Needle Book

Well this is my latest crafting endeavour. I have combined my love of fabric and cross stitching to create this 4 inch by 5 inch needle book for a swapbot swap. I had originally created a different needle book but once I saw this design on Meari's Musings, I fell in love with the idea immediately. I hope my partner enjoys this sturdy needle book as much as I enjoyed making it. She is a frog collector so she can add this little Hip Hop to her collection.

Chicken Milano from ladyb

I love SWAPBOT! Just in case you hadn't caught that vibe from this blog. I am just getting back into it all after the wedding and after wedding recovery (imagine sitting on the couch doing NOTHING). One of my many Swapbot addictions is swapping recipes. It is so interesting to see how food is created across the globe. I have received some wonderful dishes and many have entered my monthly mmmm whats for tea. This is one such recpie. A BIG thanks for ladyb for this yummy simple recipe.

Chicken Milano

Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain rice
- 2 skinless chicken breast (1 1/2 inch cubes)
-2 tbsp butter
- 1 med. onion
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tin tomato soup
- 6 fresh sliced mushrooms OR 1 jar sliced mushroom
- 2 medium zucchini (slice)
- 1/2tsp basil
-1/8 tsp chilli powder

Method
1. Prepare rice as label directed.
2. In large skillet over medium heat in hot butter, cook onion and garlic until tender. Add chicken and brown on all sides.
3. Stir in soup and remaining ingredients. Over high heat, bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve by spooning mixture over rice in a deep platter.

Shout Out to LittleMessyMissy

I received a truly amazing swap from LittleMessyMissy on swapbot. She made me 4 beautiful altered dominos for the Christmas Ornament. Hand made/Altered swap. They are proudly hanging on my Christmas Tree. A truly amazing swapper.

Little Birdie Crafting

So the last Swapbot swap I was in required us to make a 2 little birdies for our partners. My two sets are below.

However, this got me thinking. I had a secret santa to do with a very small dollar limit, so I got hold of some nice Christmas fabric and made up a set of these birdies in Christmas Tree ornaments. My secret santa person loved them. Here are the 3 pairs put altogether in their 'nest' (a nice lightweight summer scarf).

I LIVE!!!

Hello blogging world,
You may have noticed I have not written in a while (well for me that is). I have been quite ill but am recovering. It has been a very busy time while I have been ill with many exciting things happening. A few new things to report. My wedding invites have arrived!!! From the lovely people at Orchard and Brown. Scott and I are both very excited about this.

School related stuff first. We have been very busy in the classroom organising a number of events. The first was some Christmas relief for a troops and canine units serving internationally. We have managed to get students to write Christmas cards and create care packages to send to our men and women currently serving. The kids (and I) got right into it. I sent to the Canine Units with 2 sets of dog treats and packets to Aussie Mix lollies for the handlers. I hope it reminds them of home.

The next thing we decided to do was make bags with our whole class using recycled materials (fits in with all the sustainability we have been doing all year). I was allocated by my class a set amount of materials and had to create a bag in 1 hour that met the design brief given. It was expected to be to an A standard. I was admittedly nervous. But here is the finished product. Pretty good for the first time I ever made a bag (not to mention not allowed to use a pattern).
Finally Swapbot news. Because of my illness I actually fell a little behind. The last time that happened was when mother nature decided to drop Cyclone Yasi on us. That was certainly an experience. But, I have some wonderful partners who I managed to stay in contact with and gave me a few extra days to complete my projects. Shaking hands make hand sewing difficult. But here is my final product for the Handmade/Altered Christmas Decoration Swap. A door hanging decoration of Chris the Christmas Mouse although I will not be suprised if he is given a new name.

Crafting Update

Had three crafting projects I was throughly enjoying...until my cute little kitten Delenn got into my bag. Can't salvage any of them for swapping. Will try to save later for my own home. Not a happy camper :(

Sneak Peak

Working on a few crating projects for swaps at the moment. The bird sewing project should be a lovely afternoon of hand sewing. The other will take a little longer and be a little more fiddly. But, it is still exciting to be crafting again. Here is a sneak peek at what the projects looks like.

YYYIIIPPPPPPEEEEE!

My Swapbot products arrived today. Rachel has kindly sent a package to people who donated to her charity run. It was so exciting to see all these cute little buttons, stickers and pc's. I managed to squeeze all the buttons onto my work bag :) I love Ernie the Envelope, he is SOOOO cute. Anyways, here are the PC's I am getting ready to trade. All so exciting! Just had to share.

Newbie Friendly Recipe Swap

Hello blogging world and readers. I have just put up a new simple swap for recipe lovers who are both old hats at swapping and to help those new and up coming swappers. It is called the,'Newbie Friendly Super Secret Recipe Swap' because we all have to start somewhere. So if you have wanted to start swapping or enter the swapbot world I talk about come and have a go. You must have a fully filled out profile (a little bit about you, what you like, dislike, what you would like to receive). Just click on my name (the host) to see what I have done. Remember the more detail you give, the more likely you will receive something you like. Come join the fun!

Marshmallow Slice

To celebrate my new swap 'Scrumptious Slice' I am sharing my new favourite slice recipe. It is full of chocolate goodness and marshmallows. I got it from my friends mum. She found it on a side of a tin years ago. Here it is:

Marshmallow Slice
Prep: 20 mins (plus refrigeration time)
Makes: 16 pieces

Ingredients:
-250g sweet biscuits crushed
-3/4 cup mini marshmallows
-3/4 cup desiccated coconut
- 3/4 cup choc chips
- 1tsp baking cocoa
-Can of sweetened condensed milk (375g)
- 100g butter, chopped
- 1 tsp banilla essence
- 150g milk chocolate, melted

Method
1. Grease and line a 18x28cm lamington/slice tin with baking paper. In a large bowl combine biscuits, marshmallows, coconut, choc chips and cocoa. Reserve,
2. In a medium saucepan combine sweetened condensed milk, butter and vanilla essence. Stir over low heat until melted. Pour over biscuit mixture, mix well and firmly press into prepared tin. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set.
3. Once slice is cooled spread melted chocolate over the top, refrigerate until set, cut into squares.

This is good with scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you don't like milk chocolate it also works with dark chocolate but is much richer.

100 000 Swaps Completed On Swapbot

Yay! What a great occasion. Rachel has set up a special swap to celebrate this event. Check it out here. Anyways, I went for a random approach. I have been thinking about getting my students to write a recipe for the 'Spirit of Christmas.' So I took this concept and this is what I came up with. Hope you like. 1 of you may receive this from me. I know a bit gooey for what I normally do but it was fun.



For those who bright pink makes the eyes hurt here it is.

Recipe: Superb Swapbot Swapper Slice
Kitchen of: aussielisa
Ingredients
- 2 cups Mail Addiction
-3/4 cup Community Spirit
-1/2 kg Fun Loving
- ¾ cup of Sense of Humour
-2 tsp Can do attitude
- 1 ½ cups of Communication
- 1 cup of Angel
- 2 tbsp Risk Taker
-1 tsp Punctuality
-1 block of Patience
-Extras of decorate
Method
Combine Mail Addiction, Community Spirit, Fun Loving and Can do Attitude in saucepan, simmer on low heat and frequently stir until combined, smooth and shiny. In a large bowl add Sense of Humour, Communication, Angel, Risk Taker and Punctuality. Pour over Mail addiction liquid and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Press into a prepared 26x16cm slice tin. Place in fridge for 1 hour or until set. Melt block of Patience in saucepan. Pour over the top of Superb Swapbot Swapper Slice. Use Extras to decorate appropriately. Serve every login with a glass of happiness
Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hour Serves: A community

Hosting My First Swap!

I finally decided to just do it and have a go hosting my first swap on Swapbot. It is a simple swap called 'Sweet Tooth Recipe Swap.' Swappers are being asked to send 3 of their favourite sweets recpices e.g. desserts, cakes, slices etc. So please sign up if you want to join the fun :)


I have also added and Pasta recipe swap here called 'Perfect Pasta Recipe Swap.' So if you are interested check it out and sign on up.