new cards and gifts

Well after a very eventful summer I am managing to catch up with the blog.
I was advised by a friend to look at selling my handmade goods on Etsy,now I am not sure that this will work but I thought I would give it a go.

I needed to find something in the gift line that was small and not too expensive to post so I knitted some of these

They are egg cosies.Now I am not sure if anyone uses them any more but I thought I would give them a try anyway.

I also made some more cards. I have started to collect Tattered Lace dies and this is the first card I made using just Tattered Lace dies and papers

After mentioning the marathon card making session in the last blog I thought I should upload some finished cards so here they are

Just 3 for now will add some more at a later date

Just finished a marathon card making session,mainly because the weather has been so awful that I have not been able to get into the garden.

However with the advent of the new polytunnel this should make it a lot easier to get the planting right.

I am also trying out Lunar Planting and so far the results have been excellent. I think if we have success with the tunnel we will be buying another one next year.

We are also pleased with the new strawberry bed which seems to be doing very well, however the ground was treated some time before with well rotted manure

after discovering the delights of Hunkydory I have been inspired to make the following cards. Although some of the images are from Crafters Companion and some of the dies are Tonic Dies the overwhelming inspiration I have received from Hunkydory.

the first card is a Toread topper from crafters companion to which I added a fancy cut background,some crystals and I attached a sentiment with a piece of acetate so it springs off the card.

I made this one into a stepper card with adorable scorable and added a  large and a small Hunkydory Topper and a tag sentiment through which I threaded some ribbon

  Once again a gatefold a5 card covered with gold Mirri.Inside the card I also added Mirri and topped it with a printed insert.I attached a small sentiment to the top left corner and a large topper on the left side with foam pads. On the right hand side I die cut a circle slightly larger than the topper and attached it on one side only with foam pads. Finally I added a double die cut butterfly cut with a Martha stewart punch and added some glitter to the body.

Once again a Toread topper  was attached with foam pads onto a foiled card with a small sentiment on the right hand side. This was a quick and easy card to make

A landscape DL card with gold Mirri card adorable scorable background and a Topper from a Hunkydory set.Once again quick and easy to make

the last one is another Toread topper added onto a pice of adorable scorable mounted onto gold mirri with a small round sentiment attached with foam pads. 

Have been very busy on Pinterest which I am finding fascinating.

new cards

Just got some new sets from Hunkydory and have made these two items
The first one is a box which you can put notelets in I think it would make a nice small gift

1. The next one is a card I have made for a friend this was also made with Hunkydory toppers and Tonic Dies I like this one. I addad a die cut butterfly to the card using a Martha Stewart Double die
2. 
   

Tunis cake

This is the first Tunis Cake I have ever made and it was a Mary Berry recipe.It came out perfectly and the only problem is trying to not eat any until Christmas Day,which could prove to be difficult. We will see watch this space

Next years calendar

I received a 2014 calendar today with my Good Food magazine and thought this recipe looked great so I made it. As yet I am unsure of what it tastes like but it looks great.It is Toffee,Apple and pecan cake

Yummy food

Although I have a lot of recipes for fruit crumbles I found this one and fancied giving it a go. Some of the crumble toppings I have tried have not been brilliant, however that said this one is really great and the dates with the apples make a lovely toffee sauce

I also made a victoria sponge for some friends and this is the result 

they said they loved it

We are now preparing for the impending storm which has been forecast for tomorrow so we will get in more wood for the wood burner and settle down after battening down the hatches

New card

Just made a new card for a friend's daughter this is it

New Recipe

Yesterday I found a new recipe for using some of the lovely Bramley apples I was given. it is called Baked Apple and Toffee Crumble

The recipe is as follows

100g raisins (or sultanas)

100g Pitted dates snipped into small pieces

85g Light muscovado sugar

3 Tbsp dark rum (but I used Calvados)

25g butter 

Zest and juice of 1 Lemon 4 Bramley apples about 800g,peeled, cored and cut into rings.

FOR THE CRUMBLE

125g Plain flour

100g Butter

3 Tbsp Jumbo oats

50g Light muscovado sugar

25g flaked almonds

Custard or ice cream to serve

Heat oven to 190c/170c fan/gas 5

1. Put everything for the apple layer,except the lemon juice and apples,into a bowl and microwave on High for 1and a half minutes until the butter has melted and the sugar is syrupy. Toss in the apples and lemon juice,then spoon into a medium baking dish,making sure the dried fruit is distributed even,y.

For the Crumble

1. Rub the flour and butter together,first into fine crumbs, then keep going until the mixture forms bigger clumps,a bit like a rough biscuit dough.

Stir in the sugar,oats and almonds. Scatter over the fruit,then cover with foil and bake for 1 hour,removing the foil for the final 30 minutes,until golden and bubbling. Rest for 10 minutes,then serve with custard or ice cream.

Absolutely delicious. 

Graduation Card

Just finished this card today for some friends. Managed to finish it after I had walked for an hour this morning. Just managed to get the walk in before the start of the rain. However it has now stopped and the sun has returned again.

last of the Summer Colours

I think this may well be the very last of the summer colours. I left the flower magic too late to plant really,however it has made a valiant effort. Have managed to re-pot my baby Acer into its new home before the bad weather sets in. The geraniums and Petunias have been brilliant all summer and I will repeat the same exercise next  year.
The lavender is coming along well and I hope that by this time next year it will be transplanted into the garden.

T

he stripey grass has done really well but sadly it will need cutting back as soon as the first frost comes

Buttermilk Pie

I was given some buttermilk and as I had never used it before I was doubtful that I could find a recipe for it. However again in the latest edition of Olive magazine i found this recipe from America and decided to try it. it looks great but once again will report on flavour in the next blog

Blackberry Curd Tart

We have had so many blackberries this year they are coming out of my ears. I have mande Jam, Jelly,Blackberry and Apple cake, Muffins and now my latest addition, which I found in my latest copy of Olive magazine.it looks brilliant but have not tried it yet. will report on the flavour in the next blog

Well I solved the problem of the chocolate cake. I took the one in the previous photo and just made another to keep at home.
We had a lovely barbecue but of course we ate too much.Pork,steak potatoes lemon meringue pie and chocolate cake

problem

had a lovely day yesterday lunch with neighbours. We have been invited to a barbecue on Saturday with some friends who are chocoholics so decided that my contribution would be this double chocolate cake with fondant roses. the problem now is do I take the whole cake or eat half of it and say the dog ate it? humph problem!!!!

never made before

I found a recipe that I have not come across before called Suffolk Buns,so I decided to try them.They are easy to make, use minimal ingredients and are very quick to cook.I am assured by my taste tester (my husband) that they are great.

However the dog is looking longingly at them so I think I had better remove temptation before they disappear

Crumble

We would appear to have a glut of Blackberries and Apples this year. After last years disaster when we had no blackberries to speak of and the apples were much reduced in number and size I decided to strick while the iron was hot so to speak and made 2 large crumbles.The first one has been devoured and the second one is in the freezer,but I have a feeling it won't be there for long

Home made ice cream

This is such a great recipe and very easy to make.I made it last week when we had friends to lunch and have made it again today to go with blackberry and apple crumble

To make 1 litre you just need to mix 85g of brown bread crumbs with 85g of dark brown sugar.Grill under a medium grill for about 8 minutes but do keep an eye on it you want it browned not burnt.

remove from grill and leave to cool then break it up with a fork. In the meantime separate 2 eggs and whisk the whites to a soft peak. Mix the yolks with some vanilla essence or Rum or Amaretto or any flavouring you want.

Whisk 300ml of double cream with 85g of icing sugar, then add the egg yolks,whites and the breadcrumbs. Put into a suitable container and freeze but remember to mix the ice cream once it starts to freeze.Do this for about 4 times then put a lid on and use as and when you want. take it from the freezer about 10 minutes before you want to serve it. I garantee it will not last long!!!! at least it doesn't in my house. ENJOY