Thursday 27 February 2014

Springtime

This week on Cute Card Thursday we are celebrating Spring .. .. wishful thinking for some perhaps, but I have crocus, snowdrops and daffs all in flower in my garden - and lots of other things popping up .. .. I'm frightened to weed in case I inadvertently get rid of a real treasure!

For my card I've taken scraps of paper and bits I'd coloured for fun a while ago, and somehow it all came together.  The egg and bunny are from the My Paper World springtime set and his yellow bow is from the Easter set, coloured with my Copic pens then fussy cut out.  The flowers are a very old stamp (same one I used for a condolence card last week) and I just cut them out too.  Here's the card:


The base is the bit that gets cut off when I'm creating my little 5" square cards from a sheet of A4 cardstock, the idea being that I can hang things off the edge and the finished article will still fit the envelope.  Unfortunately I forgot which edge with the text so that's going to be a bit of a problem .. .. never mind, I think it will fit in a C6 envie instead.  The papers are from last year's spring pack and I remembered I had a set of egg dies so cut one out to fit over the pink gingham layer, the rest is Marianne Design die cut bits and pieces - blue mat behind bunny from LR0180, green swirls LR0271, and white lacy border CR1250.  Inside there's a smaller bunny facing the other way and I've coloured him to match, without the bow though.  I am very pleased with the Viva 'Magic Transparent' Perle Pen that I got from Cuddly Buddly a while back - I've used it in the centre of the yellow flowers and they have dried clear (goes on milky) and rock hard.  The pearls I've made in the past with my Wacco pearl pens can flatten even with the slightest weight on top of them, but these Viva dots are staying perfectly round - I will have to get more colours!

The challenge at Totally Papercrafts has been for Spring, so I can just about squeeze in with my card.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Valentine Scrapling

I didn't think I had a card ready to share with you today, but when checking my blog reader list I noticed that Creative Inspirations challenge is for boy/man things this week.  It reminded me that I hadn't shown you the scrapling/bookmark I made for DH as a valentine gift.  We don't do cards, but he is an avid reader so I knew that 'a little something' would be useful!

A scrapling is the piece of card that get's cut off when you are 'squaring up' and in this case is just a bit short of 2" wide by 10" long strip folded in half for a tent fold.  My image is the ship from the clear My Paper World sheet, stamped with dark blue chalk ink (works best on the acrylic stamps) then coloured with my Copics and fussy cut out. Everything except the ship is stuck down flat so it wont make the pages of the book bulge out too much, I did add a 1mm foam tape behind the ship just so it looked a bit nicer.

And here is my scrapling bookmark.  I've stuck the top together and created a tag opening with one of my MD label dies, it reinforces things a bit and gave me an opening to push the shank of the heart button through.  The grey patterned papers are Cuddly Buddly digi scraps from my basket, and I've added the faux stitching around the first layer then inked the edges with a black chalk ink.  The ship I stuck to a circle die cut layer, with embossed hearts on the white layer, then finished off with a couple of the corner MD dies from LR0285, inking the raised embossed areas.  I threaded fine rick-rack through the shank of the button before sticking it down.  Inside I found a pretty heart stamp and text to finish things off but I cant show you as it's embarrassingly lovey dovey!

Well the sun is shining in Cornwall, although it is still breezy, so I might wrap up and try to tidy a bit more of the garden.  Later I have a couple of bananas that have gone past it so will turn them into the banana and walnut cup cakes I made once before - I have my lacto free 'butter' already out on the counter softening up!  Enjoy your day, thank you for visiting me and come back soon!

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Snoesjes Baby Tag card

I am cutting it fine again with my entry for the Marianne Design challenge to create with a tag/label, at least that's the translation that Google gave me.  Looking at the beautiful creations by the DT, it seemed that some were lots of labels and tags on one creation, some were a label shaped card, and one had a tag on a card - that's what I've done here so hopefully it will be ok.

My stamped image is a little Snoesjes stamp, HM9443, coloured with my Copic pens then I cut out in a label shape, edged with the faux stitching using LR0161, and then fixed to my base with 3d tape.

Here's the card:

And again it's a small square base created with SU! cardstock, although with my tag sticking above at the top I'm not sure if it will fit the envie after all.  I've added a couple of layers with ivory then a white patterned digi paper scrap from Cuddly Buddly on top (not that you can see much), with the faux stitched edge of course!  I've decorated with ivory corners cut with LR0285 and used the biggest one to top my tag. And the rest of the decoration is various Marianne Design die cuts too:  the text stamped onto COL1325, the little flowers and tiny leaves from CR1210, the sprays with leaves from LR0271, the nappy pins from LR0217, and the butterflies from LR0158.  The pink ribbon is from my stash and I finished the card off with pink pearls.

The challenge at Crafty Ribbons is anything goes so I can enter my baby card with them too.

Monday 24 February 2014

Sam's Christmas Sketch

I will have to be quick as I need to get to Tesco before the weather turns nasty again. I wanted to make something for the Christmas With Sketches challenge as Sam did a lovely sketch, and I like easy sketches. I have tweaked it though, having my image circle in front and a die cut snowflake doily by Marianne Design in behind.  There was no indication on the sketch which way around it had to be so I decided to be different!

Although the paper selection was easy finding an image to fit a small circle wasn't .. .. in the end I experimented with this cute LOTV stamp that is in a square .. .. hope it's worked.  I've coloured the stamped image with my Copic pens then added crystal Stickles to her fur trims and the angel wings.


Here is my card, another little square base from SU! cardstock then scraps of digi paper from the basket matted with green, then snips of gross grain ribbon across and the die cut and image.  I left off a sentiment - that will go inside when I get around to it.  I did find a little jar of wee red hearts when tidying up the other day so added them for decoration.  Hope Sam likes what I've created with her sketch.

The Jingle Belles Christmas blog want to see a fair amount of red .. .. I would say it's my main colour on this card.  And at the Christmas Card Challenge blog it's an anything goes theme so I can enter with them too.

Sunday 23 February 2014

Home Sweet Home

Hello again! I've yet another little square card to share with you today.  I'm finding that some of my older stamps fit better on these, both stamp designs and cards seem to be getting bigger, but I still have that stash of small envies to use up!

The image is a Helz Cuppleditch design for Stampavie and being a clear polymer stamp it works beautifully with Momento ink so I can colour with my Copic pens without any worries. I couldn't see this image back through my blog so it must have been several years ago that I used it .. .. and then I think just the once so it's about time it saw ink again!


The base card is created with SU! card from my stash to match the piece of flowery printed digi paper in my basket.  I've cut mats from white and burgundy coredinations card (taking an emery board to the edges of the burgundy) then die cut the embellishments - all Marianne Design of course.  To finish I've stamped the greeting that came with another MD die and stamp set, and added the white liquid pearls to the centre of the flowers.

These are the Marianne Design dies I used on this card:
white fancy mat CR1248
burgundy mat LR0141
green swirls LR0116
burgundy sprays and white flower LR0105
burgundy stamens at centre of white flower LR0111

The Papertake Weekly challenge is for lots of layers - I've quite a few on my card even though they are stuck down flat for the postage! Divas by Design have set a rubber only challenge (no digis) and I'm hoping polymer is ok. My Time to Craft would like to see something for a new something - a new home in my case!

Well, I had hoped to post this card on Friday, but in the end got stuck with DIY as Jason and Mark came to help fix things.  Yesterday I was busy in the garden as well as making a cake and a roast dinner, but I did find time to do a little crafting in the evening with one eye on the Rugby match!  Today the plan was for more gardening but the wind is so strong we would be struggling to stay upright .. .. the bird feeders have already blown off the hooks on the bird table and the poor gold finches are huddled in the shrubbery waiting for a calm spell to descend, but I don't think it's going to drop for a while yet! Ah well, perhaps I can play a little more this afternoon then.  The internet is like being stuck in a traffic jam, you go forward thinking yeh! we're off, but then almost straight away grind to a halt for 10 minutes!  I am not convinced that this part of Cornwall has fast broadband (but we are paying for it), let alone super-fast!

Thursday 20 February 2014

Buttons 'n' Bows

Time again for a new theme on Cute Card Thursday, this week it's 'Buttons 'n' Bows'.  We look forward to seeing what you create and have a prize from Whimsy Stamps for our winner - do stop by the blog to read all about it and get some inspiration from the DTs creations.

My card took a while putting together yesterday and bits got pulled off a couple of times!  I wanted to join in the new Sketch and Dies challenge that has just started up so that was my starting point.  For the main circular element I had to change my mind and find something small enough to fit the already cut navy circle .. .. and found this cute little lad I'd already stamped out and started to colour with my Copic pens.  He's one of the LOTV designs I got a while back together with little leafy sprays I've stamped from the LOTV lazy days design.


And here is the card. Another small square with various layers added along with bits of paper from my digi scrap basket, and of course the embossed stitching around the edges that I've inked in navy chalk ink.  I've added Marianne Design die cut buttons and the white scallop mat behind the image so as not to go too dark, then finished off with string.  In the end it was a quick card to put together, but just took ages for me to figure out what I was going to do!

Marianne Design dies I used on this card:
embossed stitching with LR0161
buttons from LR0188
banner tags LR0187
fancy white circle mat with LR0129

I can also enter my card with the Oldie But a Goodie and Creative Inspirations challenges for buttons, and at Crafty Little Fairies this week they would like to see cards for boys.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

sympathy card

I've been having one of my bad days today, woke up with a thumping headache and feeling sicky .. .. and tired, oh so very tired! I guess lifting, or trying to lift, paving slabs yesterday was a bad idea and my neck is now in spasm .. .. Ibruprofen + paracetemol just about keeps me upright.

Anyway, this card is one I made a while back for a friend who's Nan died.  The base is yet another small square card from old SU! cardstock and I've simply gone for a white top layer with the embossed faux stitching around the edge, a stamped text and a floral spray (very old stamp) coloured with Copics and finished with tiny gems.

The My Time To Craft challenge is for sympathy cards, and Crafty Creations want you to Keep It Simple - so I can enter those challenges.

Hopefully I'll be back later, but for now I'm going to make Mum's tea then go for a lie down.

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Pirates!

Ahoy! and shiver me timbers!  Today's card is another of my little square creations kept simple for the charity box.  My inspiration came from the Charisma Cardz challenge blog and the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean - well the challenge was to be inspired by film.  My little pirates are Nellie's Choice stamps I've inked, coloured with my Copic pens then fussy cut out to fix with smelly glue (silicone) on my card.  Here it is:


Another base with SU! card and a scrap of printed out digi paper in blue.  I've added the embossed faux stitches as usual before inking over the edge with a brown chalk ink.  I've used the same ink to add the little starfish and stamp and cut out the anchor.  They are from a My Paper World set, as is the map in the background - that's stamped in blue chalk ink then I've torn the edges and inked to give it an old map look.  A final little circular greeting I found already stamped (LOTV) out and a scrap of soft blue gross grain, and job done!

The sun is shining today, and hardly any wind so I feel the call of the garden.  I have to go into the village to post a card for Mum so will get the car out .. .. perhaps I can do that before lunch then have the afternoon to potter.  Catch you all later on when the sun goes down over the yard arm!

Monday 17 February 2014

Lovey Dovey

After 2 days without the wind it's back along with the rain and blowing from the south again, and that's not a good direction for us!  I am shattered today, aching from bending and digging in the garden yesterday, plus driving a fair amount on Saturday.  I drove from here to Saltash to pick up DH, then all the way to Somerset for the Aero fair and I noticed that we were closer to London than to Cornwall!  Thankfully DH drove back as far as Saltash, and it was shorter and quicker coming home along the old A303 than on the motorway, something to remember for next time.  I then had to take over at Saltash and drive home with him following me in the van, just in case .. .. I was pretty knackered by then!  I am glad I did it - a great confidence boost and hopefully I wont feel as nervous doing a longer journey on my own now.  It will do me good to meet up with my friends and maybe travel a bit further afield to crafty events.  And, despite my worrying, Mum was fine and managed to feed herself both lunch and tea from the selection I'd left in the larder cupboard.

Anyway, I do have a card to share with you today - one of the little ones I've been making with printed out pieces of digi paper left in my basket, along with SU! cardstock for the base cards to fit the stash of envies I need to use up.  The image is from a clear set of stamps I've had quite a while and can't remember who they are by .. .. reminds me of LOTV though, but isn't.  I've coloured with my Copic pens and added the little polka dot hearts from the same sheet, touches of Stardust Stickles and then a dusky pink chalk ink around the edge.  The pretty doilly mat is Marianne Design die CR1248 and the patterned paper a digi design from Cuddly Buddly.  Here's the card .. ..


I've kept it simple, not a lot of room in any case once the image was stuck down.  The base is the now retired close to cocoa shade from SU! and I've simply added a white layer between the base and the digi paper, with the embossed faux stitches created with MD die LR0161.  To finish I found my pink pearl pen and added the pearl dots, ok not too straight but wonky is cute, right!

The theme at Totally Gorjuss is Lovey Dovey so that's what I've called my card.  The Cutie Pie challenge blog want to see cute with spots and dots - I have the polka dot hearts and there are spots on the butterfly patterened paper, as well as my dotty pearls.  Crafty Little Fairies are looking for teddies so I can enter with them too.

Friday 14 February 2014

Snowdrops

We are battening down the hatches here in Cornwall, waiting with bated breath for the next BIG BLOW, which is coming in from the south first of all so not a good direction.  Most of the harbours are built to be protected from the prevailing storm winds, that's usually from the south-west, so when the wind blows from a different direction it can be a problem.  The weather man said that this might be the last storm for a while .. .. I do hope so.

Today's card is one that evolved as I went along, sometimes they are the ones that turn out the best!  The image is another of my old Elusive Images flower stamps, snowdrop script, and I've coloured with my Copic pens before die cutting with an oval Nestie and adding a touch of sparkle to the edge.  Behind the image is a fancy MD die cut layer, LR0116, and then the blue scallop Nestie shape embossed with Swiss dots and sparkled along the edge.


And here's the card, another little square to help use up the pile of envies.  Behind the image layers I've embossed a plain white layer with a heart CB folder and matted it in blue, then fiddled about with bits and pieces to create the rest of it.  The scallop edge is another MD die, LR0201.

Stampin' For The Weekend would like to see flowers so I will enter my little snowdrop card with them.  The snowdrops in my garden are surviving the storms, and even the daffs are well up now.  I only grow the short varieties as even in the calmest of winter and spring weather it's always windy this close to the Atlantic Ocean! It will be interesting to see what has survived this winter's atrocious weather .. .. and plant more.  I do need to get in hedges or shrubs that will grow big enough for the birds to shelter in.  Since my neighbour took down the pines, and another neighbour is threatening to cut down his hedge (bad idea as it's protecting his garden from any NW winds) the poor birds struggle to find anywhere to shelter.

Thursday 13 February 2014

Clever Cuts and Cute Card Thursday

It started out bright and sunny here in North Cornwall, but now it's dark and hail stones are once again hitting the windows.  Thankfully I managed to rescue the bird feeders that had blown away and top them up again before the hail storm arrived.  Yesterday the wind was blowing the nijer and sunflowers out as fast as I could top them up. I am hoping the birds will find the seeds on the lawn or I could have an interesting wild flower meadow!  It is a bad time all over the UK now with floods and wind damage and even if the weather does improve it's going to be months before things get back to anything like normal.  The spring flowers are struggling to come through in the garden and I am itching to get out there and tidy up, but with everything so wet and the bitter wind, it's going to have to wait a while yet.

The theme this week on Cute Card Thursday is 'clever cutting', however you'd like to snip away we'd like you to share with us.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Whiff of Joy, stop by the CCT blog to read about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have made.

I've inked up one of my old Elusive Images stamps, the bunch of daffs, coloured with my copic pens then fussy cut it out before fixing with silicone glue (stinky stuff) to the centre panel of my Anja Design die cut piece by Marianne Design.


Here's my card.  It's a 7" x 5" size (not so many envies this size to use up, so don't expect to see many of them) plain white base then a layer of smooth ivory I put through the Swiss dots CB folder.  I've fixed the centre panel with 3d tape and the die cut corners with stinky glue.  I do so admire the detailed die cut cards I see on Pinterest, but somehow don't get the same results .. .. ah well, it's pretty enough and Mum can use it for either Easter or a spring birthday card.

The die cuts I've used from Marianne Design are Anya's Oval LR0236 and corners LR0143.

I'll have to see if I can find any challenges to link up with my card, let me know if you can think of any.


Wednesday 12 February 2014

Home is where the heart is

Oh my is it blowing here today! Yesterday finished up with a shower of hail stones like marbles that piled up against the patio doors and the decking, but that has been blown away.  The rain has been heavy this morning but I think the worst has gone through as now it is just sharp showers .. .. but the wind is as bad as any we've had so far - not a day for venturing outside.

I have another card to share with you created with a cute Marianne Design Don and Daisy moving house stamp that I've had a while, but sadly neglected.  Anyway, here it is coloured up with my Copic pens, although I was a little unsure how to colour her head scarf so opted to add pink over the brown hair in the hope it looked right - a gauzy scarf?

After colouring I've die cut the image with a circle Nestie, inked the edge with a soft pink chalk ink then matted with a pretty MD doily die.


The card base is another small square cut from my SU! card stash and a pretty piece of digi paper by Cuddly Buddly that was in my printed paper basket.  I've embellished with a stamped text, flowers and leaves and the key die cut - Marianne Design of course!  Here's the list:
key - LR0193
doilly mat - CR1201
daisy flowers - CR1201 with the edges inked in soft pink chalk ink
leaves - LR0226

The Papertake Weekly challenge is for something with a heart, mine are the pink pearl hearts top right and the heart in the text.  The Don and Daisy challenge is pretty in pink, I have pink in my creation so hope it meets the theme.

Hey, we have patches of blue sky outside! Sunshine at last, now if only that wind would die down .. ..

Tuesday 11 February 2014

With Love

I've had this cute Don and Daisy stamp  from Marianne Design for a while now (along with another one that hadn't seen ink) so decided the time was right to play!  The challenge on the Marianne's Design Divas challenge blog for the last few weeks has been to create something with pink in it somewhere - so that's what I've done!

I've coloured the stamped image with my Copic pens then cut out into a square before adding the faux stitches with MD die LR0161 and matting with a scallop Nestie cut from ivory card.  The pretty background paper is from a MD pretty paper pad I've had a while, PB7039, called Warm Winter Wishes, but this pattern is perfect for Valentine's too!


Here's my card, it's an easel card created from the bit left over when I cut my small square bases.  I've overhung the edges but made sure everything would fit in the small square envelope (the pile is very slowly getting smaller) and once folded flat it's not too thick.  I've embellished with various MD die cuts and finished things off with pink pearls.  So, my touches of pink for the challenge are in the pearls, Daisy's dress and shoes, and the other touches of pink in the image and on the paper.

The Marianne Design dies I used for my card are:
large background scalloped heart - CR1225
small scalloped heart - COL1307
butterfly - LR0158
flowers - LR0111
swirls leaves - LR0112
fronds - LR0106

I can also enter my card into the Crafty Catz challenge where love is in the air, with Oldie but a goodie where it's Valentine's, and at Fussy and Fancy Friday for Be My Valentine.

Monday 10 February 2014

Party Balloons

At last! I have managed to get a card uploaded to share with you.  At the height of the storm we lost the internet but although the lights flickered, the electric stayed on.  It is a worry as we are all electric here and if we loose it for too long I get concerned for Mum.
Our neighbour two doors away had his shed blow out, and some of it landed in our garden, although how a concrete slab ended up under the apple tree I've no idea!

Anyway, back to my card and as promised it's another with the cute LOTV little mice.  I coloured the stamped image with my Copic pens to match the scraps of Nitwit digi papers I had in my basket.


After a bit of fiddling about I managed to add a few embellishments to this card without it looking too naff .. .. still not really back with it though.  I've punched out the little butterflies, then die cut a lace edge, the ivy fronds and the flower from Marianne Design dies, finishing off with the pearls. Now in the daylight I can see that the pink butterflies don't match the other pinks, nor does the base card .. .. I was obviously seeing things through rose coloured specs when I made this one!  Still, I like it anyway and I am sure if I put it into the charity box, someone else might like it too.

The Marianne Design dies I used were:
lace edge - CR1250
ivy spray - CR1253
tag for text - COL1325
flower - CR1201

I can't find a challenge to enter my card into - they all seem to be love and Valentine's just now .. .. if you know of any do leave a comment - thanks!

Yesterday I went with DH to the Truro Hobbycraft shop as I was desperate for some crafting basics, but couldn't get the 1mm foam tape that I've been using for layering so opted for silicone glue as I have a project coming up that needed something along those lines. I'd forgotten how much it stinks!  I stocked up with pearls but found out that they must be old stock as reduced to half price and they sticky back doesn't stick - argh!  Ah well, thankfully my glue dries clear then. I wasn't too impressed with the craft selection there, lots of cake making and other crafts but a much smaller selection of papercraft goodies since my last visit back in the summer, and no Marianne Design dies any more .. .. .. all Tattered Lace now.  I got the TL magazine #1 which came with a 'free' fancy bells die (not if you count the cost of the magazine), but I am not sure how it's supposed to look with areas that could be cut out, but aren't, and although the magazine showed some ideas, I'm not sure what I'll do with it!  I've watched the Tattered Lace programs on the C&C tv channel but haven't been tempted - think I'll stick with Marianne Design as it's easier to mix and match and snip about to create what I want.

Fingers crossed I have cards to share with you most days this week, internet allowing that is.  No more mice for the time being as I haven't got around to colouring in the stamped images on the table .. .. might have a go this evening whilst watching tv, if I can keep my eyes open that is.

Thursday 6 February 2014

With Love

It's Thursday, and it's not raining or windy here in Cornwall - yet!  And, the internet is chugging along quite nicely (not like yesterday afternoon/evening) so time to share my DT creation for Cute Card Thursday's 'lots of love' theme.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Nikki from Bunny Zoe's Crafts, stop by the CCT blog to read about the prize and see inspiration from the rest of the DT.

For my card I've inked up another of the LOTV mice stamps and coloured with Copics and my Stardust pen, such a shame it doesn't show up in pictures.


I've cut my base card from more SU! card in my stash and found a plainish piece of digi paper in a neutral pale pink to put behind my image with a white mat between it and the base.  Again I've gone around the edges with my Marianne Design die LR0161 to give the embossed stitch line.  I thought the paper was rather plain so used a pretty design from a Viva Decor My Paper World Wedding stamp set to ink over with ginger chalk ink then added a touch of red to some of the hearts.  I've used the same design on my text too, you can see it a little better here, with a text from a Papermania word set.  As my mojo still hasn't blown back, I was stuck for embellishments so just punched out the butterflies, added the gems and found a little piece of coral red gross-grain ribbon to tie around the top corner.  I'll admit to liking the image but not perhaps the card .. .. I'm missing my MD die cuts!

Crafty Little Fairies have a love theme this week, the Corrosive Challenge want to feel the love,  and Totally Gorjuss want to see sunny colours, so I'll enter my card with each of them.

I'll be back with another micey card tomorrow, until then, stay warm and dry!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Mmmm chocolate and cakes!

Well we survived another storm last night - just about.  Thankfully the electricity didn't fail but I hear on the news that Cornwall was pretty badly hit.  We are used to storms from the SW but this one was blowing in from the SE at one time and I feared the solar panels on the roof might be dislodged.  As it is the system keeps tripping today so I will have to see how it is once the wind dies down .. .. but the weather man says there's another storm, or two, just waiting in turn to blast us some more.

Surprisingly, on Sunday it was calm and mild so I managed to do a little moving about of plants in the garden, not too wet either as we hadn't had any rain for 48 hours!  Being high on a hill not far from the sea the wind dries things out quickly, and thankfully there's no risk of flooding here.  This morning though the wind has damaged a few plants and unless it's something growing low to the ground, like the snowdrops, everything else has developed a decided lean towards the North - will it ever end.

I have managed to make a few cards with LOTV mice stamps I got in the recent sale, although sadly I still have a couple of uninked ones from last year too - I am going to try and do a run on them over the next few days so you can see them all.  This first one is called The Chocolate Factory and I've stamped with a very dark brown Momento then coloured with my Copics and finishing with a clear Stardust pen here and there, which isn't showing up.


It's a simple little card, I think my mojo got blown away on the wind!  I've been good again and cut my 5" base card from SU! card in my stash, used a piece of digi paper (Cuddly Buddly) from the basket and simply matted between with white paper.  It's another flat design and I've edged the layers with the faux stitching created with Marianne Design die LR0161.  I found the flower lace in my stash along with a piece of satin ribbon so created a pretty layer then simply stamped a generic text and added the little pearls to the centre of the lace flowers - simples!

Just a couple of challenges that I found to enter: Crafty Catz have an anything goes theme running, and Live and Love Crafts are looking to see love and lace.

A quick update on the GF/LF - not going so well but I discovered that lactose is more of a problem than gluten, although the worst is a combination of the two - traditional cauliflower cheese is a definite NO NO! Last night I cooked a savoury vegetarian mince dish and realised afterwards, when I read the packet, that it had gluten in the quorn, but I was ok with it, I think. I did tweak a recipe and make some little buns with a couple of over-ripe bananas and bashed up walnuts, and they are GF and LF free but I didn't get as many of them, just 21 buns instead of the 24 the mix should have made. I think next time I will stick with 20 as a couple of mine are smaller than the others as I was trying to eek out the mix.  What you think? I didn't want to go overboard with the butter cream topping so just dolloped it on - not a winning presentation I know, but they taste delicious all the same!


For anyone wanting the tweaked recipe this is what I did:
put 20 bun cases in your bun tins and set oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.
mash two very ripe bananas and leave to one side
cream together 115g/4oz Lacto spread and the same amount of caster sugar with half tsp vanilla extract.
beat 2 eggs in a bowl and gradually add to the creamed mix (I always add a spoonful of flour with each egg addition to stop it curdling).
Add mashed banana to mix plus 2-4tbsp Lacto cream (my bananas were small so I added the 4tbsp)
Sift in 225g/8oz Gluten Free plain flour with 1and half tsp baking powder and half tsp bicarbonate of soda.and fold the mixture together adding in 55g/2oz chopped walnuts (or any nut you like).
Stir to make sure all the ingredients are mixed - it should be quite sloppy so it falls off the spoon.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases - I found a dessertspoonful was about right, they are supposed to be little cakes not big muffins.
Bake for 20 mins then allow to cool on a wire rack.
For the buttercream topping mix 3oz Lacto spread with the same amount of icing sugar and a dessertspoonful of Lacto cream. Swirl on to the top of the cooled buns then sprinkle with chopped nuts. I find the Lacto buttercream goes very soft at room temperature so I keep my buns in the fridge - not that they will last long in there anyway!

Make a cuppa and enjoy!