If you are like me, your whole life is contained within your iphone. I couldn’t live without my phone for an hour, let alone a day.
Well, did you know that there are great iphone apps available to take with you into the kitchen. How fabulous!  So, I’ve been going nuts with my iphone and have found some great cooking apps.
Here are my top four:

Quick Collection by Nigella Lawson. This app is only a few days’ old. It is Nigella’s brand-new classy baby and it contains a series of 70 recipes for us busy cooks. There are loads of videos also. Who doesn’t love Nigella and her decadent recipes? I love her style but these are not recipes for the weight-conscious cook.

Epicurious. This app is uh-mazing. If you buy one app this is the one, according to all the reviews and to my playing around on it. Epicurious has over 25,000 recipes, a shopping list and ratings from other users who have tried those recipes. This app is absolutely free – but the downside is that you have to put up with a number of advertisements.

20 minute meals by Jamie Oliver. This app is a little bit more expensive than others but it’s only $7.99. These recipes come with great photos. I love cooking with photos. Great for all the visual learners amongst us. There are 55 recipes. Great for quick after-work meals.

All Recipes Dinner Spinner. This is really great. You can put in which ingredients you want to use, how much time you have and then it lets you choose from a number of suitable meals. This app has thousands of recipes which is great too. If you are like me and try to shop at the fresh market each week then end up with some fresh ingredients left, this is great. It will help you find the suitable dish for them. Best of all, this app is free!

I noticed today that Megan of Not Martha has a free giveaway for How to Cook Everything app, the new cooking app from Mark Bittman. Visit her site and leave a comment.

I hope these make cooking so much more fun!

Mia
xxx

We love this Easter Fascinator Tutorial from Outsapop.  How fun is this?

Follow the tutorial here.

Enjoy

Mia

xoxo

Easter already…this is crazy. 2010 feels like it is nearly two thousand and went.

This year the holiday will be spent finishing renovating the kitchen, going to church, hot cross buns on friday, the rugby on friday night (of course), easter egg hunt on sunday, more times at the beach getting in some finals swims for the season…. and more work on the house. I can’t wait to have a working kitchen again.  Also curtains to make.  Will post some curtain ideas in the next week or so.

For now, I have found some lovely Easter links for you…

• Chez Larsson has made a lovely Easter Tree.  Great idea, if only those twenty more boxes were unpacked.
• These gorgeous papercraft characters are really cheap at $4 each. But I am wondering how hard it would be to design your own similar characters since there is little time for them to arrive before Easter.
• Very cute Easter Egg Surprises.
• Our Birdies from Christmas would be perfect for Easter. Wouldn’t they look gorgeous on an Easter tree?
• Craftapalooza has made a pattern for some cute little amigurumi bunny egg covers. If you haven’t tried amigurumi before it is a form of crochet to make little animals. Give it a try some time. There are plenty of tutorials to get you started.
• Martha Stewart’s tutorial to make these elegant origami Easter eggs is divine.

Enjoy!  More inspiration coming tomorrow.

Mia

xoxo

Just a quick post to update you with the current sites I surf. I am giving up social networking but still love my daily surfing.  I follow craft sites, fashion sites, and lifestyle sites.

Sites I love (a motley mix I agree).  Click the ♥ to visit:

The Cherry Blossom Girl♥  A very cool Parisienne who works as a stylist, with a penchant for beautiful shoes and vintage-y things.

Bleubird Vintage♥  James, another fashion blogger, everything vintage and fantastic.

Ismoyo♥  A crafty designy blog, a lovely girl half-Dutch, half-Indonesian living in NYC.  Cute, quirky style.

Fashion is Spinach♥  Betsy a fashion writer and blogger, living in Washington DC.  Great fashion blog written in a very down-to-earth style.  Always well written and interesting.

Not Martha♥   A crafty site by Megan Reardon, Seattle girl.  lots of crafty links and great product links.  No fuss, quick to read and always interesting.

One Lucky Duck♥  Sarma Melngailis dishes on raw food benefits.  Will get ya drinking green juice and eating raw foods.  Eat raw, sparkle more!

We Like it Raw♥  Raw foodists site, interesting articles.

Crazy Sexy Life♥  Chris Karr has set up an on-line health community.  So many super-fantastic health experts and amazing people in one place.  Always interesting, always great read (even if you eat meet this will interest you. i’m sure). Vibrant.

Crazy Aunt Purl♥  Laurie, a southern girl living in LA.  Funny.  Funnier.  Knitting blog (sort of), more just tales of living in la la land.  She’s a staple in my internet diet.

Andrea Scher♥  Another staple.  Berkeley girl, photos are wicked.  Jewellery designer.  Posts to lift your spirits.  

Gala Darling♥  A New Zealander living in NYC.  Lifestyle, fashion, articles, photos.  Such a fun, amazing blog.  Always makes me smile.

I think I have covered everything I love, making things, eating good stuff, having fun, dressing up..

Oh how could I forget…Each time I get a chance I am working my way through all the episodes at..

Darryl Hannah Love Life♥  All I can say is…go and have a look.  It is the best!

Mia

Wednesday 8.19pm in Perth Western Australia.  I am sitting in my study writing on my big clunky computer, surrounded by boxes (more about that later).  The sun is setting bright pink in the sky and the evening is very pleasant (not too hot) due to a cool breeze.  The cat is by my feet licking his paws and the dog has stopped barking after being fed.  All is well in my world.

And here’s what others are doing…

• Pam is making (well, a little while ago anyway)  a coffee filter garland.  Easy Peasy and so shabby chic.
• Hop Skip Jump is designing a very interesting looking mustard-coloured stripey quilt.
• Alicia is cooking coconut custard.  Yummy recipe at her site.
• Gisella at Ox Hill is constructing these gorgeous bracelets.  So tempting to try to make something like it.  What do you think she has wrapped the thread around?  Rubber?  Looks so good!
• Tania has been making the cutest bird clock.
• Shim at Shim and Sons is making gorgeous Lunar New Year cards.
• And.  My very favourite.  These are so pretty and I just dream of being in weather this cold so that ice doesn’t melt outside.  Ice would melt in approximately five seconds where I live.  Think long hot dry summers and mild winters.  Benita is so clever.  She is making Ice Lanterns.  I want one!
• I am making a very cool scarf with a tutorial to follow in the next few days. And apart from that I am organising my craft supplies.  After writing a book for well over a year and making enough things to sink a ship, my house is still over-run by crafty loveliness.  Everywhere you look.  Basically my house is one big craft studio from the front door to the back door.  And it just dawned on me that the others who live here may well appreciate some culling, placing boundaries and some organisation.  And I think I may need it too.  Photos to follow.

I imagine a lot of you (in the North) are just stumbling out of bed to begin another day….  Let me know, where are you from and what are you makin’ this Wednesday?

Mia

xx

Hi ya everyone,

Things seem to change really quickly in life don’t they? Well as luck would have it my circumstances have changed quite a bit and it seems that this year I will be full-time blogging at onehourcraft.com and working part-time. I have wanted this freedom for a very long time and it appears that my time has come to do this!

If you remember back to the olden days (not quite) when I started this site and I was posting about two or three times a day – well that is where we are headed again. But. The first thing this blog (*still hate the word) needs is a bit of structure. So I have been brainstorming some regular posts for certain days – and I came up with ‘What ya makin’ Wednesday?’.

On Wednesday each week I will be linking to really interesting things people have been making in the past week. I also want you all to leave comments with links to what you have been making. That way everyone can see what you have been up to also. I can’t wait to see what you all have been up to each week.

Today….

• Artsycraftsy babe is sewing the loveliest linen bags with a patchwork inset.
• Bella Dia is decorating rocks with transfers for presents. Clever way to use scrapbooking materials. Scroll down and see my favourite rock with the floral transfer.
• How About Orange is making paint chip bookmarks. Free and so cute. I am definitely going to make some.
• Kitty Genius is making miniature porcelain artwork. Simply divine.
• Ismoyo is embroidering cherries. So pretty and delicious.
• Love forever is making mosaic mirrors using cut-up old credit cards. You gotta love recycling!
• The Small Object has is mixing and bottling Grapefruit Sugar Scrub. And I think I will make some too.

I’ve been making some very funky little bags, a tote bag, and some more things I will be posting here in the next few days.

And finally, what are you making?

Mia

Hello Craft Lovers,

We are back – with a plan for this site- and we are going to get that plan into action in the next few weeks.  I was very surprised that the day after I wrote the last post I was offered another book deal!  Unfortunately I decided it was not THE right one, so turned it down.  We are, of course,  open to other book deals still!

For now here is some random crafty loveliness for you to make:

• We love Megan’s Surprise Balls.  What a great idea for a party or wedding! 
• These Firefly Baby Booties at Craftzine are the cutest things we have seen in a long, long time.  Quick, someone have a new baby so we can make these!  Hmmmm maybe our next monthly craft challenge (yes, they are starting again due to popular demand) should be baby booties?
• And… for those of us who just can’t get enough of Marimekko fabrics, these Marimekko-Inspired cupcakes are so lovely!
• Mini Canvas Magnets from Heather at How About Orange.
• Covered Tape Measures from A Spoonful of Sugar.
• Fabric and Crochet Mushrooms at Resurrection Fern.
• Yummy Vanilla Lemonade at Inside a Black Apple.

Enjoy!

Mia

PS I have been trying to sort out all the bugs I have on my site.  Or I have been hacked, I don’t know but there are loads of problems to sort out.  I do so want your comments – and thanks for the emails, I am trying. 

I love the little paper Kelly handbags from Hermes!  Visit their site to download these for free.  We have a birthday in a few months and I am definitely going to make these for the lolly bags.  So cute.   Nice to see that even the fashion houses understand the power of giving something away for free.  One of the many things I love about the Internet – the freebie. 

And, hello everyone.  Yes.  We are officially back in action.  With lots of lovely treats and projects coming your way.  We will be getting the monthly craft challenge back on track and plenty more.  There will be a site relaunch in July.  So happy to have the free time to re-connect with you all.  Thanks for the well wishes while we were so busy! 

Miaxx 

(free dress patterns from burda open source sewing.  from left to right, jonny dress, danielle dress, anda dress)

is there anything better than a new dress with a gorgeous pair of heels?  when i was a little girl mum said that if i was in a grumpy mood, all she had to do was put me in a pretty dress and all of a sudden i became a happy little princess, twirling and dancing.  and really.  nothing has changed.  i still love getting all frocked up. 

in our family we really get dressed up for christmas.  we go all out.  i know that it is an aussie tradition to have a laid-back casual christmas in your bathers and board shorts.  but not for us.  all the children in the family get a new outfit for christmas and all the adults too.  it is so fun. 

here are some free pattern links for some pretty christmas dresses for you…

• for those in the north where it is winter, i love this burda tunic pattern.  especially the tartan one with the belt around the middle.  looks comfy too which is good for a long day with lots of socialising and party hopping.
• this danielle dress is adorable and so romantic.  it is a free download as part of burdastyle.com’s ‘open source sewing’.  this is a site to completely rave about.  it is like an on-line community for designers and sewers who share sewing and styling  tips.  once a week you can download a new pattern – and they are so funky!  join.  join.  join.  in the new year i am planning to host sewing parties where all the participants download the same pattern and then sew it.  i can’t wait!
• this anda dress looks amazing.  great for a summery summer in perth but you could wear it with long socks and a thick cashmere coat for a northern christmas.  download the pattern here.
• this jonny dress is amazing and great for a colder winter.
• you may like this off-the-shoulder little dress from fitz patterns.  Fairly slinky.  Maybe more appropriate for an evening do than a family function.
• or if an aussie beach christmas is what you are doing, try this sassy little sundress.  I am loving the white chantilly lacey version.

but whatever you choose to wear, just be gorgeous and you can’t go wrong!

any more links to great free dress patterns?

have fun frocking up!

mia

xx

…or not just your colleagues but anyone who deserves a quick, gorgeous gift crafted by an artistic goddess like yourself.  these gifts are great because they are really not too personal but are sure to be adored by those you work with. 

• marble magnets at not martha.  they look so gorgeous when displayed in little tins!
• cookies in a jar for those who just love homemade food.  these are so cool and i intend to make loads of them in the near future.  basically, you take a cool jar and layer all the dry ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies or other cookies.  then the lucky receiver just adds the eggs and milk and voila, gorgeous cookies.
• oooh i love this.  what about mexican taco mix in a jar or mexican hot chocolate?  or you can make up curry mixes.  the sky is the limit really and these are the sort of presents that are not too personal if you know what i mean?  the only thing may be to check (subtly) if your recipient is allergic to anything.
• a hanging evergreen basket would be a lovely present to receive -oops i mean, give.   or what about a different type of potted plant or basket.  so versatile.  it does not even require that you know if that person lives in an apartment or house.  good one.
• feel like baking?  these cute and easy little sugar cookies might take a while longer but they are gorgeous.  beautifully wrapped these make gorgeous presents.
• a 2008 calendar designed by little hut.  you pay a very small fee for the pdf which is then emailed  to you.  then put together the calendar in no time at all.  so stylish.  i intend to make one of these for myself.
• cute.  beaded wine glass charms.
• fizzy bath bombs.  make some of these and add them to a basket with other soaps and things in it.
• why not make some candles.  if you have never tried before, they are so easy to make.  or if you just have too much on your plate, why not buy a white pillar candle and decorate it with puff paint like Alicia has done.  clever. 

i am working on some other projects.  They are very quick and cute.  Will show you soon…

enjoy!

mia

xx