Complete?!

I read this blog post tonight, and thought that having a word for 2011 might be a good idea, but what could it be? Some people have come up with words like 'radiant', 'better', 'effulgent' (no, I hadn't heard of that one either), but none of them seemed to fit for me. Then I looked around and realised that perhaps the word I should adopt this year is 'complete'. The reason becomes pretty clear when you see all the projects I started in 2010 and haven't finished:

Hopefully, I'll post a photo of completed projects at the end of 2011!

The 'ta da' moment for my little house!

I finished my little house tonight, and I'm so proud, have a look around (Unfortunately I was so excited, I couldn't wait for good light for the photos!)
Anyway, here's the front:

 One side:

 The back:

 The other side:

 The vegetable patch - I love how the carrots turned out (hopefully other people recognise the carrots!):

 The pond:

 A view of of the indoors and outdoors:

And that's it, my little house will be winging it's way to Scotland tomorrow complete with a Sylvanian Mouse Family, so my little house is now a Mouse House (sorry couldn't resist!)

Homemade presents WIP

I'm having a ball embellishing my little house, have a look:

There's still a way to go, but I'm so happy with it!

Homemade Christmas presents

It's been a while since I've blogged about my 20 Minuters pledge, partly because I haven't had my camera handy and partly because I have to admit I haven't strictly done 20 minutes of craft every single day. But today, I am glad to report, I've more than made up for my lack of crafting.

I have another cold, can you believe it? I felt so ropey this morning that I didn't go to work. Usually I battle on but today I just couldn't. Sitting watching daytime TV was very depressing, so in the end I went to get my sewing machine, gathered a blanket around me, and got started on a project I've been dying to do all year.

I have coveted this little house for so long, but I lack confidence when it comes to using the sewing machine so imagine my surprise when I managed this:

It isn't finished, but I am so chuffed with it I couldn't wait to post it! I'll do a final 'tada' (and show off the cute floor boards) when I've put in the fireplace and doors and windows. This one is for a very good friend's 2 year old, but I want to do another for Little Miss. If you like it, the tutorial is very easy to follow, and there's a Flickr group who offer huge amounts of inspiration (I really love the bird box!)

I also joined a Secret Santa last week, so I crocheted this scarf for some 'lucky' person:

 I'm not sure about it but it's too late now!

96 sleeps until Christmas...

Little Man is planning his Christmas list and we haven't had Bonfire Night yet!

I love this season, as the trees turn yellow, brown and orange, the nights draw in, the air turns crisp and Christmas is just round the corner.  There is only one thing I don't like  anymore and that is coming up with gift ideas for everyone.

I've been organising the present giving for so many years now that I have run out of inspiration, everyone's had the ornament, the socks and the soap that (for some reason) I thought they couldn't do without. So, if only to give me some inspiration, I've decided to try putting a few homemade presents this year.

My first effort has to be to finish this off for my brother and his fiancee:

She asked me to do it three or four year's ago but I never finished it, so with 96 days to go I'd better get busy!

Over the next few weeks I'll look for inspiration, and blog about it, any ideas gratefully received!

20 minuters!

I've realised that although I've been busy, I haven't blogged about how I've been spending my 20 minutes a day for ages, so here's the update:

I'm not a very patient person, I like instant results, so I decided to alter my blanket design and I've started to sew!!!!

I'm planning to crochet a border once I've sewn them all together, here's what it should look like when it's finished:

I really do need to get my act together and take the pictures in daylight!

Growing my own Pimms...

It has been a while since I updated my blog. I was doing so well in April, then life happened and my blogging went out of the window. But I have some great excuses:
I had to make my hat for our friend's 40th birthday medieval banquet (my brother and his girlfriend looked after Little Man and Little Miss ALL night!). We stayed up past 1:00 am for the first time in years!
I have the photos to make a hat tutorial, but I'm not sure there's much demand for pointy princess hats!
My blanket has been making ever slower progress (largely due to there being too much work and not enough people at work!), here it is just in case you don't believe me:

Then as my Darling Man started his usual spring seed planting frenzy, I thought I might join him. As he planted tomatoes and carrots, I thought growing the ingredients for Pimms might be more interesting. I started with Borage seeds (the flowers go in the drink), and they're doing well:

My Mint is looking less promising:

I wonder if my Parsley, which is doing far better, could act as a substitute? ;)

Maybe not!
I was going to try cucumber but, after the experience of courgette overload one year, I thought better of it! I'll post a picture of the Pimms later in the summer - promise.
It's been lovely catching up with everyone else again. I'd better plunge back into the rat race again now, there's ironing, shoe polishing and packed lunches to do before I go back to work tomorrow - no rest for the wicked!

Slippers for Little Miss

For anyone wondering what has happened to my Twenty Minuter pledge, I just wanted to reassure you that I am still minuting away. I have to say that sometimes the twenty minutes are being gathered up into one big session every so often at the moment, as work has gone completely manic and I've been bringing shed loads (literally!) home. It is all very creative, but when there's just too much I run out of steam and things get a bit hum drum!

Anyway enough of my woes, I have been beavering away with my hook recently. My granny square pile is growing (very slowly!), and I've made little slippers for Little Miss!

You may remember the slippers in my virtual giveaway here. I fell for them and had to have them, but I also wanted instant results! As much as I would like to think I have small little feet, Little Miss's are just that bit more manageable when it comes to crochet slippers! So here they are:



Tada! I had to adapt the pattern quite a bit. Then I decided I wanted to add a flower so I found this really easy pattern here. I'm really pleased with them and Little Miss calls them her ballet shoes, so everyone's happy!

A virtual thank you!

For those of you coming here from 'Twelve Crafts' for stocking stuffer ideas, please make your way through the waffle to the ideas...

It's time for me to say a great big thank you to all of those people (and you know who you are) who have made me feel so welcome to Blogland with your very kind messages or silent visits.

When I started this blogging lark, I loved having my own private piece of cyberspace, but back in February I decided it was time to go public. I got myself one of those free little hit counters and never thought it would go beyond 20 hits. Well, today it got to 500!!!

I wanted to give all my visitors a special gift each, but sadly the budget won't stretch to that. Then I thought I could do a giveaway, but only one person would get the prize. Eventually, I hit on the idea of a virtual giveaway.

This is how it works: I've put together a list of some of my favourite crochet patterns, sewing patterns and printables from all over the internet and one of my favorite recipes. These make up your virtual gift hamper from me to you. Thank you so much for your visits and support they are so appreciated! I should clarify that everything is free and I have credited the creative people who have made these lovely things available!

Now the fun starts! Get ready to print, sew, crochet, cook, craft and enjoy:

Gift #1
First up is a gift for all those 20 Minuters and crafty crafters out there:


I love the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster, but I think this is more cheery. Moleitau designed this, and he's made it available to anyone who wants it. You'll need to click this link and print it out. Some people print it onto transfer paper and put it on t-shirts, I'm going to make a small poster, I might even frame it... What will you do?

Gift #2
Right, on with the unwrapping! My next gift to you is courtesy of Nigella and Jane Grigson, it's the easiest and best recipe for Yorkshire Pudding ever! I swear, you can't go wrong with this one, it is absolutely fool proof and produces a billowing pudding that always impresses. OK, enough with the sales pitch, here it is:

Yorkshire Pudding (serves 6 at least!)

You'll need:
300 ml milk
4 eggs
250g flour (sifted)

Heat your oven to 220C. Put a small roasting tin in the oven with a tablespoon or two of oil, dripping or goose fat. Beat the eggs and the milk together with a pinch of salt. Then let it stand for 15 minutes, now whisk in the flour. Pour the mixture into the scorching roasting tin, and put it back in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. I usually check it and leave it in a bit longer if it isn't golden enough for my liking. Enjoy!
P.S. This was particularly for Alison! Alison - I did remember, hope this one works for you. I used to be useless at Yorkshire Pudding too, but now I rock (Little Man is a very bad influence)!

Gift #3
I'm always short of note cards for thank you notes, but I found these recently, and they've solved my problems! I thought you might like them too:



The lady over at Creature Comforts has loads of free printables, but I really like the apples! Here's the link, get printing next time you need to say thank you via snail mail!

Gift #4
Next up is something for anyone with little girls out there. I used to love dressing paper dolls when I was little, so have fun:


These (and more) are from rustyvalley.com via Moms and Kids Couch. I think they would make perfect party bag gifts! Here's the link, just scroll down and print them out. I love the vintage feel of these, have fun!

Gift #5
I fell in love with this little chap the very first time I saw him.



There's a fantastic tutorial here, if you want your very own bunny. I keep meaning to make him, but you might just beat me to it!

Gift #6
I've started to make these, and thought you might like a pretty pair of slippers too. Look aren't they beautiful?


The (very easy) tutorial/free pattern is here. You may need to subscribe to Ravelry, if you haven't already, but it's free and gives you access to more free crocheting and knitting patterns than you could shake a stick at!
I made these for my daughter using this pattern.

Gift #7
Finally for all of the sewing fans out there, I found this
huge list of sewing patterns for every eventuality. Happy sewing!

Well, that's it for the BIG THANK YOU! I hope you enjoyed the unwrapping, and you found something you liked!

Easter Eggs in full Technicolour

If you have had the misfortune to trawl this blog for tutorials, you will have noticed that I am useless at writing them! However, I am of the opinion that if I keep trying, I might produce something that will be of use to someone one day!

Here goes, this is a tutorial for making coloured eggs for Easter (I should know how this one goes, the Little People and I do it every year!):

You'll need:

Eggs (yes really!)
Water
A pan with a tight fitting lid
Food colouring (as many as you like
Vinegar
Kitchen roll
An egg box

Step 1
Take your eggs out of the fridge and let them warm up to room temperature. Place them in an empty pan. Fill the pan with water to about 3-4cm above the eggs. Bring to the boil and then boil for ten minutes. Now at this point, if you're just boiling eggs, plunge them into cold water and peel. However, if you're after eggs of the dayglo variety, keep reading.

Step 2


While the eggs are boiling away, decide how many colours you want to use. You'll need a non porous bowl per colour. Filled each of the bowls with a mug and a half of water, 2 tablespoons of vinegar (I used some old cider vinegar made from apples in my aunt's orchard) and quite a few drops of food colouring.

Step 3

Once the eggs have had their ten minutes, plunge them into the coloured water and swirl them around a bit.

Step 4


Take each of the eggs out of their colour baths and dry them off with a bit of kitchen roll. Then place them in the egg box to dry.
That's it! Little Miss loves doing this!


If you're wondering why it there are three types of colour in the 'finished' picture, it's because something went wrong... I was looking for different things to do with eggs and Martha Stuart suggests mixing food colouring with olive oil and rolling the eggs into it to get a marbled effect. Well it might have worked for Martha, but it didn't work for me...

Happy Easter to everyone!

Things that made me happy today...

I bought some happy daffodils today, thinking my tulips might need replacing, but I just couldn't banish them to the compost bin quite yet...

Obviously it's a given that the Little People make me smile (and scream!), but I wanted to record my progress on the granny front, so here's another picture without the additional entertainment, sadly I can't seem to get the colours to look right in the photo, I need some bright sunlight (although chance would be a fine thing!):

I'm planning some family eggy crafting tomorrow. I've been trawling the internet for ideas, and it's amazing what some people do with their eggs! If anything goes well I'll post something tomorrow! Good night!

S is for Smoke...

I'm sitting here stinking of smoke. Little Man and I went up to a Beaver camp fire evening tonight. It was lovely to watch over excited little boys running through the woods gathering twigs for the fire, and stuffing themselves with toasted marshmallows (on grubby sticks). I was hoping to be bathed in dappled sunlight but got drizzled on instead...

Life has been on fast forward recently. You know when you think it's still just after lunch, you look up and realise it's almost five, that's what I mean. So what's been going on? Well...

My Little Man has lost so many teeth in the last few weeks that it's a wonder he can chew anything. He's chuffed to bits of course because he can now (finally) whistle - I can't wait for the new teeth to grow so the whistle hole closes up, and the house becomes slightly quieter again!

Little Lady was so funny this morning. She was given some glitter on a small roller that she likes to smear on her face (and she's only 4!). Well, today she obviously thought the cat needed a little pick me up. I happened to glance at him and he glistened. He is fastidious, but this gleam was a step too far. I looked at Little Miss, and sure enough the cat had had the glitter treatment. She looked at me innocently and said 'but Mummy, doesn't he look beaUtiful?!

As for me well, I'm still a devoted 20 Minuter, I never thought I'd last this long! If I feel my motivation dropping, I love wandering over to Flickr to see what the rest of the 20 Minuters are getting up to - amazing!

One Swimming Pool Party Cake Coming Up!

Before you start reading, I've labelled this a tutorial, mainly because I love reading tutorials on other people's blogs and never put any on mine! I do miss out steps, so if you need more information about anything leave me a message!

Little Man is going to be 7 soon. My baby is disappearing all the time, and I can't believe where the time has gone. I should add that the baby is being replaced by one gorgeous cheeky monkey who I am beyond proud of. I'll stop there, there's nothing worse than a gushing mother!

Anyway, Little Man decided that he wanted a pool party this year, and since it was cheaper than anything else I could come up with, who was I to argue?! The only problem was he added that he wanted a pool cake and NOT from a shop. My hopes of a quick run to the supermarket returning triumphantly with a Ben 10 cake were dashed, and I had to get my thinking cap on.

He stipulated a chocolate cake, which isn't a problem, but I was stuck with the icing. The chocolate icing recipes I've used before (trust me, I've tried a few) are all too sweet. I love this stuff, I grew up eating it in my French great grandmother's kitchen:


So I searched the Internet for Nutella icing, and I found something similar to this:

Nutella Icing
3 to 4 tablespoons of Nutella
About 150ml double cream
A few drops of vanilla extract to taste

I put the Nutella, double cream and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat the mixture with an electric beater. That's it! I may have added a bit more cream to loosen the mixture a bit though. I did think I could have added a bit of icing sugar, but I was planning to put a layer of fondant icing on top of it, so I didn't. The cake then looked like this:



Right, now came the next problem, how was I going to turn a chocolate cake into a sparkling swimming pool? I went to Flickr and looked at all the pool cakes there, truely inspiring!

I visited a cake shop and bought:
White icing
Paprika colouring
Edible Lustre in a sparkling blue
Piping gel
Coloured fondant icing
A pack of writing icing in assorted colours.

I kneaded a tiny bit of paprika colouring with a lot of white icing, and got a pinky fleshy colour. Then I got to shaping and rolling bits of icing to make little people. I used to writing icing to pipe on the hair and Little Lady's swimming costume, and I used some green fondant to make the swimming trunks that have the legs sticking out of them. I ended up with these:


Then I rolled out more white fondant icing and laid it on the cake. I got a bit excited at this point, because I broke open the edible lustre, it's amazing stuff! It's powder, you brush it on with a paint brush and it colours the icing like paint! Then my cake looked like this:


You can probably see where I got over enthusiastic with my dusting, there was a bit of a blue haze around the edges of the pool. I decided to make the edges of the pool with more icing (it disguised my mess!). I rolled it out and scored it so it looked like it was covered in tiles.
After that I put lots of piping gel on the blue lustre which turned the icing into a proper watery pool - amazing!(Thanks should go to who ever it was on Flickr who came up with this!)
Finally I played with more icing, writing icing, half a small milky bar and some Smarties, and the finished product looked like this:


I think I've done my 20 Minutes today!
PS Since posting this entry, lots of very lovely people have left very nice comments about this post. Thank you to everyone! I'm so chuffed, it's made my day! I thought I'd post a few more pictures which show the 'water' a bit better than those in the original post (they were taken by Big Man, Little Man was too high by this point!):


Stephanie Lynn very kindly invited me to join this, and I promised I'd link to it, so:

I've started, but will I finish?!

The 20 Minuters' Challenge is really good for me, but it's also starting to cause a little (but growing) problem.

I decided to use the Challenge to start and finish my granny square blanket. This started really well, but after a while my blog began to get a bit boring with reports about squares, squares and (yes, you guessed it) more squares. I felt I should introduce a bit of variety, and that's when the trouble started. I made this and this and this, I started a picture of letters for Little Miss, restarted a cross stitch (more about this another day) and I'm thinking of making a dress for Little Miss (when I'm next feeling brave!)

Have you spotted the problem yet? I'm in a frenzy of productivity, but I've stopped finishing things...I've even started to think about making a start on a homemade Christmas this year!!! Stop me now!

While I pull myself together, here's my granny square progress report:



Sorry about the lack of light in the picture, I left it too late in the day...

Hope you're having more success with the finishing thing!

Froggy Fun

I've noticed that this blog has become a bit animaltastic recently, what with birds, ladybirds and now...frogs! I got a new mobile phone for Christmas. I wanted a phone, you know, one that you can make phone calls on (call me old fashioned!), but Big Man told me they don't do those anymore. My other stipulation was that it had to be pink, what can I say? It makes me happy, and it has an added advantage: Big Man and Little Man wouldn't been seen dead with it!

Anyway, I am now the proud owner of a pink Walkman, camera, torch, oh yes and phone! The problem is that I'm not very careful with it, it needed a holder before I scratched it. After about half an hour, I had killed two birds with one stone (told you I'm animaltastic at the moment!), I'd done my 20 Minuter thing and Froggy was born. I sort of made him up as I went along. I think he's cute, and he made me smile!

Can you see my little pink phone/kitchen sink poking out?

Hope he made you smile!

Ladybirds...

Once a year the spouses of the people who work for Big Man's company gather together at a local pottery painting place. We chat, relax and get creative. I thought I'd post the results of my efforts this year. The design was really easy to do, I just stuck my thumb in the red paint and splodged it all over the dish, then I got a paint brush, stuck it in the black paint and added the detail.
I can't wait to make an apple crumble, and reveal the ladybirds bit by bit!