Sunday 29 December 2013

Left over ...

Christmas day lunch pudding (well something like that!)



Like every family at Christmas we all like something different for our Christmas lunch. 
 My family came for the day as they do every year and we have lots of this and that so that we all get something that we like and enjoy on this special day.

Each year I end up making lots of cranberry sauce and only a few teaspoons of it are eaten. Some of us also like apple sauce so this year Mum brought 4 jars with her which she had made on Christmas Eve.  

When it comes to the pudding some of us love custard, some love cream, some brandy cream and Mr P. loves brandy butter but he will only have one spoonful out of the pot and no one else eats it. We had so much brandy butter left this year that I thought that I would try cooking with it.

 I used all of our left over cranberry sauce, apple sauce as well as the butter and brandy butter and you can see the result above which we had for Sunday Lunch today.  
Very nice too, everyone came back for seconds!  

Ingredients

Left over Cranberry Sauce
Left over Apple Sauce
1-2 extra eating apples
10oz Porride Oats
5oz Flour 
(I really don't think that it matters whether it is S/R or Plain - I have used both in the past)
8oz Butter 
(I used all of the Brandy Butter and Butter that we had left and then topped it up with Benecol hoping that this would offset all the the cholesterol in the rest of the pudding!)
{4oz Dark sugar or sugar to taste}
1-2tsp Cinnamon


Method

Empty all of the cranberry & apple sauce into an oven proof dish.  

Core the apples and cut into small pieces (so that they will cook quickly) and add into the sauce.  

Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top of the fruit.

Mix the oats and flour in mixing bowl.

Add the sugar at this stage if you want it but I do not add any extra sugar as the fruit is sweet enough.

Add the butter and rub together (as if making breadcrumbs for pastry).

Sprinkle the mix over the fruit and sprinkle some extra dark sugar on top so that it will go crispy in the oven.

Bake on 180 degrees Celsius for approx 20-30 minutes.

  I would have added sultanas or some raisins but the littlest Miss P. does not like them and to be quite honest it was rich and delicious enough. 

Enjoy!






Monday 23 December 2013



We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Thank you for all of your support and custom this past year!


Best Wishes

Philpotts


Saturday 23 November 2013

Die Cut Christmas Projects ...



I don't know about you but Christmas Crackers are an essential part of the celebrations in the Philpott household at Christmas.  We love them and not only have them on the Christmas table but have them in the Christmas tree and have even been known to wrap presents to look like a cracker to disguise it before giving it to the lucky recipient.

I even try to find crackers at other times of the year as I would love to have them on the Easter table as well as on the table at Birthday Parties.  That all said, you can imagine how excited I was to try the new cracker die from Tonic Studios which came in a few weeks ago.

December is approaching fast and so yesterday Little Miss P and I enjoyed an afternoon playing with ideas for the Christmas table as well as making a few gift tags as I need to think about wrapping presents very soon.



I made a traditional cracker using some lovely papers from Authentique Paper.  I wanted to keep more of a vintage feel to my crackers so I added an extra piece of paper at either end of my crackers (shown in red on the photo above).  This was really easy to do.  I just used my Dotty Border Punch from Tonic Studios to create 2 border strips which I stuck to the two ends of the cracker before rolling up and securing into place.

The gold edges on both sides of the cracker were created using a Krylon Gold Leaf Pen for that extra special bit of detail.




This time the doily ends were created by punching strips of computer/copier paper with my Dotty Punch.  The vintage effect blue paper is from the Winter Tortellini range from Jilli Bean Soup.  The glitter chipboard snowflakes are from Pink Paislee and make a simple embellishment on the front of the cracker.

A little bit of red gingham ribbon adds to the vintage effect.  Finally I used my new Funky Pattern Tape  to add a sentiment to a piece of brown card, trimmed and added to the front of the cracker.

If you have not seen our new Funky Pattern Tape check it out on our website.  You get 6 meters of printed tape with 'Merry Christmas' written in several different fonts.  Since trying it I have not been able to put it down and so you will see it lots throughout this post.  It gives an effect very similar to a rub on but in my opinion is much easier to use.  You simply run it along your card as you would any other tape runner but instead of adhesive you will be left with the sentiment.




Little Miss P. enjoyed watching me make the crackers so much that she wanted to have a go at making her own and this is the result ...



 Not bad at all for an eight year old.  She spent lots of time making sure that it looked exactly as she wanted it to.  She even used the little diamond offcuts that come away when you have cut the cracker using the die to make the star on the front of the cracker.  

I used up my waste bits as well to make a flower/star gift tag ...




Once I had started I just could not stop so here are a few of the other projects that I created:


I created this gift tag using the Build a Wreath  from Spellbinders and some more of the Authentique Paper Festive Range  (Spot the Funky tape runner again!)

I wanted to add a little more depth to the wreath so I cut the wreath from 2 coordinating papers and used bits of both to build the wreath by slipping the individual branches into the pre determined slits on the base.

As I had cut the wreath twice I had a couple of little bits left over so I used them as holly on the Christmas pudding gift tag below:




The tag was created by punching a circle out of brown cardstock and using the Tonic Studios Dairy Circle die to cut a patterned circle from white computer paper.  I stuck this to the top of the circle, trimmed and edged with a little Peanut Brittle Memento ink and a sponge.  I punched a hole in the top to add some bakers twine, added the holly and a button and added a sentiment using the Funky Tape Runner.




The Funky Tape runner, glittered snowflakes, twine and a button were used to create this simple but effective gift tag.  Adding Ice Stickles Glitter Glue around the edge keeps the design simple yet festive.  I actually used the same pot of glitter glue on all of the projects even through I have not mentioned it!  




Finally I made a couple of projects using my new Holiday Trees die from Spellbinders  ...



The first is a simple gift tag using the die, the tape runner and some glitter paper from My Minds Eye ...

Glitter Snowdomes add a little bit of festive bling!



... and then a couple of 3d place settings ...



To make these cut all of the trees from the set from strong paper (I used the Festive Range again for a traditional feel)



Ink the edges of each with a sponge and Peanut Brittle Memento ink ...




Add foam to the back of each piece and build up the tree using all of the pieces so that the smallest is on the top.  Stick to a small place setting card and add the sentiment from the tape runner.  The baubles are created using some Orange Glass Dots.


I hope that you have enjoyed these projects.  I am off to make our Dairy Free Philpott Family Cheesecake recipe now as we have guests for Sunday lunch tomorrow.   It might sound a little odd but I promise you it is the most delicious cheese cake ever.  I'll post the recipe when I get chance.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

*****

Friday 18 October 2013

Candy Canes ...

The girls and I are well and truly into the spirit of Christmas here at Philpotts now. 

We spend our days picking and packing orders most of which include Christmas designs so I know that you are also thinking about your Christmas cards and craft projects as well.  

Mr P. is joining in the Christmas spirit but has banned Christmas music until at least the first week in December ...  I have not told him yet that the Christmas tree is going up next week ....
 only joking ...  ... or am I?




I finally managed to find some time to sort through a few Christmas cards from past workshops today and came across this simple little card which could easily be made with the new Spellbinders D-lites that we have received in this week (see the link below)


For those of you who subscribe to the newsletter you will have already seen the link and the code 'freebrads' for this weeks freebie Christmas Epoxy Brads when you spend £20 on craft items over at www.philpotts.com

If you have not had the newsletter and would like to see the freebie codes each week you can sign up over on our home page.  In the meantime you can use the code above this week to get your free gift.

I'm back off to sing some more Christmas carols now so I will say goodbye and wish you all a lovely weekend!

****************************

Thursday 26 September 2013

Creations with Apertures #2

Where has the time gone to?  

I had planned to post lots of aperture projects this week and once again the time has just run away with me .  I am not sure what happens round here.  I get to the warehouse each morning with so many good intentions to craft and Blog and within the first 10 minutes they have all gone out the window!

So ... today I am making an extra special effort to share several projects with you all in one post!


PROJECT TIME 
{you can see the products used by clicking on the coloured title links}


PROJECT 1

This ship project uses the Labels Eleven die from Spellbinders


After cutting the aperture from the front of the card trim small triangles of coordinating paper and stick onto a scrap piece of card in a 'curve' shape.  The curved bunting is then trimmed leaving a white edge.  

Age with a little brown ink and stick to the bottom of the aperture as shown.



Creating your bunting in this way - by sticking onto cardstock first and then trimming - allows you to place bunting across an aperture and it will stay supported!

You can see from the picture below that we created a second bunting and attached this over the aperture on the inside of the card to make everything look nice and neat!


The ship stamp came from a stamp set called  'All Aboard' from Technique Tuesday.  This is stamped on the inside of the card (I stamped the image through the front of the card when closed - this will help to position the card in the correct place).

Light and dark blue papers have been added to the bottom of the card for decoration and to give the suggestion of sea.  The white label at the bottom of the card is created by using the cut out piece of cardstock (left over from cutting the aperture on the front of the card).  This has been trimmed with a paper trimmer and added to the bottom of the card so that you have space to write a message.




PROJECT 2



This nostalgic Penny Farthing card has been created using the Spellbinders Standard Circle - Large die

We have also used the papers from the Boy Crazy range from MME


The large circle aperture (the front wheel of the bike) has been cut using the 6cm die from the set.


 The inside of the card has been covered with the reverse of the Stitched Paper from the range 
(the grey stars)


Using the 'Geared Up' paper from MME trim one of the circles and position so that it sits behind the circle aperture (it may be easier to do this with the card closed.  Alternatively you can use a pencil to make the aperture through the circle onto the inside of the card so that you know where to stick the circle)


Once the circle is in place edge around it with a black gel pen .  This circle will create the front wheel of the Penny Farthing on the outside of the card and the wheel of the Uni Cycle on the inside of the card.

Use the picture as a guide to draw some simple shapes to represent the Uni Cycle.


On the front of the card another smaller circle was trimmed from the Gear paper and stuck to the front of the card to create the second wheel of the Penny Farthing.  Use the black gel pen again to edge around the wheel and to draw simple shapes (as shown) to create the shape of the bike.


More papers from the Boy Crazy range were used for the bunting and the sentiments were added.



The Sopwith Camel used in the photographs can be found here


PROJECT 3

This Strawberry card uses the Classic Heart die from Spellbinders.  



Use the die to cut a heart shape from the front of a square card.  


Once the heart aperture has been cut draw and cut a 'strawberry top' from spotty green paper.  This was then mounted onto thicker card stock for support, edged with a pale brown ink pad and attached to the top of the aperture {Tip: create a second strawberry top and attach to the back of the heart aperture to neaten the inside of the card}


 The inside of the card was created by tearing coordinating paper into strips.  These have been stuck to the base card in horizontal strips to create a vintage paper effect.


The lip on the right hand side is important for this design!

Cut a piece of card approx 2cm wide and cover it with coordinating paper.  I edged it with ink again and doodled a black stitched effect along one edge.

Adhere this to the right hand side of the card with foam tape.  


 When the card is closed the front of the card is pushed so that it is held by the lip which creates a dome to the front of the card and dimension on the strawberry.

*******************



I hope that you enjoy having a go at the projects or using one or two of the techniques used.


I am off to get the Newsletter out now (before something else comes up!).  If you don't already get the Newsletter you can receive this and all of our special offers by subscribing on the home page at www.philpotts.com

This week we have a FREE set of Black and White gel pens for you when you spend £20 over at www.philpotts.com

Check out the Newsletter for more details including the CODE required for the offer.  If you do not know how to get the Newsletter or have subscribed but have not received this just send us an e-mail at teresa@philpotts.com and we will send you a copy of the Newsletter with the code.


Happy Crafting!





Thursday 19 September 2013

Creations with Apertures #1 ...

We all love to make aperture cards because they look just that little bit extra special ... Of course there are many brands of aperture cards on the market that have the usual oval, circle, square or rectangle cut out of the front ... but ... if you own a few punches or dies and a die cutting machine it is really easy to create your own unique aperture cards.

Over the next week I have several aperture cards to show you which have all been created with either punches or the Spellbinders dies.


Today's card is a floral aperture card with a patchwork effect.  

You will need a selection of floral punches or dies to be able to create this card.  If you are using punches remember that unless you have the type of punch that can punch anywhere on the page you will be restricted by how far into your card your punch will go.  This will determine where you place your punch to create your flower apertures.


Once you have created your collection of flower apertures, edge around each flower with a small running stitch effect (using a gel pen).  I also added some free hand cut triangles for bunting and used some letter stickers from my craft box to create the sentiment (small letter stamps would work just as well).


Once you are happy with the front of your card you can move inside to create a patchwork effect using coordinating papers.  

When cutting your papers you will get a better result if you use a paper trimmer or a knife and ruler to ensure that you get a straight line.  Otherwise the papers will not 'line up' when you add them to the inside of the card and the overall effect will look less professional.

Work all over the inside of the card adding papers (and checking that papers do not join each other within the aperture area as you do not want to be able to see the joins through the flowers when the card is closed).


When the patchwork effect is finished add a zigzag stitch across the joins of paper.  

I also added a small square of white card so that I could add a message at a later date.


 Close the card and add another running stitch with the gel pen around the inside edge of the flowers to define the flowers a little more.  

Finally add a button in the center of each flower and the card is complete.

I hope you enjoy having a go!  

Look out for the Craft Newsletter which will be sent out tomorrow (Friday) with details of our FREEBIE GIVEAWAY this weekend.  

If you do not receive the Newsletter already you can sign up on the home page over at www.philpotts.com



Friday 13 September 2013

'Tis the Season ...

 ... to start thinking about those Christmas cards.

********

On Wednesday I mentioned the lovely City Sidewalks range from Pink Paislee.  I actually had two Christmas cards to share with you but time ran away with me (as always) and so I did not get chance to show you.

So here is the second Christmas card using some of the City Sidewalks range as well as a little of the Aspen Frost range from Basic Grey


PROJECT TIME 

(you can view the shopping list by clicking onto the links in the project guide)




This little card is really quite simple to make ... 

Two pieces of patterned paper are added to the bottom of the card with double sided tape.  N.B. the red striped paper in the middle is actually  red Trendy Tape from Queen & Co. 



The snowmen, which are from an Artemio Christmas Stamp Set were stamped directly onto the base card and again onto patterned paper.  The scarves have been coloured with a distress ink pen (Barn Door) and the shadow on the snowmen was added with a Tumbled Glass distress ink pen.

The snowmen were trimmed (I cut the arms off when trimming).  They have then been adhered to cardstock and trimmed again (leaving a little border of card around each snowman). 

The trimmed snowmen are then positioned over the snowmen which have already been stamped onto the base card and stuck with foam pads to add a little dimension.



To finish the card add a little sentiment and a little doodling with a black pen!

Hope you enjoy!
******

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Christmas Cards ...

Now that the weather has changed and the nights are getting chilly I am starting to get a little festive.  The girls have started to watch Christmas movies and I must admit to having started watching some of the Christmas food programmes on the television.  

If like me you are starting to think about Christmas and Christmas card making.  I have a little project to share with you today which use our lovely City Sidewalks from Pink Paislee.


PROJECT TIME





I drew a template for the Penguin and his little bindle (nap-sack).  
The detail was added with a white and black gel pen and the blue ice under his feet was created with a Distress ink marker.


 I drew a template for the sign and added some letters to suggest the distance to the North Pole.  I used some larger letters (which had been in my craft box for many years) for Amy's name and backed these onto coordinating paper.


A little stickles glitter glue and a little doodling and the card is finished.


You can view the City Sidewalks range from Pink Paislee here

City Side Walks


 *** Hope you enjoy ***

If you have not already signed up to the Newsletter sign up now for more information about the City Sidewalks range and for details of how you can get hold of FREE City Sidewalks products.




Monday 9 September 2013

We're back ...

Well what a lovely Summer it has been.  It all seem so long ago now that the girls broke up for their holidays.  I really do enjoy the girls company and look forward to time with them when they are not at school.  I'm already looking forward to the Autumn half term ...Crazy, I know!

The Summer was so busy for us that I hardly got chance to post any projects at all.  Things are still busy this term but I am determined to get Blogging again so that I can share projects with you.  You may have also noticed that we are working harder to get newsletters out on a regular basis to keep you up to date with all of the new stock that is arriving.  Last week we saw a bumper load of Spellbinders arrive into the warehouse.  Most of it has already gone!  With prices as low as £15.50 for the Nestabilities including delivery I can see why so many of you want to get in before stock runs out.

If you do not already see the Newsletter you can go to www.philpotts.com and sign up on the home page (the newsletter is different to this Blog).  It will let you know what new products have arrived as well as providing information about offers etc.  You might also like to know that not only are our prices usually cheaper than rrp's but we also have free shipping if your order is over £8.00.  This week there is also a chance to get your hands on some free pearl cardstock.


PROJECT TIME

For those of you with Birthday cards to make, here are a couple of suggestions ...



The presents for this card are created using a 2" square punch but you could easily cut patterned paper to 2" x 2" on your paper trimmer.  

The bows on the top of the presents are punched out using a Starburst punch.  The starburst has been tucked behind the paper square and the whole thing matted onto white cardstock.  This has then been trimmed and mounted onto the card with either double sided tape or foam pads.

I created a little template for the balloon and the 'reflection' on the top of the balloons was drawn in with a white gel pen.

The sentiment 'Happy Birthday to you' has been added with foam pads for extra dimension.

[TRY: creating this design with Christmas colours and replacing the balloons with 3 sprigs of holly sitting just above the sentiment.  OR: add a holly wreath to the top half of the card]



The second card uses the same balloon template as the first.  

The banner is created by cutting a banner shape from a spare piece of cardstock.  Do this carefully with a knife and not scissors as you will actually need to keep the 'leftover' piece (the piece with the banner cut out of it and not the banner itself).

Add some repositional adhesive (I used Zig 2 way Glue) and position onto the card where you would like the banners to be.  This will create a mask so that you can add colour to the card in the shape of a banner.

Take a neutral dye based ink pad (e.g. Memento or a Distress Ink Pad) and with a sponge dauber, a cosmetic sponge or a little cotton wool use a circular motion to add the ink to the card through the mask.  I added a slightly darker brown a the edges to add a little dimension.  Repeat 3 times and at various angles as shown.

Once the ink is dry, stamp the sentiment over the top of each banner and add the balloons.  A little detail was added with a black gel pen.


ITEMS USED

26-64512 - MCGILL - PAPER BLOSSOMS LEVER PUNCH - STARBURST 2860 - WHITE GEL PENBoy Crazy


25-DIS-19497 - DISTRESS INK - ANTIQUE LINEN    25-DIS-19510 - DISTRESS INK - TEA DYE   50-GLD-CRAFT FOAM PADS   



Hope you enjoy ... Back soon!