Vintage Blossom

Red Nose Day!

In common with thousands - if not millions - of children around the country today, my daughter has gone to school wearing a red nose. School also allowed them to wear red socks. She was very excited this morning about these additions to her uniform. She also took these with her:

Red Nose Day treats that we made last night. So, as we were going out of the front door, she pretty much looked like this:

As we got in the car, she buckled herself in and put the cakes on her lap, looking very pleased with herself. "You'll have a great day at school today!" I said. With all the pragmatic attitude of an 85yr old woman who has seen it all she looked at me, sniffed, and said "It'll be different." ! 

Seeds of Change

A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I did this:

And now we have this:

We are both very excited about it! Although it's not immediately apparent, these shoots are actually the first signs of some purple sprouting broccoli, possibly my favourite vegetable. We have decided where in the garden they will be planted out, once the weather decided what it's doing of course! Yesterday morning we woke up to snow, which promptly disappeared because of beautiful Spring sunshine, which was replaced late-afternoon by an icy chill in the air, which was followed by rain! No wonder the English are known for talking about the weather - we have so much of it! 

Love Biscuits

Every day this week, my little girl has gone to school with a love biscuit in her lunch box. We made them together and they have proved very popular in our house; I think they will certainly all be gone by the time Valentines Day arrives on Saturday! 

This recipe for biscuits is one I've used for years. It's easy - making it perfect for getting the children to help - and seems to work every time, making yummy biscuits which aren't too sweet. A version of this recipe is one of the recipes that I've included in "My Baking Bag", which will soon be available in my Etsy shop. 

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter

125g caster sugar

1 egg

250g plain flour

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Method

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.

Sift in the flour and spices and gently mix in with a metal spoon.

Bring the mixture together with your hands, and knead until it forms a dough.

Wrap the mixture tightly in Clling Film and put in the fridge for half an hour.

Heat the oven to 180c.

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper

Flour a clean and dry surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately 0.5cm.

Using biscuit cutters, cut hearts from the dough.

Place the biscuits on the lined baking tray, leaving a little bit of distance between each biscuit.

Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. 

When the biscuits have cooled, you can decorate with icing, or dust the top with sieved icing sugar. For the biscuits pictured here, I cut the heart shape out of cardboard, placed over the biscuit and dusted with icing sugar for extra yumminess! 

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! 

Tidy house, tidy mind!

If there is one thing I like, it's a clean and tidy house. I really love being organised and having everything where it should be. However, what I like to have and what actually ends up happening are usually some distance from one another! Don't get me wrong, my house is clean. In fact, I have been told that there are Environmental Health standards, and then there are mine! The 'tidy' thing though is somewhat different - I've never quite been able to manage it, at least not for very long. Ever since I was a child it has been easy to see where I inhabit because of the piles of 'stuff' I leave everywhere. After years of seeing this as a failing, and constantly trying to change the trait, I have come to accept that this is - for good or bad - a reflection of my psychology, and there is certainly no doubt that my mind is a somewhat 'unusual' place which isn't furnished with very much of an efficient filing system and generally is over-capacity! Even I though, was dismayed when I saw the reality of my desk this morning:

I know, I know! I will tidy it, although I know that in reality what that will mean is roughly shaping the various items into a pile shape and placing it on another surface. I think it unlikely that I will ever be a minimalist, 'tidy mind' kind of a person, no matter how hard I try, and I'm not sure I like the sound of a 'tidy mind' anyway - what exactly is that? I sometimes have trouble sleeping because my mind just will not stop whirring around, so from now on I think 'Busy desk, (ergo) busy mind' is far more appropriate! Now, if you'll excuse me, I must find where my organisational skills are - I'm sure they must be around here somewhere......

Pins and Needles

As the arctic visits my garden and the view from my window is like a Christmas card that got lost in the post, I am tucked up warm inside with a coffee and approximately eighteen layers of clothes! I am also working my way through layers and layers of lovely fabric in the sewing room. Encouraged by "My Baking Bag", I am continuing this week with making the ideas in my head into a fabric reality.

As Valentines Day is approaching, many heart-covered items will be appearing on my shop in the next few days. Although 14th February is not usually associated with children, who can be more important than your children when it comes to letting someone know you love them with all your heart?! It's also a good excuse for me to make heart-shaped, heart-covered, heart-pocketed goodies, which I truly love. I hope that when you see what pops up in my shop this week, it'll be love at first sight! 

I am really excited about my new product - the baking bag. For the shorter members of your family, the baking bag is made from vintage fabric and contains a matching apron, a small wooden spoon, biscuit cutters, and five laminated recipe cards. 

I think it's perfect for the kind of independent traditional toy shops that I love - I'm going to hit the phones!! 

Bags of style

Once I get an idea for a sewing project and I make a start on it, I find it impossible to stop! I just have to keep going until it is done, usually because I am so excited to see what it will look like when it's done! I am very pleased with the latest 'to see if I can' project: the garden bag. 

Made from linen and felt, this side of the bag is a summer garden scene, which continues on the other side of the bag with the sunshine:

I then lined the bag with a pretty floral soft cotton, which I also used for the handles:

I'm pleased with the end result and it's created lots of other ideas for bag designs as well - night and day, sunshine and rain....so many possibilities... I can just see a selection of them hanging in a lovely shop somewhere....now there's an idea! 

Blue Monday

Today is meant to be the most depressing day of the year! However, despite the rain, cold, lack of money and general January-ness of the moment, I am doing my best to look on the bright side. I am cheered by the sunshine and mass of beautiful snowdrops I saw yesterday, by the wren that came so close to me and sang that I thought he would steal my shoes, and by the thought that Spring is on its way and will bring with it brighter days and beautiful blooms. 

The fabric I found at a local charity shop also put a smile on my face! These lovely blues and pretty patterns reminded me of Spring, and I am really looking forward to getting to work on transforming them into gorgeous toys, accessories and other lovely stuff! I particularly like the pale blue fabric with the roses and little cherubs:

It's so pretty. I love the colour and the roses design, and it seems appropriate that I use little cherub fabric to make accessories for little cherubs! 

Crocodile News

Last night I got a sudden urge to make a crocodile!! Don't ask me why, but the idea suddenly came into my mind, and I had a go mainly because I wanted to see if my idea for the jaw would work. It did! He is made from felt, which is so satisfying to work with and always looks great because the colours are so bright and opaque. 

I suppose he could actually be an alligator, but he's been very quiet so far so it's difficult to know for sure! 

Happy New Year!

There's nothing quite like a new year stomp through the woods to clear out the Christmas cobwebs! Muddy yet crisp. Freezing yet refreshing. I don't think I was the most popular member of the family as apparently I walked too fast, but it did make us all feel invigorated! 

I am very excited about the new year at Vintage Blossom - lots to look forward to - new product ideas that have to be transferred from my mind into fabric reality, and new designs that I can't wait to try. Keep looking on my Etsy shop for my new products. I also have a few other ideas up my sleeve for later in the year, so watch this space. Happy New Year!