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Showing posts from 2013

Christmas Rocky Road Slices Recipe - Nigella Style

Some of you may remember that I over-hauled Nigella's frangipane mince pie recipe a few weeks ago, well I had already made these bad boys and stuck them in the freezer ready for Christmas.  Now they are defrosted and nearly gone  I thought I better share the recipe with you. This recipe is perfect for those with littlies that like to feel they are helping to bake, as there is very little cooking involved - the majority is weighing and mixing :) As with all my borrowed recipes, this involves a few tweaks to make it personal to me :) Baking isn't about rigid directions, it's about adaption, experimentation and most importantly having fun! Ingredients 250g dark chocolate 150g milk chocolate 175g salted butter at room temperature 4 tbl spoons golden syrup 125g amaretti biscuits 75g chocolate cookies 150g hazlenuts 150g glace cherries 125g mini marshmallows Method Chop the chocolate into small chunks and place in a pan with the butter and

Banoffee Pie Recipe

Now regular readers will know that I have a gluten free version of this recipe here , but I somehow forgot to share the original recipe, so after a lovely family member requested it, I figured it was time to write it up :)  I whipped one of these up for a family gathering over Christmas, and have fallen in love with it all over again! Equipment Food processor with blade attachment - for turning the biscuits into crumbs, you can use a freezer bag and rolling pin, but I prefer this way 20cm spring form tin - you can go larger or even a bit smaller, but ideally it should be spring form as removing the pie from the tin otherwise will be a nightmare Microwave - for melting the butter Mixing bowl Electric whisk - good luck if you decide to whip cream by hand Pestle - for pressing the biscuits into the tin, clean fingers or the back of a spoon can also be used Spoon Knife and Chopping board Hob and Pot Ingredients 1 405g tin of condensed milk (for those shor

Recipe Over Load

Okay, so the last few months have seen me go from posting once a week, to barely once a month, and I sincerely apologize.  With the smell of New Years Resolutions in the air, I am going to make it up to you with 3 easy recipes.  One of them, (bannoffee pie) is kind of my signature piece, and a definite family favourite!  Just don't let any of them know it's actually a doddle ;)  The other two are more recent trials, and I'm sure they are set to become regular requests too. Join me in adding festive calories to the waist line, and most importantly enjoy!

Easy Sausage and Stuffing Whirls

Christmas may be over, but there are only a few days left until New Year's Eve, and quick party food ideas are a must! Embracing all things 70s (and my love for cinnamon whirls) I decided to over-haul a party favourite - the sausage roll. The humble sausage roll is much loved, but seeing as I was planning to use cheats puff pastry, (ready made) I felt these need a little extra to make them special - STUFFING! The great thing about these is that you can mix and match the sausage and stuffing flavours :) Ingredients 1 block chilled jus roll puff pastry (500g) 400g sausage meat - you can use sausages, just split the casing and squeeze out the meat Half a pack of 170g sage and onion stuffing Milk to glaze Salt and Pepper Flour for rolling Method Remove the puff pastry from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature (about 20 minutes) Make up the stuffing according to the directions (remember to halve the amount of water if only using half the pack)

Scrummy frangipane mince pie recipe - thank you Nigella!

So unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere, you will know that poor old Nigella (Lawson) is having a tough old time of it at the moment. Although I've always found her TV shows a little on the caricaturish side, (I can't help but get the giggles and convince myself it is secretly a carry on spin off) the lady most definitely has talent. So in honour of Christmas, and the innuendo rich Nigella, here is her frangipane mince pie recipe - I can honestly say that this is my new favourite mince pie recipe! PASTRY 175g plain flour 75g butter, cut into cubes 25g icing sugar 1 large egg, beaten FRANGIPANE 100g butter, softened 100g caster sugar 2 large eggs 100g ground almonds (if like me you are a doofus and bought flaked almonds, you can grind them in a food processor (blade setting) to make ground almonds 1 level tbsp plain flour 1tsp almond extract - if you are using essence, you will need to add more FILLING AND

Such an adventure!

Oh my goodness, it has been over 2 months since my last post (slaps wrist) as always, I do have a legitimate excuse though ;) I bought a shop!  I would love to say that it is the best thing I have ever done, but sadly this isn't the case.  My bricks and mortar shop is set to fold after only 3 months, and we will be online only :( My dream was that the shop should be an amalgamation of the business we bought (shabby chic furniture and homeware), my pieces and the possibility of renting space to local handmade artisans.  For a short while, we did indeed succeed! Sadly however we have reached the stage where we are unable to continue with our dream.  The shop is making a huge loss, and I've had to pull up my big girl knickers and call time.  I am broken hearted that this wasn't a success, but there are many issues impacting on the decision - family life, money, other business pressures and mainly time. I am now being left with the sad duty of trying

Silhouette Cameo Blades Update

One of my most popular pages is the one about the Silhouette Cameo replacement blades.  If you haven't read it yet, it can be found here .  I am long over-due for the promised update!  I could pretend that I wanted to wait as long as possible to fully trial the blades, but that just isn't true - life keeps intruding on my blog plans. So as many of you know I have both a facebook  and Etsy  shop which means I use my Silhouette Cameo a lot!  It isn't just basic shapes I cut with it, but intricate paper cuts and cards like this; So any replacement blade that I use has to be both economical, precise and hard wearing. When I first started using my replacement blades, I encountered the same frustration as figuring out the blade settings when I first got my machine.  Because the blade holder I use doesn't have pre-set lengths, you have to wind it by hand and determine if the blade length is suitable by eye!  A lot of websites I viewed suggested measuring the orig

Adjusting your expectations for craft fairs

Now I have always thought that craft fairs were for you to sell your items - I mean what is the point of paying all the money for a stand/table, working like a loon in the run up to get as much stock ready as possible and then spending a long old day with a smile pasted on your face engaging with potential customers? Well according to the latest stream of articles and blogs out there, I have it wrong :( With limited disposable income and everyone trying to look after the pennies, craft fair splurges seem to be a thing of the past.  Don't get me wrong, some people are managing to sell enough to make a living at craft fairs, but for most your expectations are sure to be dashed if you don't change them. I mentioned in my last post about how I had had a terrible craft fair at the beginning of August, and how my two day bank holiday vintage fair was make or break as far as repeating them was concerned - well sadly it was break :(  I spent 70+ hours revising my stock and trying t

Busy as a Bee!

How is it almost the end of the Summer?  How is it that I am now so busy that 14 hour shifts are the norm?  If I could have the pay cheque to support the hard graft I think I could somehow cope - but after averaging it out at a terrible £4 an hour I am distraught.  I am even beginning to think that working full time at my trained profession wouldn't be as bad as this hard slog :(  But today is a slump - most days I wouldn't trade my two businesses for the world! Many successful handmade business blogs and articles I have read state that the first few years are an absolute horror show of juggling work, life and family - the light at the end of my dreary tunnel!  I am trying to remember that I am doing this so that I have the luxury of working from home 90% of the time and still be able to afford the finer (well at least not smart price basics!) things in life. Summer means craft fairs!  I have now totaled 3 since the beginning of July and although the money that has changed

My Alice in Wonderland Obsession

Now it isn't exactly a secret that I have a love for Alice in Wonderland , and seeing as it is my shops most popular item, it would appear I am not the only one! After several hours of painstakingly detailed digital colouring I have managed to create this; I know I'm biased, but I absolutely love it!  I have a feeling that it will be the first of many in this series :) Here are the other Alice in Wonderland items in my shop; To celebrate the launch of our latest Alice in Wonderland print , I decided to create a treasury filled with beautiful handmade Alice in Wonderland items from other Etsy sellers, it can be found here .

Super Scrummy Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

Wimbledon may be over, but the nations love for Strawberries and Cream is still running high!  These gorgeous cupcakes contain the two most loved Summer ingredients and have a secret jammy surprise - easy to make and sure to go down a storm! Ingredients - Makes 12 Cupcakes 115g Caster Sugar 115g Self Raising Flour 115g Margarine (or butter) 2 Medium Eggs 1.5 teaspoons vanilla essence Strawberry Jam 284ml Double or Whipping Cream 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 50g Sieved Icing Sugar 6 Strawberries to decorate Equipment Apple Corer Syringe / Plunger Icing Set 12 Cupcake Wrappers Ice Cream Scoop Electric Whisk Metal Cupcake Tin Scales Sieve Wooden Spoon Mixing Bowl Directions Preheat the oven to 170 °  celsius In a bowl measure out 115g margarine - this should be at room temperature.  If like me you've forgotten to take it out of the fridge early, nuke the measured amount in the microwave (high setting) for 10 seconds.  Meas

Mad about the Girl - Why I'm Defending my Beloved Bridget

I have made several refferences to Bridget Jones on my blog.  As regular readers will know, I often think of myself as the Bridget Jones of the Infertility World. Where Bridget can look at any food item and tell you how many calories it contains, I can tell you whether it has a neutral, positive or negative effect of fertility and whether it should be consumed pre or post ovulation.  Bridget has a flat strewn with relationship and self help books, mine is littered with books on fertility and various guides to achieving the (seemingly impossible) goal of a baby.  While Bridget battles an increasing deluge of friends becoming Smug Marrieds, I'm beginning to despair as my friends become Smug Mothers. Bridget wasn't created for my generation - in-fact if Bridget was an actual person, she would only be a year younger than my Mother!  When she was first 'born' I was only 10 - men, booze and fags were probably the furthest thing from my mind ;) I am rather abashed to admit

AWOL Again!

Apologies to regular readers, I know I have been somewhat lax recently but I have a really good reason - no really it is a good one! We have the first craft fair of the Summer lined up for this weekend (Sunday 7th July) and in a bid to not be running around like a loon at the last minute under-prepared, I have been snowed under with making and assembly for the last few weeks. In my head it would be easy; grab some shop stock, cobble together some signs and I would be ready.  Sadly this was not the case, two weeks later and I am still spending every waking moment rushing about.  What I predict will take just an hour or two seems to be stretching into 4 or 5!  I have learnt that I grossly miscalculate time predictions, thank goodness I started well in advance. So here is a photo of our first mock set up - proof that I have indeed been busy! There are about 14 papercuts that have been made just for this show - along with a dozen or so ones that will be sold unframed.  Poster

Superdrug Colour Rewind - Hair Dye Remover Review - Part One

I started dying my hair at the grand old age of 15 - fast forward to 12 years later and my hair has become a dried out mop of horror.  I started with black - I loved Marilyn Manson and Slipknot and needed the world to view my hair as an extension of my sheer awesomeness!  This phase lasted until I was about 19; almost 4 years of the darkest of darks layered over my hair. I alternated between black, black-blue, black-purple and even tried dip dyed black and red.  At 19 I wanted a change and decide to bleach it so I could dye it red - after an initial day of ginger (luckily I was favouring the sporty baseball cap in this period) I switched to a dark red.  Next came a few years of alternating between different shades of red and then various browns. When we started trying for a baby in 2010 I was worried that the constant dying of my hair whilst pregnant could cause development issues - I went to a professional hair dresser and had blonde highlights put through my then dark brown

Konad Nail Stamping - Second Attempt

Well the title pretty much sums it up ;) I used a lilac base colour of Miss Sporty Clubbing Colour lilac and then stamping plate M44 with the Konad white.  I finished it off with the Konad top coat and some purple nail gems. I found the stamping much easier this time, although there were some mistakes; Check out that terrible middle finger ;) but I did manage to not smudge the stamp with the top coat so I'm slowly improving :)

Konad Nail Stamping Set - First Attempt

So as most of my readers know, I have a bit of a passion for nail art.  About a year ago I stumbled across the konad  Nail Art stamps - I was smitten.  I had planned to put it on my Christmas list, but it completely slipped my mind and until recently I forgot about it. Summer always seems to re-ignite my nail art passion and so it wasn't surprising that I remembered about the Konad stamps and decided to watch some youtube videos; I fell in love all over again :) I have been caring for my lovely husband for the last month and had to cut back my working hours.  Treats and none essential items are pretty much a no go.  When my beautiful Beau initially told me he was going to treat me to the starter set, I politely declined.  After all money is tight and we are saving for a house!  When he told me it wasn't up for debate and that he was getting me a thank you for being awesome gift, I went weak at the knees =D He really is a superstar ;) After checking for the best set, we came