Have a very

Hope you had a wonderful christmas

Got a scrap of yarn, then click here to
make this super cute birdy.

The Elves are back-with recipes to share.

I thought I would share with you these two yummy-o-so simple recipes,
 that the elves made with me.I remembered making fudge with my mother
and brothers as a child but had no idea it was so simple,

in under one hour you can make 7 home made gifts for friends and family.
 This is enough to fill seven jam jars:

900 grams caster sugar
3 tablespoons golden syrup
300 grams butter  cut in small squares
300 ml double cream
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract


Lightly grease 3 dishes approx. measurements 15 cm x 20 cm or one large
baking dish . Put all the ingredients but not the vanilla extract in to a large
heavy based pan and over a low heat gently stirring all the time dissolve the
ingredients. Make sure there are no crystals left. Stop
stirring, put a sugar thermometer into the pan
( I got mine from lake land) and let the mixture boil
until it reaches the soft ball stage 116c. Take the pan
off the heat and stand for 10 mins.  Add the vanilla and beat vigorously
until the mixture becomes slightly grainy and starts to come away
from the sides of the pan, it takes about 10 mins, tip into the prepared
dishes smooth the top and leave to cool. Cut into squares with a sharp
knife, leave for 3 - 4 hours to firm up. Remove from the dish
and pack into you home-made or re-cycled containers.
I used jam jars which I sterilised in the dish washer on a boil cycle,
if you do not have a dish washer you can sterilise the jars by boiling
them in a large pan. I made the labels for the elves in photo shop
but wee birdy has some lovely christmas labels to down load,
(and they are free) on her blog. If you do not have any spare
jam jars Berts home store has a great selection.

Before the elves left to go back out into the snow and home, there was just time for the big Elf to make these wonderful festive jellies and kindly said,I could share her secret recipe.

I packet of jelly (I used strawberry) but any berry flavour would be good.

I packet of frozen mixed berries.

Cut up the packet of jelly and dissolve in one pint of boiling water stirring

until all the jelly is dissolved. Divide the frozen berries between the glasses

pour the jelly in to glasses, chill until set,  ENJOY,

and have a VERY VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

Knit me quick.

If you have a couple of spare hours grab 5 ball's of big softie  from sidar and a pair of 10 mm needles. I got mine from c and h fabrics but you could try  John Lewis or any wool shop.

Down load this free pattern ( not for commercial use please)! And cast on.

Using a crochet hook sew in the ends, insert the hook along the knit line
 twisting in and out wrapping the yarn around the needle and pull through, cut.

You can also thread the loose ends onto a large needle and weave the needle
 along the knitting line pull through and cut.

When you have sewn in all the loose ends, wrap enough yarn around a book
mine measured 22 cm x 15 cm, to make the fringe. Cut along the natural indent,
 and you have a neat pile of yarn to make the fringe with.

Make the yarn into bundle's of two, or whatever you feel looks good.

Using a crochet hook start making the fringe by sliding the hook into the first stitch.

Loop two strands of yarn folded in half around the crochet hook and slip through.

Slip the yarn through the loop and pull, your first,
 cont. along the cast on and off row to make the fringe.

                                                        Happy  Christmas

14 days before Christmas two elves delivered to me ...........

A home made sweetie house ! Then the little elves decorated my christmas tree .

I had planed to visit some of the open houses in Brighton and Hove so this visit had to wait until Sunday.

The starting point for this sadly whistle stop tour, was Tessa Wolfe Murray and Guests where I loved the stitched textile's from Wendy Dolan. Next up at Wilbury Grove was Wu&Wu
from the talented Fiona Hewitt, I had often seen her range in John Lewis and other department stores and boutiques, not realising she is based in Hove.

 Wonderful prints at Boxbrid Gallery and Studios from many artist including zara white
and Helen Musselwhite. At 32 Brunswick Street West I saw for the first time the
 work of Nicole Carman and loved her canvas photography, also showing was Sarah Jones,

 I have been a fan of her work for many years and she did not disappoint with some amazing new prints. Last but not least, was Cross Street Workshop fantastic ideas for christmas presents, if you could bear to part with any of the wonderful household textiles by Pintuck, vintage crockery
 from Anna Tilson and these gorgeous prints from Mary Fellows.

 

Love this party invite

Found this really sweet party invite in one of my favourite blogs blogshttp://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/2010/12/oh-you-pretty-things.htmlfavourite

Quick trip to Lewis

Before I became temporarily housebound with the snow, I had a quick tip to Lewis and spent a pleasurable few hours hunting out vintage fabric and vintage paper patterns, but no trip to Lewis would be complete without popping into Bills http://www.bills-website.co.uk/for a quick cuppa.
Amazingly I was able to resist their yummy cakes. I got these patterns in The Thread Needles market and the man who sold me the patterns, told me that the Lady he had bought the patterns from used to live in India and she would have these patterns and the fabric shipped out in the 1950's .

love it or loath it

Love it or loath it, for now the snow has gone from sunny Brighton.

Just in time for the big freeze, I up-cycled these old cream Ikea  curtains (www.Ikea.com), using the old curtains as lining it's made a cold room into a toasty warm (maybe it's bit too pink !!! Can it be too pink for a seven years old girl ?) bed room.


I allso made bunting so easy !!!!!! and fun !

 For the bunting I used a mixture or vintage, recycle and new fabric, the new fabric came from
                                              Fabric Land (www.fabricland.co.uk)

And !!!!!! Just to give the walls a girly feel I used these stickers....