A few more cards, this one a birthday card for a friend. again based on a Kirsty Wiseman sketch.



2 more thankyou cards, these are also based on Kirsty's weekly sketches.



the final 2 thankyou cards, these were just thrown together with leftovers, not based on any sketches. This makes 8 cards now that i can give to the carers that are coming in to help with invalid boy.



this is my work from the free Art,Heart & Healing course, run by Willowing. Link button just there on the left. This is lesson 2 part 1.
A board book, gessoed and a photograph transferred on using gel medium.

Then coloured with neocolors,text and prismas.



Left side



right side, the photo on this side isn't as clear, but it wasn't a great photo to start with. In real life you can just about make out the image.



Here are the treat bags I made for tonight, just sheets of coloured paper folded up into bags and filled with sweeties and plastic bats and rats.

Giant Jaffa Cake

This is originally, I think, a Gary Rhodes recipe. I am pretty sure I got it out of a magazine, and have been making it now for over 10 years.

130z pure orange juice, smooth not with bits in
1 orange flavoured jelly
10 oz plain chocolate
120z double cream
1 sponge flan case (large)

single cream for serving.

First line a cake tin with cling film.
Heat up a quarter of the orange juice in a jug in the microwave, add the jelly cubes and dissolve. Stir in the rest of the cold orange juice.

Pour into the lined cake tin and put in the fridge to set.



When the jelly is set, take the sponge flan case out of its wrapper and place it over the jelly, flip the whole thing over...



and you will have the jelly in the middle of the sponge.




next melt the chocolate with half the double cream, do this in a bowl over a pan of water.




Meanwhile beat the remaining cream in another bowl, until it thickens but isnt stiff like cement lol

Remove the chocolate from the heat and leave for 10 mins, then fold the cream into the choc mixture.

fold until well mixed, it will all seem quite runny at this point.





Pop in the fridge for 20 mins, this will thicken it up, then pour over the jelly and spread, so that the chocolate mix goes down into the gap between the jelly and the sponge.





Pop back in the fridge for at least 2 hours, if you cut too early the choc will be too soft and sickly. it really does need to firm up, and actually tastes better the longer you leave it.

Cut and serve with single cream.

Not much happening here. I still can't get into my craft room to play so i have a little pile of stash on the sofa next to me, looks like I have built a nest lol I have made a few cards and done a little knitting. I have also started the first 2 lessons on Willowing's free course. I can't finish them yet as I am waiting on some new crayons to arrive which invalid boy very generously ordered for me.




these cards were all really quick 10 min cards based on sketches from Kirsty's blog.

Speaking of invalid boy, we had good news yesterday, he had a checkup at hospital, the doc was very pleased with the healing progress. He was told that he is ahead of where they expected him to be, and that he should be walking again within 3 weeks.YAY!!!

I will be glad to have a rest from cooking meals, in 6 weeks I have not repeated an evening meal. It's amazing the recipes you can find online lol

I have started having acupuncture, had 2 sessions so far. I was so worried it would be horrible, but it didn't hurt at all. I get 5 needles in each ear, and it is supposed to help with the hot flushes that I have because of my medication, hope it starts to work. I also have to go for a bone density scan, I am sure that will be fun..not .

Watch out for giant jaffa cake recipe this weekend. You will need a sponge flan case, an orange jelly, dark chocolate and double cream.

Cherry and White Chocolate Cupcakes...with a lime butter frosting.

4.5oz SR flour
1 tsp baking powder
2.5 oz sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 oz white chocolate chips
3 oz cherries

2.5 fl oz oil
1 egg
1 TBspn orange water or orange juice

2 0z butter
4oz icing sugar
1/2 packet of lime Kool Aid

In a bowl mix the flour,baking powder,sugar,cinnamon and white chocolate

In a jug mix the oil,egg and orange, beat till frothy

I couldn't get fresh cherries so used dried. I rehydrated them in a little hot water, then dried them and rolled in a little flour.




Add the oil mix to the dry mix, then stir in the cherries.

Divide into 8 cupcake cases.



Bake at Gas Mark 4 for 20 minutes



Beat the butter,icing sugar and koolaid, add a little milk or cream if the mix is too stiff, then pipe over the cakes. It makes a strong flavoured icing so I only used a little on each cake.

Green Tomato Cake

I have quite a lot of green tomatoes, around 5lbs in fact. My friend joked that I would put them in a cake...so I googled, and sure enough I found green tomato cake recipes. So this is what I put together.


3 cups green tomatoes, chopped small
1 tsp salt
9 oz plain flour
5 oz sugar
5 oz butter
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 oz raisins
3 oz walnuts, chopped small


Cream the sugar and butter.

Add the flour,baking soda,baking powder,cinnamon,nutmeg and salt.

Beat the eggs and add to the dry mixture.

Add the fruit and nuts, and finally the chopped tomatoes.

Line a cake tin, I used an oblong tin.

Turn the mixture into the tin and spread out.



Bake for 40-45 mins at gas mark 4, leave to cool for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack. If you try and take it out too early it will break apart.




Next make the icing...

1/2 cup butter

Put into a pan and melt over a medium heat, continue to cook until the butter goes light brown...do watch it, you don't want it to go dark brown.

Remove from the heat and add

1 cup of icing sugar.

mix well till smooth.





Spread over the cake and leave to set.




cut into portions.

A little something for the weekend.

Leek and Blue cheese Tarts.

Makes 6 small tarts. I use the mini tart tins with a removable base, I think I got them in Sainsburys.

6oz shortcrust pastry
2 leeks chopped
100g blue cheese
2 eggs
150ml double cream
2 TBspns chives
salt and pepper
2 shallots
1 clove garlic crushed

Line the tart tins with pastry and bake blind for 12 minutes.

fry off the shallots in a little oil, till just golden, add the garlic and leeks until the leeks are soft.
add 1 TBspn plain flour and the chives. mix well.

add the salt and pepper

Beat the eggs and cream.

Fill the pastry cases with leek mixture top with crumbled blue cheese .

Pour the egg/cream mixture over each tart

Bake at Gas mark 4 for 30-40 minutes, till set and the pastry is golden.

Finally a little play with arts stuff, not really able to go up and play in my craft room, so just doing what i can sat on the sofa in the living room. So this is an art journal page for a challenge over on Ky's page. the rules are, use blue and copper and chipboard.

so this is the base of my page, painted first with brusho paint, then overlayed with Inktense pencils.



next i wrote the lyrics from 'the circle of life' over the page using a copper pencil.



I cut this image from a leaflet, and transferred it to plastic using the packing tape method, only on a bigger scale.
packing tape method video. there are many videos, this is just one.

I used clear sticky backed plastic, it works just the same, but you can do bigger pieces. This page /image is 8inches x 8 inches. I turned it over and coloured in some of the hanging bits with copper paint, and then rubbed copper wax all round the edge of the circle. i did this on the back so it would be more of a subtle colour than painting on the front.



i then went over some of the words with a thicker copper pen, and also rubbed the copper wax around the page edges.




next I took 3 pieces of chipboard, and covered them in copper sheet.




embossed the edge with a fabric wheel, and then stamped in the middles.

I glued the transferred image down, you can't see clearly here, but in real life the copper words show thru the plastic, then i added the chipboard/copper sheet text...all done.

Apple pie

mmmm proper wintery comfort food.

makes 2 pies approx 7 inches.

4 oz plain flour

4 oz wholemeal flour, sieve to remove the excess bits

1 oz icing sugar

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3oz butter

1 egg and 1/2 TBspn water

rub the butter into the flour and spices, add the icing sugar then add the egg and water . knead lightly and cover with clingfilm, pop in the fridge for 30 mins.

Line 2 foil pie dishes and bake blind for 12 minutes

2 med cooking apples

2 oz sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

zest of 1 orange

peel core and slice the apples, coat in the sugar,orange and spice mixture.

Arrange into the pie dishes

Small tub of double cream

juice of 1 orange

mix the orange into the cream and spoon some over each pie filling, about 3 TBspns of cream per pie.

Roll out the rest of your pastry to make a lid.

Decorate with pastry leaves.

Don't forget to make a couple of slits as steam holes. Brush with milk.

Bake at gas mark 5 for 30 mins.