Meet the Doodles ...

Life for us is one big Doodle ... Well, 1 large and 1 small, both scruffy, both stinky, usually wet and both always ready to sit on you or lick you into submission!

All of our favourite days as a family are spent with the dogs.  Mr P. took these lovely photographs of our 2 Labradoodles, Barney (cream) and Archie (black) when we went to Devon a couple of weekends ago.  We were supposed to be going to the Devon County Show - and we did for about 2 hours but we had completely underestimated how hard it would be trying to hold onto 2 children and 2 strong dogs when all they can smell is excitement and want to get into every enclosure to say 'hello' to every cow, bird, horse, person etc... That's the dogs of course and not the children!!  In the end we gave up with the show and went to the beach!

Anyway, I thought it was time you met them so here they are ...

Barney's dad was a Standard Poodle and his mum was a yellow Labrador.  He is a big, strong dog who looks a lot more like a golden retriever than a labradoodle... never let anyone tell you that Labradoodles do not shed their fur because it is not true.  This year we have spent a lot of time grooming Barney with a special comb outside in the garden.  When we had finished each day it looked as if we had sheared a sheep.    This year we have been placing it in strategic places in the garden and the birds have been taking it to build their nests.  Snugly little birds as the fur is as soft as cotton wool!  Barney's favourite past time is to swim in the sea or play fetch with his ball all day long!  In this photo he is waiting patiently for his Dad to throw his stick!

Archie's dad was a toy poodle and his Mum was a black Labrador.  He is built like a tank with a leg in each corner.  he is the size of a small Labrador but still thinks that he is a lap dog like his dad!   Archies favourite past time is either using Barney's back leg as a big bone to gnaw on or emptying the bin in the kitchen every time we go out just to see if there is anything nice at the bottom!!  Oh and he particularly likes to hunt and pounce on Barney when out on a walk and then run off laughing!

Anyway enough about my lovely boys... here are a couple of cards that I would like to share with you today... hope you like them.

Both cards were made with scraps of papers from my craft box and a couple of butterfly punches (Martha Stewart punch used for both).

Happy Crafting
Teresa

Crafting with the Kids this Half Term ...

Today I thought I would share another use for the painted pegs that I showed you yesterday...

Here is a fridge magnet that my girls made recently.  They used a template to cut out the shape of the body and covered it with pretty paper.  They added a face and punched a hole to add a little ribbon for a tail and finally drew some hooves on the bottom of the pegs with a permanent marker.  We added some magnetic tape to the back of the pegs so that we could attach it to the fridge and hey presto!

Alternatively why not use the templates to create place settings for Sunday Lunch...  The girls spent all afternoon making these for a recent family lunch.  They made 9 in total.  After the lunch we put magnetic tape of the back of each and the guests took them home to stick onto the fridge.

Templates...

Hope you have lots of fun with these !
Happy Crafting
Teresa

Hanging out the washing ...

Good Morning!

I really wanted to say 'and what a lovely morning it is' ... but I am afraid that it looks like rain today - not great as I have already hung the washing out this morning before coming into the shop! 

I love this time of the year when it is light early and I can finally get the washing off the radiators and onto the washing line where it belongs.  Each morning Mr P takes the dogs out for a walk at 7am so I take the washing from the machine and go outside to hang it out before making breakfast.  It is a lovely time as I usually talk to the chickens and they talk back as they come to see what I am doing, always in the hope that I have brought them something nice to eat!!  This is my time before the rush of breakfast, spelling tests, lunch making and nagging the girls to make sure that they have done everything before we have to leave for school.

My time only lasts for 5 minutes but that's just enough fresh air and catching up with the gossip from the hen house to set me up for the rest of the day... Oh and yes, I usually give in and fetch the Chickens an apple or a few oats before feeding the rest of us - just to make sure that they put all of their efforts into making us some nice eggs for breakfast the next day!

This year I thought I would make myself some nice little pegs to not only hang out the washing at home but also to peg up work in progress or other little bits around the shop ...

I purchased some cheap wooden pegs and painted them with Farrow and Ball emulsion tester pots.  They take 2-3 coats to get a good even coverage of paint.  Once dry I took a paint brush, dipped the end into some white paint and used the tip of the brush to 'dab' the spots onto the pegs in a random pattern.  Once completely dry I varnished the pegs just to make sure that they were shower proof if it rained whilst they were outside.

The Dolly pegs were created in exactly the same way but to make sure that I got a straight line on the bottom I used some masking tape to create a neat edge which I pulled off once the pegs were dry.

They do take a bit of time to make but very therapeutic if you like painting and I think the result looks great!

Hope you like them!

Happy Crafting

Teresa

Valentines Day No.3

In our house we all tend to celebrate Valentines Day, even the girls.  Any excuse for them to find their way into my craft box and use some of the special bits and pieces that they usually don't get to use!

We have never really been big on buying chocolates and flowers and all of the usual things that you would associate with Valentines day. Instead we tend to come up with original ideas for special little gifts for everyone, even Mia and Amy.   Mr P. (who is the baker in the family) might make a special cake for all of us and the girls usually draw a picture.  Once we all created a canvas stamped with our hands on it in different colours of acrylic paint.  The result was lovely.  At that time Amy was very little and her hand is tiny next to her Daddy's.  It now hangs in our hallway and we will treasure it always.

Last year we created little hearts filled with various herbs.  We drew some heart templates from paper and then cut around these from scraps of fabric. 

This is the heart that I made for Mr P.  I filled this with Cinnamon sticks and Cloves that I had crushed first.  It smells wonderfully spicy and perfect for him as it is not too flowery.  You can still smell the spices a year later!

Amy created this simple version of the heart.  She stitched the heart on the outside.  We filled the heart with a little toy stuffing and dried lavender.  The stuffing ensured that we did not loose the lavender through the edges as the stitching was a simple running stitch.

We have all kept these little hearts long after the chocolates and flowers would be gone! 

Mind you I should probably admit that Mr P.  has just bought me a new handbag for Valentines Day this year - and he doesn't even know it yet!! 

Peanut Butter Oaty Bars ...

'Have you brought a snack Mummy?' ... These are the first words that come out of my little girl's mouths (after saying hello and giving me a kiss of course) when I collect them from school each day.  I always feel so lucky that my working day is finished by 3pm and I can go home with them after school.  We all sit around the kitchen table and they start their homework whilst I prepare them a snack and a drink. 

One snack that they can't get enough of is these peanut butter oaty bars which are the quickest and easiest cakey type biscuit to make. The girls love it when we cook these as firstly they can help to mix in the oats and secondly they get to lick the spoon and the bowl and even dip their little mits into the raw mixture whilst we are trying to flatten it in the baking tin! 

You really don't have to measure anything out, just use your eye until the mixture looks right.  As a guide you will need approx:

250g of butter or margarine (this will make approx 20 bars)

2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter

2-3 desert spoons of Honey or Golden Syrup - honey works really well with the peanut butter.

Enough oats to bring the mixture to a stiff paste (see below)

Method:

Melt the butter, honey and peanut butter in a saucepan over a low heat.  Add enough oats to bring the mixture to a paste stiff enough to hold itself together (the more oats you add the more biscuit like your finished bar will be).

Grease a deep baking tray and press the mixture into the tray with your hand.  Then cook at approx 160-170 degrees for approx 20 minutes.  Cut into bars in the tin and then leave to cool.  Once cool take out with a fish slice and put into an air tight tin. In theory they will keep for about a week but ours never ever last that long!


WHY NOT TRY ADDING ...

Chopped Banana with the peanut butter;
Jam with the peanut butter - this is my husbands favourite as he loves Raspberry jam and peanut butter sandwiches!

and if you are not keen on peanut butter, try ...

Chunks of dark Green and Blacks Chocolate;
Chopped Apricots and honey;
Maple Syrup.

Great for lunch boxes and quick healthy snacks.  We have even been known to have one for breakfast if we are in a rush and they really do keep you going for quite a while.

Thank you for stopping by.
Happy Crafting
Teresa