The Bag of a Thousand Uses Tutorial!

Well alright, maybe not a thousand but this truly is a very useful little drawstring bag that you can adapt easily to fit your needs. Here are some of our suggestions:

Use it as a small gift bag, instantly making any gift look special.
Place herbs inside it and hang it up to make an attractive room fragrance.
Use it to keep your jewellery in.
Make it slightly larger and it could be used as a perfect bridesmaid bag.
Again make it slightly larger and using glitzy fabric, easily make yourself an evening bag.

What You'll Need
Fabric in two designs for outside and lining
Dinner Plate
Pencil
Cord or ribbon

Step 1

Draw around your dinner plate on both your outside and lining fabric. Cut along your pencil lines so you have two circles of the same size. These usually look good if one fabric is paler than the other.


Step 2

Place the circles right sides together and pin around the edge.

Step 3

Sew around the edge of the circle (this can be by machine or hand). Remember to leave a gap so that the fabrics can be turned the right way out. Clip around the edge of the circle at approximately 5cm (2") intervals.


Step 4

Turn the circles the right way out and sew the gap closed. Next iron your circular mat flat.


Step 5

Now we need to create a channel for the drawstring cord to go through. Begin by sewing around the circle approximately 1 1/2cm from the edge. Sew a complete circle with no gaps and make sure to sew back and forth at the beginning and end of the circle to reinforce. Now we sew another smaller circle, approximately 1cm in from the circle we've just sewn. Again no gaps and sew back and forth.

Step 6

Now we need to make two small cuts in our new channel so we can push the drawstring in. Cut on either side of the circle so that they face each other. It's wise to sew a few stitches around the edges of these cuts to reinforce them.

Step 7

Now cut two pieces of cord (or ribbon), I particularly like using colour co-ordinating cord here. We now need to thread the cord through one hole and bring it around the entire circle and back out the same hole. With the other length of cord you need to thread it through the opposite hole and again pull it through the entire circle and back out. Either side is then knotted together. Tip. If you find it difficult to thread the cord through, a hair grip attached to one end of the cord can make the process easier.

Step 8 

Pull your cords together and you have your completed bag! You can also turn it the other way out and it still works very well.

Burns Night Cranachan Recipe!

If you didn't already know, tonight is Burns Night. Traditionally this is a day to celebrate the life and poetry of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns who was born on this day. While we're not massive followers of the tradition, my last Scottish relative being born in the late 18th century, we certainly enjoy the traditional foods that are eaten on this night. So in honour of Robert Burns and Burns Night itself I thought we'd bring you our favourite Cranachan Recipe. Cranachan is one of several desserts traditionally eaten on this day.

What You'll Need

75g (2 3/4oz) Oatmeal
30g (1oz) Sugar
3 Tbsp Whisky (for a child friendly version substitute with Orange Juice)
4 Tbsp Honey
300g (10 1/2oz) Raspberries
500ml (1lb 2floz) Double Cream

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4. Mix the Oatmeal and sugar together and spread out evenly on a baking tray. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stir at least twice to ensure even browning without burning.

Step 2

Put the double cream into a large mixing bowl and whip until firm.

Step 3

Add the Oatmeal, Honey and Whisky (or Orange juice if making the non alcoholic version) to the cream and gently fold in to combine.

Step 4

Now the fun part! In a glass pot spoon in a layer of the cream mixture and then a layer of the raspberries. Keep layering like this until your pots are full.

Sit back and enjoy your delicious Cranachan!

Butterscotch Cookies Recipe!

Mmmmm... 30 year old biscuits! Well alright they aren't really 30 years old, but the recipe is. It comes from a book that has been in our family for a long time; it's cover is long gone, it's pages are soft and yellowed, but we love this book and the recipes it contains. Last year the page that contained these cookies fell out and a period of genuine distress ensued. Luckily it was eventually found among the pages of another book. So today I am sharing it with all of you, which also ensures that should the page go walkies again I can always look back here to find it.

What You'll Need

6oz/ 150g SR flour
4oz/ 100g Soft brown sugar
4oz/ 100g Butter
1 Tablespoon Syrup
Pinch of Salt

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 160C, 325F, Gas Mark 3. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar and syrup until soft.

Step 2

Now add the flour and salt and mix to form a soft dough.

 
Step 3

Using your hands roll the balls into small balls, flatten slightly by hand and space evenly on a baking tray.

Step 4

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.


Tip

We usually make double the quantity as they disappear so fast!

I like Jelly!

Actually I don't, in fact I find it odd and slightly disconcerting the way it wobbles and shakes. But like most children mine don't share my dislike. So we have recently came to a comfortable compromise. They can make and eat the Jelly if they make it using genuine old jelly moulds. For one thing they are infinitely more attractive sat on a dresser than their modern plastic or rubber cousins. For another they actually work! If you've ever tried and failed using a contemporary jelly mould then I strongly suggest you try your hand with one of these. You often see them in antique shops or on eBay.

Tip. If your jelly will not immediately quit the mould, fill a bowl with warm water and place the mould in for a few seconds.

I may not like the texture or taste, but even I have to admit that jellies made in these moulds do look wonderful and harbour a certain kind of charm. So at future parties the adults can admire the artistry while the children admire the taste, what more could you want :)

Mantle Place Runner Tutorial!

I am one of those people who take the Christmas decorations down and then feel glum at how bare the room looks. Of course it's nice to have less clutter, but you also notice the bits of paintwork that need retouching or in my case the radiator cover that's seen better days. I had a lovely red mantle place runner across it all through December and as soon as it came off I wanted something to replace it.

So I have made my own version of a springtime runner to share with you all.

What You'll Need

Fabric
Bondaweb
Tape measure
Thread


Step 1

First you need to measure your mantle place, both the length and depth. This is the basic size of your runner. You can draw this rectangle onto a piece of paper, or straight to fabric. Around the edge of the rectangle add flags or scallops or whatever shape you like.

Step 2

If you haven't already done so transfer your design onto fabric. I chose a plain cream colour. Cut out your design. Next I edged the runner with a small zig zag stitch on the sewing machine. Of course you can hem it properly. But this isn't an item with heavy use or washing, so as long as your neat with your zigs and zags they work very well and are very fast.

 
Step 3

The fun part! Decide on your decorative design. I chose hearts partly because I love hearts and partly because the next holiday I could think of was Valentines Day. Draw your design onto bondaweb or a similar product. If you need help with making appliques, look through the previous tutorials for full instructions. Iron your design onto fabric and cut out.

Step 4
 
Peel off the bondaweb backing paper and begin to iron your design onto your fabric flags/scallops etc.

Step 5

Again using a small zig zag stitch edge your applique designs. It is nice to use contrasting thread here so it stands out.


Step 6

Hang your mantle runner, stand back and enjoy your no longer bare/sparse surface :)

Make Your Own Pasta Recipe!!

There is nothing more satisfying or delicious than making and eating your own Pasta. My husband is getting to be quite the expert at homemade pasta and one batch usually makes us a lasagna, ravioli and tagliatelle. So I thought it was about time I shared his recipe.

What You'll Need

15oz Plain White or Wholemeal Flour
4 Large Eggs
1 Tsp Salt (optional)
2 Tsp Olive Oil

Step 1


Place your flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and break the eggs into it. Beat the eggs, gently working in some flour from the edges of the well. Keep mixing a little at a time until a soft dough has been formed. Add the Olive Oil to make the dough easier to work. Use your hands if this is easier.

Step 2

Sprinkle your worktop with flour and begin kneading the dough by hand. Keep going for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic feeling.

Step 3

Make the dough into 3 balls, wrap in cling film and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Step 4

Take one of the balls and place on a floured surface. Start rolling your dough using a rolling pin. It's a good idea to also stretch the dough with your hands. Continue to roll and stretch until it is about 1/16 of an inch thick. Once rolled you can let your dough rest again for about 15 minutes.


Options

This dough can make any kind of pasta you fancy. We particularly enjoy rolling sheets to use for lasagna. Or making a yummy filling and making ravioli. It's also easy to score with a knife and make noodles/tagliatelle.

Cooking

As this is fresh pasta it only takes about 3 minutes to cook with boiled in water. When used in lasagna it shouldn't need to be precooked.

I hope you give it a go and enjoy it as much as we do. I'm told it's also a good workout for the arms :)

New Year, New Habits and Nigel Slater!

It's a brand new year and this always seems like a good time to develop some new habits. So far I'm mildly addicted to watching/reading anything by the chef Nigel Slater. I watched the drama of his life 'Toast' at Christmastime and now I'm a big fan of his show Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers. For more info on the show take a look at his webpage on the BBC.

His food always looks quite simple, but really tasty. So this week we attempted his Lazy Loaf! All the ingredients were easy to find and the instructions easy to follow, which is always a relief, especially with bread recipes.




The end result looked divine and tasted even better with soup. There was a definite moment of pride at having created something so pretty, that we felt we had to share it with you all :)

If you have a moment definitely take a look at the webpage and give some of his recipes a try.

Happy New Year!

The festive season seems to have whirled by as usual and here we find ourselves in a brand new year! I can't say that I've made any resolutions, I learnt many years ago that just because I decided something at new year, it didn't make me any more likely to stick to it. But new year always feels like a fresh start, time to rethink or restart. My house is often the lucky recipient of new paintwork or rearranged furniture at this time of year for that very reason.

But first on my agenda this year has been the beginning of a big sort out. I'm something of a hoarder so this is always a mammoth task. But in my usual spirit of reusing/recycling I like taking something new and giving it new life. This time it was an old ripped pair of jeans. The denim had got to that stage where it was lovely and soft to the touch, so even though the jeans were no more we couldn't resist using the fabric again. Above is my new needle case, finally I will have organised needles!

My daughter also got a new skirt (seen above) and bag (her name will be sewn on in due course). The bag is a particularly whimsical one as it's made out of the old jeans pocket.




Never one to leave someone out my son also got a new bag (again name to follow). He is going to keep some of his character cards in here. So happy child as he has a new bag and happy Mummy as his cards are kept together :)

I hope the new year begins the start of fun times for all of you as well.