Millie - Mae & Mummy Makes... A Gingerbread House

Published in Issue 20, December 2012

Written by Tracey from WowThankYou

www.wowthankyou.co.uk

Millie - Mae & Mummy Makes... A Gingerbread House

I made a house of gingerbread

It was so sugary sweet

It took me all day long to make

But, it lasted just a week.

Monday I ate the ceiling.

Tuesday I ate the door.

Wednesday I ate the windows.

Thursday I ate the floor.

Friday I ate all four walls.

Saturday I ate the lawn.

Sunday I licked up all the crumbs.

My gingerbread house is gone!

I have never, in my 40 years, made a Gingerbread House – so this was an easy project to pick to do with Millie-Mae. 

If you are considering having a go yourself, make sure you have plenty of time and can be patient – there’s a lot of waiting around for icing to dry! 

Ingredients

175g butter

175g soft dark brown sugar

3 tbsp golden syrup

700g plain flour

1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Zest and juice of 1 orange

2 medium free-range eggs

For the decoration

Boiled sweets for the stained glass windows (we used rhubarb and custards)

500g box royal icing sugar, made up nice and thick

Long ‘straw-like’ chews for windowsills

Liquorice comfits for the shutters

A LOT of white chocolate buttons for the roof tiles (I bought 14 bags of Cadbury ones!)

Hundreds-and-thousands for the chimney (though our chimney didn’t survive!)

Jelly beans, sprinkles, other sweets for decoration

Method

1. Put the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup into a pan over a very low heat, stirring until the butter and sugar have melted. Set aside to cool.

2. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and orange zest in a big bowl. Crack the eggs into another bowl.

3. Add the butter mixture to the flour along with the eggs and orange juice. Mix well, then use your hands to bring together into a ball. Sprinkle a little flour over a clean work surface and knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth. 

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll out on to sheets of baking paper. Roll until the gingerbread is about the same thickness as a £1 coin.

Templates: I cheated and printed one from the deliciousmagazine website. Cut out the different pieces (re-rolling the trimmings), then transfer the gingerbread shapes, still on their baking paper, to 3 baking sheets.
Put boiled sweets in each window hole (they will melt in the oven and create a stained-glass effect), then bake for 9 minutes.

5.Carefully slide the gingerbread (still on the baking paper) onto a cooling rack. Leave to cool, preferably overnight.

6. To decorate the house use royal icing to stick on the chew ‘straws’ windowsills and use the liquorice comfits for the shutters. Set aside to set.

7. We assembled our house on a cake board, but a chopping board will give you more garden! Use royal icing to stick the sides, front and back pieces together, and stick the pieces to the board to stabilise the house.

8. Decorate one roof piece: use a knife to spread icing all over the roof, then cover with white chocolate buttons. Start from the bottom adding the buttons in rows that just overlap to look like tiles.

9. Decorate the chimney pieces with icing and hundreds-and-thousands. Wait until the icing is completely dry – we didn’t and it collapsed … so we left it off!
Brush or pipe the icing onto the sloping edges of the front and back of the house to create ‘icicles’. Attach both roof panels, using royal icing, making sure you spread some icing in the middle to glue them together. Stick the chimney pieces together, then attach to the roof with royal icing. Carefully cover the untiled side of the roof with white chocolate buttons in the same way as before. Attach the door to the house and choose a sweet for the door knob.

 

 I have no idea where to store it, no idea how long it will last … but it’s one pretty cool Christmas decoration! Millie-Mae’s nana visited earlier and she thought it was amazing! It was a really fun project to do, although it did take, on and off, a whole weekend. I must leave the last words to Millie-Mae herself when she announced “that has got to be the best thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life” …

Merry Christmas xxx

Wooly Bears Santa Card

Published in Issue 20, December 2012

Written by Clare from Thread Bare

http://www.thread-bare.biz

Wooly Bears Santa Card

What you will need

Wooly Bears Santa Bear Stamp by Kanban
Ann’s Paper Art Pattern a391
White Pearlescent Card
6x6 White Card
Holly & Snowflake Papers from Dovecraft Back to Basics Christmas 6x6 Paper Pack - Vintage
Impress Ink Pad Black
Tape
Paper Pricking Tool
Needle
Foam Mat
Red, Green & Gold Embroidery Thread
Promarkers : Hat -Berry Red, Poppy, Red
Bear - Caramel, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Tan, Cool Grey 1
Ranger Ice Stickles – Silver Ice
Flowers
Sentiment

What to do

Step 1. Using your Paper Pricker, transfer the pattern onto your pearlescent card. Then, using your red thread, stitch the spiral patterns. You will need to come up at hole 1, down hole 5. Up hole 6, down hole 2, etc.

Step 2. Next, using Green, stitch the inner & outer circles.

Step 3. Then lastly, stitch with the gold. Tidy up the back of your stitching. Place some strips of sellotape across to stop the ends from moving.

Step 4. Ink up your stamp & stamp onto white paper. Colour in using Promarkers.

Step 5. To create your base card, take a 6x6 plain white card. Trim down the holly paper so a white border shows around the card. Cut the snowflake paper to 12x12cms.

Step 6. Using a circle cutter, cut around your stitching, making sure you leave a 5mm border. This is to prevent the holes being cut into. Layer your pieces onto your base card.

Step 7. Carefully cut round your bear, cutting off his legs so he sits within the circle. Place him in the inner circle with his hat slightly over the edge. Add Silver Ice Stickles to his hat & pompom.

Step 8. To finish the card off use Flowers & a Sentiment, all highlighted with the Stickles.

Snow Quartz Christmas Angel Keyring

Published in Issue 20, December 2012

Written by Clare from Elderberry Arts
http://www.elderberryarts.com

Snow Quartz Christmas Angel Keyring

Tools

Wire cutters

Round nosed Pliers

What you will need

Split ring with chain key ring 

2.4 cm angel wing

4.5 cm head pin

6 mm snow quartz bead

8 mm snow quartz bead

Step 1. Create the angel by placing the beads onto the head pin in the following order: 8 mm snow quartz bead, angel wings and then the 6 mm snow quartz bead.

Step 2. Bend over the head pin above the 6 mm bead and trim so there is approximately 1 cm remaining.

Step 3. Use the round nosed pliers to create a loop with the end of the head pin.

Step 4. Open the ring on the end of the key ring finding and attach the angel by the loop created in step 3. 

Close the loop.

These angels could also be used to make pendants.
By using 6 mm and 4 mm beads a smaller angel can also be created and used to make matching earrings.

Snow Quartz

Snow quartz is sometimes also known as milky quartz. It is a calming and gentle stone that is thought to enhance meditation and to ease emotional outbursts. Snow quartz is believed to help with mental stress and improve concentration. 

Hand Knitted Christmas Wreath Tree Decoration

Published in Issue 19, October 2012

Written by Anglea from Angel Crafts

www.groovycart.co.uk/angelcrafts

Hand Knitted Christmas Wreath Tree Decoration

What you will need
One pair of 3.25mm double pointed needles
Dark green yarn in DK
Small amount of red yarn for bow.

Instructions

Step 1. Start by casting on 3 sts.
Step 2. Knit one row (Do not turn the work).

Step 3. Slide stitches to other side of needle.

Step 4. Carry on in this way until the cord measures around 16 in.

Step 5. Cut yarn and thread through tapestry needle. Thread through stitches on needle, pull to close, tighten and fasten off.

Step 6. Fold the cord in half and twist. Bring the two ends together to form a circle and sew together, leaving a tail of thread.

Step 7. Make a bow using the red yarn.
Step 8. Sew or glue bow into place, then make a loop using the green yarn.

And now you have made your Xmas Wreath.
I use 3.25mm needles to make these, but of course, you can choose to use different size needles.

An Interview with ... JJ Creations

Published in Issue 20, December 2012

Tell us about the lady behind JJ Creations

My love for horses began at an early age, as a seven year old watching Black Beauty on the television. I managed to persuade my parents to take me to riding lessons and eventually saved enough to help buy my own pony. I spent my teenage years volunteering in racing stables and showing yards, teaching myself to draw and photograph horses capturing their characters in art. It is a passion I have carried through to my Miniature Rocking Horses.

When did you first begin creating your designs and why? 
For a few years now I have been making unique miniature rocking horses for dolls' houses mainly for friends and family and I have sold a few on E-bay and Etsy. Originally I was decorating my own doll's house and was disappointed with the choice of rocking horses available, so started to experiment with my own designs. Eventually after ending up with a rocking horse in every doll's house room, including the bathroom, I realised how much I enjoyed creating miniature nursery items and decided to expand.
Since November 2011, I have taken things a step further and started JJ Creations. After twenty years as head nurse in a busy veterinary practice, I decided to take the plunge, become self employed and become active in something I had spent my whole life wanting to do... create!
I specialise in an exclusive range of jewellery, mohair bags, miniature rocking horses, hand sewn collectors bears and other nursery miniatures. Every gift is a unique one of a kind item, lovingly handmade by myself.

What is it that you enjoy about your work? 
My true passion is with dolls houses, horses and making things, so the creation of miniature rocking horses is the perfect way to combine all my hobbies! As an added bonus I can now work around school hours and help my husband run his flooring company.

What is your biggest crafting achievement, and why? 
I was incredibly honoured to have the popular magazine Dolls House World feature my miniature rocking horses in August 2012. Thinking I was going to get maybe half a page of coverage, I was over the moon when they published a four page, full length feature about JJ Creations! I do admit to going into my local WH Smith and pre ordering three copies, just to make sure I didn't miss out!
If you had to choose your favourite from your creations which one would it be?
Without a doubt I would have to choose one of my miniature rocking horse unicorns. I love mystical, magical romanticism, so anything that is also horsey, is a real love of mine!  I have made a pegasus rocking horse too, but I am not yet happy with the stability of the wings, so this need some further investigation!

If you could change one thing about what you do, what would it be?
I think in an ideal world I would like my mind to stop working on ten different projects at the same time, and just concentrate on one!! But that is never going to happen! So realistically I'd have to settle for wishing I had more space to enable me to work on those ten projects simultaneously!

Other than crafting, what else do you like to do? 
I love to bake! Cakes, biscuits, savouries, anything... I just love to cook!
This hobby I try to fulfil by helping a friend in her successful bakery when I get the chance!
 I have a strong passion for animals and love to spend time walking my dogs with my young son, and taking photographs of the beautiful surroundings and wildlife. All things that so often get taken for granted.

Where does your inspiration come from? 
Being a horse lover I have many photographic books that I indulge in browsing through. Quite often when I start to create a miniature rocking horse I don't set out for it to be a certain breed, shape or colour but just go with whatever feels right when I mix the paints, airbrush the many base coats, add the shading and then hand paint the finer detail.
I am also very inspired by The Waterbug Story. Having lost good friends and family over the years, it is an emotional piece of writing that is very close to my heart. Therefore I find Dragonflies are a huge inspiration in my jewellery making.

Do you have a favourite website?
I love handmade shopping websites!  My favourite would have to be http://www.handmadeshopping.co.uk
The raw talent and immense effort that goes into making these gorgeous individual items never fails to humble me and makes me proud to call the crafters my friends and colleagues - not to mention the huge support that radiates from such a lovely group of people.

Has any person helped or supported you more than any other?
I have to say my husband [not just because it makes me look good! ]
He stood by my decision to give up my full time job, take a risk and become self employed doing something I have always wanted to do. He  has had complete faith in me and my creativity.

Tell us a random fact about yourself!
I am a qualified scuba diver!
My husband and I once had a deal, many years ago, that if he learnt to ride a horse, I would learn to scuba dive!

Julie x

www.jjcreations.co.uk
www.facebook.com/HandmadebyJJCreations
www.handmadeshopping.co.uk/jjcreations
www.etsy.com/shop/JulieJasper1

An Interview with....-Scent Costmetics

 Published in Issue 20, December 2012

Tell us about the creators behind Scent Cosmetics

ScENT is a husband & wife team. Carla, is a Brazillian with a love for Ireland. She came over here as a missionary in 2004 to work in a meat factory with Portuguese speakers. Towards the end of the 7 month placement she met me and whether it was for a visa, or for the love of the Irish brogue, she decided to return a year later to marry. Her career background is in hospital management, social care & community development - but she has always had an interest in paper-craft, make-up, and crafts in general. Carla is the soap artist. She spends her days in the lab perfecting her art whilst enviously gazing out the window to see her three male counterparts bouncing about on the trampoline.

I'm Garreth, and I guess if trying to narrow my expertise into a job title, I’d say I’m a social entrepreneur. It just about covers me as a coach, facilitator, community worker, home-maker/child-carer, baker and occasional soap-maker. My background is equally varied. I used to be a television presenter, pastor, community & youth worker to name but a few. A degree in Theology has yet to have any use in soap-making but perhaps one day… 

Together we are parents of two boys: Eli, aged 31/2 and Tobin, 1.

We live in Cloughey on the Ards peninsula of Northern Ireland. It is a beautiful, if somewhat isolated, spot on the east coast of Ireland. We live right on the beach in my father’s house where he has kindly allowed us to live rent free in order to get our little business up and running.


When did you first begin creating your designs, and why? 

We took a decision in 2010 to move on from our previous community work positions – in part due to funding and to the feeling that we had lost the support of the very people we were trying to help. The decision left us homeless, jobless and with no real idea of what was coming next. Instead of waiting around for a job when unemployment was rising rapidly – we decided to go to Brazil for a few months to be with family. In Brazil I was struck by the entrepreneurial spirit of those who couldn’t rely on a benefit system. People with no money so to speak but able to sell home-made cleaning products, crafts, soaps, candles, patchwork, sweets etc., all in an attempt to generate some much needed income for their family. I was struck by how we in the UK have lost this knowledge. How many of us know how to make a soap or a laundry detergent?

I had always been an ethical shopper but something struck my inner conscious. I really resented spending money for global companies to squander on advertising. I began dreaming about how we should be able to make things, rediscover some “old-wives knowledge” in a bid to adapting them into social business.

My sister-in-law found a course in soap-making in Sao Paulo just before we were due to return home and as it was in Portuguese, we decided that Carla should really be the one to sit in on the course. So my desire for learning crafts became Carla’s interest also. To be honest she is far more artistic than me. I can come up with ideas but making them become a reality was never going to be my strength, so the right person got to learn about a new craft.

We got home and looked around at what other soap-makers were doing and realized that we had something unique for the UK market. Initially we needed to generate some income and began by making the normal soap bars that are typical of most soapers as a means of raising enough money to make the items which we were passionate about - items that set us apart from other’s. Our fruit soaps, stone soaps and a few of our novelty soaps (Irish Sheep/Stout) are the soaps we are most passionate about promoting, in part because it demonstrates our speciality and also because it tends to reflect a Brazillian/Irish influence. We love organic and fair-trade, so whenever possible we tend to use such ingredients in our soaps.

What is it that you enjoy about your work?

Self-employment carries with it many mixed blessings but there is no doubt that the aspect we are most thankful for is the short commute over a few blades of grass in order to work in the lab and being able to always be together as a family for lunches, tea-time and bed-times. We also enjoy the flexibility of exercising hospitality whenever anyone drops in, as well as being able to drop everything should the need arise. There is little doubt that this last year has equipped us to grow together as a family. It is a blessing we can never take for granted.

I enjoy coming up with ideas for soap - I also enjoy the networking, the on-line community and developing the vision of how this can morph into a social business in the future.

Carla: I get real satisfaction from smell – I adore spending time mixing fragrances and essential oils to get the scent I am looking for. I’m a perfectionist at heart and trying to match fruit soaps with their real-life counterparts has become an obsession. I love seeing the detail in creation and trying to find the creator in each and every item as I try to match the colour and textures. I can’t wait to create a cosmetic range.

What is your biggest crafting achievement, and why?

Carla: I see all the fruit soaps as a big achievement in themselves as it is so hard to get the details and colours to match the real thing but the Pears are quite special because I had an idea in my head and my first attempt worked perfectly. The fragrance is fresh and they look so real that I fall in love with them every time I finish a new batch!

Other than your crafting, what else do you like to do?

Garreth: As we are still a business start up – crafting seems to consume every waking moment. When it is not soap Carla still enjoys paper-work and scrapbooking. We are both avid movie-watchers and enjoy the privilege of having an open house policy which means we have a fairly busy social life. I’m quite the wine lover (beer lover, whiskey lover and perhaps even the odd gin) – so a quiet night to sit back, chat and enjoy each other’s company is my idea of bliss!

Carla: I also love spending time with my two boys! Small children at home are the perfect excuse to be childish without having to explain the reasons! So watching cartoons, making jigsaws, puzzles, crafts and dancing silly is a bliss. We both also enjoy cooking and baking… nothing like a fresh loaf coming from the oven!!!!!

If you had to choose your favourite from your creations which one would it be?

Carla: This is a difficult one. If I follow my nose I’d choose the tangerine fruit soap and the Jasmine and Tangerine bar. They are so deliciously scented. The smell takes over the house when you finish your shower and it makes you really feel fresh and clean. Now, it is hard for me to pick just one as each product has a characteristic that attracts me. The pear because of its realistic look, the mini cup cake because of its cuteness, the stout because of its creativity and masculine scent/appeal… so tough to choose!

Garreth: Carla has just been commissioned to make an exclusive soap to an internet site as one of 15 artists to be featured for Christmas Promotions. The soap she was commissioned to make was a Christmas Pudding. Not only is this my favourite Christmas food but I can’t believe the detail Carla came up with in making this soap. She first of all makes the raisins, sultanas etc as soaps in themselves and mixes them into a bowl with other ingredients you might find in a pudding. The end result is just gorgeous.

Where does your inspiration come from? 

Much of our inspiration comes from our cultural identity. Occasionally we have friends come up with something indirectly which sparks our imagination and more often than not, Carla and I can be sitting reading or watching something when one of us is struck by another possible soap idea to manufacture. At the minute I think I have about 20 or so ideas still to attempt. 

Carla: I also get some of my inspiration from music. I have 3 creations that were inspired by music and I’m glad that my brain can associate fragrance and sound this way to create something you can see, touch and smell.

If you could change one thing about what you do, what would it be?

Glycerin & Packaging. I know that this is actually two things but they are connected. Glycerin has a tendency to sweat in humid conditions and dry out in dry hot conditions. It means that until using the soap, it really has to remain wrapped. This means packaging is crucial in ensuring the soap can be seen, used for display purposes and leave enough space for labelling. Fulfilling the cosmetic legislation placed upon soapers is quite something. It has quite frankly been a nightmarishly arduous journey to get to the stage where we can say we are finally happy about how we present our soaps. Packaging is so costly and unless you have capital to invest – it is difficult to get it right. I’d love to have the capital to invest in packaging.

Carla: Some bits of legislation do not allow us to use raw materials manufactured or tested outside of the UK and EU. There are lots of excellent and safe raw materials out there waiting to be used which will add quality and great look to products but cosmetic legislation makes this impossible. Each ingredient has to be assessed by a professional over here independently making it a very costly exercise.

Do you have a favourite website?

Carla: I think Garreth got a little addicted to www.creative-connections.ning.com over the last CRAFTfest but for ideas and inspiration I would probably choose a South African site known as www.ideasmag.co.za. It’s a crafters magazine at heart but with a real love of recycling, cost-effective crafting and its always great to get a different international slant on crafting. I love their templates, photos and inspiration.

Has any person helped or supported you more than any other?

People really invest in this business baby-sitting, ironing and bringing some lunch in a busy week, making endless wooden work and designs. We appreciate it so much. But if we HAVE TO mention one person it would be my Aunt Jenny (AKA Jennifer Hunter). Jennifer runs a small B&B in Killinchy, Northern Ireland known as “Hunter’s Lodge”. It has been our home upon returning from Brazil, the place we launched from and continue to sell from, as well as the venue for many of our workshops. It is also through Jenny we received investment, advice and weekly visits to baby-sit. Quite frankly without her – there wouldn’t be any Scent.

Tell us a random fact about yourselves!

Carla, her twin and I share the same birthday albeit I’m one year older but in keeping with the randomness theme - her brother also shares the same birthday. He is effectively my twin... It is also the same day that Carla’s grandfather celebrated his birthday! Currently in our extended family 5 people celebrate their birthdays on the same date. It made choosing our wedding date extremely easy! I can remember everyone’s birthday and our own anniversary extremely easily.