Aussie Handmade Goodie Bag Worldwide Giveaway

My two passions in life outside of my family and work are cooking and crafting. I love to make my own things when and where I can and if I can't make it, I love to buy it! I made the handmade pledge about 4 years ago when I discoved Etsy and fell in love! Since discovering Etsy I have found many other handmade sites, I begun to realise the amazing talent spread all over the world. There is something truly amazing about the talent of a human being. I love how people can see the use of things in so many different ways. My personal crafting at present, is in hair accessories. You shouldn't be suprised how many people make hair accessories, but what's amazing is that there are so many ways you can make an attractive or cute hair clip or hair band. Its marvelous!

As I saw so many awesome things on Etsy, Pinterst, Madeit, to name but a few I started to think, "People need to know about these people". I want everyone I know or am connected with to know of the talent locally, here in Australia and the world.  So I began this little project of mine. As Christmas is upon us, I thought I would introduce to you some talented locals who make their own stuff! They in turn would love to share their talent with you and have kindly added an item, or voucher to the goodie bags so you can sample their handmade goodies.  There will be two goodie bags available.One for Australia Wide and the other for Worldwide.  Here is the line up:

JoeyDesigns -  owned by Danielle Miles. This is a supe cute shop selling stickers, pinback buttons, and cards.  Danielle is offering a set of stickers and a set of pinback buttons for each bag. Total value is just under $19AUD.

See Sam Sew - Sam Rimmer designs and makes toys, blankets, and bibs, for babies. Her whimiscal style is cute and cuddley. Sam is offering a bib for each bag. These bibs are cotton with soft minky on the back. They retail for $12AUD each. All contact can be made via her blog.

MiniTresureKids -  is a boutique for baby, girl and boy lines of clothing. Attention to detail, qaulity fabric and stylish designs make this brand a must to see. There is a $25AUD voucher for each bag.

Imogen's Angels - owned by the very creative Fiona Holmes. She uses polymer clay to design cute angels or little people ornaments that can be personalised.  Fiona is offering a voucher for a little person or a little angel for each bag and they are $16AUD each.

Designs by Me - this lucky lady has great initials! Melanie Eagleston has taken creative advantage of her lucky intials M.E! I discovered Melanie last christmas. She takes old spoons, evens them out and hand stamps them. These decorative and useful spoons are good for the garden as plant/herb labels, and book markers for your cookbooks in the kitchen. She also makes interesting coasters using recycled road maps. Melanie is offering a "What's Cooking" cookbook clip for the Aussie Goodie Bag valued at $18AUD.

Little Princess Hair Accessories - is owned by Keira Caroll. She makes cute and creative hair accessories. Her choice of materials include grossgrain ribbon, fabric, and pretty emblishments. Her hair accessories are fit for every princess. Keira is offering a $10AUD voucher for each goodie bag.

A Little Bit Craftsie? - is owned by yours truly, Courtney Wilson. I created this tiny business when I discovered the wonderful world of jewlery and crochet. The Aussie Bag will get a crochet santa hat hair clip and blue resin flower earrings, total value is $14AUD. The worldwide bag will strawberry hair clips and purple resin flower earrings with a combined value of  $14.50AUD.

Jessica Ward - a talented photographer who makes her pictures into greeting cards. She is a lover of nature and all things outdoors in regional Australia.  A selection of unique Australian Christmas themed cards and blank cards with flowers will be added to both the Aussie and Worldwide goodie bags.

How to Enter?

1.This giveaway is a game of skill. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me in 25 words or less what makes your Christmas special. I will judge the most creative answer for Australia and one for Worldwide. Entries close Midnight Monday 5th Dec. One entry per person.

2. Outside of the 25 word limit, mention whether you are after the Aussie bag (aussie address only) or Worldwide (worldwide address only). 

3. Judge's( that would be me) decision is final and winners will be announced by Wednesday 7th Dec. For worldwide, I can't promise delivery for Christmas, but I will do my best.  Please make sure you leave an e-mail address so I can be in touch with you for mailing details and in return a prompt delivery.

If you are not yet a follower of the blog, I would appreciate a follow, a FB like and if you know how to  retweet on twitter, that would be awesome! Please also follow or like the artists above to show your support for their work. 

 I very much intend to do more giveaways like this in 2012. I have offered this opportunity for free. If you are interested in the next giveaway, please don't hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to take submissions from crafters worldwide.  You can e-mail your interest to craftsie@hotmail.com.

Thanks very much and good luck:)

Where does the inspiration come from? Decadent Ice Cream Cake

I often wonder where people get their inspiration for the dishes they create. For me my inspiration comes in all forms. Sometimes I create something out of necessity because they are the only ingredients I have on hand. Sometimes I will read a recipe and then recreate it from memory and create some either slightly different or completely different. Other times I follow a recipe and realise after the tasting the final product how I can make it better next time. I also find that I will be thinking about something and then out of the blue a thought will come to me.I will think about it for a day or so and then create it in the kitchen. I also find inspriation in my hobbies like craft and art. I will see something and it will make me think of food and then I will want to create a dish that reminds me of that picture, quilt, photo or whatever it may be. Yes, for me I find inspiration in all forms all around me. Its interesting:)

The recipe I want to share with you today came to me when I was shopping at my local fruit and vege market. They have a section for imported foods, mainly European. I often go here to see what's new or what's on special. This particular day, I came across a large circular box. I picked it up to find out that i was sponge cake that hade been cut into 3 thin layers. I beleive it was a product of Italy. Straight away my mind went racing. What could create with this? I decided to purchase it and see where my mind would take me. I first of all thought some kind of mousse and/or cream with fruit layers. I then thought of some kind of custard with layers of ganache. Finally I decided to make a layer ice-cream cake with layers of choc fudge and chocolate ganache. Sounds divine, and it tasted divine!!!

Recipe

1 packet pre-cut chocolate sponge ( could cut your own sponge if you like)
2 L premium ice cream I used Blue Ribbon vanilla
1 packet almond M&Ms
1 pkt reg size bag Malteezers
1/2 packet Pascall Marshmallows, each chopped in half.
2-4 bars of Reese Butter fingers (any kind of peanut butter bars) roughly chopped.
2 bars of Cadbury Flake crumbled
300ml thick cream
200g dark chocolate

Method

1. Soften ice cream but standing at room temperature. I feel strongly that you use a premium quality ice cream because it will melt and re-freeze better and retain a good consistency and taste. Other ice-creams will go icey and not have a good taste.
2. Put softened ice cream in a bowl and mix in M&Ms, Butterfingers, Flake.
3.Working quickly,melt chocolate and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until combined.
4.Spread botton layer with ice cream and drizzle ganache over top.
5. Place down next layer of sponge on top of ganache and repeat.
6. Spread remaining ganache over top layer and put in freezer to set.
7. Use a knife dipped in hot water to cut up cake for serving.

NB Any chocolate bars and candy can be used for this recipe. You can also ommit the ganache if you like, or just put it on the top of the cake.

Would love to know what inspires you in your cooking, blogging, crafting, or whatever it is that you do!

THERMOCHEF vs Thermomix TM31 vs HotMix PRO

I was just reading through some recent comments on my blog and noticed some new names popping of new machines that appears to be in the market to compete with the Thermomixer. I was so excited because, for me now there is more to choose from with machines that are comparable. Without anothre thought, I quickly order take out for dinner and began researching!! Kids love it when I am researching {wink}.

So from what I can gather, not seeing a Thermochef in the flesh as yet and limited, for now, and not having near as many demos on Youtube compared to Thermomixer. I am intrigued. It think the biggest draw card at this stage is definately the price. Its around $800AUD with a 2 year warranty. Wow! What a delight to be able to have an amazing cooking machine for less than $1000. The moment I laid eyes on this machine, I straight away thought of the Thermomixer TM21. Yes, they seemed to have copied this model fairly well, although the Thermochef is stainless steel in apprearance. The thermomixer has a stainless steel jug but the rest of it is a hard plastic. The size of the jug is the same as the thermomix, so for me, still not a bonus. I would love a 3 or 4 L jug please! It weighs your food, to the side. The Thermomix does it in the jug. Does it matter? Not sure really, I would say it would come down to a personal preference. If you have not had a thermomixer before you would not no the difference.  The controls are a touch pad, not a dial. Not thinking this a big issue in the long run. The Thermochef has a steamer much like the thermomixer, but not is stainless steel and not plastic like the one on the Thermomixer. Could this be a safety issue? Youtube has a few demonstrations, one in particular is for pumpkin soup, and for me, it was not too bad. My only thought was that perhaps the Thermomixer would have made the soup silky smooth, but this is only a minor thing and as I don't actually own a thermomixer can't comment on this outcome.  The more I read, the more I wanted to know. So I decided to head over to the Thermomix forums to see what the guys and gals over there think of this. Naturally, there are some fairly defensive comparisons. I have to wonder, are they a little annoyed that there is something available at the fraction of the cost? There are some differences, for sure. Only one could assume it would not be exactly the same for that price. A lot of comments on the forums were, " You can what you pay for" and " I am worried because its made in China".
Let's think for a moment about what the price of a Thermomixer would actually be if it was sold in a mainstream department store or other large outlets? Would it actually be the same price? I personally, think it would not. I would say it would be more like $1200-$1500. The price you are paying for a Thermomix also includes the demonstrators commission. Generally speaking if something is being sold via party plan, it generally is much more expensive than if it was sold in the shops. The point I am making here, is that the cost of $800 is what it is, because it needs to appeal to all consumers, so it doesn't necessarily mean, that you are getting an inferior product. The machine is also assembled in China, but it has been designed in Switzerland. Who doesn't have things made and assembled in China? There are many machines,appliances, whitegoods etc that are designed in European, American, and Australasian countries but assembled in China.Just because something is assembled in China, doesn't mean it is less valuable, or not good. They assemble to the design.  I also understood that the TC(Thermochef) is a little slower and doesn't reverse.I'm not to worried about it being a little slower. It still grinds, crushes ice, and mills. In regards to the reverse action, for an avid and loyal Thermomixer user, I could see why this would be an issue. However, for someone that doesn't know any better, I couldn't see it being a problem. Why do you NEED to have the reverse action?  What I got from reading the forum thread, was basically the Thermomixer lovers will stay true to their machines. Why not, they paid a bundle for them, I would too. I would be a little shocked if you turned your back on this great machine for the TC. I think the market for the TC are for those (like me) that have struggled to purchase a Thermomixer because of the price. The TC will do almost everything a TM31 can do. The TC from what I can gather from the internet would be a better purchase than a Viatmix and even a Kenwood Cooking Chef as its a bit smaller and more compact than the Kenwood Cooking Chef.  If I could have the capacity bowl of the Kenwood Cooking Chef and the machine of a Thermomixer for the ThermoChef price, all the boxes would be ticked and I would sing its praises!!!

I am very keen to see a ThermoChef in action. For the kinds of things I would like to make, I think it would suit me very well. I still prefer to use my slow cooker because it has a capacity for my family. But the TC will make things like custards, sorbets, sauces, breads, drinks, mill, spice mixes, cook rice, steam and so on. It makes sense to me to check it out for that price, I can definately justify it. My husband once said, " If the Thermomixer was under $1000 it would be ok." I wonder if he will remember this conversation??!!!

Check out the ThermoChef and see what you think. At the end of the day, its up to you, you are paying for it.

A comment was left mentioning a HotMix Pro. Natutally, curiousity got the better of me and I Googled it. This machine looks and sounds amazing. Like a Thermomixer, but perosnally I thought it looked a lot sleeker in style and definately better in function. I read the details on the website and basically realised that his is a commerical product with a commercial price. A site that I found was selling them for 1850GBP, which for us aussies is approx $2500AUD. So a little more expensive than a Thermomixer but a much better machine in my opinion. I'm curious to know if they will have a domestic version soon? It wouldn't take much to make a domestic version, and provide this market with more competition. Check out some of the demos on youtube, but word of warning use "HotMix Pro System" as your search request!!
If anyone knows more about the HotMix Pro system, would love to hear from you.

Well, there you go, what I know about the ThermoChef, Thermomixer TM31, and the HotMix Pro System. Three great cooking machines and I hope you consider my opinion and research yourself or tell me your own experiences with any of these machines. I am still yet to decide on and purchase a cooking system, but I will definately blog about it when I do!

Bullying Starts at Home?

I am mother to 4 kids. The ages of our children are 10, 8, 5,2.5. The oldest is a girl and then I have 3 boys. In many ways we think, we strive, and we hope that our kids will learn love, kindness, and sharing at home and take these qualities and be examples to the people they socialise with. I never thought about bullying starting in the home or at least being so present in the home. Lately our daughter has been particularly unkind to one of our sons. This is not really unusual I suppose. There is always sibling rivalry and teasing. It builds them to be strong right? Why I am writing this post is because my daughter was particularly unkind and kept at our son until he cried and was scared to be anywhere near her that day. When I came to her and spoke to her about this, she would not listen (as a 10 year old does), which made me more angry. As I was about to walk away from her bedroom door, I turned back and said to her, " You are being a real bully,if you don't stop your brothers will pick up on this. What kind of a role model are you being to them?" I got a, "Leave me alone!" in return. Naturally, I didn't persue this so she could calm down and hopefully think about what I said. It got me to thinking.

At school our daughter is so nice and would never upset or offend anyone. She would never be a bully to others, just the ones she loves!! If anything she sticks up for those that have been bullied and she even will protect her brothers at school if they are being teased. Why then does she display bullying behaviour at home? My eldest son is already picking up on some of this behaviour and he is a relentless teaser to his brothers and sister. Again, its a form of bullying and he would not do this at school. He also has stuck up for other kids. So why do they do it at home? I would like to think I am not alone here. I've had people say to me I must be an expert on motherhood because I have 4 kids! But heck no, how could I be an expert? Each of my kids have different qualities, and almost everday brings something new. I have no idea on how to address this bullying thing. We have had family discussion on this kind of behaviour. We have pointed out the consquences and we have followed through with the punishments. We have even paid our daughter with money for good behaviour towards her brothers, but this doesn't last for long. We want our kids to be nice to each other, I'm sure I'm not alone here, most of us want this. I know there will always be arguing and teasing, its what makes the family work in a way. But this kind of bullying, I don't like it and I don't want it. Anyone like to share some ideas? Do you think that bullying can start at home or at least why do they only show this behaviour at home?

What's new @ A Little Bit Craftsie?

I have been working hard, in the spare time that I can scrape together on my hair accessories mini business.  I have been making all kinds of interesting things that I am sure will be different to a lot of the hair accessories available.  A lot of my clip embelishments are handmade by a range of artists around the world. The Rockin Reindeer line is my creation, so I do put my own artistic flair in where I can!  I also make the necklaces and earrings too. I do have more items coming but won't be listing these in my store until mid november.  I also plan to do another giveaway hopefully on Fri 18th Nov, so make sure you follow me so you know when that is happening. 
I'm very excited to announce that you will find my hair clips at Kids Style Hub, 436 Burwood Rd in Hawthorn, VIC. I will also be having a stall at the Hawkesbury Kid Market in Windsor, NSW on Dec 3rd. So do come by and visit me there:)
So here are some of my new items. You can check out the whole range, with more to come shortly at my MADEIT store.

Please Explain...?

I thought I would start this post because I have come across some weird and interesting items, signs, ads, and products in the last couple of months. I have posted some funny youtube videos in the past, the kinds of videos that make you laugh and can change and bad day into a not so bad day. These items that I have below are just funny things that I have come across and would like to share.

I love lychees and anything lychee flavoured. This was on a bottle of Lychee flavoured water that I purchased at one of my favourite asian groccery stores. You can get this drink at most asian groccery stores. I was sitting in the car waiting for the kids to finish school and got bored, so I thought I would read the back of the label. I thought this was hilarious!! Unfortunately for me, I did not feel as though my desires had been pampered nor that a brave new world of sensousness was opened to me. Maybe I didn't drink it right!

This next one, I really don't know what to say about it other than it totally shocked me! The story behind it you might be wondering? Well, I was dressing up Bollywood style for my Halloween party. I have always been fascinated with Henna tattooing. I like it because its so artistic and creative and it only lasts on your skin for 7-10 days.  So I checked out prices for Henna on ebay and came across this.

I'm not sure that I want to know what the 'placenta' part really is.....or do I? If someone knows, please share:)

I will be posting more in the future, so make sure you become a follower or subscibe via e-mail to the right.