Not just chocolate...

Easter is quite a big deal in my family. Other than Christmas it is the only time of the year that all the family get together for a big meal and catch up. Most of my family are based five hours away from me with one of my cousins having to travel just as far to get to see her family too...

At Easter when I was a kid chocolate was always exchanged and everybody, young to old, got an Easter egg. However, as the years have passed, and our waistlines have expanded we have become more aware that chocolate from all members of the family seems far too much so we usually find a little gift instead.

This year I wanted to make a little something for everyone...

My husband bought me a cross stitch kit from Hobbycraft as I had expressed an interest in trying out the art of cross stitch that he had excelled in. However, the kit lay dormant for sometime as it seemed very daunting.

After completing the duck and chick cross stitches (as covered in previous posts) I had a bit more confidence to work at the design for each person.

I decided to give personalised keyrings - all with a letter corresponding to their name.

I had ten to do.

I bought the acrylic keyrings from amazon (link below)...

When you unfold a huge piece of aida it feels so daunting... So I folded it into quarters making it smaller and easier to work with.

Following the pattern in the kit I started doing the letters... Some were harder than others... 's' was particularly difficult for me...

My other problem was that I needed to do something to hide the back of the keyring which was thin to fit with the aida... So I had at look in my box of crafts (an aladdins cave of craft odds and ends) and found some scraps of decoupage paper and thought this would work wonderfully.

These were trimmed down and fitted nicely into the keyrings... The aida had to be trimmed carefully as it was quite difficult to get it flat in the keyrings...

And here they are....



I am pleased with the results... And a few less calories than chocolate!

Quilting the family tree - part 1

One of my other New Years resolutions was to finish my craft list... A list I made of all the projects I wish to do... I capped it on 31st December 2014 and it totals 49 projects... I am not allowed to add anymore to it until I have finished everything else... So many of these things will end up here I hope!

Project 1 - Bird Family Tree Panel ... A work in progress...

One of my local sewing shops in a place called The Viking Loom in York which has friendly and knowledgeable staff and the most amazing range of quilting materials and fat quarters... I could spend most of my monthly wage in there...

They also have a few kits that they have put together for those people who just need a bit of inspiration...

And this is where my latest project comes in...

As with previous posts I am a bit daughter-centric at the moment so when I saw the family tree panel in the Viking Loom I simply had to do it.

The main panel is printed with easy to follow instructions and it was accompanied by a backing fabric and something to frame the main picture which was helpful.

I did buy another panel of the birds as we have a lot of extended family - you'll see what a feat it was in the end!

The first, and probably the most timely job was the embroidery  of the names. I did try and write on the fabric but it bled too much so I went for the more time consuming option...

This option is still going... This is another work-in- progress... I hope to complete it in a couple of days... Unless I get distracted!
For those of you that don't live in York look at the Viking Loom website which is one of my favourite links to the right...

A personal A to Z!

At the moment my mind is very much turned towards my daughter and things that she might enjoy or help her learn about the world around her - so I apologise for there being a second post that is baby-related!

Although she is only 16 months she loves reading and letters of all kinds so this is how I came up with this latest little project : Sophia's Alphabet

The first of all I made the list of everything for each letter and picked out her grandparents and pets and then added other familiar items from around the house to fill up the other letters.

I then took photos of the items and printed them off.

These were then trimmed and stuck to some coloured card (cut to size to fit in a card storage box I had found!)

Carefully I wrote the corresponding letter on the front next to the photo and then wrote the name in full in the back (in my best writing!)

The cards were then covered in sticky back plastic to make them last a bit longer as my daughter is definitely at her most destructive at the moment!

And here is the complete set...

A Sunday with a difference!

One of my many New Years resolutions was to make use of the stacks of recipe books that adorn my kitchen shelves especially as I now have a bit more time at home to actually cook proper meals for me and my husband... My daughter usually has the leftovers for her lunch the next day so doesn't miss out...

Sunday supper has always been something we have always had traditionally as something big and bold. It harks back to the days when me and my husband worked at a school together and, because it was a boarding school, we used to frequently be on duty over the weekend meaning that we wouldn't see one another until Sunday evening... So a tradition was born.

I usually do a roast - something that has taken many years to perfect (something my husband can vouch for!) but for this Sunday I was asked by my husband to do something that resembled a fry up ... But slightly healthier!

So, the books came out and after a merry hour of scouring the shelves I came across The hairy bikers Perfect Pies book (see link below!) I love Si and Dave and they had a sausage and bean pie topped with potatoes... So I took it one step further...

You need:  an onion, sausages, a tin of baked beans, potatoes... (I added mushrooms, chopped bacon, black pudding)

I boiled the potatoes until they were cooked but still firm. I cooked everything else (bar the beans) on the grill and, once cooked, put it all in an oven proof dish, added the beans and covered the top with potato.

It then baked in the oven for 20 mins until the beans bubbled...

And then....

It was delicious... And serves three... And look at the rest of the book... Whoever said that cooking wasn't an art form obviously had never tried doing it!
The link to the book: The Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies: The Ultimate Pie Bible from the Kings of Pies

Maid to order...

My aunt is a volunteer for the National Trust and, at Christmas was asked to do a cooking demonstration to make mince pies.

 My mother told her that I have made a few hats and things in my time so got in touch with me to make her a mop cap. After getting her head measurement (and scouring local haberdasheries for white cotton - not easy!) I then had a scoot around the Internet and through a stack of books and combined it all to come up with a pattern that was 1) easy to do and2) something I could post and adapt if needed. My biggest thing was trying to find something that was big enough and round enough to draw around so instead had to use the tried and tested compass method I was taught many years ago at primary school... Using a pencil, string and a drawing pin stuck into a mat! I then cut out the template pieces (two circles of equal size) and then drew on two small circles to guide me when it came to elasticating the cap. I then sewed around the outside edge of the circle leaving a gap to turn it inside out. It was then pressed. I then sewed the two lines for the elastic.

I measured the elastic and carefully fed it through the cap. I was surprised how quickly it came together. I then sent it on to my aunt.

 I wish I could show you a photo of my aunt in her full volunteer gab but she is a tad camera shy so you'll have to do with the photos I took of it before sending it to her...

 p.s shameless advert.... I also make these for my etsy shop...

Back dough-ing my thing... At last!

I cannot believe how long it has been since I last wrote on my blog... But a lot has changed since I last wrote...

The long and short of it is that I have changed job so work less hours for more money (work that out) and get to spend two whole days with my gorgeous daughter which I wasn't able to do beforehand.

I still seem to work in the evenings but that is more my thing rather than work making me...

However, the upshot of all of this means I now have more time for my hobbies: crafting, reading and cooking... And coming up with weird and wonderful ways of doing all three!

As a house move will be happening in the next three months (something I loathe!) I am trying to get myself prepared for events which might just coincide with boxes moving west of the country...

So, I also wanted to combine some of the crafts I do with things that my growing and ever more curious daughter could enjoy with me. And here is our first joint venture (which doesn't involve too much mess!)... Salt dough!

I found a recipe while surfing the net and was taken in by the fact you didn't need to bake it for over 3 hours ...  Instead you bake it in the microwave.

It comes from www.rainydaymum.com - a brilliant site that has all kinds of activities to keep kids busy.
So... Me and and little girl mixed the dough together and I let her play with it for a bit too as what 16 month old doesn't like to get their fingers covered in sticky goo?!

We then roughly rolled out the dough and cut the main shape using a large cookie cutter and then a smaller one to cut out the middle. (I did have to stop my daughter trying to eat the middle bit at this point!)

The shapes were then heated in the microwave in small batches (although the larger the batch the longer the initial drying takes) once the shapes were solid I then put them on the radiator to get rid of any extra moisture that the microwave couldn't do!

A couple of days later (after laying down an old shower curtain as floor protection) we got out an assortment of water based acrylic paints and brushes and I let my daughter do her stuff!

After the shapes were painted they were air dried on the radiator.

I then applied a couple of layers of sealant which was also air dried.

As a finishing touch I added some bakers twine for a hanging.

So here they are: a great present for relatives and so quick and easy to do!

Paid to craft and create!

The usual mixture of family get togethers and then returning to school (as a teacher) always seems to impact the amount of crafting that I try to do.

However, being a school technician (with particular attention to costume and props) it does mean that occasionally I get to do some crafting as part of my job (certainly a perk).

With every new school year comes new school productions and my boss has been thinking about doing Hamlet as part of the School Shakespeare's festival. The festival is in theatres up and down the country and schools rehearse a thirty minute version of a Shakespeare script which is then performed in a local theatre. On the night of performance three other schools perform their plays on the same night as yours. This is my fourth year of doing it and I quite enjoy it. (See link for more info!)

My boss has decided that she wants Hamlet to have a modern vibe to it and wanted the musicians to have birdcage veils... And here lies the project!

After finding out the proper name for them I researched where one could lay their hands upon the french netting that is used in such headpieces and found that I would have to be parting with quite a bit of cash as it is quite a specialised material in millenary circles.

My disappointment quickly disappeared  when attending a fete at the weekend and my daughter won a massive tennis ball and it was contained in some netting that would make a perfect substitute for the french netting I so badly needed.

Back at school I sprayed it black and was impressed how good it looked.

This was then attached to a cheap poundland head piece and then spruced up with some black net that was in stock.

I am pleased with the result and have made two for the show... If only I could be paid to craft everyday!