In A Pickle

I've been busy the last couple of days getting myself in a pickle.

It's almost summer in Australia and I really enjoy a good pickled onion with my barbeque. I'm also quite partial to the bread & butter cucumbers which a couple of "unmentionable" takeaway places put in their burgers. When I was a young bride living in the wheatbelt area, I used to have a go at anything that would save money. So I learnt a few things about pickling. For a while I only made a few favourites, so I'm experimenting again with recipes and different methods.

I've also been messing around with presentation ideas. I got these labels from Printable Labels.

I also had the idea of using an old date stamp to give a retro look to the "made on " labels.

I tried a couple of different tops including doilies like this:

I remember when getting myself into a pickle had a whole different meaning - now those were the days :)

A Touch of Shakespeare

Last weekend we visited the "Elizabethan Village" pub in Armadale, Western Australia.

In this video Leo Fowler's daughter Sally-Ann explains about her father's dream of building replica houses of both William Shakespeare's Birthplace & Anne Hathaway's cottage. More videos can be seen on her YouTube channel here.

Here are a few of the photos we took while we were there.

I've loved Shakespeare since high school. My favourites are Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.  


Shakespeare's complete works are available online here thanks to The Tech at MIT. I always feel no education is complete without some Shakespeare.


If you ever get a chance to see the PBS special called "In Search of Shakepeare" it is a fascinating documentary. I managed to see it thanks to my local library. There's a lot of food for thought.


Over the years many people have interpreted Shakespeare's works in so many different ways. But I still think a live performance is unbeatable. Last year I saw Macbeth performed by a local theatre company and it was riveting, even though I knew what was going to happen I was still on the edge of my seat.


I love the era so much I bought myself one of these Renaissance dresses called "Romeo & Juliet" from Holy Clothing.

I can't resist buying a Shakespearean book from a garage sale or second hand book shop. Since I'm sure my collection is not yet complete, I'll just have to keep my eye out a few years longer. 

Sonnet #18

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st;
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

William Shakespeare

Crafts made from Books

I love crafts & I love books! Since this blog is about bringing these things together, I have a round-up of all things crafty to do with recycling books or making new books or something library-like such as index cards . Hope you enjoy:

Brenna's Secret Storage books. These look like a book, but are really a secret storage compartment.
Instructions here.

I Think I'm In Love With A Book Wreath. Apartment Homesteader shares her new creation and points the direction to blogs with tutorials.

Pip from Meet Me At Mikes shared the link for a printable index card useful for blogging, scrapbooking and so on. Application here.

Here's mine:

Bookbinding tips from Craft Gossip.com - tutorial by Elizabeth Carls - so you can make your own books.

Librarian.net shared a link to Etsy blog's Library themed finds.

And finally this brilliant paper that's been made into fabric. Love it! Love it!
Once again by Brenna at Design Sponge.

A Mad Tea Party

Is there anything lovelier than a tea party? I love to give tea parties, but they don't have to be traditional and they can be as mad as you like. When I was little I would often have tea parties with my teasets, at my Nan's, with my Mum and sister, with my friends. I was also, terribly fond of "Alice in Wonderland" and had read it several times before I reached high school.

Knowing of my love for "Alice in Wonderland", my brother bought me the new Tim Burton version and I watched it on the weekend. How cool was it? Did you love it? I did. There was a lot of running around and silly throw away lines - I think Lewis Carroll would have approved.

I once heard Jennifer Byrne from First Tuesday Book Club describe "Alice in Wonderland" as being rich in character and having no plot. Usually a recipe for disaster in a novel - but history has spoken as have Lewis Carroll's fans.


Viewing the new Alice has inspired me to share a couple of my favourite Alice things I have come across in recent times.


Design Sponge has a page dedicated to living in "Alice in Wonderland" which is here.


You may have already seen this gorgeous altered book from Su Blackwell.

I'm also loving these pendants and brooches from a Twittery Pal Jubly Umph Originals.

In case you missed it - the incredible application - Alice for the iPad.

Back in May we had a lovely, mad tea party for my daughter's kitchen tea. Here are a couple of ideas if you wish to have your own:

I made flowers with eyes. (See below)

Mini "playing card" table scatters.

"Eat me" labels on the food.

"Drink me" labels on the water & drink bottles.

Lots of different tea cups.

Teapots with different types of tea.

Crockery with hearts on it.

Chess set.

Everyone wore a hat.

White rabbit candles (from Easter time).

Played the movie on TV.

Mini tea party with dolls.

"We're all mad here.." and other signs.

Gift bags with teabag, coffee sachet, chocolates etc.

The bride was dressed in a toilet paper dress made by her dressmaker (Aunty) and Bridesmaid (Groom's sister). We also got her make up artist (Aunty) to put lipstick on her while blindfolded.

Anyway, that's it for today, so I'm off to paint the roses red.


More information about Lewis Carroll and a list of the different versions of "Alice in Wonderland" can be found here at the Lewis Carroll Society.

Having Fun with the Lunch Punch

Every holidays my nephew has a visit. When there is no Kindy and no swimming lessons, he likes to come to Aunty Kat's. As my children are quite a bit older now, I try and think back to the kinds of things we used to do, so we can have some fun.
Well just before the holidays the lovely blog Craft Gossip had a post about "Puzzle Sandwiches" I was very excited about this and managed to source the "Lunch Punch".I bought the "Match & Munch" which creates puzzle sandwiches, but there are other interesting punches including critters, cars & fairies.

Here are some of our creations:

Granny Square Slippers

While browsing Craft Blogs a while back I came across this great tutorial at The Purl Bee. 
I have loved making granny squares ever since I was little and my Nan taught me to make pot holders.
So I thought I would have a go and the results are below. Now I'm not a great crocheter, just enthusiastic, and these are simple enough for a beginner. The only thing I did differently was to take the lazy way out and whip stitch the squares together rather than crochet them.
Over the week my Mother-in-Law has given me a few granny squares from unfinished projects her friends had started, so I am making a few more pairs to get a feel for sizing etc. Hope you have as much fun making them as I did.

More photos here on My Tumblr