Do you remember last year I told you about Good Natured who produce a range of pesticide residue-free brand of fruit and vegetables. I made a rather delicious Indian Shepherd’s Pie with their Splendid Spuds. Well they have recently launched their brand new winter range of Succulent Strawberries and we were sent some to try. Today has not been kind to us so this afternoon I created a perfectly healthy winter smoothie using Good Natured Succulent Strawberries and Good Natured Ban-tastic Bananas. The children love smoothies and I have to admit although this was the first time I’ve ever tried making…
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I’ve tried to make something a little different this week with Whitworths sugars – I’ve baked a heart inside a cupcake. I used a favourite recipe to make a chocolate cake batter which I cooked in a square tin. When it had baked and cooled I cut out small hearts using a cookie cutter. I then placed each heart in a cupcake case and added a generous dollop of vanilla cake mixture around each one. When they were baked and cooled I iced each one with yummy vanilla buttercream. A delicious surprise in each one and perfect for your Valentine!…
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If you ever ask the toddler what he wants to do he’ll answer painting. He absolutely loves sticking paper to the table, choosing a pot of paint and being creative. Hand print and thumb print animals are his current obsession so what better than hand print Easter bunnies for Easter gifts? You will need: paper, paint, black and red marker pen First of all stick your paper to the table, we use washi tape, to ensure the corners stay down. Choose which hand you want to use and sponge paint over the palm and fingers. Carefully press down the palm…
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For some reason I decided I wasn’t busy enough and challenged myself to try 10 different craft projects this year. I’m really bad at falling in love with a picture in a magazine, buying supplies and never getting round to making it. No more! This year I am working my way through my stash of projects and trying really, really hard to not buy craft books, fabric or anything else. I’ll admit I’ve failed terribly at this and have some amazing craft books to tell you about 🙂 Anyway, so far I’ve tried my hand at applique houses which was…
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We love making sun catchers. Our sitting room faces south which means we get a lot of lovely sun light on the window – perfect for handmade sun catchers! After the success of the ones we made last year we thought we’d make some for Valentines Day too. Easy Valentine sun catchers You will need: card, scissors, coloured pieces of cellophane (we used sweetie wrappers), sticky tape and bakers twine. We drew round cookie cutters to make heart and circles shapes. This meant they were all the same shape and size. Then we carefully cut out the middle of each…
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I’m a huge fan of Elyse Major’s blog, Tinkered Treasures, so was very happy to be sent a copy of her new book to review. Adding charm to the everyday is the concept behind Elyse Major’s first book, Tinkered Treasures. It features more than 35 projects, each craft is designed for beginners and can easily be elaborated with, according to your own skill level. Tinkering is the name given by Elyse to the transformation of everyday items. Through you can pick up some great ideas for embellishing, repurposing and altering using items you’ll already have. The projects are split into…
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The toddler really surprised me the other day. We were painting with cookie cutters and he knew what a heart shape was. He always surprises me with the words he knows but it has meant Valentine crafts are a little easier to explain. We’ve been busy preparing for Valentines Day. We’ve already made our own cards with a heart stamp and been baking with vintage Valentine cookie cutters too. I was recently contacted by MakeBake, who sell all kinds of wonderful sugar craft supplies as well as cake baking and decorating equipment. They were kind enough to send me a…
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We’re already thinking about Valentines Day for the family. I saw a brilliant tutorial from Rust & Sunshine which I knew would be perfect for the toddler – heart stamps. Handmade heart stamps The instructions were quite simple – take a toilet roll, slightly flatten it so it creases on both sides then invert one side to form a heart, dip in red paint and get painting. Couldn’t be simpler? The toddler loves painting, it’s his favourite thing to do so I knew he would enjoy this. He was very patient and made lots of heart stamps on a sheet…
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I’m a bit late in reviewing Mollie Makes Christmas but it’s a lovely book and well worth getting hold of. I’ve long been a fan of Mollie Makes and Mollie Makes Christmas brings together a collection of different projects from Mollie Makes magazine’s favourite designers. Perfect for those who love to make their own decorations and gifts, the book features over 20 projects to knit, crochet, fold, stitch and sew. I recognised some of the names of the contributors but many were new to me and I love discovering new designers. The book appeals to me on lots of levels;…