Pages

Friday 12 March 2010

Folksy Friday

A lot of my lovely Folksy friends do a 'Folksy Friday' which if you've had your head under a stone for the last couple of years is the day we show off a few of our favourite Folksy items usually with a theme.

I have been itching to take part in the Folksy Friday tradition but there is soooooo much lovely stuff I like and I couldn't think of a theme, until last night when I saw a lovely listing by Birdcage Creative and then I knew! So, after my giveaway last week here is my first Folksy Friday with a lovely spring daffodil theme.











From Top

Spring Daffodil Necklace £11 by Birdcage Creative
Daffodil Earrings £8.50 by Wychbury
Free Machine Embroidered Daffodil Cushion £35 by Maxemilia
Yellow Roses - Original Watercolour Painting £155 by Dick & Franny
Daff-Oh-Dilly £1.50 by Hannah Madden
Spring Daffodils £22 by Fleurs De Perles
Fine Silver Daffodil £45 by Willow Wire Creations

Monday 8 March 2010

Slave Bread


Today my slaves... er... I mean my children decided they wanted to do some cooking, so instead of the usual fairy cakes I thought bread would be a whole lot more useful, and considerably more interactive!

The recipe we used was from 'The Ultimate Cooking Book by Jane Bull (pub DK), so is very simple to use but with little fuss could be jazzed up with herbs or olives or sun dried tomatoes. This is a fab childrens cookery book, and as my daughter is now 8, she can do everything in here with very little help (interference) from an adult.


750g 1 1/2 lb strong white bread flour
450ml 3/4 pint warm water
1 tspn salt
2 tblspn oil
7g (1 sachet) easy blend yeast
1 egg (optional) to glaze.

makes 8 large or 10 smaller rolls.



1. Put all the ingredients except the egg in a large bowl and mix them together.

2. Sprinkle the worktop with flour and take the mixture out of the bowl.

3. To knead, press your fist hard into the dough, then turn it and do it again.

4. Knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be stretchy, not sticky.

5. Divide the dough into smaller pieces or pull off chunks to plat with.

6. Choose a design, try making faces!

7. Set the oven to 220 degrees C/ Gas Mark 7

8. Place rolls on a greased baking tray making sure you place the shapes as far away from each other as possible.

9. Cover the tray loosely with clingfilm and leave it in a warm place. Leave it until it's double it's size, approx 30 minutes.

10. Brush the bread with beaten egg and decorate with nuts, seeds and dried fruit if desired.

11. Bake for 10-20 mins. The smaller shapes will cook quicker, so take them out sooner.


The kids had so much fun making these, the squidgy dough making part was great, and then their artistic side was won over by fashioning bread rolls into all sorts of shapes. We had hedgehogs, ladybirds and even a cat! Funny faces and wiggly worms too! And I have to say, it was so tasty, I might have to force them to make some more!

And the winner is.....

Firstly I would like to say thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. It really exceeded my expectations, and I loved reading about every one's favourite flowers! It has given me food for thought, a lot of ideas, and you never know maybe one day you could purchase a felty version of your favourite flowers!

So last night before I went to bed (couldn't help it, too excited to sleep (sad but true)), I very scientifically picked a winner at random! I wrote every one's names on a bit of paper, tore it into strips and folded, put them all in my magic name calling pot (plant pot), shook them up, closed my eyes and picked........

Sarah of Noah's Ark Crafts! Well done to you!

I will be contacting Sarah today but thank you again to all who entered!

Wow!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! I have been really overawed by how many people entered. I never expected to have so many new followers, so thanks to you all for the follow, and as it is quite late I'm going to bed and I will announce the winner tomorrow!

Monday 1 March 2010

Spring is Sprung!


Hello everybody! I've been very busy this past month (as always) and not had time to blog or sit and mooch on the internet, so as it is today officially SPRING, and St Davids Day I thought I would have a little competition to celebrate, and what better prize that my new daffodil brooch which I finished at the weekend!

These brooches will soon be available in my Folksy Shop and make great spring gifts. Mothers Day, Easter alternatives to chocolate, and just a lovely treat to cheer yourself up after the grey winter months!

To win one of your very own, all you need to do is (if you haven't already) click to follow my blog, tweet about this competition, and leave a comment below telling me what your favourite flower is, and why! You never know, one day it might even be immortalised in felt! The competition ends on Sunday 7th March at 12pm. Good luck!