Hillary's Blinds Country Crafts Competition

Free fabric!

Did I read that right?

Oh my... fabric... for free... how could any fabric addict pass up such an opportunity?

There must be a catch?

Oh look darn there is a catch, I have to make something with it, such a shame because you know I don't like being creative at all *sigh* :D

Yeah right I think Mr Mouse would be seriously worried if I not only passed up an opportunity for free fabric but then couldn't work out something to make with it.

The free fabric came courtesy of Hillary's Blinds as part of their Country Crafts Competion. I had a choice between four different designs in their new Country Retreat range and they are simply stunning but for me the Bird Paradise in Teal really stands out as a winner so this is what I picked.

I might have actually squeaked with delight when the fabric came as it is really gorgeous, I don't think pictures will ever do it justice.

But then the dilemma what to make.

I though about using it as panels in a skirt, but I didn't have any similar weight fabric in my stash, then I decided on a bag and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to take the mini bunny eared tote I designed and made last year and scale it up to a full sized tote.

The original mini bunny eared tote

So what was my inspiration for this tote?

Well I do love my bunnies.

But also have you ever been carrying a tote and wishing that it had different handles?

Well I have and its just annoying when you want to hoist that bag up on your shoulders but the handles are just far too short, or you want to carry your bag in your hand and the handles are so long that you end up wrapping them around your hand, which is a pain in itself. Even worse when the handle are just too short and long all at the same time.

So I came up with bunny ears for handles.

Ta-Dah

Simply tie for desired length, simples.

So here we have it a full sized bunny eared tote in the most gorgeous fabric ever:

Being a large tote I did add a little pocket on the inside:

actually its a little double pocket 

But in future I will also add an internal security zipped pocket and a magnetic closure to the main bag.

But.....

Well.........

I still had some fabric left.......

So.......

Mini bunny eared tote

Another small version. This one I used a heavy weight interfacing on so it retains a rigid shape and would be perfect for an Easter egg hunt.

How cute are those ears?

P.S
How I would love a few metres of this fabric to play with.

P.P.S
I am still thinking a skirt with peak-a-boo peacock panels would be awesome.

Easy Muffins to Bake

I think I have been driving everyone crazy with pictures of all the Muffins I have been baking recently and then there was a little shout for the recipe.

When my fitness podcast tells me to have bit of fruit and a
glass of water this is totally what it means right!?

So here goes.

This is a really simple recipe and only takes a few minutes to get into the oven so perfect for morning bakes. I found the original recipe over on Attic24 only it was in grams and I don't do grams so I converted it (I cant say for certain how it works if you use metric weights).

I have tried other oil based muffin recipes before and always found them claggy and well not very nice but this is truly lovely and mouse recommended and I am sure you could use a non dairy milk to make them dairy free.

The Dry Ingredients
4oz (125g) Self Raising Flour
2 oz (50g) Caster Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

The Wet Ingredients
4 tablespoons (60ml) Milk
2 tablespoons (30ml) Sunflower Oil (you could use other oil)
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (you can use essence or flavouring)

The Extras
Fruit of your choice - fresh or frozen (I don't have a quantity as I add fruit to my muffin cases)
Granola to sprinkle on top prior to baking (optional)

Bake
180C / Gas 4 (for my fan oven I put it on at about 175C)
25 Minutes

Yield: 6
And according to MyFitnessPal when I put in the recipe details each muffin is about 175 calories (made with whole milk)
*Please note calorie information is not accurate as you know calculated by me and an app*

Method:
Weigh dry ingredients and place in a bowl (if you want to get all technical you should sift the flour, but who has time for that).

In a jug or another bowl measure out the wet ingredients and mix together with a fork.

Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix together with a spoon, this will form your cake batter.

At this point you can add your fruit directly to the mix, but I prefer to wait.

Divide mix between 6 muffin cases and try to not eat too much of the raw cake mix (a weakness of mine). Now this is when I add the fruit, I generally use frozen (and in my case raspberries). I press in 3 to 4 berries per case - but experiment. I then sprinkle granola on top (you know that bit that's left at the bottom of the container that no one wants to eat? Yeah that, its perfect for use as the topping).

Put in the oven and then distract yourself while its baking. I feed the zoo, unload and reload the dishwasher etc.

And then ...

 Enjoy

Whatcha got Momma, can weez have some?