Shabby Chic Sweet 16th Crafting Gifts

A good friend of ours has asked me to help source pre-loved items and re-purpose or restore them to help decorate her daughter's bedroom as a present for her 16th birthday. She wanted a shabby chic theme using the colours pink, white and black. She didn't want to spend too much and she knew I liked to go thrift/op shopping and of course I was ever so happy to oblige.

Firstly, I went through my craft supplies and was able to source most the things I needed.  I only had to buy the cushion inserts, which are in great, clean pre-loved condition and the lamp base and shade, which cost me around $5.00 for the lot. Bargain!  I even found the rose patterned bone china mug and glass coaster in amongst the things I have ready to give or sell on.  I also rescued a picture we were about to toss out and an old chucky timber frame that I also had ready to re-purpose.

This is what I have come up with so far.  I’m not sure what else to make at this stage, but I still have about 6 days to add to it.  I do so love a project.

These are some of  the supplies I started with.  I only had to buy the lamp and cushion inserts, I had everything else.  Not in this picture is the frame and framed picture that I also already had

 

This is what I have made so far.

Two cushions with removable covers.

3 coat hangers with matching covers (they match each other and the cushions).

The pretty rose patterned bone china mug and glass drink coaster.

This is the old frame (one of 20 or so I have) that I attached a piece of padded corrugated plastic board and covered it with pink crushed velvet and the lace is covering two strips of tightened elastic to hold in place the things you can't or don't want to spear with a pin.

This is the picture, actually a print of a photo of some animals, well past it's use by date.  I covered the back of the picture board with pink paper (which didn't look too good on it own, thank goodness I had planned to cover it anyway).  Then I stretched the lace over the pink paper, once it had dried and replaced it behind the glass in the frame that  I painted and gold rubbed and buffed.  I put 3 brass hooks along the base to hang necklaces and 3 rows of tightened brass wire to hang earrings from. With the glass still in place the earrings don't catch on the lace.

 

 

I  gold rubbed and buffed the base and very lightly and roughly painted the shade the same colour as the earring and necklace picture.

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Gluten Free Almond Mandarin/Orange Cake

We are so lucky to have so many fruit trees.  We love being able to walk around the place and just pick fruit and eat it as we go.  It can't get fresher than that.  The citrus trees do very well, the lime (the Jessica tree as shown here) and mandarin trees are very prolific.  Here is one of our favourite, ever so easy recipes to use up the glut of mandarins and eggs (we have chooks as well).  So that I can make this cake all year round I usually cook and puree the mandarins then freeze it in measured portions, I just defrot a portion when needed.
 I use 5 mandarins per cake so I boil them in multiples of 5 then divide the pureed mixture into equal portions (ie 50 mandarins = 10 servings/cakes).  I freeze the mixtures flat in zip lock bags, which I take out of the freezer about ½ an hour before I need it, usually by the time I get the ingredients together , line the cake tin/s and start mixing the cake it is thawed enough to use.

Clean the fruit and remove any blemishes.

Cover with water and bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for approximately 2 hours or until the fruit is soft.

Once cooked, drain and return to saucepan.

Puree until smooth.

Divide into equal amounts.

Freeze.

Remove the frozen mandarin puree approximately 1/2 hour before it is needed.

 

Orange/Mandarin and Almond Cake

Ingredients

2 oranges or 5 mandarins
6 eggs
250g caster sugar
250g almond meal
1tsp baking powder
Icing sugar for dusting after baking

Preparation

Wash oranges/mandarins and place unpeeled, in a pot of boiling water and simmer for 2 hours. Drain the water and allow fruit to cool.  Puree fruit including the skin and pips until smooth. (I use a wand/stick blender).  Preheat oven to 190°C.

Break 6 eggs into a mixing bowl. Add caster sugar and beat/blend together.

Place the pureed oranges/mandarins into the egg mix.  Blend together to a smooth consistency. Add the almond meal and baking powder and blend.

Line 20 cm spring form baking pan with baking paper.

Pour batter into the pan/s and bake for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until the top is golden brown.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with cream or ice cream.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we do.  Carole



This Weeks Treasure Finds....Part 1.

My good luck in finding lots of treasures at the thrift/op shops I visit weekly, continues.  I have been having a great run of good fortune.  I keep justifying my obsession, compulsion, hobby by telling myself and my husband that I plan to sell some of the items on-line or even at the markets, but, you know there is always a but, I  just haven't got around to it yet.  I have made a start with listing a few things on Etsy, but honestly nothing that will make a dent in all the stuff I have.  Never mind, I am enjoying having these treasures around me and I enjoy the process of shopping for them, so why stop?  I keep telling my husband it's our retirement fund.

I know, can you believe it!!!   Vintage Tupperware, Pyrex, Quilted pot holders, cake tins, aluminium strainer, anodised aluminium bread bin, wooden laundry tongs, on and on I go.

What about the Laundry Tongs!  Aren't they great, I am so going to use them, I am currently using a big old (not too old) wooden spoon to put things in and out of soaking water.

This is where the Chianti bottle has found its new home, on top of the freezer on the verandah.

This is an old heavy billy can, I'm going to use it in the laundry.... not sure how yet.

I have had a set of 12 of these for some time now, but one broke last time I used them.  So now instead of 12 parfait glasses I have a "bakers dozen" (13). 

These old pastel coloured Tupperware containers remind me of breakfast time and school when I was younger, like 45 years ago, OMG did I just say 45 years ago.  We used to eat our cereal out of the bowls and freeze cordial drinks in the cups with the lids then take them to school wrapped in newspaper or a tea towel.  At morning recess we would pop the still frozen contents out, careful to drink the melted drink and not spill it down the front of our school uniforms.  We'd then pop the frozen block back into the cup upside down , this allowed the thin part of the popsicle to poke out of the top of the container, held there temporarily by the wider part of the popsicle sitting in the thinner part of the cup.  I so hope that all made sense, it is such a vivid memory.

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Thanks for stopping by
Carole

Atomic Fish in Space Wall Art

A couple of weeks ago a friend from pilates told me about an op shop that I didn't know about. She took me there and as I walked in the door I saw my new love. I just had to have it. What do you think?  It is sooooooooo very 1960's. I just love the colours.  It has taken me until now to find the right place for it.   On the back it is numbered74/75.

A Birthday Quilt

Well it was my youngest sisters 50th birthday earlier this month and thanks to the suggestion made by my oldest sister, I knew what to get her as a gift, I should say make her and that was a quilt.  I am always collecting fabric from my travels to op shops, thrift stores, car boot sales, garage sales etc. so what better way to use some of it.  The quilt is made from a discontinued sample book of curtain material.  Each piece of material gave me 4 pieces of the same pattern and colour.  The patterns were repeated on different coloured material.  The border is a recent purchase which is also remnant of curtain material.

As I usually do, I get so caught up in the "task", this time making the quilt, I forget to take photos.  I forgot to take any of the sample book before I took it apart, I forgot to take photos of the finished quilt...... I know, how do you forget to take photos of the finished item!!!!!!  At least I got one of Jackie opening the parcel, so you can at least get an idea of what it looked like finished.  I'm going to have to take to trip to her place (3+ hours away) and take a photo or two.  A good excuse, as if I need one to visit. Road Trip.

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