Last year it was all about the felt, this year it’s all about the edible gingerbread house! I had an Ikea Pepparkaka Hus which I had bought to make over Christmas and never got round to building so it seemed like a good time to make it and decorate it for Valentine’s Day. The kit contains ready baked and stamped house pieces – front and back, two sides, two roof pieces, four small pieces to make a chimney and printed instructions. It doesn’t contain any icing or sweets to decorate but the instructions helpfully contain a recipe for icing. The…
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On the 19 September 2010 I started a Day Zero list: a place to record your goals, discover new challenges, and gain motivation to achieve them. I have a list of 100 things I want to do over 1001 days. The list is due to be competed by 16 June 2013. This has been a rubbish month for me personally. I think I underestimated how much time I would have with a toddler and new baby to look after so I haven’t managed to complete a single action on my Day Zero list. Aside from changing lots of nappies and…
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I must admit that I seriously underestimated how much time I would have for our Christmas preparations with two little ones keeping me busy. Fortunately I was sent a Gingerbread House Kit from Bespoke Foods to try. The kit is fantastic for busy mum’s as it contains everything needed to build and decorate a lovely gingerbread house. The house pieces are already cut and the kit includes three bags of icing, sweets to decorate, a gingerbread tree and Father Christmas figure. The packaging also contains step-by-step picture instructions – perfect for older children to follow. The kit was simple to…
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I don’t often find myself in Sainsbury’s but at the weekend we picked up some shopping where I came across Sainsbury’s Mini Gingerbread Men Biscuits in a gift box. Of course I had to try them but I really wish I hadn’t! Bizarrely I can’t find any reference to them on Sainsbury’s own website but I promise I haven’t made them up. The biscuits come in a small cardboard box shaped like a house and contain a number of mini biscuits. They tasted dry, rock hard (despite being sealed in a bag) and not particularly gingery – I wouldn’t buy…
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I can’t resist anything gingerbread but I’ve never had a gingerbread advent calendar so thought I would have a look for one. With a little help from Pinterest my top 5 favourite gingerbread house advent calendars are: Source: johnlewis.com via Jenny on Pinterest Source: amazon.co.uk via Jenny on Pinterest Source: blog.paper-source.com via Jenny on Pinterest Source: gingerbreadsnowflakes.com via Jenny on Pinterest Source: sewandso.co.uk via Jenny on Pinterest I’ve treated myself to the first one – how could I resist 24 iced gingerbread biscuits to get me through advent (and a new baby!). I shall be keeping a…
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‘Tis finally the season to be jolly which means I’ve been snapping up everything gingerbread to show you over the next couple of weeks. My energy levels are disappearing but I have a few swaps to honour before the arrival of Second Baby. This week I’ve been making a new type of gingerbread house for one swap partner, very simple with a red and white bead hanger and a metal heart on the door. I’m hoping my crafting mojo will return soon. I’ve been struggling to pull out my sewing basket after Edward has gone to bed yet there are…
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Pinterest is my newest love and I’ve been busy pinning lots of gingerbread ideas for those quiet moments I have (after my son goes to bed!). I came across a pattern for a lovely gingerbread house which I thought I would make. I amended the pattern slightly and added a couple of spooky touches for Halloween. For the full pattern take a look at craftideas.info This is my Monthly Make for October
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The Knitting and Stitching Show is the highlight of my year. If you haven’t heard of it before it’s the textile event of the year, featuring hundreds of exhibitors, galleries from leading artists and groups, plus hundreds of workshops. I’ve gone every year since I heard about it but last year was really strict with myself and only bought items I actually needed or would make. This worked pretty well and I made everything I bought except one (due to an elusive Moda quilt pack). This year I was lucky enough to go with a friend and we took our…
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Yesterday we headed into London to see the incredible edible gingerbread house. My favourite dream was brought to life with meringue clouds, a cupcake lawn, and a pond filled with sweets. Inside the house, shelves were made from Bourbon biscuits and pictures on the wall made from sweets. Edward was entertained by giant gingerbread men, accordion players and storytellers and didn’t know where to look as there was so much going on. We had to keep hold of him as he could tell everything was edible and kept trying to touch the house and all the sweets and cakes everywhere.…