Meagan Made |MeaganMade.com

23
Jul
2016

Twix Bar Slice

When I stumbled on this pin in my Pinterest feed, I was thinking that a dairy free Twix bar slice was just too good to be true! I popped it on one of my boards thinking I’d give it a go at some point, and didn’t think too much more of it. Just 2 weeks later after a morning tea at work, I decided I needed to try this slice. If it worked out, I hoped it would convince some of my colleagues that it was possible to make delicious dairy free sweets that I could eat!

I’ve just gotta say, this recipe has changed my life! Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it is amazingly delicious and tasty! Not only is it dairy free (actually it’s vegan), it’s also gluten free so all of my friends will be able to enjoy this one!!

With only six ingredients (almond butter, maple syrup, cocoa powder, coconut flour, salt and vanilla extract) there isn’t too much to buy, and you re-use the ingredients throughout the layers. I did substitute cocoa for cacao since I couldn’t find any cocoa with no traces of dairy, but everything else I used by the book! Check out the recipe over at Bakerita’s blog.

Twix Bar Slice | MeaganMade.com

I ended up refrigerating the whole thing overnight before cutting the next morning. Pulling it out of the fridge I thought it was looking good (that’s sea salt flakes on the top) but I was a bit nervous as to what I’d find when I cut into it.

Twix Bar Slice | MeaganMade.com

I needn’t have worried. The three layers remained distinct, and when I snuck my first taste (I couldn’t wait until I took the photo) I was in heaven! The caramel was just gooey enough, and without knowing it was mostly almond butter, you would not have been able to tell! The balance of the salty and sweet was perfect to balance out the richness of the cacao. My only complaint, there wasn’t enough! I took it into work and it disappeared within about 5 minutes, and I’ve been told to make double the batch next time I bring it in. 🙂

I’m visiting another lactose intolerant friend for a craft day this weekend so I have another batch of cookie base in the oven as we speak. I can’t wait to eat it again, and this is firmly in my repertoire of sweet goodies now!

Happy baking,

Meagan x

16
Jul
2016

Insulated lunch bag

categories: Craft, Sewing

This week has been so busy that I’ve barely had time to cook let alone craft, so I’ve decided to post about a lunch bag that I made last year! 🙂

I’d purchased a great bento lunch box for work, complete with smaller boxes and separators. There was only one problem – it was huge – so huge it wouldn’t fit into any of my lunch bags! There was only one thing for it – time to get sewing.

An earlier trip to Spotlight had netted me some cool fabric with a modern purple print, but I hadn’t yet decided what to make with it! A search on Etsy solved the problem after I found this great pattern. I contacted the seller as I loved the pattern but it wasn’t quite the right dimensions for my box. Super quick to respond, Robin sent me her formula to modify the pattern of the bag, and it did the trick! Make sure you read to the end for a discount code for this store! 🙂

Insulated Lunch Box

The trickiest thing with pulling this pattern together was the thickness of the layers combined! This lunch bag uses insulated wadding (I bought InsulBright) to keep your food nice and cool. I decided to use a thin plastic tablecloth for the inside material so that I could wipe out any spills and it’s been a fantastic bag to use ever since. (Of course the fact that I could buy it in bright pink just closed the deal for me, my two favourite colours pink and purple combined!)

To get through the fabric, Insulbrite and plastic tablecloth I used a denim needle which is much stronger. This needle powered through the layers and didn’t break, unlike my prior standard needle that I had tried. The tablecloth did bunch in a few corner spots, but it was easier for me to find than oil cloth and has survived many a meal spill.

Insulated Lunch Box - an inside peek

I recently contacted Robin to see if I could blog about her great little lunch bag. Robin has been so kind as to give us a discount code to use in her store binskistudio until the end of August 2016 for 10% off any products in her store! The code is MEAGANMADE10. I’m personally eyeing off those e-reader and wallet patterns!

I’d love to hear what patterns you buy and make, or any other comments you may have! Drop me a line below, and don’t forget to share the post 🙂

Happy sewing,

Meagan xo

09
Jul
2016

Puff Stitch Beanie

categories: Craft, Crochet

Well, it’s certainly been a busy week! After a brief kerfuffle with the post on Monday, I finally received my yarn in the mail to complete the beanie that I mentioned last week, and I’ve been working on it a little each night since to finish it off.

While attending the craft fair, I fell in love with this beautiful yarn which is a blend of Alpaca and Merino yarn from Australian Alpaca Barn. They have an online shop where I was able to buy the additional yarn that I required in Mulberry. While buying it, I couldn’t resist and purchased enough to make another beanie in lilac and dark grey.

I’d purchased this pattern from The Hook Nook after seeing so many of her gorgeous photos on her Instagram account. I was waiting until I had the right yarn, but realised this was the one. Since her pattern calls for worsted weight yarn (10 ply here in Australia), and my yarn is 8 ply, I knew I’d need to modify the pattern slightly. The pattern is very easily scalable and with a few try-on’s I got the perfect fit.

Jessica also provides you with a link to her video tutorial for the puff stitch. Even though I had never used this stitch, with her video, I found it very easy to pick up and was able to proceed with smooth sailing. While I’m nowhere near her speed – seriously, check out some of her videos on her Instagram feed, she’s amazing! – I am so happy with how it turned out!

Puff Stitch Beanie | MeaganMade.com

I had to add a pom pom, and I was inspired by this video on the Better Craft Facebook page to try this new way of creating pom poms. Every time I see this pom pom I just want to give it a squish, and it’s super soft.

After finishing the beanie late on Thursday night, I had to wear it to work yesterday, and wow, my head was so toasty warm. I couldn’t resist taking a quick selfie to show you how it sits when it’s worn, and there were even some beautiful flowers still in bloom!

Puff Stitch Beanie | MeaganMade.com

I’m looking forward to making another one of these in lilac and grey! Give this pattern a try, you won’t be disappointed! 🙂

Happy crocheting,

Meagan xo

02
Jul
2016

Origami Pouch

categories: Craft, Sewing

The Craft and Quilt Fair came to Sydney last weekend, and I got a chance to attend on Sunday. I haven’t been for a few years, but this show always has the best variety of stalls and is a fantastic day. True to form, I came away with many purchases, including the kit and pattern for this origami pouch!

With every craft conceivable was represented at the fair, I had to limit myself to a few crafts. Sticking to those I’ve done in the last year I decided on sewing, quilting and crocheting! I met some wonderful people at the show, and it was great to catch up with one of my lovely crafting friends Mandy who had 2 of her gorgeous patterns for sale at the show and was also helping out on the AccuQuilt stall (I’ll be having some fun with those cutting dies in the coming months so stay tuned)! I also bought some beautiful fabrics, including some from the Tula Pink line, and some lovely Alpaca/Merino blend yarn, so you can expect to see more goodies from the show featuring in coming posts!

I had planned to post about a beanie that I had been crocheting this week, but was foiled! The one time I was trying to be good and purchase only the yarn that I “needed”, I didn’t buy enough, lol! Never fear, more yarn is on its way and once I receive it I will be able to show you this cozy beanie.

What I did manage to finish this week was a lovely small Origami Pouch, made using a kit from Wabi-Sabi Designs Australia. The kit includes all material and cord required for the pattern as well as instructions, all you need to sort out is the cotton! I couldn’t resist the colours in this gorgeous fabric, it has the greys and pinks that I love and the metallic gold to brighten it up!

Origami pouch material

The pouch has a drawstring to bring it closed, and you get peeks of the black inner fabric when it is full. At first the instructions looked a little daunting, but once you start sewing it together it begins to make sense. One stage involves sewing only two flaps together, and that was probably the trickiest, but with some bunching and folding I was able to do this, and on the whole I’d probably rate this as an intermediate sewing project!

Origami pouch

Now I have the fun part of deciding what to put in this pouch! At the moment I’m thinking of using it for smaller crochet projects like my granny squares for my Crochet Quilt but will see what I feel like. At the stall I was advised that I could follow this same pattern and just increase the square size to make a larger pouch so may give that a go down the track too!

Happy sewing,

Meagan x

25
Jun
2016

Nature’s Neutral Crochet Throw

categories: Craft, Crochet

As my mum feels the cold quite easily, this year for my Mother’s Day, I decided that I would make my mum a crochet throw blanket! I had seen the Nature’s Neutral Crochet Throw in a Better Homes and Garden (Australia) magazine that would be perfect for her, as she loves neutral colours, particularly shades of brown.

They sell kits for this throw blanket, which include the pattern and yarn in either acrylic or wool, and you can opt for a fringing pack if you wish. I decided on the on the wool throw with fringing, and purchased the kit from the BHG Shop.

Nature's Neutral's throw

Written in UK English, the pattern is easy to follow, though it did take me quite a lot longer than the advertised 12 hours. I think that I may be a slow crocheter though – based by other’s videos that I’ve seen online who seem to be able to crochet at record speeds! 🙂

Nature's Neutral's throw spread out

The kits contain three colours, and they are worked in a gradient from dark to light, as you can see in the pictures, but for the instructions you will need to purchase the kit! The wool is amazingly soft to the touch, and as I was working it up it kept me delightfully warm! Sometimes I can find wool a bit scratchy, but not the case with this lot!

Nature's Neutral's throw rolled up

This throw is perfect for Winter here in Australia, and was an enjoyable make! You can purchase the crochet kit here, and if you are a knitter, or prefer a brighter colour mix, you can also purchase other combinations through the BHG Shop.

Happy crocheting,

Meagan x