Garlicky Roast Mushrooms

 Enjoy them on their own as a meat-free meal with a green salad.

Or present them as a sidekick to your next steak meal.

Super quick to whip up, you'll be devouring them in 15 minutes!

To make it, you will need:

6 portabello medium-size mushrooms.

Trim the stalks.

Place in a non-stick baking dish.

Dice 2 cloves of garlic and finely chop 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme sprigs.

Sprinkle over the tops of the mushrooms.

Mix 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 5 Tablespoons of olive oil.

Drizzle over the mushrooms.

Grind seasoning of salt and pepper over top and place in a preheated oven heated to 180 degrees Celcius.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

I served mine as a main meal with a bacon, chicken and vegetable stir fry.

You can enjoy them on their own with toasted sourdough bread for breakfast.

Or they are delicious with steak and coleslaw.

Printable recipe HERE.

#mushrooms #sidedishes #healthyfood

Pretty Pressed Flower Vase

Homemade gifts are always wonderful to receive, so here is an idea for gifting.

You can place the pressed (not dried)  flowers onto any glass object.

I have used a preserving jar that has a nice shape with square faces.

The first thing you need to do is gather the flowers.

Select various flowers and leaves.

And more than you need in case of any pressing fails.

This does happen!

 This technique is the old-fashioned way where you use a book.

Just like we did when we were kids, before the invention of flower press contraptions.

Just place the flowers and leaves between two pieces of newspaper.

Insert in the book.

Do this with all the flowers and leave a gap of about 10 pages between every insertion.

Make sure you use an old unwanted book as the moisture may ruin the pages.

Put the book in a warm place. 

Add more weight by piling more books on top.

Leave for two weeks.

Then carefully remove it from the newspaper and place them on a white sheet of paper so you can see what you will have to use.

On the side of the clean glass vessel, Spread a layer of Mod Podge glue.

Place your flower design onto that.

Leave to dry.

Then proceed on around the jar or on one face - that is entirely up to you.

Leave to dry once more.

Then place a final coating of modpodge on all the flower areas.

Dry for two days.

Seal with clear spray sealer.

Dry again.

There is quite a bit of drying time involved, but it really is worth it in the end!

You can use dried flowers, but I find pressing for a few weeks is sufficient.

The glue seals any moisture left in the flowers as does the sealer.

To finish I tied a simple thin rope bow at the neck of the jar.

Fill your vessel.

I have placed a bunch of garden flowers into my jar.

But you could display dried flowers in the vase.

And tied a simple twine bow at the neck of the jar.

Fun to create, this is a lovely homemade gift, or keep it for yourself.

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For TLee's art and photographic prints, visit  https://www.saatchiart.com/tlee

Art and Photographic prints @ https://www.saatchiart.com/tlee

#flowercraft #DIYgifts

Cinnamon Xmas Tree Decorations

 Delicious aromas of cinnamon permeate the air in your home when you decorate your Christmas tree with a few of these DIY decorations.  

To make about seven decorations 3 inches in diameter all you need is the following:

 1 cup of cinnamon

3/4 cup of unsweetened apple sauce plus 1 more heaped Tablespoon.

And 3 Tablespoons of white PVA glue.

Mix all in a bowl and knead well until a dough is formed.

The more you knead, the better the consistency.

Sprinkle more cinnamon on the bench and roll with a rolling pin or press out into a circle that is 1/2 inch thick.

Cut the circles using a glass.

Or use shaped cookie cutters.

Or press a design into the dough.

I used icing shape cutters.

Use a nail or straw to make a hole for the hanger.

Slide a spatula under the dough.

 Place the ornament gently on a baking paper-covered tray.

Bake in a 180 degrees oven for 20 minutes.

Leave to cool overnight.

Add a string or ribbon then hang it on your tree.

Or as in my case my upcycled bat branch from the Halloween decor.

I added mini pearl lights to the branch tree and added a single wooden deer ornament.

To finish it off, a pair of ceramic white deer standing in the front is surrounded by wooden heart lights.

Simple, but perfect.

And oh my!

The cinnamon ornaments make it smell like 

JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS!

Grab a cuppa, and visit

 my Fine Art America gift store

#cinnamondecorations #diychristmas 

#christmasornamnetstomake

'Save the birds' Crystal Hanger

 

Have you ever had birds fly into your house windows?

Yip - so have I!

Recently I cleaned my filthy windows and then the very next day, a beautiful wax eye bird was dead on the ground.

The windows simply reflected the native bush behind 'The Barn', and that poor bird thought it was flying into the bush!

So sad.

If you are a long-time follower of Mia Bella Passions, you are probably wondering, bush?

But the 'Mia Bella Passions' garden is Italian and cottage!

So...

I haven't told you about my new beginnings and the happenings over the past two years.

Now's the time to do that.

I made the decision to leave my marriage.

For myself.

Not for anyone else or because of anyone else.

Simply because it was the right thing to do after such a long time of unfixable unhappiness.

The truth is 'Mia Bella Passions' - the house, the gardens and the blog carried me through terrible years of sadness and difficulty.

Not long after the separation, I met 'Him'.

I exhibited paintings in a gallery he was the curator of.

Another creative.

My perfect match.

We became a team.

 I shifted from 'Mia Bella Gardens Homestead' and transitioned to a gypsy-type life travelling, photographing, writing, painting and melding into the amazing small Lakeside community I now live in.

So that is where the bush comes into the picture.

Our creative studios and office are in a big blue barn that backs onto the native New Zealand bush.

To create some reflective light in the windows so those poor birds do not think there is a bush ahead, I have made pretty beaded crystal hangers.

I call them my 'Save the birds' crystal hangers.

To make a 'Save the birds' crystal hanger, you will need

Glass beads in your choice of colour and shape.

Very thin wire or jewellery wire.

Jewellery crimps.

Pliers.

A larger bead and crystal for the bottom of the hanger.

Start by cutting the wire to about 20 inches long (50cm) and attach your bottom crystal through the top hole in it, and twist the wire.

Then add a feature bead.

I used a glass heart which had a hole through the bottom and top.

Add more beads in whatever pattern and size you desire leaving about 3 inches (7.5cm) of wire to create a hanger loop.

 Using a metal crimp place one at the top of the bead chain, and squeeze to flatten with the pliers.

Put another metal crimp on and thread the wire through to create a loop.

I actually put two crimps on for the loop but you only need one.

Squeeze the crimp flat and trim the excess wire.

Hang it in a window where the birds tend to fly into.

The beads create shimmer to distract,

and the crystal creates beautiful rainbow patterns on a sunny day.

This has been the perfect solution that stops the birds flying to the barn office windows.

And they are very pretty too.

#diycraft #beadcraft