Easter Egg Cake, Flowers & More

Easter is not far away and like any other celebration holiday, 

we start preparations weeks in advance.

The first fun activity done was to create painted eggs.

This year 'Miss four' assisted.

Her colour choice of paint was pink and purple.

The eggs are polystyrene foam eggs which were purchased from 'Dollar Value' craft section.

Emilee Rose's eggs were placed into an egg carton and used on the Easter table display.

 We added a glass vase of pretty flowers with a ripped rag fabric knotted bow.

Some nests and birds eggs.

And jars of mini Easter eggs.

The flowers are gerberas and chrysanthemums.

I love to collect found nests and eggs...

I think they are incredibly beautiful!

But these eggs in this nest are actually crafted by a potter.

The painted eggs are also hanging from a branch with more found nests mingled in between.

Jars of mini eggs greet visitors to 'Mia Bella Passions homestead',

as this table is right by the front entrance.

Every year we bake an Easter cake.

What's your Easter tradition?

This years cake was a banana cake.

You'll find the Classic Banana Cake recipe HERE.

A simple cake completely overloaded with chocolate toppings! 

Eggs, bunnies and flake.

Nom NOM NOM!

#eater #eastercake #eastereggs #eastercraft #eastervignette

Vintage Newspaper Covered Books....❥

It was time to change up the fabric-covered books on my shelf display.

I had a red theme going on, and it's been like that since 2016!

That's such a LONG TIME!

How did I miss changing this before now?

So for the 2019 book makeover, I decided on a neutral black and white.

I'll be removing the fabric to recover them in the vintage paper.


This is why I used sellotape in the original fabric covering. 
So I could easily take it off and reuse the books.


You can read the original post about the red themed fabric covered books HERE.

Years ago I found a very old newspaper and it's been in my cupboard 'might make something with you' stash since.

The newspaper is from 1946, so it is extremely fragile.

That's why I opted for photocopying the pages so I could still use the interesting font and vintage images for the book covering project.

Also, I wanted black and white not the worn yellow aged paper as it was.

Do you remember covering your schoolbooks?

Well that's the same technique I used.  
Held in place by sellotape.

My black and white themed collectables now look fabulous!

Book stack now in vintage themed black and white font and images,

with my favourite little Wade England scroll handle vase atop.

Love, Love Love!


#vintage #papercraft #upcycled #bookstack

The Front Porch And Potted Plants....❥

Summer arrived and it was time for an update on the front porch...

It's been a few years since any pots have been located here.

The pots needed to be plastic not pottery or terracotta as our summers are so hot, and the plastic pot withholds moisture much better.

I was visiting the K-Mart store and came upon these gorgeous white terracotta pot lookalikes in PLASTIC!

The grade of plastic is very heavy duty.

And the bargain price was just $15 a pot.

The white looks so good.

Into the front porch pots, I planted a 'Juniperus chinensis pyramidalis' conifer,

and a 'Chamaecyparis Boulevard' conifer.

They are both reasonably slow growing varieties.

So I am hoping to repot every two years in early Spring with a root prune to keep them a reasonable size of about one to one and a half metres.

Companion plants were added.

Viola Penny Yellow and Viola Penny White.

Violas are hardy little plants that flower continuously,

 as well as withstanding a semi-shaded position, 

which all of my three covered porches offer any plants that reside on them.

Violas actually provide more flowers per plant than a pansy does!

Feed with liquid or granular fertilizer and you'll get even more flowers!
So this is how early summer on the front porch looked popping with green yellow and white!

Because these pots looked so good,
and I became besotted with the colour yellow,
I bought another white pot, 
and planted a bright yellow-toned gerbera.
What a wonderful pop of late summer colour now the violas have finished.

You can see how much the conifers have grown!
And hiding beneath them are new self-seeded viola plants.
And as autumn begins to arrive I can say I have thoroughly enjoyed my white pots
planted with easy-care conifers and plants bursting with the bright colour of yellow!


#violas #conifers #plantsforpots #gerberas #frontporchplants

#pottedplants #gardenpots

Upstyled Stenciled Door Stopper...

Upstyle a doorstop!

I'm all about embellishing everything at the moment.

Embellishing things is a super way of making a purchased item YOU.

And this is what happened when I found this funky doorstop.

This was just twelve dollars at the K.Mart store.

I tell you what - K.Mart is the best!

It's affordable. 
Which means you can change up the decor without spending a fortune.

(now that's totally my own personal opinion...so let's get back to the door stop).

It is kinda modern French style, 

the fabric is Linen type.
It's plain.
Apart from the foil bottom.

What could I add to it?
A stencil pattern of course!

The stencil I used is a simple flower design by Semco.
I sourced this via Spotlight NZ Online.

I used fabric paint markers to print the stencil onto the doorstop.

I taped the stencil firmly in place.

 I coloured in the outside edge first, then filled the petal with colour.


Then Coloured in the middle black.


I could have left it as is but added black shading.
The flower design now stands out more.

I'm really happy with my stencil design on my upstyled doorstop.

And of course, it's doing the job it was made for...

keeping the door open in the summer breeze.

#upstyled  #stencilling #stencils  #diy

Beautiful Impatients Tamarinda...❥

What can I say but - "I AM IN LOVE"!

In love with these beautiful Impatients.

The flower is stunning, with pops of the most refreshing mauve pink colour.

The dark green leaves are veined in a pinky red.

And what is even more perfect is, 

that this Impatients variety thrives in a part shade position.

That means it is ideal for my covered patio, which gets afternoon sun.

The plants' full title is Impatiens Tamarinda by Iconia.

The label describes this plant as a garden jewel and I would have to agree!

The flowers are jewel-like and actually remind me of the colours found in pink agate stone.

 The buds unfold just like a tiny rose.

 So to grow Impatients Tamarinda successfully:

 *You need to plant them in a part shade position. 

*Soil must be well drained.

*Give the plant frequent watering in the hot, dry summer months.

*Protect from frost in the winter as these plants are very frost tender.

*Liquid feed in summer.

*The plants can also grow in hanging baskets, patio pots as well as garden beds and borders.

Success with the above tips means you will be rewarded with:

*Lush green foliage.

*Beautiful curvy star-shaped flowers.

*Flowering continuously throughout the summer season.

Impatients Tamarinda  - to add colour to your garden beds, hanging baskets,

and deck plant pots.

I'M IN LOVE  - are you?

#Impatients #colourfulplantsforgardensandpots #flowers #flowering plants #summerplants #plantsforpots

#summerpotplants #potplants

Mia Bella Passions 2018 Christmas Message...❥

Wishing Y'all a wonderful, fun-filled

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY season.

Be safe, be happy, find joy in the little things, love, laugh and smile.

Mia Bella Passions is taking a holiday break too

and will return on January 17th 2019.

A Simple Christmas Table Centrepiece...❥

Every year I buy a few new things for my Christmas decor collection.

Do you have one of those too?

Well, I simply love Christmas.

And this year decorating was kept minimalistic.

Not real minimalistic, 

but Mia Bella Passions kind of minimalistic.

The colour theme this Christmas is green and white tones with wood.

For the Dining table decor styling,

a simple aqua table cloth was placed on the table.

Add one home sewn, Christmas green checked gingham table runner.

Then a round metal tray with wood handles was placed in the middle of the table. 

Onto that three white embossed ceramic mini planters were placed.

Into each of these a candle.

I used aqua coloured candles to compliment the aqua coloured tablecloth.

Then place a ceramic white deer as a focal feature.

Around the candles add some faux pine greenery and pinecones.

All of the items used for this centrepiece were sourced from KMart NZ.

Except for the candles which were bought from Briscoes NZ on sale.

#christmastablecentrepiece #christmasdecor

FUN Christmas Ice Cream Cake...

What a fun Christmas foodie activity.

 Believe me, you will be laughing so much doing this!

Take one pre-prepared ice cream cake.

A tray full of edible decorations.

Take turns adding something to the cake.
You will be laughing and shouting things like...
Quick it's melting...
oh no my candy cane has fallen over... 
hurry up, hurry up...
noooo the creams lost its fluff...
it won't stand up...
quickly get the sprinkles!
When we created our cake we simply laughed ourselves silly!

Once it's all pretty and Christmasy devour it!

Now that is what you call perfect fun for the foodies!

To prepare cake:

Use a round tin preferably with removable click release side.

Slightly soften 1 Litre of ice cream.

(I used vanilla, but you can use any flavour you desire.)

Tip into a tin.

Use some more ice cream to fill in the side and level the top.

Freeze.

On the day of decorating.  Remove from freezer and plate.

Cover with plastic wrap and place back in the freezer until required to decorate.

Then decorate:

Drizzle with a layer of chocolate crack topping. 
Let it drip down the sides...

before embellishing with edibles...

ready to use canned cream, Christmas-themed biscuits, chocolates and sprinkles.


#christmasfood #christmasdessert #icecreamcake