My brother can be so hard to buy for. So most of the time I just give him money for his birthday. This year I decided it was time for a different birthday gift. Normally, I would just put money in a card. But I recently came across some cool ideas on Pinterest. I wish I could claim this idea as my own, but it wasn’t. Nevertheless, here is what I gave my brother and how I made it.
You will need
My hair is reasonably long and it’s nice to get it off my neck when it’s hot so I often put it in a bun during the summer. The secret to getting a sleek flawless bun that holds well is spiral hair pins! As they spiral through your hair they create a very strong grip, interlocking each other and the hair strands.
To Use:
You may need to use more than one pin to secure your hair. I usually use three or four.
Buzzfedd also has a great article, 21 hair styles using spiral pins.
I don’t know how many times I have sent an email but forgot to actually add the attachment mentioned in the email. The great news is, now I don’t have to. Gmail will remind me based on the text in the email. If I mention an attachment but don’t actually attach anything, a little message pops up to prompt you to attach it.
My third niece arrived into the world on September 21. I had a bit of a mad rush to crochet as much as I could before the baby shower which was back in July. The baby shower is done and dusted now, I can finally take a bit of a break from crochet.
Here are some photos of the things I made (both food and crochet) as well as links to the patterns and recipes.
Owl Blanket – My mother in law found this pattern & knew it would be perfect as the baby’s room was being decorated with an owl theme. It’s probably the most effort I have put into anything crochet, beside’s my Krista blanket.
Ugg Boots – This was the first pattern that I paid for. I struggled at the start but it really helps to pay close attention to the pattern. I’m incredibly happy with how they have turned out and I have made a few more since.
Bunny rattle – This is a baby shower staple, everyone that invited me to their baby shower is guaranteed to get one of these. I put a bell inside the head when I was stuffing it.
Owl Snuggle Buddy – This was actually requested by the mum to be. I’m happy with how it turned out & will probably make some more in the future with different animals.
I also volunteered to make some food. I think I may have bitten off more than I could chew as I was up until midnight the Thursday before icing the shortbreads & crocheting madly at 7 am the day of.
Owl cupcakes – These were so simple to make! Again, I’m glad I made the cupcakes on Wednesday night. I iced them with a tub of Betty Crocker icing, halved Oreos, orange and brown M&M’s.
Iced shortbreads – I have a stack of different cookie cutters that I have hardly used. I used the butterfly & flower shaped cutters. There were too many dramas while trying to icing them. I borrowed my mother’s icing set which just happens to be her grandmother’s. Unfortunately, the plunger part came out!! I was very lucky in that I had another icing set, but the same thing happened!! As a last resort, I used a ziplock bag which worked a treat.
Breakfast Bites – This was also so simple to make. Baguette cut on an angle, smashed avo, scrambled eggs & chopped cherry tomatoes.
Last week I experimented in the kitchen and purchased lots of things I wouldn’t normally buy. Prawns, lemongrass, coriander, sesame oil, fish sauce, leek, and whole red chillis.
A few of the items still had their roots attached and it got me thinking. I had seen that you could put spring onions in a glass of water and they would regrow. There should be no reason why anything else with its root intact would be any different.
I did a bit more research and found not much equipment was required. In most cases, just a glass of fresh water and a sunny spot was all it should take.
A shot glass was the perfect size for the leek. It wasn’t too wide, so the leek would sit upright. It was deep enough to fill with a little bit of water. The perfect spot was the west-facing window from the kitchen.
I did notice that you need to change the water almost daily. The water did get smelly if left for too long. And after a really sunny day, it would evaporate. Harley was quite curious about it at first, giving it a few sniffs. He soon lost interest and left it to be.
Here is the leek after being the in water for one week. It was sliced cleanly off but has grown quite a bit in a week.
I have also put some coriander in some water but I can’t tell if it is making any progress. I’m not too fussed if it doesn’t take off. I’m not sure what I would use coriander for.
I also have some garlic cloves that seem to have sprouted in the cupboard. I might pop them into some soil and see what happens.
Kathleen (noun), newly 30, bustling employee, inventive house wife & wannabe creative, just wanting to share the favourable parts of my life.
