I really do love pink.....

It is no surprise, is it, that I really love pink.

I have loved it for a very long time.
I love to create with it, I love to wear it and I love to have it in my home.

(although sparingly just to keep certain boys happy)
Here a few things with the colour pink to cheer you up.....

The Hairclips Tidy - Barefoot Roses fabric.

Some pretty Handbag Doorstops

The Hairclips Tidy - Royal Ballet fabric

Some new pencil rolls.

And another Hairclips Tidy - more Barefoot Roses fabric.

I hope this has brightened your day.

Do you love pink too?

Kathryn. XX

Pizza Scroll recipe...

Ingredients:

3 cups self raising flour

45g butter (chilled & chopped)

1 cup milk

3/4 cup tomato paste (or pasta sauce)

1+ cups grated cheese

4/5 rashers of bacon (or chopped ham)

Preheat oven to 200C, line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Sift flour, rub in butter with fingertips, make a well in the centre. Pour in milk, stir with knife until almost combined. Using hands bring dough together into a ball and roll out onto a floured surface.

Roll dough out so that is is about .50-1cm thick.

Spread tomato paste, bacon and cheese then carefully roll it all up so you have a long sausage shape. Cut along the roll (about 1cm apart). You should end up with about 15+ scrolls.

Lay on your baking tray (lay them fairly close together so they join up when cooking). Sprinkle with any remaining cheese and cook for 18-20 minutes.

My tip: add finely grated carrot and zuccini with your topping just to fool those pesky kids.

Eat and enjoy!

Have a great weekend, Kathryn. XX

New girls....

OK, so with each printable fabric sheet costing about $3.00 I could not just throw it in the bin just because the faces were missing cheeks now could I?
New girls in the shop and Etsy now.

Pizza scrolls recipe coming soon.....
Kathryn. XX

Playing catch up...

This is what our last two weeks of holidays have looked like.....

Master 8 entertaining himself with a bit of LEGO creativity....

"Happy Easter"

(in between cleaning)

Can you tell that master 6 likes chocolate? Easter Day at the paternal Grandparents.

Having lot's of friends over to play.....you can't just serve up boring old sandwiches for lunch!
(let me know if you'd like the recipe for "pizza scrolls")

(in between decluttering)

Master 8 made a "Leaf Hat" at the maternal Grandparents besides a lot of other things including a wooden bug and a Meerkat on wheels! (shall show them later - the paint is still drying)

(whilst we painted their bedroom)

The front roof trusses were popped in place on our house.... (in between a lot of tidying)

A new niece was born. She is so gorgeous...no, I am not getting clucky! Mmmm.

Some sewing was done (this is the only bit of sewing done for two weeks - I know!!!)
Baby booties from a baby book Jodie was passing on....it's on to Rachel next....
These were SO fiddely to make...I won't be making them again even though they turned out really well.

(in between sorting)

I made them reversible too, but I like the red side best.

I painted a new face for my Matryoshka dolls last night and wanted to print them on some printable fabric ( that I purchased after all the great links left to me from this post)
so that they will pass the new US toy regulations.

(in between.....nothing)

I tried going for a traditional Matryoshka face and copied the face from one of my own wooden Matryoshka doll sets.

Well, after much faffing about trying to scan the face into the computer, then arrange it in "image composer" (thanks DH!) I was ready to print with much excited anticipation......and this is how it came out...

I think we were one colour short.

So, the faces will have to wait until we buy some more ink.

There you have it, two weeks of goings on at Our Shabby Cottage!
Now, it's time to play catch up with all of you!

Kathryn. XX

PS. we had much success in the sorting, cleaning, decluttering etc....

And we even bought a new TV - Thanks Kevin!

Autumn cleaning...

In a few months we will have our house on the market.

So, we all know what that means don't we....I'm going to have to have a huge cleanout in the sewing room/office.

Now, this means that I will probably find things that I had totally forgotten about, find things that I don't want anymore and find things that make me wonder what on earth I had thought when I purchased said things. I have already looked at my huge mess and wondered where to start.....

Anyway, these school holidays I must try and sort through my stash and somehow come up with a storage solution that will make the room seem orderly and still let me find what I'm looking for.

It must be presentable to those wishing to come and look through the house and yet still workable for both DH and I to work in.

So, with so much to do in the next week (the boys are off to Grandma's for a few days) I will take a short leave of absence from posting and try to make the most of "our" time off....painting....sorting....boxing...chucking out....tidying....fixing....and most importantly decluttering.

Wish us luck!

I shall leave you with some new Clutch Purses that I finished off on the weekend. The fabric is from Amy Butler's "Nigella" range. Isn't it fantastic! They will be added to Etsy soon.

Kathryn. XX
"Happy Easter" to you all.

Printable fabric...

After the business in the USA about painted toys I stopped making my softies (Matryoshkas, Pussikins and the Poochikins) as I had handpainted the faces myself. But I was over at Emily's blog, Ravenhill, the other day and she mentioned that she had placed an order with Spoonflower to print her faces onto cloth. I thought what a fantastic idea. I don't know whether I make enough to go to Spoonflower and thought maybe some printable fabric might be best. Does anyone out there use it and if so, which brand would you recommend?

Not much happening around here this week apart from a few more doorstops added to the shop and Etsy. Click on the pic or go to my sidebar.

The friendship quilt is due to be handed over on Wednesday so I had better get a move on and get my "strip" finished. I can't wait to see what the others come up with.

Have a lovely weekend, Kathryn. XX

Ever bought something on Ebay? Then this is for you....

If you are like me, then you have probably bought something on Ebay at some stage.

My husband found this last night on you tube and it is hilarious.......

Enjoy!

I've always been a Weird Al Yankovik fan. To see more of his clips click here.

Kathryn. XX

Slacking off....

Yes, I admit it ....I have been really slack lately with my blogging and catching up with everyone. I apologise and promise to catch up with everyone soon.

I have been so busy with school things recently that I have had little time for much else.

My eldest (8) had to do a presentation in front of his class yesterday (and a few Mums) on a famous Australian.

Being a bit of a cricket fan, he chose Brett Lee, one of the worlds fastest cricket bowlers. I was so nervous for him (knowing, at the age of 8, I could never have done such a thing!) but he was so calm and handled it beautifully. I was a very proud Mum indeed.

You may be thinking that these fabrics are not what I would normally choose being a lover of the soft shabby florals, but these are new Japanese fabrics for a new quilt I have in my head.

I came up with this idea a few weeks ago and have been searching for some Japanese fabrics in pinks, greens and black which, I discovered, is not an easy thing to do.

I was driving past Gail's Patchwork Emporium the other day and decided to pop in for 5 minutes and check out if she had any Japanese fabrics.....well I went to the right place - she had about 60 different prints to choose from and had exactly what I was after. I was one happy gal.

Now all I have to do is design the pattern and I'll be off.......

If you are wondering what it could be...this may give you a clue....
Kathryn. XX