Blogtoberfest day 5

I'm the type of person who can't sit and do nothing, my hands always need to be busy! So when I'm having a bit of down time watching some TV with the kids this is what happens to my coffee table.....

  These little owl friends are waiting for their feet and wings, and I don't know why it is but I always make them in pairs. Probably so they don't get lonely!
Here are some delicious Spinach and Feta Triangles that my son made for us. Super easy and perfect for the kids to make. Only difference between our and the recipe and this one is we added some bacon.........even yummier!

Spinach and Feta Triangles

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

315g frozen spinach - thawed, drained, chopped and squeezed dry

1 teaspoon salt

100g feta cheese, crumbled

125g cottage cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 packet puff pastry

50g unsalted butter, melted

How to

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and slowly cook and stir 5 minutes until tender. Add Spinach and salt and making sure all liquid has evaporated from spinach, stir in feta, cottage cheese and egg. Cook and stir until thickened, 5 - 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 C

Unwrap pastry and lay out on flat surface. Cut each piece into 4, then brush the edges with melted butter. Place a heaped tablespoon of the mixture on each square. Fold one end of the square over so it forms a triangle, press the edges together. Brush with melted butter then bake for approx 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and crunchy.



Happy Blogtoberfest!

Red Stitch Designs Giveaway!

Now that Father's Day is over ( hope you all had a lovely time ) and this week the shops will probably start to stock their shelves with some christmas gear, I thought it was time to have a giveaway! Besides it's my birthday and I feel like it!

I'm giving away these two hanging owls, perfect for your christmas tree or to hang anywhere around the house.

All you have to do to enter is follow Red Stitch Designs on Facebook.......easy peasy!

I'm going to leave this open for 2 weeks, I'll draw a winner on Monday the 19th.

Good Luck!

Too cute!

I made a couple of owls this morning for a little girl who likes pink and navy, they turned out so sweet I think it would be hard to choose just one!

It's been a huge week with all sorts of things going on around here, I noticed that the bricks have been delivered to our building site which means things are moving there too.

Now I have to get ready for next week because it's going to be massive on the sewing front, it feels as busy as christmas, how does this happen when it's only September? 

Hope you all have a gorgeous weekend!

Where have I been spending my time.....

I never thought I'd say this but I've been having a bit of fun on Facebook lately and been a bit slack on the blogging side of things. I found it a great way to see what was going on  while I was in hospital, have a bit of fun chatting to friends, I guess the fun is still continuing.......sorry blogger I haven't forgotten you I promise!

Apart from Facebook I have been busy sewing up a storm ready for my return to Shop Handmade this week, so excited to be busy and creative again.

 I packed up two huge parcels full of Red Stitch Designs goodness, now working on filling the next few boxes to the brim.

 I've been talking to a few marketing friends about some of the bigger upcoming markets, I'd love to attend a few this season because they are so much fun and you meet the most beautiful people, but because I've had a few months off the sewing machine I'm not sure if I can pull off the amount of stock I think I'll need......but I'm sure going to give it a go, If I can't well that's just the way it is!

I'll try and blog a bit more in the future, so sorry about that!

Thanks for stopping by.

Owl Mobile

This is where my little owls have been hanging out......

 in a beautifully padded and linen wrapped ring, ready to hang just like you would a mobile.

 I'm sending these 4 mobiles to Shop Handmade this week, it's going to be the only place you'll be able to get them for a while as I've put my madeit shop into holiday mode for a while.

 Hopefully not for too long, I just need to take a bit of time and get through a few things, so for now I'll use what energy/time I have just for stocking Shop Handmade.

Talk soon

Working on......

a new place for my little owls to hang out!

I've been wanting to create a place for my owls to hang out for a while, just wasn't quite sure how to go about it until one night last week when I couldn't sleep (  it was 3am ) and my mind was going over all the things I wish I had the time to make and how I'd go about making.

I have quite a list of things I'd like to try happening in my head at the moment....... I wonder what I'll be adding to that list tomorrow morning at 3am???

Feathered Friends!

It's no surprise that I love making little birds and owls, they are such fun to make in all sorts of fabrics and colours. I've made a few birds which I thought were my favourite but a few nights ago I made these and I think they are by far my favourite!

 They look a bit like husband and wife don't they?

 I think after making these little birds I'm going to mix the colours and fabrics more often.......it adds more character I think.

 Over the past few days I have found some more machine time, not as much as I wanted but it was better than none at all. As I said in previous posts I been making some little owls again.

 Sorry for the picture overload!

 I've also been making a few bigger owls again.

Now I'm looking for a bit of a rest for the remainder of the weekend, I have a stressful week ahead and I need to find the energy to get through.

Keep an eye out at Shop Handmade next week because all the goodies in this post and many more will be in store.

Take care.

Looking for more machine time!

I have some real cute little birds to share with you today. They are currently sitting on a shelf near my sewing machine, so cute!

 Each little bird I make has a different personality, a different expression on their face.

 I'm having a great time making these but I have to stop for a few days and make up some of my original owls........I thought people were over the whole owl thing but it seems as though I was wrong so I'll have a few new friends to share in the next few days.

On the home front things have been so so busy, I have a calendar full of scribble post it notes in all kinds of places reminding me of all kinds of things. I simply can't believe I haven't forgotten anything yet, maybe I shouldn't have said that I might jinx myself. Here is a quick run down on what's been happening in the last week....

• Megan has had her run in the Diocesan Cross Country...... so proud of her for making it to the next level (even if she did run an extra 500m because the Marshall's weren't watching).
• Ryan played in the schools Rugby 7's........made it to the grand final, the game was a draw and went into extra time, unfortunately the other team scored a try.
• Ryan had his Cross Country  and placed well so now we have to move onto zone.
• Doctors appointments
• Swimming
•  Rugby Training
• Deciding once and for all.....house colours.
• A gorgeous friend came to visit for a few days, we shopped, chatted, and went for coffee.
• Completed a few pear, owl and bird orders.
• Making of some more props for the Eisteddfod.

So as you can see there wasn't much time for my poor old sewing machine last week, I have things on this week too but I'm determined to squeeze in some machine time!

Hope you are all enjoying your week.

Rabbit softie.....take two!

The past few days have been so hot at my house, the mercury hit a lovely 39 degrees in my living room a few days straight..........the air felt hot to breathe, it was simply disgusting! I didn't feel creative at all!! This time next year will be a different story, I can't wait to be in a house which has insulation and doesn't feel like a hot box!

So yesterday was a nice surprise, it was cool and fresh with a nice breeze........perfect! I instantly felt inspired to make something..........take two on the rabbit softie!

I made just a handful of these rabbits last year, this time around I thought I might use the same pattern.......just change things slightly!

 These colours are quite girly but I assure you the next round will be for the little man...........I had an idea in my dreams last night and I'd like to give it a try on the boy rabbits before I reveal, just in case it looks like it has no business being there.

 On to a totally different subject, a while back I made 40 of these gorgeous little owls for a lovely lady, they are being used as favours on the tables at a christening today. She has put ribbon and tulle holding sugar almonds on them......here they are all boxed up ready to go! I love it when someone so sweet takes the time to show me things like this............thanks Helena!

Have a lovely Sunday....I'm going to have a coffee then get the kids uniforms ready for tomorrow!

Pincushions ready for Shop!

Here's something I haven't made for a while.....colourful owl pincushions.
I had these pincushions and a stack of pears ready for the post yesterday, I'd planned for them to arrive in Shop Handmade Wednesday but I totally forgot that yesterday was a public holiday!

I even took the kids shopping in Tamworth Yesterday, by then I knew it was a public holiday and yes there were many shops which were shut up for the day, but the ones we wanted were open. The kids spent some of their christmas money, Ryan bought a Wii game and Megan bought $2.50 worth of lollies........she is so easily pleased, she had the opportunity to buy a huge range of toys but this is all she wanted. She is a clever little thing because I witnessed her selling a few lollies to her brother for 50c each last night.......she ended up making a profit!
I stocked up on new undies and jocks for the kids, new school socks ( Megan totally trashed every white sock she owns so I had to throw atleast 20 pairs out ), a few pairs of shorts and I found a real pretty top for myself! All I need to do now is get some new school shoes and we are good to go!

Thanks for stopping by.

Last Custom Order.

This cute little fella is the last custom order I'm doing for the year! It's getting to the point where it's almost physically impossible to have something made and posted for a safe arrival before Christmas. I have a few things I have to do today and that's it......phew! I can't believe the pace I've been working at for the past few months.......trust me I'll be better prepared for next year!
A few weeks ago I spotted these gorgeous red moose .......so it's out with the reindeer and in with the moose for this year. They are so cute and I think at some stage they might be spray painted white and kept up all year round.

I caved this year and went with the big tree in the corner of the lounge room as opposed to the stick tree I had last year.........which took up very little space! I sat it up on top of a giant trunk and now it almost touches the ceiling, it looks massive and quite dominant in the small room, but the kids love it and that's all that matters!

I told them what colours to put on it and they decorated it all by themselves, they even had the ornaments spread out evenly and not in big clumps! Now we just have to wait for Santa to visit and put some gifts under it.

Big Weekend.

Yesterday was spent making some more JOY pears and pricing some owls ready for posting to Shop Handmade. I have a huge order to complete today ( 30 owls ) and then I'll get stuck back into more goodies for Shop.
Even though I had another great weekend with the markets I'm totally finished with them for the year, I think Shop Handmade and on-line sales will keep me busy enough for the next few weeks. Actually I'm looking forward to slowing the pace a bit, I'm not going to stop sewing just slow it down...........I'm a bit over the 12 - 14 hour days.

I came home with a big box full of these beautiful Agave's, now I have to find about 15 big pots to put them in and try not to kill them in the process.

I did a big shop yesterday just incase the water goes over the road and we can't get through, all the rivers around us a flooded in a big way ( Peel, Namoi, Mooki ) and there is simply no where esle for the water to go, with more big rain on the way tomorrow who knows what will happen!

Thanks for stopping by

Meet my new little friend!

Isn't he beautiful, tall and mysterious? This is an owl I couldn't resist purchasing at the Markets last weekend, I gave Megan the money to go over and buy it, she was so excited but not as excited as I was!
He has one of those sensor things in the little bit of wood he's standing on and every time you walk past he turns his head towards you and goes "Hoo Hoo", I love it! Don't go thinking that my house is full of toys on display, it most certainly is not but I had to make an exception for this one just because of the owl thing I have going on.

A few weeks ago I had a real busy week, what I thought had to be my busiest so far! This week I think I've topped that week........I love a handmade Christmas and it looks as though everyone else does too!

I love the idea of being able to put some pretty things I've made on my tree this year..........I think it's going to have to wait another few weeks until the rush is over, then maybe I can make special things just for us!

I must go and put some smiling faces on these little hanging babushka dolls I made yesterday, then I plan on doing the little bird brooches for the rest of the day.

Thanks for stopping by

Off to Market I go!

It's been one of the busiest weeks I've had so far this year with my sewing, it feels so good to get so much done and sent to various customers, and to finally be ready for the first of my Christmas markets in the morning..........I've already been to town and set my stand up so I won't have to rush too much in the morning, how good is that!

This will be the first time the people of Gunnedah ( apart from close friends ) will be able to see what I spend most of my time doing.......I hope they like what they see!

There's mostly all the items I've been making for a little while now and a few new ones.......sorry haven't taken as many pictures as I should have, here are just a few of the items I'll have on my stand tomorrow.
Some pears all done up for Christmas and some of the originals without bells and ribbon.

Loads of these little cuties!

I've taken my tree which will be adorned with gorgeous Christmas ornaments.

I think there is about 60 of these in various colours........all ready to hang!

Babushka hanging ornaments galore!

I had loads of fun making these and watching them all come to life!

I even set up a table in my house and set out some of the items to make sure everything would fit on the tables supplied and that it all looked nice.

These would have to be my favourites!

Fabric boxes made from linen and lined with some of the most gorgeous ticking I've ever seen...... all with a touch of Aunty Cookie on the front.

It's going to be a fun day and I'm really looking forward to meeting some lovely local people.

I must go and get some dinner......think I'll be having an early night tonight!

Thanks for stopping by.