Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Pocket Presents

This Christmas I made a lot of my presents. One of the reasons for this was because, well quite frankly I don't have a job and therefore am pretty low on the old pennies. But also, because there is something so lovely about making things for people and giving a little piece of your time and energy in the form of a small delightful gift.

For my three brothers I made t-shirts upon which I have sewn a pocket made from beautiful liberty print fabrics. They came out pretty well and I was pretty eager to share, so here you are...


step 1: trace around a shirt pocket using tracing paper. Cut out and draw on the a piece of cardboard.  Extend the top 3cm and the edges 1cm for folding flaps. Cut this out and use as you template.




step 2: Using a white pencil or fabric marker, trace around the template on to your pocket fabric. (Iron out fabric first to insure everything is straight and not creased.




step 3: Fold the edges over and iron down to make it easier to sew later.






step 5: Fold in small triangle at the bottom two edges to shape the pocket. Again, iron flat to make for easier sewing.

step 6: Pin pocket to the t-shirt, being careful not to crease the t-shirt fabric or gather any material.

step 7: Using the sewing machine, sew the pockets on staying as close to the edge as possible.



You should now have a unique t-shirt with a beautiful pocket!

Here are my end products:



Christmas Baking





Hello!

It has been a while hasn't it?! Sorry about that, I've been super busy with job hunting, interning, returning to Office and frantically preparing for Christmas! 

My first post back and I'd like to share with you my Christmas Cake recipe. It's a classic fruit cake, thanks to the wonderful Delia, covered with marzipan and chocolate (why have icing when you can cover it in delicious Galaxy?!)

So here it is!

You will need...

450g currants
175g sultanas
175g raisins
50g glace cherries (rinsed, dried and finely chopped)
50g mixed candied peel (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons brandy (plus extra for feeding)
225g plain flour
1/2 level tsp salt
1/4 level tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 level tsp ground mixed spice
225g unsalted butter
225g soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
50g almonds (chopped, the skins can be left on)
1 level dessertspoon black treacle
grated zest 1 lemon
grated zest 1 orange





You will also need an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake tin or a 7 inch (18 cm) square tin, greased and lined with silicone paper (baking parchment). Tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin for extra protection.



METHOD:

You need to begin this cake the night before you want to bake it. All you do is weigh out the dried fruit and mixed peel, place it in a mixing bowl and mix in the brandy as evenly and thoroughly as possible. Cover the bowl with a clean tea cloth and leave the fruit aside to absorb the brandy for 12 hours.

*****

Next day pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C). Then measure out all the rest of the ingredients, ticking them off to make quite sure they're all there. The treacle will be easier to measure if you remove the lid and place the tin in a small pan of barely simmering water. Now begin the cake by sifting the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing.


Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it's light, pale and fluffy. 

Now beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the creamed mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whisk running until all the egg is incorporated. If you add the eggs slowly by degrees like this the mixture won't curdle. If it does, don't worry, any cake full of such beautiful things can't fail to taste good!


When all the egg has been added, fold in the flour and spices, using gentle, folding movements and not beating at all (this is to keep all that precious air in). Now fold in the fruit, peel, chopped nuts and treacle and finally the grated lemon and orange zests. Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon




Finally cover the top of the cake with a double square of silicone paper with a 50p-size hole in the centre (this gives extra protection during the long slow cooking).


Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4½-4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, but in any case don't look till at least 4 hours have passed. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it's cold 'feed' it – make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of brandy, wrap it in double silicone paper secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight container. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it.

You can even make it now for next year...just keep feeding it and it'll keep until next Christmas!


*****

For the marzipan and chocolate...

Roll out your marzipan on a flat surface using icing sugar so it doesn't stick. Wrap marzipan around your cake (I have divided mine into three for small christmas presents!), sticking it on with some apricot jam.







Next break up your chocolate ( I used 2 big packs of Galaxy). Melt in a bowl sat in a saucepan with about 2cm boiling water in. Then pour over cake and leave to set, then turn over a do the other side. Then your cake is done! 

Happy baking everybody! x

Friday, August 3, 2012

Valence d'Agen


summertime snaps from the south of France 






















deck chair re vamp.

So as the sun shine daily here in the South of France, I decided to bring the old deck chairs back to life with brand new rainbow stripes to sit in the garden! Heres how I made these very simple covers:

 
1x old deck chair


1 large piece of fabric/canvas that will cover the whole chair. Thick enough to take your weight. (I used a sofa throw)



A good pair of fabric scissors.


The fabric was fitted over the metal frames and pinned down the sides.


I then used the sewing machine to stitch the edges together from the inside, making a smooth finish.


The bottom was measured out, then cut and stitched back on itself to create a pocket for the frames to sit in, forming a very simple cover.



 Tada! Don't they look lovely in the garden.

 Notice I've taken the fabric right down to the seat at the back to create a nice finish.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

kate spade

Oh my.
This watch is simply delicious.

Bold yet delicate, perfect for office wear or out for cocktails! It has quite simply everything I look for in a watch: Gold, large face, simple detail and the tiny touches of pink make it super cute and unique. Thank you Kate Spade!

pastel pretty

Found these beautiful colour combinations on Pinterest (my current obsession). Amazing colour tones, bright pastel shades against a white wall looks simple yet incredible.


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

green fingers

The sun is out and here's what is growing in my garden at the moment:










What's growing in your garden?

date night


To celebrate me coming home, Eddie and I went out for a meal last Thursday...

We went for cocktails in Clapham then on to dinner (taste card meant we splashed out to starter, main and that chocolate fondante with mascapone cream...oops). 

Eddie then took the day off on Friday and we had a long weekend off watching films, visiting the Tate (Damien Hirst), cooking dinner with my family, walking in the park and making elder flower cordial (see below!!)


It was such a nice weekend and it's so lovely to be home!