easter baking

Easter is a great time to get a little creative with baking. This year's creations included a cake and a tart, based on the caramel filled easter eggs that are a long time favourite in our house.

The cake is a chocolate cake with a caramel mouse filling, covered with swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate ganache. 

My Easter Egg tart has a caramel filling, covered with chocolate ganache and salted caramel swirls.

A few little tarts were made as well, with a little left over caramel mousse...

And lastly, a favourite baking treat I've been making for years, the Easter Egg cupcakes... pop a small solid chocolate egg into the batter of cupcakes, bake and you'll have a little chocolatey surprise inside. If you'd like to see more about these cupcakes, I wrote a post several years ago which you can read HERE.

Hope you have a happy Easter!

Thanks for visiting.

Cheers

Fiona

easter buckets waiting to be filled

With Easter only a few weeks away, its time to start decorating some little buckets ready for some little chocolately eggs.

I've recently started stocking some very cute baby pom pom trim at Ribbons Galore, these trims seem to suit some Easter crafting perfectly. 

I've just used some glue to stick the pom pom trim and ribbon in place on the buckets.

And finished decorating them with some little grosgrain bows (also at Ribbons Galore).

Now we're ready for a little Easter egg hunt :)

Thanks for visiting...

Cheers

Fiona

easter

Easter is just around the corner, well about a month away, so thought I'd list some of my favourite Easter ideas I've made over the last few years.

I've also been adding lots of Easter ideas to my Easter board at Pinterest, if you'd like to see more gorgeous ideas.

Anyway, here's some old favourites.....

Pom pom chicks: (with tutorial) 

Bubble corduroy easter bags (with tutorial):

Little felt easter bags (with tutorial):

EASTER SOFTIES TO MAKE:

eggIE softie: (with pattern and tutorial)

Colourful bunnies:

Soft bunny:

Easter bunny packaging:

Decorating easter eggs:

I'd like to thank the EveryEtsy blog for featuring my pom pom chicks above in their 101 Handmade Easter Craft ideas post. As the name suggests there's 101 crafty ideas for Easter project, well worth taking a look at all the lovely ideas listed.

 

Thanks for visiting. Happy crafting.

Cheers

Fiona

Productivity update

School holidays are over, time for a crafty catch up.

Firstly I'm going back to before Easter. I did finish my other Easter basket for Emily in time for the Easter bunny. This was our last project from the Easter Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza. Here's the finished product.

 

The cute birdie fabric used on the outside of the basket is manufactured by Timeless Treasures Fabrics. The only details I can find about this one is its code name on their website, it's mod-c4867-sorbet. The lining is another fabric from the same collection, but I can't find any details of it at the moment. That fabric has small hearts printed in matching colours.

And here are the baskets together on Easter morning.

 

I have been quite productive over the holiday break. We went up to Hawks Nest for a few days and seeing the weather forcast I didn't think we'd be spending much time outdoors, so I packed my sewing machine, fabrics and ribbons and settled in for a few days of sewing.

I have made a few changes to the Ribbons Galore site. One being a dedicated section for my new Handmade at Ribbons Galore goodies. And here is a batch of new pouches/pencil cases in the making, the result of my holiday sewing.

 

A few favourite designs are coming back.

Little Red ribbon pouch:

 

Snow White ribbon pouches:

And a few new designs...

The Snow White ribbon is now available in pink at Ribbons Galore. Here's the pouches in the making:

 

Tea Time ribbon pouches are coming soon too:

 

Golilocks ribbon pouch:

 

I have several new favourite ribbons which can all be found in the Fairly Tales and Fables collection at Ribbons Galore. One ribbon which I've loved using is the Babushka Dolls ribbon:

 

If you would like to pre-order any pouches before they are available at Handmade @ Ribbons Galore, please send me an email, [email protected] and I can send some more details about the designs.

That's about all for now. Have a great week and thanks for visiting.

Cheers

Fiona x

 

Day 8 of the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza

Well here we are, our last day, day 8, of our Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganz.

I'm sharing some photos of a fabric Easter basket I've made for Phoebe. [I have a basket for Emily half sewn and will share photos of that one when I'm finished.]

The idea for the fabric basket came from Liesl's disdressed blog, where she made a very cute Easter fabric basket with bunny ears.

I've made a similar box style basket. The handles of my basket are semi-circles of fabric. I have quilted both fabrics (the outside and lining) to give the fabric extra body.

The finished basket measures about 20cm square, which gives a very generous space for the Easter bunny to fill with eggs on Easter morning.

 

 

I finished the top edge of the basket with rick rack.

 

I loved this cute fabric for the lining of the basket. It is a Japanese fabric by Sevenberry. The brown fabric for the outside is a Michael Miller fabric called Espresso Pod Ditz.

 

One of my blog readers, Julie, asked about the girls bunnies. We still have Bubbles and Butterscotch, they are nearly six years old, which I believe is "getting on" in bunny years. I admit to being a bit slack when it comes to taking photos of our little darlings lately (that's the bunnies, not the girls). So this afternoon in the fading light, I quickly took some photos of beautiful Bubbles.

 

Bubbles is still very cuddly and loves a snuggle.

 

Butterscotch was reluctant to leave the hutch this afternoon.... I will have to try one the weekend to take a better photo of her.

 

I'd like to thank everyone for visiting my blog during our Easter Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza. Mel and I have chatted abouthow much we've enjoyed sharing our Easter ideas. We're hoping to bring you some more crafty ideas sometime soon.

Have a happy Easter.

Cheers

Fiona x

Day 7 of the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza

Hello and welcome to the seventh day of our Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza.

Mel and I have been in the kitchen preparing some Easter goodness to share with you today. Mel has cooked up some yummy Easter baskets which are really good enough to eat.

[Just a reminder before I start that last year I made Easter egg cupcakes. You can find the post about these HERE.]

I have made one of my all time favourite puddings with an Easter twist. There are a few puddings which I love to cook.... bread and butter pudding in one of them. At Easter time when the hot cross buns are everywhere in the bakeries I make a "hot cross bun and butter" pudding. The custard base is the same as the regular variety, I just substitute the bread for the buns.

Here's a few photos from my cooking...

In this pudding I have used the choc-chip hot cross buns from Baker's Delight. In other puddings I have also used the regular fruit filled variety which make a lovely pudding as well. I like to prepare my custard mix first and leave it to 'settle' while I'm constructing the pudding. I have included my custard mix recipe further down in this post.

 

I have sliced the each bun into about 4-5 pieces from top to bottom and spread a little butter on each slice.

 

This photo below shows the buns in my baking dish. Rather than laying the slices flat as I would with regular bread slices, I have kept the buns together and separated the slices slightly.

 

Pour the custard mixture into the baking dish.

Leave your prepared pudding sit for a while. I leave it at least 30 minutes. What this does is allow plenty of time for the custard mixture to be absorbed by the buns... basically they go very soggy (not the best culinary description). At this point you may have a little custard mix left over, and will want to top up the mixture in the baking dish. Having the soggy buns will give you an even pudding-like consistency once the pudding is cooked (instead of a pudding with pieces of dry bread through it).

 

By the time my pudding was cooked and out of the oven, it was night time, so unfortunately I couldn't get a good photo of my pudding. But is was yummy.

 

For the custard mix, you can use your regular bread and butter pudding recipe. I'll share mine if you haven't got one. Mix all the ingredients together and whisk thoroughly.

• 2 cups (8 fl oz) milk

• 2 cups (8 fl oz) pouring or single cream

• 4 eggs

• 2 egg yolks extra

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

These puddings need to be cooked carefully. Many recipes call for a water bath. With a larger baking dish, I find a water bath hard to use, so I cook my pudding in a lower heat oven for a slightly longer time than a recipe calls for. Use your recipe as a guide. My recipe above will make a large pudding, I usually cook it for about 1 hour 20 minutes in a 140-150 degree C oven. As with most of my cooking, I check it as it cooks to see how things are going. You don't want your pudding to 'bubble', if this is happening turn your oven down.

This recipe is a good one for the kids to make too. Get them cracking the eggs and whisking the mixture in a big bowl. You can always strain the mixture to take out any egg shell bits that might have slipped into the bowl during this process, I have done this on many occasions. They can spread the butter on the buns and arrange them in your baking dish, too. It's very rewarding for kids to be able help cook part of a meal.

We'll see you on Wednesday for our last day, day 8, of our Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza. We've been having so much fun sharing our Easter ideas.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Fiona x

Day 6 of the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza

Hello and welcome to day 6 of our Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza. Today Mel and I have made some EggIE softies.

Meet Egg-wina, Egg-ward and Egg-berta, the EggIE softies for Easter. If you go over and visit Mel's blog, you'll have the opportunity to meet Egg-na.

I designed this EggIE pattern recently and I'm very happy to share the pattern and step by step instructions below.

Download Fiona's EggIE SOFTIE (A4) or Download Fiona's EggIE SOFTIE (letter) (for the US letter paper size)

EggIE softie tutorial (a pictorial step by step)

Step 1: Download pattern.

 

Step 2: Fold fabric and pin pattern to both layers. Cut out the pattern.

 

You will now have two pieces of fabric. We'll think of each as one side of EggIE.

 

Step 3: Take one piece of the fabric and fold along the "side" line as marked on the pattern. Sew the "side" seams above and below this fold line. Repeat for other piece of fabric.

 

You now have the two sides of EggIE.

 

Step 4: Place one side inside the other, right sides together. You will be sewing the front seam only. Leave the back seam open at this stage.

 

Turn EggIE right side out, so you can work on the eyes, etc.

 

Step 5: Cut two eye pieces. I used felt.

 

Position the eyes on EggIE and pin in place.

 

Sew eyes in position. I used a blanket stitch around the eye pieces.

This is the stage you can sew some ribbon around the EggIE. [All Easter eggs need a bow or decoration, including EggIE]. It is easier to sew the ribbon around the Eggie before we close the back.

Sew on some extra decorations if you would like.

 

Step 6: Turn EggIE wrong side out and matching the back seam, sew along the back seam, leaving a small gap for turning and filling.

 

Turn EggIE right side out and stuff. When you have finished stuffing, hand sew the opening closed.

 

You should now have a finished EggIE happily sitting with you.

 

The fabrics I have used to make my EggIEs are from the Charm Bracelet fabric collection by Windham Fabrics. The colours and patterns in this collection are perfect for Easter fabric projects. Ribbons are from Ribbons Galore. I have made the felted flower and circle pieces using the Clover felting gadget. I have also made my own buttons, covering self-cover buttons with fabric.

I'd love to see any EggIE relatives that may be created. Leave a link to your EggIE image in the comments field so I (and all readers) can pay him or her a visit.

Thanks for dropping by again. We've received some lovely comments and emails, so thank you for those as well.

I have been asked a few times about the Clover pom-pom makers I used in the previous post. I think Spotlight has had them, Mel has mentioned Big W has also sold them. I haven't had a chance to find them online yet, but I will do that later today.

We'll see you on Friday Monday for the next day of our Easter crafting ideas.

Edited: We've both had some sicknesses in our families this week, and our next post has been postponed 'til Monday. See you then.

Cheers

Fiona x 

Day 5 of the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza

We are half way through our Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza. In this post Mel and I are sharing a couple of kids Easter crafting ideas. Mel has made some gorgeous little Easter eggs made from dough, which the kids would love making.

My little project is making fluffy chicks from pom-poms. There are a few readers of my blog who will know of my love affair with little fluffy chicks at Easter. This year I've decided to make my own. Kids love pom poms, they are fun to make, and even more appealing if you can create little creatures from them. 

Here's a little step by step to making a pom pom fluffy chick.

Step 1: Make two pom poms, one slightly larger than the other. I've used the Clover Pom Pom Maker gadgets. They make whipping up pom pomsvery quick and easy. When you tie around the centre of the pom poms, do not cut the wool ties off.

 

Step 2: Separate the wool ties, matching one tie from one pom pom with a wool tie from the other pom pom. Repeat with the other ties.

 

Step 3: Tie the pom poms together, pulling the wool ties tight so the pom poms sit very closely to each other.

 

Tie a few knots to hold the pom poms together. Snip these wool ties off close to the pom poms. You now have the body of the chick made.

 

Step 4: Add a beak and eyes to the face of the chick. You can also add little wings if you would like to the body of the chick. I've used felt for these little pieces, cardboard could also be used. A little craft glue will hold these bits in place.

 

And there you have them... your very own little (or big) fluffy chicks.

 

Thanks for dropping by to see our Easter craft ideas. Mel and I will be back on Wednesday for our next Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza post.

Hope you're having a great day.

Cheers

Fiona x

 

 

Day 4 of the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza

Hello, and thanks for dropping by for day 4 of our Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza.

Today Mel and I have made some bunny softies using another bunny pattern which caught our eye out in blog-land. This bunny pattern has been designed by revoluzZza, and here is the link to the RevoluzZzionary Easter Bunny pattern and tutorial. Mel and I made this pattern into little bunny toys, but the pattern is great as a template for any Easter craft, as you will see in RevoluzZza's post.

 

This bunny pattern is so quick and easy to make, you'll be whipping up several of these little guys. I have used some pinwheel corduroy I bought recently from Spotlight. Spotlight had some gorgeous bright colours available in this material. The patterned fabric on the fuchsia bunny belongs to the Park Slope fabric collection by Erin McMorris. The small blue printed fabric on blue bunny is from Spotlight. Rick rack trim from Ribbons Galore.

 

 

 

Mel's bunny, Cocoa, can be seen on her blog. She has used a felted sweater and buttons to make Cocoa and she looks good enough to eat!

Hope you have a great weekend, and find a little time for your Easter crafting. See you Monday for our next post with some Easter crafting ideas.

 

Cheers

Fiona x

Day 3 of the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza

Welcome to day 3 of our Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza. Mel and I are sharing some Easter bags and pouches ideas today. Our little bags and pouches are perfect for filling with Easter goodness and sharing with friends.

Mel has made some very cute little bags, you can find her post HERE.

I have made some Easter pouches. Last year I made little felt Easter egg bags which were super easy. This year I've changed these a little to make pouches from bubble corduroy and ribbons. These require a little more sewing than the felt bags, but they are still very quick and easy to make.

Easter project: Bubble corduroy Easter egg pouches.

Here's some step by steps to making my Easter pouches.

Step one: Cut fabric pieces 12cm x 28cm. Turn top and bottom hem over and sew.

 

Step 2:Create little ribbon tabs for threading ribbon in a later step. I cut grosgrain ribbon approximate 5cm long and sewed them onto the fabric approximately 2-3cm from the hemmed edges.

 

Here's a close up of the ribbon tabs:

 

Step 3:  Sew a piece of ribbon across the fabric. I've used some cute bunny ribbon from Ribbons Galore.

 

Below is a photo of what the pieces of fabric will look like at this stage:

 

Step 4: Fold fabric right sides together and sew side seams.

 

Step 5: Turn the little pouches right side out. I often talk before about production line crafting when making several pieces of the same project. This certainly can be applied to this project. Take one step at a time, cut all your fabric and pieces of ribbon. Then have your little pile of fabric at the sewing machine and stitch each step at a time. You'll soon have a little stack of bags.

 

Step 6: Thread ribbon through the tabs. Fill you little Easter pouches with goodies and you're ready for giving.

 

 

Thanks for joining Mel and I again today. We hope you'll visit us again on Friday for our next egg-ceptional egg-xtravaganza posts.

Have a great day.

Cheers

Fiona x