Red Brolly

Tutorial:: Blueberry Girls free printable cutlery holder

 

Looking for something to decorate the brunch table for Mother's Day on Sunday?

How about a very easy and quick Blueberry Girls Cutlery Holder? I think Mum, or perhaps your BFF, will really love them.

Would you like to see how to make them?

Here's what you'll need....

Download your free Cutlery holder design (either click on the the image below and then right click, or if you prefer, you can grab your PDF pattern here ) It prints to your standard A4 paper size, but I think if you are in the States, the standard paper size is different. I think I've worked it out so it will still print everything, but maybe the instructions may get a little cropped.

Some card stock- you can also just use regular paper, but I liked mine a still bit stiff. Remember, not too thick as it still has to pass through your printer.

Glue or your trusty sewing machine

Scissors

 

How to make...

1. Print the cutlery holder, as many as you need, onto regular A4 paper or card stock. 

2. Cut out around the whole design.

3. Carefully fold in half along the fold line. Press firmly.

4. Either use your sewing machine and stitch along the 2 edges shown-leaving the top open, or, you can glue along the side and bottom.

5. TA-DA! Finished. Slip some cutlery in and place on the table to make your setting look fabulous. I served my brunch to the Girls on a French bread board, a.k.a Jamie Oliver style, so we could all join in and share together.

I must say, the Girls and I had a great morning preparing for this tutorial and setting up for the photography. I think they got a little carried away...

I think they enjoyed this part the best, what do you think?

We had picked up the croissants from one of our faaaavourite patisseries-"The Gumnut Patisserie-" and found some delicious, local, handmade raspberry jam, on one of our weekend jaunts to the Southern Highlands. And, can you see the butter balls? The Girls whipped these up using my fruit baller and cold butter. They quickly dipped the baller into hot water and then in the butter to make the butter look a bit special for brunch.

There was lots of fun,giggles and gossip involved...a very enjoyable morning.

What will you be doing this Sunday?

-Bronwyn...

P.S-Look out for more table decoration ideas in the next upcoming posts.

 

 

           

Decorating the Table.

With Mother's Day fast approaching- here's just a quick idea to help                                         make your table zing.

 

  Emma had the right idea- Roses do look gorgeous as a decoration on the table- not sure about the diamond part of what she says, though.                  Those diamonds could come in mighty handy!

 

  Let me say here-  I am definitely no good at flower arranging.  I love a vase or two of flowers- but I definitely can't arrange.

             View the photos below with this in mind!

 

 

      Here's the all time Guru of everything to do with the home.

                                         Isabella Beeton. 

 

In her book "Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management", table decoration was considered so important she devoted a whole chapter to it.

                                   

                                               

 So- to add that "Zing" to your next Afternoon Tea Party or the Mother's Day "breakfast in bed" tray- add a vase or two of flowers.

                               And some Goodies of course!

 

  Here's a quick and easy way to make your vase look extra special.

                                A Belt for your vase.

 

                               How cute does that look?

 

                      Don't they make the vases look fantastic?

 

 

                                  I love anything glittery.  

          So I've pinned some glittery things to the front- to give it a                                            little "oomph".

 

  Old brooches and diamonte buckles.  You could use anything.  Buttons, coloured plastic buckles, old watch faces...... all make a                   great display pinned to the front of the vase belt.

                           How do you make the Vase Belts?

 

  Here's an assortment of gorgeous glittery things I've used to decorate                                 the front of the Vase Belt.

 

 

               That little bee is my all time favourite brooch.

 

           What about a matching Belt- (I think we'll call it a collar                               this time) for the serviettes?

 

  Exactly the same idea as the Belt around your vase- but this time you make a Collar to go around the serviettes.

                                         

 

  Just think of all those wonderful scraps of fabric you have stashed away that you could use for the Vase Belts and Serviette Collars.

                    Makes your day look rather special.

 

           

Tea Party Time!

 

          My all time favourite book! Alice in Wonderland.

With all the tea parties coming up- (Mother's Day, The Big Morning Tea),

    I thought now would be a great time for some Tea Party Ideas!

 

 

                             My gold cutlery- for a special effect.

           Like Christmas. Brunch on the lawn. Dinner Parties

Bought that set many years ago when it was on special -and it's been                                       one of my best buys. 

                       And of course those heritage doileys!

 

 

    Here's how you can make your own heritage doileys for your next

                                     Tea Party!

 

 

                                    More Tea Party ideas shortly!

           

Breakfast with the Blueberry Girls.

  I thought you might like to know how we start the day at Red Brolly      

                           Headquarters!

 

 

  We all love Bircher Muesli.  So I thought I'd share our favourite Bircher Muesli recipe with you. It's very healthy!

 

  As you can see from the photo- I have added a little orange juice to the apple juice- 

  But you don't have to.

 

   P.S.  Don't you just love the Blueberry Girls little trowel?  It seemed a waste to use it in the garden!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I must admit- I ate so much of the muesli while making this recipe- 

  I felt like that Blueberry girl in Charlie Wonka and the Chocolate     

                                             Factory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Of course- if you prefer- you can always have it in a bowl with the extra fruit, yoghurt and honey.  

 

  I have to say here- that a couple of weeks ago I bought one of those Whiz- bang, Super Dooper Juicers!  And it's the best piece of kitchen equipment I've ever bought.

  The Girls and I juice everything to see who can come up with the best juice recipe. Fruit and vegetables or a combination of both!

  This is our favourite at the moment...

 

 

 

 

 

  Please try the Juicy Fruity Blueberry Breakfast for yourselves- it gives you a real burst of energy to start the day.

  I'd just like you to know the advantages of eating Blueberries regularly!

 

 

   Please let me and the Blueberry Girls know what you think of the Blueberry Bircher Muesli Recipe if you try it- or if you have something yummy that you enjoy for breakfast- let us know in a comment. The girls and I read every comment.

 

Over the next couple of weeks- there will be heaps of ideas and recipes for Mothers Day and the Big Morning Tea (to raise money for cancer).

 

  So tune in- and don't forget:

 

     Wear an apron when cooking- it always makes you look like you know what you're doing- even if you don't!

 

    PLease let us know what YOUR favourite breakfast recipe is!

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

           

tutorial:: mini pom poms made with a fork

So, I have a fab friend coming over who is a little crazy for pom poms. I saw this tutorial for making mini pom-poms using a fork one morning when I was cruising the pages of pinterest, and knew I just had to try it out. This tutorial comes via The Baker's Twine.

Isn't that a great idea? I made mine using embroidery thread. They were super quick and you could really make them quite small. Now, what was I going to do with my pile of mini pom-poms? A-ha! Bunting! My friend was coming over for cake and a cuppa and I thought that I would sew them onto thread and make a bunting for the cake. Won't she be surprised when I walk out with this....

A super gooey, oozy chocolate cake with a mini pom-pom bunting!

 

Lovely stitching...a Red Brolly swap

I really love looking through my flickr photos and my facebook page at what people create using my patterns, you can imagine my excitement when I came across a Red Brolly swap with an online stitching group of lovely ladies called "Friends in Stitching!" They have stitched and shared some wonderful creations and I thought that I would show them off to everyone.

There were lots of gorgeous stitching to choose from and I've just selected a few, but everyone was very creative. Please forgive me if I accidently get the name of the stitcher incorrect....

Here's my Angel Apron stitched by Teresa from All Things Vintage.

The funny thing is, is that Teresa stitched it for her swap partner and hoped to make one for herself, but, unfortunately she ran out of time. You can imagine her delight when she received this package in the post from her swap partner, Peg from Happy in Quilting.

The very same apron, but the stitched version! Lucky her!

Not part of the swap, but I just wanted to share Peg's other Angel apron and teatowel that she made...

Back to more swapping...

Vicky stitched a Teana purse for her partner, and she received the Sewing Carryall and pincushion in return, all made by Jenny M.

Fiona, received this bag which was adapted from my Easter Googy Egg bag pattern and this lovely stitched coaster...(note how neat that binding has been stitched!). I know Fiona would've been delighted as she loves purple!

There was also a....

which were made by Leanne, and the cookbook was put together by Dawnie from Itching for Stitching. Wasn't that a great idea? I tried to get a larger photo so you could see it a bit better, unfortunately, I couldn't make it happen.

As I said, I wish that I could've shown you everyone's, but there was just so many to choose from, but a big congratulations to all the "Friends in Stitching."

Whilst we're in the sharing mood, I thought that I would show you a finished version of my Fairy Garden Quilt, made by Meg. It's just stunning in my favourite colour-red.

Here's a finished Bunny pincushion by Fiona R.

I also have to show you these great bags which have been finished. The first is the Nowra Bag by Sissel,

Look at the colouring! The second is by "Time to" which was posted in my flickr group...

And a cushion by Fiona Y.R

 

Bravo to all! Thank you for sharing with us and allowing us to see your projects.

There's one more which I'd like to share...a gorgeous version of my Catalicious Quilt by MariaRe. You can see more of it in my Flickr group, but she really has done a fabulous job and has created a real treasured quilt.

-Bronwyn...

Itching to do some stitching? Here's an idea...

Hello my lovely stitching friends. Just been thinking of lots of ideas that we can do with our stitching. Here's an idea that I've been thinking of...maybe for your next gathering? Or perhaps for a special gift for someone?

Take these....

And do this...

Stitch lots of different messages? Personalise it with someone's name? So what do you think?

Would love to know.

 

Happy weekending!

 

Home Sweet Home Recipe :: Blueberry Crumb Cake

Here's a delicious Home Sweet Home recipe...yummy Blueberry Crumb cake...the Red Brolly way!

A simple and very scrumptious coffee cake overloaded with piles of blueberries bursting through. Lovely to take to morning tea and share over a cup of tea and a chat. Nothing fancy, but very delicious. There are several varieties around, but this is the one that I love and make it my way.

How to make...

Cream sugar and flour together in a mixer. 

Add egg and vanilla. Mix together until combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt and add to the butter mixture.

Mix together until just combined.

Slowly pour in the milk.

Grease a baking tray and spread batter out into tray. 

In a separate bowl, mix blueberries with the sugar. Sprinkle bluberries over the batter. Press them into the batter a little bit. They should make a thick layer.

Put aside for the moment.

To make the crumble topping.  In a bowl put the butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and coconut.

Use your fingers and rub the butter until you get something that resembles lumpy breadcrumbs.

Keep going...not quite there yet!

Great! Now sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top of the blueberries.

Ready for the oven. Bake the cake in the oven for around 45 mins at 180 degrees Celcius.

Whilst your waiting...

When it's looking golden brown and smelling delicious...you know you're there!

Serve warm and fresh from the oven, with some lovely freshly whipped cream!

Ingredients

For the cake:-

100 grams butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups plain flour (all-purpose)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

 

Filling:-

2 tabs sugar

2 cups blueberries

 

Crumble:-

100 grams butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup plain flour

1/4 cup coconut

 

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius

2. Sift flour, cinnamon & baking powder and set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer.

4. Add egg and vanilla. Mix

5. Add flour mixture alternating with milk. Mix after each addition.

6. Spread mixture into prepared cake tin.

7. In a separate bowl, mix blueberries and sugar. Spread over the top of the cake batter. Make a thick layer and press some into the batter.

8. To make the topping, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and rub butter into flour mixture using your fingers, until a lumpy breadcrum texture is reached.

9. Sprinkle over the top of the blueberries.

10. Bake in the oven for 45-50 mins, until golden brown.

11. Serve warm with some freshly whipped cream and a cup of coffee.

Lovely!

 

-Bronwyn...

           

A little blue? Need some help with fabric selection?

Are you thinking about making "The Blueberry Girls" quilt?

Do you need a little help with selecting fabric?

Would you like to know what material I've used to make the quilt?

I thought that I might share with you the fabric range I used, and the colour swatches to give you some ideas to work with.

When making "The Blueberry Girls" quilt I used the latest fabric range from Blackbird designs- "Blueberry Crumb Cake-" A fantastic range of blue and brown hues. In the quilt I've also used a splash of red as an accent, using a red check material. 

So, here's all the fabric that I used. Lovely isn't it?

Hope this helps when you're selecting fabric. Leave a comment if you need some ideas for fabric selection.

Happy stitching!

-Bronwyn...

           

A new Quilt :: Meet "The Blueberry Girls!"

I've been hiding these lovely ladies...but now it's time for me to show you my brand new quilt design. I love these ladies...meet "The Blueberry Girls."

The finished quilt measures 38 1/2" by 38 1/2" with lots of lovely applique, patchwork and stitching. If you are heading to Melbourne this weekend for the AQC , it will be on display for you to see.

"The Blueberry Girls" Quilt pattern is available for wholesale purchase and should be arriving in your local quilt shop soon. If you can't find it, just ask the owner of the shop.

This is such exciting news that I can finally show you my "Blueberry Girls," and I have lots of lovely mini Blueberry projects coming your way to go with the quilt.

Looking forward to seeing your stitching.

Bronwyn...