First bake of the new year

Hi everyone and welcome to my new followers. I'm so glad you're here!

I decided that Saturday is going to be my regular baking day. So I kicked off yesterday making vanilla thins. I am going to write out the recipe for you below, but I got the recipe here from the Good Food site.

I have a brand new oven which is uber efficient so at the moment I am still getting used to it and trying to get used to it, hence they are a little too brown.

Here is the recipe:


325g plain flour
200g chilled salted butter
125g/4½oz golden caster sugar
2 tsp good-quality vanilla extract
2 large free range egg yolks

(I love my mixing bowl. It was given to me by a friend last year)

1.Tip the flour into a food processor. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them into the bowl, then whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
2.Add the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks and whizz to a small dough.

Rubbing in
If you haven't got a processor, rub the butter into the flour in a large bowl, then add the remaining ingredients and mix to a dough with your hands.

1.With your hands, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a sausage shape about 25cm/9in long and 5cm/2½in in diameter. Wrap the roll and chill for at least 1 hour. (The roll can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. To use, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for one hour at room temperature so that the dough is soft enough to be sliced into biscuits.)

2.Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into slices, each a generous 5mm/¼in thick, then arrange them on the greased baking sheets, spacing the biscuits slightly apart so they have a bit of room to spread as they cook.

3.Bake for 20 minutes until the biscuits are just turning pale golden around the edges, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust generously with icing sugar. The biscuits will keep fresh for up to one week stored in an airtight tin.

These are my finished biscuits.

Now, I didn't get around to dusting them with icing sugar before they were wolfed down and mine weren't particularly neat either, but by goodness they were yummy. Give them a go. Really easy to make. Plain yet tasty.

See you soon
Ally
xx

It's a boy!

Hi again. 2 posts in 2 days. I'd like to say that this is the way it is going to be this year, but I think I'm setting my expectations a bit high. I'm starting a new teaching job on Monday and know that whilst I have really good crafting and cooking intentions, in reality I will be mega tired and I'll get round to it at the weekend if I feel up to it!!

Anyway, making the most of it, here is today's card:

This is the front of the card. I've used a digital stamp by Pink Gem called Baby Boy Bundle.

and here is the inside.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp - New something (new baby)

Cute Card Thursday - Something new (new baby)

Milkcoffee - New beginnings

Sarah Hurley - Celebrate (celebrate the arrival of a new baby)

Totally Papercrafts - Something new (new baby)

Crafts4eternity - Something new (new baby)

Crafty Catz - Anything goes

Hope you like it.

Ally

xx

Birthday card for a girl

Well hello and happy new year to you all!

So, this is the first card I've made this year. I hope it's one of many!!

For this card I have used an image by Pink Gem called Faye on a Toadstool. I've decorated the card with papers from Dovecraft (Back to basics III) and flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. 

 This is a close up of the image and flowers.

Because of the flowers, I had to make a box to post the card in.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Through the craftroom door - anything goes

Cards galore - anything goes

Papertake weekly - anything goes

My mums craft shop - anything goes

Crafty creations - anything goes

Inky impressions - anything goes

Hope you like it. Speak soon!

Ally

xx

Seeing in the new year

Well hello everyone!

Christmas is finally done and the new year is almost upon us. My doesn't time fly!!

I was sitting here reading other blogs and before I knew it I'd clicked on blogs they follow, and then blogs that they follow and 2 hours had passed me by and I'd added about 10 new blogs to my follow list! Does that happen to you?

So I thought I'd tell you about my plans for 2013. Firstly, lets say that I am only too pleased to see the back of 2012. It has been a very tough year, with hard and dark times. I spent nearly 4 months of the year in hospital. I'm now fully recovered but will always need to be careful and try not to get too stressed! On the plus side, the year has ended really well. We have just moved house and I am starting a new job on 7th January (just so happens to be my birthday too!).

The house and job are going to keep me busy but I was thinking about my spare time and how to make the most of it.

I really want to do more card making this year. I love it with a passion. I've been selling cards and attending gift fairs for a while now, but want to really push it more. Not sure how yet though, so any ideas gratefully received.

Next is baking. I've been well and truly bitten by the baking bug. I find looking at and reading recipes just as therapeutic as making them. I'd like to blog my baking too, so this blog will be more of a card making/baking/cooking/crafting kind of blog. 

Simon bought me a bread maker and a slow cooker so I shall be using those a lot too. I need to go hunting for slow cooker recipes. I'm sure there are lots out there. The trouble is, Si is a very fussy eater, so trying to find recipes that he will eat is a another ball game completely. That is a challenge in itself!

Finally...films. I know this probably sounds odd, but we were never much of a film watching family when I was growing  up. My mum and I watched LOTS of musicals on a Sunday afternoon, but other than that my film viewing is limited. A few years ago, Simon bought me about  10 DVDs, saying that these were some films I needed to see. They included Forrest Gump, Castaway, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Falling Down, Philadelphia, Hotel Rwanda and a film about Steve Biko that I cannot remember the name of. I've watched all those and we have been to the cinema and seen more recent films but there are still loads and loads that people say are great that I've never seen. For instance I've not seen any of the Star Wars films, Batman, Spiderman or super hero films, Harry Potter etc etc.
Today though, whilst blog surfing I watched The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock. I felt I needed to watch it as it is classed as an 'iconic' film. I have to say though, that whilst I enjoyed it, it just seemed to end. Why were the birds there in the first place? Did they ever go away? 

Anyway, that's about enough rambling. Let's see if I can keep up with my free time plans. Have you made any and what are they?

Speak soon
Ally
xx

Being away

Hi!!!!!

Hopefully you've all been wondering where I have been. As you know I was moving house. Well this eventually happened and we are settling in nicely.

I have been so busy that I haven't been able to any crafting of any kind. I am hoping to be back either just before, or just after Christmas.

See you soon!

Ally
xx

Purple Easel Christmas Card

Hi everyone,
So I said I wanted to really get on and make cards over the half term whilst I could and I think I've done that. At last a reason top feel pleased with myself!

So here is today's card

 Close up of image

 stamped snowflake in silver

 side view

Before you say anything, yes I know the circle on the front that holds the card up is not in the middle. I need to change that! 

This is an image I've used before called Nativity Phoebe from Pink Gem and I have coloured her with promarkers.

I'm entering this card into the following 2 challenges:
crafts 4 eternity - colour recipe
Totally Papercrafts - Twinkle twinkle Christmas star

Hope you like it
Ally
xx

Christmas card

Good morning everyone. I'm so glad Halloween is over. I really don't like it and disagree with it on so many levels. Rant over!

So today I am showing you another Christmas card (I think I will be showing you lots from now on). This one is quite plain and simple.

 Close up of the image

This is another digital image that I found on pinterest and downloaded for free. There are loads and loads out there if you fancy giving it a go. As usual I have coloured the image with promarkers.

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:
I love promarkers - cute
Fab n Funky - die cuts/punches

This card will be available in my weebly shop here: http://lovinglyhandcrafted.weebly.com/

Hope you like it
Ally
xx