Sale time ...

Its that time of year again, SALE time.  I love a sale but hate to trail around the shops with 2 kiddies in tow so Im a big fan of online shopping.  Yesterday 2 of my favorite websites went on sale @No Added Sugar and @Scandinavian Minimal.  I bought a few bits for the girls including these:

Find these sales at:
http://www.scandinavianminimall.co.uk/

http://www.noaddedsugar.com/

Gotta love a pom pom ...

Ever since my mum taught me to make pom poms as a little girl with her left-over wool from the knitting box I have had a fascination with the fluffy little balls.  I once used them to decorate a store window display at christmas time using all sizes from tiny wool ones to super huge pom poms made with ribbons & fabrics.  Have a go yourself and gets the kids involved.  Here are a few ideas from Living website ...

These pom pom cushions are great from Martha Stewart I might make these for the tidlers rooms.

Find them at...
http://livingblog.marthastewart.com/2012/12/8-pom-pom-crafts-for-the-holidays.html

Check out Martha Stewart's blog at ...
http://www.marthastewart.com/269202/tufted-cushion?czone=home/diy-decorating/room-accents&center=277001&gallery=920454&slide=920409

Soft Gallery ...

I have a huge love for Soft Gallery.  Both the children's wear and women's wear collections are beautiful.  The illustrations used within their prints are whimsical and reminiscent of old style story books but transferable for both the kids & adults clothing.  Take a look. . .

Find the children's wear collection at http://www.nordickids.co.uk/search/soft-gallery

Tutus ...

Today I set my sights on making a tutu for my daughter.  I had bought some 6" wide netting off ebay, 1" wide ribbon & 1cm wide elastic in preparation so had everything ready.  

1.  I measured my daughters waist & cut the elastic to length & stitched the 2 ends together. 
2.  I measured the length of the tutu against my daughter & doubled it to get the length of the strips of netting I would need.  To cut the lengths in bulk I used a tupperware lid (measuring the same as the required length of tutu) to wrap the 6" wide netting around.  Then wrapped the netting and cut along one edge leaving lots of strips ready to tie.  
3.  I folded the 1st piece of netting in half length-ways and pulled both ends through the loop tying the netting around the elastic.  I then Continue with each piece of netting until the elastic was covered.
4.  I finished with a ribbon tied in a bow at the front or side.

Here are the results...

So easy I made 5 today

Millionaires shortbread ...

I think this is the last baking post for a while as I'm a little 'baked out' but to go out with a bang I have made millionaires shortbread.  This is another recipe I found in an old Elle Decor magazine.  It is simple but takes time between layers letting the base & caramel cool & set.  The outcome is yummy, but I have far too many and need to deliver some to friends ...

Fairy cake ...

So my bestie asked me to make her little girl's 3rd birthday cake.  Her request being very pink, fairies, flowers, generally anything girly.  So here is the result, I hope little Miss G likes it ...

Jazzies ...

Little Miss Violet loves to bake with me but being only 3 can cause problems (messy ones!), so I often get her to help with simple tasks such as decorating cakes & cookies etc.  Today we melted chocolate in the microwave and poured small amounts onto greaseproof paper then topped them with cake sprinkles.  Set them in the fridge then popped them into a jar - making her own jazzies...

So easy for kiddies, give it a try.

Fudge ...

This week I made fudge.  It was very easy and tastes great, although loaded with sugar and terrible for my post baby diet!  The recipe comes from the Carnation milk website.  I topped some of our fudge chunks with chocolate just to add to the sugar rush ...

http://www.carnation.co.uk/recipes/67/Ultimate-Fudge

Back with a bang! Chocolate brownies with cheesecake swirls

After being MIA for over a week I am back with a bang.  

I found an old recipe that I had held onto to ages from a Elle Decor magazine for chocolate brownies with a cheesecake swirl.  I thought I would give it a go today.  

The results were impressive.  Gooey and very very chocolaty.  Yummy!

Missing ...

Sorry for the delay in posting anything new.  We have been decorating and DIY'ing over the past couple of weeks.  Pics to follow.  Bear with me I will be back by the weekend.  x

Eton mess Ice cream ...

Second attempt at ice cream making took place this morning.  This time using the Brown Eyed Baker recipe as a base I didn't add the vanilla bean but added some whole raspberries to the mix, made a raspberry sauce with some fresh raspberries and sugar and added crunched up meringue right at the end of the churning.  This time I used 2 cups f cream and 1 cup of milk and the result is much less sickly.  The whole raspberries however have frozen a little bit hard so perhaps next time I will cut these into small pieces.

There was too much in the tub to put the lid on so my eldest daughter and I had eton mess ice cream for breakfast!  Oops!

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/02/03/classic-vanilla-ice-cream/

vanilla honeycomb ice cream ...

About 2 years ago my husband bought me the ice cream attachment for my Kitchenaid and finally yesterday I took it out of the box and made my 1st batch of ice cream.  I used the 'Brown Eyed Baker' vanilla recipe and added my own twist with honeycomb pieces and chocolate sauce swirled through it.  The result is yummy, although very rich as I used 3 cups of cream so the next batch I will split half and half with milk.  Take a look

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/02/03/classic-vanilla-ice-cream/

H&M for Unicef ...

Have you all seen the H&M "All for Children' collection for Unicef?  Truly brilliant!  I have ordered the flamingo hat, bunny hat and flamingo leotard for my girls ...  soo looking forward to the delivery to arrive.

http://www.hm.com/gb/all-for-children#0/0

more animal friendly taxidermy ...

I recently posted some amazing fabric animal heads by Desaccord and have again stumbled across some more by Carola Van Dyke at Rocket St George.   Love them ... x

http://www.rockettstgeorge.co.uk/patchwork-hare-head-15725-p.asp

From sweatshirt to kiddies sweat pants ...

This blog is great by Elsie Marley who took the inspirations for these kiddies sweat pants from sophie from cirque du bebe.  These are on the to-do list for my 2!

http://www.elsiemarley.com/kcwc-guest-post-sophie-from-cirque-du-bebe.html

Grubbies Launch Party ...

To all the Grubbies fans out there...  I went to the Grubbies launch party this week at Hoboken kids wear boutique in Leigh-on-Sea.  Was great fun and the Grubbies team hosted a fun night with bubbles & cupcakes galore.  I bought my littleun' a pair of 'gummies' and cant wait to get her into them.  Here are a few pics of the evening.

http://www.grubbies.co.uk/

Publications ...

Two exciting publications to look out for are 'London Fashion Style' & 'Babiekins'.

London Fashion Style - Edition PAUMES is a small and dynamic family-run Japanese publishers, working in close contact with artists and designers in Europe. With a poetic and original approach, PAUMES has produced a set of 'creative bibles' that overflow with inspiration. Although written in Japanese, it doesn't spoil the enjoyment of creative ideas.

Babiekins magazine - The 1st Print Issue of Babiekins launches this month!

Babiekins magazine focuses on all things trendy in a little one's world. Their mission to encourage, inspire and motivate the trendy parent and child alike.

Babiekins produce 4 online issues a year - this month sees the launch of their first print issue!

Expected in 12 October. Pre Order your issue now to ensure you don't miss out

Both available at http://lapinandme.bigcartel.com/

Shampoodle ...

http://www.shampoodle.com/

I must say I have never been a tracksuit kinda girl but Shampoodle do the ultimate in comfort clothing with a twist.  Its fun, comfortable and cool with the deep cuffs and slouch fit.  What do you think?
Available for adults & kiddies.

Urban Elk ...

Urban Elk has some cute prints on jersey basics for kids.  take a look ...

http://shop.urbanelk.dk/

Desaccord ...

Love it or hate it taxidermy is a popular art form again.  Be it a stag head or a bird the popularity of the stuffed animal trophy is winging its way back into the homes of many interior loving peeps out there.  Lots of kinder versions such as metal stag heads, pug dog cushions and owl shaped candles are on the market in stores on our high street but I have found (I think) the most amazingly beautiful handcrafted & quirky adaption of the original designs.  These hand stitched top hat and pearl bead wearing stuffed animals are made from lots of different fabrics and could be hung on the walls of any child's bedroom.  I think they are totally beautiful!  

http://desaccord.bigcartel.com/

Love, love, love Beau Loves ....

I have mentioned the Beau Loves brand before but take a look at the new AW12/13 collection.  Available to buy in select retailers and on line now!!  I think my Miss Violet & Miss Iris need the square top with bow tie print in their lives.  Well done Beau Loves another fantastic collection.   x

http://www.beauloves.co.uk/

Graphics galore at Modeerska Huset ...

Just discovered this great little brand - Modeerska Huset with fantastic print graphics on lovely wearable styles.    Im ordering now!  

http://www.modeerskahuset.com/

Wrap magazine ...

I love magazines.  I could spend days flicking through glorious pages of fashion, graphics, interiors, art ........  the list goes on.  Therefore discovering Wrap magazine has made my week.  It is a beautiful publication with inspiring articles, thought provoking images and to top it all off - free wrapping paper with every issue!!!

http://www.thewrappaper.com/www.thewrappaper.com/HOME.html