Pretty Little Cozies! Book Review

Most people own a beautiful tea cozy, even if you never use the pot beneath it. You probably also cover your mobile, mp3 player, tissues etc etc. You name it, we cover it. Mainly I think this is to inject a bit of our own personality into objects which often lack any. If you're a creative person you probably prefer to make such covers yourself. I was therefore delighted when I received a copy of Pretty Little Cozies by Lark Books from GMC Publications.

The book features 32 projects to makes various cozies/pockets and is written by a selection of designers. It begins with a very useful section on cozy basics. This includes materials required and techniques which are covered. I found the explanations and drawings to be clear and easy to follow.

If you're a regular reader then you will know that we always review books by actually testing them out. So I started by making a cover for a packet of tissues, seen here. It came out so well that I intend it to be a present for a relative.

There are many designs in this book and they are quite varied covering everything from a games controller cover to a pan handle cover. Once I had completed one project successfully I was eager to try out another as soon as possible.

So next I tried out the camera case. I used vintage fabric for this project and I think this is one area where the book really excels. All the designs are small enough that you will probably be able to make them from scraps of fabric you already have. Personally I find nothing more satisfying than being able to launch straight into a project without having to hesitate while I stock up on supplies.

I also made a mobile phone case out of the same fabric and again I'm very pleased with the results.

Would I recommend this book? Definitely! It has so many projects that there's bound to be one or two that will inspire you. There are also many ideas for gift giving.

Could it be improved in anyway? Not really. The only suggestion I would have and this is based purely on my own personal taste, is that I thought some of the projects looked slightly old fashioned. Largely due to the fabric choices used. But as I say this is only my own preference and really does not affect the quality of the book or the designs it contains.


Book Details

Title: Pretty Little Cozies

Author: Lark Books
ISBN: 9781600593765
RRP: £12.99
Publisher: Lark
Publication Date: July 2009.

Pancake Day & CSN stores review!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that CSN stores had kindly offered to send me some products to review. I finally chose a Teal coloured Le Creuset Mixing Jug and KitchenCraft Masterclass Crepe Pan. Both items arrived separately, delivered by a DHL at home courier. From order to delivery I had to wait 8 days until I had both items. As pancake day is fast approaching I thought these were the perfect products to review.

To begin with I love love love the Le Creuset mixing jug, it has just enough style and functionality to make it the perfect addition to any kitchen. It can hold up to 2 litres, making it a great size for batter and the spout makes pouring extremely easy. It's currently sat on top of our breadboard and I think it looks rather impressive, definitely not a cupboard item. As for use, I had been worried it wouldn't be large enough to be truly useful but thankfully I was wrong. We whipped up a double quantity of pancake batter and had no overflow. It also pours very smoothly.

Moving onto the KitchenCraft Masterclass Crepe Pan. I've never had a dedicated crepe/pancake pan before, we've always managed to survive using regular frying pans. But it genuinely makes a difference to use the proper thing. The pan is very flat and also has a nonstick surface. I used absolutely no butter or oil, we just poured the batter straight in and waited for the pancake to stick, they didn't! It was easy to swirl the batter to the edges of the pan and the flat surface meant we used less than we would normally, it also cooked the pancakes very evenly. By the end of the cooking session we had a huge stack of yummy pancakes. All cooked without butter, which I like to think made them much healthier (any excuse to eat more pancakes) and very even in size. The only remaining concern I have is how long the nonstick surface will last, unfortunately only time and use will tell.

So I think we are fully prepared for Pancake Day now. I'm a bit of a traditionalist and my favourite flavourings are Lemon and Sugar and Golden Syrup. I would love to be a bit more adventurous though, so do any of you have any favourite toppings that you could suggest for us?

Memories Of A Lifetime Christmas! Book Review

Time for a festive book review! Christmas feels like it's approaching with alarming speed right now, in fact it feels like that most years. But if you embrace the idea of a homemade Christmas what better than a book to help you along the way. I recently received a copy of Memories Of A Lifetime: Christmas by Nancy Rosin from GMC Publications.

This book has the unusual advantage that you are instructed to cut into it's pages! The book offers 57 pages of scrapbook prints that you can cut out or photocopy. Or if the idea of cutting up your new book doesn't sit well with you, all the images are also provided on an enclosed CD so you can print them off at your leisure.

Most of the pictures have a vintage and somewhat Victorian feel to them. There is a gallery at the front of the book with suggested uses of the images. One such use is to make a bookmark. Here I mounted an image of St Nicholas onto card and added a gold tassel.

Next I decided to make a present tag. I used a luggage label as the base and a gorgeous snowy scene as the image.

Finally I made a Christmas card using an image of a snowman. I think he looks a very jolly fellow and perfect for the season.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. It isn't filled with writing or bogged down with ideas so some people might long for a tutorial or two more. But if ideas and images are enough to inspire you then you really can't go far wrong with this book.

Could it be improved in anyway? Not really. As I said some people may prefer more detailed step by step instructions of projects. But there are plenty of books on the market that already offer this. What this book offers is a no nonsense library of beautiful images ready to be turned into beautiful creations.

Book Details

Title: Memories Of A Lifetime Christmas

Author: Nancy Rosin
ISBN: 9781402723674
RRP: £11.99
Publisher: Sterling
Publication Date: Spring 2006.

Mulled Wine, Snow and a Review

If like me your in the UK then chances are that you have experienced at least a moderate amount of snow over the last few days. But how do you survive these cold spells in good humour? Personally it's all made me feel rather festive and in the spirit of this I thought I'd bring you this review today. As one of CSN stores preferred bloggers I was recently been given an opportunity to review another item from one of their online stores. With Christmas fast approaching I chose to review the Sagaform Thermal Glass Mulled Wine Mugs (set of 4).

Delivery & Packaging

Delivery was very prompt and as usual carried out by UPS. These are obviously delicate items but they were well packaged and protected.

Do The Mugs Work?

This evening we made some mulled wine and poured it into the glasses. The outside of the mugs stayed cool and easy to hold. But the mulled wine kept it's temperature for a considerable time. I was very impressed by how well they worked. The design is very clever, but does mean that the glasses feel very fragile. I haven't dropped one so I'm not sure how robust they are. But then again no glassware is every truly durable.

Would I recommend them?

Definitely! They would make a wonderful gift, or great for when you have friends over during the festive period. They aren't that large so no one can get overly tipsy, but they offer a lovely little touch to your festivities. The designs are very cute as well.

Crumpled Cup Review!

It's a funny title for a post I admit, but I am honestly reviewing crumpled cups and I love them! As a preferred blogger with CSN Stores I was given another opportunity to review an item and this time I picked 3 Revol Froisses Porcelain Crumpled Cups. I chose the Cappuccino size.

Delivery & Packaging

Delivery was very prompt and by UPS. Packaging was a little lacking unfortunately. The 3 cups come in a plastic tube and this was slightly squashed. However the cups were unharmed, but a squashed tube wouldn't be great if you were giving these as a gift.

Do the Cups Work?

Yes, although you may have noticed that my picture shows them full of sweets rather than coffee. This is partially because I think they look very cute used in this way and partly because, with the absence of a handle it's quite hard to hold them if they have a hot drink inside. Coffee made with a coffee machine is usually not too hot though, but water straight from a kettle would be.


Would I recommend this item?

Without a doubt. I adore quirky items in my home and these have already been quite the talking point. They do come in other colours, but I don't think you can beat the plain white for looking like an original plastic cup which has been squashed. I would dearly love to receive items like this for Christmas and I'm sure others would too. Apparently they are used in rather posh cafes in Paris and because they are available in different sizes there should be something to suit everyone.

Parties That Wow! Book Review

Time for another book review. As I am sure you are all well aware the party season is well and truly upon us. But do you cower away from such social occasions or embrace, decorate and enjoy!? With this question in mind I was very grateful to receive a copy of Parties That Wow by Jonathan Fong from GMC Publications.

 

This book is filled with so many gorgeous ideas for a party theme that it is hard to choose, but being as our party was instead of a Halloween party I let the children decide and they wanted a Spy Party!

In truth our party took ideas from two themes detailed in the book, elements which we thought worked well together to create the look we wanted. The end result? 

 Our Top Secret place settings.

 Holographic gemstones, this little device is a blog post in itself, but it worked brilliantly for our Spy theme

,

 We couldn't leave James Bond out of the proceedings so he very kindly decorated our Pumpkin (big thanks to my husband and his rather excellant carving skills here).

 A UV light reveals what was hidden on the place cards (this caused a lot of fun and giggles as everyone found their places).

The completed table, with it's laser lights, coins, spooky spiders and more. There was also a map with the secret location of Spy headquarters, but naturally I couldn't reveal that :P

So.....

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would. It's a great source of ideas and inspiration for all year round events. The author Jonathan clearly goes above and beyond for his party guests and even if you can't completely replicate all his ideas they are a great starting point.

Could it be improved in anyway? Yes I think it could. Unfortunately not all the themes have the same depth of instructions or ideas, some are perfect others a little shallow I felt. I would also suggest that some of Jonathan's ideas would be hard to reproduce, so perhaps a few alternative suggestions. I also would have liked to see some ideas for themed food, although the author does admit that he is no cook. But overall I loved the book and can't wait to plan my next event!

Book Details

Title: Parties That Wow

Author: Jonathan Fong
ISBN: 9780823099788
RRP: £12.99
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Publication Date: Autumn 2007.

Absolutely Chocolate! Book Review

Time for a book review :) When it comes to food and desserts in particular there are definately fashions that come and go over time. But there is one ingredient that will never ever fall out of favour and that is chocolate. Whether your a traditionalist who loves their organic 70% cocoa solids or a person who bows to the delights of milk chocolate or white it is hard to find a person who doesn't love one of the many variants now available.

But can you or do you cook with it? I have recently received Absolutely Chocolate written by the editors of Fine Cooking.

To say this book is a bible to all things chocolate would be a huge understatement, to start with it's a very hefty hardback, secondly it not only gives you ten large sections of recipes it also teaches you everything you could ever wish to know about chocolate.

After a rather mouthwatering readthrough I decided to test the book out by making the Fastest Fudge Cake with Ganache Drizzle. The instructions were very clear and to the point and I had no trouble interpreting the recipe. They were not lying about the cake being fast either, it was whipped up in a flash but certainly wouldn't have looked that way to guests.

 

We served it to four adults and three children and the general consensus, after all the oohing and ahhing over the shiny ganache, was that the cake was delicious and we could all have eaten a second or third slice. Even the children loved it which suprised me as it had quite a sophisticated flavour. It would make a gorgeous end to a dinner party (but without the time and effort of other possible dishes).

Would I recommend this book?

Without a doubt, the recipes are beyond beautiful to look at and eat. They're easy to follow and a lot are very quick. Plus the book looks grand in it's own right and would look great sat on a coffee table for guests to flick through.

Could it be improved in any way?

Honestly I have struggled to think of a way in which this book can be improved. The only thing I can think of is that occassionally it mentions using certain brands of biscuits etc but isn't terribly clear on suitable alternatives, but most people can work these out for themselves.

Plus

If you love chocolate as much as me then keep your eyes peeled to the blog as this coming Thursday I'm launching a big new giveaway that will be right up your street!

Book Details

Title: Absoltuely Chocolate

Author: Editors of Fine Cooking

ISBN: 9781600851339

RRP: £20.00

Publisher: Taunton

Publication Date: Autumn 2009.

I really love this place!

You probably know by now that I am a fan of CSN stores, the only problem I ever have is choosing which items I like, with over 200 stores selling everything from wardrobes to fitness equipment there is a lot of choice!

I am very pleased to have been offered another opportunity to review an item, the question now is how will I ever choose! I will give it some serious thought and hopefully have a new review for you all soon :)

CSN Store Ceramic Review!

You may remember me mentioning that I was offered the opportunity to become a preferred blogger for the CSN family of online stores. This meant I was given another chance to review an item. It took me ages to decide what to review, if you take a look at the family of stores there is a huge variety to choose from. But I finally settled on reviewing the:

Kyocera Ceramic Bladed Peeler with Rotating Head and
Let's Make Animal Chocolate Moulds (sert of 2)

Delivery and Packaging

Delivery was fairly quick and arrived by UPS. I was out at the time but they left the parcel with my neighbour, I prefer this to trudging down to wait in a line at the Post Office. The packaging can be seen in the picture, not over the top and easily recycled (which is always a bonus).

Did the peeler work?

There has recently been a lot of interest in the use of ceramic knives but they are rather expensive. So this peeler appears to offer the benefits without the cost. But does it work? In a word, yes! Both Anne and I put the peeler through it's paces and it's hard to believe that a peeler could get two people so excited. It literally glid across carrots, potatoes and even a squash! Hardly any pressure was required, infact if you applied pressure you lost a chunk of vegetable. You'd think a peeler might be dull, but this one is so quick and effort free you can't help but love it. The rotating head also means you can adjust it perfectly depending on the job.

Did the chocolate moulds work?

Yes they worked very well. They are quite deep moulds and we filled them with milk chocolate, but as you can see from the following pic I think they came out quite well. The children were certainly impressed!


Would I recommend both items?

I would indeed recommend them both. I was particularly impressed with the peeler. I think it would make a very thoughtful gift for someone older or perhaps suffering from reduced hand strength, this would make life that little bit easier. But in truth everyone can appreciate how easy and quick this makes the job of peeling.

Both items came from the www.cookwarebycsn.co.uk store, just like last time I was not paid to write this review, but I did receive the items.

Little Felted Animals! Book Review.

Time for a book review! Trends often seem to come and go in the craft world, but one that is steadily growing and not dying out is needle felting. The process of creating an object using unspun wool can seem like a rather daunting prospect. I had often thought this myself, I have several felted pieces that I have bought from other artists and I often found myself wondering how on earth they were made. Enter Little Felted Animals by Mariie-Noelle Horvath!

This book was very kindly sent to me by the publishers GMC Publications and at first glance I loved it, as you can see from the cover image the book is beautifully photographed. I think the final presentation of a book is very important, this book looks and feels expensive and special (although the RRP is quite low). It is definitely the kind of book worthy of a place on your coffee table. After an initial read through I bought the relevant supplies and set about making the first animal (a little black bird).

I found the instructions a little confusing at first, I think this is largely due to the fact that needle felting is in it's most basic form very simple. But when you see the end results it's hard to believe there is so little to it, so you can't help but imagine you've missed a step. The key seemed to be to follow both the text and images exactly.

The end result... well I am well and truly addicted to felting! Jabbing away at balls of wool is both theraputic and satisfying (although be careful not to prick yourself like I did, the needles are very sharp). Here is my favourite little animal I have created so far, with my own twist of creativity.

I really cannot enthuse enough about needle felting, it's so simple and addictive, I even have my family getting in on the act (my husband made an owl).

Would I recommend this book? This book made felting less mysterious and more accessible and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. It's also beautiful to look through. If the book alone wasn't a good Christmas present, then how about gifting one of the creations it teaches you to make!

Could it be improved in any way? The book lists several places to buy supplies from but unfortunately they are all in America. For a British reader like myself this wasn't particularly helpful, an international listing or two would have been nice. I also think it could have been written a little more basically for a novice like myself. Although once you catch the idea the pictures alone are enough instruction.

Book Details

Title: Little Felted Animals
Author: Marie-Noelle Horvath
ISBN: 9780823015047
RRP: £7.99
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Publication Date: Autumn 2008.

Fantastic Fairies! Book Review.

I'm probably not alone when I say that I have always loved the magic of fairies. When I was little I had a fold out pop up book about Flower Fairies that I loved and carried on many trips. So when I had the opportunity to review a book teaching how to make your own I jumped at the chance. The book was Fantastic Fairies and their friends by Julie Sharp.

The book is filled with gorgeous pictures of fairies, mice, toadstools and bugs. But I'll admit I found the prospect of making the fairies slightly daunting. They are made from surprisingly simple components such as pipe cleaners, but in a funny sort of way that made them seem harder (my experience of pipe cleaners is limited to the basic twisting required in primary school).

I would love to claim a huge success here, but this little lady is all down to my husband (who is a bit of a whizz when it comes to wire).

She took one evening (and a bit) to make. I think she is adorable (and have plans for him to make me many more).

Was she a success? You can judge from the pictures yourself, but I think she was very much a success!

Was there any issues or problems during her construction? The book requires you to reference techniques laid out at the back of the book. This means a lot of page turning and can become a little confusing after awhile. We also found that the tutorial told you to make one set of arms when another was featured in the picture.

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would, but it does require a fair amount of patience which I hadn't expected. It's more indepth and definitely more skilled than you might imagine. This doesn't mean it isn't worth having a go at though.

Could the book be improved? As I said earlier the instructions do jump around a bit which is a bit annoying, especially when your trying to master the basic techniques. The book would also benefit from giving you alternatives for some of the materials. We had to improvise with our fairies eyes because we could not for love nor money find any stores that sold ready made pom poms small enough.

I think the fairies and creatures would make wonderful Christmas presents. Perhaps attaching some ribbon to their heads so they could be given as decorations. I am particularly excited to make Bud The Mouse and a fairy toodstool.

Book Details

Title: Fantastic Fairies and Their Friends.
Author: Julie Sharp
ISBN: 9781861084620
RRP: £12.99
Publisher: GMC
Publication Date: Spring 2006.

Stupid Sock Creatures!? Book Review

Time for a book review! If like me you have noticed the recent popularity of creatures made from socks then you might be wondering how you too can get in on the fun. I have been keen to have a go for quite sometime, but despite being fairly experienced at sewing; cutting up and reforming a pair of socks seemed quite daunting. Enter Stupid Sock Creatures by John Murphy!

This book was very kindly sent to me by the publishers GMC Publications and I have to say I love it! For a start the author is very funny which makes the book very easy to read. He freely admits that his creatures came about because he failed at his attempts to make a sock monkey. So I chose a pair of socks and set about making a creature called Owlsley.

The end result? Well... he is very creature/monster like, but he isn't such a great copy of Owlsley.

Do I consider him a failure? No, not at all. He is much adored by my daughter and I think this is rather the point the book is trying to make, that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to creature making.

Why did he turn out looking more like a donkey than Owlsey? I think it's probably to do with several things, firstly I was using womens socks, the author uses mens so they would be wider. Secondly I was using very very cheap socks with a huge amount of stretch so my stuffing technique may have elongated his head slightly.

Finally the pattern is more of an explanation, it doesn't give exact measurements, so I probably didn't cut far enough down the sock to make his head, thus he got a longer one.

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would, it's quirky and genuinely amusing to read. It also offers something completely different from the standard fare. I think my children could probably master sock creatures, I'm fairly confident my husband could too. Infact I wonder if they would be better at it than me.

Could the book be any better? Perhaps, I did find the instructions slightly difficult to follow, but I have a feeling this is because I am used to detailed patterns and this comes more from the angle of a person with no sewing experience. The huge benefit though is that the pictures are very clear. The part I most stuggled with was the mouth, thankfully the picture helped me work it out and now I understand what the author was saying in the first place.

I think this book plus some socks, scissors and thread would make a fantastic Christmas gift (I know, I know, there's months to go yet, but we Mums have to think ahead!) It is also currently available at Amazon for a very good price.

Book Details

Title: Stupid Sock Creatures
Author: John Murphy
ISBN: 9781579906108
RRP: £8.99
Publisher: Lark
Publication Date: Autumn 2005.

Terry Pratchett, Discworld & Food!!

In honour of the release of Going Postal on DVD we recently made an effort to use our somewhat dusty copy of Nanny Ogg's Cookbook: A Useful and Improving Almanack of Information including Astonishing Recipes and made a Discworld meal.

If your not familiar with the Discworld let me enlighten you. Discworld is a fantasy book series written by Terry Pratchett. It's rather silly, intelligent, hilarious and addictive. In recent years Sky One has adapted three of the books, with the most recent being Going Postal.

We decided to make Howondaland Curry with Clooty Dumplings Followed by Sticky Toffee Rat On A Stick! Perhaps surprisingly (considering the names) it was all delicious!

The Howondaland Curry was gorgeous and the Clooty Dumplings worked really well as a side dish. It was enjoyed by adult and child alike so definitely worth a try and we will be making it again.

Next I set to Rat making, I should probably mention at this stage that no rats were harmed in the making of this blog post, rather I fashioned some slightly dodgy copies from Marzipan.

The next stages were rather fiddly and I got in a terrible mess (but surely that's half the fun!?). I couldn't find any black colouring to use to make the icing eyes so they received instead red eyes (it seemed like a ratty sort of colour)

To finish I also made Wizard cupcakes, these were made up on the spot and not from the book.

Have any of you tried out this weird and wonderful cookery book?

CSN Preferred Blogger :)

I have just had an email asking me to become a CSN Preferred Blogger! You may remember that I reviewed some products from one of their stores somewhile back. I'm very excited by this opportunity to review another item, CSN have several stores selling everything from lights to furniture. They are definitely worth a look, a lot of the items also have free delivery on top of good prices.

I'm not sure which item I will review this time. Last time readers suggested items they'd like to know more about, is there anything you'd like me to review this time? Here's a list of their UK stores (they are also in the US).

http://www.csnstores.co.uk

http://www.allmodern.co.uk/

http://www.cookwarebycsn.co.uk/

http://www.furniturebycsn.co.uk/

http://www.lightingbycsn.co.uk/

http://www.tvstands.co.uk/

Natural Beauty? Betty Hula Review

From my previous posts you may be aware that I lean towards natural skincare products. But what do you do if you don't have the time or inclination to do a James Wong in the kitchen? The answer is obviously ready made products, but with so many available and so many claiming to be natural it's hard to choose.

I have been fortunate enough to be given some samples from the all new Betty Hula Natural Beauty range. Before I launch into my review of them I should probably tell you a bit about my skin and my rather over the top expectations from beauty products.

I have dry skin, and when I say dry I mean I feel like I'm going to crack if I don't regularly moisturise. It's always been this way and it's a pain. I also have very sensitive and allergy prone skin. I have suffered from eczema from childhood and I regularly have mild allergic reactions. So for a product to impress me it really has to be amazing!

So lets start with the items I received, the Kiwi & Lime Shea Butter Moisturising Cream & The Secret Oil.

First I tried the Kiwi & Lime Moisturiser, I could review this in three words......I LOVE IT!!! I'm really not joking and to be perfectly honest I was amazed by this product. Upon opening it had a strong summery fragrance, while that is lovely in itself I've been conditioned to think that fragrance = additives but I was wrong. The best example of how wonderful this cream is was when a patch of eczema started to appear near my knee, it was itchy, it was dry, it was horrid. With some nervousness I liberally applied the cream and within a few hours the redness had all but gone, the itchiness was no more and I was one happy customer. If you have problem or dry skin I can't recommend this enough.

Next The Secret! I have only ever used one oil before and that was a sample from Creme De La Mer, so a big huge enormous price tag. Thankfully this oil beat Creme De La Mer for me. It healed some angry dry patches on my face with ease. After applying at night I woke up in the morning looking much nicer and no dry red patches to be seen. It glides on, although I did find it liked to soak into my hands if I didn't apply it quick enough (my hands look quite good too now). I would definitely buy this, especially if my face had any angry patches. Apparently it has anti aging qualities too, although you'd probably have to test it out for longer to really judge on that one. But if like me your prone to angry flare ups, my skin even complains after I've worn makeup then this is the medicine it needs.

My only disappointment with the Betty Hula range is that one, the range isn't larger (although hopefully it will grow in time) and two that my sample pots weren't bigger ;)