Rainbow Cake - it is too good to be true!!

A final thought after this long post which I have decided to split into two - if you see an image of a cake so amazing it seems too good to be true - it probably is!

In the supermarket last month I passed by the magazine section and out popped the most amazing sight on the cover of the BBC Food magazine:

I didn't think twice, I bought the magazine, I HAD to make this cake! It seemed pretty straight forward, 7 sponges each dyed a different colour then layered together with a cream cheese icing - yum! No, no. The sponges came out as planned in lots of pretty colours....

...however when I came to assembling it I had over whisked the icing (even though I whisked it for literally 30 seconds) and it went runny - after several minutes of trying desperately to hold this sliding mass of cake together I eventually gave up and put it in the fridge to see if it would set! Whilst it didnt look the beautiful image from the front cover of the magazine, it did vaguely ressemble it (wish I'd taken a picture but was so ashamed I didn't!!). So off we went for the weekend for a family get-away cake in tow. Yes it looked bad but surely it would taste AMAZING...no, no. Not one member of the family managed to eat a whole slice (which were v v thin anyway), it was DISGUSTING!! The sponge was so dense and tasteless!

Moral of the story - if something looks pretty and seems too good to be true, it probably is! I will never again be making my sponge look pretty colours, there is a reason why cakes are not these crazy colours!!

Christening's and 1st birthday fun!

It has been a busy month with a Christening and 2 first birthday's!

My nephew's birthday involved a teeny bit of crafting - I made him a patchwork ball as he loves balls and thought it a fun project to try. The results are a quirky ball that isn't exactly 'round' as such but serves it's purpose for a 1 year old - alas I forgot to take a picture of it. I used various materials, most of which were left overs from his quilt which he had at birth so that was a nice link!

I also got Handmade by Bex involved to make him a personalised frame for the wall in his nursery:

My Goddaughter also had her Christening this month and I had a personalised frame made for her too:

I think you'll agree that they are beautiful. She is the Queen of Felt so do take a look at her website www.handmadebybex.co.uk or facebook page!


For my Goddaughter's Christening I also gave her a little box of trinkets so that we can do some crafting together in the future:

Some of the bits of material are from her quilt that I made when she was born and some bunting I made her, it's not for now but for the future.

Her Christening card:

For her birthday (which came 2 weeks later) I spent ages deliberating what to get her. Eventually I decided that as she was only 1 and would be getting so many toys etc. I would get her something for the future. I decided that each birthday I would give her a charm that she could add to a bracelet and eventually where when she was older. I had a friend of my sister-in-law's make it who runs a jewellery shop up north. She did such a great job, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture but it was  a heart shaped charm with 'HOLLY' stamped on the front and a '1' on the back - perfect! Check out her things, she happily takes commissions and is really reasonably priced:

www.kirstytaylorjewellery.com                           I'll try to get a picture of the charm to upload.

I also had a crafting present plan from March 2012 which I had seen in my Handmade Living magazine. It was a small muslin stuffed toy hare (which you can buy for very little from Calicocrafts.co.uk). The article showed lots of different things you could do with the hare like knitting clothes for it, using fabric pens to decorate it and embroidering it. I decided to embroider it and after a few days of practising the key stitches, I got to work. It took quite a while but was really rewarding and I've developed a really enjoyment of hand-stitching. Here are the results!:

 Unfortunately I didn't take any close-up shots of the stitching but hopefully you get the picture. The writing took the longest but effective stitches like the 'lazy daisy' below (flower shape) was really simple to do. I used a temporary marker pen to mark out my designs before I started to stitch - definitely recommended though by the time I had finished the 'temporary' lines had still not totally gone so I'm hoping they have by now!! It's probably best to try on a sample piece as they instructed - I was just too eager to get going!!

A Spring-time update

Time has flown once again and I have a variety of projects to show you all!

This door hanger was made back in November but I forgot to put it up, it was for a friend's baby. I was pleased with it generally but feel that perhaps it should have been stuffed rather than flat (though I added some interfacing between the fabric to make it stiffer). I also tried out twisting the handle but this didn't work out as I had planned - not sure how they stay twisted without being sewn together, but I had run out of time to change it!

At Christmas I made a decopatch butterfly for my goddaughter Holly. It is such a fun craft as it's so quick and simple to do, children could even do this without any trouble - brilliant! All you need is decopatch paper (thin and baking paper like consistency, some watered down pva glue a brush and a suitable blank object (I've since decorated a plain wooden photo frame with this too). You put the glue onto the object and stick down a small piece of paper (cut or ripped) then glue on top. Continue like this until the whole 1st layer is finished - it dries within minutes! Then you can either leave it or do a second layer.

I decided to add an H for Holly with buttons, I think in hindsight I should have chosen lighter buttons or gold buttons to bring out the lighter colours in the decopatch pattern as it seems quite dark to me. Sorry about the bad photo quality here - I don't have a very steady hand!!

I made a cake for Tim's birthday, cheekily it had to be a non-chocolate one as I had given it up for lent and didn't want to miss out on having a piece myself! So lemon drizzle it was with a lemony cream cheese topping and jelly babies!!

My friend had a baby girl called Willow in January and I decided to make her a bib. As daddy's a farmer and they live on a farm I decided on a farm theme on side of the bib:

and a girly theme on the other:

I was pleased with the final result generally though the binding I made was no cut on the bias and I really realised with this project how important it was to do this (even though it uses up a lot of fabric). As the bib is so curvy, where the binding isn't stretchy it just bobbles up a little bit. Nevermind, I learnt my lesson! I also learnt that new born babies are tiny and this bib is going to be one to grow into - maybe she'll fit it in a year or so!! As it is 100% cotton - fabric, thread and wadding it will be easily washable in the normal wash which I'm sure will please mummy a lot!

I made some Mother's Day cards - one for my mum, and the others were for my military wife friends (bestie and sis-in-law) both of whom's husbands were away and both of whom had Mother's Day for the first time, so thought they'd appreciate a card and a thought on that special day.

It's just cut out pieces of fabric sewn on with the sewing machine - this is how I do the majority of my cards nowadays, it's so quick and easy and I love the effect it gives. Next time I'll do a close-up of the stitches so you can see for yourself!

My friend Bex also had her birthday the other day so we went to an AMAZING fabric shop in Chichester called Eternal Maker - it's incredible, a crafter's dream! I gave her a birthday budget and she bought a lovely dress pattern to make a dress for her baby and some buttons! I decided to make some bunting for baby Holly's Christening coming up in a couple of weeks as I had done the same for Hugo last year.

It also gave me a chance to improve my use of the zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine which, after having it a year, I have finally bought the instruction manual again as it was lost on the day of purchase (who know's how). Suddenly I have discovered so much more - much of which would have been useful to know before now!!

I also have 2 other quilt projects on the go - don't ask, I get bored easily! And a tea cosy which has been a nightmare, but I will post and explain more another time when I finally get it done!

Finally I was so fed up of my other quilting projects being so slow (one is a sampler so testing my cutting and pieces skills to the limit) that I decided to sort of cheat and use a layer cake pack to make an instant (couple of days) quilt as the piecing is so quick and simple. This quilt will be for us, not a present but to keep and snuggle under on the sofa, can't wait!! I have finished the top so just need to sandwich, baste, quilt it and bind it now. Here's the top:

It's Moda Cabbages and Roses Northcote range.

My beautiful Goddaughter's Quilt

After saying many weeks ago that I'd upload the photos, with the help of my technical whizz friend (and her clever iphone) I can finally upload the photos.

Here is the latest quilt (finished in July last year) for my beautiful goddaughter. Try as I might I couldn't get it done in time for her birth in April but hopefully it was worth the wait :-). It's the second of my collection and the first with triangles in (yeay!). I might update this with better pictures (taken outside) as the colours in these don't show exactly as they are! I used a charm pack then chose a spotty beige fabric to use as a sashing and then two more flowery patterns which were used in panels in the main quilt and alternating in the binding too.

Christmas Craft Fun!

I can't believe it was a year ago that I first started my blog - by showing my Christmas crafts! After my husband repeatedly encouraging me, I finally feel brave enough to start getting it out there so hence why you may receive an invitation to follow me!

As with last year, I absolutely love Christmas as it's a great opportunity to do lots of making so here are some of the projects I have made over the festive period:

With the help (in fact she did practically all of it) of my best friend Em, we made some sugar mice for the netball girlies and my lovely sister and brother-in-law. I'm not going to lie, they taste horrible - but don't they look sweet!! Next time, I'm going to try adding peppermint essence so that you can taste something other than pure sugar.

Fudge for Dad and my Grandparents. I haven't done this since last Christmas and they turned out ok but quite crumbly. I suppose it depends how you like it - I prefer it a little more chewy in the middle.

Christmas bunting to go above our beautiful inglenook fireplace in the cottage, I have since turned it around as I sewed the back with another, unchristmassy pattern however TIP: always check that by switching one Xmas image with another on one side, it doesn't effect the alternating pattern on the other  - I just don't think I can live with the pattern having 2 of the same colours next to each other!

Christmas wreath. This time I simply used off cuts from the Christmas tree, added ivy and hawthorn berries from my foraging, cut and tied some cinnamon sticks with what I thought was pretty lace when I bought it (and turned out to be knicker elastic) and finished with a large lace bow in the middle.

In the window above you can see another craft experiment - making paper rosettes using nice Christmas craft paper. They didn't take long but they were forever pinging apart as the double sided sticky tape holding the circle closed just wasn't strong enough! I put a button with raffia threaded through in the centre on both sides.

Following a lovely crafty afternoon at a friend's with her doing cross stitch, I had created some handmade Christmas cards.

An attempt to make a new Christmas tree decoration back in November ended up with me making a GIANT sized snowman (which I disposed of with embarrassment), followed by a teeny Christmas tree so I adapted it to use as an invitation instead:

I found a really simple idea online for making a Christmassy table decoration - just gather some foliage and put it in a glass bowl with a candle in the middle! I went foraging in the garden to get a variety of green foliage to create different textures, I bought a candle to go in the middle then stuck the foliage around it adding some cinnamon sticks, dry orange slices and some cranberries (I couldn't find any berries anywhere!)

So now into January I'm starting to look ahead at what I will be crafting, here's what I have planned:

* Handmade gift for friend whose baby is due end of Jan (got it in mind just need to decided whether its going to be a boy or a girl!!)
* Quilt for nephew number 2 (due in May)
* 1st bday present for nephew number 1 and Goddaughter (got this in mind already - March & April respectively)
*project for new quilting class - king sized bed quilt for us
* draught excluders for cottage
* patchwork cushions
* learn to crochet - my granny has taught me the basics last week, I just need to practice now!
* t-shirt scrap material rug
* curtains for cottage

What a busy and exciting year I have ahead :-)

Birthday cards using fabric scraps

I made some birthday cards for my nearest and dearest in September using scraps of fabric. I was able to find a piece for my brother-in-law which came from the quilt that I gave my nephew, his son and it had cats on which I know he likes. I always find card-making for boys harder than for girls so was pleased with the outcome.

A delayed wedding gift....

I have realised after trawling through some photos that there are a number of projects that I haven't yet posted. I will try to put them in the right order so here goes....

For my sister's wedding present I decided to make her a fabric covered photoboard to display her wedding photos. I found a piece of chipboard in the freebie off-cuts section of the local Homebase store and thought it would be perfect in size, I then looked online (which took a while) to find the perfect material in the teal colour (bridesmaid dress thus wedding theme colour). I wanted something naturey/animally as these are things that they both like, eventually I chose a fabric by Lotta Jansdotter from Sweden.

I'm not exactly sure what they are but some sort of bird anyway!

I sanded down the edges of the chipboard to make them rounded then lay some wadding (an off-cut from a quilting project) across it and used a staple gun to fix this tightly in place. Then I lay the material over the top and again pulled it tight but also folded it so that there was a 2" edge which was neatly overlapping the back. I had to make sure that the images were lying straight so that took a little while. Then I covered the back with some of the same material and neatly folded and stapled it in place. My next job was to staple some ribbon across the board (from the back) which would later by used to tuck cards or photos underneath. This was quite an art and took some time. Finally where each piece of ribbon crossed I put a staple and then glued a button on top - I had bought some heart ones especially but thought I had only needed 6, unfortunately I needed 7 which is such a shame as I had been sent an extra one but had used it on the wedding card instead!:-( . Nevermind, I got around it by rummaging through the button scrap box my Granny gave to my sister who to gave me (only on loan I might add but never got it back!) and managed to find some similar brown ones. Lastly I added a loop at the back to hang it on using some left over ribbon.

I was pleased with the final result though one button did fall off after 5 minutes of them being presented with it! Easily fixed with more hot glue!

Various crafties.....

It has been a while since I last posted and now supply teaching alongside my 2 days a week teaching French I was hoping to have lots more time to do crafty things though I'm finding myself being just as busy and working almost full time through the supply work. I'm enjoying it though and still managing to do some crafty things!

Having written about having time to do things I am reminded of a quote a saw the other day, where I can't remember but I thought it quite poignant:

“Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.”  ― Lao Tzu

So I have managed to finish my goddaughters quilt (though forgot to take a picture of it so will do and then post it another time). I was pleased with it as it was suitably girly with a vintage feel which I really liked.

I have also made my sister some wedding bunting using nice scraps I had - she got married 13th October:

I still continue to cheat with my bunting and use adhesive web instead of actually sewing the letters on. One day I'll do it the proper way but it's such a time saver! This took me about 4 hours to do.

My husband then crafted a beautiful topper for them using supersculpty, he had had practice doing ours 3 years previously:

                                                                            Ours:

                                                                            My sisters:

Our lovely cottage and recent projects

We have moved over the summer and things have been very busy - hence why I haven't posted for a while. Here's our new rented cottage in a beautiful village in the Surrey countryside. The cottage is idyllic - surrounded by fields on two sides and very remote. We love it here!

I have been doing some projects here and there. I made a purse for a friend for her 30th as an alternative to wrapping paper! - Sadly I forgot to take a picture of this however.

I also made a door hanger for my cousin's baby as a Christening present:

As we are now living in such a beautiful cottage I have lots more opportunities to set up beautiful backdrops for my pictures - my only down fall is the quality of my photo taking. Tim, my husband, is now going to teach me how to improve this!!

I have made quite a few handmade cards as well over the summer due to weddings and birthdays. I have got really into sewing nice materials and papers directly onto my cards - it's quick, easy and produces a really nice effect. 

A simple Christening card: 

I was particularly pleased with my flowery heart wedding card:

My latest project, something which I did quite quickly as I needed to - you'll see why in a moment! A blind:

Our next door neighbours cut down a row of dead trees which had been blocking off the view into our toilet so I had to make the blind quite quickly to guard our dignity!! I sewed together 5 strips of different fabrics that I thought worked well together, then added some lace and a button for added detail. I sewed into onto a backing of one of the fabric strip patterns then used - get this - sticks from the garden which I whittled down to make the baton to go on the inside of the blind (to help when rolling it up and to keep it lying straight) then sewed that by hand into place (this took AGES!!). Finally I added another whittled stick to the top, tied it in place and found some ribbon to hold it up a little. I was really pleased with the outcome and it only took a couple of hours in total.

I have lots of other projects around the house to do - in fact the list is endless but I would like to:

- make some mini bunting for the porch area

- make a large rug for the living room floor (as its a cold brick floor at present)

- make a smaller similar rug for the porch 

- make curtains for the bedrooms and for the downstairs windows

- make a name sign for the house using mosaic

- make a mosaic mirror (i have the mirror already)