I've Been Tagged Too!

Katherine from Kittens Lost Her Mittens (see favourite blogs in sidebar) has tagged me to list 7 random things about myself. Well here goes:

1. I have double jointed little fingers. This is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.

2. I pick up snails along the pathway in the street so they won't get trodden on by passers by. This can be very time consuming especially after a downpour.

3. I can sleep anywhere at any time. I just close my eyes and I am asleep within minutes.

4. I love soap. A good big chunk of handmade soap. I have many body washes and fancy lotions and potions but I like nothing better than to lather up with a beautifully scented bar of creamy soap!

5. I like to 'help' people. This is not always a good thing. On one occasion, I asked an elderly lady if she wanted me to help her cross the road. I thought that she would thank me, take my arm and allow me to see her safely across the road. Well not this lady! She got really aggressive and abusive and said she wasn't willing to put her life at risk and 'I'm not ready for my grave yet you know!' I got the message!

6. Despite being a 'middle aged' mother I still do not know what to do 'when I grow up'. This has been bugging me since I was about 17 years old.

7. I am very shy. In the blogging world I can be as assertive as I like but in the real world I wouldn't even say 'boo' to a fly.

Well that's it. Seven random facts about me. I presume that almost all bloggers have done this by now! If not then feel free to do the same and then pass it on!

The picture at the top of the post is my little 'ginger boy' whom I got in September last year. I didn't want to put off any potential readers with a picture of myself, so I hope the picture of this cute little fluff bundle will suffice.

Little Coffee Cakes

I made these little coffee cakes at the weekend. They are slightly more 'grown up' because of the coffee flavoured icing. The tops were decorated with chocolate shapes that were made by pouring melted chocolate into Easter molds. You could also just crumble flaked chocolate over the top of the icing.

They were very tasty and lasted all of a couple of hours!

Little Coffee Cakes

100g (4oz) butter (softened)

100g(4oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

100g(4oz) self raising flour

8oz icing sugar

2tsp instant coffee granules

Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius (375 degrees F) Mark 5

Stand 18 paper cases in an ungreased bun tin. Warm caster sugar in large ovenproof bowl in oven for a couple of minutes. Remove the bowl from the oven and add the butter. Cream butter and caster sugar together until mixture is pale in colour and light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time adding a spoonful of flour with each one. This should prevent curdling of the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining flour with a metal spoon.

Put spoonfuls of the mixture into the paper cases and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown in colour and well risen. Remove when done and put onto a wire rack to cool.

When completely cold the cakes can be iced. To make the icing dissolve 10ml (2tsp) of instant coffee granules into hot water before adding to the icing sugar. Stir briskly until smooth and thick. You do not want the mixture too runny as it will not sit in nice smooth rounds on top of the cakes.

Before the icing sets, decorate with chocolate shapes.

Cluck, Cluck!

As we are now in spring time, I thought it would be appropriate to introduce my two 'spring chickens'! I had always wanted chickens as a little girl and on country visits I would always look out for hens and their chicks.

Well, in the spring almost three years ago I got my first two pet chickens. They are a joy to keep, low maintenance and a constant source of amusement. I usually get an egg a day off each of them, that is until a few weeks ago. One of the hens had laid an egg in the run and not in the nesting box. I went to retrieve the egg and before I could put my hands on it the ginger hen pecked a hole in it. Looking at the egg in a quizzical fashion she then proceeded to peck away at the egg and ate the whole thing, shell and all! She probably thought 'well if it's good enough for her then it's good enough for me'!

Since then the eggs have been few and far between. I did find some dried up egg yolks underneath the roosting bars so I guess Miss Ginger has been up to her old tricks again!

* Does anyone on blogger know how to insert photo's into the text? Mine all end up above the text!

Craft Evolution

I was sorting out my craft-come-junk room the other day and found a box of things I had made many years ago. It was very strange looking back on things I once enjoyed making. In my time I have made salt dough and fimo models, painted on stones, tried silk painting, glass painting, encaustic art, rug making, paper making, paper pricking, embossing, parchment craft, cross-stitch, embroidery, knitting and crochet to name but a few! I no longer hold a passion for any of the above crafts apart from cross-stitch and embroidery.

My passions now lie mainly with creating things from paper and other textiles and dabbling with water colour painting from time to time. I have a whole heap of scrapbooking projects to do but can never bring myself to start!

Who decides when certain crafts become unfashionable/fashionable? I wonder if in a few years time I will look back and think I once enjoyed papercrafting and embroidery but no longer do. Will they continue to bring me creative fulfillment? I hope so.

More Paper People!

What is in the drawer?

Paper People Tags

I am a great fan of papercrafting and enjoy collecting all sorts of paper to play with.

I like good quality cardstock, scrapbooking papers, wallpaper, gift wrap, handmade papers, vintage papers, modern papers, shiny papers, matt papers, floral, gingham, striped, spotted and checked papers! So I guess you could say I am a bit of a paper addict.

The little paper person shown above was great fun to make. I especially liked 'styling' her hair and choosing the paper fabric for her dress.

I think I may need to make a whole series of paper people tags so I will need to go and buy some more paper to add to my stash!

Sunday Tea-time

I was born at the tail end of March, delivered by the district nurse who arrived on a bicycle. Snow was falling outside as the nurse safely delivered me. 'The cleanest baby I have ever seen' I am told she proclaimed. It was Mothering Sunday; I came just in time for afternoon tea.

Many of my childhood memories focus around Sunday tea-time. Dad was happy to eat a bowl of winkles doused in vinegar and white pepper with white buttered bread, cut into fingers to mop up the juice. Mum would eat peeled prawns. I preferred to forgo the savoury dish and have two helpings of cake or dessert instead.

As a special treat dad would cook us apple fritters coated in brown sugar and cinnamon but mostly mum would bake us a Victoria Sponge Cake.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter, softened

250g caster sugar

250g plain flour

4 eggs, beaten

2tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract

Filling

125g unsalted butter, softened

125g icing sugar

6tbsp good quality jam of your choice

1tbsp caster sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold into the mixture.

Grease and line the bottom of 2, 20cm sandwich tins. Dust the sides with flour to prevent the mixture from sticking. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for about 25-30 minutes.

When cooked, cool in tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Beat together the butter and icing sugar until pale. Spread filling over one of the cakes and top with jam. Place the other sponge on the top and sprinkle over caster sugar. This cake is just as nice without the buttercream, just make sure to use lashings of jam!