PAPER MACHE BAGS

I have spent the day switching between giving the kitchen a much needed deep clean and making Paper Mache Bags/Purses for my Etsy shop.  The house work isn't as bad as I thought it would be and making the bags is great fun.  It has worked quite well as a duel task -  Put on a layer of paper mache and go and do some cleaning while that layer drys.  Now I have one bag ready to put the lining into and one ready for the handles.

By the end of today should be able to decorate the first one.  I am really looking forward to doing this part, yesterday morning I knew how I wanted to decorate it and have been waiting to do it ever since.  The handles have worked out well.  I can see me being very pleased with the result.  There will be pictures.

This was a milestone week for me as I made my first sale on Etsy.  It has taken a long time.  I have just printed some tips on improving my Etsy shop - my bedtime reading tonight. 

One of a kind

I was asked for one of my photo bags for a Christmas present.  It was to show my cat - to start with to show him awake but then it was to show him asleep and instead of being landscape it needed to be in portrait format.

I thought about the design of this bag for quite a while.  The picture was the easy part.  A picture of young Bruce asleep and dreaming, that way we could have the best of both worlds.  It also gave me a chance to put lots of butterflies and dragonflies on the bag (for Bruce to be dreaming about - he likes to chase them).

The portrait format was harder because I didn't feel that it would give enough room in the bag to make it practical.  My solution was to make laminated panels for each end of the bag using THE JAYNE NETLEY MAYHEW COLLECTION from Joanna Sheen.  There are lots of big cat patterned backing papers on the cd roms that were perfect I chose a leopard print one.

Now the big issue was whether I had managed to over complicate the design and to be honest I didn't really want to start it in case things went badly .........I did a lot of the final construction on Boxing Day morning knowing that it had to be done so I could deliver it that afternoon.

Over sewing the panels together with a zigzag stitch turned out to be a bit easier than I had imagined and the black lace trim on the bag and braided into the handles gave it a nice finish.  

It could be truely one of a kind as I am not at all sure I want to make another one not even for myself.

let sleeping cats lay

 

Christmas cake recipe

This is my first upcycled bangle.  Chunky bangles  are so popular at the moment I thought I would have a go at doing some.  It was great fun to make.  This is a soft drink bottle with wadding wrapped around it.  Then I chose a selection of ribbons and wound them round the padded ring.  Three flowers grouped together finish it.

It took a while to get the photos for my latest bag for my Etsy shop because of the drizzle that kept coming and going throughout the day.  In the end I was getting quite worried because the light was going.  Managed to get some in the end and here is a sample.                                   
                                                                http://www.etsy.com/people/dreamtimemakes







CLASSIC BEAUTY - a 1967 Mercury Cougar.  Car of the year 1969, it is a thing of beauty.  I have kept this bag fairly simple because the car speaks for itself.

This was another busy busy day.  I put my labeled the  mincemeat that I bottled yesterday and put it away.

I made a batch of mixed fruit jam - some for us and some for Christmas presents.  Picked some more of my 'Blenheim Orange' apples, these are quite late maturing so now they are about perfect.  I ment to pick them all but after picking roughly ten pounds I decided to leave the rest till next weekend while I work out what to do with them all.

They are already in the mincemeat and the mixed fruit jam.  Maybe some mint jelly and some more apple cheese.

Naked Christmas Cakes

The Christmas cakes just before the sherry is added and they are wrapped up for a few weeks.  I love using my Grandmothers recipe for the Christmas cake, it feels right to use one that has been past down through the family.

GRAN WESTONS RICH FRUIT CAKE
1 kilo of mixed dried fruit
250g  dark brown sugar
250g butter
4 eggs
250g plain (all purpose) flour
pinch of salt
teaspoon mixed spice

Beat butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy
Add 2 eggs and beat in well, then add the other 2 eggs and beat well
Seive flour, spice and salt together
Add flour and fruit to mix alternatly
Turn into a prepared 9" round tin
Bake for 3 hours at gas reg 1 - 140degrees celcius   - 280 degrees farenheit

Bags and Blueberry snickerdoodles

 

Finished the bag I was making - this time I used some stickers instead of stamping images on them. This has given a interesting 3D effect. I will use stickers again as I really liked the result.  My friend loved her bag and is talking about getting me to make some for her grand- daughters.

http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2011/06/blueberry-snickerdoodles.html

Yesterday I made one of the recipes I discovered on Pinterest. It was so yummy. I can recmend them.  I am thinking of doing an apple version over the weekend.        I have put a link to Bakergirls blog in case anyone wants to try making them.  Because it is an American recipe you need to know that ALL PURPOSE FLOUR IS plain flour and a STICK OF BUTTER is 4ounces or 113grams.