Thrifty But Glam

Every year my wrapping of Christmas gifts seems to turn into a torturous event.  My painstakingly chosen gifts are turned into a crumpled, sad looking monstrosity of ill wrapped disappointment.  This year WILL be different. It started (as most of my craft obsessions do) with pinterest.  After browsing for Christmas crafts, I started to lust after the beautifully presented packages that seemed to festoon the pins.  An absolute favourite seemed to be Kraft tags and brown paper. I have always loved the traditional red and golds of Christmas, so perhaps it wasn't such a leap for me to decide to pair this colour scheme with the Kraft card and brown parcel paper. Turning back to pinterest, I started a board for inspiration.  Here are a few of my favourite pins! I'm a sucker for anything gingerbread related, so there is a definite NEED to create my very own gingerbread house tags! Do you see that fantastic 'Time to Drink Champange' tag? ...

So two of my closest friends are about to pop!  Seriously, they are both due within a week of each other and there is now less than a month to go!  So when I was asked if I could make the cake for one of my friends surprise baby shower, how could I refuse? This friend and I have very similar tastes.  I am in awe of her amazing clothes, cats eye glasses and ever present trade-mark red lips.  So I knew if I liked the cake, she would too ;)  This friend had the most rocking wedding cake ever!  I was seriously up against some stiff competition in the awesome factor.  Take a peek if you don't believe me; A few of you may remember I made a giant cupcake for my mother in law a few years ago, (you can find the original post here ) well in keeping with my friends wedding cake, I thought it would be awesome to do another giant one :) I really wanted to make this cake personal to my friend, and knew that a plain giant cupcake just wouldn't fit the bi...

So a few weeks ago I stumbled across glitter wine glasses and mugs (read my diy here ) I have been wanting to transform a wine glass since I spotted the original pinterest posts, but didn't want to do the stereotypical covered wine glass. The Wizard of Oz is one of my favourite films, and after posting about it on my shop page  I realized that I wasn't alone.  When I posted our latest paper cut , things went a bit crazy! Inspired by the obvious interest, I went back to pinterest and found this I was smitten!  I had found a wine glass design that would do my new craft justice! So following the same steps as the mug tutorial, I covered stem and base in ruby red glitter, and used my silhouette cameo to add a Dorothy vinyl decal and an adorable gingham bow.  I am so in love with the results! <3 Depending on how well my facebook fans receive the pics, I am hoping to do a glass for each of the main characters!  I can'...

So I made a vow this year to do more crafts that were for me, rather than geared towards selling in the shop.  When I cam across this picture on pinterest, my heart literally swooned <3 courtesy of whitehouseblackshutters blog It is pointless, something only a gal would understand, but I needed one! The blog mentions that in order to make the glitter mug dishwasher safe, you need to use Martha Stewart Decoupage glue - what followed was an epic weekend long search to find a supplier in the UK I was frustrated beyond belief, and about to bite the bullet and import it from the US (to hell with the import tax, I NEEDED it!) when I stumbled across a site called emerald crafts  and they had one bottle left in stock.  It was mine! So once it arrived, I gathered up all my supplies and set to work! Rubbing Alcohol / Surgical Spirit Mug Masking Tape Brush Glitter Rub down your mug with the surgical spirit and make sure it is dry before ap...

Now regular readers will know that I have a gluten free version of this recipe here , but I somehow forgot to share the original recipe, so after a lovely family member requested it, I figured it was time to write it up :)  I whipped one of these up for a family gathering over Christmas, and have fallen in love with it all over again! Equipment Food processor with blade attachment - for turning the biscuits into crumbs, you can use a freezer bag and rolling pin, but I prefer this way 20cm spring form tin - you can go larger or even a bit smaller, but ideally it should be spring form as removing the pie from the tin otherwise will be a nightmare Microwave - for melting the butter Mixing bowl Electric whisk - good luck if you decide to whip cream by hand Pestle - for pressing the biscuits into the tin, clean fingers or the back of a spoon can also be used Spoon Knife and Chopping board Hob and Pot Ingredients 1 405g tin of condensed milk (for those ...

So unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere, you will know that poor old Nigella (Lawson) is having a tough old time of it at the moment. Although I've always found her TV shows a little on the caricaturish side, (I can't help but get the giggles and convince myself it is secretly a carry on spin off) the lady most definitely has talent. So in honour of Christmas, and the innuendo rich Nigella, here is her frangipane mince pie recipe - I can honestly say that this is my new favourite mince pie recipe! PASTRY 175g plain flour 75g butter, cut into cubes 25g icing sugar 1 large egg, beaten FRANGIPANE 100g butter, softened 100g caster sugar 2 large eggs 100g ground almonds (if like me you are a doofus and bought flaked almonds, you can grind them in a food processor (blade setting) to make ground almonds 1 level tbsp plain flour 1tsp almond extract - if you are using essence, you will need to add more FILLING AND ...

From the moment I purchased my Silhouette Cameo I was in love.  The only way I could justify the cost was to start up a business , the only problem with this was the cost of the blades.  I was getting through a blade every few weeks, at just under £16.00 (including postage) for a single blade it was getting very expensive.  I knew that once business picked up I was going to either have to increase prices (never a good idea for new businesses) or take a big knock in profits.  The only solution I could see was be to try and find a cheaper solution to the blades. I was first made aware of using disposable blades by Ligaya's Creativity Zone .  She had had success with an aluminium (CB09) Blade Holder.  This blog was invaluable for advice on the different angled blades available and suppliers of the CB09 Blade Holder. The only drawbacks were the seller was based in Asia (have been stung for import taxes before, and it is a hefty amount) and there were re...

If you are lucky enough to own a Silhouette Cameo and you live in the UK, you probably already know that most of the tips and tricks come from our lovely cousins in the US.  Although very handy, it can sometimes be a bit tricky to find like for like UK materials. After a bit of trial and error I thought I would share my method of re-using mats for the UK market :) It is always handy to have more than one cutting mat - the Silhouette mats are a bit on the pricey side, and in my opinion quite flimsy - it is all too easy to cut straight through the mat with the wrong blade settings (particularly if you are new to using the Silhouette).  I recommend using Cricut mats instead :) They are thicker, more durable AND cheaper!  In fact, you can even buy two 12" x 24" Cricut mats for £19.00 and cut them down to four 12 x 12 mats - this works out at £4.75 per mat, versus £12.99 for a single Silhouette mat. The best place for cheap cricut mats is ebay . I have h...

The hardest thing for me cutting out dairy has been losing my beloved cakes and chocolate.  A few weeks ago I was about to give in, when I thought I would have a bash at making Vegan Brownies - not wanting a disappointing bake, I researched lots of recipes and then decided to tweak them to my liking.  The result is the best brownies I have ever tasted - this is not an exaggeration!  I am an absolute snob when it comes to cakes, bakes and chocolate - if it doesn't taste divine, I am not wasting the calories on it ;) I have a lovely friend who went vegan at the same time as I went dairy free, he is also Coeliac, so will provide instructions to make these not only vegan, but gluten free too - just for you Sam! x These are oozing with chocolate and have the depth of flavor that you can only get from plain chocolate - the secret ingredient adds a subtle chewy texture that most egg free bakes lack - who would have thought the exotic fig could be used in such a wa...

So after getting re-addicted to pinterest a few weeks ago, I decided to set myself a challenge; find a DIY tutorial that was completely new to me, and try it out! I came across a pin  about painting ceramics and pottery, I was hooked! I still had a glass/pottery pen left over from my wedding Mr and Mrs Glasses that I did last year; I knew that I wanted to start with something simple that wouldn't take too long to make, I turned back to pinterest for further inspiration! When I first saw this, I couldn't stop laughing!  My poor husband has had to put up with me singing it to him for the last few weeks - his patience is wearing thin.  I knew that if I were to make the actual cup, I may find myself drowned in the sweet nectar after my singing finally pushed poor Chris over the edge. I wanted a witty, but simple cup.  After a bit of brain storming (and some rather un-ladylike inspiration swearing) I came up with "Mean Mug-a Cuppa".  I know...

I have a confession, I am a butterfly crafter. I flit from one project to the next, usually before I have actually completed anything. I like shiny new crafts and am often tempted away from current tasks by the siren song of a Pinterest trend. On a personal level this can be thought of as quirky, on a business level it is downright irksome! Off the top of my head, I currently have at least six crafts in progress. Most are new items for the shops that have either been finished but not photographed for listing, or are just incomplete! In November last year I decided to do a papercut just for me. It may end up in the store, but it would be designed exactly how I wanted. It was to be inspired by Alice in Wonderland (still one of my favourite films). I spent hours tweaking the concept and then got distracted. It has sat unfinished for months until I finally decided I selfishly wanted it finished for me, me, me! After all I get so many lovely comments from over-joyed recipients of my w...

My lovely mother in law bought me some wonderful icing stencils for Christmas.  They were from the Great British Bake Off and were such a wonderful, yet simple idea to decorate a cake.  I knew instantly that it would be something I was going to replicate with my Silhouette Cameo. Initially I wasn't sure that I would be able to find a suitable material to make the stencil from.  I knew that the Silhouette would not be able to cut the thick plastic that my stencils were made from, and so a lot of research was needed.  After finding out that my machine could cut acetate, I decided to give it a go. It was my father in laws birthday a week ago and I offered to make a cake to celebrate.  It was just a simple sponge, so I knew that livening it up with a stencil would be perfect! Although the cocoa powder was trickier to stencil with then the icing sugar, I still think it came out quite well.  My stencil is a lot thinner then the orig...