty pans.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15- 20 mins

(or until you can smell them and they spring back when lightly pressed in the center!)

Hope you enjoy them  J

I’d love you to drop by and say Hi at  Hinterland Mama  sometime!