I am stitching on cards this month, but it is a long process so these upcycled Christmas cards were stitched on the sewing machine.
Each card has a tailor made envelope using the plain side of 12x 12” patterned paper. The stash for Christmas 2023 is underway!
This year’s resolution is to enjoy the good things, to seize opportunities and avoid unconscious waste. I’m calling it ‘luxury on a budget’ though your idea of luxury and mine might be quite different, I hope you get the idea.
Today I stumbled on super post-Christmas bargains which seem to fit the bill so a pack of French goats cheese has been preserved by freezing half and marinating half for future indulgence.
To marinate: flavour olive oil with dried herbs and spices. I used rosemary, bay leaves, peppercorns, cumin seeds and chili flakes. Cut the cheese into cubes or roll into little balls and drop gently into the oil. Top up the oil so the cheese is completely covered.
This will last in the fridge for a month. The frozen cheese is good for 6 months.
The peel is dehydrated to become pot pourri and car freshener
The core is simmered with spices and caster sugar to become a syrup for boosting soft drinks (and adding to rum of course)
Half the flesh is cubed and fried in brown sugar. Half of that is eaten hot with yoghurt. The other half is added to cubed left over turkey in a tangy burrito.
The remaining flesh is cubed and simmered in vinegar, spices and sugar to become relish.
Finally the leaves are boiled and the water strained and sweeten to make a (reputedly) healthy tea
I metre long strip by 20cm wide fabric is all it takes.
Once assembled each sachet was repeatedly stabbed with old sewing machine needles so the dried lavender within could do its job.
A giant catering tin of mushrooms was a bargain buy but once opened presented a ‘waste not want not’ challenge. I have paired them so far in:
chestnut stuffing – with breadcrumbs and herbs
Pasta sauce, boosting the usual tomato and onion base and topped with truffle oil
Savoury pancakes with cream and garlic
Chicken and mushroom pie – pastry bottom and lid, broth based gravy
Potato mushroom curry
And the rest is now in the freezer awaiting inspiration. Ideas welcome!
We seem to have accumulated a mountain of butter knives so I prettified the unused ones for gifting.
I don’t have pyrography tips for writing or fine detailing, but I do have the tips for heat setting jewellry crystals so created some simple patterns.
Multi media pillows have been created to use up some of the fabric stash. I combine free motion, appliqué, hand embroidery including lots of French knots, fabric pen drawing and pearl drop embellishments.
Short quotes stitched and framed in recycled photo frames. These take longer to plan than to make to centre the words as each of my available frames is a different size.
What to do with all this rosemary? Ideas to date:
Rosemary and tomato salt, includes dehydrated tomato skins to give pretty red flecks in the final mix
Rosemary oil from cold marinaded olive oil to be gifted in pretty bottles for foodie friends to enjoy
Rosemary facial toner from simmering sprigs in water and then diluting the strained result in apple cider vinegar
janecrafts 