Peacock hair accessory...

I have had these peacock feathers for 7 years. I have known what I wanted to do with them for, say, 5 years. Well last week I finally got round to doing what I had been planning....it took me all of about 30 minutes.

I don't always understand myself.

I have a thing about fascinators - they ever so slightly freak. me. out. I'm talking about the ones that stick a half mile out of your head and cause everyone around you to duck out it's way.

It's just not natural.

Even if I changed my mind, I'm married to the one person I know who fears them even more than me. So I think it's safe to say that I'm not likely to be found wearing one any time soon! It does leave me feeling a little bit boring though when it comes to doing my hair for special events ( by this I mean weddings...those red carpet moments are just in my head). So I finally decided to get around to making something pretty with my long-ignored peacock feathers.

I considered adding beads to the base of the feathers but I decided that less was more on this occasion. But this could be adapted in so many ways - so let your creativity flow! Here goes...

1) Trim each of the peacock feathers, following the shape of the outer coloured rim.

2) My feathers were a bit ratty just from being old, most gaps can be eased out by gently easing feathers together. But one of mine had a stubborn split in the middle. One way to easily fix this is to cut a tiny piece of fabric and glue to the back of the feather to hold it's shape.

3) Next roughly cut out an oval piece of fabric. Glue the feathers onto the fabric, overlapping the feathers slightly.

4) Trim the fabric so that it is hidden under the feathers.

5) Line the rim of the comb with glue and affix to the back of the fabric. Leave to dry.

Tip: Before wearing, I spray the feathers with a spritz of hair spray to protect their shape.

p.s. I promise I haven't decided that hyphens should replace a 'space' but when adding font to the photos in Google Plus, it wouldn't recognise my space bar (despite me hitting it very hard multiple times -oops)...has anyone else found this? If so, do you know how to fix it?

Happy Monday!

So many cosy things...

This FREEZING cold weather is making me want to snuggle up inside and make these lovely things...

1. An oh so cosy poncho/coat by Felicia A Paris. I don't think I would ever take it off.

2. A free pattern to warm your tootsies

3. This beautiful quilt by Camille Roskelley over at Simplify

4. These super cute tights for my niece, tutorial over at Made by Rae

Happy blogiversary!

Umm, so I missed my first anniversary of blogging - does that make me a bad blogger?! Please forgive me little blog of mine, my mind has been elsewhere of late - namely cramming for job interviews and planning my {actual} anniversary - which was yesterday...happy anniversary to my wonderful husband! But, hey, this has been a fun year filled with more crafting than any year before it.

I thought I would take a trip down memory lane and share the most popular posts from this last year...so here goes:

1. Lace Overlay Top

 So this tutorial is by far the most visited on this little blog...I love this top and it's so versatile!

2. Transferring ink to canvas

A super easy way of putting your favourite quote onto canvas

3. Ribbon and chain bracelet

A really cute bracelet to brighten up any outfit :)

4. Bow belt and hair accessory

This was part 2 of 'two bows, two ways' posts. I love the colour of this belt, I like to team it with a simple black dress!

Here's to another craft and cake filled year!

Sometimes you just need cake NOW...

I had high hopes of my use of my free time since our move. I imagined a metamorphosis into a domestic goddess, filling our home with the aroma of fresh bread daily and waking to spotless surfaces. It turns out moving to Cambridge hasn't changed my detest of washing up or my skills at procrastination. Instead of baking that bread I have watched far far too many CSI and Ace of Cakes episodes (although I'm going to classify the latter series as 'research').

I also thought it would mean I would never run out of cake again, With all that free time I thought I'd be baking away. However, I have no idea how...but it happened. I wanted cake. I went to the cupboard. IT WAS EMPTY. Let's face it, we all have cake emergencies. times when you need that fix way sooner than it takes to whip up a beautiful victoria sponge...and definately sooner than it takes to wait for the cake to cool before icing... I decided a long way back that I'm happy to settle for slightly melted icing :)

That's why everybody should have a staple fridge cake recipe to hand. I grew up with chocolate praline cake...it should be illegal for a cake to be so utterly delicious with so little work. But if even this super quick cake is taking too long for your liking, whack it in the freezer to set the chocolate in minutes. come on, we've all been there.

Ingredients
4oz / 110g butter
2tbsp golden syrup
2 heaped dsp drinking chocolate
2 handfuls sultanas
8oz  / 225g digestive biscuits
9oz / 250g milk chocolate, melted

1) Crush the digestive biscuits to your desired texture. I don't crush it right down as I like to have some crunchy bits in my cake...but that's really up to you. Set to one side.

2) Melt the butter and syrup in a pan. Make sure you lick any remaining syrup from the spoon (this is a very important step).

3) Once melted stir in the drinking chocolate, biscuits and sultanas. Mix until well combined.

4) Press into a greased 11" x 7" tin and pour the melted chocolate over the mixture.

5) Refrigerate until set.

This is a great base from which to experiment, why not change up the sultanas with different dried fruit...or add in some fudge for a less innocent snack :)

Happy Wednesday!

Pastures new...

Two weeks ago we handed in our keys to our old home. It was our first home together and such a unique place that we were sad to leave.

It was a beautiful first home and we built so many happy memories there...but if we were honest with ourselves, it was time to move on even if we weren't moving towns! With so many old buildings, damp was a big issue and we were ready to start having our own space outside...although I doubt we'll ever get to have a fountain in our own garden!

But now, as we gradually get through all the boxes and flat packs, our new house is taking shape and beginning to become our home. There's lots of work to be done to make it our own but I'm already pretty fond of the roses lining our front path.

I can't promise any consistency with posts over the next couple of weeks, partly because I'm currently having it out with the masses of spiders (not even exaggerating) that have rather liked this house being their home...any good suggestions? I'm thinking blocking the hole which is currently in our kitchen wall would be a good start :) But a job hunt, unpacking and getting lost in this new town will probably have more of an influence on how much I get to post!

Happy weekend :)