I’m not much of a baker, but I have to share this cookie recipe with you. Why? Because it is super simple and delectably delicious!
This recipe makes about 45-50 cookies – you can halve these measurements if your house isn’t populated by ravenous monsters like ours is.
Bestest Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of self raising flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
250g cooking margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
250g bag of chocolate chips (Get the most delicious ones you can find. Here in Australia I buy Cadbury’s white or milk chocolate chips. Sometimes I use both. Yah-UM!)
How to make them:
Put the first three dry ingredients into a bowl and mix. Melt the margarine in the microwave until it is soft but not runny. I blast mine for about 45 seconds but this will vary depending on your microwave and how nuclear-reactive it is. Then break your eggs into a cup and whisk them with a fork until they’re…um…whisked. Add these to the bowl, and then add the vanilla essence. Mix well. Last of all, add the chocolate chips, with the goal in mind that more of them must go into the bowl than into your mouth.
Grease a baking tray with cooking margarine or line it with baking paper. Roll up small balls of the mixture, pop them on the tray then bake them at 180°C* for 10-15 minutes. I bake mine for exactly 11 minutes because we like our cookies a bit soft. The longer you bake them, the crunchier they will be.
Allow your cookies to cool on the tray for a few minutes, before turning them onto a cooling rack.
The last step is the easiest. Eat your cookies and fill the world with the delightful sounds of your contented munching!
*Standard oven temperature. I use a fan-forced oven and lower the temperature to 165°C.
So…I really love Instagram. It’s making me document my life far more.. I’m recording those little moments that otherwise would have vanished like dust.
It is also challenging me creatively to use my little iPhone camera to make nice shots. Some people do this very well, me, I am still trying! ~:At this point, while I am talking about photography with the iPhone, I would LOVE to point you to one of my favourite photography articles ever. It’s called Your Camera Doesn’t Matter and it is really interesting, especially if you are one of those people who might be hesitant to explore photography because you don’t have a ‘fancy’ camera.:~
So here is a little mosaic of this week’s Instagrams…
So, as you can see, I like cats, and the colour pink, and Australia; and I did a little crocheting this week; and it seems I also like to take sunflare shots. 
Here are my Instagrams on the web, and my username is kellyrachel if you’d like to find me on Instagram. Let me know if you find me there, so we can get to know each other!
My dishes went unwashed today
I didn’t make the bed
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.
Oh yes, we went adventuring
My little son and I…
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky.
We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood…
My kitchen wasn’t swept today
But life was gay and good.
We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows,
How mother bunny hides her nest,
Where Jack-in-the-pulpit grows.
We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill…
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.
That my house was neglected,
That I didn’t sweep the stairs,
In twenty years no one on earth
Will know, or even care.
But that I’ve helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years the whole wide world
May look and see and know.
~ Author Unknown
I have a new niece! Here she is at just one day old…
And of course a precious little baby girl needs some handmade gifts from her Aunty.
First of all a little skirt…
My second ever piece of clothing – made from this great tutorial by Amanda (who now blogs at The Modern Marigold.)
I really enjoyed making this little skirt! I was surprised, actually, at how much of a sense of achievement I felt. I think my favourite sewing projects are those that are functional, and nothing is really more functional than clothing.
I also made this bib, or body apron, which is very aptly named a Bapron! I followed this great tutorial from Jess at Craftiness Is Not Optional. I reduced the pattern to 75%, to make it more suitable for a smaller baby.
And lastly I made another bib. This one is probably more for showing than blowing, if you get my meaning. 
This was my first try at paper-piecing and I LOVED it! I want to do more, more, more!! I also got out my never-before-used ruffler foot and experimented on some mint green ribbon. I can see me using this foot a LOT more. Hooray for easy ruffles!
The bib is fastened with snaps – I put two rows on for adjustability. I remember never being very fond of velcro on bibs as it could be a little scratchy on my babies’ soft skin.
I added some little bows on a whim to balance it out. I really dig this vintagey palette of candy pink, mint green and black polka dots!
My sister loved all of the gifts for her new baby daughter, thankfully!
And just for extra sweetness, here is a little more newborn baby wonderfulness!
by Kelly on June 14, 2011
in Sewing
Hello! Did you miss me? I’ve been a busy little maker this past little while. The Sunday before last, I had a bright idea. Why not make a quilt for my Nana’s birthday on Saturday? I thought to myself. I had long admired Stefanie’s Charming Stars Quilt, and decided the combination of that pattern and some Delilah would surely be a winner! I changed the pattern a teeny bit and planned to make my biggest quilt yet – a queen size.
Just recently I have become obsessed with discovered Instagram*, and have been taking photos here and there of my quilt-in-progress:
So, this was all fine and dandy. I thought I would definitely be finished by my Nana’s birthday…
*Bah Bow!*
Quilting a queen-sized quilt on a domestic sewing machine is really hard! *sob sob* Nana’s birthday has been and gone (it was 3 days ago) and I am procrastinating further wrestling-match-type sessions with the quilt.
I will get it done, of course. I just needed to have a little whine. Tell me you know what I’m going through!
*My Insta-name is kellyrachel. Let me know if you find me there!
Here is a little bit of sewing magic for you. I am going to show you how to make a cute little gift bag out of just one fat quarter, and nothing else! Yup!
This little bag has 2 pockets on the outside – one for a little gift card; and one for a little something extra like a note or a little chocolate. Inside it is big enough for a small gift. If you’re making this for a fellow sewist, note that it happens to fit a charm pack perfectly!
It is really very easy, once you understand how it’s supposed to go together. It’s a little bit origami-like in the way it’s folded. Now, don’t let the fact that this tutorial is 32 steps long deter you! In my effort to make this as easy as possible to understand, I have broken the process up into very tiny bite size pieces for you. Yum!
Are you ready to begin?
[click to continue…]
by Kelly on May 26, 2011
in Crochet
In my part of Australia it’s getting chilly – boo. However, I have found crocheting during this weather is great! Yay! Since I started crocheting last September, I have only previously crocheted in warm and hot weather. Crocheting blankets in particular in that kind of weather is a bit of a trial of determination. The chilly weather, however, perfectly lends itself to snuggling on the couch with hook and yarn.
As mentioned in my last post, I went to visit my sister in law and family on the weekend. I have so many photos to share. I’m thinking that I would love to let Sandi share them herself and tell us about her creations. How about it, Sandi? I also have to show you the A.M.A.Z.I.N.G bag she made for me. We did a little swap, you see, a bag for a bag. It was so much fun we’ve decided to do some more swapsies!
Anyway, back to the crocheting! For our next swap, I am making a Luna Lovegood scarf for Sandi, in some beautiful Bamboo yarn which Sandi liked. According to the label, it’s ‘fabulous next to the skin’. Fabulous! Fabulous!
How about you? Is there something you enjoy doing in the colder weather?
