Bliss



Sali with her wonderful mosaic 
 inspired by a snow laden branch in the German village
where her daughter lived.
This has been a labour of love.
we all love it too!



Sali and her daughter Kirsten visited the studio
yesterday to put the final touches to the mosaic.
Kirsten took the lovely picture above of her mum.
Zara was delighted to have visitors.

........and what would mosaic classes be without a sweet delight.

so in keeping with the theme here is Sali's bliss ball recipe.

happy Christmas everyone.

hugs lesx



SALI'S CACAO BLISS BALLS

  

1 cup pitted medjool dates  

1 cup activated nuts (I like almonds and walnuts) 

1/3 cup raw organic cacao powder 

1/3 cup coconut oil 

½ cup shredded coconut 

1 tablespoon chia seeds 

 

What you do: 

Soak dates in warm water for 15 minutes to soften. 

Whilst dates are soaking add nuts, cacao, shredded coconut, coconut oil and chia seeds to processor and mix. 

Add dates and process. 

If mixture is too dry add either a tablespoon of filtered water, or a little bit more coconut oil. 

Let mixture sit for 10 minutes. 

Roll mixture into bite size ball size. 

Roll balls in shredded coconut.

 

 

My changes:  

I might try mixing dates with another dried fruit next time to make this less sweet. 

Recipe was quite moist and had to adapt it a little – think I put in more nuts or coconut

 

 

gumnuts

Simoni working on her gum nuts.
Precious present for someone.



gumnuts. love the bush colours.

The Last Tile

This was our last class for the year.......I have so enjoyed spending Saturday afternoons with you all.

Classes resume again next year.



Jan finishing another leafy beauty
 

Anna busy with her 'surprise'.
Maureen shut your eyes if you are here.

 

Sali lays the last tile ! yea.

 

zara is missing you all already.

(thanks Kirsten for the lovely photo)

 

 

 

Berries

This week we had a special visitor.
Charlotte joined her mum Anna.
Thank you Jan for bringing delicious
 home baked blueberry muffins.
 I have shared the recipe below.
 They are yummy.
 

Jan's Blueberry Muffins

 

300 g self raining flour

150g brown sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/2 cup veg oil

130g of blueberries

 

sift flour and sugar

add blueberries plus up to 20g frozen raspberries

make a well, add lightly beaten egg ,milk and oil.

Stir lightly until just combined.

spoon into greased muffin pans ( 12)

bake at 200 deg for 25 minutes.

cool a little before taking out of pans.

Enjoy!!



sali's beautiful branch with red berries.
 very lovely.

Bev is finished for the year........I would love a photo of your installed mosaics Bev. You will have to join us for our Christmas gathering at the end of November. We missed you Simoni. hope your trip to Sydney went well.

 

See you all next week.

Les

close up

Jan is doing a series of leaves
 to disperse amongst her paver at home.
 I have fallen in love with this maple leaf!

Creative Trio

Sali, Simon and Annie - hard at work on their mosaics.

 

Annie finishing the number for her house

Simoni with her beautiful wall panels.
 Finished! Yea! Can't wait to see them up.



Sali's beautiful branch laden with cherries.

 

It has been a lovely small group this year. I have so enjoyed my Saturday afternoons with all of you. Projects are now winding up and smaller ones starting that will be finished by November when mosaics finish up for the year. We start again when schools go back next year.

See you on Saturday.

Les

Lat Saturday in September. Summer is here!

Jan busy with her beautiful leaves

Simoni sticking the last bit of her 3 panels.
 Almost there!
 they are looking great.

Sali sticking cherries onto her German
 inspired design

Jan grouting an autumn leaf

from last week....Bev with her beautiful
finished fat bird tile....
hope you are enjoying travelling around
 in your van 

from a couple of weeks ago...Anna doing her number
for her house. hope it all went well getting your thesis in.
 see you soon.....we've missed your cheery presence.



a cake affair

I thought I would take this opportunity to thank you all for bringing such yummy cakes to the class.

we've had sali's raspberry delight, Maureen's legendary brownies, bev's loaf, simoni's chocolate chia cake, denzil's yoghurt cake, biscuits from Katarina, carrot cake from Meredith, jans ring cake....( I hope I haven't left anyone out.....)

its always nice to take a break in the middle of the class and indulge in something delicious.

I'm more than happy to supply the cake but you always beat me to it.

 

well last week I baked a cake ( which is a miracle!)

you wanted the recipe so I thought I would post it here on the blog. 

 

Trumped up Carrot Cake

 

(see how easy it is!)

 

in a big bowl mix together

2 cups of grated carrots

I cup oil

1 cup whole-wheat flour

I cup hazelnut meal

1 cup oats

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup of chopped nuts and dates

1 and half cups of brown sugar

3 eggs beaten

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp bicarb of soda

add sprinkle of chia 

1 cup coconut flakes

 

mix well by hand with wooden spoon.

pour into greased pie dish of baking pan. bake for 1 hour or more at 180 C.

 

( thank you mum! my mother is the best cook in the world., I am busy compiling a book of her recipes to be made into a book for Christmas.)

 

and most importantly - eat a big slice with your favourite tea.

and smile. 

 

  

 

Simoni

Simoni hard at work on her panels.
number 2 finished.
one more to go.
I look forward to seeing them on the wall
of your osteopathy practise.
(Zara says thank you. big waggy tail)

beautiful pot

 

Sali finished her beautiful geranium inspired pot!

It looks wonderful.

We look forward to a picture of it in Grandpa's sunny spot in the garden.

 

 

trio



 



Anna with her gorgeous frame!
 finished and ready for the mirror to be installed



Simoni busy with panel 2. looking good!



Bev mosaicing her sweet plump bird



on the home stretch



Jan with her wonderful finished pot......
enjoy Perth. see you in a couple of weeks



sali's lovely geranium pot waiting for her.
see you on Saturday

saturday mosaics

simoni

 

Katariina

Anna

Bev

Meredith

Jan

sali

Mosaic Classes 2013

MOSAIC CLASSES FOR 2013

   

saturday afternoons 1-4 from my studio in The Gap.

If you have been looking for a place to be creative in a small friendly group then come along and join us.

classes are relaxed and you work at your own pace.

$20 a class - includes all materials and tea and cake ( Denzil often surprises us with warm home baked banana bread...which is a real treat)

Zara always welcomes everyone with a big waggy tail.

 

if you'd like more info -  please give me a ring or email me.

I look forward to meeting you.

Les

bird of paradise

Nicole's exquisite bird of paradise is a real beauty!

Her talent and attention to detail shines through.

Nicoles quiet presence is always welcome in the studio.

we look forward to seeing your tea infused baking treats win the Dilmah baking competition next year.  

 

  

 

cape town angels

Here are my 2 beautiful nieces living in cape town, Frida and Malaika, with the mosaiced christmas boxes they created to store treasure in. ( Pearlie we are waiting for the pic of your finished mosaic)

 

Zara's favourite person in the world - Areane

Zara ( our dog) would hear Areane arrive at the gate and her tail would start to wag.

Areane created a beautiful mosaic mirror for her new babies bedroom. It is a tree which is lovely and symbolic as we watched Areane's tummy grow bigger each week as the tree became more complete.

Good luck with the birth of your baby Areane. We look forward to meeting him.( and seeing some of your embroidery work)