Tuesday, September 21, 2010

BrisStyle mother and child handcrafted market

One of the things I love most about BrisStyle is knowing you can go to the market and not see cheap plastic toy stamped "made in china". I love the variety of things and the fact that they are all handmade with talent and love.

In fact, I'm constantly blown away by the imagination it takes to create so many different things!

The BrisStyle indi mother and child market will be on at Racecourse Road Hamilton on the 9th October. The theme is PINK - we are raising money for Breast Cancer.

The Galozels will be there. :)

More info

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Interview with BrisStyle

Many thanks to the wonderful Ladies at BrisStyle who have included an interview with me about my art and craft in their Blog!

Read it here

Featuring, of course, the Galozels!

And, as this all goes to air, I'm in the weedpatch taking photos for the next book "Pirates!" It's a very windy day, and the Galozels are distracted and not staying on their marks, but we will get there.

:)

Sunday, September 12, 2010

New Galozel Adventure!


A new friend joins the Galozels in the form of Flip, the dragon.

Flip has many adventures as he learns that you don't have to be big to be a big help, and that amazing things can be achieved if you practice!

Gem the Wonder Dog joins in the fun.

You can buy your own copy of "It's hard to be a Dragon" which comes with it's own toy Galozel from my etsy store

Saturday, September 11, 2010

And the winner is...

Congratulations Bubbachenille!

If you could please email me on eliza@elizasart.com with the name of the child, the gender and age, and if they have a favourite colour. Also, if you (or they) are vegan let me know and I will make their toy out of cotton, not wool.

I hope your grandchild loves their book and Galozel!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

BrisStyle Market GIVE AWAY!!!

I'm having a give away on my blog in honour of the BrisStyle Market tomorrow!

My new book "The Great Adventure" staring the Galozels is created to be personalised with your childs name. It also comes with a toy Galozel!

All you have to do to win a copy of your own book, with toy, personalised for your child (grandchild, friend, etc) is to comment here and tell me what you think of BriStyle!

All names will go into a hat and be drawn on Saturday 11th of September.

This is an amazing give away, usual cost of book + toy + postage is $45!



The market is at Racecourse Road, Hamilton, Brisbane, and it's going to be AMAZING!!!
I hope to see you there.


Indie Designers Market

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Galozels!



Through the simple process of never weeding my garden, I have discovered Galozels! They are tiny creatures that live amongst the weeds, happily snacking on worms and dragonflies (except for the ones that are vegetarians, who eat the weeds).

They live complex lives, no two Galozels are the same, but they live in total peace and harmony!

Wise old owls teach them everything they need to know to be a good Galozel when they are very tiny, and when they grow up they are the sweetest things.

I asked them if they would like to go out in the world and meet new and interesting people, and they were very interested.

You can read more about them and buy them here at my Etsy store

Photography

Trying to photograph hats outside in this August wind just isn't working. Ah well, I'll stay inside, make more hats instead!

Photos when I have them folks!

:)

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Earth Goddess sun hat



I got a lovely bunch of cotton blend yarn from ebay and the natural earthy colours really lent themselves to these beautiful sun hats. I call them "Earth Goddess" hats. They are so beautifully soft to wear.

Just a little bit hippy as well!



Sooooo looking forward to the BrisStyle market on the 4th September!



Indie Designers Market

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The story of the toothbrushes

Here's the story - Ever since we moved in here, 4 years ago, the bath tub drain has blocked so that when we have a shower the bath fills with water. I've always felt guilty about this, assuming it was hair that clogged the drain, especially now that Zoe is growing her hair as well.

Yesterday I got a bit angry at it, and, after I had washed my hair and had a bath tub half full of water that wasn't going anywhere, I grabbed the plunger and had at it.

I used a slightly different plunging method to what I usually do, pushing down hard, thrusting the plunger in then pulling it quickly all the way out of the water before thrusting again.... (hmmm, does that sentense sound a little sus to you?)

Suddenly something green appeared, and disapeared again before I could grab it. I plunged again, ready this time, and grabbed it as it appeared above the plug hole.

It was a tooth brush!

Another couple of plunges and a yellow handle appeared - another toothbrush!

I thought I saw another, but a clear grey handle, so I wasn't sure it wasn't just a spurt of water. All the water was now gone, so I was satisfied.

I told Zoe, and showed her the toothbrushes. Delighted she put water in the bath and plunged away, soon to be rewarded with the third (and hopefully last) toothbrush!

It would seem that the people who lived here before let their child clean his teeth in the bath. I wonder if the mother knew where his toothbrushes disapeared to, or if it was a mystery?

The water no longer collects around our feet while we shower. All is right with the world!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Market, 4th September



I'm so excited! I have a heap of new hats for the market, I just took photos and I didn't realise how many I had. I've listed some on Etsy, but mostly they are for the market.

To learn more about the market...

http://www.bris-style.com/page/indie-designers-market/

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Felt Handbag for my Granddaughter!

Mia will be two shortly. She likes to go shopping with her mummy (they live in Dubai, too far away for Nanna to go shopping with them) so I made her a bag. It looks blue here, but it's actually purple.


I've been making bags for adults too, it's so much fun! Rather addictive... I am afraid to say how many balls of wool I have around the house!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Felting


I've started felting. It's a good hobby for cold weather, you get to play in hot water! I've put some of them up on Etsy, but you need really nice photos for Etsy, and unfortunately I don't have a young pretty model. Still looking!

In the meantime I keep crocheting and knitting and weaving and playing in hot water.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

It's cold....

It's cold. And when it's cold you want comfort food.

Porridge is the best comfort food there is in the morning! I always put a bit of honey in it when it's cooking, I like it sweet. Instead of adding milk after, I put the milk in when it's cooking too.

Closest I can come to a "sweet" for morning food without deviating from what I can eat and what's naughty!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Water

May I have a drink please?

We are told that we should drink water. And we use to be told that we should drink a lot of water.

By our mums, 8 glasses of water a day (what size glass?). Others said, 2 litres.

But apparently the best thing to do is the most obvious. You drink when you are thirsty.

Think about it. Some people are bigger, some are smaller. Some people live in hot countries, some in cold countries. Some people are active, some aren't. Everyone has different needs.

But on average a human loses about 2 litres of fluid a day, and it has to be replaced.

But you don't have 4 cups of tea, a cup of coffee, two glasses of cordial and THEN two litres of water. You have two litres of fluid.

Water is the fluid of choice for health. It has no sugar, so it won't rot your teeth. It has no calories, so it won't help make you fat. It may or may not have traces of things our governments think are healthy for us (so maybe you avoid tap water) but we trust the government, right? (LOL!)

To sum it up, we need to replace the fluid we lose. So if you drink enough during the day to produce about 1.6 litres of light coloured urine you are probably doing the right thing.

If you are thirsty, go have a glass of water.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Thickening stuff

If you want to thicken soups and stews there is nothing better then cornflour. Just make sure it's not "wheaten" cornflour.

When mixed with room temperature water (or milk) cornflour desolves easily, and then when mixed with the hot soup stock or stew it will start to thicken immediately. Make sure you are stirring constantly and the most important thing is to keep stirring until the flour is cooked, not just until whatever you are cooking is thicker.

You can use it as a pudding too. Heat milk (don't boil) and flavour it with your choice of flavouring - vanilla, a cut up banana, some berries, a little sugar or honey - then thicken with cornflour as per my suggestion. Serve hot or cold.

Yum :)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Hiding spinach

Come on, spinach doesn't taste all that bad! I really can't understand what the fuss is about.

It's so little when it's cooked - so I hide it.

Tonight we are having pasta with salmon and tomato sauce. I lightly cook an onion, add a tin of chopped toms and a tin of salmon. Then I boil the pasta, toss it together and put it in a low dish that can go in the oven. Put some tomatoes on top, wilt the spinach, toss that over the top, and sprinkle on a little low fat cheese. Cook in the oven until the cheese goes crusty.

Hope they like it!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Fiber - friend or foe?

We all know that fiber is good for us, right?

But can too much fiber be too much of a good thing?

Sure it can! Anything can be bad for you if you have too much of it. But most people today have the opposite problem, not enough fiber.

So how much fiber should you have?

My research tells me that 40grams a day is about right. Errr, good? What's that equal in terms of, you know, food?

Here's some examples














Whole-wheat bread 1 slice 1.6 grams

Rye bread
1 slice 1.0 grams

White bread
1 slice 0.6 grams

Brown rice (cooked)
½ cup 2.4 grams

White rice (cooked)
½ cup 0.1 grams

Spaghetti (cooked)
½ cup 0.8 grams

Kidney beans (cooked)
½ cup 5.8 grams

Lima beans (cooked)
½ cup 4.9 grams

Potato (baked)
Medium 3.8 grams

Corn
½ cup 3.9 grams

Spinach
½ cup 2.0 grams

Lettuce
½ cup 0.3 grams

Strawberries
¾ cup 2.0 grams

Banana
Medium 2.0 grams

Apple (with skin)
Medium 2.6 grams

Orange
Small 1.2 grams


(from http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Erg-Foo/Fiber.html)

So what happens if you eat too much fiber?

Your body might start missing out on nutrition. Fiber speeds up food through the digestive tract. Too fast and you don't have time to absorb important things like iron and calcium.

How will you know? Well, not to put too fine a point on it - excess gas and bloating. The painful kind.

You might also end up constipated if your diet is too full of fiber and you don't drink enough water.

But I'll talk about water another day.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Are juices good for you?

There is no doubting that juice is yummy. But are they good for you?

First, are they 100%? Is there added ANYTHING? Then, how fresh are they? Not just "when were they made?" but "how fresh were the ingredients?"

But even if the answers to all these questions are positive, is juice good for you?

Juice is the liquid from things, but what about all the gunk that's left over in the juicer? What's that?

That's the bit that contains most of the fiber and vitamins!

Fruit juice, carrot and beet juice all quickly add sugars to your system and your body raises insulin to combat them. Over load your system with too much of it and say hello to diabetes!

You are better off eating your vegies and fruit whole then drinking juice.

Raw Foods

Raw Foods are surprisingly delicious.

They also take longer to eat!

A raw salad of carrot, beans, corn, capsicum (bell pepper), celery and sprouts is full of all the things you need, with no bad fats or sugars.

You sit there, munching away, thinking "wow, I didn't know that carrot was so sweet!" and learning that celery is crunchy, and mung bean sprouts are nutty, and sweet corn raw is just as good, if not better, then when it's cooked.

Add an apple for dessert and you have a happy tummy. It also is a much better natural detox then anything you can buy in a box!

I've also added raw unsalted nuts for a snack once a day. Unfortunately I have a faint but annoying peanut allergy (also raw peas) so I stay away from them. But raw almonds are wonderful and so are pipittas (not sure how to spell that - pumpkin seeds). When I can afford to I'm going to get some walnuts and hazelnuts to add to the collection.

Exercise - ugh

It's no secret that I don't like to exercise. When I had my little farm I was healthy because life was healthy - I didn't exercise, I worked. Looking after goats, which meant repairing fences, looking after the huge vegie garden, riding my horse - it was natural exercise.

Now that I live in the city, getting out and walking is something you have to plan, to think about and - basically - do.

Apparently just planning and thinking about it isn't enough.

The problem is that I have agoraphobia. I have my medical assistance dog, and of course, Zoe, but sometimes it is still impossible for me to leave the house.

Zoe has therefore dragged me to dancing. Line dancing. Surprisingly it's fun, although I'm sure it will be more fun for me (if less entertaining for everyone else) once I have lost some weight!

And yes, walking. Hmmm, well, if I don't make it every day, at least I make it SOME days. That has to count, right?

Half the fridge soup

When the week is dragging on and pay day hasn't turned up yet, we start to get a bit tired of what is left in the fridge.

That's when it's time to make "half the fridge soup".

I pull out every vegetable in there and decide what is, and what isn't going to go into the soup.

Things that usually make it are...

carrots
celery
onion
garlic
sweet potato
pumpkin
tomato
beans (snap and/or dried)
peas
corn
parsnip

If I had my way cabbage, cauliflower and broccili would be added, but as they are "not allowed in the house!" I have to find alternatives, such as spinach which is tolerated as long as I hide it in other things.

I cut everything up small and throw it in the pot, only just covering it with water. Put the lid on and cook until all the vegies are soft.

Season, keeping the salt to a minimum - if you use stock instead of water it's probably seasoned enough. Remember, you can always add more, but you can't take away.

Put 3/4 of it into the blender, then add it back to the remainder.

Serve, sprinkle some shallots or thinly sliced raw beans on top.


Healthy Eating - Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup with Mint

Trying to get more vegetables into my family means trying to hide them in different ways.

Butternut pumpkin has been accepted roasted, so I decided to try a sweet soup with it.

I cooked sweet potato and butternut pumpkin in as little water as possible until soft. Then I blended one cup of soy milk with a handful of fresh mint, then added the pumpkin and potato and blended until smooth.

I grated some fresh nutmeg on top before serving.

It was DELICIOUS!!! However, it wasn't well received by everyone. I have a feeling that "soup" and "sweet" threw them and they couldn't get past the thought that soup should have salt in it!

So I ate two bowl fulls and they had a sandwich.

:)

Healthy cooking - with puff pastry!

I've discovered that you can turn a meal from "oh yeah" to "WOW!" by simply wrapping it up in puff pastry.

It's also a wonderful way to hide healthy ingredients from those who might otherwise refuse to eat them.

Last night I made curry puffs. I'm not a fan of curry puffs. I usually find the filling either over spiced, or - to be frank - rancid. However, I have been trying to get sweet potato (yam) and pumpkin into Zoe, and, the sweet soup of the night before being a total disaster, decided that a more spicy alternative might be acceptable.

I cooked some onion and garlic in a little olive oil until clear, added the sweet potato and pumpkin (butternut) both cut very small and stirred for a minute before adding a little chicken stock and pepper. No salt because the stock had salt in it already. I added a very small level teaspoon of curry powder.

When the pumpkin and potato were soft (only a few minutes because I cut them small) I added some lentils and a little more stock. (amounts depend on how many you have to feed). I also put some parsley in it, because I had some.

I kept an eye on it so it wouldn't stick, and when the lentils were almost cooked I added some corn flour to thicken.

Then I took it off the stove.

Puff pastry I buy frozen. I might like to cook, but I don't want to go that far! I took two slices of it out of the freezer and waited until they defrosted. Then I cut each one in 4, to make 4 squares.

I put a few spoonfuls into each square, wiped around the edges with milk, and put another 4 squares on top. Then I pressed down around the edges with my fingers, making a pretty squishy patter, brushed milk over the top, and cooked until the puff pastry was puffy and golden.

They got a 10 out of 10! Best of all, I had more of the filling left over so I could make another two of them for lunch today.

PS. If you don't have lentils, or you don't like them, you could leave them out, or add peas instead. If you need to bulk the dish out you could add carrots and parsnips. Stay away from white potatoes though, they are high GI.