The Arts and Crafts Cupboard

Bai!

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:29:59 +0000

Sorry Tumblr, it was not to be. My ambitions of a wordy and picturey blog just can’t be fully fulfilled on you. I’m off to Blogger.

Find me now at

www.dreamip.co.uk

http://dreamip.blogspot.com

Finished my spiced apple chutney last night, I’m sure...

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:12:58 +0000

Finished my spiced apple chutney last night, I’m sure it’ll taste fine once it’s had it’s 3 or so months to mature (if it makes it that long this time), however -

Lessons learnt:

Do not be lazy and scrimp on the main pectin-containing ingredient, you will end up with weird mush
Do not underestimate how hot jam jars get straight out of the oven
Never trust a Kilner jar’s locking-mechanism-wirey-bit (snappy!)

For those feeling brave (actually, it’s a dead easy recipe I just seem to be able to make these things more complicated for myself!), I found the recipe here - Spiced Apple Chutney Recipe.

To sterilise my jars, both of the jam and Kilner variety, I give them a jolly good wash in hot soapy water, then remove the lids for jam jars, the rubbery seal bits for Kilner-style jars. Pop them on a baking tray and into the oven at 120°c for 5 minutes. Once they’re out, plop your jam/chutney/curd/whatever in the jars, preferably while it’s all still hot, then seal them straight away. As the contents of the jar cools it should give a better seal.

In other news, I’ve started collecting plastic milk containers to act as plant pots. As we now have a balcony, our own little bit of outside space, I’m planning on filling it full of wonderful fruit and veg plants over spring and summer. Milk containers offer a nice inexpensive option to start my plants off in, also this is a possibility -

A very interesting and clever set up I saw at the South of England show last year, with some of the bottles providing water for the rest of the pots through a bit of material and capillary action! Although that might be a few steps up from what I was thinking if to start me off.

I’ve decided on the following crops, all of which can be grown in containers and are therefore ideal for a tiny balcony veg garden:
Pak choi, small salad carrot, spinach, tomatoes, strawberries, various herbs and hopefully runner beans, providing I can locate a nice big pot and a cane wigwam.

Not so much of a New Year’s resolution as something...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:06:00 +0000

Not so much of a New Year’s resolution as something I’ve been meaning to do for quite a while now, but I’m planning to get this blog going again. I’ve got lots of things I was up to over Christmas - all outgoing gifts were entirely hand made, I’ll pop up pics and recipes/tutorials eventually.

For now this was what I was up to today:

First off, there’s a batch of spiced apple chutney on the hob as we speak, the far more attractive before shot is what you see above. It’s a big pot of vinegar-y smelling brown goop at the moment, however, I know from experience it will taste very nice when finished!

We had home made tortillas for lunch, which were incredibly easy to make, I don’t know why I had it stuck in my head that they might take a long time or not be worth the hassle. I used this recipe - Flour Tortilla Wraps. I didn’t really fancy 60 wraps at the time, so I divided all quantities by four. That made more than enough for le Boof and myself for lunch (there’s still five of them in the fridge, waiting for when Boof gets the nibbles).

Faced with the threat of having a naked flat again when the Christmas decorations have to come down later in the week (sadface), I’ve decided I shall crochet some jolly spring bunting. I’ll update with pics in a later post, as there are only two currently. The pattern I’m using for them is here, I’ve been changing colours for every new round. If you’ve never tried crochet, it’s definitely worth giving a go. Apparently it’s easier than knitting, although I’ve been knitting for much longer than I’ve crocheted for, so it’s hard for me to tell!

So there we are, that was nice and painless. I just have to remember to take lots and lots of pictures of everything I do. Le Boof will be pleased!

Cheeky extras:

Currently playing - Eufloria

Currently listening - Gotye - Somebody I Used To Know ft. Kimbra

First 2 completed phone socks for the stall that I’m happy...

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:02:16 +0100

First 2 completed phone socks for the stall that I’m happy with :)

Crafty crafting

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:56:10 +0100

At last started knitting things for the craft stall I shall be doing with my mum for Christmas, phone socks ho!

Cutest stamp evoir! I has it.

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 14:52:15 +0100

Cutest stamp evoir! I has it.

My shawl project. Was working on it last night. Not going to be...

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:44:29 +0100

My shawl project. Was working on it last night. Not going to be finished for a long, long time yet.

Previous Arts and Craft adventures.

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:59:42 +0100

Right, so, in no particular order, a brief history of my arts and craftings over the last couple of years.

Skirt for gigging in. Made from scratch.

T shirts we had made up for my old band, artwork designed by me.

A quilled owl thank you card, of course.

Good time pumpkin carving.

Pump clip made for the pub I work in, artwork by me.

First ever knitted garment, made for the Boof.

Team Fortress 2 cake, sponge by my mum, decoration by me. Made for a LAN party we had a while back.

Trying my hand at some needle felting. Decorating a canvas shoulder bag.

Playing around with felt and some old foam.

Cushion made for a good friend.

There are many many more things. Maybe best to save those for a future post.

Ducky for a friend’s baby niece. Made with felt, hand-sewn...

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:10:00 +0100

Ducky for a friend’s baby niece.

Made with felt, hand-sewn then stuffed with soft toy filling.