Two Crafty Brownies

Inspired by mini eggs!

Hello dear friends!

Ooo things are warming up here in London town! The Spring has sprung, the sun has been shining a little more and the world is starting to look really colourful. Here in Two Crafty Brownies Land, Jenny and I are very excited about our very first workshops. We are holding them in such a wonderful setting, the Arbour Café at The Boma Garden Centre in Kentish Town. We will be teaching how to make your very own journal/planner on the 27th April and a floral appliqué embroidery hoop on the 8th May. If you are interested in either of our workshops, you can do so and book a place by clicking on our workshops tab above or follow this link! We do hope some of you can make it!

Whilst Jenny has been inspired to decoupage with napkins, yielding beautiful results, I have been slightly obsessed with Cadbury’s mini eggs! Maybe it goes without saying that I love eating them. Over on instagram, I described them as little eggs of joy with speckled, crunchy exteriors and melt in the mouth chocolate centres. This may sound like an advert but sadly I have not been sponsored to write this post although if you are reading this Cadbury’s, you may be able to twist my arm!

I’m mostly inspired to eat them straight away but I did have enough willpower to save a few to decorate some little spring cupcakes. The kids were sooooo happy when they came home from school on this day….

I even speckled the buttercream with sifted cocoa. Look, there’s a mini egg thief about!….

I'm not impressed that Cadbury's don't make a blue mini egg! Surely there should be right? I may just start a campaign. Who's with me?......Not important enough a cause you say? Hhmph!

As well as eating them, the pretty speckled shells of mini eggs has got me crafting. I just love this look. I mean, take a look at these socks,. Don’t you just love them?.........

Also, look at those little feet! They belong to my littlest girl (all the heart eyes).

I find myself attracted to all the speckled yarn and I have to try very hard not to purchase every ball of speckled wool I see! Occasionally though, yarn just has this habit of following me home. Have you been witness to this phenomenon or is it just me? Very strange…..

This yarn is from Rico Design and I bought it from here in cream and peach too as the cream needed a friend. I am in the process of hooking up a cushion cover……….the colours make me so happy as I hook….

I’ve also had the air drying clay out again. I have played with this before as you may know. Check out the tutorials here if you fancy having a go. I made spring themed shapes using these fab cookie cutters from Paperchase....

I painted them using ceramic paint which has a glossy finish and speckled them by dipping a paint brush in gold paint and flicking the bristles with my finger. Don’t they look cute?

I am going to make them into brooches, keyrings and magnets for my little cousins as surprise Spring gifts.

I've also got a bit crafty with fabric paint, a stencil I made earlier (of an avocado stone which looks very much like a mini egg), a sponge, a paint brush and cream cotton fabric…..

I am going to transform the speckled fabric into a pouch! I might have to keep this one……...

Phew! Are you all mini-egged and speckled out? I’m not sure I am quite yet…..

The kids break up today for their Easter hols and I am very excited about the next couple of weeks of pottering and larking about with them and the hubby. Have you got any plans for Easter? Whatever your plans, do have a smashing time my lovely mini-eggs! (compliments indeed!)....

All the love and hugs,

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxx

Napkin Decoupage

Hello treasures....... how are you doing? Thank you so much for your emails of concern after Wednesday's horrible events in London. I work at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals and was at Guy's at the time (about a mile away). Reports started flying around by email about what was happening. St Thomas', which is right beside Westminster Bridge went into lockdown, and we all waited to see what would happen. By 6pm, people were being allowed to leave, and we were told to get ourselves home. I must say, darlings, I had a moment of panic as I went down into the Underground. But all around me, my fellow travellers were calm, quiet and going about their business. It made me so proud to be a Londoner......we will not let fear and hatred win.

And so despite what happened, it is business as usual here in Two Crafty Brownieland. I am still drooling over Lucy's rhubarb recipes, and of course have been busy making things alongside my day job. As you may have noticed, I am still obsessed with making books. The longest I've ever gone with one craft without getting bored!! I've been experimenting with different covers, and my absolute fave is using napkins.

 It's such a quick and easy way to prettify card or paper, and there are so many gorgeous designs!!

What you need are

Some pretty napkins

Index cards, tags, card or even just paper

PVA glue or Mod Podge

a soft bristled brush

 

What you do is

Peel apart the three layers of the napkin, you'll be using the top, patterned layer only. Lay the napkin on top of your paper/card. Apply the glue on top of the napkin with gentle strokes, making sure the glue goes right to the edge.

Leave to dry, it takes about half an hour. Trim around your card or paper with scissors and admire the pretty effect!

I have been making book covers by gluing napkins to envelopes, and it makes such a lovely, pliable cover.....

I finally made myself a planner to use after my Christmas Journal got full.....

In other news, it's nearly been a year of sewing my own clothes! I'll be doing another post about this soon, but in the meantime, come close and let me tell you a secret......sometimes my dress matches my underwear!! (this one's especially for you, Kelly!!)

I have been baking No Knead Bread......

And finally finished this mermaid for my goddaughter that I have been making for the last year!!

Well, that's it from me, lovelies, because, guess what, I'm off to buy some napkins!!

Kisses all over your lovely faces......

Jenny xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rhubarb and Custard Adventures!

How are you sweet friends? I do hope all is well with you.

I am really enjoying the little bit of sunshine and the slightly warmer temperatures we have been having in the last week or so. I have even managed to get out into the garden to begin that wonderful process of tidying, rearranging and planting, ready for spring and summer. I've had that cup of tea in the garden, now I'd like a cuppa and a piece of cake!

I intend to work a little harder this year and see if I can grow a few things from seed. I'm going to make one of Jenny’s brilliant junk journals where I can draw layouts, save plant labels and write notes. I’d feel like a proper gardener then! Perhaps I’ll even plant some fruit and veg. We’ll see. Baby steps I think!

I thought it was about time I had a go at experimenting in the kitchen again. Do you remember when I mucked about with pumpkins?  Jenny bought me this fab book for Christmas and as well as having some lovely recipes in it, it has a helpful ‘seasonality’ chart. I decided to have a play with rhubarb this time as it is almost rhubarb season and forced rhubarb is available now. I’ve always loved the taste of rhubarb juices and cordials. I love rhubarb and custard sweets too, the taste of which evokes such a sense of nostalgia and memories of visiting the sweet shop as a child, ordering a quarter (if my memory serves me correctly?) of these delicious sweets. Cola cubes and toffee bonbons were my favourites too! Oooo yummy! However, I've never like baked rhubarb. Perhaps it has something to do with it's slimy texture. 

I love the colours pink and yellow together too.........  

I’ve come up with 2 of my very own recipes!

Rhubarb and Custard Fool

In my head, I have an image of Mr T from the A-Team reading out the name of this recipe, “Rhubarb and Custard!... Fool!” Tee hee! I do hope you get this reference, but if you don’t, this might enlighten you! I digress……

For this recipe, I had made some rhubarb cordial using Claire Thomson’s recipe from The five O’Clock Apron. I didn’t want to throw away the pulp left over, so I puréed it. This purée tastes delicious as is but I decided it would be lovely with custard and cream too!

What you need is: (serves 4 generously)

Puréed, sweetened rhubarb - To make this purée without having made the cordial, wash, trim and cut about 500g rhubarb into chunks, toss in 60g caster sugar and roast in a 180°c oven for 15- 20mins until soft. Instead of caster sugar, you could use a few tablespoons of maple syrup. Drain off the juice and purée the rhubarb. Save the juice to drizzle on top.

300ml double cream.

8-10 tblsp (approx. 250g) fresh, shop bought, fresh custard

4 Ginger nut biscuits

3 or 4 meringues (shop bought will do!)

4 jars/dishes to serve

What you do is:

Make the purée (see above) and set aside.

To make the custard cream, whisk the double cream until thickened and stiff peaks start to form. Continue to whisk, adding the custard to the cream one tablespoon at a time. This mixture should still be thick and spoonable but not runny.

Crush the ginger nut biscuits using the end of a rolling pin.

Crush the meringues separately in the same way.

Into each jar, spoon 2 heaped tblsp rhubarb purée, a handful of crushed ginger nuts, 2-3 heaped tblsp custard cream and finally a handful of crushed meringue. Enjoy straight away. If you are preparing this treat in advance, spoon the purée and custard cream into the jar in layers, adding the crushed ginger nuts and meringue just before you serve it.

You could also swirl all of the ingredients together - this reminds me of Eton mess. Or swirl the rhubarb purée and custard cream together and add the crushed ginger biscuits and meringue to the top. There are many way to enjoy this taste sensation!

 

Rhubarb Cake with Custard Cream

Rhubarb has quite a subtle taste. I tried roasting, mashing and then mixing it in with the cake mixture but the taste of rhubarb in the baked cake was too subtle. Instead I decided to add the rhubarb in it’s raw form and this seemed to work well. You can see flecks of pink goodness in the sponge which I loved!

What you need is:

For the Cake: Double ingredients to make a sandwich cake.

113g/4oz unsalted butter, softened

113g/4oz golden caster sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla extract

113g/4oz self-raising flour

100g rhubarb

For the Custard Cream:

300ml double cream.

8-10 tblsp (approx. 250g) fresh, shop bought custard

What you do is:

Preheat your oven to 180°c (fan).

Line a 20cm/8” cake tin.

Wash, trim the ends and finely chop the rhubarb. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a tablespoon of flour after each to prevent the mixture from curdling.

Mix in the vanilla extract and then fold in the flour.

Fold in the rhubarb.

Bake in the oven for 23-25mins or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tins for 5mins and then take the cake out of the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

To make the custard cream, whisk the double cream until thickened and stiff peaks start to form. Continue to whisk, adding the custard to the cream one tablespoon at a time. This mixture should still be thick and spoonable but not runny.

You could definitely eat this delicious cake warm, however we managed to wait until it had cooled. Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar, cut into generous slices and serve with a large dollop (great word!) of the custard cream.

Yummy in our tummies!

Look at the little morsels of pink delight!......

All this experimenting has not been good for my waistline I tell you, but I have really enjoyed it. The mucking about and the eating! Rhubarb Rocks!! Both desserts were very well received by my brood, the ‘fool’ especially so. 2 out of 3 of my kiddies made very appreciative noises whilst spooning the creamy, fruity (rhubarb is a vegetable but ‘vegetabley’ didn’t sound as good!), crunchiness out of the jars and cried out for more when they had scraped the jars clean. My other baby? Well she cried too….actual tears!.....of disgust! Rhubarb is not for everyone!

I hope you have a happy weekend lovelies, full of sunshine and deliciousness!

Big love and lots of hugs,

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxx

Birdy Love

Hello friends!

I love the ‘make a wish’ bunting that Jenny made for her friend’s baby shower! Such a sweet idea - to make wishes full of sentiment, love and hope ready for the little one coming soon. Lucky baby I say!

If you follow us on instagram you will know that I have been going a bit potty about the little birds that have been flitting about my garden and surroundings. I have watched them looking for food and nest-building materials; perching prettily on fence, branch, aerial and roof top and I have heard them singing such pretty tunes to each other as they go about their birdy business! Oh how I have fallen for them! I have become quite excited and preoccupied and some would say, slightly obsessed with my feathery friends. I think perhaps because I live in a city, I have grown to appreciate and feel lucky about birds being around. We've spotted robins, bluetits, great tits, blackbirds, goldfinches and the obligatory pigeon.

We are now supporters of the wonderful RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and received this amazing haul in the post…..

 

My brood and I are very much looking forward to exploring the nature reserves looked after by the RSPB and learning more about birds and other wildlife! I’ll report back!

Of course I have been trying and mostly failing to photograph them, to capture their colours, their feathery cuteness and funny little movements. It is now a mission my kids join in on too:

Child one, two or three: “Mummy!! Quick, a bird...it’s the robin again”

Me: “Ok, coming!....shhhh!, don’t move!...right, just focussing.....oh bother!”

Groans of disappointment, usually followed by giggles.

On occasion I have succeeded in capturing them (in photograph form!) and amongst the slightly ‘out of focus, not quite a full bird, just the movement of the wings as the bird flies away’ photos, I have actually taken some decent shots if I am allowed to say so myself. Here’s my slide show. Bear with…..

 

These winged wonders have not only inspired me to get my camera out but to get crafty too. I have done a bit of sketching…I’m calling this A bird in The Hand…...

 

I have made a perching blackbird embroidery hoop. Don’t blackbirds sing so beautifully?.....

 

I have made a brooch using some plywood and an old vintage stamp featuring a parrot. I got my junior hacksaw out for this project - fun!…I’ll grow up one day and be allowed to use an adult hacksaw!.…

 

We have expressed our love for the birds in decoupage form too! My boy and little girl decoupaged an owl and a penguin…….

 

I decoupaged these letters….

 

I am not sure what I am going to do with them (put them on the wall perhaps?), but I just had a compulsion to create them. I suppose that is creativity for you! I decoupaged them using my stash of Mollie Makes papers and these wooden letters. They were quite simple and satisfying to do and I think they look great. Decoupage letters are going to feature in many of my crafting projects I think!

Check out my tutorial here if you fancy doing a spot of decoupaging yourself. Have a look here for decoupage paraphenalia and here if you want any more birdy craft inspiration.

Well lovelies, lots of love as always. After all the crafty goings on around here this week, I need to put my feet up with a cuppa. Oooo but what was that flitting past my window!…..I’ll just get my camera………..

Lucy xxxxxxxxxx

 

Is it Spring yet?

Hello my dears! This is a bit of an ‘around here/bits and pieces/lately’ post from me this week. Here in the UK our school age children have 2 weeks off, and this year it started with Easter weekend. Both my hubby and I were off for the whole weekend (quite often one or other of us is working in our respective hospitals) and the four days stretched invitingly ahead.

To be honest, my lovelies, I am a pottering at home sort of person. I will go out on trips, but now my boys are older and don't require entertaining as much, I really cherish being at home, cooking, baking and spending time in my tiny but oh so precious sewing room.

 

My hubby on the other hand is a real ‘let's go on a trip’ person. He hates staying in all day and will sometimes fit two or three outings into a day! He had forewarned me that the weather would be best on Good Friday, so I hatched a sneaky plan of enticing him out early, and then spending the rest of the day at home!

Lovelies, in my heart I think I am not really a city person. I love the countryside, and I feel far more peaceful there. In the city I feel hemmed in by the buildings, and uninspired by the views. So I find heading out for a walk rather challenging. I start off sulky, I whisper to myself that the streets are ugly and that the buildings are too tall. I realise this is not the best way to make the most of things……. So on Friday morning I decided to look for the beauty in my surroundings….

The streets near my home have rows of these prettily painted houses, and look at that glorious blue sky! We headed down the road to join the Regent’s Canal. It is cool and dark down on the canal path. I was captivated by this pretty house and the Lock Keeper's cottage at St Pancras Lock.

 

A bit further along we came to the Kings Cross Gasholders. These huge guide frames were built in the 1850s. Gasholder No.8 is the largest of these, and was built for the storage of town gas that was manufactured here from coal. It has been moved, restored and turned into this rather stunning feature. Can you see me there?

 

Back home it was time to start baking for my second son's 15th birthday which fell on Easter Monday this year. Lu and I have a go to cookie recipe for when you need a big batch of tasty, crunchy biscuits to cut into seasonal shapes and ice. They are from Kate Shirazi's Cookie Magic and are called Basic Butter Biscuits. I decided to use Spring themed cutters and ice them with Royal Icing. I use sauce bottles that I bought from a catering shop. I mix the icing sugar with water to the consistency of a glaze and colour it in various shades. The bottles make it really easy to ice, I pipe some around the edge and then fill in the middle. You can add spots and stripes and use a toothpick to swirl fancy shapes……

 

My son C’s favourite chocolates are Cadbury's mini eggs, so I decided to make him a mini egg cake. He requested lemon drizzle for the cake, so I used the same Victoria sponge recipe that Lu used in her post and added the zest and juice of two lemons to the batter. I made a lemon/sugar syrup that I drizzled over the cakes as soon as they came out of the oven.

Photo credit - Lu the Other Brownie.....

Making an egg shape was a challenge……. How do you think I did? I filled the layers with lemon curd and vanilla icing from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook (another favourite) and got carving!

Lu and her family came round for a birthday tea, and we had a lovely time. We may have had a glass or two of prosecco to celebrate the Wonders of Motherhood.....

It was back to work for hubby and me after the bank holiday, luckily the boys can now look after themselves……

This is the view as I come into the station near my work. Blackfriars Station runs across the River Thames, can you see Tower Bridge and The Shard in the distance? And here is the view from my lounge. London trying to melt my heart with pretty pink clouds...... well I must admit, London, you did.

Next week we are off to Yorkshire for a few days to stay in a lovely cottage, I can't wait. Countryside here I come!!

Take care my lovelies, and if you are on a spring break, have a good one!

Jenny xxx