pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

Things to make on a rainy Monday evening:

*Toll House Cookies without any chocolate chips. I have always wondered if this would work, like since I was a little girl, but I’d never tried. I didn’t mean to try today, except that I had started making cookies thinking we had chocolate chips. Then when I opened the cupboard, we didn’t. Ever have a day like that? So I decided to play out the childhood experiment. Without any chips or alterations to the recipe they were flat and crispy (although they still tasted nice…they just didn’t look pretty). Turns out if you add a bit more flour and just a bit of oats, they are pretty darn yummy. I do love a bit of experimental baking. It’s more fun with cookies, since you can put in one tray and find out in like 8 minutes if it worked, then add things to the dough to make them better. We made the last tray with cinnamon and they are…um…all gone. Success.

*A bookmark, because I am in total reading mode right now. I could sit here all night and read like ten books in a row. Just me and the rain and a cup of coffee and my giant icelandic blanket to keep away the rest of the world. I did tell you it was a rainy Monday evening, right?

*The patchworked half of another pillow. Hope to finish that one tomorrow!

*A simple little bracelet of beads in pretty colours, all strung together. Just liking the calm of the stringing tonight.

Are you making anything lovely this evening?

xlovesx

Comment [5]

Oh goodness—what a week. Exciting things but I can’t tell yet. Hate that! But after the insanity of it all, some sewing. Oh, the therapy.

Even better, sewing for a cause. Melanie from Fiskars has set us up for some cool goodies. She’s got some of these fab tools to send to a lucky winner.

To win, click on this, this and this, then leave me a comment about your most favourite heart-shaped thing in the world. One lucky commenter will receive the goodies from Melanie!

Or here’s another way to help. This week, I’ll be selling a few pillows on Etsy, and all the proceeds will be donated to AHA and the BHF (half to each). The first one is this pink and green log cabin, and it can be yours here.

Happy Sunday, with extra heart shapes thrown in!

xlovesx

Comment [71]

So some of the girls at school have decided to pick up the needles, and I promised them I would post something that would work as a first project without taking them three years to finish. It’s as simple as a scarf, but way smaller: an alice band. For them and anyone else who might want a few basic how-to-knit links, try the UK handknitters, the US handknitters or Lion Brand just google, as there are plenty out there.

For this little project, pick your yarn and pick up a set of needles in the size recommended on the yarn label. All you need to know is how to cast on, knit and cast off (though you can clearly make all sorts of pretty patterns if you want to do fancy stitches, just like scarves).

Cast on the number of stitches it takes to get the width you want, then knit every row, taking time to measure it around your head, making silly faces and suggesting you just wear it with the needles attached as to avoid ever having to cast off.

When it’s long enough to go around your head and tie, cast off. Weave in your ends.

Tie it around your head or go all fancy and sew it together or add buttons, etc. Like a scarf, but teeny-tiny and keeps your hair in place. All important things, right?

Now I wonder how many of these I will see in Monday’s lessons!

xlovesx

Comment [9]

Okay, so normally I want to avoid cake mix like the plague. Not because it’s bad, but because I enjoy making the cake from scratch.

Wait. That just made the whole ‘like the plague’ thing not make sense. The plague IS bad. That’s the point of it being THE PLAGUE, right? You don’t want to avoid the plague because you enjoy something else. You want to avoid the plague because you don’t want to ruin-absolutely-everything. Okay. That’s sorted. I can never say ‘like the plague’ again. If I do, feel free to commit me being hit with stones in the public square or something else suitable.

I will admit that baking from scratch is not always the most practical of matters, and I also know that there are women out there who make AMAZING cakes who secretly swear by their favourite cake mixes. They’ll never tell you it’s not from scratch, and I can’t blame ‘em.

So if you’ve gotta come up with the cupcakes on the quick and you don’t want to get caught out with your cake mix, here are my favourite fix-em-ups:

Chocolate cake mix + 1/2 cup cherry or raspberry jam added to the mixing bowl.
Vanilla cake mix + 1/2 packet of any fruit flavoured gelatin (the powdered kind rather than the gelled kind—we have both in the UK)
Vanilla cake mix + 1/3 cup sprinkles mixed in right at the last minute before it goes in the oven = confetti cake
Vanilla or chocolate cake mix + chocolate chips. Because you can never go wrong adding more chocolate, right?
Carrot cake mix + 1/2 cup extra thick cream for a carrot cake with a softer, steamed-pudding type texture

Now…I do well with the dessert shortcuts. I am not so good with the dinner shortcuts. Care to share your best make it good-but make it quick tip today? Since we’re sharing the love and all.

xlovesx

Comment [11]

project a day hasn’t disappeared…i’ve just got some gremlins in the technical stuff! working on it…should be back to normal later tonight! :)

apologies if the site has looked odd today. :)

xlovesx

Comment [3]

(Originally uploaded by Natalie Zee)

So we’re back to Tuesday…and I’m working on something inspired by this, found on Flickr and from a Japanese crafting book. Something felt and handy for taking the basics on the go! Right now my camera battery is a-charging! So I can show it to you tomorrow. :)

AND I’ve got a winner for our felt! The boy picked a number and it came up to this comment:

Dawn Says:
2 May 2007, 15:44
I made one and it didn’t take long! I used fleece as I’m on a stash embargo no buying anything for me (except the blue flowers I needed for a LO)I will also use it on a LO/LOs to, may be a CJ I have to do.

He picks ‘em well—stash embargo doesn’t mean you can’t receive free goodies, right? So Dawn! Send me your postal address! :) I have lots of goodies to post out this week! :)

What are you making today?

xlovesx

Comment [8]

Oh, May. You give us this lovely three-day weekend. And SATs exams start tomorrow. Why am I always more nervous than the kids? I couldn’t sit still today, so here are some projects for days when you can’t commit to one thing:

*Making the perfect pancake.

*Watching the rain behind the flowers. For a little bit. And listening to it a bit longer.

*Adding some entries to this book, which could be very full after this month.

*Baking this bread, which is also good with cinnamon.

Because when you realise you really have that much paperwork that you could possibly never stop, it’s nice to have a few little crafty diversions, right?

Please Year 9, please have done your homework this weekend!

xlovesx

Comment [11]

After sleeping in on a grey Sunday morning, I am feeling much better. Sleep almost seems to be a theme of the week more than craftiness, but if that’s the cure, that’s fine. I managed to find some time tonight to make this as my little project for the day. My sewing machine was very happy to not be neglected as she has been for far too long! Think I’ll have to take a nicer picture in the daylight tomorrow, perhaps.

Must go back to that other theme and catch some zzzzs. Hope your weekend has been lovely.

xlovesx

Comment [11]