Sunday 2 November 2014

Apologies for producing NOTHING last week, although most of this was written at that time, I was having trouble finding the websites to confirm the crafts I had chosen. the computer was playing up, we are having difficulties with the NBN and I wasn't feeling well at all, so I threw in the towel and decided to take it up again this week with FRESH eyes.

Each week when I have written and uploaded all the different bit and pieces of this page and the subsequent special areas pages I give a big sigh of relief as I have finished for another week. Even though I still seem to have nobody reading them at the moment. Then, occasionally during the week I will save different ideas to a page where I store bits and pieces, & then again something interesting will happen and I think 'I should start my cover page now and jot down these happenings. (Doesn't happen.) Come Sunday morning I start to PANIC as I wonder of what to write about this week, and I am a BLANK!

I know I want to include Christmas ideas and recipes, but we still have TWO months to go and you still need to survive many other bits and pieces until Christmas, so I need a mixture of both. By now I have forgotten what I was thinking about during the week, and many of the bits and pieces I have saved I now don't want to really use. Also, each family including mine have daily life and family problems that you can't write about here without leaving yourself or others open for more embarrassment or maybe even hurt.

I really enjoy my Facebook page of Craft Made Easy as nearly every day I place an item on there from these pages and this is where I get a response from readers, saying IF they like what it is, however, no-one ever comments and so feedback is minimal (at least it is positive+++) I now have 258 LIKES on Craft Made Easy so I am quite pleased with this. This week I have commenced writing a note of thanks and explaining a little about my page etc. to the new 'Likers'. I thought putting a face to the site might add to the interest. (One can only hope!)

Every second Saturday my son brings his gorgeous children to lunch and it is always a joy for both my mother and me. I love to see both my children and their beautiful off spring and I always try to prepare different little goodies for little mouths. This week we had Tacos, (so many leftovers, that my Mother and I had to have Tacos for dinner too) Dessert was a sticky (not meant to be) Hedgehog slice and a large plate of fruit.

With Dad on swings

Improved Bubble Blowing

I had stocked up on more bubble solution so they were all trying to blow the largest bubble. and playing on the swings, with Dad & occasionally Grandma supervising. It was such a wonderful day with the weather here in Adelaide that we all. including my mother sat under a large tree watching the children play and chatting. These are opportunities you never get back with children or I suppose each other. A lovely day!

My eldest grand daughter was quizzing me about the next school holidays and wondering if she could come and stay for a night or so as we will then have time to cook and craft together. I have all but promised she can stay at some stage in the Christmas break. Seven (7) year olds are growing up so quickly these day that you don't dare miss any opportunity. Although I feel this applies to every age group including my 32 year old son and his 30 year old sister.

On to more interesting topics, the topics I have found for you this week!

Recipe of the Week:

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Marsala

by Frugal Foodie Mama

I love slow cooker meals when busy, put them on, forget about them and dinner is ready.

Craft of the Week:

Easy DIY Necklace by Margot

This is a very pretty necklace and the designer used Beadalon beads which are readily available. However, these pattern are only meant as a guide. You can use your own imagination and create as you see fit. Please post your designs and ideas here in comments section or on Facebook when you finish.

Children's Activity of the Week:

Spiders Made from Mini Pumpkins

I don't agree with Halloween, but I loved this craft, so use it any way you wish. Great for little fingers. Instead of using mini pumpkins you could use imagination and use balls or whatever you have available.

Christmas Planning:

This one will be great for the little ones, but maybe closer to Christmas as little fingers will slowly pick their way though the tree.

Rustic Paper and Pipe Cleaner Hanging

This is a lovely decoration or gift to make.

We are a few weeks away from the many Christmas Pageants that are held to herald the festive season in each area, starting with the Adelaide Christmas Pageant which is massive. Then the suburbs and country towns have theirs. Also, November is a big month for many other subjects too. The main Two November is important for are Lung Awareness and Asbestos Awareness Months. Please do what you can to support these two important subjects. Also, the many other important dates for this month are listed below.
Please email me your community dates and I will include and promote them for you.

Christmas events in the community

Each year we compile a list of community events and pageants that bring people together for Christmas celebrations. Please let us know of other events that we can add.

· Saturday 8 November, 9.30am - Credit Union Christmas Pageant

· Saturday 15 November, 11.30am - Mount Gambier Christmas Parade

· Saturday 15 November, 6pm - Port Adelaide Enfield Twilight Christmas Parade

· Sunday 16 November, 9.30am - Glenelg Christmas Pageant

· Sunday 16 November, 11.30am Stirling Christmas Pageant

· Saturday 22 November, 10am - Norwood Christmas Pageant

· Saturday 22 November, 5.30pm - Murray Bridge Christmas Pageant and Fireworks

· Sunday 23 November, 10am - Onkaparinga Christmas Pageant

· Saturday 29 November - One Steel Whyalla Christmas Pageant

· Friday 5 December - Rotary Port Augusta Christmas Pageant

· Friday 5 December - Mannum Christmas Pageant

· Friday 5 December - Naracoorte Christmas Pageant & Street Party

· Saturday 6 December - Mount Barker Christmas Pageant

· Friday 12 December, 4.30pm - Barmera Christmas Pageant

· Saturday 13 December - Victor Harbor Christmas Pageant

· Sunday 14 December, 5.30pm - Moonta Pageant and Carols

· Friday 19 December - Cleve Christmas Pageant

· Monday 22 December, 5.30pm - Kadina Pageant and Carols

Courtesy of: http://sacommunity.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=8ff14cd76156632d480c6d631&id=84dd1b700d&e=4dc4257a5d

Asbestos

Other important November dates (besides pageants):

· 1-30 November 2014 Asbestos Awareness Week

· 1-30 November 2014 Lung Health Awareness Month

· 2-8 November 2014
National Others Week

· 7 November 2014
Walk to Work Day

Lungs affected by Asbestos

· 9-15 November 2014
National Adoption Awareness Week

· 10-16 November 2014 National Recycling Week

· 11 November 2014 Remembrance Day

· 14 November 2014 World Diabetes Day

· 19 November 2014 World Toilet Day

· 19 November 2014 Go Home On Time Day

· 24-29 November 2014 Social Inclusion Week

· 30 November 2014 Buy Nothing Day (This is one I like, I would like to be finished Christmas Shopping by then but I doubt is!)

Happy crafting this week and leave me feedback so I know how I am going. You are the gauge to my success. Enjoy!

Monday 20 October 2014

Christmas Crafting

Wow! It has been a productive week with my Christmas Card making. I have basically finished my Christmas card making and have many for sale on E bay. If you normally receive a Christmas card from me then you will know it is one I haven't sold. (Not really, am allowed to put 40 a month on E bay without opening an E Bay store. I have made so many!!! and gift tags too. These are being sold in assorted bags of 5. Am not sure if I will put any for sale here as the action so far has been nil. I am still making general cards for this week before I pack away all the card making for a few short months. (It is a craft I really enjoy).

All craft this week is in relation to Christmas, mostly gifts, both for children and adults. The recipe is a slow cooker again, so that you have time to craft and run after children at this very busy time. The stores are really into Christmas mode now so thought I should follow suit. The Christmas gifts I am looking at making are using bits and pieces from around the home.

How do you prepare for Christmas, I would be grateful for ideas and clues. I am in a Christmas Club with my main financial body and this year I joined a Christmas Club with the supermarket I shop at and this is going to make a huge difference when it comes to buying the food. When I joined there was a bonus that if you commenced your account with $10.00 or more then the store would also place $10.00 in your account. In this climate you need to grab all the opportunities and freebies you can.

I have included a selection of cards I have been making.
I shall include more next week.

Recipe of the Week:

This week's recipe is Beef Stroganoff
You can prepare the night before and have ready to turn on in the morning before heading off to work.

Craft of the Week:

This will make a great Christmas present for someone, or make one for each friend. niece, sister, etc.

Silk Yarn Butterfly Scarf By: Karen for Darn Good Yarn

Also this week I have two more crafts for this section, they are exciting as they may be so great you will not want to give away but keep for yourself. These are economical ideas that can help you organize your craft desk or another area of the house. They are made from recycled toilet rolls and a larger organizer form plastic soft drink bottles.

Owl Desk Organizer By: Glue Dots

Water Bottle Supply Organizer

Children's Activity of the Week:

This week there are a couple of activities for different age groups.

1. Rainbow Loom Patterns

Found a great site on You-tube showing different patterns and ideas. Well worth a look at for the slightly older child to look at and asasess.

2. Adorable Handprint Christmas Trees By: Jill from Meet the Dubiens

Christmas Planning 2014

I think I included this pattern last year, but it is a cheapie and a goodie.

1. Easy Paperclip Angel Ornament

Another idea is:

2. Beaded CD Ornaments By: Annabelle Keller for Krylon

These are really pretty

I don't know when I am going to find the time to make all these gorgeous ideas. There are so many out there and I have to be very selective and in my case very aware of costs. All these today are very economical and many of the items are recycling which is GOOD!

Happy Crafting Everyone.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Final Term of School for 2014

Tomorrow the 4Th term of the school year commences here in South Australia and it is always such a busy term. I have a grandson and a nephew finishing their primary school life at the end of the year and will be having differing celebrations at the end of the year as they farewell their primary years. My grandson doesn't enjoy school very much (not as much as his younger brother and sister anyway, nor my nephew of the same age). I feel he is really looking forward to high school, has had a day of visiting the school (and I am pleased as it is where I went to high school) and likes what he has seen.
It is a big adjustment changing schools and going from being the oldest children in the school and having a certain level of responsibility to transferring to high and being a very small fish in a big pond again. However, we all have done it and we are still here to talk about it, but you do have to feel for them and worry about them, especially when it is your adored grandson.

This week four of my grandchildren came for a sausage sizzle and we had one of the great nieces here too. A great day was had by all. As usual my great niece and my grand daughter were inseparable and crafted most of the day using the loom bands and frames. Luckily I bought a frame last weekend with bands etc and therefore both girls were able to have their own.
The other three played beautifully, ate well and went home very happily. Leaving behind little mess but a very contented and tired grandma and great granny.

I am still very busy making Christmas Cards and 40 more will go on E bay later this week. I still need to place inserts in a few and I am also making many gift sized cards (these are all varying sizes) and some will have written word inserts whilst others will just have a stamp. These are going to be sold in assorted groups of 5. Trying to assess cost always bothers me. Does anyone have any idea as to how to handle this task and make it fair to bother buyer and seller (maker)
I have included some hints from the Creative Income website for everyone this week. I hope it helps some of you. I am debating (with myself) as to whether to open an E bay store, this way I can sell more on the site. However, can I keep up with supply? I need to do some deep thinking.

Anyway, enough of my musings, lets look at white I have found this week to hopefully make life a little more interesting or at least easier.

I am focusing much more on Christmas, and will do so for a few weeks now. This year I am going to look at gifts to make whether it be craft or food and also whether it be for adults or children,
I hope you like the input I am placing here for the next few weeks. Happy Crafting!

Recipe(s) of the Week:

1. TraditionalChristmas Cake (from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/9824/traditional+christmas+cake)

2. Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole from http://www.slowcookeradventures.com/2011/02/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole.html

Also, to make life a little easier I am placing a slow cooker meal for you to make for the family whilst working on your Christmas goodies. The Slow Cooker recipe is: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

On the recipe page I will also include some of the comments left by others who have used this recipe.

Craft(s) of the Week:

1. Monogrammed Mugs By: Amberfrom Crazy Little Projects

After monogramming the mugs you can fill them with chocolates, nuts or home-made goodies. A beautiful gift for anyone, but particularly for teachers, work staff or someone special in your life.

2. Small gift bag

These are a great idea for Christmas gifts for people, crochet a small gift bag (that can be hung on the Christmas tree and place a lip balm, tube of sweets, home made fudge or biscuits and everyone is thrilled. People really enjoy the personal touch.

http://anastaciaknitsfreepatterns.wordpress.com/2008/12/16/small-gift-bag/

Children's Crafts:

Lego Advent Calendar By: Gina from Willowday

This is awesome. A great idea and most households have heaps of Lego that can be used.

Materials: Mixed Media/Miscellaneous

Age Group: Preschool & Kindergarten, Elementary School, Pre-Teens

Time to complete: Under 30 minutes

Helpful Hints:

This week I am including some useful information from a great website called Creative Income.
The two main areas for this week are:
1. Handmade Selling: 5 Tips for Staying Positive During the Slow Times
2. Year-Round Craft Show Best Sellers

I hope you find this useful.

A Christmas Saying to start to get you in the mood:

“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly."
~ (1919-), American writer, producer, humorist. ”
― Andy Rooney

Sunday 5 October 2014

School Holidays

First week of School holidays and I haven't seen a grand child BUT am going to make up for it this week. I usually take the older three to the pictures or similar once during the holidays but didn't feel up to it this time so their Dad is going to take them on Tuesday and I get to have the youngest member of their family for a few hours. It is the first time I will have had her for 2 - 3 hours on her own and both my Mum and I are really looking forward to it. Normally when here she potters around behind you participating in whatever you are doing.

Then the next day they are all coming up for a Sausage sizzle and will be joined by my great niece who has a great friendship with my eldest grand daughter. My nephews will be back Thursday BUT they are of assistance and when I get home from shopping on Thursday the eldest of the two will assist me with bringing in the bags and anything else I may need whilst the youngest will be out working in the garden with his grandmother. We love our time with these two young males.

We have just recently had a breakdown of kitchen appliances which has been most annoying. However, do they ALL break down at the same time form a reason? Firstly the blender died, it was quite new and the company had a replacement warranty, so I then added more money and came home with a more powerful blender, heavier, larger and in chrome, black and glass. Not matching anything else I wasn't popular with my Mum. In the meantime the kitchen exhaust fan / light/ range hood died and needed replacing - the only one Mum could obtain from the local electrical store that would fit the area was - CHROME! A few days later the water kettle died - you guessed it - Mum went to the local hardware store and they only had one model - black and chrome. Now everyone is happy as we have a smart kitchen with all appliances on the bench in chrome and black.

This week I have a mixture of crafts for everyone as I am starting preparation for Christmas. Have made many more Christmas cards plus many for other occasions. Everywhere I go now decorations and craft ideas are on show for Christmas and we are still 3 months away!
The food for this week is a family favourite for most people. It is a pasta sauce that you can use immediately or bottle/can and preserve for a later use. (Freezing comes in well too!)

Below is a selection of cards I have made this week.