Japanese Handcrafts

Japanese Embroidery and Homecrafts

As I wandered around the little ski village today where we are staying I popped into the local store and found some lovely handcrafts made by one of the local girls.....

 

Little 'Pocket' Holders - to hold gifts or small items

using Japanese straight embroidery stitching

 

Little bags and a pot style carry bag

 

 

Coasters



Gorgeous Coasters - really cute and made out of fabric scraps

 

 



 

A really cute piece of Muslin with an edging

Soba Noodle Soup

Japanese Soba Noodle Soup with Wild Vegetables

Yes, I am a fan of Japanese soups - especially when today it's only -11 degrees!! After a morning of skiing this is so great to warm up with... 

This soup contains Soba noodles which are made from Buckwheat - really great flavour and readily available (like the Udon noodles from yesterday) in Australia in nearly all supermarkets these days. This delicious soup also contain local wild vegetables, so tasty and I can only assume are really good for you too!  Wild cabbage, wild broccoli, root vegetables and mushrooms - so good!

Art Smock

Art smock - upcycled from a man's shirt

It's that time of year when your school will want your little one to have an art smock... a simple and cheap idea is to upcycle a man's shirt.  

This one is for my little girl, the first picture is the front of the smock (previously the back of the shirt) with a pocket and embellished flower in a gorgeous contrast fabric and the next photo is the back of the smock.   I have cut away the button section and the collar and sewn a seam into the back of the smock. I sewed a ribbon on the back to help pull it in to the right size so it can be easily undone to take off the smock for those particularly messy art sessions. 

The sleeves have been cut down so they are three quarter sleeves and I have put elastic into them so they stay up and out of the way.  To adjust the shoulder width I have put a pin tucks in each side of the smock across the front and back. 

Valentines Day Gifts - Large Hanging Cookie

Cookies for Valentines Day

I am currently in Japan and as it has been Valentines Day the local Austrian style Hotel and Restaurant has made large heart shaped cookies to hang on ribbons to celebrate the day, a lovely thought - carefully decorated with loving comments, like 'Liebe' which means Love and 'Ich Liebe Dich' which means I Love You... a nice gesture.  

To make these simply use the same recipe as you would for a gingerbread house, if you don't have a very large heart shaped cutter, make a template from cardboard and cut with a knife, make sure you put two holes in the top to hang them before you bake them.  Use a royal icing to decorate with a piping bag anyway you like, a special message and lovely design, whatever you like.    

Japanese Udon Noodle Soup

Japanese Udon Noodle Soup with Tempura Vegetables and Egg

I am currently away skiing in Japan, what a gorgeous place, and the best powder ever.

This is lunch on day one in Hakaba, Japan - a super tasty udon noodle soup with vegetables (chinese cabbage mostly), an egg and two pieces of tempura vegetables, as well as wild mushrooms, in a delicious broth...love it!  It's also really warming which is extremely welcome as it's a chilly -8 degrees outside.

How to Clean Stainless Steel

Cleaning Stainless Steel

Do you have some stainless steel that needs cleaning?  Maybe your stove top, your BBQ, or handles on cupboards, even pots or pans?  

Here's a cheap and easy way to clean stainless steel and to protect it afterwards and keep it shiny and finger print free ( at least the finger prints will stay a way for a while...)

The inspiration for this blog came from the look on my boyfriends face, whilst looking at the BBQ he gave me for Xmas, asking where it's cover was... hmmm, I suspected he saw the rust... knowing I had a fool proof way to clean and protect it, I wasn't bothered, but thought I would share the easy clean and protect method with you...

So, take a couple of tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda (bicarb soda as we call it Australia) and a damp cloth.  Dip the cloth into the bicarb and then rub it in the direction of the stainless grain and it will rub the rust away... How easy is that!!  Check it out below...

Now, to protect it, use this fabulous product spray it on the surface and wipe over with a clean cloth, again in the direction of the stainless steel grain, it will stay shiny and keep clean for weeks, simply reapply when you feel it needs it.  Excellent!

I use the same method on my coffee machine, bins, oven, stove top, pots and pans, anything stainless steel.

Valentines Day Gifts - Last MInute

Quick and Easy Last Minute Valentine Gifts for Him

Make some beautiful heart shaped chocolates and gift box them to give a special and heartfelt Valentines Gift that's sure to impress...

It's simple and gorgeous - and who doesn't like chocolate..  

Simply take some good quality chocolate and chose those with flavours that your guy will love, I chose Lindt Chocolate in Strawberry, Chilli and Sea Salt.  All you need to do is melt the chocolate - just a bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds, and if it's not soft enough to stir until its melted give it another 10 seconds at a time until it is - it will come out looking all normal until you stir it, so try each time.   Spread the melted chocolate onto baking paper on a flat surface to about 5mm thick and let it set.  Using a heart shaped cutter (cookie cutters are perfect) dipped in hot water to help slide through the chocolate, cut out the shapes and remove onto a fresh piece of baking paper.  If you're able to find some gold edible paint then painting the sides of the chocolates with gold is a gorgeous touch, as I did.  All you need to do then is pop them into cellophane bags and print a label off your computer with the message you want to give and staple it on.  Valentines Day Gift for Him, sorted! He'll love it, just the right amount of "I love you" with a modern edge.   

Another sweet idea is peppermints with a gold heart painted on them - as simple as it sounds.... pop in a bag and decorate the top of it with a ribbon or as I did a red fabric heart and red stitching to hold it together... sweet!

How to make Basil Pesto

Basil Pesto

 

 



 

 Recipe

1 bunch fresh basil
1/3 cup pinenuts, lightly toasted
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated finely
1/3 cup olive oil, extra virgin
2 cloves garlic
salt to taste
1 tablspn extra olive oil

Method

Place all ingredients, except olive oil into a food processor and pulse until well combined, slowly add olive oil and pulse to combine.  Place in a jar (to keep refridgerated) or into a serving bowl, pour over extra olive oil.  Will keep refridgerated for a week or so.  After a couple of hours it will look darker on top, stir gently before eating or serving.


Pesto with Agnolotti

Bean Bag - Knitted

Giant Knitted Floor Bean Bag

How's this for a gorgeous and super snuggly bean bag?  I made it from a charcoal knitted throw that I no longer use.

To make your own you can knit it yourself or do what I did and use an a throw you have already.  Fold the throw in half and sew with matching wool thread up the long side of the throw - using a stitch that won't be seen once it's finished.  Then whilst flat with seam just sewn to one side, stitch up one end, (laying like an 'L' shape) in the same way you did for the sides.  You'll need a matching cotton or poly/cotton fabric to make an internal bag to hold the beans.  Put a zip in one end and then sew up the side leaving the base until last.  For the base you want it to be the opposite direction to the end with the zip, this is very confusing so...here goes...
the side and the zip/top end are sewn flat like an 'L' shape, then the base end (of both the internal lining and the knitted parts) are opened out and layed down so that the side seam is now in the centre at the back  - see in the picture the base faces one way and the top points upwards?  The side seem is now on the back (underneath) the beanbag.  Hopefully the image to the right will help to explain this to you...






This beanbag is about 1.5metres long and about 600mm across - make it whatever size you like.  Enjoy kicking back and having a lazy cuppa whilst reading your favourite book or playing your favourite tune! 

Close up of knitted fabric

How to make a cake - SKATEBOARD

Skateboard Cake

I created this skateboard cake using my usual chocolate cake recipe and of course lots of fondant.  The tricky part about a skateboard is that it is thin and so making it cake thickness means it looks a little odd, thus the masses of green icing to represent grass around it, so you can't see how thick the cake is.
The base of the cake was iced using black fondant so it disappeared behind the grass.  To create the design draw a template using baking paper with the design you like and cut the pieces out - placing onto the fondant just the same way you would if you were using a pattern for clothing... of course turning upside down to create the opposite side.