A crafty Fishy sale.

Tomorrow (5th February 2013) the amazingly talented and super seller KirstyFish, is having her annual sale day across her Etsy shops.

If you haven't shopped with her before then tomorrow should be the day to go looksee at the things she has to offer and with FREE UK POSTAGE from 8am to 8pm, how can you resist.

At her BigFish shop you can find buttons and ribbon and felt balls and buttons and ribbon, oh and did I mention BUTTONS!!! And I mean lots and lots to choose from. Just quote FREEUK at checkout.

At her FuzzyFish shop you can find felt in many (and I mean many) colours, acrylic (my felt of choice) or wool blend or lambswool. If there is a particular shade you are looking for I could pretty much guarantee you will find it here. Just quote FREEUK at checkout.

The shop you will drool over if you love Christmas is Kirsty's SnowFish shop. It is jam packed filled with AMAZING decorations all designed and handmade by the lovely lady herself. Just quote FREEUK1 at checkout.

These are my go to shops for felt and buttons and I love the lady herself.  Go looksee at Kirsty's blog for more details and tempting shop photos and do yourself a favour and grab bargain £1 bag goodies LISTED THROUGHOUT SALE DAY or simply shop and save postage in the UK.

LovePaperFish - SALE TUESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2013 - 8AM-8PM - UK FREE POSTAGE USING CODE FREEUK (FREEUK1 AT SNOWFISH) AT CHECKOUT.

x

Hello hello, is anyone still out there?

Oh my it really has been the longest while since I blogged.  No excuses given, I simply haven't.  That's a bit of a fib I realize.  Whenever I think about having to organize my thoughts, cables for cameras etc I let out a huge sigh and think '*$!* it I'll do it later!'.
Later, invariably, never comes.
I have things to show you, subjectively feel good ta-dahs. Revelations on new crafty endeavours and new skills learned.  The discoveries of free machine embroiderey; being both 'so my thang' and sewn text neater than my actual handwriting.  A handmade Christmas (even though I promised myself I would buy more) and a poorly Christmas.
Last year was the year I fell out of like with blogging but this year, this lovely 2013 where I turn 40, I am determined I am getting back my blogging mojo.  I am planning a revamp, a reclaiming of  my cyber space. I am opening an Etsy shop soon too to sell my brooches so keep an eye out for that. I am focusing on 'keeping it real' which, for me, means remembering I am at my very core a blether, a chatterer, a verbal vomiting type and cannot compete (and don't want to) with any other blog. That I do not have to always have photos or subjects and definitely will  NOT be offering advice on how to use old plastic hand cream containers or tights. I forgot after a certain amount of time blogging why I started. I got bogged down with thoughts of 'what are you trying to say?', 'who are you trying to say it to?' and silly things like that.  Feckadoodle!! What on earth possessed me to have silly ponderings like that? I obviously was having a wobble!
All I want to do is chat, be creative and entertain myself and hopefully you lovely peeps who take the time to read my posts!
Sounds simple enough. Although I have had a thought, earlier on I wrote 'keeping it real'. OMFG! Wait a minute "OMFG"???? I fear I have swallowed an old person trying to be 'down with the kids'.  Oh dear....

Oh and 40!! How and when did enough time pass for that to be happening this year?

Hope you are all fine and dandy my intersweb pals. I have been as negligent of your blogs as I have mine for which I am sorry, I bet I missed loads of lovely posts.

X

Find me as @jammypudding on Instagram or Twitter.

Why a girl needs emergency chocolate cake stashed in the freezer...

I do and I'm a girl, well a grown up mummy lady but I do *need* emergency chocolate cake stashed in my freezer.

Sometimes only chocolate cake will do and I am well apt to cope with what life throws my way if I know there is a chocolate sponge ready to be slathered in chocolate buttercream available to defrost at any given time I may need it.
It's a simple strategy really, whenever I make chocolate cake (Nigella's all in one recipe in Feast is my go to), I make a double batch, that is four sandwich layers rather than two and bung two of them in the freezer *in case of emergency*.  It works for me as my local Sainsburys only sells sour cream by the 300ml tub and the basic recipe requires half that amount.  It is sensible then to use it all up, no? Besides I am a double, triple, quadruple batch type of a cook.  It's practical and means I can justify using huge pots and long handled wooden spoons. Any excuse for that in my kitchen makes me a happy haggis.

I also make sure I have a supply of luxurious dark chocolate in my baking drawer and I'm good to go.

 My boys love their chocolate cake and it is always their choice if they fancy some cake resting in the kitchen, on a cake stand or pretty vintage plate, ready to be sliced after school.

I like mine with a cup of tea served in a lovely cup.

If there was no emergency chocolate cake it would take so much longer to use my scrummy dark chocolate up or use pretty cake stands or vintage china or eat alongside cornishware teacups and saucers or make my boys happy after a hard day at school.

Emergency and essential  chocolate cake stashed in my freezer is a must!

X

Find me on Twitter and Instagram as jammypudding.

The day I made lemon curd and embroidered a pretty jar topper...

So I am asking why oh why oh why oh effing why haven't I made lemon curd before?
I mean it
Why?
I love lemons, adore them, cannot think of a tastier flavour of sponge. There are few better smells in the world and they rock yellow like no human could.
Yet until very recently I hadn't ever made the effort to make homemade.  I had this recipe from the lovely Fishy and bonny Mrs B (whose shared foodie blog I miss with all my stomach and would bribe them to post again) bookmarked for an age and had copied it into my favourite treat notebook.  I mean for yonks and yonks!
Anyhoo, I have no excuse and if I had known how effing easy peasy lemon squeasy it was going to be to make I would [like to think I'd] have done it sooner.

 It is the best lemon curd I have ever eaten and had to take Mrs B's advice and pair it with my favourite scone recipe with added poppy seeds.

There was enough for just about two jars becauseI didn't use standard sizes. I knew once I saw those golden filled jars I had to get sewing, sorry embroidering (see still have issues with the names).

Still wanting Robert Plant to squeeze ma lemon.  That will never change whenever and everytime I think of lemons

 Says what it was, lovely lemon curd.

If you have never tried making it, please do.  You will be rewarded with heaven in every mouthful.

Some strange people, namely Mr Biscuit are not impressed by lemons, fools and numpties one and all. He is both, trust me!

X

Find me on Twitter and Instagram as jammypudding.

Oh my, I love to embroider...part 1.

I have always sewn since way back as a wee lass learning at primary school.  I was taught 'cooking and crafts' by Mrs M whom I remember enjoyed the sun. As in 'looked like an old leather handbag' liked the sun and wore an incredible amount of ugly gold jewelery and had pillar box red talons.  Not nails, dear readers, t-a-l-o-n-s!! Her hands freaked me out because she she would insist on keeping those rings on when she had her hands in flour.  To this day I hate to see someone baking with rings on and never ever, not on your nelly, do I keep mine on.  Any kind of food under someones rings gives me the boak!  Worse still under those talons.  I blame Mrs M for me never wearing nail varnish either.  Put me off for life. The look of her garish, leathery hands has stayed with me even if she was the person who taught me to sew hexagons together and bake cakes.  *shudder*
But I was hooked (not by her talons which would have held me prisoner, pinned forever) and since then I have always felt at home with a needle in my hand.  Later, in my teens, my mum and dad got me a second hand sewing machine. I used it loads, altering things I got in charity shops and generally playing about with it.  I have never fallen in love with a machine as much as with sewing by hand.  There is something so methodically comforting about hand sewing.  It soothes my soul.
Until recently I feel I have only dabbled in embroidery.  Even back in spring I was waxing lyrical about that. Dabbled because in my head embroidery is quite specifically defined.  That is, what I do, the sewing I usually do, is not embroidery. I suppose, for me, embroidery is prettifying, embellishing with stitches.  I don't know why in my head I think I didn't do it.  I am a loon as it's obvious I do embroider and always have. I was just calling it sewing, which it is, duh!!

A while back I bought Alicia Paulson's Daisychain sampler pattern from her shop because I was going to learn how to embroider properly (right, I know, thicko alert).  Ignoring the fact that I knew how to do quite a lot of the stitches described in it, 'I sew not embroider' was imbedded deep. Oh my it was a revelation, I found the thing I love to do more than anything.  I am all about a needle in hand.  I had started to get that when I was sewing thousands of hexies together by hand.  I enjoyed it way too much even with the pain of aching joints and getting spiked under nails and through fingers.  I felt hardcore folks!  But I had found 'my thing'. The sampler was going to be my way of practicing new stitches with something at the end of it.  I wasn't a fan of alphabet things, well I thought I wasn't.  I am all over breaking assumptions in crafting!  I loved the end result.  'I made that' was a grin plastered to my face!

Here's some shots...

Once finished I put it in a frame and it now hangs in my bedroom reminding me of the joy I had sewing it. My boys and I ask each other what letter is our favourite and before we know it we each have said pretty much all the letters. It is that pretty!

Once this was finished I moved on to a new project called 'Crafty Shelves' which I will save for another day.  Wouldn't want to bombard you with too much gorgeousness at once.  I thought we could spread it out for longer appreciation of the joys of embroidery.  You agree, yes?

X

Find me on Twitter and Instagram as jammypudding.

Why I love camping, glamping, holidaying in a tent...

I do.
It's just lovely.
This year we went up north a few hours in to the Scottish Highlands, the land of midgies and mouintains.  Our campsite in the Rothiemurchus  Estate (near Aviemore)....let me rephrase that. We got to pitch our tent in the woods which happend to have a (fanatastic, clean, refreshingly unisex) toilet/shower/dishwashing block in it.  We literally found a spot to camp for the piddly price of 152 pounds for seven nights.  Don't let the cheapness fool you, we weren't slumming it.
Now, our tent is massive...

See? Big right?

If I could pass on one tip about tent choosing or buying a tent, is get bigger than the number who sleep in it.  Our tent sleeps six even though we are a family of four.  You need the living space for dodgy (normal UK) weather.  You need to be able to take your outside furniture inside and still have enough room for a cooking area.  As it turns out having a canopy that attaches to the front of our huge tent means we haven't had to move indoors yet as a canopy simply means we can stay seated outdoors and not be exposed to wind and rain.  We can still eat out there and still barbeque.  We have born witness to so many families squeezed into a 'perfect fit' tent in the pouring rain.  Get a bigger tent to 'live' in and if you can a canopy for more of an outdoorsy time of it.  I must admit that I refuse to do any type of camping that does not involve being able to stand up inside a tent.  We used to rent holiday cottages and since downgrading price wise to camping, I still want to be comfortable.  I don't want to have to crawl into spaces and sit on the floor. No way no how.

We pitched next to a burn surrounded by trees. That burn was a lot of fun for my boys and even though there was a couple of falling in incidents (one of which was mine but I still argue I did a ladylike sit down.  Okay I was a bit tipsy and my boys urged me to do the obviously obligatory 'You've been Framed' fall in the burn.  Unfortunately being drunk ( did I mention that?) I was a little eager and 'sat down' before anyone got their camera ready.  My boys were not impressed missing out on 250 smackers!!  I really didn't slip in on purpose but still too soon.  It felt lovely to my drunken bottom!).....but oh my it was a lovely spot.  Running water is a heavenly sound.  We saw loads of red squirrels which I have never seen in my life before even though I have tried and failed on many visits to the Highlands. They are so cute and very fast.  The mister manged to get a photo but you have to be quick.

You can spot the wee beastie in the middle of the shot.

 I love the sound of rain on a tent roof which is just as well as it rained loads but as I said it didn't dampen our outdoor life at the tent. It does get cold at night though.  No sleeping bags for us but duvets and lots of woolly crochet blankets and wool blankets underneath the airbeds.  You really need them.  I know sleeping bags are warm but who wants to sleep in a tube.  I don't.  Even in the height of summer with scorchio days, nights are freezing up north in Scotland.
Here's my Biscuits' bedroom...

Necessary midgie putoff-er.

We used the lidded bbq of an evening to keep warm, sitting out once the boys were cooried up in bed, in the glow of candelight drinking tea and chatting.  It was bliss.

 And just look at this view from up the Cairngorm mountain...

 It was driech but it really wouldn't be a fair representation of Scotland if it wasn't.

We traveled up the funicular (which is one of the best words EVER!) railway which was really cool (even if I still got travel sick on the way down, the shandy lightweight I am).
We loved hanging out at our tent, having scrummy one pot dinners and tasty bbq's.  We had tasty lunches out and about, lovely walks, got soaked, ate scones and drank lots of tea. What gets better than that? Crafting, you say? Well I did some of that too.
I have the camping bug well and truly now and plans are afoot for getting a van next year so we can pop off whenever we like.  One negative thing is the packing of the car, roof and trailer but next year it will all go into one van AND we will manage to take our bikes too.  Heaven or what?

X


You can find me on Twitter and Instagram as jammypudding.

Blogging and lack thereof...

I cannae be arsed, there I said it. 
I think about my wee blog and I just have nothing to say. Not a thing (or so I thought, well because obviously right now I am writing this post).  I could say I have lost my blogging mojo but that doesnae sit right with me either.  I just think honestly I cannae be arsed because really I am lazy.  I like being creative out there in the thing that is the 'world wide web' but I simply have discovered a quicker way of doing it. A quicker way of posting photos and a quicker response time.  My underlying impatience has won out so yes I adore Instagram.  It is an easy fix but, BUT, like many things I am starting to yearn for a slower pace.  Maybe I want to come back to my wee blog space and take my time again.  To ponder over things rather than give into the random, the now, the 'this just happend' or the 'I just made this'.  I love random and I love quick and for this reason I hardly ever even switch on Hortensia (my laptop) because I have an iphone even though the screen is tiny and typing is a serious pain the the below stairs. It's quick and easy and I like quick and easy (titter yee not!). A habit of such things has been formed and you know what? I miss my blogging friends who are not on Instagram or Twitter but unfortunately many of my favourite bloggers (I assume, like me) have lost their blogging enthusiasm also.  It takes way too long to write up a post and I am always curious about those bloggers who manage posts every other day if not everyday.  The whole 'professional' blogger is a discussion for another day but a lot of people seem to keep up the momentum when I cannot find the energy or enthusiasm for it at all. 

I have a review to write (sorry for the delay dotcomgiftshop) but I haven't got around to it.  I have been sewing lots and baking lots and knitting and crocheting and holidaying and reading and planning and well lots and lots of things we all do all the time and not felt the urge to share ANY it here at all. It just seems like too much effort and too much time taken up to do it.  *sigh*

So what to do?  Do I shut it down, delete, move on and forget about it?  Do I make an effort for whatever reason to plough on?  Do I do it differently so it doesn't eat into my time so much?  Do I NOT make a decision about what to do at all? 

Go with the flow.
See what happens.
Maybe get around to it or not.

Not give a shit either way because in the big scheme of things it's only a blog?

It is not cumpulsary.
It is not an obligation.
It shouldn't be another chore on life's long list of chores.

Presently and for a while it has been a chore.  Something I feel I have been neglecting willfully and with no guilt whatsover if I am honest but I wonder, should I put it to bed and let it sleep an endless sleep or revive it.

I am glad to say I do not have to answer.

X

Pondering the 'summer' hols.

We are into the second week of the summer hols here folks and I may or not be giving a lovely long list of activities that my Biscuits and I have been up to but alas not.  For one they are of an age now (11 and  8 1/2) where they tend to have their own plans for the day and don't need me to interfere with them. Things like crafting or baking together are rare and only to be enjoyed when they are 'in the mood'.  I remember when they were small and there was a rotation of things to keep them busy all day.  They choose their own these days.  They have been glued to the PS3 as we got them a treat of a new game for the end of the year, good reports etc.  I don't know about you but on one income, new computer games are a rarity in our house. I don't have a problem [in the main] with them playing them either. I monitor, force breaks and think what a great thing they are for rainy days at the beginning of a long holiday from school.  Feeling the freedom of being able to play computer games all day because you don't have to go to school is a wonderful feeling.  Besides the novelty wears off and they naturally look to other things to entertain themselves soon enough.  Going out is not fun at the mo.  They have tried going out to play but it didn't take much to put them off and bring themselves home again.  This kind of constant rain does interfere with playing out as it puts them off from stepping out of doors in the first place.
I have to say too we don't believe in providing constant stimulation for them in the form of lots of days out either. Well of the costly variety anyways.  Rain is a problem regarding the free sort as long walks, picnics etc are simply not as fun in the [this incessant] rain. I suppose we want them to learn to find ways of entertaining themselves without having to pay for entertainment and honestly we cannot afford it and it wouldn't be right to show them that you do it anyway.  Don't I sound cheap??  I suppose it's finding the balance between letting them play/live life using their imagination etc and all the external things available to entertain. I suppose to we want [expensive] trips to things like the cinema to be a treat too.
I always think too that as parents we worry over whether they are out or in and what they do.  Lots of 'shouldn't they be' when really you can see when your kiddies are content and you are just worrying about what 'happy' is brought on by.  As grown ups I think we obsess about 'happiness' but kiddies just get on with living, don't you think? I think that is the biggest thing I have learned since my Biscuits arrived, to take a leaf out of their book and just get on with living each day as it comes, rain or shine etc etc.  I don't always manage it but you know us grown ups have a lot more things to scunner those plans. 

I do love the summer hols, I love seeing so much of my boys and yes my routine goes to pot and the house always feels a mess but you know I get to do a lot more things for me compared to when they were small and needed constant attention and supervision. For example I am just about to disappear for  more than an hour upstairs on my bike and they will happily play away, read or whatever with each other and not even notice I'm gone to be honest.
It's nice not to plan too.  Holidays are for not having things you must do after all.
Oh but please, a bit of sunshine would be heaven!!

X