button sugar cookies

cookies in the jar o'

Button Sugar cookies

Ingredients:
Makes 2 dozen
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
A few drops food colouring
Directions
Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix well

add egg, milk, and vanilla; mix well.

Separate the dough to incorporate different food colourings.

Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180C (350 degrees F) Line baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness.

To make buttons:

• you will need to cut out circles with a 1 3/4 inch round cutter

• lightly press with a 1 1/2 inch round cutter ( I used a glass and a round cookie cutter).

making button holes

• Make button holes with a skewer or other sharp implement (ahem I used the steaming thermometer that leave with the espresso machine)

Transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between.
Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. It will need to be put back in the fridge to set if it has become too warm.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Transfer to wire racks to cool.


cook's notes: I saw a picture of some beautiful button shaped cookies with a recipe, somewhere on flickr, but I lost the bookmark and I prefer to try things the my own way. yes I know I'm annoying like that... they were fun to make and as I have an assortment of star shaped cookie cutters I shall definitely make star buttons next time I bake cookies. OK I lie next time I bake cookies it will be chocolate chip ones but the time after that will be sugar cookies honest. I made the cookies in green, red/pink, and some that I left uncoloured. Unfortunately I have misplaced the picture files of the red and uncoloured cookies... *bangs head against wall*

Morello Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes

Morello Cherry Bakewell cupcake

Morello Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes recipe (a work in progress)
ingredients
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract

1 jar morello cherry conserve (or other cherry jam)
½ cup flaked almonds
Paper muffin cases

Put the flour, ground almonds, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. In another bowl mix the vanilla and milk together.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

Add half the flour mixture and beat until well blended.

Add half the milk and the vanilla and beat until well mixed.

Add the eggs one at a time mixing well between additions.

Add the remainder of the flour mixture and blend thoroughly.

Add the remainder of the milk and vanilla.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases, filling them ¾ full, put a spoonful of morello cherry conserve (jam) on top of the cake batter (it will sink down) and sprinkling a few almonds on top of the cherry conserve.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180 C until it springs back when you touch them.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely. Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.


cook's notes: the recipe is a work in progress, I have been playing about with it, as my first attempt the batter was too thin and the jam sunk to the bottom of the cake, but this recipe it only nearly sunk to the bottom (as you can see in the photo) there is just enough cake to keep the bottom dry. I could have tired the easy way and baked the cakes without the jam and then cut them to add the jam to the top but that wouldn't have nearly been as much fun. I'll keep you posted on any further baking experiments...

p.s. I know I'm terribly behind on blog posts, but I will make it up to you I promise, there will be another giveaway soon, and there is also a sale on in my etsy shop if anyone is interested to have a look round before I close the shop down for awhile.

to the winner go the pens

the winner of my pen giveaway via the magic of RANDOM.ORG is

Hells who said...

Pens - that will draw on just about anything. Sounds very 'me'!!
Love the R2D2 apron - it could only be bettered by Han Solo (mmmmmmmmmmmm) ;-)

I don't think I have your email so if you can email me your address I will pop the pens in the post sometime next week!

Banned Books Week

This week is Banned Books Week, a time to celebrate the freedom to read. There shouldn't be a need to have a Banned Books Week but unfortunately there are thousands of books that have been burned, banned and continue to get challenged by individuals, groups and governments that find them offensive.

The books we read expand our minds, and make us the people we are. Books have always been an important part of my life, I can still remember my dad reading me stories when I was small, some of the books have been challenged. Every Christmas and Birthday I would be more excited about the books I received than the toys and clothes I got. One Christmas my dad gave me a copy of A light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, I sat in a nest of torn wrapping paper and read my brand new book of poetry from cover to cover.

Literary exploration is so important, I read a book a night to my son, stories and poetry, including some of the very same books that my father gave me, books that have been Challenged, and Banned. I fear for the future, if these books that shaped me became banned and children and young adults the world over could not read them.

Books that have been Banned or Challenged at some point are not all masterful works of literature, but that is the magic of books and the stories they tell of history and unknown worlds to explore. I have read quite a few books on the Banned list, and not all of them I loved but they did make me think and I was glad to have read them.

The following list of some of the Banned Books I have read:

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
  
• The Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (I have read the series more times than I can count, and hope to read Farm Boy to H when I can get a copy of it)
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also by Roald Dahl
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• The Call of the Wild, Jack London
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein(II read this every week to my son)
  
• Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein (pure magic)
  
• The Giving Tree, yet again by Shel Silverstein (it still makes me cry)
  
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
  
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding (yes its disturbing but it was one of the few required reading books that I absorbed)
  
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (I read but didn't really appreciate and to this day I still don't like Steinbeck's writing but it is important to have the book available to read)
  
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger ( I was forced to read it in school because it was a Banned and Challenged book, and despite it's being a Literary Classic I never loved Holden)
  
• Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
• Forever by Judy Blume

currently I'm reading 1984 by George Orwell for my Book Group, I have a huge stack of books to read though but I plan on getting a more Banned Books on the Book Group Reading list.

Question Authority and Read Banned Books!

a few links:
the ILA: Books Challenged and Banned in 2008 2009 a pdf
The American Library Association has a list of Banned and Challenged books
the School Collection list of Challenged Children's Books
Amazon list of recently Banned and Challenged Books
Amazon list of 100 Banned and Challenged Books

an apron, a robot, and a giveaway

aprons and fabric paint oh my

A little while ago, in fact quite awhile I received an email from someone at Baker Ross , asking if I and my son would like to be sent some craft supplies to review. I was altogether flattered, I'm not a big time crafter, I don't design, I'm not utterly witty, fantastic, or a great seller. I asked H if he thought we should say yes, and I showed him the website and told him to pick something he'd really liked to try. H choose a Design-a-Fabric Apron, and the pens to go with it. I emailed the contact back and asked if they could send me a catalog and something else to giveaway on my blog.

The box arrived not long after, but we didn't have a chance to open it for a long while due to holidays, and back to school time. The aprons came in a packet of three, and H has adamantly stated that the other two be for his friends, I'm not entirely sure which friends these are, but it is very important to him. To H's utter dismay I told him he had to draw a picture on a piece of paper and we would sketch out on the apron before he started decorating. This was quite a lengthy process as H couldn't decide. Eventually after much rejection of various ideas (including a frog, spaceship, cakes, monsters, and a dragon) H decided it must be R2D2 or nothing.

R2D2 apron

So together we drew a picture of R2D2 and painstakingly copied it onto the apron and used the fabric paint provided to colour in R2... with flaming boosters no less. H was over the moon but I couldn't get a photo of him wearing the apron, I will need to bribe him in the future. I think the Baker Ross range of children's crafts are a fun way to entertain a child, H was pleased as punch with his apron, he loved the 3D texture of the fabric paint.

pens...they could be yours

now I mentioned a giveaway didn't I? well when I emailed Baker Ross I had asked them to send me something to giveaway on my blog and they sent me a set of Giotto Decor Pens to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. They are multi-purpose fibre pens. Suitable for use on almost any surface including wood, glass, porcelain, stone and plastic. Water-based and come in 12 assorted bright colours. I'm very tempted to keep them and play with them but that wouldn't be fair.

So please leave me a comment and enter yourself to win this little set of pens.

the giveaway winner will be drawn on Friday October 2nd.

off the cuff

fabric wrist cuff...although it would look stellar on a coffee cuff
mmmm coffee... where was I?

In my further adventures of not doing the things I should be doing, I made this little fabric wrist cuff. What exactly I should be doing I have no idea, perhaps you can tell me, because I haven't got a clue. I have seen wrists cuffs on etsy (some pretty and some very expensive) , and looked at a tutorial that was sort of triangle shaped and that seemed not quite right. Then I thought I would just have a play around with whatever scraps of fabric were currently breeding dust bunnies on my desk.

it is slightly more even than it appears..
the book kept folding up on me...honest

The fantastic alphabet fabric was sent to me by the brilliant, talented and funny (funny ha ha not funny peculiar...although come to think of it...nevermind...) Jodie (of Ric-Rac infamy), yeah that one, and if you don't know her blog, get your bum over and have a look are her creations, with or without the mad scientist laughter. Anyhoo I think I may have lost the plot...I think I best go find a new one or at least a slightly used plot to upcycle into something else.

is it just me or does the big button look like a record?

Clarence the cat

say cheese!

Meet Clarence the Halloween Cat! He is a little bit shy but fancies himself a wildlife photographer...

Whoa... dude did you see that?

the only problem is he has this tendency to eat the mice he is supposed to be taking pictures of....His ambition is to have a coffee table book of nocturnal creatures. Unfortunately Clarence is deathly afraid of bats, owls, moths and spiders....

does my bum look big with this ribbon?

Did I mention Clarence is terribly vain, and likes to bathe in a mixture of coffee, vanilla and cinnamon?

primitive candy corn

I wish I had the real thing

This is my first foray into the world of primitive arts and crafts, though some may allude to my more primitive style to begin with. Its a muslin triangle machine sewn and filled with poly-fil, painted with acrylic paints, then dirtied up with a mixture of espresso grounds, water, cinnamon, and vanilla extract, and then baked in the oven for a bit. The whole house smelled like autumn, it was gorgeous. For a first attempt I think it turned out pretty good, and I may do some more candy corn to make a lovely Halloween display on the heart as Halloween is by far my most favourite holiday. I started a black cat in the primitive style as well but it has yet to be dirtied up and baked... I'm just happy to have the time and inspiration to craft again!

p.s. I wish I had some candy corn....

p.p.s. I did not make any typing or spelling errors on this blog post... shocking isn't it?

flour and apples

flour and apples

The last few weeks seem to have gone by in a blur of getting H ready for school, and running around like a zombie chicken with my head cut off (decapitation is not an effective means of incapacitating poultry). I baked a loved cinnamon apple crumble on Saturday after visiting a lovely little apple stall on a farm not far from here. I haven't tried to write a recipe because I just threw things together and then added more cinnamon just to be sure in was autumnal enough.

mmmm crumble

The last two Sundays M has taken us to Tansley car boot for a wander around and I managed to find a few little gems to play about with for not much money at all. My favourite item is the tea cup which I bought with the intention of turning into a tea cup candle but I have yet to order any soy wax or wicks yet, but I will do....one of these days... The glass jar was 50p and is filled with some mother of pearl buttons that I'm sure will be put to good crafting one of these days. I miss yardsales and thrifting in the States, its just not the same here.

boot sale treasure

We (and by we I mostly mean me) have also been working in the garden, I took down the plastic green house and stripped the few weedy tomatoes from it which now sit in a dish on the windowsill slowly turning ripe. And with a little help we have the shed/summer house up and painted except for the windows. When it is finished I will order M out with the proper camera to take photos and make everything look much prettier than it actually is.

one, two, three little tomatoes all forlorn

recycled t-shirt cushion

more fun with old t-shirts

More crafting with H's old t-shirts.. I was going to make some more knotty t-shirt yarn but the graphics on the front of some of his shirts won't pull out into yarn so I thought I would try something different with them. They are wonky and the tiger was quite close to the neck of the green shirt so that make it difficult to salvage, but for my first cushion cover it looks OK (from a distance).

I hope H likes it when he returns home, It's meant to go into the shed/summerhouse which is being built today, despite the fact it feels freezing out. I have a few more old shirts of H's to play around with and see what I end up with. I didn't use a pattern I just put them together and they were the right size for a small cushion I had so I turned the small patchwork of t-shirts into a cushion cover. I had thought about a throw as I saw a t-shirt throw on etsy last year and the idea must have stuck in my little brain.

I'm freezing... I need a coffee... take care you lot that still read my ramblings.

t-shirt yarn knit necklace

its a bird its a plane its a...t-shirt? so if you read the last post about turning t-shirts into yarn I mentioned turning a teal t-shirt into some yarn that I began knitting. It was actually really nice to knit with and I ripped out what I had started and began again to make a thin (only 3 stitches) knit necklace. I'm wearing it know as a matter of fact. actually you will see a picture of me taken ten minutes ago if you scroll down a bit. Yes I am a total dork.... *face palm* sorry the pictures are a bit unfocused, the light is terrible today.. I may get M to take some better photos for me.. then again I may just get grumped at.

I really loved making this little scarflet/knitlace/knit necklace ... the whole process of cutting up an old shirt and turning it into yarn was really cathartic, and fun too. I'm off to dig through a bag of H's old clothes to see what t-shirts I can turn into little bits of yarn to make some potholders and whatever else I can dream up.

*sigh*

making t-shirt yarn

teal t-shirt yarn

In my wanderings on the interwebs a few weeks ago I found some t-shirt yarn on etsy.. .it looked lovely but it cost a small fortune, and as I'm not the best of knitters I put that idea on the back burner for another day in the distant future when my blogging has made me a fortune.....in other words never.

A few days ago I remembered about the t-shirt yarn and googled to see if there were any tutorials and found two great tutorials on Polka Dot Pineapple and Craft Passion (visit both sites because they are brilliant tutorials) to make t-shirt yarn. The t-shirt yarn tutorials used t-shirts with no side seams, I have plenty of old t-shirts I thought it would be a great idea...but on further investigation found that every single old t-shirt we have has side seams.

red and white t-shirt yarn

So I sat and grumped then thought of all the times I have broken yarn while knitting (quite a few times as I'm a bad knitter) so I decided to experiment and cut up an old red t-shirt of H's and tie strips of yarn together.... the strips were thick so the yarn was chunky but it worked and knit rather well while I sat with an iced latte in Starbucks. After the red I cut up one of H's white t-shirts, this time in thinner strips which when pulled out and tied together made a thinner more flexible yarn.

*My last attempt was a teal t-shirt of mine that was from Primark and as such the seams were crooked to begin with.

*I cut all the seams away and folded up the front rectangle of fabric and cut it into narrow strips. (they aren't all together even and my scissors decided to fall apart on me


*I then pulled all the strips out so that the fabric curled back on itself and carefully tied the strips together. I trimmed the loose knots and wound the t-shirt yarn into a ball.


*I started knitting with it, only a skinny scarf of 5 stitches across but I'm pleased with how it looks so far and will update when I finish the scarf.

On My Desk

peek-a-boo I see you

This is my creative space, my little desk/bureau, and that would be Alys hiding behind my sewing machine, covered in the dust it has collected since it returned home from being repaired. I haven't felt very creative recently, my mojo has run away, if you have seen it please let me know I'm ready to post a reward if found and returned. I did however manage to make a little card for a friend's birthday, so maybe my crafty mojo isn't completely gone just very good at hiding.

I best go make some lunch for H and myself, and there is only a week and a half before school stats again, I think my crafty mojo may return by then, and if not at least Alys is there to keep my sewing machine company.

harlequin card

80's Fantasy Movie Craft Swap

I do not own the goblin King he owns me

Partners for the swap are as follows:

Amanda S and Kathryn
Amanda C and Apryl (starts to worry)
Vonnie and Christa
Amiee and Caroline
Megan (Vv) and Carmen
Becca and Kirsty

there are still a few people that I'm waiting to hear from... but its us for now.. I'll start emailing everyone and have started a flickr group too. I'll sort out blog links later....as I need my coffee now!

and the winner is......

and the winner (picked by asking H to tell me a random number between 1 and 12) of the little painted page is ....


Talia

who said said...

Hmmm...amusing...

How about the fact that despite owning a pair of shoes with 5 inch platform heels, I fall over when I'm not wearing any shoes!

Also, apparently I get very Bristolian when I've had a drink, and that tends to make everyone around me a) giggle and b) try and imitate it!

----------------------------------------

there is still time to sign up for the 80's Fantasy Movie Swap.. and I will have some more giveaway's soon.. sorry I have been most remiss and absent in my blogging recently... two more weeks and the summer holidays are over and I can get on with my crafty ways!

a little giveaway

"masked" vintage book page illustration

I know I keep promising to do a giveaway and I keep forgetting and forgetting to but this time I mean it. The giveaway is the above original illustration on a vintage book page, the book was a tattered and torn copy of Alice Through the Looking-Glass. It would look lovely in a little frame, and is much nicer in reality, as the light is poor and my photography skills are hit and miss at the best of times.

All you need do is leave a comment telling me something amusing about yourself, and I will draw names out of a bowl this Friday (21st)... or call on the very helpful random number generator. And this little piece of art could be yours.

p.s. there is still time to sign up for the 80's Fantasy Movie Craft Swap on the post below this!

1980’s Fantasy Movie Craft Swap

1980’s Fantasy Movie Craft Swap
*******sign up date and send by dates extended*******

Legend, Labyrinth, the Last Unicorn, Flight of Dragons, Dark Crystal, LadyHawk, The Company of Wolves, The Neverending Story, all these movies and more from the 80’s have been among my favourites have inspired me to draw endless unicorns in the margins of my homework, to day dream of being Sarah finding my way through the Labyrinth, finding a dragon’s egg, befriending small goblins and shining unicorns.

Did you dream of flying on the back of the Luck Dragon? Finding One Eyed Willie’s pirate treasure to save your family home? Did you want David Bowie to give you shiny bobbles and tainted peaches? Sing dragons to sleep? Fight Rodents of Unusual Size? We may not live in the movies (quite as much now as we did, and we may possibly torture our offspring by making them watch the Labyrinth again and again...er where was I? ) but we can still craft them. So why not join my 80’s Fantasy Movie Craft Swap? You know you want to make a blue haired worm, or a Conan book cover!

inspiration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fantasy_films:1980s


Here is how it works:

1. SIGN UP by Monday, August 24th! (the final date for sign ups may be extended depending on interest in the swap) Email me at meridianariel@hotmail.com with the following information:
-Name
-Mailing Address
-Website or Blog Address (or even your flickr photos so that your partner can stalk you:
-your favourite 80’s Fantasy Movie:
Your favourite candy/chocolate/movie treat:

*Swap partners will be chosen randomly by me, and I will email your partner’s details on Monday the 24th if August(though if there are more than 50 or so participating I may need to rope someone in to help me sort out partners)

2. Your parcel should contain:
*Candy (or chocolate) to eat while watching 80’s fantasy movies
*Handmade crafts with the fantasy theme.. (For example The swap can be as simple or as extravagant as you wish, just make sure that the things you send are something you would be happy to receive yourself.
*craft supplies

You don’t need to sell your baby brother(pardon the pun I couldn’t help myself) but make sure you and your partner spend roughly the same amount. I would say spend around £20 ($30 ish)


3. Mail your package by Monday the 5th of October!

4. Take a picture of your swap parcel once you receive it. Upload your images to the 80’s Fantasy Movie Craft Swap flickr account (I‘ll start one soon). More information will be in your confirmation email once you sign up.


Say your right words.....

Return of the Coconut Flapjack

Coconut Flapjack
(granola bars)

2 cups porridge oats
4 tablespoons demerara sugar
4 tablespoons golden (light corn) syrup
1/2 cup butter
pinch of salt
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup dark chocolate melted

set the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4

Grease a shallow baking pan.

Put the butter, syrup and sugar into a medium sized saucepan and melt together over a very low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Do not let the mixture boil.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the oats, salt, coconut, mixing everything together well.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and press down with the back of a spoon or a plastic spatula.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave and then drizzle over the flapjack.

When the chocolate has cooled and set cut the flapjack into squares, but leave in the tin until completely cool before removing.

cook's notes: This is a recipe that I have been playing around with for a while now I am really happy with the result, and so is everyone else as it doesn't seem to stay in the house very long before its all disappeared into happy bellies.