my garden :: after the rain

It's been raining heavily here in Melbourne all morning, but about an hour ago it stopped and the sun came out. It was my chance to escape into the garden with my camera,after being inspired by this lovely post I read this morning ...

Have a great weekend everyone!

market finds this week ...

This week I bought a gorgeous retro metal price sign (sadly, it did not cost 25 cents!) from Tamarah at Shabby Vintage Junk who was a stallholder at the Odd Echo Vintage Show in Collingwood ...

Tamarah sources some truly lovely vintage things. If you follow me on intsagram (@yardagedesign) you would have seen some of the pics I took of her amazing wares at the show. Vintage lovers will really enjoy her blog ~ she has a great eye!

I also added to my growing collection of Woods Ware "Beryl" (love that name!) with a jug on ebay and some more dishes from Camberwell Market this morning ...

See what other treasures have been uncovered over at Sophie's blog every Sunday!

printing :: custom vintage type market bags

I have been collecting wooden letterpress blocks for a while now ~ I love the variety of designs and the way they feel when you print with them. You might remember my "z" printed fabric from a few weeks ago. Anyway, I was playing around with letters the other day and happened to post a pic of them on instagram (@yardagedesign), as I was thinking of printing myself a market bag ...

Vic from Geek Amour liked what she saw, so I thought I might print one for her. We were meeting for lunch with Cathie from Melbourne Epicure and Cam from Curly Pops, so everyone got one!

Bag Ladies who lunch!
(Pic from Cam's Instagram Feed, taken by me)
*wink, wink*

I'm wondering if people might like their own custom vintage type market bag?

More creative spaces here every Thursday.

giveaway :: the retreat

I was lucky enough to visit the grand opening of The Retreat yesterday. The Retreat is a brand new craft retreat in the lovely town Woodend ~ about an hour out of Melbourne, in the Macedon Ranges. The Retreat is owned by Abbe from the Copper Patch blog ~ it was created for crafters by a crafter and it really shows.

This house is like a tardis ~ way bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside! At the centre of it is the amazing craft space with cathedral ceilings and everything needed to create (great lighting, irons and ironing boards, cutting boards and cutters, dress models and more).

There are 5 huge bedrooms ~ each has two double beds and are decorated beautifully with handmade quilts. There won't be any short straws drawn here for accommodation ~ it's just beautiful and spacious for 10 happy crafters.

I love Abbe's attention to detail ...

Been a long day in the craft room? Maybe a soak in the gorgeous bath (one of two bathrooms) ...

Or perhaps a relax in front of the fire (one of two lounge rooms ~ I told you it was big!) ...

There is also an amazing kitchen and huge deck out the back.

So, want to win a weekend here? I know I do (this blog post is my entry)! Abbe is having a giveaway over at her blog ~ pop over here for all the details and to enter. Also, there is a grand opening special offer ~ 20% off the total price if you book and stay before 31 August 2012.

Thanks again Abbe ~ you've done an amazing job. I can't wait to find any excuse to visit again!

market finds this week ...

It was a lovely morning down at Camberwell Market this morning, and I managed to find two lovely treasures to bring home ...

The first find was this gorgeous Japanese 1970's metal kitchen play set. It even has a jelly mould! This set reminds me of toys we had as kids ~ nostalgia got the better of me, and I had to have it!

The second find was a lovely little English watercolour in a sweet frame ~ it's original and signed by the artist. I couldn't walk past it for just $10.

Many more lovely things found at markets over at Sophie's blog each Sunday.

recipe :: salted caramel chocolate slice

It's been a while since I've shared a recipe on this blog, but I could not resist showing what I made yesterday ...

The title of the recipe says it all ~ what's not to love! I have adapted this recipe slightly from the original one, which I found in an Australian Woman's Weekly cookbook.

This slice is made in three stages, but first you need to: preheat the oven to 180 degrees C; then, grease and line a 20cm x 30cm pan

Stage One ~ the base 

125g chopped unsalted butter
155g chopped dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70% Cocoa)
1 egg
2/3 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup plain flour, sifted
1/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted

Stir butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool.
Beat the egg and sugar in a bowl until thick and creamy. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture and sifted flours. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Don't worry if it doesn't seem completely cooked at this stage, as it has to go back into the oven later.

Stage Two ~ the salted caramel filling

395g can of sweetened condensed milk
30g butter
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 teaspoons of sea salt

Stir all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until mixture thickens and becomes caramel in colour. Be careful to ensure the mixture does not catch and burn on the bottom of the saucepan ~ mix and/or adjust heat accordingly. Pour filling over the chocolate base and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before refrigerating until cold.

Stage Three ~ the chocolate glaze

185g chopped dark chocolate
50g chopped unsalted butter

Stir chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat until smooth. Spread the chocolate glaze over the cold filling and base. Spread glaze with a spatula, then tap pan on the bench for an even surface.

Refrigerate until set (a couple of hours), then cut into small pieces as this slice is delicious but very rich!
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

I will be adding this recipe to the little list of recipes I have shared on the sidebar to the right of this post. Enjoy!

market finds this week ...

It was worth the chilly walk down to Camberwell market this morning. I found these two, silk covered notebooks at the bottom of a box ...

Each contains a concertina of pages filled with the most lovely watercolour paintings, chinese/japanese? writing and artists stamps ... treasure!

More amazing market finds being collected over at Sophie's blog.

Happy treasure hunting!

tulips

As many of you would know, it's school holidays, so there's not been much time for printing or sewing so far. More like lego making, drawing aliens and playdates, which is fun! Anyway, when I do get a few spare minutes, I'm experimenting with capturing the best of this winter light. Today it was some tulips ...

This shot was taken with a 105mm macro lens ~ I really like the light and shadow through the petals. I hope you're enjoying your week so far too!

printing :: with thrifted screens

Yesterday, at Camberwell Market, I managed to pick up another two old screens for $5 each. These screens were originally made for printing labels for cleaning products and cosmetics ~ pre digital printing! The guy selling them bought a pallet of them ages ago, and thinks they're at least 20 years old. (P.S. How cute is my new little squeegee?)

Screen number one is an old detergent screen. I bought it more for the condition of the screen (for reuse) than the design, but then it occurred to me that an old detergent label might be interesting on a tea towel (just for me). The screens contain finer mesh than I normally use for fabric printing, but are able to be printed onto fabric. The combination of the yellow ink and the course linen resulted in an OK print. If I print it again, I will use a darker colour.

Screen number two was a label for shampoo. Again, I chose it for the condition of the screen, but it has a nice little flower design. I masked out all of the ugly shampoo related text so that I was left with just the flowers.

This time I chose rose red ink to print with. The design is quite fine, but printed well onto fabric and even better onto (recycled) cardboard. I think I will be printing a few cards with this pretty design.

All in all, it was $10 well spent! Wishing you all a good week (especially if you're starting the school holiday madness fun like me! More market finds over at Sophie's blog.