Thursday 30 May 2013

Yogurt Ice Lollies - Great Ideas!

Make your own delicious Yogurt Ice Lollies - The children and adults will love them!

I make my own using store bought yogurt and placing the yogurt inside empty ice-lolly moulds and leaving them in the freezer overnight. My children adore these, so whenever the yogurt is on offer I buy it to make these delicious treats.  Great for hot summer days!




Monday 27 May 2013

Make your own Play-Doh Recipe



I have always wanted to make my own play-doh and decided to try it when we had a rainy day!

This is one of the easiest recipes that I found online - as you know I always like the easy option!

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1 tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
1/2 to 1 cup of water
Food coloring (I used 5 colors)

Method:

Mix the flour with the water
Then add the water and oil
Then knead this dough well
Break the dough into 5 balls and add a drop of coloring to each ball
Knead each ball well

That is how easy it is! The children loved this play-doh and helped make it themselves and had a few hours playing with this!  The play-doh can be stored in plastic bags inside the refrigerator for many weeks!





Wednesday 22 May 2013

Yorkshire Pudding Recipe



I recently learnt how to make the perfect Yorkshire Puddings. My sister told me one of the most important things is never to open the door and disturb them whilst they are still cooking. Another trick is to make sure that the oil is very hot when you pour in the batter. Here is the recipe that I personally use: Here is the original link where I found the recipe: best-yorkshire-puddings

Ingredients for batter:
140g Plain Flour
4 eggs
200ml Milk
Salt and Pepper
Vegetable Oil for tray

Method:
Heat oven to 230c
Place small amount of oil into each space into the Yorkshire pudding tins. Place into the oven.
Place flour into a bowl and beat in the 4 eggs until smooth
Slowly add the milk whilst still beating until all the lumps have gone.
Add the salt and pepper
Remove the tin from the oven and immediately pour your batter into the Yorkshire pudding tin holes.
Place back into the oven for 20-25 minutes until they are puffed up.. Do not open the door and disturb the cooking.
Once cooked best eaten immediately!

I promised to share a blooper photo of my Yorkshire puddings - so the photo below shows how some of the Yorkshire puddings came out of the oven on one occasion - not the perfect photo opportunity!





Monday 20 May 2013

Bathrobe / Dressing Gown Mini Tutorial




I decided to make my son a dressing gown as we couldn't find one suitable in the shops! He wanted a comfortable and good length dressing gown but we couldn't find any!  So I decided that this would be my next sewing project!

I was lucky enough to find an old duvet cover from a local charity/thrift shop at a very reasonable price and in excellent condition. I used one of my dressing gowns as a guide for the pattern and just added extra length where needed.

My Instructions:

Step 1: I lay my dressing gown onto the duvet cover and drew an outline of the back part.
Step 2: I then lay the front parts on the cover and drew 2 front parts.
Step 3: I then lay the sleeve onto the duvet and drew 2 sleeve parts.
Step 4: I used the plain back part of the duvet to add extensions to make the sleeves longer - just used the cut out pieces to match the sizes.
Step 5: I measured from the neck to the bottom of the dressing gown and cut out to long rectangles to make a border to go all around the dressing gown. I measured a length for the belt and cut out a rectangle for the belt (this was actually the same size as the other rectangles!).
Step 6: I decided at the last minute to add a pocket - so needed to cut out a square piece of fabric to make a pocket.
Step 7: Then cut out all the pieces that are required for this project.

Step 8: I then pinned the front part of the dressing gown to the sides. Sewing up the sides leaving a gap for the sleeves. Then sew across the top along the shoulders.
Step 9: I ironed the sleeve extensions to make them easier to attach. Ironed in half and then ironed the hems down. Then pin onto the bottom of the sleeve piece and sew.

Step 10: Then fold the sleeve in half lengthways and sew along the edge - finishing the sleeves.
Step 11: I placed the dressing gown inside out and placed the sleeve the correct way into the sleeve opening (see the pics). I then pinned the sleeve to the dressing gown. If you get confused, which I did a little - keep referring back to the original dressing gown to help you understand the joins!



Step 12: Sew the sleeve to the dressing gown and repeat with the other sleeve.
Step 13: Make the border by attaching the two long pieces of fabric together at the short end -making one continuous long rectangle. Then prepare this ready to attach to the sides of the dressing gown - starting at the neck.  Iron the fabric in half and then iron some hems. Attach this to the sides - aligning the join to the middle of the neck. Then pin and sew all the way along.
Step 14: To make the belt I ironed the rectangle piece of fabric as I did with the border. Ironed in half and then ironed the hems. Then sew all along the edges securing.
Step 15: Iron the hems for a pocket. Sew the top edge of the pocket making it neat. Then attach to the dressing gown and sew along attaching the pocket by sewing down the two sides and the bottom. Leaving the top open.

Step 16: I didn't make belt hoops as I find it easier with children's dressing gowns to attach the belt - so they don't fall and get lost! So I attached the belt to the dressing gown with a few stitches at the back of the dressing gown.

I apologise if these instructions are very vague - I am not a professional sewist, I just do what I can. There are plenty of YouTube videos which can help with certain sewing techniques, for example I used a video to help me understand how to attach the sleeves - here is the link if you are interested: adding sleeves There are also other ways to add the border to make it more neat and professional - but I just chose the easiest option for me!





Friday 17 May 2013

Lentil Soup Recipe



This is a recipe I was given by my Algerian Mother-in-Law, not sure if it is typical Algerian or just her own family recipe!

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
3 Cups of Dry Lentils (wash before use)
1 Teaspoon Salt
Half Teaspoon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cumin
3 Onions (chopped finely)
1 Chicken Cube mixed with 12 cups of Boiling Water


Instructions:

Saute the onions in the vegetable oil in a large pan.
Add the dry lentils
Add the chicken cube and water
Add the salt, pepper and cumin
Stir occasionally on a medium heat for about 30/40 minutes until the lentils have cooked.
If it looks too thick then add more water to the pan.
Optional: You can use the blender to blend the soup!

My husband likes the lentil soup without being blended but the children like it blended, so I normally divide the soup and blend what I need.

Below is a photograph of the soup blended.




Monday 13 May 2013

Entryway Storage Bench using a TV/Video Cabinet! - Great Ideas


I made my own entryway storage bench using an old TV/Video Cabinet! This was one of my thrift / charity shop buys!

All I had to do was take off the cabinet doors and make some fabric covers for some ordinary cardboard boxes! The padded cushion can be used as a padded seat to sit on when putting your shoes on. This was actually a lid from a large storage box! As you can see this was a really easy project and I am pleased with the results!.

Monday 6 May 2013

DIY Praying Hijab Tutorial and one for dolls too!



Here are two hijabs I made, one for my youngest daughter and a matching one for her doll!

I actually made these hijabs from a new top that I bought for £2.00 in the sales! The top was an XL size which was great for me as this means more fabric to play with! I often choose clothes which have plenty of fabric for my craft projects!

If you haven't already seen my hijab tutorial here is a repeat of the link and also a mini pic tutorial below: http://www.karimascrafts.com/2012/08/diy-praying-hijab.html


Below is a photograph (sorry for the quality!) of the top before I took my scissors to it! The photo below shows the pinks clearer than the photo above. To make the dolls hijab I just followed the same pattern but reduced the size.






Saturday 4 May 2013

Organizer made from Jeans



An organizer made by my 14 year old son - The children have been very busy crafting lately lol!

My son had to make a recycled/upcycled item for a project they were doing at school in sewing class. He decided to raid my fabric stash and took away some cut up jeans I had in there.

I am actually really impressed with his organizer as he very rarely uses the sewing machine. In fact the only times are when he has had to use it for a school project!

Below is another photograph of something he made quite a while ago at school too!