WE LIKE MARCHING

I run a toddler group for my Church and it is celebrating its 25th Anniversary tonight.  So I offered to bring a cake!

At the end of every session we sing some songs and 'We Like Marching' is always a favourite.

Once again I have been inspired by Lucie Attwell.  I wanted the figures on the top to mirror the illustrations so they are mostly painted as well.

VALENTINE INSPIRATION

As valentines fast approaches I have searched for some delicious items to inspire you.


This is such a beautiful object from Artmind.

I love this poster from Bubbo-Tubbo and check out her shop it's full of graphic (in a good way) goodies!

And who could resist this little slice of sweetness by Be Cheery.


This would be the perfect card for gamer geek Mr Lemon Drizzle.  It's by anemonelettepress.



Finally I couldn't resist this cute little fella from the fabulous Heartfelt Handmade.

BUTTERSCOTCH CUPCAKES

A few years ago I made myself a birthday cake, which did not go down well with Mr Lemon Drizzle as he had already bought me a cake, which while incredibly generous and thoughtful.was a SHOP BOUGHT CAKE!!!

Last year I did not make a cake so as not to rain on his parade, and of course no cake arrived.

This year I made the first strike and actually asked if there was to be a cake.

"I'll buy you one" he said

"I will not have a SHOP BOUGHT CAKE for my birthday!!!! Are you prepared to make me a cake?"

"No I am not"

So I let it be known to my family that I will make myself a birthday cake.  However as they are suffering from cake fatigue I decided to go with cupcakes.

I have adapted this recipe from a Nigella cake to make 12 cupcakes.

Beat the butter and sugars together until creamy.  Add the eggs and then sift in the flour and mix together. Mix in 2-3 tablespoons of cream until a soft dropping consistancy is achieved.  Divide between 12 cupcake cases.

Cook in a pre-heated oven 175 fan for 15-20mins, until golden brown and springy to touch.

For the frosting disolve the sugar in the water by heating gently, do not stir as this crystalises it.  Once disolved boil until it becomes a dark golden caramel.  (I use a sugar thermometer as it stops me worrying about temperatures.)  Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cream, then leave to cool.

Beat the cream cheese and a third to a half of the caramel.  You may need to leave it to harden a bit before you top the cupcakes.

For a little extra naughtiness drizzle some of the caramel onto the cakes!

Enjoy!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so I thought I would make myself a virtual wish list, just to treat myself!

 I love graphic prints and this would make me very 'Happy Happy' in these dark winter months.  It is by farouche.

I thought I would need a little glamour to look good on my special day so this knecklace from Made With Love  would definately do the trick.

Then to feel extra cosy something beautiful for my house, so I'd need this gorgeous cushion (you can never have too many cushions!) from Helkatdesign on folksy.

Finally I am so in love with Agnes woolen wreaths, I love her colour sense and the quirky objects she finds, so I would definately love to treat myself to one of these!

Homemade Christmas part two....

Yes I know, Christmas seems very distant now, but the snow and a couple of big orders have really put me behind!  Anyway as promised here are some of the homemade presents I received from my family.

My Mum made damson gin from their own fruit and then covered the gin soaked damsons in dark chocolate for a double whammy!

 

My sister-in-law always makes us a rich fruit Christmas cake, this year my eight year old niece took care of the decorations.

My brother is a keen chutney and pickle maker so we received these welcome treats from him along with some gorgeous unpastaurised cheese from here.
We were also given a huge pottery shell from my Dad which is covered in snow at the moment, I will post some pictures after the 'Big Thaw'!

ANGELINA BALLERINA

This was chocolate cake for the daughter of some good friends.  She started on point but with all the snow there have been bored children in the house and one curious child broke Angelinas' toes! So after counting slowly to ten, I came up with this solution.  The pictures on the side are painted on.

HERO OF THE HOUR!

Today has been a tough day with all the snow etc and trying to get cakes out to clients proving impossible.  However Mr Lemon Drizzle has been very supportive, I know, read his blog and you wouldn't believe it, but he has.  So here is a small treat for him, I'm afraid it's only virtual as I am snowed in and out of ingredients!

LOVING YELLOW!

I found these cushions on How About Orange blog who in turn found original tutorial on the purl bee blog.
I think they are absolutely gorgeous and would love to have  my front room in this colourway, I'm really loving yellow and grey at the moment ever since I missed out on a gorgeous dress in those colours at a Swish event.
Unfortunately Mr Lemon Drizzle would definately not go for this even though they are his blog colours!

Colour in the Snow

I thought I would give you all a splash of colour as some relief  from the sea of white we have been wading through over the last few days!

JUGGLING COOKIES

 

 

 

 

These are cookies for a good friends' little girl.  She is having a juggler at her party, so I made pretty juggling ball cookies!

A HANDMADE CHRISTMAS

My family and I try to make as many presents for each other as is possible.  Now I know that Christmas seems a long time ago but as I relaxed over the holidays I ground to a complete halt, so this post is alot later than I had planned.  Anyway I hope you still enjoy this post-seasonal post!

 

Every summer one of our projects is to pick lavender from our garden and dry it.  We strip the flowers in the half-term holidays and then make lavender bags at Christmas.  The cow fabric is from a dress I wore as a baby (my Mum can't throw anything away!)

I make the Christmas puds every year and always put in lots of coins (and brandy).

 Cookie mix courtesy of Bakerella.

 

Many of my friends and family received one of these little chaps.

My Mum showing off her new scarf.  I found the pattern in a Martha Stewart Living.

Hopefully soon, now I'm back to normal life I can post the pictures of the presents I received.

One last thing...Happy New Year!  I hope it's a crafty one!