Boredom Busting

School Holidays...

The kids are starting to drive Mummy batty and with so much yet to do before the approaching Magnolia Square @ Malvern town hall its hard to find the balance between play and work but, Miss 3 thought it would be a good idea to make some play dough. We are fans of the cooked type of play dough here, it's consistency seems to be more elastic and it last lots longer than the other type. Takes only 15 mins to prepare. I though I'd share out favourite recipe for play dough with you too...

Cooked Salt Dough

1/2 (half) Cup salt
1 Cup Flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 Table spoon cooking oil
1 Cup water
Powder Paint, Food Colouring or Natural Food based colours
Saucepan

Method
Mix ingredients in a saucepan. Add food colouring (try beetroot for magenta or water from boiled gorse flower for yellow as natural colour alternatives)Cook on medium heat for 3-5 mins, stirring constantly until it becomes stiff. Store in and airtight container in fridge. It will last for quite a while and has the consistency of commercially produced play dough. Additionally for something extra special you can sprinkle in some glitter for that extra sparkle. Miss 3 is VERY happy with her barbie pink, sparkly play dough! All this and it's not even 9 am yet.

Have Fun!

Yummy!

YUMMMMM!


We were lucky enough to get to try out some delicious new completely organic yoghurt yesterday in our house. Miss 3 and Master 1 have given it the yummo tick too.
I must confess I was really intrigued by it's name "Five:am" it didn't make sense to me. Sooo...I popped over to their web site which happens to be really easy to navigate and... I love the philosophy of this new company and product! The name all makes sense now and I LIKE IT. Now how does one crafty, creative Mama carry the sustainability idea forward and re use these little containers? Hmmm stay posted on that one. In the mean time check out their web site. xx R
www.fiveam.com.au

Birthday Boy

LOOK WHO'S ONE!

:( My littlest man turned one last weekend and It was mixed emotional sort of day for me. I was a little bit sad because this is my last little baby's First birthday and happy to see the joy on his face when everybody was making a fuss over him. Compared to the last few birthday parties we've had out here it was quite an understated affair with cupcakes for afternoon tea on the lawn. With just all the kids and a friend of mine who dropped by with her 2 kids and hubby. The sun was shinning and it was nice to just sit and enjoy watching the kids run around having fun. We only once managed to round them up in one place all together at one time and that was when the cake was lit, of course! Will didn't quite manage to blow his candle out but he did enjoy eating his cake.

The Patty Pan and Animals (animal parade kit) and coloured twine available from "CAKE" Main Rd, Ballarat. We made the cute little bunting from the co ordinated left over packaging and a bit of scrap scrapbook paper and a few wooden skewers.

Something to "Dye" For.

Yes I'm playing with the Rit Dye once again!

Just experimenting with some new colours, playing with the dye is so much fun. Remembering what went into each and every formula? Hmmmm a little more challenging. But they looked so pretty hanging outside illuminated by the morning sunlight. All this and it's only 9.30! It's a productive kind of day, gotta love that.

 

Phew!!!!!

Crazy Busy Days!
But it's all very exciting. Have you checked out the new Tiny & Little magazine? (www.tinyandlittle.com.au/magazine/) Myrtle & Grace were so very thrilled to be invited to share a couple of dress' with you in the autumn feature. And what a feature it turned out to be!!!! We ended up on eight, yes 8
 pages. Words cannot express how grateful Myrtle & Grace for this. Lots of happy dancing had- mostly on the Wiggles wiggly dance mat with the youngest two kiddies, what fun that was. This is how it all happened...
Sunday last at the Fairy Floss Market in the gorgeous St Kilda town hall Ms. Tiny & Little editor chats to Rachael and tells her all about the new magazine and the Autumn feature. "Absolutely, YES!" was my answer when asked if I'd like to send in a photo for the new mag. How exciting, what fun, yippee were all the things going through my mind for the rest of the market. 10 days to magazine launch.
On the way home I called my friend Celeste who is my photographer for times like these. (You can check out her lovely work on her blog at http://www.ourgirlyworld.blogspot.com/) A day is set the very next Tuesday evening in the low sunlight. What a sight it was my 6, Celeste's 5 all trailing in a big line across the road holding hands to the park. Me with the beautiful old Tapestry chair (on loan from Cindy) on my head all the way. It must have looked hilarious to any passers by. The little models were so well behaved except for this one time when miss Emily (mine) decided she had done enough.
Celeste works her magic and takes care of the editing of the photo's and by Thursday her work is done! I don't know how many times I oooohhhhed and aahhhed and sighed out loud while viewing the finished product. So many gorgeous photo's I don't know which ones to send so after chatting with Tiny & Little decided that she can decide and I send them all! 5 days to magazine launch.
I get an email the next day from Tiny & Little telling me that she LOVES them all and is going to do a special feature. 4 days to magazine launch. I spend the weekend bursting at the seams waiting and counting down the days waiting to see our photo's. At least I have the Geelong Fairy Floss market to distract me for at least one of those days. Tuesday day of the launch and I have to be in the car all day I sooo can't wait to see the magazine and get home to some beautiful comments on the Myrtle & Grace Face book page. I STILL haven't seen it and after a bit of fluffing around getting the Internet opened and running properly.....
*****Ohhhhh , Ahhhhhh********* I am blown away! The whole magazine looks just beautiful. and there we are Little ole Myrtle & Grace splashed over the pages. Someone pinch me please. It is amazing and I don not have the words right now to describe my gratitude and apprectation for the opportunity to appear in such a lovely online publication and for my photographer for making herself and her children available for a photo shoot with little notice. I'll finish off with a little sneek peek. xxRach

P.S just in case you hadn't heard Myrtle & Grace has been accepted into the April's  Magnolia Square Malvern town hall 28, 29 30th, so much excitement for one week. This is a massive coup for Myrtle & Grace, now the real hard work begins preparing for a 3 day long event.

A SEEK PEEK

Some market goodies available at Sugar & Spice Children's market tomorrow.

Sunday 9am St Alupius Hall, Victoria st. Ballarat.

A Fresh New Look!

Well I decided that I was time to give Myrtle and Grace a Face lift for 2011.
Just because I can't have one doesn't mean that Myrtle & Grace can't! I don't know that I'd even want one, Grace definitely wouldn't have she chooses to age ...well, gracefully. Myrtle Hmmmm, I reckon the old girl would have jumped at the chance! But that's all besides the point. Doesn't the new banner look FABULOUS! I have Shelly from Lemon Tree Studio on ETSY for that. Yummy banner love from me. I was so anxious that I popped it up on Made it, Etsy and the blog before the rest of the package is even finished. I can't wait to see the rest of the goodies she is designing for me. Market season is certainly back in full swing here with the Sugar and Spice children's being my first for the season this coming weekend the 13th at Saint Alipius Hall, Victoria St Ballarat. Everybody Cross your fingers for me and hope that I can pull of getting ALL of the new branding launched by then! I have also applied for the Sweet Fairy Floss Markets in Geelong and Williamstown and I'd thought I'd Apply to go play in the BIG kids playground in at Mathilda's Market in Melb. Going to Melb for markets is a whole new ball game but I'm hoping that its going to pay off. So keep an eye out for any upcoming market dates and if you can come by and say hi! So bye from me just for now. I've got to have an ADHD week... finishing orders, new stock and accesories for markets, currently no man about the house to help out (that is except for the oddly short vagrant that is spooking the neighbourhood) AND no car. Yes, as my sister pointed out I would have to be the only person in living history that managed to roll a car while stationary! I just simply parket way too close to a soft road side it gave way and well... I found my self feeling like I was inside a washing machine! Nope mr plod no seat belt at the time, but to my defence I was getting out. NO mr plod I promise I had nothing to drink (really I didn't) By the way the blood alcohol test I had to have prooved that. Just Bad and I mean really really super bad; like higher odds than being hit by lighting chances; timing. I'm OK considering the ordeal. The car well thats another story.