I surprise myself sometimes + Sunday Stash + a recipe!

For the last few days Ashlee has been at me for a new pencil case. Her old one had really bit the dust. Being a small town there was no way I was paying the ridiculous amount they wanted for a small one down at the local general store! Then.....Ashlee had the brilliant idea to 'just make one!'. Well, you say, just make one.......easy for some to say but I have never just made one before and only had a day to do it in. A bit daunting really. So I decided to just do it and see how it all went. Ashlee picked out the fabric she wanted, I decided to use calico for the lining and I also added a middle layer of PUL (this I use when making MCN's) just to give it that extra bit of leak proof. Leaking pens can look ugly! So we don't want to keep you waiting, after a few hours sewing, a trip to the Op Shop for a white zip (which we picked up for a few cents), a bit of unpicking and re-sewing - zippers on pencil cases aren't my thing, I have never put a zipper on a pencil case - we finally came up with this..........(excuse the photos - sun was going down and it wasn't the best light, oh and promise not to look to close!)

Looks good, Ashlee loves it. The little birdie was meant to have a sort of rustic frayed edge look going on. Didn't come out to bad but not as I had pictured. Look out for more little things like this though because I did enjoy trying something new.

Now when I say plus Sunday Stash (week 2) I totally mean 'take a look at the fabric on the pencil case'!. I kinda like it - well I did buy it - but never thought I would be making a pencil case out of it! Find more players here.


I also promised some photos of the super yummy Apple (and Blackberry) Custard Slice. Now bear with me as my 4 slice tins have gone walk about (grrrrrrr!) I can not for the life of me find them so this one got cooked in a smaller cake tin. Worked fine I guess - definitely didn't change the taste, it was soooooo yummy! To explain the blackberries, I only had one tin and being a weekend the shops weren't open. My lovely neighbour kindly offered me her last tub of homemade stewed blackberries! I jumped at the offer and was very grateful.



And here is the recipe for you all:
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Apple Custard Slice

Makes about: 16
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour

1 cup plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
125g butter, melted
icing sugar, to dust
FILLING:
800g can pie apple
(I used 500g pie apple & 300g stewed blackberries)
3/4 cup thickened cream
2 eggs
2 tbsp caster sugar
TOPPING:
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup slivered almonds (I didn't use these)
1/3 cup brown sugar
60g butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 180c. Lightly grease and line an 18 x 28cm slice pan with baking paper.
2. Combine flour, brown sugar, coconut. Blend in butter. Press mix firmly into prepared pan. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly browned, allow to cool.
3. FILLING: Spread apple (& blackberries mix) over base. Whisk together cream, eggs, caster sugar. Pour over apple (& blackberries). Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until firm.
4. TOPPING: Combine all the ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over slice. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden. Allow to cool in pan. Dust with icing sugar, cut into squares and serve! YUMMY!
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In other news, while I was getting the photo's off the camera I came across some that I didn't take - which is rare. Daddy's been taking pictures of his boy! Here is Zachary, my budding artist.

....And check out the new teeth he is sporting now!

That brings the total up to 10 with the two new molars he has recently cut.

Zach is such a determined little man, even with his limitations he surprises us every single day! Attempting to crawl, trying to climb - unfortunately falling a lot, but trying all the same. His speech is behind but he gets around it and he is super cute to boot!

We also got the long awaited phone call from DADHC regarding Zach's intake. He has been accepted and will start his therapy very soon. Thank you to all those who prayed! This will mean that all his therapy will be government funded and this will save us thousands! We are very happy about this. We are also heading off on Thursday to Sydney to meet with Dr Lowe, that I mentioned before, to hopefully get some more help. Unfortunately this will cost about $350 just to walk in the door but from what I hear it is worth it.

Alright better be heading off - I'm trying to decide (by tomorrow!) if I'm going to join in on the fun with Sew, Mama, Sew! Give-Away Day.......do I have enough confidence??