A Dotty Interlude

I've been decorating my bedroom this weekend. But in between picking emulsion out of my hair, washing off brushes, and putting off the glosswork, I finally took some time out to do a dot-to-dot out of my new book,

 

I treated myself to this book after stumbling across it in the Tate Britain gift shop. You can get also get a Cityscapes version too, and Masterpieces, and Iconic Portraits, but I went for the animals.

The dots are clearly marked in a different colour for each group of 100, and number one begins with a star - can you spot it in the picture below? 

 



 

You definitely need to concentrate, I went wrong a couple of times but I don't think it shows. It's quite hard to see the picture evolve as you're doing it but my son could spot it from across the room, I guess it's a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees, or the cat from the whiskers?

 

If you'd like to try one of these fab books, they are available from Amazon. (no fee for me ~ just spreading the love!) and probably most good book shops.

Much as I would like to sit and do another, I really can't keep putting off painting the woodwork . . . can I?

Honey Biscuits

When my son was little we would often go to the library and choose books together. We used to love reading together at bedtime, but one day he chose a book that meant we got to bake together ~ Honey Biscuits by Meredith Hooper. Not only is Honey Biscuits is a great story about a boy baking biscuits with his Gran, it also teaches children where the ingredients come from. If you have young children then I can definitely recommend it. If you don't, I can still recommend the biscuits! I have tweaked the recipe slightly as I felt the honey flavour didn't come through very strongly, but that could be because of the type of honey I used, or because I am always waaaaay too generous when it comes to cinnamon!

Ingredients

120g Butter
120g Sugar (and a little extra)
3 tablespoons Honey
1 Egg yolk
1tsp Cinnamon
180g SR Flour

Preheat oven to 175C / 350F / Gas 4

Beat the butter and sugar together til creamy. Beat in the honey then the egg yolk. Add the flour and cinnamon a third at a time (I didn't bother sifting it and it was fine!) and mix to a soft dough. Use a teaspoon to scoop up walnut-sized dollops and roll them into a ball then roll in the extra sugar to coat. Place on a greased baking sheet (a couple of inches apart, these are spreaders!) and bake for about 10 - 12 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the tray then transfer to a rack to cool.

Chic on a Shoestring

Yesterday I treated myself to a new crafty book called Chic on a Shoestring by Mary Jane Baxter. I try not to buy too many craft books as a lot of the time you can find tutorials online for free, and I have several bookcases which are already overflowing, but I started leafing through this in the bookshop and realised that I wasn't just browsing, I was reading it!

There are lots of step-by-step tutorials on customising and accessorising using recycled materials, with lovely photos and illustrations. The crafts are simple yet stunning, many don't even require a sewing machine, and there are even instructions on how to make your own hat!

This tutorial is for a silk-scarf top, and while there is no way I could ever get away with a backless top myself, check out this beautiful hair-do!

So last night I sat and watched The Voice (Will I Am = sigh!) and rustled up my very own Floribunda. I used some silk scraps which frankly weren't the easiest fabric to work with as they do so love to fray, but the peacock colours are so vibrant (yes, I know, bad photography doesn't do them justice)

What do you think? I can't decide right now if I want this to be a brooch or a hairclip, so I think I'm going to sew a couple of small loops on the back so that I can slip a hairgrip or safety pin through, depending on my mood / outfit.

You can buy the book in all good bookshops or here, and Mary Jane's blog is here.

P.S. Here I am wearing my lovely new . . . . .

. . . . . brooch!

One last P.S. (promise!) Here's a shot of me wearing my lovely new . . . . .

. . . . . hair clip!

I even tried my own version of the stylish hair-do from the silk-scarf tutorial, except I couldn't face fiddling about with a fishtail braid. Maybe next time . . .


(ok, that's it for now Folks!)