The Safari Dress

Somebody stop me! Maybe I do need that self-help group I mentioned last week. Yes, Lola needed another dress. We'll just go with that. :)

The dress in action!

We spent two days at Parc Safari with some friends. Instead of making healthy snacks and packing our luggage the night before, I made Lola a Safari Dress.  I don't think the kids minded the chips and peanut butter jelly sandwiches :)

The pattern is my own, similar to the vintage fabric dress here.  The fabric was 5$ per metre from Fabricland a few months ago and is a stretchy cotton. I used the same fabric to make bias tape for the top edge and armhole ties.

Here are a few other random pictures of our trip.

Charlie trying to feed the deer... look, they ran away with his box of treats!

There was a fabulous water park.

Lola feeding the animals during the safari.

I love summer!

Thanks for reading!

New fabrics in the shop!

I have reached 21 sales in my Etsy shop! Yay!

I have been updating and have some new fabrics in the shop. There's more to come.

Thank you for all of your support!

Fresh Strawberries

Is there anything better than fresh local strawberries? I didn't think so.

Here's my attempt to hold onto that freshness for a little longer. I made a triple batch of strawberry freezer jam and one batch of cooked strawberry rhubarb jam. Yum.

The strawberry freezer jam came out a bright red and looks and tastes amazing. I find it still has that fresh taste since the strawberries aren't cooked. mmmm....

Here's the strawberry rhubarb jam cooking away.

And done!

I followed the recipes in the package of Pectin Crystals. Easy, quick, and oh so good!

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And another dress!

Hello. My name is Lynne and I make too many baby dresses.
"Hi Lynne."

Ok, maybe I don't need a self-help group yet but I'm going to if I don't stop making dresses. They are so fun to make they are addictive.

Here's another one made in a green seersucker. It was a first test of a pattern I have been working on. I wanted to make a slimmer A-line sundress with ties and a rounded bottom.  I made the arm holes a little too deep but it's still cute. I'm not biased at all.

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Another Sweet Little Dress

I finished another Sweet Little Dress for Lola and managed to get a few pictures of her wearing it.

I made it a bit more narrow than the pattern calls for, as well as added a ruffle down the front.

I love ruffles on a baby!

I also made a pair of matching bloomers but ran out of elastic before finishing them.  Off to the store tomorrow. Darn, a reason (or excuse depending who you ask) to go to the fabric store.
:)

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Baking Bread

I recently checked out the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" from my local library.  It promises only five minutes of hands-on prep time in order to make fresh bread. I had to try.

Here's my first loaf. It was good... we ate it all in less than 24 hours.  I made the master recipe, also called Boule, and forced myself to follow the instructions exactly.

The crust was nice and chewy, the inside fluffy and perfect. This loaf is on the smaller side which is perfect for us since it's enough for one day.

Here's the dough, ready to rise.

Here's my second loaf. Mmmm....

I'm thinking of working my was through this book (hello birthday gift, hint hint Marc ;)

Anyone interested in joining me?

Thanks for reading!

Cake Balls and Oreo Balls

I can't take any credit for these recipes, but I will link to them so you can make your own. How about I tempt you with a few pictures?

I made dessert for a dinner party I attended last weekend. I made chocolate cake balls and Oreo balls. Mmmm... They must have been good since the girls asked for the recipes.

For the cake balls recipe, click here.  I used Devil's Food Cake, chocolate icing and chocolate melts for the coating. I decorated with a drizzle of white chocolate. As suggested in the reviews, I waited until my cake was cool to mix in frosting and refrigerated the mixture before making the balls.

The ones everyone pounced on were the Oreo balls, recipe found here.  I dipped these in white chocolate melts, with a drizzle of dark chocolate.

They were easy to make but are a little time consuming since they required several steps, including time to firm up in the refrigerator.  I learnt the balls should be cold, not frozen, as your chocolate coating could crack.  Also, you need chocolate melting wafers for dipping. I tried to make my last two cake balls with chocolate chips since I ran out of wafers but they didn't harden properly. I had to eat those, darn :)

Thanks for reading!