Stop Oh Yes Wait A Minute Mr Postman

Ok so yesterday i had a fantastic parcel come all the way from my dear friend Senta in Utah. I've never met Senta but like one or two ladies across the pond in the states we've become really good friends, as much as you can when you never see each other, thank goodness for Email, Facebook and Skype. So last year me and Senta decided to have a crafty swap which was great fun. This year we thought we'd do another one. It's sometime since we agreed to have another one but these things take time amongst all the normal day to day things we have going on. Anyway my parcel to Senta went a few weeks ago and she has it now and loved all her goodies only one of which i think i have a picture of which I'll try and add. Mine came yesterday and i have been stalking the postman for days lol.


Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow about sums it up. Now in my box was a combination of things. On my Ivy's Attic page i suggested a crafty swap which three of us took part in, me, Senta and Melissa. My item goes to Melissa and still needs posting. Melissa's parcel is going to Senta and is now in the post or has arrived but i was lucky enough to get Sentas creation. The theme to our crafty swap was to make something that represented us or where we come from...

Here it is, isn't it amazing. The card with the ribbon tells you a bit about Utah and on the box Senta has painted a little map about Utah. The cricket and the Seagull were in the box as the crickets were eating the crops and the seagulls ate the crickets and saved the crops (in a much more abbreviated story) Personally i think this is wonderful, thanks Senta, so much. Mwah.

This is the contents of my box layed out on the bed!

So amongst my amazing collection of goodies was a handmade cupcake which is adorable, a fabulous recipe book all pieced together, just for me, how exciting, can't wait to try out the recipes, a Reese's cake bar mix, which after the Drop Scone Mix at Christmas will be the most fun to make.

As well as that there is a magical Fairie magazine, a crafting magazine and a Dover book of Fairy folk transfers for me to play with :)

Then there is a tortoise making kit :) and some amazing Victorian hanging decorations which will look fab on my twiggy light up branches cause they're not Christmassy so i don't have to wait.

I am so chuffed with all my amazing goodies, how wonderful, it made my day thank you Senta :)

This is the candle jar i made for Senta which i haven't shared until now so it didn't spoil the surprise :)

Card Challenges with a seasonal twist ;)

Well i got to be creative today with this sweet image from Michelle Perkett found here she is called Mary Margaret The Teachers pet BUT having been in the startings of Halloween mood i wanted to do something completely opposite and did a naughty Mary, i think it worked too lol. I printed her off several times onto patterned papers and cut out the different elements and then glued them together, yes glued, I'm almost out of everything adhesive and my last double sided tape went missing two seconds after i got it out of the draw right up till i was almost finished lol. The sketch was from Paper Craft Planets Sketch group found here, this is what it looked like 

So here is Mary Margaret out trick or treating for Halloween i am entering this in the sketch challenge above and for challenge 41 over at Michelle Perkett Studio. Well done to all the new Design Team members :) I have also (thanks to Jan) entered this in  
Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps blog where the challenge is also to make a card using a Michelle Perkett digi and guess what Michelle is the sponsor too, three times a charm :)

Here it is 

Flapjack Cookies

Today's recipe comes from Never Eat Wobbly Jelly As my two favourite things to bake are Flapjack and Cookies i just knew i needed to make a Flapjack Cookie so i went on the hunt and found this recipe.

Victoria's Famous Flapjack Recipe:

6oz Traditional whole rolled oats

5oz Sugar (i used golden caster as sugar was low)

5oz Plain flour

1 tspn bicarb of soda

2 tbsp Boiling hot water

6oz block butter

1 tablespoon Syrup

(makes around 34 biscuits)

Oh yes and i added 4oz of desiccated coconut!

Preheat oven to 180oc

Mix the oats, sugar and flour together in bowl. In a separate bowl mix the boiling water and bicarb of soda, then mix into the oat mixture.

Melt the butter and syrup in a bowl over boiling water. Once melted add to the oat mixture.

Roll into small balls and place on a baking tray covered with baking parchment, press two fingers into each blob. Make sure they are too close together as they will spread. If you're using one tray, do it in three batches.

Pop in the oven for around 12-14 mins, they won't take long.

leave to cool on the tray a bit to crispen up, then onto a wire rack to fully cool.

They are in the oven as i type and i obviously need to make tspn size balls not tbsn sizes lol but i'm sure they'll go down just as well. Back to rate later :)

First impressions

They look great

  They taste great, lovely and chewy

This recipe made atleast 54
 (some of which were big and some smaller)

So i would give this recipe a 8/10


and will be making these again with choc chips :)


If this is still showing up with great big spaces please forgive me i may have to repost it wont behave, grrr

Recipe no2

This recipe is one i have in the cupboard which means it's one I've tried, i think i remember saying it was one I'd use again which is always a good recommendation. This recipe is for all purpose cookie dough and then the variations are at the bottom of the recipe.

Makes a truckload of cookies!

225g unsalted butter, softened

375g light soft brown sugar

50g caster sugar

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

400g plain flour

2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda

The variations are as follows:-

For oatmeal and raisin cookies, reduce the flour to 300g and add 200g rolled oats, 1 tsp cinnamon and 200g raisins. For double peanut butter cookies, replace the butter with 225g crunchy peanut butter (and a little milk if necessary) and stir in 200-400g unsalted or washed peanuts. For dark chocolate chunk cookies, replace 50g flour with 50g cocoa and stir in 400g dark or milk chocolate chopped roughly. Forapricot and almond white chocolate cookies, stir in at the end 200g chopped apricots, 200g chopped blanched almonds and 200g chopped white chocolate.

This recipe is taken from here  I have halved the ingredients with a view to having some ingredients left over for other things and have used a mix of dates and mixed peel amounting to 200g.

First lot just out of the oven, they have had around 15mins but the first batch are slightly over brown so may turn the oven down a bit. 

First impressions

They look great

   They taste pretty good

This recipe made about 60 (and that was half the ingredients!)

So i would give this recipe a 7/10

Tried and tested recipies

So today just for a change i am baking cookies lol. Yesterday i tried baking some cookies using a recipe i found online which suggested you could use marg instead of butter, anyway i wasn't in the best frame of mind and although i did what i should have i was less than pleased with them. Actually later on they tasted fine. I must admit i do get a bit muddled when it comes to eggs and quantities. We buy large quantities now as i use them for baking as well as cooking and sandwiches but when it says large i do as a friend suggested and add another egg so whether that was a contributing factor to the less than satisfactory cookies i don't know. 


What i do know is i expect cookies to look a certain way and taste a certain way...
So i am doing a tried and tested experiment for me and anyone else that likes making them. I am so muddled with all the different recipes i have tried that i am going to log them and rate them starting with this one Chunky Chocolate Cookies found over on a fellow blogger blog Pumkins and Toadstools 

4oz (115g) unsalted butter

4oz (115g) light muscovado sugar

1 egg

1tsp (5ml) vanilla essence

5oz (150g) self-raising flour

3oz (75g) porridge oats

8oz (200g) roughly chopped chocolate.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 (190C/375F)

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until smooth and fluffy. 

Add the egg and vanilla and mix in well.

Fold in the flour then add the oats and chocolate and stir until evenly mixed.

Spoon onto greased baking sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes or until beginning to turn pale golden in colour. 

Transfer to cool on a wire rack and enjoy.

Now the only thing i have done different is substituted 200g of chocolate  for 100g of currants and 100g dates purely because i used up all my choc chips yesterday and I'm up for anything in my cookies so as i had currants and dates left they went in.The first batch are in the oven now and when i have them out and cooled and tried them I'll be back to rate them.Thanks Michele for sharing your recipe and some hints and tips regarding your experiences making them. I think as a non baker you do wonder about using different sugars and ingredients and how much difference it'll make :)


First impressions

They look like cookies yay!

   They taste yummy

This recipe made more than 20 too which is always a bonus lol!

So i would give this recipe a thumbs up and 7/10