April Bo Bunny Blog Hop and Giveaway!

My second post for today and I now welcome you all to this stop on the Bo Bunny Blog Hop!! :) What a busy day today is and hopefully you will have arrived here from the main Bo Bunny blog - if not hop back there to get all the details on todays hop......remember to go round all of the girls blogs and end up back at the Bo Bunny blog too for a chance to win some MamaRazzi Goodies!!
Speaking of Mama Razzi here are a couple of sneaks of an upcoming layout i made using this line - it is so grungy and gorgeous, perfect for so many situations!!

I have a selection of goodies from the new lines to giveaway so please leave a comment on this post for your chance to win and i will draw a winner on Monday! :) Good Luck!!

Now hop on over to Kristens Blog to see what delights she has for you!! :)

Remember if you like in the U.S or Canada you can enter my giveaway which is 2 posts below to win this fabulous Emile Henry Bake for the Cause Pie Dish!! You have until monday to pop your link up via Mister Linky, comments on this post will only count towards the Bo Bunny giveaway! Good Luck!!

Hoppy spring - Banana Frog Blog hop and giveaway!!

Today is blog hop day and we start off this morning at the Banana Frog blog, working through all the girls blogs, there may even be chances to win some goodies.....plus remember to check out Banana Frog blog tomorrow as its a special day!! ;)

I made this card with the butterfly and sentiment frame from the Swirls and Butterflies stamps - how versatile are these and i have a set to give away - please leave a comment on this post and i will pick a winner on Monday!!

Next, hop on over to Francines blog :) If at any point you get lost on the hop (we all know how distracting they can be - im sometimes lost for hours wandering round LOL!!) hop back here to start again :)

I couldnt resist showing a pic of Evie after a feed - this is how she lets us know shes had enough......she puts on a little pout and refuses to open her mouth!! LOL

U.S and Canadian giveaway!!

Thanks to the lovely people over at CSN Stores i have a giveaway for my U.S and Canadian readers!! How cool is that! CSN stores sell ALL kinds of products: beds, corner TV stands, toys, exercise equipment and a whole lot more. Please pay them a visit to show our appreciation for this giveaway!

If you would like the chance to win one of these wonderful Emile Henry 'Bake for the Cause' 9" Pink Pie Dish then pop your name in Mr Linky below and i will pick a winner on Monday 3rd May.(i chose this pie dish especially for you - heck it combines cooking and pink - whats not to love!!) ;)

Please only enter if you are from the U.S or Canada as they only ship to those countries.......I will be back next week with an international giveaway so watch out for that one too! Good Luck! :)

Shortbread - week 17, Bloghops and stickers!!

As i still havent had chance to find the rice flour i thought i would go ahead and post the details from Claire and then edit with pics once ive made it.....if you make yours before i upload my pics give me a yell and i will pop a link up for others to see :)Words are copied and pasted from Claires email so im handing over to her now :)

Here is my all time favourite recipe. This recipe is the result of my footering in the kitchen over the years trying various recipes and tinkering about till I came up with a failsafe formula. It takes less than five mins to prepare this and not much longer to cook.


Ingredients:

• 8oz plain flour
• 8oz unsalted butter
• 4.5 oz icing sugar (I believe the american for this is confectioners sugar - anyhow it's the real fine stuff, like sugar dust)
• 4.5oz really fine rice flour

What to do:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
2. Pour it out into one large baking tray or two small ones - I have two 8"x 11" trays that I use for this. You want a tray that has sides but not too deep.
3. Give your tray a shake to make sure you have a fairly even layer of crumbs all over. Do not be tempted to use a wooden spoon or any thing else to smooth out the shortbread.
4. Bake at about 170 degrees centigrade/325 farenheit/gas mark 3 until the shortbread is a light brown colour. Mark/cut into squares while it is still warm but leave it in the tin to cool.
5. Eat.
   

Alternatively, for shortbread circles like I made below, punch out a couple of dozen circles of waxproof paper/baking paper and line the bottom of muffin tins with them - put a spoonful of mixture in each hollow and shake the tray to even it all out.

Claire

Thank you so much Claire and they really do look mouthwatering!! :D

On another note look what i managed to pick up in Accessorize the other day! £1.75/£2.00 a pack and there are masses on each sheet - i adore the little birds!!
We have blog hops coming up this weekend from Bo Bunny AND Banana Frog - remember to check their blogs to know where to start off the hops and comment on the posts for a chance to win some goodies :D :D

Flower Girl mini Album...Bo Bunny giveaway!

I made this album at a crop one night and it only took me a couple of hours! Everything flows really well and the colours are amazing on the papers in this range that you really cant go wrong! It just screams summer so i used pictures from when me and my sisters went to help mum out last year with a fundraising event on behalf of Cancer Research. It was a great night, lots of tears and of course dad was thought of lots but it was lovely to see mum amongst what are so obviously very good friends! It has now become an annual event so fingers crossed for raising lots of money this year too!! :) *hopefully i wont be so sunburnt this time - at least i match the reds in the papers!!* ;) LOL

Hop on over to the Bo Bunny blog and leave a comment for the chance to win some Flower Girl goodies.

Good Luck!!

Claire B's Shortbread - week 17 *shopping list*

This weeks recipe comes from the gorgeous Claire Brennan! Im sure you know her as the owner of Waltzing Mouse stamps. As well as uber talented in the rubber department, you can add melt in your mouth shortbread maker to her list of talents too!! :)

Shopping list:-
Ingredients:

• 8oz plain flour
• 8oz unsalted butter
• 4.5 oz icing sugar
  
• 4.5oz really fine rice flour

Thank you so much for sharing your recipe Claire! :)

As promised here are a couple more pics of Evie, doesnt she look teeny in her bouncer! *and i just realised it looks like shes sticking two fingers up! Little minx!!* lol
I love baby yawns.......she had just been fed hence her milky tongue! LOL
She went through loads of different expressions - i love this one as her eyes look just like the boys....however shortly after this one i did have to explain that NO-ONE looks pretty cross eyed!! LOL
Im good at this one handed typing.........now i wonder if i can do one handed scrapping!! LOL

Mommas girl!

Ohhh this little one certainly knows her mummy and most definately knows how to pull those heart strings! Crying in anyone elses arms then stopping straight away with a big sigh in mummys arms..........*sigh* Will share more pics soon xxx

Heres a link to my quick tutorial on how to make your own buttons with paper, glossy accents and stamps :) Check out the Bananafrog blog for full details of the tutorial :)

I had a recipe ready to upload the shopping list tomorrow but i cant find rice flour anywhere in my local supermarkets - have you seen it around anywhere?? I dont want to post a recipe if you cant find the ingredients.... eek!

How flippin gorgeous is this!!

Im in love with this jug - how fab is it!! Its on my list of must haves as a treat for summer - i think it will look fab filled with bright golden daffs!

Ive finally finished my dt try out projects so will share a couple of sneak peeks.......wish me luck!! :D

Week 16 - Salmon Benedict *list & step by step*

This is the recipe i was making the morning i went into labour so if the photography is shaky you know why (i kept getting hubby to stir the sauce while i lent on the cooker trying to breathe!!) LOL :D

Shopping list

3/4 cup low fat natural yogurt
2 tsp lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white sugar
pinch black pepper
dash of tabasco sauce
4 muffins
8 eggs
Salmon (dh doesnt like salmon and said it was nice without so just add as much salmon as preferred per person)
Step by step :

To make the sauce: In the top of a double boiler, whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, egg yolks, mustard, salt, sugar, pepper and tabasco sauce. Cook over simmering water while stirring constantly, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

1. In a large stock pot heat 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Carefully break the eggs one at a time into the boiling water. When all the eggs have been added, reduce the heat to medium. When the eggs float to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon and let drain briefly. (or muck it up completely, work your way through 11 eggs, give up and do them in floating dishes!!) LOL
   
2. To assemble final dish: Toast muffins and place on warm plates. Top each muffin with a slice of smoked salmon and a hot poached egg. Drizzle with yogurt sauce.
   

ENJOY :D

So...this sleep thing....

Im guessing its kinda under rated as i spent 13 and a half hours in the land of nod last night and its done me the world of good so far! I hit the 'day 5' wall yesterday - you know the one where youve had the baby and youre in that lift that just wont stop falling.....ive had it each time on day 5!! I was in tears, i was sore and i felt sorry for myself.........but still kept saying sorry for crying! Who would want female emotions!! LOL ;)

Im feeling a lot better today and since i already have the recipe and step by step done for tomorrow - yes it was the one i was doing while i was in labour!! LOL I will post both the shopping list and step by step in one go tomorrow....its a simple breakfast or brunch so nothing major but a treat all the same :)

Heres a couple of new piccies of Evie.....who by the way is a little angel. Only wakes to eat and is just a little bigger than my Bo Bunny ruler, shes in Tiny Baby clothes as newborn still swamp her and shes already after more of her own scrapbook pages.....you can tell shes a scrappers daughter with her little cheesy smiles already! LOL ;)

Butterflies, gems and glitter!!

OH YES!! Im officially in pink overdrive!

Evie now has a mini album and 2 layouts! LOL This is for a dt tryout though that finishes soon so i did preplan them both :) Here is a sneak at the card ive made for the try out too I used one of the templates from Craftwork Cards (they come in boy and girl sets - youve seen me use the key, elephant, birdhouse, owl and now t-shirt)

Here is the spring project i created for the Bo Bunny blog....these pinwheels are so easy to do. Cut a piece of patterned paper into a square of any size (depending on how big you want the pinwheels). Cut half way to the centre from each corner and fold in, pop a brad through the ends of each point you just turned in and straight through the back of the pinwheel. This holds the 'sails' in place :) Add a stick to the back if you are using just as decoration If you are wanting them to be used outside and move around you need to feed a piece of wire through a hole at the top of the stick and through the brad hole you created, finish by twirling the wire and add a decorative bead to prevent accidents.

Baileys Cheesecake - Week 15 :)

Popping this step by step up 3 days late is forgiveable isnt it - oh go on, I promise not to do it again....well, until the next one!! (sssh dont tell my mum, she hoped my broody chip was taken out while i was there!) LOL

Ok here goes and this one is exactly why i like to do the step by step and try them myself before putting them on the blog. I have made amendments to the original recipe as a. There was just no need for some of the ingredients and b. The first one we made was far too sweet and not definate enough in flavour.

*Thanks to my lovely mum for making these for me and all i had to do was take the photos and taste cake* :D

Shopping list for week 15 - click here :)

Gather all the ingredients (leave out the gelatine as its simply better without and leave out the eggs too - you dont need the yolks or whites at all so no need to seperate etc)Place the butter and crushed biscuits into a pan and heat through until all the butter is soaked into the biscuit mix. Press into a greased 9in cake tin and chill before filling.Into a mixer place the cream cheese, double cream and sugar and whisk until almost stiff. (In the above pic you can see the egg yolks - this is because up until the point of pouring it into the tin im using the pictures from the first cheesecake we tried - the liquid was just too runny on the first one, this amended way is so much thicker and delicious!!)
Add Baileys and whisk until firm.Spoon onto the chilled base and decorate as you wish. (we used all the fresh fruit on the first one but this one is equally as delicious with that hint of fruit in the form of compote and chocolate chips!) YUM!Chill and serve :) (........or just grab a spoon and dive straight in!!) LOL

I couldnt go without sharing the first picture of Evie with her eyes open - i think shes going to be the most photographed baby ever! LOL

WOW thank you so much!!

Theres a little girl here feeling very welcome right now!! Thank you all so much for the sweet comments, emails and cards...im still kind of in shock that shes here right now (which means im going to have to remove my ticker that says 13 days left too!!) LOL

Anyways, just a quickie to upload some photos taken this morning...



...i can feel the pink layout ideas forming already! :D :D

Evies here!! :)

Erm yep it was kinda quick........infact it was VERY quick!! As you all knew, I had been having pains on and off for a couple of days so i thought it best to get in and get checked out on the off chance...

3.20pm - Arrive at hospital and kept on the monitor for an hour
4.20pm - Bath
4.50pm - Back on the bed in pain
5.00pm - Waters broke
5.09pm - Evie was born weighing 5lb 11oz!! (Her full name is Evangeline Hope)
Phew talk about not having time to even think about it - gas and air was all i had and it was fine (i suprised even myself!) :D

Normal service will resume soon (i was in the middle of baking when i went to hospital so next weeks is done but the Baileys Cheesecake just didnt get done - my mum is staying here for 2 weeks though and she will be giving me a hand to do the baking etc...so we shall be back on track soon) :)

Good intentions n' all that!

I went food shopping yesterday and picked up the ingredients for the next 3 weeks recipes, my plan was to make them today and pre schedule so that they were up and ready for the next few weeks.........no worries eh?! Erm well yep, concidering ive slept most of today nothing has been done and this is the result of my culinary actions........I am so ashamed!! LOL I fed the kids pot noodles and you would have thought they were getting a meal for a king. Dont get me wrong, the kids eat rubbish like any other kids but when it comes to actual meals its always at least something resembling food! LOL I think they have had pot noodles maybe 3 times in their lives and they see it as a huge treat - i dont know if thats sad or if im doing right by that! LOL

Anyways, im off to breathe through some more pains and hope i can actually get some sleep tonight (the last 3 have been a nightmare!) and these pains are gradually getting worse! Ive never seen dh and the kids so excited to see me in pain but whether i can continue on like this for another 2 weeks is beyond me!! EEK!!

No Cook Baileys Cheesecake *Shopping list* - week 15 :)

I love Baileys and i love cake so 2 birds and 1 stone spring to mind here! :D Easy no cook recipe to follow - i think the next couple might be equally as easy as im finding standing over the cooker a little difficult! I simply cant reach it anymore! LOL haha!!


Shopping list for Week 15 :)
8oz digestive biscuits, crushed
4oz butter, melted
10oz Philadelphia cream cheese
9fl oz double cream
3 eggs, separated
4oz caster sugar
5tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
5 level tsp powdered gelatine
1 punnet of either raspberries/blueberries/strawberries etc to decorate
Chocolate swirls/curls to decorate
Icing sugar to decorate

LOL you can add what you like to decorate or just leave it plain and serve with a little chocolate sauce etc.......ooh i might even ADD the chocolate sauce to my 'to decorate' list. My hunger has gone into overdrive this past week!! LOL

Sshh baby sleeping Canvas....P K Glitz :)

Today im sharing a canvas i made for the P K Glitz blog :) It all started with a blank canvas ive had lying round for ages! I finished off painting our bedroom and had a little left in the tin so thought i would make a co ordinating little sign to hang outside the door (not that im anticipating much sleep the first few weeks! LOL )

The images are all from Nitwits Collection Digital Downloads - Butterfly Kisses and the alphabet is from a free digital kit by Zoe Pearn. I simply printed them out onto photopaper and made little antennas for the butterflies out of wire dipped in glue and coated in P K Glitz Gilded Ivory Microglitter.

The canvas was finished with some little tied on buttons and black pen to mimic stitching around the edge :)