covet list : knit bow ballerina slipper

Aren't these slippers by Papinelle Sleepwear just lovely? They look so warm and fuzzy! And just because they are labelled slippers, doesn't mean they should be confined to lounging around the house, these are too pretty not to be shown off! Sadly they were sold out in my size (sigh!), but will have to figure a way out to knit up some of my own perhaps.

lookalike : peacock feather necklace

I adore the beautiful colours of peacock feathers - take this gorgeous Peacock Feather Necklace on etsy, would happily pay the $35 they are asking for, but why wait to have it shipped all the way from the US when you can whip one up for around $10?

You'll need 5 peacock feathers, a nice sparkly chain and some jump rings. Cut the peacock feathers carefully, leaving only the eye of the feather. Pierce the stem of the feather with a large sewing needle and thread onto the jump ring. Then attach to your necklace. Done.


After I had finished, I realised I would probably would have prefered a finer chain. The one on etsy also had cute little silver feather charms inbetween the actual feathers, will be keeping my eye out for some of these too!

felt bow cuff

I've seen heaps of images floating around the web of these gorgeous bow cuffs made with leather/vinyl - so I decided to have a go with the very inexpensive but easily accessible felt square!

 

All you need is some felt, some fasteners and thread in a matching colour. Cut a strip of felt, long enough to wrap around your wrist and a smaller strip to form the bow strap. Pinch the felt in the middle, wrap around your strap and sew into place. Attach the fastener and snap around your wrist.

I do love the slick look of the leather ones (and will hunt a down some scrap leather eventually) but with felt at only 75c a sheet - you can have one in any colour you desire.

lookalike : long pom pom necklace

If you love your beanie topped with a pom pom, adorn you neck with the same sense of fluffyness. Cue this string of fluffballs on ASOS by Les Nereides for RRP $182.38.... or get your hands on some pom poms, wool and ribbon renmants, and a long chain and fluff up your own for around $10. Add a few stitches here, tie a bow there, string some wool together and you'll be set to pom pom all the way.

chocolate lava puddings

Excuse my blurry photo which I quickly snapped with my phone - but I couldn't wait to dig into my pudding because it looked and smelt sooooo good! And tasted even better!

Chocolate Lava Puddings

Serves 4

125g dark cooking chocolate
125g butter
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
35g plain flour
Pouring cream to serve

Pre-heat oven to 220° and grease four 1-cup ramekins with butter. Add a tiny spoonful of flour to each ramekin and shake the flour around to cover the butter on the base and sides. Tap out any excess flour, then place ramekins on a baking tray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl, stopping to stir every 20 seconds until the chocolate and butter have thoroughly melted and blended together.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and flour until blended. Gradually whisk in the melted chocolate mixture.

Pour pudding mixture into the remakins and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are firm and just starting to crack and the edges are set.

Serve immediately with a splash of cream. Yum!

woolly scarf

Pick up a pair of knitting needles and get knitting. Knitting is relatively easy to learn - there are great tutorial videos on YouTube on how to knit, or I'm sure your Grandma would love to show you how!

Once you've learnt to knit you can produce a scarf like this one! This pattern used 2 different knitting needle sizes and basic knit and purl stitches for a nice drapey scarf. You will also need to know the knit-2-together and knit-front-and-back techniques.

I used 3 skeins of Chantilly.
9mm and 4.5mm needles.

Using your 9mm needles, cast on 24 stitches.
Knit one row.
Then follow this sequence:
9mm - Purl
9mm - Knit
9mm - Purl
9mm - Knit
9mm - Purl
4.5mm - K2T (You'll end up with 14 stitches on your needles)
4.5mm - Knit
4.5mm - Knit
4.5mm - Knit
4.5mm - Knit
4.5mm - Knit
9mm - KFB (You'll increase back to 24 stitches)

Cast off when you have reached your desired length.
I added tassles to finish it off.
You'll be nice and snug with this woolly scarf wrapped around your neck!

This is my interpretation of the original pattern posted on monster-yarn

inspiration reel : many many ways to keep that neck warm

Who knew there was so many ways to tie a scarf? The clever girls over at Scarves Dot Net share many many ways to keep that neck warm - perfect since winter decided to make an early appearance this week.

Now to buy/make scarves to try out all these styles!