Cocktails and cakes is an idea I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I absolutely adore cocktails and I love to bake so I think it’s the perfect pairing!
I wanted to start with something fairly straightforward, that I’ve had before and that I know that I like. STRAWBERRIES 😀 For the cake, I made strawberry cupcakes using this recipe as the base.
I always like to make my cupcakes a bit more exciting so I poked a well in the centre of each cake with a wooden spoon and added the strawberry jam. I’m not a huge fan of synthetic flavouring so I ditched the strawberry essence and used freeze dried strawberries instead.
The daiquiri was really easy to make but I wasn’t a huge fan of the texture once the blended frozen strawberries had warmed up. Not sure how to fix that, maybe adding a little tonic? Anyway, it was bloomin delicious and I am a genius. The end.
My absolute fave place to get dessert is Temple Donuts in Leeds. Sadly it’s so far away! (and there’s been some questionable behaviour). I love to bake so I thought I would try and emulate the exciting donuts that you can get there. A quick google led me to this recipe.
This recipe took ALOT of preparation. I made the caramel sauce and brownies the day before because the thought of baking for the entire day made me want to cry. The dough produced was far too much, next time I would either try to make each donut fatter or cut the dough amount in half. My brownies were too cakey so it was hard to get cubes, it’s more like crumbs but who cares! I didn’t do the chocolate drizzle either because I’d ran out of chocolate and I couldn’t be bothered to go to the shop.
I thought this was a very good recipe, easy to follow and the results were delicious. However, the time and effort it took means I will only probably make them for a special occasion in the future.
I can’t believe it’s been three months already, and what a wild three months it’s been! We’re still on lockdown but things are starting to get relaxed (even though infection rates are still up? SMDH). Almost finished this year of uni, been kinda tough doing everything online but one more assignment then I’m done! Starting my Liverpool Uni journey in October, so excited.
“Well, What’s in the damn box?!!” I hear you cry…..
Here’s what you get:
Faber-Castell A5 Sketch Pad
Bear A5 print
Bear illustration to finish yourself
Blank greetings cards and envelopes
Faber-Castell pencils – B, 2B, 4B, HB
Faber-Castell TK-Fine 0.5mm mechanical pencil
Faber-Castell blender
Faber-Castell polychromos coloured pencil – blue
Faber-Castell polychromos coloured pencil – white
Faber-Castell Latex-free eraser
Pencil sharpener
Artful magazine issue 2
Access to online tutorial
When I first opened this box, I have to admit I was a little disappointed because the first box was a bit more razzle dazzle with the Posca pens etc. However, after sitting down today and looking at it properly I am STOKED. This box is more focused on drawing, and the box really does provide everything you need. What I love about these boxes is the core key items are always excellent quality and then theres a couple of extra bits, like the coloured pencils which gives you the opportunity to try out new brands. If there were money off coupons to go along with the extra items so you could get a discount on a whole set, I’d be down with that 😉 *hint hint*.
Value for money
Although at first glance it seems like maybe you haven’t got as much this month when compared with last month but when you break it down you’re really getting a lot of good items that will last you a long time. I was particularly excited about the paper and the mechanical pencil, as I can imagine that these are the items I will get the most use out of. I have only quickly flicked through the magazine but I enjoyed the one last time so I’m going to save it for with a brew later.
Marks out of ten?
Good value for the price and well put together, this box excellent to fill the gaps in your collection of basics. Nice quality paper that can be used with watercolours etc too so you will be able to use it for many other projects. I really love these boxes so I think I might be slightly biased in my appraisal but you can see the pictures etc and make up your own mind 8/10.
I make so much stuff, I can’t keep it all so I’ve made an etsy shop. This will be all the stuff I’ve made & featured here plus some extra bits and bobs. I won’t be taking commissions anymore, I’ll just be making what I like, when I can. As well as crochet, there will also be handwoven items and knitting. Check it out ❤
*Comment on any of my blog posts and I’ll choose one person to win £5 to spend in my new shop* (Closes 25/5/2020)
I’ve got an idea for something I want to bake, involving shortbread, but I’ve never made a vegan version of it.
I found this recipe which looked super easy – and it was!
I think the main thing for this recipe is a fat that tastes nice (buttery) I used the Naturli vegan block, which is great because it behaves like butter as well, which I think is pretty important for this recipe.
I had a regular shaped cookie cutter but where’s the fun in that! Remember the skull cutter from when I made ravioli? Not much else to say about this really. A simple recipe, super quick to make and yummy! Quite a high yield at least 20 cookies , which lasted a whole 24 hours!
Uni work is INSANE at the moment, feel like all I do right now is write essays! It’ll be worth it when I’m a scientist with a masters degree ❤ Anywho, despite not having 5 minutes spare I decided that now was primo time to take up a new hobby – WEAVING. My goal is to weave a gorgeous houndstooth and make a skirt out of it. Writing this here so you can pester me and make sure I do it.
After obsessively watching videos for weeks I decided on the Ashford rigid heddle loom. I was torn between the 16″ and 32″ as you’re limited to the width of your loom, as to what fabric width you can make and I want to make clothes with the fabric eventually. So I opted for the 24” and the good thing about the Ashford looms is that they have the option to fit a double heddle already built in, you just have to buy a new reed. The best price I found was at Adelaide Walker Wool and their service was fantastic, I highly recommend them. Superfast delivery, even with the plague going on. *Confession* I wish I’d got the 16″…. the 24″ is way bigger than I imagined and my house is tiny. If you’re wanting to weave with the loom resting on your knee then the 24″ is not the right choice for you.
I chose some yarn out of my stash that I wasn’t too fussed about to practice with and here’s where I made rookie error #2 – I chose the wrong yarn. I used the malabrigo worsted that had been given to me by a friend for my warp and it was really fluffy, the weft was a dk of unknown origin. This is not an ideal warp quality. All the threads kept sticking together and it would take ages to get the shuttle through. By the time I’d finished weaving I HATED the damn thing. Lesson learned!
There are so many good ‘beginning to weave’ videos I’m not going into the basics here but I will link the best vids (IMHO) at the end of the post. However one tip I was told, which was actually really helpful was this – to make sure your edges are all neat and uniform, hold the yarn in the position you would like it to be and keep holding it while you pull the yarn through. This way you control where it sits rather than leaving it to fate (fate gives you raggedy edges).
Another mistake I made – warped the loom back to front and had to undo everything …. which took about 6 hours. SIX HOURS *cries*. Warped my loom for the 2nd time today with cotton and it took about 25 mins.
I’m also learning how to spin – why not! Being vegan, wool is a bit problematic. Acrylic and man made fibres are worse for the planet, but at the same time, large scale shearing of lambs is horrific. The ideal situation would be a small place with just a couple of sheep, where the welfare of the sheep is guaranteed. Some would argue that I shouldn’t use wool whatsoever, however I only use wool that I’m given (and I get given ALOT, everytime a Nana dies, I seem to get their stash!) and as a fibre, it makes warmer clothes, is better for the planet and is a waste product anyway. I have already been offered some alpaca fleece that was getting thrown away so if anyones got any sheep fleece going to waste chuck it my way! I have bought some bamboo roving to experiment with so I’ll have to post how I get on with that. The bamboo is undyed too so guess whats coming next. Why not, eh?!
Oh! I almost forgot – here’s the finished product.
Yes I know there’s mistakes. Gimme a break – it was my first try!
Videos I Loved
Kelly Casanova has the most amazing channel for newbies. Easy to follow videos with ideas that I love.
Grace O’ Neill is my fave. I want to be her friend. Great instructions again but mainly I love her videos because they’re very entertaining. She’s ace!
Ashford’s also have their own channel which is very informative.
For learning to weave, this video is great and the ladies voice is so soothing! Worth watching just for that tbh.
I’ve also made a pinterest board where I’ve saved tutorials and inspo.
My friend found this awesome tutorial on Youtube and asked me if I would make it for her. It was so weird because I’d literally been looking at it a few days earlier!
I used this tshirt yarn from www.tshirtyarnshop.co.uk . I’ve used a few tshirt yarns before and this one was definitely my favourite. The yarn itself was very even and the joins were stitched rather than knotted, which made for a much more pleasant crochet experience. The video was easy to follow but I would have much preferred a written pattern. Stopping and starting the video was very annoying. It was a free pattern though, so mustn’t grumble!
I’m definitely going to make some more of these, thinking of a way to turn it into a hanging plant pot holder. If I make some more I’ll add them to my shop.
What other uses can you think of? If you make one, tag me on Instagram 😀
Haven’t written for a while for two reasons – nothing much has happened and also I’m not so well. Not virusy, just usual M.E stuff (I think).
We’ve got into a bit of a routine now which is good seeing as they have announced that lockdown will continue for at least another 3 weeks. Food is still a nightmare, thank goodness for friends helping us get what we need. My OH braved the supermarket last week and it sounded awful. Only one person per household in at a time, big long queue to get in. Shelves were missing lots of essential items like pasta and tinned stuff but luckily I’d managed to source them somewhere else.
Trying to organise going to uni in September, student finance etc is so stressful while all this other stuff is going on. Will I even get to go? We’ve had to postpone the wedding too, for at least a year, which I’m finding tough to deal with but I know it’s the right decision.
The bloody weather though! Sod’s Law I think they call it. You watch, when lockdown is over it’ll be freezing cold. We’ve been sitting in the front garden for a while and reading or whatever but guess who broke the bench (Hint – it was me) so that’s the end of that!
I’ve ordered a stand mixer and I’m ridiculously excited about that, what has my life become?! Hoping it will mean I can bake more because whisking really hurts my hands.
Missing everyone, and yet feel too anxious to video call? I’m not sure what’s going on.
So chuffed with this pouffe/footstool whateva ya wanna call it! It’s taken me a lot of effort and a tonne of yarn but I love it! The pattern was pretty cheap but prepare to spend a lot of money on yarn! I used about 20 x 100g skeins and it’s taken me about a month, working in between other projects. I was incredibly lucky to be gifted all the greeny blue yarn from a wonderful friend of mine but you can find it here.
Full disclosure – I ran out of yarn! But fortunately, my lovely friend gifted me some more of the same weight yarn, a completely different colour but I thought, aah no ones going to look at the bottom! The yarn is called ‘rhubarb crumble‘ and is a delicious as the name suggests. I used some cheap cotton fabric for the liner and i got the filling from ebay. I ordered about 7 cubic feet but it was far too much, I reckon I probably used around 4cft.
Ooopsie!
When I saw these two colours together I was smitten! Rather than ripping back all the work I’d done, I added a row of chain stitching on top of the green. I think it looks pretty snazzy…… what do you think?
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