The Beauty Of Flowers - PINK...

 The beauty of flowers - PINK (with a teeny hint of yellow... )
Do you gather inspiration from nature when you decorate you home?
Pink orchids with yellow in the throats...
The centre furl of an Asiatic lilly..
Ahhhh....pink love.
A garden flower posy for gifting....
Pink rose love...
Hydrangea's in shades of pink
With tiny blue pinhead centres...
And a beautiful lily to end 'The Beauty Of Flowers - PINK'  photo story.






Potted Fresh Herbs In The Kitchen....


Do you have space for a kitchen herb garden...on your bench top?
 This awkward corner space in the Mia Bella kitchen is a perfect spot...
for potted thyme, oregano, parsley and chives.
 With lovely bright morning sun, the pots are happy to stay in place for the entire summer.
 Add a jug of hydroponic lettuces (roots intact and sitting in water)...
for fresh picked lettuce for the sandwiches.
Add a vase of pretty blooms...
 Like these crisp white paper whites, with their glorious scent!
 And you have a beautiful kitchen vignette.
During the winter months as it is now in New Zealand, 
 the growth of the plants has slowed
and the pots need a little time in the sunshine outdoors.
Southern Hemisphere temperatures mean you can pop them outside for a week,'
then bring them in again.
(I do this 2 or 3 times over the winter, especially when we have a rainy weather week.)
I've had my kitchen herb garden on the bench top for over a year now...
and I LOVE the convenience, and the look of it!





Mandarin Crepes with Mandarin Syrup...


Crepes
Citrus and crepes =LOVE!
Mandarin recipes
Mia Bella Gardens is overflowing with winter fruits this season.
The Mandarin tree is ripe for the picking.
Vibrant orange organic deliciousness! 
Mandarin juice is divine, 
so when I came across this recipe in a vintage cookbook for mandarin crepes, 
the recipe development began...
First, the saucy syrup was prepared. That sweet citrus smell was heaven!
The crepes whipped up, folded, plated, ladled with syrup and served.

Mandarin Crepes

Serves four.

Whip cream ready for serving.
Make mandarin Syrup, then crepes and serve immediately.

MANDARIN SYRUP:
In a small pot dissolve over a medium heat 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup of water and 3/4 cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice.
Add 1 cup of mandarin segments.
Thicken with 2 Tablespoons of cornflour mixed to paste with cold water.  
(The syrup can be made thin or thick, adjust amount of cornflour to thicken to your desired consistency)

CREPES: 
Sift 3/4 cup plain flour into a bowl and add 2 Tablespoons caster sugar,  three beaten eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 cup milk.
Mix well and let the mixture sit for 20 minutes.  Mix again,  and proceed to make crepes.
Make thin crepes in a small nonstick pan by placing 2-3 spoonfuls of batter in the pan. Cook until lightly brown and flip to cook the other side.
Place on a dinner plate - cover with foil to keep warm, until you make all the crepes.

TO SERVE:
Fold each crepe half and half again. place on a plate or in individual serving bowls.  Spoon the sauce over the crepes and add extra mandarins. 
Add a dollop of cream and serve.
For the printable recipe click HERE.



#mandarin #crepes #citrus



How To Make a Pallet Picture - For Signs, Art or Crafts...

 Making a pallet board base for signs, art or crafts is not difficult to do...
You will need:  some lengths of pallet wood, ruler, marker pen, saw or drop saw, and a hammer.
 Remove any nails in the pallet wood.
 Make the desired length of you sign or picture.
This one is going to be 60cm long.
 Cut pallets (I used a drop saw)...
 you will need three lengths at the desired measurement.
Next you need backing support to hold the lengths in place.
 Cut two back supports the width off the three boards as shown.
 Nail the support boards in place.
If you want a hanger - add this now.
A clip hanger on the back or rope/chain on the top.
 And that is it:  Ready for your pallet creation...
Shell artworks are great fun for the older children to make.
(Remember glue gun safety when doing this project).
 Sketch in pencil a simple outline shape - a butterfly, star, heart, anchor or upper case alphabet letter.
We chose a butterfly shape.
shell craft
 Glue various shells inside the shape.
Now that's a fun picture, to add a little summer to Mia Bella's winter porch!


#shellcraft


Another Paint It - GOLD - Project!

Have you ever bought something for the home décor online, 
thinking it would be fabulous?
And when it arrives in the post is NOTHING like the image you bought it from???
Well, this is what happened with this darling...
French styled - tick 
Birds - tick 
but...
colour - yuk - tick 
almost tacky - tick 
Does not fit anywhere in the house - tick 
Disastrous purchase - tick   
Try and fix said disastrous purchase...
paint the leafy green bird grey to tone the super bright colours down.
Looks a bit better now... and some may even like it...
But for me, it just wasn't right.
Into the cupboard it went, and it stayed - until it was painted white.
But I still didn't like it, so back into the cupboard it went!
I have seen on Pinterest how people are spray painting anything and everything white!
Kids plastic toys, ornaments, books, vases, book ends - EVERYTHING!!!
And as I am having a 'quite fond of gold' moment...
and the red sitting room has now developed accents of gold,
I Painted it gold, as well as an old vase I have had for 20 years.
Best idea ever - tick  
 I used White Knight Super Gold
(LOVE this paint as it has SUPERB coverage!)
DIY upcycling
Two items relegated to cupboard life
now...with a funky painted new style.
DIY upcycling
 Up-styled décor pieces that I'm now loving...Painted GOLD!


#gold #upcycled #diy


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...