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Wednesday 30 January 2013

By Royal Appointment

At work my team consists of 8 ladies aged 20 (me!) to 47 so it's fair to say that food is mentioned quite a lot! We have got into the habit of having a themed 'buffet day' once a month which is a great opportunity for us to show off our baking skills and also to stuff our faces! Last month for example was Dip Day! Cue lots of hummus, carrot sticks, Doritos and chocolate fondue!

This month's theme is Around The World. We all picked a country to represent and I chose England. I thought I would share my contribution as I'm quite proud of it! I made a simple 3 egg sponge base, and sandwiched it with home made raspberry jam.

After leaving it to cool I cut out a template of the queen's head that I found online and pinned it to the cake, dusted it with icing sugar and removed the paper. I then found a spare bit of Union Jack ribbon (amazingly lucky find!) and pinned it around the base. Voila!



Monday 28 January 2013

100th Post - Something new and exciting.

I can't believe I've made it to 100 posts!

This place is really a haven for me, blogging is a fantastic hobby and I have learnt so many new amazing skills and 'met' so many lovely people.

So if you're reading this, thank you, it means a lot to me to know that people take time out of their lives to see what I've been upto.

To mark my 100th post I thought now would be a good time to announce something new, so drum roll please....

Paper Punny.

Watch this space!

Sunday 27 January 2013

Spring Clean - Tidy house tidy mind


I like to think of myself as a fairly tidy person.. but if you were to ask one of my past boyfriends, friends or family they probably wouldn't agree with me. I'm trying to become more organised and clutter free, as well as speed up my daily routine and thought I would share a few handy tips.
Spring is nearly upon us and I bet if you're honest with yourself, your abode, like mine, could do with a spruce!

1) Preparation is key
Make sure you're fed, watered and rested before you start. Get bin bags for rubbish, carrier bags for items to be donated, dusters and polish, febreeze for fabrics, windowlene for mirrors and glass, and of course your hoover! This will allow you to get into a rhythm without interruptions. I find it best to clean on a sunday evening when you know you have no plans.

2) Stop yourself from getting distracted.
I don't know about you but when I'm tiding I tend to find something I forgot I had and try it on or sit and play with it and before I know it an hour's past and I've got nowhere. To stop myself getting distracted I always set myself a time limit, so say tidy for an hour, relax for 15 minutes etc. I tend to put on something in the background too - some good workout music or a film (preferably one you've seen before that you don't need to concentrate on!)

3) Work in a logical order
I always tidy my bedroom in the same order - flip my mattress, change my bedding, put all my clothes onto my bed to be hung up or out to be washed, hoover, clear surfaces, dust. voila!
Work in a way so you can finish one area and move on to the next without dirtying an area you've just done!

4) One in One out
The golden rule in my house. If you buy a new dress - pick one you haven't worn for ages, one that doesn't really fit etc and get rid! If it's wearable give it to a friend or a charity shop, if not use the fabric and buttons for crafts. This rule does not only apply to clothes. Think the same for jewellery, bedding, make-up, ornaments, pictures.... I can't stress enough how much this will help you to declutter and stay decluttered. I think this works better than that 'if you've not worn it in 3 months' with that I always tend to throw away my winter wardrobe every summer and vice versa!

5) 10 minutes a day keeps the grime squad at bay
When you've finished your big clean, think about how long it took you, how tiring it was and how good everything looks now. Use it to remind yourself. It's so much easier to spend a quick 10 minutes in the morning or just before bedtime, giving the place a quick once over than it is to allocate a whole day to cleaning.

I really do believe that if you live in a tidy environment you will be a healthier, calmer, happier more organised person! I know I sleep better when my bedroom is neat and that has a massive impact on every other area of my life. So there's nothing to lose, get tidying! Do you have any tidy tips?

Before...
 
After!
 


Valentines Day

The preparation continues... have taken lots of custom orders from people at work for cards and samplers... This is a personal (unfinished) favourite.


Pattern by Ruggles.

Friday 18 January 2013

Crafty Creatives Box 7 - SPOILER ALERT!

First up - SPOILER ALERT!
 
Now that's out of the way, it's that time again, Crafty Creatives box number 7 arrived with most of us this week. Here's my little look through this months box.
 
 
After the first glimpse you know immediately it's going to be a good one! This month's is a Nature/Woodland theme and boy is that a good choice! This may well be my favourite box, the quality and quantity of the items gets better every month, this one is so packed!
 
The art card this month is so pretty, it's definitely going on my wall!
 
The first thing I pulled out was these three birch hearts. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them but I LOVE them, we had a huge silver birch tree in my garden when I was growing up and I always got told off for peeling the flaky silver paper-like bark off. These are so tactile and they look lovely, great start!
 
 
Next up, two lovely porcelain fox beads. I think these would make great earrings!
 
 
5 metal leaf charms - I'm thinking a tiered droplet necklace for these babies...
 
 
Loads! of wooden leaf buttons - I'm already planning a tree on canvas, with embroided trunk and background.
 
 
Owly fabric - this is so cute! This would make gorgeous childrens clothes, maybe bunting!
 
 
Large metal owl pendant - This would obviously make a lovely necklace, but has anyone done anything else more original?

 
Pinecone - This is definitely being spray painted!

 
Skeleton leaves - These would lovely on a notebook or against some dark fabric

 
I love these! Glass toadstool beads, so sweet, these are definitely going on a bracelet!

 
Flower soft - I'm not entirely sure what this is, but it looks fun! Time for some research....
 
 
And this month's kit is...
 
 
Needle felting! This is fab and right up my street, I can't wait to get felting, but I am a little scared about the barbed nedle!
 
 
I officially now have two favourite days - Pay day, and Crafty Creatives day!
 
Roll on the next one, maybe a valentines theme..?

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Time for tea

Dinner today is roasted quail with Laverstoke farm smoky bacon, and chorizo (to be served with buttery olive oil mash)

And today I've been eating non stop these tasty little morsels. Canned chickpeas, drained and dried, oven roasted for 10 minutes with rapeseed oil, cayenne pepper and chilli powder. A great desk snack, that's full of healthy fats and fibre!



Tuesday 8 January 2013

Making progress..

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I....... this is getting a little tiresome but I am determined to finish!
 
 

Sunday 6 January 2013

Pardy

This weekend has been spent attempting to get over the hangover from my work Christmas party. Amazing night!