Two or three years ago I made this advent calendar for my son. It is made using 24 matchboxes.

Desructables are HERE.




The drawers are just big enough to put a chocolate in each one.




This year I made one for his girlfriend, I had no matchboxes and the snow is so bad here I wasn't about to go shopping for them. So I took a few sheets of cardstock, and made boxes.



24 sleeves and 24 drawers later, and I was able to stack them up and glue them in place.



Then i decorated it. Added a base and a top bit.



and filled it with chocs.

Ian still isn't walking, after the first exciting physio he was told he couldn't walk again for 4 weeks, this pushes recovery to well after xmas...

Awesome bread

Today I made this awesome 12.5 hr bread lol It was easy peasy lemon squeezy, though no lemons were actually hurt in this recipe. I found the recipe HERE You can make it too.

So, TONIGHT, before you go to bed...

In a LARGE bowl put 1 and 3/4 cups of WARM water and 1/4 teaspoon of dried yeast.

Give it a swish about.

Add 1 teaspoon salt and 4 LOOSE cups of regular plain flour. Do not pack the flour down or you will use too much, you do not need to use bread flour.

Add 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs, I used oregano. Don't be tempted to use more, dried herbs are strong.

Give it a really good mix up, and then cover the bowl tightly with clingfilm/saran wrap.

All this should have taken you less than 5 mins. Make sure you bowl is LARGE.

now go to bed.

Tick-tock-tick-tock

After 12 hrs, which will be sometime tomorrow when you wake up...

Tip the dough, which will have doubled in size, onto a lightly greased baking tray. use a spatula to ease the stringy dough from the bowl.

Do not mix it, do not knead it, just tip from the bowl.

Add some grated cheese, I used Gruyere and Parmesan, but you could just use Cheddar.

Bake 400F/Gas mark 6 for around 25 mins.

Voila!



This makes a flatish bread, for deeper slices bake in a regular loaf tin.

The outside is crispy/crunchy and the inside is fluffy and full of air pockets.



This is just totally yummy, and as long as you mix the night before you get a fresh loaf of bread in under half an hour.

hellloooooo, long time no see eh? Momentous day today as Ian has been to the physio for the first time, they made him stand up and walk...only 5 steps, but still it is a start. He now has exercises to do every 4 hours, and he is back there on Monday.

Meet my new little friend. Christmas monkey, he came in a box of tea bags, and joins my other little monkey. I think new monkey was a little wary, as original monkey has a scary looking lip piercing, but i am sure they will be friends in no time. I am thinking now there are 2 of them they really should have proper names.



This is truly the highlight of the week, the wonderful, talented and quite barmy Doone is having a giveaway on her blog. This is to celebrate her first 50 followers, for each person she is making a bespoke ATC. How generous is that!

I asked for an ATC incorporating her 'NoFear ' face and a giraffe. I was meant to be number 4, but i asked to be number 12 instead lol also there had to be no yellow, as yellow is a bad and wrong colour hahaha

So here it is, all tactile, and shiny and just basically amazing, so much so i thought it deserved to be in a frame. So I removed the glass and attached the ATC using silicone glue, hopefully it will hold it ok. It is now stood on my chest of drawers.




A while ago I bought this bakers twine, it looks great on cards and layouts. I got mine from Andrea, She comes down to our monthly crop, is a lovely person and has just opened her own little webshop, selling fab buttons,twine and ribbons. Go and check her out.



In a previous post i made a blue and copper journal page for a challenge on Ky's blog. I was very lucky to win and this is the fab little haul she sent to me. Ky has a weekly challenge, go on over and check out this weeks.



Next in the post came a packet of ATC backgrounds from the gorgeous and hugely inspiring Dede. she also sent a little wallet made out of BG, my fave paper brand. How fab are they all!



This is my self portrait for Lesson 1 of the free Willowing course, see button link ^^^
this is the first time i have done a close up face, and the first time I have used my neocolor crayons, they are awesome, and I would highly recommend them.



This is from lesson 2, the first double spread in a board book.



This is lesson 3, the cover of the board book and a tag.

Cranberry and Pomegranate Cupcakes.

1 plain greek yoghurt
2 pots SR flour
1.5 pots of sugar
0.5 pot of oil
2 eggs
1tspn baking powder
3 oz cranberries
2 pomegranates

Empty the yoghurt into a bowl, rinse out the pot and use it to measure the other ingredients.

Add in the flour,baking powder,sugar and cranberries.

Beat the eggs and oil.

squeeze the juice out of 1 pomegranate, add to the eggs and oil

Add the wet ingredients to the dry.

It will look alarming purple till you mix it.




Pop into cases and bake gas mark 4 for 15 mins.



Mix 2.5 oz of butter with 5 oz icing sugar, add half the juice from the 2nd pomegrante.

Pipe onto the cakes and top with some of the pmegrante fruit.