Happy New Year and 2009 recap...

Happy New Year everyone - to all my friends old and new this year has been so good im smiling from ear to ear!! :D I really think 2010 is going to be even better and i wish you all the best for the coming year too :)

Im going to make a start on a new crochet project - a baby blanket! I need to go wool shopping and plan on making it all pastel colours and wavy lines if i can grasp the concept - see Do you mind if i knit blog for details (she is awesome and a real inspiration when it comes to handling that crochet hook!)

Heres a little recap of a couple of my high points from the last year...

I was accepted onto the Bo Bunny Design Team...I made the final 10 in Gallery Idol 2009...I learned how to crochet...I got back into the swing of scrapbooking and realised i love it more than ever...
I also plan on much more baking, decorating and scrapbooking this coming year so im even working out a meal planner, decorating journal and project diary! Oh yes i have list OCD!! LOL

Giveaway for 8 and Genuinely Jane Peek!

Im in a jolly mood today so i thought about the giveaway i promised before Christmas and please can the following ladies email me your addresses - everyone who answered is going to get a little something from me :D

Ali
Furrypig
Lealoo
Whoopidoo
Susiemay
Hlcarroll (no blog)
PinkLady
Maria

Congrats ladies :D xxx

Thought i would share a little sneak of a project ive been working on for Genuinely Jane Studios.Their new site goes live in January so be sure to keep checking!! :)

...and our last day of pressie swapping :)

We finished off our last pressie swap today when we visited Stuarts mums :) The boys were so excited this morning and we headed off soon followed by 'are we there yet?' Thankfully the satnav counts down how long it will take so they were watching that most of the way! lol

Look what i got!! Sue passed it to me and said 'It wasnt my idea, im expecting you to throw it at me!' lol OMG what could it be!! LOOK!! How fab is this cake tin I mentioned it to hubby ages ago and forgot all about it but he obviously passed on my wishlist as i got it!! :) We were totally spoilt, fed and watered and the boys had so much fun playing on the Wii. At home we played the sports disk until it broke so they loved the fact they could whip each other at baseball and bowling once again! lol (and i cant believe how old they all look in these pictures - geez nothing like making me feel ancient - especially with another one kicking the life out of me!! Remind me if i ever feel broody again that im getting to old for this!!) lol

Ok, im off to watch Wolverine and dream of my pyjama day tomorrow chilling at home - sweet dreams!! xxx

Christmas again...

Thats exactly what it was like today - Christmas day all over again and the boys even posed for a pic TOGETHER!! We spent the day at my little sisters, all the pressies were passed around, food eaten, pictures taken, so many laughs it hurt and then too much ice outside a slow walk to the car while skating around! (Not a pretty sight - 23 weeks pg and waddling, being held up by hubby!) lol
Ive emptied all the boys selection boxes into a huge bag and i think we have enough there to stock a reasonable size tuck shop! Honestly there is masses and if i left them all to their own devices it would be all gone within a week and no proper meals would be eaten again! lolTomorrow we head off to Stus mums for the day so more pressie swapping ( i will share the album i have made for them once we come home)

.... plus i think there may be some cooking coming up since i was almost baking cupcakes at 8pm last night! Think it might have had something to do with receiving 3 new cookbooks for Christmas...inc The Hummingbird Bakery!! Yayy!! :D

Merry Christmas!

Yes im updating on Christmas day - i really didnt think i would have time today but things have gone so smoothly and the boys are more than happy playing with their new toys that i found some spare time and thought i would get the photos up :)

The boys were absolutely giddy last night and refused to go asleep until they checked Norad about five thousand times to see where Santa was! lol This morning was no different and with a 6.30 start things got off to a good start when daddy went downstairs to see if Santa had been with pressies........needless to say the boys got all they wished for and more! lol (hes good that Santa and ive heard this year hes even been a good bargain hunter too!) ;) *btw i do have 4 boys but the oldest wont let me take his pic anymore!* lol
Today has been a pyjama day as we havent had to leave the house, tomorrow however we are all off to my little sisters for lunch and pressie swapping so the majority of pics will be taken tomorrow xxx

This is pretty much how its looked outside all day - snow and more snow, its thawing a little now but its still pretty Christmassy for the first time in years. Hope youre having fun today and that you got everything you wished for! xxx

Calm before the storm....

Im sitting down watching Pink live in concert, catching up on some forums/posts/emails etc before it all kicks off tomorrow - can you believe its almost Christmas EVE!! EEK!!

I finished up the stocking shopping yesterday and picked up a couple of little bits in PastTimes - how cool are these little Table Talk cards. They come in a cute little 2x2 box and have loads of questions to kick start conversations around the table. Ive picked out 5 and will answer them below.....please feel free to share a little of yourself with me too and for being so open i will enter all the names into a draw for some goodies after Christmas - a little post holiday pick me up :)

1. If you could go back in time, to where and when would you go? 1950s America so i can wear all those fab dresses!!

2. Who last inspired you? PINK - she has inspired me to get into shape!! lol

3. Who would you like to houseswap with? Pamela Anderson - her beach house is so shabby chic i would just walk round drooling!

4. What website would you like to use that doesnt exist? Extra hours in the day and a spare pair of hands.com

5. What is the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to you? 'I was just saying to my husband how well behaved your boys are' said by a lovely lady who purposefully followed us out of a restaurant just to let us know how she felt! *yes i cried - and yes it made me realise i do do things wrong at times but on the whole we are doing a good job*

Look what else i picked up too - Sarah Smith cleaning wipes and cloths in Poundland!! I would love to say they do the cleaning themselves but alas you still need to do the work - just with prettier cloths!! :D

*oh and by the way - i am so having the same stomach muscles Pink has once ive had this baby!* lol (a girl can dream cant she!!) ;)

Lavender Cupcakes and Fudge Box Tutorial! *Picture Heavy!*

This is a looooooooong post so please bear with me - i know when i see tutorials etc i wish they were done step by step with photographs so that if i dont follow the words i can visually make out what to do next :) Thats what ive done with both the recipes and tutorials on my blog.....

First up today is a very delicious Lavender Cupcake recipe - dont knock it till you try it as its got a very unique taste and is miles better than you could ever imagine (even my boys love them, i DID refuse to tell them what was in it until they had tasted and told me whether they liked them or not - otherwise we would have had the 'urrghhh im not eating girly flowers' face!) lol

Lavender Cupcakes with Lavender frosting.

Ingredients:

4 oz Caster sugar
4 oz Butter (softened)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp lavender flowers (chopped)1/2 tsp vanilla essence
6 oz Self raising Flour (sifted)

Icing sugar to decorate that has been left to stand the night before infusing with a tbsp of lavender flowers (sieve before making up the icing to take out flowers). Top with more dried lavender.

Method:

1. Place 12 cake cases into a prepared tin (i used silicone cases to hold their shape and i didnt want the icing to make paper cases go soft)
2. Place caster sugar and butter into a bowl and cream until soft and fluffy. Gradually add beaten eggs, milk, lavender and vanilla essence.3. Fold in the flour.4. Divide the mix between the 12 cases and bake in a preheated oven for approx 15-20 mins at 200 degrees c.5. Cool the cakes on a wire cooling rack. 6. Make up the icing sugar to a semi hard consistency.
7. Carefully cover the cakes with the icing mix and sprinkle with lavender flowers before the icing sets.Enjoy xxx

I had lots of emails and requests for how to make the little fudge box that was shown on the Bo Bunny blog the other day. The easiest way was to start from scratch so ive listed as we go what you need and its best to have it all to hand before you start :)

You need 4 pieces of chipboard that is 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches and 1 piece that is 2 3/4 x 1 inch.
Next cut the lid paper which is 6 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches. (seablue in pic)
In another colour cut the two drawers for inside at 5 15/16 x 5 15/16 inches. (dark brown in pic).
You need 1 strip of 11 3/4 x 4inches (typewritten patterned paper) and 1 strip of 10 x 2 10/16 inches (seablue)
Place your longest strip of paper face down and starting from the left hand side place your smallest strip of cardstock onto the paper with double sided tape. Leave a little gap between each one and place each of the 4 larger pieces alongside.
Put double sided tape all around the outside of the remaining paper as this needs to be folded over.
Fold the corners over first to ensure a neat finish.
Then fold over all of the sides and make sure you press firmly, making sure your box will bend at each of the spaces between the cardstock.
Cover your slightly smaller strip of paper in double sided tape and place this over the top of the pieces you have just turned over - this gives a neat and perfect finish to the inside of your box.
Again make sure it all folds neatly without any blisters and press down ensuring all the double sided tape is in place.
You are going to do the same for the inside boxes as you are about to do for the lid so please refer back to this part and simple redo for inside :)
Place a ruler onto each adjacent corner and draw a line across the middle point of your paper - turn and do the same again so you have a cross in the middle.
Fold each corner in to touch the center point...
Fold this section again making sure you stay on the line in the center. Again do this for each side.
Make cuts down 2 adjacent folds giving you 2 sections with little arms and 2 without (thats the best way i can explain it!!LOL)
Fold the sides with the arms up and bring the folds over into the center to reinforce the other sides.
Now fold the last bit up and over. A little sticky tape on the end of this piece may be needed to hold it in place.
Repeat for the other side...
Repeat for the 2 internal drawers...
Place a little sticky tape onto one side of each drawer.
Stick one drawer onto the bottom of the last section of your box and the other drawer onto the top of the middle section.
The lid will be a tight fit at first but this eases up after the first fitting. You need it secure to hold the box together.
Bottom drawer should be level with the bottom of the box so that when anything is placed in the drawer it will not sag.
Voila - now its up to you to decorate as you wish :) Add lots of bling, flowers, gems and jewels or simply pop a little ribbon around the top! Im sure it will be adored by whoever receives it :)
Phew, if you stuck around this long i thank you and will sign off now....... Chinese take away for tea followed by a Lavender cupcake - bliss! :)