Some old houses and shops caught my eye on a walk yesterday. I've seen them all many times before but for some reason this time I saw them with fresh eyes. Also, the mid-winter morning light was amazing. Then I drew some of the houses, because they're so cute. I heart North Melbourne.
Mid-winter cooking
I've been doing lots of cooking lately, because it's mid-winter here in Melbourne and I'm in dire need of warming foodstuffs (and the occasional scoop of icecream). I've mainly been into making hearty winter vegetable dishes and some 'healthy' sweet snacks and I thought I'd share links to some of the recipes, in case you need some foodspiration.
Lunch Lady's quinoa brittle is a pretty great sweet treat. Photo by Susan Fitzgerald.
It might be winter but that doesn't stop me making matcha ice-cream. Photo by Susan Fitzgerald.
Lunch Lady's Walnut, Oat and Beetroot Tart. The one recipe I can't find online, sorry! But it's in Issue 6, which is a great read. Photo by Susan Fitzgerald.
Lunch Lady's quinoa brittle, just out of the oven. I'm looking forward to trying some other recipes next - this quinoa crunch, these quinoa snack bars and peanut butter quinoa crunch. Photo by Susan Fitzgerald.
This pumpkin, lentil and kale bake with cauliflower cheese from My Darling Lemon Thyme is sooo delicious.
This rich carrot soup recipe from The Guardian is simple and so amazingly vibrant in colour.
This roasted pumpkin soup with chickpea migas, also from My Darling Lemon Thyme, is hearty and filling and you'll have to stop yourself from eating all the crouton-like migas in one sitting.
This Persian red lentil soup with tahini, beetroot and fried mint from Gourmet Traveller is flavoursome, hearty and tastes even better the next day.
Cauliflower rice - is it the best thing ever!? It's so easy to cook and is tasty, healthy and filling. You just grate or food process raw cauliflower and fry up with whatever you've got on hand - some spices, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Now I'm off to pretend I'm warm and on holidays in the sun.
Hand Painted Pillowcase
I've been working on lots of new ideas lately, but was getting frustrated with having nothing to show for it. What I needed was a quick crafty project that produced a real-life thing that day, not next week or next month. So I dug up a blank pillowcase from the pile I've got in my studio, pulled out all my favourite custom-mixed screenprinting inks and painted directly onto the pillowcase and here's what I came up with. It's kind of full-on in terms of pattern/colour craziness but was so so fun and took no time at all. And I kind of like the fact that some of the ink colours bled a bit at the edges, to give a gradient of colour.
Happy Monday to you.
Combs
I'm having a very drawing-y week, trying to get some recent and super old ideas refined. And I should clarify, when I say 'refined' I mean more like how I see them in my head, rather than more polished or professional looking. Because I like my work to be raw and real and sometimes sketchy, just like my favourite music and my favourite people :) This afternoon's task was redrawing (as in with pens) and scanning and recolouring a picture I did a while ago - all the combs of my childhood. So many memories in a comb! I think I used to study them and the shapes of some of them are etched in my mind. Here they are, and maybe one day soon they'll be an art print.
Happy Thursday!
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DIY Craft Tutorial: Fabric Covered Buttons
I always have so many scraps of tiny remnant fabric, leftover from sewing projects and whatnot. These bits might be small but they're full of colour and texture and personality - little snippets of designs I dreamt up in a notebook and turned into a real-life thing. And the texture of the fabric really shines when you've got little itty bits - the raw roughness of flax linen, the supersoft and pure white of quilting cotton and the body and texture of organic hemp.
Yonks ago I made a heap of buttons and did a little DIY tutorial (hello, old blog!) Back then I started out with a process that was a lot more complicated (involving sewing the fabric edges and gathering it, eek) but there's a much easier way and all it involves is buying a couple of really cheap tools, so I figured it's about time I did an updated tutorial. It takes no time at all to whip up a bunch of buttons yourself once you're set up, so get onto it!
CRAFT TUTORIAL: FABRIC COVERED BUTTONS
TOOLS
Fabric scissors
Fabric scraps (preferable of different prints and textures, but that work together)
Metal self-covered buttons - shells (the front) and backs (shanks). I use the 23mm size, 7/8", which is US size 36).
Self covered button assembly tool, to match your button size (these cost around AU$5, you can buy them online)
A circle template to match your button size (you can get fancy ones with an inner circle cut out, so you can see how much of the fabric will show on the finished button, but I like the surprise of not quite knowing! You can see mine below - I made it using a piece of plastic cut to 22mm)
METHOD
STEP 1: Use the circle template the cut a bunch of fabric scraps to the right size.
STEP 2: Place the fabric, right side down, on top of the tool base. Then place the button, right side down, on top of the fabric, along with the blue presser tool.
STEP 3: Press the button and fabric into the base. You may need to apply a bit of pressure and sometimes it's easier to turn it upside down, as per step 6.
STEP 4: Smooth out any kinks in the fabric at the button edge.
STEP 5: Position the button back/shank on top of the neatened fabric.
STEP 6: Place the blue presser tool on top of the button back (hollow side down) and turn upside down. Press the tool base. You'll feel it click when the back is locked in place.
STEP 7: Admire your handiwork!
That's it! Sooo simple. Once you start making some buttons, you'll get addicted and want to make a heap. What do you do with them? I've put them on clothes, cushions, used them as decorations on gifts, used them tied into hair elastics - the possibilities are many. Or get flat backs and glue a magnet on the back and put them on your fridge. Happy crafting!