Rhubarb custard cake

This is a recipe from the BBC Good Food website, link here.

It is very delicious, moist and tasty. I've just eaten a slice cold but it would be lovely served hot with custard as a dessert.

You might think my blog's been quiet lately, that's because I've started a new crafty blog over at http://shazronnie.wordpress.com/ if you'd like to take a look xxx

Sweet Sketch Wednesday - lilac loveliness

Here's a little card I'd like to enter into Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

I chose a load of bits of lilac paper from my scrap box and dusted off my heat embossing gear to make the stamped image in the middle.

Here is the sketch I was following...

... and I think I did a better job this week :)

Happy Bodging :)

Do you like my crochet stripe pillowcase?

I'm rather taken with it.

It's much better than a crochet stripe blanket, which was started in Septemeber 2010 and would probably never get finished.

So, I crocheted the sides together, wrapped it around a pillow and tied the back with ribbon.

And if anyone asks, it was always going to be a pillow, right?

Wedding card - sweet sketch wednesday

So, I thought I'd have a go at a blog challenge!

Sweet sketch Wednesday involves making a card following a layout. This week the layout is this...

Well, this was actually quite hard for me - I usually just make things up as I go along!

Consequently I haven't followed the sketch too accurately; mine has a few less layers for a start (sorry!)

But I'm pretty pleased with the result for a first try!

The image is a digi stamp from digi stamp boutique and I've used the promarkers to colour it in.

The greeting is handwritten, and I've embellished with some lovely lilac ribbon.

Yoyos - why have I never made these before??

I decided to join in with Jubilee fever and made some little hairclips - just a little fabric yoyo, a button and some ribbon.

Yoyos are so cute and they take about 1 minute to make! Just cut a circle of fabric, make a quick hem all around with running stitch and pull the thread gather it into a little puff!

So I made myself a little brooch, this time with two yoyos and a heart button.

Apparently in the 1950's it was very fashionable to sew hundreds of yoyos together and make a bedspread.

I think I'll just stick to hairclips and brooches though!

40th Birthday cards - a sign that your friends are getting old!!

I made this card for my ready and available stash, using some pretty paper and the cricut machine.

Then a friend asked me to make a personalised version...

And then another friend wanted the first card, but the recipient had seen it on my facebook page, so I ended up making my 3rd 40th card in one day!

I really like this one, the bright colours and the 3d effect of the flowers.

(And just in case anyone is wondering - I'm only 38!!)

Dinosaurs - regular green ones and the lesser spotted pink!

I'm getting better with my pens - this is a digi-stamp called Eric dino from digi-stamp boutique. I've coloured him in green, with purply  (probably no such word as purply) brown spots.

And here he is in a more lime green incarnation.

This must be Erica - I think she looks cute in pink and purple - who says dinosaurs can't be girly??

Honey, I shrunk the handbag!

I knitted this handbag using Sirdar Eco-wool. Didn't bother with a pattern, just used a circular needle - 78 stitches, round and round until it was long enough, then cast off leaving 2 blocks of 9 stitches which became the handle. A little bit of wool left over so knitted a square to make into a pocket.

The plan was to put the finished item through a hot wash to shrink it into a felted bag.

And it came out rather smaller than I expected!

So now I have a cute, dinky bag, lined with cotton...

... just the right size for a lipgloss, some keys and a five pound note!

Definitely no space for raisins, colouring pens, cartons of juice, moshi monsters or wet wipes!

Knitting bag

This morning, in a flurry of housework avoidance productivity I made this.

The lilac fabric is some medium weight cotton I was going to use for some cushion covers, and the lining is from a vintage Marks and Sparks duvet cover.

It has a round bottom (just like me!!) so there is plenty of space for balls of wool and stuff.

And it's deep enough that even long needles don't stick out.

And after I'd finished it I realised that as a bonus...

...it is completely reversible! So you can have the scrummy vintage print on the outside.

Linking up with handmade Thursday at www.whitelilygreen.blogspot.co.uk .

More colouring in...

So now I have £40 worth of posh pens... and the colouring is going better!

I managed some blending on this image (a free digi stamp from Bird's Cards.)

And I've just made this pretty pink ballerina card with a digi stamp I bought at DigiStamp Boutique.

It was my first time trying to get skin colour and I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

So, all in all, I am slowly becoming obsessed with felt tip pens. I'm constantly thinking about what to colour next and making an even worse job of the housework than usual so I have time to mess about with my pens! 

Handmade Thursday; a little handbag

This is a little prototype bag I made for my daughter.

It is cotton on the outside and green felt on the inside; you can't really tell in the photo but that is a Hello Kitty button.

I made it last night, presented it to Poppy this morning expecting it to be cast aside. She is not overly fond of girls's stuff but the desire to carry things around her neck seems to override the pink, flowery aspect.

Anyway, she agreed to have a photograph...

...although she also insisted on choosing her own accessories!

Linking up with Handmade Thursdays at White Lily Green.

Colouring in; it's not child's play.

Last week, after much deliberation, I spent £16 on some posh felt tip pens - letraset promarkers (set 1) which are blendable permanent markers, much loved within the cardmaking community.

Of course I always expect to be brilliant at everything.

But this colouring in lark is hard!

I bought this digi stamp from digi-stamp boutique and printed some out. I was completely convinced that I was about to produce something amazing.

Hmm... not great... and these are two of my better attempts. 

But I do not give up easily.

Especially when I have spent £16.

So I tried again, and managed to colour in something worthy of making into a card.

And I have realised why I am having problems.

The pens are the wrong colours.

I obviously need the second set of paler colours as well.

Spending £32 in one week on colouring pens is not at all excessive.

Is it?

To be continued...

Age on a badge on a card

Just a quick post to show you my new card idea - the motif is a felt backed brooch for the birthday girl to wear on her special day.

Now off to find some fabric to make one for a birthday boy.

Curtains - the least fun sewing project ever.

"Oh, yes, I shall make some curtains," I said to myself. "They are basically just rectangles. How hard can it be?"

Really, very bloody hard actually.

There are all these conventions you are supposed to follow to make a pair of curtains.

The fabric should be at least twice as wide as your window, and ideally be long enough to drop below the windowsill.

That is a really ginormous piece of fabric.

There should be a left curtain and a right curtain.

That is 2 really ginormous pieces of fabric.

They should have linings.

That is 4 really ginormous pieces of fabric.

Patterns should match when you sew the pieces together.

Aaaaaaaarrrggggggghhhhhhhhh.

The pattern on curtain one, should line up with curtain two.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

I am too creative to be bound by these rules and regulations. Sewing curtains is too dull for my artistic mind.

So my curtains are slightly wonky, in an artistically endearing sort of way.

And I will NEVER let the concept of making my own curtains ever enter my creative mind again.

And the winner is....

There were 67 entries to my Easter giveaway.
And the random number generator picked number 7.

Which is.....
((drum roll))
.... CLAIRE DAVIES!!!!

Hooray! congratulations Claire, I will get your prize to you asap. Thanks to everyone else who entered, I hope you'll keep popping by here and on my facebook page.

My heart canvas

I made this picture for my bedroom wall; it's a fairly large canvas - about 20" x 12", and it's mostly made from bits in my vastly overflowing scrap box.

I sewed 3 little buttons at the bottom of each heart. Because I like things in groups of 3.

I love it, but it got me thinking - this would be a great thing to make out of all those cute, sentimental baby clothes. Like a memory canvas for a nursery. What do you think?

Easter Giveaway!!

 Would you like to win these Easter goodies?

You would?

There's an Easter card with a padded bunny motif...

There's a cotton treat bag - filled with chococolate ...

There's an emergency chocolate pocket - including chocolate of course...

And there's a very ugly, boggle eyed chicken.

But she does have a chocolate egg up her bum, so that's good.

(Her name is Ethel.)

So, what do you have to do to be a winner??

• You could leave a comment on this blog post and I will put your name in the proverbial hat.
• If you are a new follower to this blog you will get an extra entry. (Make sure you tell me in your comment.)
• You could like me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shazronniemakesstuff - all new likers from today will be in with a chance.
• If you visit my facebook page you will also be able to get more entries by sharing and commenting there.

(Disclaimer; all these items have been made by me, they are not toys and should not be given to children without supervision - they might choke on a little bead or scoff all the chocolate.)

The giveaway closes on the 26th March so that I can get the goodies posted by Easter.

(And if you live locally I will also give you 6 lovely free range eggs from my chickens!)

Linking up with handmade Thursday at White Lily Green.

How to upcycle a gin bottle...

...decant your washing up liquid into it, add a pouring spout from Ikea and ta-dah!!

I'm sure I have loads of other stuff which needs decanting. Better finish another bottle!

A traditional card

A friend requested a mother's day card for her mum "who insists on calling it mothering sunday."

This is just papercraft, the letters cut on the Cricut machine, embellished with a ribbon and a single brad.

Mother's Day cards

With Valentine's Day done and dusted, it's time to start making cards for Mother's Day!

These are the two designs I've come up with; machine appliqued letters on upcycled pink linen, stiched onto the green check paper.

Here's the large one with "Mom" which is very popular with the Brummies around this neck of the woods. I have also had a request for "Mam" which is the Welsh equivalent.

If you'd like a mum, mom or mam card you can visit my facebook page or just contact me here :)

The large ones are A5 and cost £3.50, the small ones are A6 and cost £2.50.

(Postage is £1.)

Linking up to Handmade Thursdays at www.whitelilygreen.blogspot.com xxx

Post-it note cover - tutorial

This is a super quick make which costs hardly anything! 

All you need is a block of sticky post-it notes, some card, patterned paper and glue.

Start by cutting a piece of card so that it is the same width as your sticky notes, and long enough to wrap around; ie height + height + thickness of the pad.

Make two firm creases where the card will bend around the pad, then glue the sticky pad onto the bottom of the rectangle of card.

Then you will need whatever you want to decorate it with. I'm using a square of patterned paper, a heart shape and some letters. You can be as creative as you like - space permitting!!

Stick the square of patterned paper on the front.

Then stick on the rest of your embellishments - easy peasy!!

If you make one let me know! I'd love to see :)