A little reminder!

I haven't been around for awhile, but I just put this together and thought I would share it - it's a good reminder! 

Hope this finds you well

xx

Hollytron

Elderflower Cordial!

It's that time of year! The elderflower is blooming in abundance and I was determined to make some cordial from them this year (since I discovered how to identify them at last)

I used played fast and loose with the recipe from here:  

 The changes I made were: 

• Added less sugar - 1kg instead of 2 (My pot wasn't big enough!)
• Less citric acid - as a result of the less sugar, I added about 50g
• Lemons AND Oranges! - I threw in the rind of an orange too. Bonus yum. 

And it has not disappointed at all. The kids keep asking for "Flower Juice" and we've gone through a bottle already. And it's such an easy recipe, you should hunt down some elderflowers and give it a try! 

Oh! and I made a label for it which you can download. :)

--Click here to download the .pdf of the elderflower cordial label!--

P.S. Here is the link to the post with the Blackcurrant labels. You know, just in case. :)

Knock Backs

This is a bit of a tricky post for me to write - I think it's easier to put a positive face on when you're blogging, to make a post when things are going well and remain silent when things aren't so great.

Sometimes the "not so great" is something small and petty, and not worthy of mention, hence the silence. And sometimes it's something too big and personal and important to try and express in a few lines of type sent blissfully off to sit on some server somewhere, with millions of others like them.

Without context, however, the silence sounds the same. 

Having a post schedule to follow is helpful in such occasions too - rather than just sitting down and sharing whatever is on your heart, mind or camera, you have things saved up to share when your life goes off the rails.

Sorry, this is all a trifle ambiguous (and possibly self indulgent) but wrapped up in all the "not saying" is that things are back on track and I hope (once again) to get back to posting more often. And who knows. Maybe one of these days I'll work up the guts to actually say something in one of them. :)

xx

Holly

Spring Photos!

Spring!

We've been talking about it quite a lot around here lately, and I think an improvement in the weather is becoming a slight fixation of mine - I need to top up on my sunshine! Not that the March weather has been co-operating with this plan. However, the early flowers are starting to bloom, and the Daffodils are working very hard at cheering the place up! 

xx

Happy Accidents

Hiding under a rock... that's where I've been the past few weeks. 

I've sort of been languishing between stages 3 and 4 of 'The Process' for what feels like forever, but in reality has only been a couple of weeks... so in an attempt to banish the dismals, I have created this: 

It was supposed to be a lovely mint green, but my printer has run out of Blue (again) and it came out in a lovely sunny yellow. So I'm taking it as a sign, from my printer with love, to cheer up for goodness sake! 

xx

February Photos - Finale!

Here is the final installment of my February photos - a little later than scheduled, due to a brief but stressful hospital stay for the small girl (she's fine now!)

I know life is always full of lumps and bumps, but I think I'm ready for some plain sailing, for awhile at least!

1. Unicorn! I've been taking product shots for these guys, and FINALLY listing them in my shop Here! Also, the fabric in the background is of my own design: Spoonflower were doing free samples, so I got one for a laugh. Now I want to make more! 

2. I won a competition! This is the lovely painting by the very clever Lily Reilly of  Petal to Petal which I was lucky enough to win in a facebook competition - I've been a fan of her work for awhile now, so I was delighted to have a piece to hang on my walls - now to find the perfect spot! 

3, 4, & 5 : All these are taken on a day trip we took to Cobh with my Mum before she flew back to NZ. Although it wasn't a perfectly lovely day weather wise, it was still lovely to be by the seaside, and it didn't rain for most of the day! Result! 

Especially considering we'd just had this the day before:  

(I figured out how to make GIFs. There is no stopping me now!) 

xx

Knitting Update - Mittens & Hat!

Winter is nearly finished, so naturally I've finished a few knitting projects that would have aided me in the quest to keep warm over the last few months.

Actually, I finished these mittens a few weeks ago, but I thought I'd share them :)

Aren't they a lovely colour? It's Hedgehog Fibres Sock yarn in Pollen, which I knit held double

 I started knitting them before I actually chose a pattern to use, just using my wrist to guess how much ribbing to cast on. Once I finished the ribbing I found the Vintage Cable Mittens pattern, which conveniently had the same number of stitches, and used it for the cable pattern, and the thumb size... 

I also improvised the top flap, but I may have to add a crochet edge to the top flap's opening... We'll see! 

Aaand I also made a Hat!
I used The Chunky Feather and Fan pattern, and an Aran weight yarn held double, 6mm Needles... Knitted up so fast I didn't get a chance to take in progress photos! Seriously, two evenings in front of the TV. Boom. No more cold ears.
And it's loose enough that I can wear my hair up under it without it looking TOO strange!

Are you on Ravelry? If so, here are the project links for the Mittens and Hat. My user name is Hollytron, add me! I'd love to see what you've been making!
xx

February Photos - Week 2.5

Hello Lovelies!

How has your February been treating you so far? 

This week's photos are a little later than anticipated, due to the enormous storm last Tuesday (Snow! Power cuts! Gale force winds! Rain!) and our house has been in somewhat of an uproar due to the hot water cylinder developing a leak and threatening to flood the house. It's quite amazing how quickly things get out of hand when your water supply has been cut off! 

But rather than photographing wet towels and the waterstains on the ceiling, I have decided to share: 

a) A Yellow Dinosaur ("He's screaming mummy!")

b) Pink Carnation (Not Valentines!)

c) Tulips (Valentines! But more because the supermarket over stocks on flowers and then we get them cheap!)

d) Puppy!

e) Glenville, Co.Cork (I think! We went to Glanmire via. the scenic route which I'm not familar with)

Hope you're all keeping warm.... is Spring here yet??

xx

Feburary Photos - Week 1

Hello! 

Here are some photographs from this week - I've been going through my old photo folders recently, and I realised that I haven't been taking as many photos these days. Couple that with my Daughter's 7th birthday, and the awful realisation that my kids are growing up and one day these photographs are going to be my best bet when it comes to remembering it all.... Well. Let's just say that the camera has been getting a bit of a workout. 

I also want to improve my photography skills, and take pictures of things in my life other than the kids (I asked if I could blog pictures of them - they said no.) 

So here is what we have this week: (from top left, clockwise - just like in the newspaper!)

1. Cloud, by Olly Moss 

2. Something Orange

3. Detail of a chapel at Ardmore, co. Waterford

4. Crows being total geezers

5. Best egg breakfast ever

6. Complete and utter vanity.

Hope you have a lovely weekend! 

x

Rainbows!

Hello! 

Things have been quiet on my blog for the past few months, but, as is always the case, this may be due to things getting busy, and me being too caught up in what's happening to even think of recording it. 

So! What's my excuse this time? Well, I got married.

Flowers by Wild, Cork (they Smelt AMAZING) 

Someone wished me much happiness, unicorns and rainbows for my wedding. Things have been sadly lacking in unicorns, but two out of three isn't bad.

Happy New Year Everybody! 

More posts soon, honest!

x

Recipe! Roast Butternut and Lentil Soup

Autumn is here, and so squash and pumpkins have been in the shops for less than an arm and a leg. I had me a fancy for some lovely pumpkin soup, so after messing about in the kitchen for awhile, came up with this recipe. 

It's a lovely warming butternut soup with cumin, onion and garlic, and thickened with red lentils - because I can never cook them without them tuning to mush anyway.

Roast Butternut and Lentil Soup
Makes 4-6 portions
Ingredients:
1 kg Butternut squash (or pumpkin, if you prefer.)
1 Medium onion
1 Clove of garlic
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 Tbs Cumin
1 Litre of Vegetable Stock
1 Cup of red lentils.

Method
1) Roast your squash - I just chop the bottom off the butternut, halve it, scrape out the seeds and throw it into the oven at 200 C for about 40 minutes or so until soft, but you could make smaller pieces so it roasts faster. Once roasted, put it aside to cool, and scrape the cooked flesh from the skin
2) Sweat the onions and garlic - Roughly chop your onions and garlic and add to a large pan with the vegetable oil and cumin. Cook at a low temperature until the onions are translucent and soft. (Don't cook them too fast! If they brown it changes the entire flavour of the soup)
3) Bring it all together - Once the onions and garlic are nice and soft, add the lentils, pumpkin, and warm stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are soft.
4) Blend it up! - Once the lentils are soft and disintegrating, blend it until smooth.

Eat it with croutons, thicken with cream, or just guzzle it as it is. 

xx

Tutorial: Envelope Book

A long long time ago, way back in 2007, I made an envelope book for my Mum. A dear friend recently asked me how I made it, and even though I found the instructions I followed originally, I wanted to make a tutorial to show my own version, using materials I have lying around the house. 

If there's anything unclear in my descriptions, leave me a comment and I'll try and clarify. There are other really good tutorials out there on how to bind books, so maybe have a look on Youtube and see if you can pick up some extra tips.

But what shall we do with a book made from envelopes? My dear friend wants to use it as a recipe collection, and I think it would make a great thing to keep little paper keepsakes from a wedding, or a lovely travel journal. And you can use any size envelopes to make this too! Big envelopes make for big possibilities!  

So lets Begin!

You will need:

Envelopes (I suggest about 10, but as many as you want)

Stiff Cardboard (or book binder's board)

Patterned Paper

Coloured Paper

Fabric (or Binding Tape)

Cutting Tool (craft knife)

Metal Ruler

Scissors

Binder Clips

Tough Glue*

Strong Thread and Needle

 Small Nail (or something sharp to make small holes.)

Hammer 

*I used a glue gun for parts of this, but a tough craft glue should do the trick. Also, spray adhesive makes some parts easier, but it's not necessary. 

STEP 1

Measure your envelopes! Then take your Stiff Cardboard and cut 2 pieces the same size as your envelopes. Also, Take your coloured paper, and cut 2 pieces the same size as the envelopes, and 2 pieces the same height as your envelope, but twice as wide. For example, my envelopes were 11x16 cm, so I cut 2 pieces of coloured paper the same size, and 2 pieces 22x16 cm. 

STEP 2 

On one of your small pieces of coloured paper, mark a row of dots 5mm apart, 5mm in from the bottom end of the long edge. This are the marks for the stitching which will bind your envelope book together. Place a coloured page on either side of your envelope stack, making sure the dotted line on the CLOSED edge of the envelopes.This is really important, because if you stitch the top of the envelopes into the spine, your envelope book will be useless as an envelope book. (Ask me how I know...)

 Clip the envelope stack together with the binder clips.

(This isn't pictured here, because I forgot to include the coloured paper in my stack. I glued it in later, but this way works better)

Once the envelopes are secure, take your sharp pointy object and make a hole through the pile of envelopes on each dot. I held my nail in place with the Pliers and then Hammered it in, which did the job, but I'm sure there is a more elegant way of doing this part! 

STEP 3 

Thread your needle with your thread - Waxed thread is supposed to be good for this, and I seem to recall someone recommending dental floss (Minty!) Then stitch up your book through the holes you have drilled. There are several stitches you can use for this, you can use a basic back stitch,  blanket stitch, or check out this tutorial on Japanese Stab Binding on Design Sponge. 

Take off the clips, your envelopes are all nicely stitched up and ready to be popped into their cover.

STEP 4

Measure how deep your envelope bundle is across the stitching where the spine will be, and cut a piece from your stiff card this wide, and as long as the envelope. (In my case, this piece was a handy 5mm wide) This will be the Spine.

Also, cut a 5mm piece from the edge of the two envelope sized cards, and keep the trimming! 

Cover the two remaining pieces, the covers, with your patterned paper, making sure that it overlaps on the back a bit, and you glue it down well. 

STEP 5

Cut your fabric so that it's a bit longer than the cover boards, and wide enough to overlap onto the front of the cover boards when folded in half lengthways. Iron the edges so there's no raw edges showing, and lay your Spine, the two 5mm trim pieces and the covers onto the fabric as shown in the picture. Glue in place, fold over the top fabric and glue down also. Your cover is now pretty much finished, we just have to put the two together.

STEP 6

More Glue! This time, make a line of glue down the spine of the envelope bundle and place on spine on the cover. Spread Glue over each stitched side of the envelope stack and stick to the 5mm pieces of card either side of the spine. Leave to Dry. 

 After the glue has dried, take one of the long pieces of coloured paper. Cover with glue, line up one end with the corners of the small coloured page, and the other a couple of millimeters from the edge of the inside cover. Smooth out and close the book, making sure the long page creases smoothly and doesn't poke out anywhere. Leave to dry, and I do believe it's done! 

I think you deserve a cookie after all that. Or a cool Dinosaur sticker at least. 

Maybe you could keep them in your shiny new Envelope book? 

xx

Hollytron

Picking Favourites.

I've been (slowly...) chugging away at this 30 Day Drawing Project for the last few months. (At this rate it's going to be a 30 week Drawing Project... or maybe even 30 Years?) The first few ideas were easy enough to deal with, but then came the business of picking a FAVORITE animal. Then a favorite food, film, T.V. program, book, sweet...

Day 9, Favorite TV show (The I.T. Crowd!)

I must confess, I'm not entirely comfortable with this whole "favorite" lark. It smacks of favoritism! (see what I did there?) How can I just choose one favorite book or film? Besides, I don't really have things that are my favorite for any length of time. My favorites change over time and vary according to my mood, so the idea of immortalizing my current favorite anything makes me a bit squirmy. I mean, what if my favorite food is something really embarrassing in 10 years time?

Left: Day 6, Favorite Book (The Ordinary Princess)   Right: Day 4 Favorite Place 

 But, a drawing challenge has been embarked upon. Drawings must be made. 

Day 3, Favorite Food (Asian Spiced Salmon with noodles and sauce)

 And if choosing one is too hard, who is to say I can't draw two? (or more?)

Day 8, Favorite Animated Character(s!) Spike Speigel and Sailor Jupiter

 So am I the only person who resists choosing favorites? Also, if you have any favorite books, films to TV shows to share I'd love to hear it - Who knows, maybe it'll be my new favorite too!

xx

P.S. About the knitting in the last post? It got Frogged. Lesson: I hate Nupps.