#Monday Moodboard - Unfinished Work

One of the things I am guilty of is not finishing one thing before I move on to the next. My moodboard this week shows a few craft projects that I am in the midst of, some of which I have been working on for over a year! Surely I'm not the only one who does this...am I?

This week Make, Do, Sew will feature another great guest blogger, a long over due craft tutorial and time permitting, another bake recipe.

I hope you all have a great week.

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#52Lists

I am so happy to be a guest blogger on the wonderful Make Do Sew blog.  Very exciting, as this is my first guest post anywhere ever!

I write over at www.catseatdogs.com and I have been blogging for almost a year.  I make jewelry and sell it on Etsy and locally here in the Mid West of America where I live with my husband and 2 boys. We have lived here for about 10 years and I am from Lincoln, UK originally

I am going to share with you a new project for 2013 which could be a great collection by the end of the year.  A nice change from the photographic challenges, although I do love them and I post my 'Photo a Day' every month.  I started the photo challenge at the end of 2012, and I am looking forward to having a full 2013 collection.

 

February 7th 'Your Name'  

The new project is #52lists from the lovely Pip Lincolne of Meet me at Mikes and Justb Blog School. The rules are flexible, make a list and blog/tweet/facebook it using the hashtag #52lists.  One a week with a bit of a catch up to make 52 is my aim.

Rainbows over Brentwood. List 2 

Not strictly a list, but more a gathering of rainbows taken from various locations in my neighbourhood this morning.

Here at Make Do Sew,  I will be listing some iPhoneography apps and filters I use and enjoy.  Let's see where it takes us.  Please do join us and let me know what your favourites are - filter, font, best effect found.  Which app can you not stop using?  Have you always used the same one or do you cheat and go find other apps to use and dump the old ones?!

I use the iPhone 4 for all of my photos, so all of the apps I mention are from the iPhone repetoire.

So, here is List number 3 (yes I included the rainbows and my first list was a photo of a shopping list!)

Seven iPhone apps I like to mess about with and my favourite lens/font/filter in each them

1.  Hipstamatic.
This photo of my French bulldog, Pablo, is taken with the James M lens and the C-Type Plate.

 

2.  Camera +.

     I like to add the 'Clarity' scene and on top of that put the 'Vibrant' filter in FX Effects and Color

     filter.  This really pulls out colour and detail.

3.  Overgram.

This a photo of some earrings I made.  I added Clarity in Camera+, then popped the photo into Overgram (it is worth paying for the full version I think) and added the Text which is 'Live Simply'.

4.  Laminar Express (used to be called Iris).

For the bananas fighting for a place in banana bread, I used the crop in Laminar Express then added the speech bubbles in Edit - Annotate - Bubbles.

5.  TypeDrawing.

I took this photo in Instagram, then put it in TypeDrawing to get the words on.  It took me a few goes to get the circle right and even more goes to get the last word to end correctly and not overlap.  Thank goodness these apps are very forgiving and we get to try try again!

6.  PicFrame.

I picked the six frame.  Tap each box and add a photo.  Position the photo with your finger.  Keep an eye on the positioning as they sometimes move back to where they started.  I narrowed the frame and added a label.  Remember to save when you are done!  I had to do this one twice as I accidentally hit 'clear' instead of the save 'cloud' thingy.  Oops.

7.  Instagram.

Some bracelets close up.  Instagram is a great sharing machine and I enjoy seeing other peoples photos on there.  It is also a good place to swap techniques, most people are happy to tell you how they got to the end picture.  Just be sure to think before you post as it is a public playground.

 

All of the apps are in iTunes, some are free and some not.  

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A Very Warm Welcome to my First Ever Guest Blogger!

I am very pleased to be hosting a series of guest bloggers over the next few months, see my previous post for more info on this.

My first ever guest blogger is Clare, originally from the UK but who now resides and writes her own wonderful blog www.catseatdogs.com all the way from the USA.  

Take a look at Clare's blog, it's great and has lots of fab ideas, musings and photography as well as a cool name!  Clare is also a jewellery designer and maker and sells her designs under the Cats Eat Dogs name on Etsy.

See Clares guest post today (above) and as ever comments always welcome as are guest bloggers!

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#Monday Moodboard - Valentines Day

Last week was a bit up and down, car crash, sinusitis and a broken shower, these things are sent try us. This week should be better and a little high point will be Valentines Day. We aren't doing much but are planning on having a nice dinner together at home, what are your plans? I love receiving cards and keep all cards sent from family and close friends whether it be birthday, Christmas or Valentines. My moodboard this week is a few cards from my Valentines archive.

Happy Valentines Day everyone xxx

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Chewy Ginger and Oat Cookies - Recipe

Do you like ginger? Do you like chewy cookies? Yes? Then this is your lucky day! Well, not really but it is a good day, here's another easy recipe the family will love.

Ingredients

185g (10oz) Plain flour
225g (8oz) Butter
140g (5oz) Soft brown sugar
140g (5oz) Caster sugar
2 x Eggs
2 tsp Ground ginger
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Squeeze of lemon and lemon zest (optional)

(Makes approx 24 cookies)

Method

1. Mix the butter, eggs and sugars until well combined.
2. Gradually sift in the flour, salt, baking powder, ginger and nutmeg together.
3. Add the oats a cup at a time and the mixture will start to form a lumpy dough.
4. Add the squeeze of lemon and zest if using.
5. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and with floured hands roll the dough in to 2 inch balls placing them on the trays allowing enough room for the cookies to spread.
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 mins at 180 degrees Celsius (350f).

For a firmer more crunchy cookie bake for longer, I added more ginger as I like a hotter more spicy cookie. You can also add stem ginger or raisins which taste great too.

The dough can be rolled into a sausage shape and wrapped in grease proof paper twisting the ends. Place in the fridge and slice off the required amount of dough/cookies for fresh baked cookies when you need them.  The dough will last in the fridge for up to four days.

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Valentines Day Etsy Finds - Gorgeous Gifts for the One You Love

Valentines day is fast approaching, do you celebrate it? We do in our house, it's a lovely way to break up the post Christmas blues and to take some time out to think about each other rather than the usual day to day worries. I agree that we should do this more than once a year and for the more cynical of you out there it's just a commercial enterprise to make money out of us. But for me the right sentiment is there and we don't go to town and spend lots of money, we just buy a card and a token gift. However that doesn't stop me from perusing Etsy to see what's on offer for Valentines day, it's always fun to have a fantasy wish list. Here's ten finds that are novel, innovative or just plain gorgeous.
 

::Crown Ring::

::Heart Rubber Stamp::

::Infinity Knot Ring::

 

::Love Song in a Bottle::

::Heart Crochet Pattern::

 

::Vintage Children's Valentines Card::

::Gold Arrow Bracelet::

::Crochet Hearts Mobile::

::Valentines Day Bunny::

 

::Heart Skeleton Key::

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#Monday Moodboard - Marylebone High Street, London

My posts have been rather sparse of late so apologies for that, at the moment life seems to have taken over. Anyway the weekend saw a lovely family gathering in a great Turkish restaurant with lots of great food and company. The simple things yet again are the best.

Have a lovely week.

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