My to do list just keeps on growing!!

We are slowly chipping away at things to be done in the house but its so frustrating right now as my mind has so many things it wants to do yet my hips wont let it!! LOL We were driving through town the other day and i said to dh i wanted to ask to be dropped off but i knew i would just end up stranded as i wouldnt be able to walk anywhere anyway so whats the point - i honestly think if things were fine with my hips i wouldnt want to go anywhere!! Its only the fact i cant that really makes me want to go and get things done!! LOL
DH did however get my carboot bargain shelving put up (my £1 bargain that just needs touching up with paint but i thought in situ was probably better than bending down!) LOL I love the fact its made some space in the larder too as ive managed to shift some of my jars of cooking goodies finally! They just need faffing up with labels etc....you didnt think i could leave them plain did you??! lol

Laura Ashley have a 25% sale off everything this weekend and typically i went shopping the day before it started - i really must take more notice of ...well, notices!! lol Ive always known what kind of fruit bowl/stand i wanted and over the years have bought loads of glass/metal/plastic bowls etc but nothing ever seemed 'perfect'. However i found this gorgeous stand and almost gasped at the perfectness (is that a word?) of it..... ive finally found the one ive been looking for!! Its so me!! LOL Then a call into the charity shop turned up the glass cake display stand next to it for £2.50 which right now houses some coloured pretties (including the bracelet i bought from Deborah), my watch and rings etc.......you will find out why in the next bit!! LOL

Talking of coloured pretties (see the link i did there - heck that was good going with pregnancy brain!) i have been playing with the P K Glitz glitters and embossing powders this weekend and boy i forgot where glitter DOESNT get to! Heres a sneak of my first layout made for the team...I turned round and looked at dh last night and he just burst out laughing, apparently i was sparkly from head to toe!! LOL Im not the neatest of workers and have a tendency to blow on work to get rid of 'bits' - not a good idea when youre using powders and sparkles!! LOL

Well, im off to write up a little of tomorrows post too as im salivating at the thought of it - Week 9 brings our first sweetie shopping list and also the 'ingredients' you will need for a perfect little packaging idea. I love the little project ive designed and will do the tutorial one day later in the week so that you have the sweets recipe seperate, on Wednesday as usual. Perfect combination for Mothers Day and Easter :)

5 packs of gifts for Mothers Day Giveaway!!

We have 5 packs of Mother's Day gifts to giveaway thanks to DotComGiftShop.

Who am i to say no when someone offers some fab goodies to my loyal readers!! :)

The fab people over at dotcomgiftshop have offered up 5 Mothers Day Gift bags including the following items...

Mum & Dad room hanger...

Lavender Tealight candles...Paris Vintage Photo album...
Tea & Sympathy hot water bottle...

Best mum toast stamp...
All you need to do is leave a comment below, let me know about your best Mothers Day gift ever and the best 5 comments received by 8th March will win!!

Good Luck everyone!!

Can you say eyecandy while your mouth hits the floor??!

Have a tissue ready as impromptu drooling may occur while looking at this post.........I havent made the photographs link to the individual stores as i dont want to look like im trying to promote anyones store over anyone elses. I literally just picked some of the photographs that made me do a Homer Simpson style MMMMMMMmmmmmmm :)

I made the post yesterday on my blog thinking i might get a couple of links to a few little shabby chic type stores selling handsewn bunting and cupcakes etc but can you say WOW with a capital W (....well duh, what else is it going to begin with Debbie!) ;) lolI completely blame you all for the lack of sleep i got last night - i swear i was running round internet aisles with a virtual basket bagging all the fab goodies you linked to! Im sure i even rang my bank manager and got a £1gazzillion overdraft limit just so i could shop in all the stores! *breathe!!*I am completely blown away with all the links, all the apologies for the links (honestly no need, ive never had such fun virtual shopping and filling my basket!) and all the comments on my blog - ive made a load of new friends and im sure i have all my present shopping worked out for the next year! I didnt realise there was such amazing talent out there....I really do think we should support more homemade products and i know i would rather spend my pennies knowing where something was made! :)I thought i could have linked to my favourites page but apparently you have to be logged in which isnt much good for those who havent joined yet - so if you are a member of Folksy just search for Countryheartandhome in people and it will bring up all the fabulous links in one place! :) Im also going to create a section down the right hand side on my blog here where i will link to all the fab droolworthy stores that took the time to link here yesterday - you just know i have to have them on hand! :)

The pictures shown are just a few of the products i looked at last night....how many times can you say cute before your hubby grabs the laptop and bans you from Folksy!!

Im sure the postman must have thought i was an absolute loon as well when i whipped a box out of his hands so quick im sure he wondered if it had been there in the first place! It was a box of sparkly goodies from the fab ladies over at PKGlitz for me to work with - expect some glittzy glamour coming up in the next few days as im off to cover everything i can find in these gorgeous sparkly powders!! :)

Easter in a box winner!

Sorry im late and have kept you all waiting for the winner of the Easter in a Box giveaway, ive been to the hospital this morning to pick up my crutches!! Dont ask - im just pleased im a crafter and can do that sitting down - imagine if i was a professional cartwheeler or something .... *shudder* doesnt even warrant thinking about! LOL Cards and layouts dont hurt my hips - im not even going to try the cartwheel! LOL

Anyways, Without further delay the winner of the box of goodies (randomly picked by my sweet little 5 year old) is................


Charl- Pretty Vintage

Congratulations honey please can you email me your address and i will get your box of goodies out to you tomorrow :) Edited to add: sorry hun i forgot i took the link to my email off - please send to debbie@countryheartandhome(dot)com :)

A huge thank you to everyone who entered and to all for the sweet comments you left me!! :)

Can i say a quick thank you to Deborah who owns Pink Poppy blog and folksy store too for posting on my blog, without your post hun i never would have found your shop and although i hope youre a raging success im also hoping everyone else stay away until ive bought one of everything!! lol I bought this gorgeous bracelet and ear ring set that arrived this morning and boy does it take some willpower not to lick - honestly its like having mint chocolate chips on my arm!! Yummmm!!! Thanks honey it truly is stunning! :)
Since i now have a full fledged Folksy account (not sure whether to thank you or not for that one though as im going to be broke! lol) i want you all to link to your favourite stores in folksy and etsy (deanne you bad bad girl reminding me about etsy!!)......you know the kind of things we all like, those little shabby chic, glitzy, girly, beady, buttony, sparkly must have buys!! Whether its your store or your friends or where you hang about drooling - pop me a link in the comment section please and there may be a treat in store for someone too ;)

Spinach and Cheese Muffins :) - Week 8!

Seriously the smell coming from my kitchen now is mouthwatering!! Ive just taken these out of the oven and as i write this they are still warm....sitting on the cooling rack begging to be eaten...im thinking i might have to put one out of its misery before its completely cold! lol

Ok, here we go, as usual gather all your ingredients (yes dh thought i had finally flipped setting it all on a 'bed of spinach') LOLPreheat oven to 170 degrees c.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then fry the onion until cooked. Set aside.Put the flour, baking powder, cayenne and cheese in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl, mix the milk and egg together, then slowly pour into the flour mixture and beat with a whisk until all the ingredients are well mixed.Stir in the onion and spinach with a wooden spoon until evenly dispersed.Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the oven for 30-35mins or until deep golden and the sponge bounces back when touched.A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.Leave to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire tray to cool completely.

*i had no muffin cases so have made a total of 18 cupcake size 'muffins'. The mix is a little dry so takes some spooning into the cases - you will need to smooth it down if you want your normal rounded top type muffins but i think with these being savoury you can get away with the more 'rustic' look) :)

Twisted Sketches layouts and Twisted Cards Call!!

Although i cant share any of the full layouts with you i couldnt help but share some of the sneak peeks of my upcoming layouts on the Twisted Sketches blog - i so love Anams sketches, theyre really easy to work with and shes an absolute star to work with! Im trying to get ahead of myself as i have so many projects and i dont commit to something i cant follow through with so since i was overcome with the scrapping vibe the last few days ive completed all of my upcoming layouts early!! :) (this isnt one layout incase you think ive totally lost it - its a stack of them!!) I love each and every one and dh even commented on them too (which is something!!) LOL Ive stamped, ragged, inked and punched to within and inch of their lives and i hope you will check them out when the weeks come round on the Twisted blog - i will post piccies and links here too :)

Anam is also looking for cardmakers to work with card sketches for Twisted Cards!! Now i know a lot of you are VERY VERY talented card makers and dont sit there shaking youre heads - get those cards entered now as i want to see some names i recognise from here!! Thats you told - now go get making!! ;)

I just got the heads up that im mentioned in next months Crafts Beautiful AND Simply Handmade!! EEK!! Plus i got a layout accepted in Shimelles upcoming book and im working on wedding stationary and cards for another book!! Things are just too exciting round here right now and dh just told me that i still need to pack my hospital bag as he has a funny feeling about this one - 9 weeks to go and counting!! DOUBLE EEK!! LOL

Remember you have until midnight tomorrow night to get your name into the draw for the box of Easter Goodies :D :D

Huge thank you and Giveaway! :)

I feel like im constantly saying thank you to you all for all your kind words, comments and messages but i really do mean it! Im always blown away by the response on here and feel honoured that you keep coming back! lol

I went on a shopping spree today - you know i managed to pick up some bargains dont you?! Well i bought 2 of everything and ive popped one of each into the giveaway for hitting 400 followers (i cant believe when typing this im up to 411!!).........(click on the pics for close ups)Crammed into this goodie box ready to wing its way to a new home is....

Gifts from the Kitchen book (includes lots of homemade kitchen goodies!)
Chocolate Address Book
Cupcake Note Book
Big Bag of Marshmallows
Maltesser Easter Egg
Pack of 2 Spotty Tins
Pack of 2 Paisley Tins
Tube of Coloured pencils
Make Your Own Easter Egg Moulds
Pack of 6 mini Nests with Eggs (decoration)
Asstd Easter Ribbon 5pk
Sarah Smith Flowery Dusters
Leave your name below and make sure i have a way of contacting you - if i have done it right it should be so much easier to go into the draw with Mister Linky....if Mister Linky isnt there please just pop your name in the comment section :) Good Luck xxx

OOPS meant to say - i will pick a winner at midnight on Wednesday and announce on Thursday :)

Week 8 - Spinach and Cheese Muffins *shopping list*

This is a breakfast muffin that is taken from the Hummingbird Bakery Recipe book - i havent tried it myself yet so im interested to see how it turns out too! LOL Ive always associated muffins with being a sweet dessert type food but maybe this will change the way i look at them - are you with me on trying it out??

Shopping List
30 grams butter
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
360 grams plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
250 grams Cheddar Cheese, grated
220 ml whole milk
1 egg
130 grams baby spinach leaves

12 hole muffin tray lined with paper cases.

See you for the step by step on Wednesday :)

Stamping toot!! :)

Just announced on the Banana Frog Blog.....Ive made the design team for 2010 :) Here are a couple of cards i have made already with the Retro Space set - everything was glossy accented to within an inch of its life! lol .... and Build a Daisy sets- yep each one of those petals was stamped individually! :)

3, 99 and 100!!

Incase youre baffled by the title let me explain before i launch into the pictures etc :)

3 - more cards completed for challenges....

99 - followers since 14th Jan (just over a month - how fab is that, thank you all so much!! We are almost at 400!! eek!!)

100 - pennies, yep yet more bargains from the Poundshop!!

Lets start with the 3 :)

This first card is for both the Cuttlebug Sewing Challenge this week on their blog and also for the Basic Grey Challenge Blog where we had to use Maroon, Lemon and Pink. I used Basic Grey Lemonade papers (seriously these are so delicious i hate to use them but hate not to if that makes sense!! lol) I glossy accented the hearts and since my sister has my sewing machine i poked holes all around the card and sentiment block etc and then drew the stitching (cheating i know but they did say it would be accepted) :)

Second card is for the Stampin For the Weekend Blog and Caardvarks blog too where we were challenged to use stickers (they are chipboard but still stickers so i hope they count) - i have wanted to use this little toaster sticker forever and never really had the chance! I thought i had a 'popping up to say hello' type sentiment but i didnt so i went with the Look Whos New stamp - get it.....the toast just popped out! lol

The third card is for the Sketch Saturday blog and i love this elephant from Hero Arts - ive used him so many times and i think fastening the little cotton around his nose means this sentiment fit perfectly :)I glittered his ear and used a Martha Steward punch on the bottom of the red column. Nesties were used to create the oval and oval scallop.

Thanks to all the challenge blogs for keeping me motivated and all the inspiration you provide :)

Onto my bargains! The beloved Poundshop has struck again.....dont you love it when you walk around and spot goodies that have never been in before!?! I went down the kitchen aisle and found these fab sets of tins - im thinking of using them to keep my pens and tools etc in. Then down the craft/diy aisle and i found these gorgeous tubes of pencils - both the pencils and tube are such a fab blank canvas to stamp onto or cover with paper etc and personalise for presents - im going to get dh to take me back into town (i know, i know im taking it easy honestly) and if need be carry me into the store so i can get some more! lol

Thanks for the concern yesterday, i am so much better today, up and about and even enjoyed doing some light housework this morning! Its amazing how much you appreciate the little things more after a day of not being able to move!

Im going to get some bits together and we will have another giveaway once i hit 400 followers - im thinking some goodies including the pencil pot and tins above and some other little bargain finds i happen to see ;)

Challenge cards...

3 Challenges today.....Im linking the first two together as i made a card for Mothers Day which ties in with the Quixotic theme for this week and i used the CardPatterns sketch :) I love how it turned out as its so not my usual style with lots and lots of embellies but i think mum will like it too :)

Second Card is for Kazans sketch 46 on the 2sketches4u blog - again this was so far out of my comfort zone with having very minimal on it..........infact ive come to the conclusion i dont even know what my style is as i fret about all of the ones i make!! LOL

3rd card is for the Paper Crafts Valentine February gallery - i love this Making Memories paper and cutting it out making the fluted edge at the side of the card i think finishes it off nicely :)

Im writing this while sitting in bed....yep its almost half 5 in the afternoon and it looks like for today at least im bedridden! I took a trip into town this morning with Jake and boy did i pay for it when i got home! Put it this way, i was bent double and had to physically lift my legs to get up the stairs and into bed - thankfully dh was here so i leaned on him heavily but ive never had pain like it before. I still cant straighten up and it literally feels as though my whole insides are resting at the bottom of my back! BUT dont worry because physio have said they can move my appt from Wednesday at 11.30 am to ..............................Wednesday 10.10am!! Oh joy!! Good job ive got a fab family here and a good sense of 'it all happens for a reason', i know it will all be worth it in the end :)

Almost the weekend AGAIN!! eek!!

Check out the Bo Bunny blog for the rest of the photographs of my little pocket book about Jake pretending to sleep, honest i swear if i didnt have kids i wouldnt have half the sense of humour i do - its all their fault and the slightest thing makes me giggle! Dont they say the funniest things though - strange little people!! LOL

I have also made my first layout of the week! Ive been making lots of cards lately but this photo of Ethan was just begging to be used. I couldnt decide whether to do black and white or colour (i love the colour pop of Roly Mo's feet!) so i went with both! lol I dug out some of my older papers to combine with the new Making Memories love paper and i think the whole mix of colours works well! I made the little embellishments by stamping the Banana Frog Firework stamps then punching them out with the Stampin up 1 3/8' circle punch. Grunged up the edges with black stazon and popped a brad through the middle. Crinkled the edges and voila finished! :) Flowers just dont work on boy layouts at times so this was a quick and easy alternative! :)

Have you seen my new blinkie at the right hand side??

I made the PKGlitz design team!!

They picked 4 people from all the entries and i cant wait to start working with the new team. Go check out their site to see the rest of the team and the kind of sparkles and glitz i will be bringing to some projects soon! :)

Cassata - week 7 :)

This is so so simple and yet can look like a pretty impressive dessert - tips on making it look pretty at the end! Whip it up (pardon the pun!) the night before a party, freeze overnight and get out 1 hour before the party starts, voila, instant luxury creamy dessert! :)

OK, gather all your ingredients and line your 2lb loaf tin with foil so that it overlaps the sides (this is needed so that you can cover the whole dessert to freeze)...
Whip the creams, orange zest and 2 tbsp of the orange juice until it forms soft peaks...
Whisk in the hazelnuts (or almonds), cherries, sultanas and sugar...
...make sure it is well blended but not too whipped!
Dip your sponge fingers into the rest of the orange juice and line the bottom of the tin. (For some reason they seem to have changed the sponge fingers to these bar type cakes - if you can get the finger sponges go for those as they do look prettier in the long run!)
Pour your cream and fruit mix onto the sponges and level the top.
Dip the rest of your sponges (or enough to cover the top depending on size!) in orange juice and completely cover the top of your cream mix (you may need to pour more orange for dipping, mine seemed to soak up the juice like there was no tomorrow!)
Wrap and tuck the foil around the cake and freeze either overnight or at least 6 hours.
Take out of the freezer 1 hour before use and unwrap. Turn it out onto a plate and refrigerate for the hour to allow to chill slightly - no one wants ice crystals in their cake!
Slice and serve :)
As i said at the beginning, you can make this look so pretty if you want to spend the time and money on more fruit etc! Instead of lining the top with sponge fingers why not cover it entirely in fruit - search Cassata on google for a whole new world of ice cream gorgeousness!! :)

Hope you enjoy xxx