Games for kids in the car

Pilosale, which I have talked about before, has an innovative way to keep your kids entertained during a car trip - car bingo. I wish I had one when Mum and Dad used to take us across the country from Perth to Sydney every year for Christmas.

Alphabet books

Inhabitots featured these beautiful handmade fabric alphabet books made by pilosale. They have a linen cover and felt pages.
I have already bought, although my child is only 8 months old, the alphabet book that features the artwork of Charley Harper.

When once asked to describe his art style, Harper replied, "When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe."

I also see a sense of humour in his illustrations.
You can buy the book and some of other books featuring his artwork here in Australia through bebe online

Baking

My current favorite biscuit is the indulgent chewy chocolate biscuits from the Orangette blogspot.
Image: Orangette

It is a US recipe and I have adapted it for Australian measurements.
Yummmm....


Chewy Cocoa Biscuits with Chocolate Chips
Adapted from Alice Medrich by Orangette

1 cup S.R. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
60 g unsalted butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup plain yoghurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave briefly, until just melted. Add the sugars, and sift in the cocoa. Stir to blend well. The mixture will be somewhat thick and pasty, like wet sand. Add the yoghurt and vanilla and stir to mix thoroughly. Add the flour, and stir to just combine. Add the chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.

Drop the dough by generous tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies have crackled slightly and look set. Transfer the tray to a wire rack, and cool the biscuits on the tray for 10 minutes. Transfer them to the rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Not useful for this recipe but there are some lovely biscuit cutters at Bisk Art


Image: Biskart

Gift Tags

How cute and simple are these gift tags on the wrapping done at Cradle Rock

Patricia Zapata at A Little Hut has tutorials showing how to make these simple, elegant gift tags

Hello

This is really just a way of keeping track of all the lovely things I see about me. Kind of like an ongoing diary.