Crocheted Giftage!

I've been really excited to share with you the things I made for people at Christmas and the wait has been *agonizing*!  I've had to wait until after the big day as I didn't want anyone to find out about their gifts early!

I'm so lucky to have a wonderful friend who has a *massive* collection of wool, some of which she kindly gave to me as I started out on my crocheting journey.  Do you remember this scarf?  It was the very first scarf I made and it was a gift for her, partly for her birthday and partly to thank her for all the supplies she gave me.  Well, I figured she could do with a matching hat for a little Christmas gift!

The next hat I gave as a gift was originally commissioned by my colleague at work after she saw me wearing it!  Since it was so close to Christmas, I decided to give it to her as a present rather than charging her for it (^_^) This one took me longer to do as I decided to try out a pattern to give it a different look - what do you think?

It's got a ribbed pattern to it which, if you're not keen, you can reverse it and the inside is unpatterned!  Pretty nifty *winks* I was so psyched when my friend gave me this wool, it's so jazzy just in the ball and it crochets really well!

The final hat I gave this year was for my brother, who is a *massive* gamer!  He loves all kinds of games on all kinds of consoles and, at the moment, he's a little bit obsessed with Minecraft (I have linked you to the Wiki page if you want to check it out!) Anyway, there are these monsters in the game called Creepers, and basically they take all your hard work and blow it sky-high!  The make up of a Creeper is pretty simple so I thought it would be awesome if I could put one on a hat for him, and here is how it turned out!

I made this one a little bigger than the others (since my brother has a big head - full of brains, of course!) and crocheted the black parts independently, sewing them on when the main hat was finished.  I'm *so* pleased with the way it turned out and he's thrilled with it too; he's barely taken it off since Christmas day, I had to wrestle it from him earlier just to take this quick picture!

I'm really proud to be able to share my creations with you (^_^) I know lots of you are crafters too and love getting stuck in to projects like this; we all love a homemade gift, whether we make it for someone else or receive it from someone special.

I hope you're all still buzzing from a wonderful weekend and that this week is treating you awesomely, just like you deserve!  Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Merry Christmas Everyone!

No matter what you're doing, where you are or what you believe in, I hope each and every one of you is having a magical day full of love, happiness and the people you cherish (^_^)

Have a beautiful day, be happy and smiley!

Merry Christmas!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Christmas Eve Goodies!

Today is going to be *such* a wonderful day!  We love to celebrate Christmas Eve with my aunt, uncle and two cousins and this year is no different!  We alternate houses each year and today it's our turn to host (^_^) We're planning on a delicious fish and chip supper followed by some delicious homemade sweet treats!

I love to bake at Christmas and try every year to make something simple and tasty to tuck into.  This year my Mum made some amazing coconut ice and caramel shortbread and I made rock cakes and the most delicious brownies!  I'm going to share my rock cake and brownie recipes, both of which I've customised to my own liking so you can do the same!

Rock Cakes

These little bundles of misshapen yummy-ness are *so* easy to make and such a lot of fun too!

You Will Need:

• 250g self-raising flour
• 90g soft brown sugar (light or dark)
• 90g soft butter
• 1 egg

These are the basic ingredients for your rock cakes!  It's traditional to add fruit to them, like currants or candied peel, but I like to make them as chocolatey as possible so I add lots and lots of chocolate chips!  You could add fruit, multicoloured sprinkles or food colouring to jazz these little beauties up!

How To:

• Rub the butter and flour together with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs.
• Add the sugar and your added ingredients (mine here was the chocolate chips!).
• Beat the egg in a separate bowl, then add to the mix.
• Stir it all together!  The mix will look quite dry but it should hold together!  If it's a little too dry, add a splash of warm water.
• Get your hands messy (again!) and squidge your mix together into lovely little rock shapes.  You should be able to make around 8-12 with this recipe.
• Set your oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F.
• Bake for about 15 minutes.
• Leave them to cool on a rack, then dive in!

They get lovely and crunchy on the outside and stay soft and fluffy on the inside.  Perfect!

Brownies

This recipe is actually a combination of two different recipes and it makes really chocolatey brownies!

You Will Need:

• 175g soft brown sugar (light or dark)
• 130g soft butter
• 150g cooking chocolate (I like to use milk but you can use dark if you prefer!)
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 110g plain flour

How To:

• Melt the chocolate and butter together using the good old 'bowl over saucepan of water' method.  Leave to cool completely.
• Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla.
• Slowly mix in the chocolate and butter, followed by your flour (sifted if possible!)
• Pour the mix into a greased tin (I greased mine with a little butter)
• Set your oven to 160 degrees C/320 degrees F.
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes (check after 20) When it's firm and slightly springy, it's done!
• Leave to cool, then cut into bite-size pieces.

After you've added your flour, you can always add chocolate chips, chopped nuts, fruit or even something like marshmallows to the mix to make it even more exciting!  I love these brownies, they melt in your mouth with a slightly crisp crust and a soft, gooey, chocolatey centre.

I can't wait to see my family and spend time all together, eating yummy food and enjoying some Christmas spirits *winks* I hope you're all having a magical Christmas Eve!  Have an amazing day!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

The radio is playing nothing but Christmas songs, Santa has set up his grotto a little way down the street from our store and lights flicker and flash in every window!  Even though town is packed full of people and not all of them are especially festive (read: harassed mothers with children {Santa won't come if you don't behave!} and frustrated last-minute husbands and boyfriends) I absolutely love this last week before Christmas!  Most people are happy and smiling, everyone is busy and the spirit of the holidays is flowing in abundance!

I've always loved Christmas and everything it stands for; spending precious time with family, getting in touch with people you've not seen or heard from in a while, the thought that goes into every carefully bought and wrapped gift and every lovingly signed card...It boggles my mind that there are people who really don't like Christmas!  All the bah humbugs and 'I can't wait for Christmas to be over!' really puzzle me; everything looks beautiful, people are happy, families come together and the public do generous, wonderful things for those who are less fortunate!  It's a really awesome time simply to celebrate those we love and cherish and to have a jolly good time doing so!

This is my *all time* favourite Christmas song; I hear it on the radio and start bopping away, singing all the words and getting that 'Ooh, it's nearly Christmas! *squee!*' feeling in my heart!  I hope when you watch this you'll feel some festive cheer bursting inside you too!

I hope you're all having a swell week so far!  I've been doing a lot of crocheting (gifts for people, woot!), wrapping gifts (not really my forté but I love doing it!) and getting super excited for Sunday!  This week is going to be a busy one, so I'm hoping I get time to post some pictures of what I've been making and the awesome cakes I'm going to bake for our Christmas Eve family celebration!  Take care this week, be happy and thank you for reading!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Monday Must Haves #18

I can't believe it's Monday again already!  The last week absolutely flew by, with so many busy hours at work and our work Christmas party on Saturday (lots of laughter and lots of wine!) plus getting packages sorted for overseas people (S and B, I'm looking at you!) I once again feel like I've not had a minute to myself!  Seems like that's becoming a bit of theme in my life lately *chuckles* Note to self in the New Year - Make Me Time.

This week is another Christmas themed Monday Must Haves only this week I'm focussing on gifts specifically.  I'm making lots of my own gifts this year (mostly crocheted things, I've got a wonderful hat that I'm making for my brother, I can't wait to show you when it's all done!) and am really supporting handmade gift giving.  These little lovelies are some of the beautiful things that have been lovingly hand crafted to bring that extra sparkle to a smile on Christmas morning (^_^)

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♥ I am completely in awe of anyone who can produce such beautiful swirly earring posts!  These earrings are utterly gorgeous, dainty little gems that will glitter in your ear, twinkling in the fairy lights (^_^) Prettiness overload!

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♥ I have been eyeing these lovely leather wrap bracelets for a long time now and would really love to have a stab at them as I think they'd make such lovely prezzies!  I love the colour of this one, the way the red of the gemstones contrasts with the black leather.  This one is gorgeous and made by someone with years of beading experience!  I hope I can be as good as this one day!

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♥ This stunning handmade music journal literally made me squee when I saw it!  Hand bound and illustrated with pen and ink by the amazing artist who created it, this book would be perfect for songwriters, musicians (the pages are all lined with staves, how cute is that!) or simply for thoughts, ideas or poetry (staves will make it all that more dramatic and poignant!)

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♥ Sadly, I don't know any little people that I could buy this epically cute reversible apron for but I just *had* to include it!  Wouldn't this be perfect for all those lovely crafts afternoons with a tiny artist?  Such a perfect little gift that not only misses and misters will love but parents will thank you for (^_^)

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♥ To wrap things up in the most delicious way, who doesn't love a homemade treat to eat for Christmas?  And oh my gosh, drooling over my computer at the sight of this delectable fudge! It looks so crunchy and chewy and chocolatey and...Oh, just like heaven!  I love fudge (^_^) And I *love* making food for people for gifts!

I hope you're all getting into the Christmas spirit and enjoying the final run up to the big day!  And I hope the start of your week has been less tiring but just as smiley as mine (^_^) Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Monday Must Haves #17

Yay!  It's nearly Christmas!  I figured now would be the perfect time to do a Christmas-inspired Monday Must Have (I expect I'll do another one too, I love Christmas so much!) so I've found a few little bits and pieces that I'm coveting for the festive season!

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♥ I would love to have this adorable little family sitting on my Christmas tree, looking ever so cute!  While I'm a huge fan of traditional decorations (baubles, tinsel, all that jazz) I love that these would be a quirky addition and the sweetest conversation starter!

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♥ Can anyone resist cake pops?  I know I can't!  Especially when they're in such pretty Christmas colours (^_^) These would look great on the table as edible decorations or as an alternative to Christmas cake and pudding (wouldn't they be awesome for kids?)

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♥ As the year has gone by, I've seen *so* many beautiful pieces of quilling work and I am desperate to have a go at it myself!  But until I get to do that, I am going to swoon over just how gorgeous these gift tags are and be just a little bit jealous of the talented lady who made them!

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♥ These are *such* a great stocking filler idea!  Those delightful little snowflakes and trees have seeds embedded in them, so when you add water to your soil lots of lovely things will grow!  And look at the cute little box it comes in too!  I know so many people who would love this as a gift; it's so pretty, simple and can be enjoyed for a long, long time!

I hope you enjoyed that little selection of festive treats!  I've got my Christmas shopping well under way and am planning on crocheting a few hats and scarves as gifts (I have *so* much wool - in the New Year I'm thinking about doing a little woolly giveaway!) How are you all doing with your own festivities?  Have a wonderful week!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥