Category: Celebrations

October 20, 2014

Burning the midnight oil

Winter is fast approaching and it’s time to get cosy. Cosy equals candles. At least it does this week, because I had left over spray paint from my mat making, and I really like spray painting things. Like really like it. In an unhealthy way.

This is a pretty easy quick make, and is satisfyingly effective. I recommend it for adding a bit of pizazz at a dinner party or even for sticking a couple of flower stems in rather than candles.

You will need

Clear glass bottles

White or cream dinner candles

Spray paint of your desired colour(s)

Newspaper and masking/washi tape

Step one

If your bottles have labels like mine did then you need to pour boiling water over them to soak alla that off.

They drink a lot of posh juice at work so I got these bad boys for free. You could also buy some from the home brew section of a Lakeland/Wilko’s; if that’s you, advance to step three and collect £200 as you pass Go.

Step two

If you’re using recycled juice/wine bottles then stick a little screwdriver or a knife in the metal bit and prise it off. It’s worth not being lazy and skipping this step.

Step three

Wrap the tops or bottoms of your bottles in newspaper, securing it with wash tape or masking tape which would be a lot cheaper if you have it to hand. As you can see, I didn’t.

The more care you take over this the better as you want the lines to be as straight as possible. Otherwise your OCD friends won’t enjoy your company at your dinner party; they will be too distracted by your wonky candle holders. They will be totally justified in this.

Step four

Go outside and put down some newspaper. Obviously the best time to do this is on a dry day, but let’s just see how well the British weather co-operates with you…

Shake the can of spray paint and hold about 20cm/8 inches away. Spray thoroughly until the bottle has an even, opaque colour.

Leave to dry.

Step four – bonus tip

If you’ve wrapped the top of the bottle rather than the bottom, I found the easiest way was to hold the neck in my hand and spray while holding it.

In order to dry it you need to find something to wedge between so it’s sides/the bottom won’t touch anything else. You could just hold it as they don’t take long to dry at all, but I found this storage chest/bench in the garden was just the ticket.

Step five

Whilst your bottles are drying you might need to do a little candle whittling. Mine had really handy grooves in them already but unfortunately were still a little on the large side, so I had to trim them down.

Just for the sake of everyone who knows how clumsy I am and would reel in horror at this picture, I still have all ten digits.

Step six

Push candles into the bottle necks and admire.

October 13, 2014

A hearty task

Just when you (and I) thought I was going to stop going on about my wedding filled life, one of my best friends decided to get married in December. Of course being a little bit obsessed with her and with craft, I set about thinking up some decoration ideas.

The bride in question hasn’t got a huge budget, so whether you’re due down the aisle yourself, know someone who is, or just fancy brightening up a corner of your living room you won’t be too out of pocket with this one.

You will need

An embroidery hoop (mine was 9″ from John Lewis for about £2, they are probably even cheaper elsewhere)

Cotton thread

Card/paper of your chosen pattern and colour (I was very fortunate to have an old map that had lots of dark blues and sage greens matching the colour scheme perfectly)

Double sided tape (not totally essential)

Craft punches of whatever shape and size you like the most

A ring from an old keyring

A sticky hook (I bought these from Wilkinsons; make sure you choose one with a very round hook as you are sticking it to the ceiling, not a wall, and you don’t want your decorations to slip off and come crashing down)

Step one

Use the craft punch(es) to cut out loads of your chosen shapes. Meg wanted hearts for her wedding but this could easily work with stars or leaves or something too. I also used some circles and smaller hearts to vary the design slightly. I got a bit cross with the small heart punch though so they are few and far between…

I used the punch upside-down to make sure my shapes were whole and that I wasn’t wasting any paper.

Step two

Keep cutting until you have a big old mound of them. I decided I didn’t want to have the white back of the map showing so needed to cut twice as many as I thought I would use so I could put them back to back. Of course if you’re using coloured card or double sided paper then you won’t have the same issue.

Step three

If you’ve got a sewing machine, run your shapes through it until you have a long string of hearts. I decided not to measure mine as I wanted them to all finish at slightly different lengths and for the shapes to be unevenly spaced. It will cause you a lot less stress doing it that way too!

If you don’t have a sewing machine use double sided tape or glue to stick matching shapes back to back with the thread running through the middle.

Make sure you leave a generous length of thread at the top to tie onto the hoop later.

Step four

Make several more strings like this. I think eight is the perfect number, but you might choose to experiment if your hoop is smaller/bigger than mine.

Step five

Remove the inner circle from your embroidery hoop and mark even spaces around the circumference.

I did this by tracing the circle onto newspaper and cutting it out. Then I folded the paper circle in half three times giving me an eighth sized segment. After unfolding I just used the fold marks as guides for my marking out.

Step six

Wrap the top of each length of garland around the hoop several times at the marked points. Secure with tape on the outside of the hoop.

Step seven

Using two lengths of slightly stronger thread/string if you have it; make a cross for hanging. Attach so that there is thread at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock points of the hoop.

I also then tied a single length of thread to the place the hanging cross lengths overlapped, and attached the ring of a keyring to that. I wanted the garland to spin around gently, and this won’t happen if you use the crossed threads to hang it by.

Step seven and a half

Unscrew the larger hoop part way to loosen it, place it over the top of the inner hoop and tighten as much as possible.

Step eight

Affix the sticky hook to desired space on the ceiling and hang.

October 6, 2014

Oh hey pumpkin

With an invitation to a Canadian Thanksgiving feast this weekend I started to crave pumpkin pie. I also live very near a Lakeland and happened to wander in and procure myself a little individual cake tin. Too much GBBO consumed by me I think. The result of these two happenings brings you mini pumpkin pies.

If you don’t have a tin like mine (~~get one~~) then this recipe will work as a big pie in a cake tin or whatever you have to hand.

These are super easy to make and totally DE-licious. I recommend them warm with a big dollop of sour cream.

Things you need

For the filling:

425g can of Pumpkin (I got this from Waitrose, if you want to chop up and boil a real pumpkin you can, but I’ve done that before and it wasn’t any kind of fun)

2 Eggs

170g/6 oz Granulated sugar

285ml/9.5 fl oz Evaporated milk

1 tsp Ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground ginger

1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg

For the base:

200g/7 oz Dark chocolate digestives

75g/2.5 oz Butter

Pot of soured cream and some pecans for topping

Makes 12 (or one big pie)

Step one

Combine all the filling ingredients until smooth (lightly beat the eggs with a fork first). Pour into a jug.

Step two

Using the end of a rolling pin (or a food processor if you have one) crush the biscuits into a fine crumb.

Step three

Heat the butter on a low setting in the microwave until just melted. Stir into the crushed biscuits.

Step four

Pop the loose bottoms in and lightly grease the tin.

Place a dessert spoon of the biscuit mixture into into each basin and press down with the back of the spoon.

I guess you could give this a go with a muffin tin if you don’t have a loose bottomed one, let me know how it goes if you do!

If you have time to stick this in the fridge then 30 mins will make sure your base stays firmly at the bottom. I didn’t do this and it turned out fine, just rose up a little at the sides, so don’t worry too much if you’re in a rush.

Time for a gif? I thought so too.

Step five

Pour the mixture to the top of each basin. Don’t worry about it overflowing, it only rises up a little bit and is quite solid so doesn’t spill. I had a bit of mix left over so I just poured it into a spare ramekin, you always need a little sample anyway.

Sprinkle a little more ground nutmeg on.

Step six

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 minutes on 180C/350F/gas mark 7.

Leave to cool a bit before removing from the tin. They are really yummy warm, so either let them cool and whiz them in the microwave before serving or cook just before you want to eat them.

Step seven

Help yourself to one (or five)

July 8, 2014

Twinkle twinkle

Oh hi. Thanks for stopping by. This week I’ve been putting together a little DIY project for all you people getting married this summer. Or basically anyone who likes candles. I can’t tell you just how ridiculously easy this is and it takes no time at all, so no excuses, unless you are scared of fire.

You will need

All the jam jars and glass pots you can find (a great excuse to go to France and gorge on those chocolate puddings, and a perfectly reasonable level of dedication to your craft)

Tea lights/small candles

White tissue paper

Paper doilies

Some kind of nice rustic string or ribbon (mine was from hobby craft)

PVA glue

Step one

Cut the lacy bit of the doily off so you have a long strip. I found these rectangular ones in a bits and bobs shop which are ideal for wrapping round in a straight line.

Step two

Measure the circumference of your jam jar and cut the doily strip to size. Pro tip: when you cut it go with the natural curve of the pattern, rather than a straight line, as even if you have some overlap the join will be far less obvious.

Step three

Use the jar as a measure to cut a strip of tissue paper (one sheet thick) to match the height and circumference. You don’t need to be too exact as the tissue molds easily with the glue.

Step four

Using a mixture of PVA glue and water (about two thirds PVA to one third water) stick the doily around the bottom of the jar as shown. I put the doily onto the jar dry and then just painted over the top which worked perfectly. Pro tip #2: I know, I know, I’m spoiling you today…once you’re about half way round the doily will hold to the jar by itself so you can put your non paintbrushing hand inside it to hold steady and avoid getting glue all over yourself.

Step five

Repeat with the tissue paper, pushing it into the contours of the jar as you go. Don’t worry if it looks really scruffy at this point; it will be alright on the night.

Step six

Leave upside down to dry (or on whichever is the least gluey end!)

Step seven

Once dry, tie some lovely little bows around the necks of your candle holders. If you made a mess of the necks in the gluing phase you can use this opportunity to wrap the string around several times and pretend it’s all part of the design.

Step eight

Fill with tea lights and fire.

June 15, 2014

Lots of little kisses

Recently I have been partying down with some of the lovely hens (bachelorettes for those of you across the pond) in my life who are getting married this summer. My friends are definitely going wedding crazy at the moment, and with hen parties springing up every other weekend I thought I would put together a yummy recipe for any keen party planners, or any of you who fancied a new afternoon tea recipe.

Introducing these lovely little meringue kisses. Although any of the wedding party who are on diets might want to look away now…

You will need

2 egg whites

110g/4 oz caster sugar

100g/3.5 oz dark chocolate

150ml double cream

75g/2.5 oz raspberries

Makes 20

Step one

Separate eggs whites into a glass or metal mixing bowl (plastic tends to hold a bit of grease, gross I know, but this will stop your egg whites fluffing like they should).

Use an electronic whisk (or a really strong arm) to whip the whites until they double in size and start to stiffen up.

Once they look kind of like the third photo start adding in the sugar as you whisk.

Step one and a half

Keep whisking until you have what’s known in the biz as stiff peaks. If you’re a bit unsure, turn your bowl upside down, if your mix doesn’t fall out then you’re good to go, if it does then I’m sorry.

Step two

Cover two baking trays in greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Don’t whatever you do grease this, use a dab of meringue in each corner to secure it to the tray.

Fill a piping bag with the meringue mix and pipe lots of little blobs. Hold the piping bag about 2cm away from the tray at a 90 degree angle and squeeze down, once your meringue has reached the desired spread (say 4cm wide?) pull away quickly.

Remember to pipe in pairs, no odd numbers, and leave a little space for these to expand.

Step three

Bake.

Gas Mark 1/2, 130 degrees C or 250 degree F for 40 minutes to an hour. I know, that’s really unhelpful, but I sort of went jogging, and my oven is a law unto itself.

Once you can see they’ve grown and have developed shells, turn the oven off and wait for it to cool before removing them. If you need to take a peek by opening the oven door, try not to throw it wide, or your meringues will crack.

Step four

Melt the dark chocolate in a small bowl/ramekin. Do this gradually in the microwave so you don’t burn the chocolate.

Dip each meringue so that the bottom an a little bit of the side is covered. Sit on greaseproof paper and leave to set.

Step five

Whisk the double cream until it has doubled in size and is beginning to hod it’s shape.

Add the raspberries and whisk some more. This is pretty satisfying for some reason.

Step six

Pipe the raspberry cream onto a shell and squish another one on top. Repeat until finished.

Step seven

Enjoy!

May 19, 2014

We’re gonna have a party tonight

Welcome back!

You might remember my mentioning I went on a little trip to Germany recently? I went a-visiting a wonderful little family who I miss very much. Capitalising on their crafty house guest there were some birthday preparations to be done. So aside from baking over 70 cupcakes (very popular little chap) there was the small matter of inviting other little people to come and eat them.

They were throwing a garden party with lots of traditional German party games, I really wish I’d have stuck around a bit longer to join in! So Mr Freddie and I crafted some invites that were fun and festive and will adapt to any theme or themeless party you’ve got going on.

You will need

A4 Card/thick paper (one per guest and an extra for the birthday boy/girl)

Bits and bobs to decorate with

Glue

Scissors

String

A small child with an upcoming birthday

This template

Step one

Draw round the template onto each piece of card and cut out a hat for each guest, not forgetting one for the birthday boy or girl.

Step two

Use a hole punch or something sharp poke holes in each hat (as marked on the template).

Step three

Using an open pair of scissors and a ruler score along the dotted line to create a flap.

Step four

Decorate! Use your (or your child’s) imagination, Freds and I used foam shapes, stickers and glitter that mummy already had in stock. We also cut some shapes out from the left over card so as not to waste anything.

You can use whatever you can get your hands on, cut outs from old magazines/buttons/feathers/draw pictures or each child’s name. Your only limit is the attention span of the child in question!

(don’t decorate the flap)

Step five

Cut two lengths of string for each hat. Use the child you already have in stock to get an idea of length, you need to be able to tie a bow under their chins. Doing it this way rather than one loop means they are adjustable for each guest.

Step six

Add the party details on the other side and voila! Your hats are ready to give out. Each guest is in charge of assembling their hat and bringing it with them to the party (worth having one or two spare just in case!)

To stick together just glue the flap (with the hat right side up) and stick underneath the opposite edge.

Step seven

PARTY ON

May 12, 2014

Dear darling….

Yo. Another Monday, another blog from me. It’s sort of a cheat really, as it’s a spin off from this present I made for my friend Beth a few months ago. I made one for each week she was away travelling, I hope she’s having as much fun reading them as I had writing them. I MISS her.

I’ve been reflecting a whole lot lately on what wonderful friends I have. Beth is truly one of life’s diamonds (I promise I’m not usually this cheesy).

So if you have a special someone in your life, take a moment to make them a little love letter and let them know how much they are valued.

You will need

Large pieces of pretty card/paper (mine are scrapbook sheets 12″x 12″)

Something round/set of compasses

Scissors

The outpourings of your heart

Step one

Using a piece of plain paper/newspaper/greaseproof the same size as your proper paper, make a heart template.

I did this by folding the template paper in half and drawing a circle to almost full width. Then use a ruler and draw a line from the edge of the circle towards the fold to make a point.

Cut out and unfold. Voila.

Step two

Draw round the template on your nice paper/card. Don’t be a peasant – use pencil.

Step three

Cut out as many as you need. I appreciate for you guys this might just be one, not everyone fancies their friends as much as I do.

Step four

Turn the heart around so the point is facing away from you, and fold the sides in. You might want to use the scissor blades to score the lines first if you are using thicker stock.

Fold the domed bits up to make the bottom of the envelope. Finally, fold the point down to make the flap.

A disclaimer for this step is to practice on the template version first so you have the right dimensions, to make sure your envelope doesn’t have any gaps. You’ll see what I mean.

Step six

Write away.

I folded strips of A4 and stuck one section to the back of the heart so it kind of pulls out. You might prefer to write straight onto the it if your paper doesn’t have such busy patterns.

I stuck a button on each of mine to close them.

Enjoy telling people the people you love that they are great!

May 5, 2014

I’d tag that

Well hi. Apologies for being MIA, sometimes the blog falls victim to life’s unpredictability, but I’m back, and thanks for sticking with it.

I had a birthday recently, so in honour of my stepping over the early-mid twenties boundary *weeps silently* I have devised an excellent little make to help your gifts stand out from the crowd. You can make a load of these up in one go so that you have a good stock of supplies to whip out at a moment’s notice.

You will need

Cheerful patterned paper

Some plain card or paper

Buttons

Ribbon

Strong quick drying glue

Step one

Cut your paper into long strips.

The width is up to you, but bear in mind it will be the radius of your tag. I found the thicker the strip, the longer it needs to be to work (I didn’t deserve my Maths GCSE for not knowing that instinctually) so you may need to tape two strips together if you want big tags.

All will become clear.

Step two

Fold the strips into a concertina (one bit forward, one back, just like in primary school when you made paper fans).

Step three

Stick together the two ends of each strip so that you have the star shape type things above.

Step four

Pick up your stars and push the top edges into the middle to make these circular flowery fan things.

Put a small dab of strong glue on the centre and hold until stuck (I mean super glue really, I have zero patience for anything else, and glue burns to prove it). On that note, be careful it doesn’t drip all the way through the middle while you’re holding it – unless you want a charming new finger accessory.

Step five

Stick a button over the join in the middle.

Step six

Find something circular that matches the size of your tags (or use a set of compasses). You want the circle to be a bit smaller than the tag itself.

Cut said circles out from plain coloured card and use a hole punch to make, well, a hole.

Loop a short length of ribbon through the hole.

Step seven

Stick the card disks to the backs of the tags using double sided tape or glue.

Write your meaningful and heartfelt congratulations that the birthday person is still alive on the reverse.

Affix to gift.

Step eight

Smugly produce your beautifully tagged gift at the appropriate moment.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

April 18, 2014

Making Friday good

Guten Tag!

I’m in Germany at the moment, so unfortunately there won’t be a blog post on Monday, but there is a little one now, so I hope that eases the heartache.

Those of you who knew me as a child may remember my penchant for mayonnaise and sugar sandwiches (separate at least), and most of you will now be questioning my taste. I gladly inform you that my palette has improved. A little bit at least.

I present to you my most recent ‘digusting-but-really-works’ brainchild. The bacon hot cross bun Easter brunch. Yes. You heard.

You will need

Smoked bacon (at least two rashers per person)

Hot cross buns (one each)

Maple syrup (lashings of)

Step one

Cook bacon.

Step two

Put bacon in buns.

Step three

Cover in maple syrup.

Step four

EAT

April 14, 2014

Nesting

It’s such a lovely time of year, the sun is shining and the shops are full of mini eggs. What’s not to love?

This little idea popped into my head when I was putting out the snacks for an open day (I sort of swing by a university law school and do admissions in my spare time/to get paid). Anyway, after opening the rice crispy bites, and popping one in my mouth (it’s good manners to make sure everything is in order for the guests) I moved on to unpacking the rocky road. BINGO. Rocky road Easter nests were born!

As if that hasn’t sold it well enough to you, these look far more realistic than your regular festive treat, and you will never touch a box of shredded wheat again once you’ve tried them. Just as easy to make with kiddies and more ingredients so more fun to be had.

You will need

200g/7 oz Dark chocolate

100g/3.5 oz Milk chocolate

125g/4.5 oz Unsalted butter

3 tbsp Golden syrup

200g/7 0z Digestive biscuits

100g/3.5 oz Mini marshmallows

Generous handful of seedless raisins

15 Glace cherries (cut into quarters)

Bag of mini eggs

Fairy cake cases

Icing sugar to dust

Makes 15

Step one

Melt the dark chocolate, milk chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a sauce pan.

Go slowly, burning chocolate is one of life’s saddest occurrences.

Step two

While the chocolate is melting, but without getting too distracted, crush up the digestive biscuits with the end of a rolling pin.

Or your fist if you’re having a particularly bad day.

Step three

Stir the biscuit, cherries and raisins into the chocolate. Leave the marshmallows alone for the moment.

In case you weren’t gifted with common sense, this should be off the heat by now.

Set to one side.

Step four

This is the clever bit, or at least I like to think so.

I figured nests aren’t the strange conical shape of cupcake cases, and I didn’t want to end up mail ordering some weird and wonderful baking cases that met my specifications, so I just adapted the regular ones.

I say regular, but I’m not convinced these are actually universal. Before America convinced us that muffin-sized cakes covered in mountains of buttercream (the cupcake we know and love) were the way forward, us Brits had a more modest little bun – the fairy cake. Do other countries have these too? Answers on a post card please.

Anyway, my dear ma has been chastising me about using up the many a fairy cake case we have gathering dust in the cupboard while I burn through the muffin cases to make my cupcakes. They just aren’t cool anymore mum.

Until now.

The fairy cake cases are the perfect size for this, although, of course, whatever size you have should work the same way (you will just have a slightly different number of nests at the end).

Basically you just run your finger around the inside edge of the case in circles until it opens out and has short straight walls as pictured.

Step four

Repeat x 15

Step five

The chocolate mix should now have cooled sufficiently to not melt your marshmallows to mush.

Stir them in…you will still have to work fairly quickly.

Step six

Spoon mixture into cases and stick eggs in the nests. Don’t be tight, give at least three to each one.

Step seven

Put in the fridge to set.

Dust in icing sugar before serving, you can afford to be a bit more liberal than I was. After I’d taken the pictures I dropped the spoon on one and it actually looked a lot better with a heavier dusting.

Step eight

Get chubby.

Have a great week guys!

Oh, and you may have noticed I’ve moved my site – I’m trying to figure out what impact that has on the people who were already following me, I’ll keep you posted!