Tag: Gift

March 10, 2014

My little Columbus

Several months ago now one of my absolute bests announced she was planning to desert us all for far off lands. That time is growing closer (sob), and I thought I would use the opportunity to a) make up for a missed birthday (I didn’t forget it – NOTHING is good enough for her she’s just that great) b) remind her how special she is as the pre-travel nerves begin to build and c) give you some inspiration for gifts for your globe trotting buddies.

Let me tell you a little about Beth’s trip. She’s heading out to California to be a best (wo)man in a wedding, then to Vanuatu where she’ll spend most of her time, before hopping across to Australia and New Zealand for a little look see after which it’s home to GB.

(Yes, Vanuatu is where this happened. Somehow can’t see Beth having a go.)

So here it is, a gift guide for a traveller, which you can adjust and adapt to suit your budget and your friend.

Just building the suspense a little bit. Here’s the box…want to see what’s inside? Here you go:

Oh everything’s wrapped up? That’s ok, I’ll open it all up just for you.

Given that Vanuatu is a big chunk of the trip, I thought I would get a couple of travel diaries together to get her in the mood. Getting Stoned with the Savages actually includes Vanuatu, whilst Solomon Time is based around the Solomon Islands. I did my best, but Vanuatu is kind of niche. Trust Beth.

Next I figured I would find a phrase book for the official language of Vanuatu – Bislama. Again, pretty niche, but I found it, buried away in this little book of Pidgin languages. I expect fluency upon her return.

On the theme of books, I thought it would be pretty neat if Beth wrote her own travel diary. Now…you’ve actually seen this before…hidden under that orange jacket is the book I bound! Yup. That was for Beth all along. To make a book jacket, just cut a long strip of paper or card and fold around the front and back cover.

Something else you’ve seen before is the eye mask I made last week. Sneaky aren’t I?

I figured it’s quite a bit of flying to do. NZ to the UK is a long old journey home. So I thought she might want a bit of a nap, not always easy on a plane.

The chocolate? Some of her favourite. If it makes it as far as California, it should mean that she doesn’t have to endure Hershey’s, which is quite important (sorry America, you’re great otherwise).

Speaking of the USA. That’s Beth’s first stop. She’s a pretty conscientious little person, and really doesn’t like to inconvenience or offend people. So I thought she’d better have some dolla at the ready. I got it all in ones (much to the lady in the post office’s confusion) this way she can tip as soon as the plane hits the tarmac. Not something we’re particularly used to in the UK.

Now…I also wanted something a little more special to remind her how loved and special she is when she’s far away. I got her this little compass necklace from Etsy. I think it just about stays on theme without hitting cheesy.

A little word on the boxes – in case you are a bit OCD like me and want everything to match…I found these little gift boxes in one of those bits and bobs shops. They were black and silver striped (ew), so I pulled all the paper off and covered them to match the other paper items. You can’t just cover them straight over as they won’t close so you do have to endure the peeling etc. I also used accents of the paper to wrap the other gifts in to tie it all in.

Sticking on the jewellery theme I couldn’t resist these little rings, also from Etsy. B is a huge fan of the ampersand. I am a huge fan of her.

I don’t want her to think she’s out of sight, out of mind while she’s away. I guess these are a nod towards the friendship bracelets you have as kids, but a bit classier I hope! A little something that says to Beth ‘hey, don’t forget, it’s you & me, that’s not going to change’.

Now, as if it couldn’t get anymore romantic I also decided to write a little letter, one for each week she’s away. The envelopes open into hearts because this girl is just so so great and she needs to know just how much love there is for her.

I’ll be posting a tutorial for the envelopes soon, in case you want to write love letters to your friends too.

Well that’s everything. Except of course that now you’re probably wondering who this amazing person is?

There you are. Chilling in the sunshine in her new necklace. What a stunner.

Have a great week chaps and chapettes.

March 3, 2014

Just ten more minutes…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving that Spring is having a little flirt with us at the moment. The evenings are getting longer and the sun is playing peek-a-boo. At the same time, sometimes you wake up a little bit earlier than intended at the weekend or you just want to shut it all out for a little Sunday nap. So here’s a really quick and easy make for catching some Zzz or maybe adding to a little pamper package for Mother’s Day? More on that later…

You will need

Some pretty scrap fabric (the darker and thicker the better)

Bias binding (mine was 12mm thick)

17″/43cm Elastic

Needle and thread/Sewing machine

Pins

Downloadable template

Step one

Pin the template to at least two layers of fabric. At this stage you might also want to sandwich a little padding in between, but I didn’t have any to hand so just went without.

I just used some scrap fabric for this make, but I would advise you choose a darker palette than this if you can as it will block out more light.

Cut around the template, leaving a small seam allowance, a couple of mm will do as you aren’t turning inside out.

Step two

Remove template and re-pin your fabric layers together. You will see I used some of the adhesive fabric I used for my bookbinding tutorial. This was an error. The iron isn’t a huge fan of this material and vice versa. You will see later.

ANYWAY. Sew around the edge to bind all the layers together. Make sure that if you are using patterned fabric the right side is facing out.

Step three

So, I never knew how to sew on bias binding properly until a few months ago. It changes your life. Seriously.

You will notice that one of the folds in your bias binding is slightly smaller than the other side. You want to open the shorter side out and pin to the edge of your fabric as shown above.

Note that the pins are facing outwards, this is because I was using a sewing machine and this way it just runs straight over, no need to pull them out as you go. If you’re hand sewing you probably want to pin the opposite way so you still have hands left at the end.

Step four

Sew around the binding, on the outer edge of the fold (see above).

Unpin.

Step five

Turn the bias binding over and use an iron to press it down (mainly for the benefit of people using a sewing machine)

Pin the elastic under the bias on both sides. You want to adjust this to size depending on who you’re making it for, 17″/43cm was a little on the large side for me so perhaps go a bit smaller or measure round the back of your head from temple to temple. Don’t forget to take a bit of length off so it holds by the stretch.

Step six

Sew the top of the bias binding as close to the edge as you can. Use a close zigzag stitch to secure elastic to the front of the mask, this will stop any light seeping through the gaps at the sides.

(you can see that the heat of the iron on the adhesive wrinkled my top fabric layer quite a lot, this shouldn’t happen to you!)

Step seven

3, 2, 1, nap.

Have a great week folks!

February 11, 2014

Truffles – The making of the bag

So, I missed Monday blog day. Apologies, but there was some urgent badge making to see to, for a very special nearly 8 year old who’s mum was tearing her hair out looking for an 8th birthday pin. Katie and her dusty old badge-it to the rescue.

Now to business…I know you spent your weekend making those lovely truffles and need something to gift them in. Here’s how to make a little bag. I warn you, it’s not really the industry approved method (I’ll do a tutorial for that another time) but it does the trick and is super quick and easy.

Step one

Choose your paper, I’m a sucker for a bit of brown parcel paper, but as long as it’s relatively thick you’re good to go with whatever takes your fancy.

Find a box whose dimensions match the rough size and shape you want your bag to be.

Cut paper to size as if you are wrapping a gift, but leave a little extra on the long side so you have some to fold down to close the bag.

Step two

Wrap the long side first. Fold over the edge that will appear on top so that it’s nice and neat and stick down with glue or double sided tape.

Step three

I don’t really want to patronise you and tell you how to wrap a parcel particularly when the above isn’t even the best. But wrap the bottom of the box, but make sure you leave the other end open!

Step four

Pull box out of the wrapping so you have the basic bag shape. You can go ahead and use it now (see I told you it was quick and easy) but I prefer to make it look a bit more authentic.

Pinch the edges to make crisper folds.

Step five

This step was a little difficult to photograph, but basically you want to create a fold in the centre of the long side. Put your index finger in between your two folds and use your thumb and middle finger to sort of pinch it together.

Step six

Fold the bottom under as shown above. This will give you the little triangular type bits, and also means that you can make a few and store them flat until you need them.

Step eight

Unfold, and fill with yummy truffles.

(note triangle bit I was talking about above – I’m not mad)

Step nine

For Valentine’s day decoration I used a wooden BBQ skewer. Chop with a pair of garden clippers to about the width of the bag.

Step ten

Use a bit of washi tape to create the feather of cupid’s arrow. Stick a bit on both sides and trim as above.

Step eleven

Fold down the opening of the bag and cut two slits through all layers of paper. Push arrow through to secure.

Step twelve

Use washi tape to make an arrowhead and secure to the end.

Step thirteen

Stick a heart over the centre.

In all honesty I am not a huge fan of this, but I think it’s probably partly because the woods don’t match. You could cut one out of coloured paper or card if you don’t have a little wooden heart in your supplies. Just make sure you don’t do what I did; hold it up first to see if you like the look of it rather than sticking it on and wishing you hadn’t.

Voila!

February 3, 2014

Sweeties for my sweetie

Valentine’s Day is the marmite of all the celebrations; people seem to either love it or hate it (I’m actually fairly in the middle on the whole thing, much like my relationship to marmite). The US tends to go mad for Valentine’s*…but let’s be fair, they’re a lot more chipper about everything than the rest of the world anyway. We Brits stay true to form, far more cynical, but with the inherent sense of obligation that both forces us to celebrate something, and then resent the enjoyment we get from it.

Chocolates are a typical Val Day gift, but they tend to lack the personal touch that well, let’s face it, is the fault of the whole shebang. I figure if you’re going to do it, do it right, make your own.

Whatever continent you live on, and whatever occasion you’re celebrating this February, here’s another recipe fresh from my kitchen. Great for gifting or gorging on, I present milk chocolate truffles with a hint of salty maple goodness.

* source: Pinterest…which is a completely accurate representation of American life.

You will need:

500g Milk chocolate

75ml Evaporated milk

50ml Double cream

1 to 1 and a half tbsp Maple syrup

2 tsp Salted butter

Pinch of table salt

Rock salt to decorate

Makes 20-30 truffles

Step one

Chop 250g of the chocolate finely, and place in a bowl. The more you chop the easier the cream will melt it. Use a bread/serrated knife for this…you can thank me later…I just changed your life.

Step two

Put the cream, evaporated milk, maple syrup, a pinch of salt, and the 2 tsp of butter in a small pan.

Don’t put more than a tablespoon and a half of maple syrup in your truffle filling – whilst tasting delicious it won’t set up, ergo it won’t be easy to cover in chocolate (yes, I did find out the hard way, but I’m kind enough to give you recipe 2.0).

Place on a low heat and bring to the boil, stir regularly. Leave that heat on low, I mean it! Patience is the way to go with cream, it’s the hormonal teenager of the baking world (volatile and breaks down easily).

Step three

Once the cream starts to bubble, take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir quickly with a hand whisk until all the chocolate is melted and it’s thick and glossy.

Step four

Wait.

Step five

Once your truffle mix is holding its shape (pull the whisk out and dribble it around, if it’s not merging back into one clump then it’s good to go) put into a piping bag/good quality sandwich bag. If you’re impatient then stick it in the fridge or freezer to help it along (but don’t forget about it – you don’t want it to be un pipe-able)

Snip off the corner and pipe into evenly sized blobs. Don’t worry if they are a bit misshapen, this is just to ensure evenly sized truffles more than anything. My mix wasn’t quite solid enough when I did it above (this is partly because it was the too-much-maple batch) so wait a while longer than that.

Leave for another 15-20 minutes.

Step six

Roll truffles into balls. You will need cold hands for this, I found washing them in cold water a few times throughout helped. You might need to give them a little squash first so that they roll (you’ll understand when you get there).

Step seven

Melt the remaining chocolate (keep about 50g back for a moment). You want to put it in a fairly small bowl so it’s nice and deep for dunking.

Do this in a microwave, but watch it closely, it turns in seconds. Pop it in for 30 seconds to start it off and then 10 second intervals, stirring in between.

Once it’s fully melted put the remaining 50g in and allow the heat from the rest of the chocolate to melt that too. This will help to temper it making the texture and shine better in the end product.

Step eight

Find something to dip with. You can buy fancy tools for this but I happened to have a metal kebab skewer with a whirly bit on the end. If you don’t, then snap the middle two prongs off a plastic fork.

Step nine

Dip.

I’ve tried to show the stages above, but essentially: 1. Tilt bowl and put truffle on dipper 2. Drop into melted chocolate 3. Lift out using dipper 4. Flip over and drop back in to coat the other side 5. Lift out and allow excess chocolate to drip off.

Don’t tap dipper on the side of the bowl, or your truffle will get stuck onto it. If you are overwhelmed by the urge to tap, then sort of thwack it on the melted chocolate, sounds counter productive but it does work.

Step ten

Dip all the truffles and rest on greaseproof paper in rows, leave to set for 10 minutes or so before decorating.

Step eleven

Put excess melted chocolate into a piping/sandwich bag and snip a small opening in the bottom. Allow the chocolate to start pouring from the bag and move your hand back and forth over the rows of chocolate. This creates the stripey bits on the top. There’s no need to squeeze really, it will pour out of the bag at the right speed.

Don’t worry about the bits that fall down the middle, you can put them on top of your ice cream. Nothing wasted when it comes to chocolate.

Step twelve

Put a little bit of rock salt on the top of each truffle. Don’t overdo this or it will be unpleasant, but a little salt is actually really nice with sweet or caramelly things like maple syrup and chocolate.

Step thirteen

Leave them to set. Have a little taste. Go on. You’ve got a few to spare. They’ll never know. Unless of course you write a blog about it, and then never actually produce any of the chocolates (sorry boyfriend).

Oh, and I made a little baggy…

Step fourteen

Stay tuned to fabrefaction for the making of the bag, and the using up of the left over dipping chocolate.

Until next time friends!