All posts filed under: home & garden

The Garden Lilies

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The colours of these liliums are just so vibrant, and exhibit light and fragrance to a corner of the garden. The hot sultry sun rays shine on their transparent petals, with hues of white, yellow, purple and oranges. With the music of the whispering wind, they’re like playful bells with outspread ruffled skirts, beautifully stylized and coloured, with grace as they waltz and sway in the breeze. It’s amazing how each flower has a unique pattern and colour and such an intricate flower center. I sometimes feel like Alice, in a magic garden wonderland and find myself within the enchantment of the frame of a picture perfect flower and its perfume. Lost…and whispering! Have an enchanting day, friends Yvette…x Source: Original photo’s: Copyright 2012 Yvettes Twistedvines Etchings – The Pink and White Botanical Print (Circa 1855 Book)  The Graphics Fairy and Wikipedia.

The Year that was, what it was….

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Here I am at the end of another year…a year that was, what it was….I’m not sure about how lucky it was, you know all that eleven lucky stuff, but it certainly proved to be an experience of highs and lows. I found pleasure behind the lens of my camera and developing those skills. I continued baking and discovering more and more my passion for the kitchen and food styling, renewed my artistic hand in design again. A talent that truly has been hidden deep within me for so long and only learning again to soar, create and fly on those wings of artistic freedom. I’ve laughed and cried, lost and gained, fought and struggled, but I’m still standing. I’ve made some really hard choices this year and I’ve counted all my blessings. Found gratitude for the little things and Give Gratitude for your support throughout twentyeleven. I’ve found some wonderfully talented people from all over the world around the blogging world, made new friends and travelled the world to catch up with long lost …

Chocolate Rum Balls

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Sugar and spice make these Chocolate Rum Balls a decadent ultimate Christmas treat. Aromatic spices of cinnamon and mixed spice, rolled in chocolate sprinkles and coconut.  One bite size of pure bliss. During Module 1 of The Art and Business of Surface Design course, we created moodboards and colourboards that we shared with all the other participants. It was four weeks of creative works and wonderful new friendships and energy, and I look forward to modules 2 and 3 in 2012. One of my boards I created was chocolate brown and red, and it’s somehow has influenced also this post. Just a little romantic touch also in my moodboard! Read on for this delicious recipe for Chocolate Rum Balls and a little more festive red and chocolate brown.

Christmas Sugar Cheer

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What better way to start the countdown to Christmas than sharing some festive Christmas sugar cheer. Our sugar project; prepare some Christmas treats to see around thirty smiling faces. With so many ‘little’ treats to choose from we short listed some of our favourites, and created a couple of our own. The main feature, a ‘Pandoro’ Christmas Tree. Pandoro (pan d’oro) is a traditional Italian sweet yeast bread most popular around Christmas and New Year . Typically a Veronese (someone or something from Verona, Italy) product, pandoro is traditionally shaped like a frustum with an 8 pointed-star section. Cut crossways it’s shaped like a star, and then layered usually with Chantilly cream, custard or even ice-cream. It is often served dusted with vanilla scented icing sugar made to resemble the snowy peaks of the Italian Alps during Christmas. Ours was filled with fresh whipped cream, cherry syrup jam and cherries (tinned). Decorated on top with fresh cherries and puff pastry reindeers and snowflakes sprinkled with icing sugar. These pastries are based on cream horns, see details here. …

Festive Favourites

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The list is long, of all the special sweet treats that you might write on your wish list of baking for this festive season. My niece wanted to bake something and one of her all time favourites is fudge…you bet chocolate, cocoa, coconut fudge brownies. So her eyes went bounding through many of our cookbooks, which were scattered over the kitchen table and she found this easy delicious recipe.   Looking almost in every kitchen shop, I finally found some snowflake cookie cutters, so I decided to cut snowflake shapes of this choc fudge. I think they look great, it does take a little extra time however, but you know me anything for a little more loving detail. Recipe: Peppermint Candy Cane Slice 125 grams butter, melted 1 cup (220grams) brown sugar ( we didn’t have quite a cup full so I added fine caster sugar) 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon peppermint essence 1/2 cup desiccated coconut 1 cup (150grams) self raising flour, sifted 2 tablespoons cocoa 3 or 4 candy canes, roughly chopped/crushed 375 gram …

Joyful Shopping

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Saturday saw the family taking a quick trip for a shopping spree…a quick three hour drive to the Sydney’s IKEA Store…what a blast, there were so many wonderful things to see and so many extra things I could have bought…lots of colours, textures and unique Christmas decorations. With courage I walked out of the shop, (not to say I didn’t buy from other shops..LOL!)with only my gifted lead pencil to write items on my long,long wish list. However one of the items my sister purchased for her living room were these magnificent paper stars…they beam such beautiful light. I so love the reflection of the tiny stars in the windows. Another wonderful texture from Kim Klassen – KKzuzu. I’m been working with Photoshop, learning and developing new skills and this one my friends is challenging. So much to understand and learn. I’m happy with today’s textured photo. Well, my friends we’re counting down..one week to go. I hope to now proceed to the kitchen, and with apron and Christmas spirit make some Christmas clatter of …

Red Rhubarb Pies

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It was mid November when I last posted something about my baking..I made these rhubarb pies a couple of weeks ago and  on my first baking adventure the pies vanished before I got my photo’s in. So today I baked and photographed all in one. Didn’t want to miss out this time sharing with you this simple recipe…but more importantly showing you this wonderful pie mold I found. Believe me, your pies look perfect! Recipe: Red Rhubarb Pies 1 bunch of fresh rhubarb 1 granny smith apple 2 tablespoons of brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon icing sugar 4 frozen pie crust sheets 1 egg white, lightly beaten Isn’t it a beauty, take a look at what I found…It’s called a Petite Pie Mold. You can see details here. Preheat oven to 190° degrees. Take the frozen pastry sheet from freezer and leave at room temp. Cut roughly the rhubarb and granny smith apple, add a couple of drops of water, add the brown sugar and place on a medium heat until rhubarb has softened. …

I’m free to fly….

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Fly…into another weekend and another week flown by… It has a repeating ring to it doesn’t it! A beautiful Spring morning here in the country and just a little time to smell and pick the roses. And so joining in another Pink Saturday, I thought I’d style a couple of Spring photo shots with a little romantic flow to it. A personal touch, I’ve been working on a combination of my photography and pen work…create…I’m free to fly… “The gift of happiness belongs to those who unwrap it.” Andrew Dunbar Rose petals, pearls, lace and pink….a little romantic pink! “Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes”  Charles Dickens Happy Pink Saturday friends…linking to Beverly’s Pink Saturday at  How Sweet the Sound. Have a great weekend. Yvette…x