DoCrafts Colemans Haul

Howdy! I have been shopping!

I managed to get a docrafts magazine with bare basics wooden letters, a5 coloured paper pack and chalkboard speech bubbles.. Some large white gift bags, small white gift bags, some embellishment, a 2 pack decoupage medley, a stitched decoupage card kit and some canvas alphabet stickers.. For the grand total of..

£11.30! This is with the 10% discount I got for having their arts and crafts loyality card. Also with the loyality card if you spend £10 you get your card stamped and once you have collected 6 stamps you get £5 off!

So if you have a Colemans near by.. Get raiding their bargain bins! :)

Mama's Summer Flowers

I have always been terrible at origami, but since seeing some beautiful flowers at recent craft fairs, I've had a google and they're actually not that complicated to make!

You can make them in all sizes and top them off with buttons or bling, they look fab! Here's how they are made..

You need 4 - 8 pieces of patterned paper or card. I use paper as it's easier to fold, if you choose card, make sure it's not too thick or you'll have trouble making the cone shapes at the end. Any size will do but remember the smaller, the more fiddly it will be. 

First, Take a square and fold it in half to make a triangle.

MAMA TOP TIP: Use a bone folder to score down your edges to give it that professional sharp edge.

Fold your bottom corner up to the middle and the same on the other side.

So now you should have a mini square made from 2 folded triangles.

Fold your triangles out, back on themselves, so you end up with 3 triangles, 2 small ones either side of the large one.

Next, hold up one of your outer triangles, put your finger in the inside and push the crease so you're opening the triangle out into a kite, with the crease in the middle of it from when it was a triangle. 

Do the same with the other side so you are left with 3 kite shapes.

To neaten it up, fold down the triangles that are taller than the back triangle.

Nearly done! Next fold your triangles back down the middle where they were folded before. Glue your outer tabs and stick them together to create a cone shape.

MAMA TOP TIP: Use a peg or tweezers to hold the two glued tabs together while gluing, especially when you have quite a few petals!

And viola your first petal is done! Make 4, 6 or 8 more and then stick your petals together! 

Stick the petals together side by side, using tweezers or a peg. I used a glue stick but from now on I'll be using my new hot glue gun!

Be patient, especially as you add more and more petals, it can be very fiddly but you'll get there in the end. The final petal needs glue on both sides to glue to your petals either side. If you're having trouble making them meet, make sure your points underneath are together in the middle.

 And there you have it! I like to stick a button or brad of some kind of bling in the middle to make it look complete. I also got some florist wire for £1 from Wilkinsons so they have stems to put in a nice vase!

Happy flower making!

Mama x

Charlie's 1st Birthday Party Boxes

Charlie's first birthday crept up on me pretty quick! On his actual birthday we went to Peppa Pig world with some friend with children we know, so I decided to bring some party boxes, instead of your traditional plastic party bags.

These boxes are available on eBay, there's a lot of stockists but I hope one day I'll be able to have an endless supply using a Brother scan and cut (Hint hint, my birthday is in September..)

The ribbon I used was from www.fantasticribbons.com which you must check out! Loads of variety if you're a huge ribbons and buttons fan!

I simply just tied the ribbon on the top and stuck an image on the front. SO simple but amazingly impressive compared to a little plastic goodie bag. The kids were thrilled and I could fit loads inside including birthday cake!

Happy 1st birthday to my Charlie bear! :)

Mama x

Pop Up Box Cards

Pop Up Box cards are a brand new craze in the crafting world right now, the more popular they get the more kits companies bring out so bring it on!

I bought a kit that was pre cut and scored by Craftwork Cards but they are very simple to make from scratch. I just folded it in the right places, and put double sided sticky tape in the right places. Sticking it together isn't a work of origami fortunately! (I suck at Origami)

Once you have the base card you are free to decorate! My kit came with panels that i just had to guilloutine them to size and stick them on the sides. Next I popped out the embellishments and stuck them on the sides and on the cardboard sticks that all came with the kit. Decorating was really fun! Best of all they fold flat to put in an envelope and send without additional charges!

Try making your own, Post your own creations in the comments!

Happy crafting!

Mama x

Easter Bunny Victoria Sponge Recipe

Happy Easter Everyone!

You can't beat a British classic, the Victoria Sponge. But this one has an Easter twist... They're in the shape of easter bunny rabbits!

All you need is...

4 Eggs

225g Caster Sugar

225g Self Raising Flour

225g Butter

Jam

Whipped Double Cream (Optional)

Icing Sugar (To Decorate, Optional)

Heat up your oven to 180c! (160c for Fan Assisted Ovens and 350F)

First of all measure out your caster sugar and your butter. It is SO important you only mix together your sugar and butter together first as it really makes a difference to the mixture. Mix until a smooth buttery paste, I use a big mixer, but I have been using a hand mixer for the past 5 years, this is a new purchase. Don't worry if you only have a whisk, it will just take long and some man/womanpower!

Next add 2 of your eggs and mix, make sure it's a smooth paste again before adding half of your flour. Then add your final 2 eggs and the rest of your flour. Make sure the mixture is really smooth and there's no flour lumps before filling your bunny mould. Mine was a silicone one I found in Card Factory, but they're also available online. 

Leave your bunny in the oven for 20 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the oven door or she'll sink in the middle! When you think it's done, put a knife through the middle and if no cake mix comes out on the knife then it's all cooked through!

LEAVE the bunny to cool, completely. I was impatient and took it out of the mould too early causing it to collapse, I learned to wait next time! When it's completely cool, cut or pull around the outside to make sure it it ready to come away from the silicone and then turn the bunny upside down and gently peel away the silicone mould. 

Viola! One bunny cake! Carefully cut it in half with a sharp knife and spread on your Jam/Whipped Double Cream before putting your bunny back together. To complete the look, sprinkle Icing Sugar on top!

This mixture should make 6 bunny cakes, but it depends on the size of your mould.

Bon Appitite!

Mama x

Easter Nest Egg Cakes Recipe

Happy Easter Everyone!

Easter time makes everyone feel especially crafty, making easter bonnets, easter masks, decorating easter baskets, drawing faces on eggs.. Easter is a pretty creative holiday! Charlie and I did some baking today and he made some classic Easter Nest Egg cakes.

All you need is...

Shredded Wheat 

(Or Rice Krispies if you prefer, but Shredded Wheat gives more of the nest effect!)

Chocolate

Mini Eggs

Cupcake Cakes

A Cupcake/Muffin Tin

First, put the cupcake cases in the cupcake tin. Charlie was quite counterproductive and decided to take them out as his papa put them in, but forgive him, he's only 9 months old!

Secondly, mash up the Shredded Wheat into smaller pieces but be careful not to crush them too much or they'll end up just a fine powder.

Next, melt the chocolate! We cheated and did it in the microwave but honestly it does come out better if you snap up the chocolate, put the bits in a bowl and put the bowl on top of a pan of boiling water. Keep stirring or it'll burn! When all the lumps are gone you're ready!

Mix the melted chocolate and the mashed up cereal together well, ensuring all the cereal is fully covered, otherwise it won't set as one cake shaped piece!

When everything is covered in chocolate, scoop the mix into the cupcake cases making sure they're at least half full. 

When your cupcake cases are full, decorate with Mini Eggs on top of your nests and leave it to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes on the top shelf of the fridge.

Bon Appitite!

Mama x

Grandpa's Birthday Card

I find it really tough to find/make male birthday cards. I just find they're always so generic. My dad doesn't like fishing, football or DIY so.. none of the cards in the stores suit him! Also, when making cards, I sometimes find it tough to make a card not look too girlie.

I was appointed to make a birthday card for Charlie's grandpa Bob, and decided to look through my dies to see what I could whip up. I found a shoe die and decided to get creative!

I put the shoe die through my big shot and decided to work my way around it on the card, finding card stock and papers to match. The papers I used was from an A5 paper pack by Papermania called 'Elegance'.

I covered some card with the papers, and wrapped a matching ribbon around the card, placing a sentiment in the middle of the card, which was also from the Papermania Elegance range, so it matched perfectly.

To go with my shoes, I made a bow tie from some ribbon and some tape. I made a knot in the middle of the ribbon and then folded one side in sticking it with double sided tape, did the same to the opposite side. To neaten it up I folded a smaller separate piece of ribbon over the knot, to give it that bow tie effect.

My die cut shoes looked boring on their own so I decided to loop some waxed cord from my macramé bracelet making through the shoe lace holes. Then, to outline the detail I used a brown pro marker to gently outline the embossed detail.

When I stuck it all together on the card it looked great! Elegant and manly.

Do you have any tips to make cards look more manly? Stay tuned as up next on the calendar is Fathers Day!

Happy Crafting!
Mama x