tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15262979110598668272024-02-21T16:36:15.030+10:30When Time Meets InclinationEver find you have the inclination but not the time? Or worse still, the time but not the inclination? Welcome to my world. Occasionally they both meet, here are the results.Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-60009067340452604592010-07-09T09:09:00.000+09:302010-07-09T09:09:28.375+09:30Party PreparationToday is another attempt at crafty fantastic-ness. I've put my hand up to throw my sister a sexy grown up 30th birthday dinner party. You know the type classy, elegant, simple, stunning, full of gorgeous beautiful details. Blogland is full of these gorgeous spreads, surely I can pull it off?? Haha. this will be another challenge in my attempts to combine Time and Inclination. I have both at the moment, I just need to fend of their close cousin - Laziness. I have visions of an Amy Atlas style dessert table, but here's where ability might be somewhat challenged.<br />
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So anyway..here's what lies before me as I tackle this challenge I'm really excited about. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_2xmx1AURdJv4HV60NSo4Ms1qj9Lg_2DaSluuU2ygCJKUS25kxUKkHdyqYjcCc0iL465gyUXt-mJTADDdywe2OR5d3nwhU8LPPV7kPagXn80dDMY5SP6BbzVoJrcMZFuhTgu0S7QKso/s1600/DSC00026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_2xmx1AURdJv4HV60NSo4Ms1qj9Lg_2DaSluuU2ygCJKUS25kxUKkHdyqYjcCc0iL465gyUXt-mJTADDdywe2OR5d3nwhU8LPPV7kPagXn80dDMY5SP6BbzVoJrcMZFuhTgu0S7QKso/s400/DSC00026.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-39724958991074194182010-07-08T09:16:00.000+09:302010-07-08T09:16:05.348+09:30Back from the AbyssThat's how I feel in regards to my poor neglacted blog. So much has been happening, I've not got around to recording it here. Time or Inclination?? Probably both. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">When I started this blog it was my intention to give myself a kick up the butt and get into the crafty jobs I have been prmosing myself to do now for well over 10 years. But, like most things, life has steered me into a direction that has me just a little excited. I've made it clear I love cupcakes. Turns out, alot of other people love MY cupcakes as well. This has been a huge compliment. After making the cupcakes for the fundraiser recently, I recieved so many positive reviews. I've also taken them to work which has always been with great praise. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So can I turn a passion into a career?? I don't know. I spent 10 years working in the food industry, and promised myself I would never work with food again. But here I am, comtemplating the idea of a business with food. Here's teh crazy thing, I don't consider cupcakes food...they're far more incredible to be labelled food. They're little parcels of devine joy! Seriously. Whenever I think of cupcakes it brings a smile to my face. And let's face it, it's hard to feel bad eating a cupcake. Even a crappy day is made better licking the frosting off a gorgeous cupcake, followed by that first great bite. I love seeing the delight of people when given a cupcake. Next time you see people around cupcakes, just watch, people almost always have a smile. That what I love the most about them. Little parcels of devine joy.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>So as you can imagine, I love talking about my cupcakes. I'm sure everyone around me is sick of the topic, but I'm ok with that. They're my passion, and I make no apologies. But my passion is certainly being recognised. I've been getting requests for event which has been the most incredible compliment. I've been getting asked how much charge, which is always the hurdle. The truth is I love making them and I love people eating my cakes. I'd be happy to do them for free! I don't have an answer for that question just yet.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I could go on for hours, but I won't. But I will share some cupcakes I've been designing for an event I've been asked to do. It's an 80th birthday. It's taken me weeks to get these together. I had "writer's block" in coming up with the ideas for these. But I'm really happy with them. I hope they really set off the table they'll be sitting on.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rtM_FkLV_x1i5Ha0g_r1abrgNtwde8qXCvKyCAagX8MNFFnhA2uE0LeNBrFSEBSGWFGB6IDOAK2DJHcWxAXuY7KnS6RPgKThAd1_asMJpR_HjJ90phSTWaglotlaTEy8RB-bxmF0ccc/s1600/DSC00008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rtM_FkLV_x1i5Ha0g_r1abrgNtwde8qXCvKyCAagX8MNFFnhA2uE0LeNBrFSEBSGWFGB6IDOAK2DJHcWxAXuY7KnS6RPgKThAd1_asMJpR_HjJ90phSTWaglotlaTEy8RB-bxmF0ccc/s400/DSC00008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UqT23bqhG4qptvJeDUc6b2pjJ4nHFy7v0qGVgKUCYfnWC9un1zXbuW47epF05FnuVJ4Z_TLd04KXJT4HR_ORmjhyphenhyphenX9n_Wec6dcjtu6LHwRNp0L4zDf_hoe_5KzBpGS3aVdMJhXKBVoA/s1600/DSC00010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UqT23bqhG4qptvJeDUc6b2pjJ4nHFy7v0qGVgKUCYfnWC9un1zXbuW47epF05FnuVJ4Z_TLd04KXJT4HR_ORmjhyphenhyphenX9n_Wec6dcjtu6LHwRNp0L4zDf_hoe_5KzBpGS3aVdMJhXKBVoA/s400/DSC00010.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgR801jBYPYcELRMBWjWL1dx7zqK2WsCGU22cDuhA-nNUpomsdaLDehhwCXYYAr78Wz2mhNDlG7K7HVeuilET93ZGpsADvks-Nr-pz2vji0raX7NxH1RdCXGppTjWpIDwfwV-UMQ_JK4/s1600/DSC00017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgR801jBYPYcELRMBWjWL1dx7zqK2WsCGU22cDuhA-nNUpomsdaLDehhwCXYYAr78Wz2mhNDlG7K7HVeuilET93ZGpsADvks-Nr-pz2vji0raX7NxH1RdCXGppTjWpIDwfwV-UMQ_JK4/s400/DSC00017.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStFSzLYivD8glOB7LO8xkDD-Bf0OARJbXCn93H4rSpG1plJDHz8ciog1dhptPjO9cO84_EjHl1Czgw7XkHXdG_pyzogmHAffpPYBl5WuHbGmvkS_giUei4Tct4sZkVp59Q2E4RByfC7Y/s1600/DSC00020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiStFSzLYivD8glOB7LO8xkDD-Bf0OARJbXCn93H4rSpG1plJDHz8ciog1dhptPjO9cO84_EjHl1Czgw7XkHXdG_pyzogmHAffpPYBl5WuHbGmvkS_giUei4Tct4sZkVp59Q2E4RByfC7Y/s400/DSC00020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-33641352169828821952010-06-12T10:10:00.003+09:302010-06-12T11:30:20.732+09:30Cakes for a Cause<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">See my problem?? Neither time or inclination have been in the same too often of late. But that's not to say I haven't been busy. A couple of weeks ago a friend made us all aware of a fundraiser she was putting together to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Association. It's terrible that we even need to be raising money for such causes, but hopefully, with enough effort and research, we can make inroads to erradicating this terrible disease. This was particularly close to home for my friend has her 3 year old godson has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now like many, money has been pretty tight in our home, but I still wanted to be able to help. Knowing this was an event she was creating, and looked to my talents and offered to bake some cupcakes for her to sell. It allowed me to practice decorating, and gave her another way to raise money. I ended up making 8 Dozen cupcakes which she sold for $2 each. I can happily report she sold them all and my small contribution raised her about $190.00 </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But a huge shout out goes to this incredible woman. Her efforts in a regional town raised just over $1200.00. She had Hot firemen, a sausage sizzle, drinks, coloured hair spray, raffles, and even Darth Vader & Princess Leiya turned up. The raffle baskets were incredible!! The thing that was really special about the event was that EVERYTHING was donated to her. So as well as a special woman putting in hard work for a great cause, an entire community got behind her and offered support. Even her place of work were happy to allow her to use their grounds, and they have the most prominent place in town, right next to the main stop lights! </div><br />
It's days like this that make you glad you helped, and even though you can have crappy days, and people can be horrible and nasty, by and large, there are still many people trying to do good.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So here are my little creations that did my little bit to help, and I can report I made everything myself, from the cakes, to the icing, to the decorations.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXcXs9QvLO8XE4Dm9-Sg-FIZTuUUk-KdGCqnsOqU0MyuzGdjSFMylXiJ0OtyYOZkte1zLkVHK_LemzScOvXnRainkH-KSSlq1a6PIobpCeZH3QB5prlSXR2vu0U3lZtBv5Y4akew7ab8/s1600/DSC00004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXcXs9QvLO8XE4Dm9-Sg-FIZTuUUk-KdGCqnsOqU0MyuzGdjSFMylXiJ0OtyYOZkte1zLkVHK_LemzScOvXnRainkH-KSSlq1a6PIobpCeZH3QB5prlSXR2vu0U3lZtBv5Y4akew7ab8/s400/DSC00004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Chocolate Fudge Cakes with Choc Buttercream, topped with Fuchocs</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCM9A9sWA1JGxas9_IbZEWVJYUFQDi-Km5vcie7taNNlwnnzblr9nVtiKAZ7CW1CS-scoOiUja1U1lFgRz3X_FGypfjq6YK6y2iV0sprhWz_AQaUeXQV-N_VWs6dqPHGWeupSDuHqZPQ/s1600/Choc+Fudge+w+Choc+Buttercream.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCM9A9sWA1JGxas9_IbZEWVJYUFQDi-Km5vcie7taNNlwnnzblr9nVtiKAZ7CW1CS-scoOiUja1U1lFgRz3X_FGypfjq6YK6y2iV0sprhWz_AQaUeXQV-N_VWs6dqPHGWeupSDuHqZPQ/s320/Choc+Fudge+w+Choc+Buttercream.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Chocolate Fudge cakes with Peppermint Buttercream</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6P0oFzzSGhlO-On6-lqnb6LK0-_sat43Ck2h6TtH-_7q6bjxdlBlt4PmftdNUzX2bWQvaPRKdcbEN4PUR3R6yHbaX-hVwA_c-rruKFy5bMjG5DoMRHRY4T43YNnYWHDkCRml-Jt96ETs/s320/Choc+Fudge+w+Peppermint+Cream.JPG" width="320" /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Vanilla Character Cakes</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79u738sABKKhromh9Xj5rHc6jMQJRjSwRJ23vVI2FVcc6I0SoyG5dlgVaJZBI503vsMjvAKNdR_3R-4xB6lHiCmnWo9bdMHOSh7Xnb7fhBJ4VJ6tyZfK5EDcgcHj1iNHffhF9Tpbtxc0/s1600/Character+Cakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79u738sABKKhromh9Xj5rHc6jMQJRjSwRJ23vVI2FVcc6I0SoyG5dlgVaJZBI503vsMjvAKNdR_3R-4xB6lHiCmnWo9bdMHOSh7Xnb7fhBJ4VJ6tyZfK5EDcgcHj1iNHffhF9Tpbtxc0/s320/Character+Cakes.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Chocolate Cakes with Vanilla Buttercream and Frangipani's</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3snK8424YBU26YRdqpOnaKclHny2gS-k59mZ9sLQgZM_LIQ2ks253cR-WG0n6BpqrqubP6nsbx7mO4nENIbYnj93w3MjOi8m3lrOXT8I3G57vzQuu2A2pmM7bbNfK4iy62phyQXV1TM/s1600/DSC00017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3snK8424YBU26YRdqpOnaKclHny2gS-k59mZ9sLQgZM_LIQ2ks253cR-WG0n6BpqrqubP6nsbx7mO4nENIbYnj93w3MjOi8m3lrOXT8I3G57vzQuu2A2pmM7bbNfK4iy62phyQXV1TM/s320/DSC00017.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Vanilla Cakes with Vanilla Buttercream</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIm8Rgq8IxGfAeUQz5apIyfyZyoYsZakWu2MDSKMhKdhz_870w4HFcPJ8i-U-99euKNADG83pfWhbBe2YlfhbRPQseIlMEoz2lZHvztai3rAxgJ8LEVoHq6fyHq027DeGef6Cs4YQKQ0/s1600/DSC00044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIm8Rgq8IxGfAeUQz5apIyfyZyoYsZakWu2MDSKMhKdhz_870w4HFcPJ8i-U-99euKNADG83pfWhbBe2YlfhbRPQseIlMEoz2lZHvztai3rAxgJ8LEVoHq6fyHq027DeGef6Cs4YQKQ0/s320/DSC00044.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://hoosierhomemade.com/cupcake-tuesday/%22%20target=%22_blank%22%20title=%22Cupcake%20Tuesday%20at%20HoosierHomemade.com%22%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://hoosierhomemade.com/wp-content/uploads/cupcake-tuesday.jpg%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22Cupcake%20Tuesday%20at%20HoosierHomemade.com%22%20width=%22150%22%3E%3C/a%3E">Cupcake Tuesday</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzb-bXZOGy6Fj7jtlfCcH-cQ2S5wixdQwZ8HoyAehOwb4Ld9URIydzUcYbCrGA33NG1_PKwL7Z7BtYFWEhUBwIc4lNIYO94ljsaVezXpgPiyt0643tefujZ3Cuwe7KWWON2aF4EgLxua4/s320/cupcake-tuesday.jpg" /></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-24144263959377304402010-05-30T16:04:00.002+09:302010-06-12T11:30:50.712+09:30Naughty Corner<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">That's where I need to be sitting, I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I can attest it's largely due to time rather than inclination. It's been a crazy month, largely due to work commitments. This is only my second day off in that time. So you can expect some baking to be done later today!</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It's funny how so much can happen in such a short time. Most of it has been work related, and I won't bore you with those details. But my baking seems to be moving slowly in the direction of taking orders from people who like my work. This to me is the ultimate compliment. After pushing through my fear barrier of "what if people don't like my cakes?" I've embraced baking and I've been making cakes for every occasion. It's been met with such a positive response.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I've had training courses over the past week, these can be long days taking in information, so just to add some spark I took morning tea in on 2 of the days. Cupcakes and Apple Crumble slice. Some might call it sucking up, I don't care, I love baking, and love people enjoying my baking. </div><br />
Here are a few of my more recent baking creations..<br />
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</div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-62837602919274377022010-05-09T10:31:00.000+09:302010-05-09T10:31:48.115+09:30Happy Mother's DayA big shout out to all the Mum's today. Forget about changing nappies, washing, dishes, dirty faces and a house that never seems to stay clean! Let the kids spoil you, the mess will be there tomorrow ( and the day after that too!)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">I love my 4 monsters. I got a sleep in with breakfast in bed. and here are the socks I got to match the new Pj's they gave me.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-33282755565760125832010-05-08T11:45:00.001+09:302010-05-08T11:45:45.294+09:30Witches ShoesIt's been a crazy past week, so you will have to forgive my absence. I've had shifts that start at 6am and I don't do mornings very well, especially when they are 10-12hours long. So my craftiness has been a bit limited lately. Then ofcourse, the few thngs I have done..I forgot to take photos of. What a dill head!<br />
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Last Sunday was the Medieval Festival with my best friends. It was a wonderful day. Full of food, fun and friendship. I mentioned we had planned to take a picnic lunch and spend as little a possible there. I can report all I paid for was my entry fee. That wasn't actually on purpose, but we spent so much time enjoying the sights and each other's company, shopping didn't seem to come into it. It was so relaxed. And I must say, we did enjoy not lining up for 10-15mins for cake and coffee. <br />
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It's funny what you see just leisurely sitting back. As soon as we arrived, it was a bit chilly, so out came the thermos with hot water, a cappucino sachet and some home made biccies. Morning Tea - devine! <br />
Lunch time we had the biggest spread that I'm sure we were expecting another dozen people or so! Baked potatoes loaded with toppings, Pesto & sundried tomato scrolls and cupcakes for dessert. We were stuffed, and in need of a nanna nap I can tell you.<br />
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Since it was a day that we would all be together, I did make up a small Witches Shoe favor for the girls, and I actually remembered to take photos! You can find the instructions for these from <a href="http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/10/28/paper-witch-shoes/">Skip to my Lou</a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Aren't they cute!</div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-57450662156466446662010-04-28T19:32:00.000+09:302010-04-28T19:32:14.501+09:30It's about Friends, not Funds<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I want to make a huge shout out to my gorgeous, wonderful amazing friends. I love them and know I'm incredibly lucky to know them. They are all extremely different, yet together we all just make sense. Why this big out pouring of love? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well despite the obvious bonds of friendship, I wanted to share another example of why I love each of them. We have been a happy 4 some who all came together about 10 years ago. In that time an annual tradition of attending the Medieval Festival has become apart of our lives. It's had a few different locations over the years from Carrick Hill, McLaren Vale to now at Gumeracha. It's a gorgeous day that we frock up in beautiful dresses, gorge ourselves on Baked Potatoes, Mulled Wine, Coffee and other amazing tasty delights, and have a great day catching up. It also usually in between 2 of their birthday's. There's jousting, weddings, woodwork, knights, jesters and so many amazing stall holders with incredible trinkets. Yes I'm excited and can't wait for the fair this Sunday!</div><br />
Now this year has hit 3 of us pretty hard financially, all for different reasons. So to all make it to the fair has meant some creating accounting for us. In talking to one of my friends yesterday we decided, why not take finances out of the day. One of the biggest money pits at the festival is the food. And it's almost one of our favourite parts!! We love having this once small indulgence. The Baked Potato lunch is almost as much of the tradition as the dresses. So this year...we're taking our own!! We'll cook and keep them hot in a thermos. Everyone will bring a different topping. Plus we'll bring other little snippets of indulgence from home. We've almost made it a fun part of the day to make it still indulgent, but be as tight as Alberneza Scrooge. Since we're all participating in the devine picnic spread, no one will be left to feel uncomfortable either way. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Here's an example of our previous picnic spreads when we went to Moonlight Cinemas</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We're all looking forward to a great day catching up enjoying the spectacle that if the Medieval Festival.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here are a few pictures from previous years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCVV7IAuBd-xjB2wOCrN5xyZoRu5644y8g_3uyDSMpFWkHl2d7PugRVExZp3ojDfKF7qXbtkjXsM_wdcuiAOUL1zbxzynssKKdHPvhSUeA6Auj7CnJG3daqw1nMPIZih5IXscNeGeunI/s1600/DSC00005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCVV7IAuBd-xjB2wOCrN5xyZoRu5644y8g_3uyDSMpFWkHl2d7PugRVExZp3ojDfKF7qXbtkjXsM_wdcuiAOUL1zbxzynssKKdHPvhSUeA6Auj7CnJG3daqw1nMPIZih5IXscNeGeunI/s400/DSC00005.JPG" tt="true" width="400" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-35952532405081856012010-04-26T16:20:00.000+09:302010-04-26T16:20:55.443+09:30Gunna List - UpdateChecking in to update today progress...<br />
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Organise the Laundry Cupboard - DONE!<br />
Washing - 5 loads - DONE!!<br />
Cook a Roast - Cooking and smelling devine!<br />
Bake some goodies for lunch boxes - Apple & Cinnamon Slice and Fruit Buns - DONE!!<br />
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Still to do <br />
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My friend's homemade present<br />
Create a mock up of some cupcake designs<br />
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Also completed...<br />
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Cleaned the shower<br />
Cleaned 2 toilets<br />
Cooked a pot of Spicy Lentil Soup<br />
Decorated cupcakes with my daughter<br />
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So I can feel comfortable I've been productive today and there will be absolutely no guilt if I don't get the whole list checked off. In getting through today, it occurred to me how many tools we have to get things done, I wonder if we use them all as often and efficently as we should?<br />
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For instance, baking with yeast. I know alot of people are afraid of cooking with yeast, and are of the opinion it's very time consuming. I beg to differ. My experience has been that yeast is very forgiving as long as you follow the principles and allow the process to complete fully. Now that did make it sound like a long process, which it is, but you don't have to stand around watching the time! I would suggest your total "hands on" time for most yeast products is no more than 5 -10mins! Who doesn't have that available??<br />
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Ofcourse I am referring to being able to use a bread maker for the task, however, I do also enjoy kneading by hand if I want to make a triple batch of dough. I love my breadmaker, but must admit, it took me a few years before I catually started to use it. And here's the thing...I never cook a loaf of bread in it. Or anything for that matter. Embracing the dough setting has changed the offerings in the kitchen!<br />
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An example from today is making fruit buns. Pop everything into the machine, go off, put a load of washing on, scrub the shower, have a cuppa , quickly catch a few pages of a book..then beep dough is ready! I just divide it up into balls and then while it was enjoying it's second rising, I quickly threw the ingredients together for the Apple Slice. Once done, they both went into the oven. 15 mins later the buns are done, and another 15mins the slice was done. The hardest part was working out which smelt better coming from the oven.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here is the finished Apple Cinnamon Slice..</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">You've got to be quick around here, I didn't even get to take a picture before one of the kids tucked into it!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As for the breadmaker, here as some ideas to get you started..</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjizd29zYwuDo6DY1GeCLra3y2lnXQ5jMx1VLO3Wj1SxzEYDvvOWjSrnFbWElAEvym0nT2kriDv_oDolyVDxRBaSb8MrZ2vXZzoVwnJ2ZZgYAcjDnyrvft4naSpPIBzq8vaYvP9wg_3_o/s1600/23713_438158813008_681608008_5318279_2280228_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjizd29zYwuDo6DY1GeCLra3y2lnXQ5jMx1VLO3Wj1SxzEYDvvOWjSrnFbWElAEvym0nT2kriDv_oDolyVDxRBaSb8MrZ2vXZzoVwnJ2ZZgYAcjDnyrvft4naSpPIBzq8vaYvP9wg_3_o/s200/23713_438158813008_681608008_5318279_2280228_n.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUKDRERODOhxV1C74aKVjc-s8ZNV8M30Vsvgo4IzDDbliAOhgn7i0e12TcG5A_5IPtpfsp2sYdgTps9GE_UtaeuzrS4q8hHto96EFGC1gyenZG7oam_PPZLJhRABvG5TOcYP3DNs4Qdc/s1600/DSC00030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUKDRERODOhxV1C74aKVjc-s8ZNV8M30Vsvgo4IzDDbliAOhgn7i0e12TcG5A_5IPtpfsp2sYdgTps9GE_UtaeuzrS4q8hHto96EFGC1gyenZG7oam_PPZLJhRABvG5TOcYP3DNs4Qdc/s200/DSC00030.JPG" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> From Top - Apple Scrolls, Pizza Scrolls, Pizza, Fruit Loaf and Hot Cross Buns</div><br />
So what equipement have you got lying around you haven't used in a while?<br />
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Just before I head off, I mentioned decorating cupcake with my daughter. Here is her proudly displaying some of her work<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowK9lTXr5_OZ5gjYZQL-jemem6Lv_bee8R4BUUvMYgGOC4JARG18wuFiu2LLQGz7D2cy60b_mlu0UCB6aBf4KKxEUg6ibBptb-MVTZZAtGT_kKFRmuRBo_yfdCssHLTAb6b6ORGj_m-8/s1600/DSC00023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowK9lTXr5_OZ5gjYZQL-jemem6Lv_bee8R4BUUvMYgGOC4JARG18wuFiu2LLQGz7D2cy60b_mlu0UCB6aBf4KKxEUg6ibBptb-MVTZZAtGT_kKFRmuRBo_yfdCssHLTAb6b6ORGj_m-8/s320/DSC00023.JPG" tt="true" width="240" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-36193344233221077022010-04-26T09:20:00.001+09:302010-05-09T10:47:28.191+09:30Today's Gunna ListToday is one of those rare and glorious days we term "Day Off". I've got plenty I'm hoping I'm "gunna" do, let's see how much of that is still on the list by tonight. <br />
The List...<br />
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Re arrange the laundry cupboard<br />
Trial 2 new cupcake recipes - I'm still looking for the prefect recipe<br />
Create some decorated mock ups for an upcoming cupcake set<br />
Make a dent in a friend's homemade birthday gift (I've only got til next Sunday)<br />
Washing..blah<br />
Cook a Roast with all the trimmings for tea<br />
Make a few goodies for the kids lunch boxes.<br />
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Wish me luck! Ambition doesn't always meet ability around here, but hey, close is still better than never trying.Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-50899373942463349922010-04-25T09:19:00.002+09:302010-04-25T09:26:28.040+09:30Making things easier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The other day I mentioned heading out to grab some tools to learn how to make sugar flowers. I'm still busy practising.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jP5atZzlmz2hWNI5DqE8q9aXhHEurfI9uocogHBSxkFj8GFVt6k8oObNVnh69ycUTMI_uHFNK6fSAlkLL3OV2qKj1iLLnP7scKXjOUMRerhxNuhVcbxaRKFkESSVnqJYjZKlPvXiWTM/s1600/DSC00008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jP5atZzlmz2hWNI5DqE8q9aXhHEurfI9uocogHBSxkFj8GFVt6k8oObNVnh69ycUTMI_uHFNK6fSAlkLL3OV2qKj1iLLnP7scKXjOUMRerhxNuhVcbxaRKFkESSVnqJYjZKlPvXiWTM/s200/DSC00008.JPG" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><br />
In doing so, a few things have been highlighted.<br />
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<strong>The right tools for the job.</strong><br />
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I don't always give this little snippet the attention it deserves. I'm a "make do" kinda girl. Often having trouble parting with my money if I can think of a cheaper way to get around it. But the other day, I discovered how important having the right tool can really be. Not just for completing the task. It goes further than that. Having the right tool can make the job so much more fun, less time consuming and give you a better result. I'll share my recent example (I will apologise in advance...it's cupcake related..lol)<br />
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When it comes to rolling out fondant I've always just used my regular wooden rolling pin. Sounds pretty logical to me! That was until I bought a small plastic fondant rolling pin. How on earth can these 2 things offer such different results? I've discovered the new rolling pin can roll the fondant thinner, faster and used little to no cornflour to prevent sticking, making my fondant looking so much better, and the final product on the cake amazing. I don't like cakes with thick layers of fondant. If you can make it thinner, you don't overcome the flavour of the cake.<br />
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Since this has made using fondant so much easier, I've found I've been more inclined to use it. My family are now "Icing Snobs". If my cakes aren't iced, they won't touch them. They're the same with muffins, if they've lost the "out of the oven warmth" they don't eat them. Spoilt! The idea of using the fondant isn't filled with the dread of being a hard task, it's quick, easy and looks great.<br />
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The second thing I've realised is<br />
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<strong>Make things easy to access</strong><br />
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I have alot of baking bits and pieces which I keep in plastic containers - almost organised! But I had them in the back corner of the pantry, making it an effort to get to them with out dropping bit and pieces off the shelf. I've committed to using these more often, so I've bought even more containers to sort things even more, and rearranged the pantry so I can quickly grab the right container without creating a new mess.<br />
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You don't need to spend alot of money on containers if you look after them. The big containers were $3 from Cheap as Chips and the smaller ones were $2. I've got mine seperated into the following.<br />
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Liners and Sprinkles<br />
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Cutters and Fondant Tools<br />
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Icing Tips, Colours, Ingredients<br />
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Flower forming Pieces.<br />
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The pink box at the bottom is my daughter's. She has a small collection of her own personal cupcake decorating bits and pieces. Cupcake decorating has become a bit of a Mummy/Daughter activity for us. I'll talk more about that box soon.Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-11620563798389305872010-04-22T14:06:00.002+09:302010-04-22T14:10:29.198+09:30DaffodilsOk..sorry I've been both lazy and time poor this week. So all virtual kicks up the butt are welcome!<br />
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In my last post I mentioned my thoughts on overcoming fear very briefly. I also mentioned the story of an old work collegue asking about my cakes. Crazy but true...I've had an old family friend also send me a message on Facebook asking if I could give her a price for doing cupcakes for her parent's 80th birthday party. I was incredibly flattered and found it incredibly well timed.<br />
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The theme is daffodils. I have no experience with sugar flowers, so that's my next challenge. I could just buy them from a cake decorating place, but why not learn a new skill? So I've used google for a tutorial, and found what I needed. Armed with my list, I've gathered my supplies and this morning I created these...<br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm pretty happy with my first attempt. Ask me how I feel about them after I've made 100 of them! I'm working on putting together a few different cupcake designs for the event. I'll keep you all posted.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now I promise this was not meant to become a cupcake blog, despite the direction it has taken. So in other crafty news, I've almost finished a project I promised Kiltsnquilts I would blog about. Here's a very quick sneak peak</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Please excuse the rubbish photograhy.</div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-69567673807222601122010-04-17T17:23:00.001+09:302010-05-09T10:48:16.794+09:30F.E.A.RFalse Evidence Appearing Real<br />
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This is how Anthony Robbins describes fear, and I'm inclined to agree. Friday morning, that's exactly what I was experiencing. My stomach was doing flip flops, I was feeling on edge and inside going into panic free fall. I was full of self doubt and fear. <br />
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In reality, it was ridiculous. I've made easily over 1000 cupcakes in my time. What were my fears? Everything! What if they didn't cook properly, and in all my batches I run out of time or ingredients. What if I run out of liners due to crap cooking? What if I can't get the right colour? What if I run out of icing and my beaters break down so I can't make anymore ( I know...crazy talk!)<br />
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Most of my fears stemmed from the fact I really was going to be pressed for time to get these done. I worked an 11 hour shift at work that day, so couldn't start them until 10pm, then I had to get them to the reception at 9am. So if something went wrong, I had no way of rushing to the shops to get more supplies.<br />
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So don't laugh, to ease my fears, Friday morning, before I started work, I actually baked 20 cupcakes, just to reassure myself that, yes, I can cook cupcakes. Plus that night, while baking the actual wedding cupcakes I actually baked 75 of them, just to ensure I could use the absolute best looking ones! <br />
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Strangely enough, while actually making the proper wedding cakes, I was loving it. It was fun making them. Instead of being fearful, and stressed, I was relaxed and enjoying what I was doing. I had such a sense of acheivement when I'd finished.<br />
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Here's the really cool bit about this experience. I have said no in the past to people who have asked if I can make cakes for big events, claiming, I don't have time, or I'm not good enough. But you know what, I may not be the best, but I certainly give it my best. To add to this new resolve of being open to saying yes, not half an hour after posting my pictures to my Facebook page, I got asked how much I would charge to make a different cupcake from my collection of pictures from a girl I use to work with. How amazing is the world?!?! - if you take a risk, with pure intention, you will be rewarded for your efforts.<br />
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So who knows what will come of all this. What I can say is I love cooking cupcakes. And the evidence is in that in my world, I'm never too busy. To take that a step further, maybe that adds weight to my thoughts, if something is just always on you to do list, but never completed, it more about inclination than time.<br />
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I thought I'd leave with a few more pictures from my epic cake making night. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKfKgGI21fzLfmWEUPo4K48-J3CThsp0Xn_WfZQGN_YwFZuieQHsr18E4oleAxOwnQE05KTLl6XpzEIiAqF-wc9Vrp6IkolNBJ0XN6xE469LCT6TW-lJ5C3fegJTNAFaK8ijSU4Cy7i8/s1600/DSC00022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKfKgGI21fzLfmWEUPo4K48-J3CThsp0Xn_WfZQGN_YwFZuieQHsr18E4oleAxOwnQE05KTLl6XpzEIiAqF-wc9Vrp6IkolNBJ0XN6xE469LCT6TW-lJ5C3fegJTNAFaK8ijSU4Cy7i8/s400/DSC00022.JPG" width="300" wt="true" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-29407642432172536852010-04-17T09:33:00.001+09:302010-04-25T08:41:15.985+09:30Tired ElationIt's been a huge 24 hours..and I'm delirously happy to be on the side! I'm bursting with happy relief. I will write more later as I have so much to say, but a VERY tall, strong coffee is in order. I have just got back from the wedding reception where I have just finished setting up my very first wedding cupcake tower. Yippeeee!!! <br />
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I know you wanna look ;-)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0u1-1NZxxJKBlr5tuG5N2UJtnvsUt9OagM9XwC6qe7Y1zQKFM6lJV-BaPhICUXoGpptcWMK1zZOO4ZysFWfkSDJHzYDpxKg_iV2enPmuzIc9PKxhLvMy5dSACZlPOVRrOKB6_RXU05k8/s1600/DSC00024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0u1-1NZxxJKBlr5tuG5N2UJtnvsUt9OagM9XwC6qe7Y1zQKFM6lJV-BaPhICUXoGpptcWMK1zZOO4ZysFWfkSDJHzYDpxKg_iV2enPmuzIc9PKxhLvMy5dSACZlPOVRrOKB6_RXU05k8/s640/DSC00024.JPG" width="480" wt="true" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-13392651255809603042010-04-15T08:40:00.002+09:302010-05-09T10:48:43.940+09:30Fear vs Time and InclinationI've been missing in action over the past couple of days. Time has been getting the better of me. It often happens when I start work at 6am. I come home exhusted, but still have the whole tea, bath, bed night routine going on.<br />
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Anyway, an opportunity presented itself to me earlier in the week that initally had me explaining I didn't have the time. Which for the most part is true. But my main objection was around fear. Clearly you've worked out I love baking cakes. And from all reports, I'm pretty good and they taste good. I'd love, love, love to make cakes for weddings, special occasions, etc. I've been asked a couple of times before but have declined. I'm so scared of people thinking they're no good and the ruining their event, I've not even tried. The pressure of getting it right paralyises me.<br />
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I pushed through that fear this week. After initally mentioning I was so pressed for time and would be unable to help this poor bride, I reconsidered. So, with so many other tasks on my to do list, I took on the challenge of accepting making a wedding cupcake tower, 3 days BEFORE the actual wedding! Yes, my head is spinning. I'm also very excited the nervous energy. I really want the bride to be thrilled with my work. Mind you, she is already. Before I took it on, she was planning to bake and ice the whole thing herself. That was the part that made me reconsider.<br />
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So I have the time? Probably not. Since they're cupcakes, they need to be made as close to the event time to be fresh. I work from 10am to 9pm on the Friday night and the wedding is at 11am Sat morning, and have to get the cakes to the reception to be set up at 9am. So you all know what I'll be doing at about midnight Friday night..haha. Do I have the inclination...you bet! Do I have the fear...you bet! But, if I never try, I'll always wonder.<br />
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After I got home from work last night ( about 10pm) I made a very quick trial so I could show the bride a mock-up over facebook. How good is technology that I can create something, and allow someone far away to see it instantly!<br />
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Here's a sneak peek, just envisage about another 50!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTivQk7KI4HxcGKp_IERSiYvyV_B-vho34uoFHT-d-XPOiyF4hm3xUctNgedZLu6NMsj6-K6BU1p1J5hQrvPzQcGuOeuRKnL6_aD3tJ7JIMvVTVMTZ-dkOj7Fk5GktthGA6XzVbh2HT8/s1600/DSC00002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTivQk7KI4HxcGKp_IERSiYvyV_B-vho34uoFHT-d-XPOiyF4hm3xUctNgedZLu6NMsj6-K6BU1p1J5hQrvPzQcGuOeuRKnL6_aD3tJ7JIMvVTVMTZ-dkOj7Fk5GktthGA6XzVbh2HT8/s400/DSC00002.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YlqDU14yBHyLengk3tYKQ9Np_hJp8ltxYo32zrQdaNX1QVWVwBWMR9xx1jeXrFe6FRPHypFHzZL2H4VRe3CKIrGVfoK6Kw5oqzJKgBiCS78pKQZ-T-RtEKJ0qCnM5AJ8ZoX_iqSGxdM/s1600/DSC00004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YlqDU14yBHyLengk3tYKQ9Np_hJp8ltxYo32zrQdaNX1QVWVwBWMR9xx1jeXrFe6FRPHypFHzZL2H4VRe3CKIrGVfoK6Kw5oqzJKgBiCS78pKQZ-T-RtEKJ0qCnM5AJ8ZoX_iqSGxdM/s400/DSC00004.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-16456072074177521552010-04-12T05:27:00.001+09:302010-06-12T11:31:19.758+09:30Chocolate FudgeRemember the condensed milk I made early last week? It got put to use today as I made a trial run of the chocolate fudge I plan to make for my friend's birthdays. My sister and my dad popped up in the afternoon who made the perfect guinea pigs. I've made fudge before, but never with home made condensed milk. I was worried it might go a bit grainy. Well worry not! Turned out great!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SXTZG5X6S_UEi6OqebxSixBIyBkpIV4aMIEd2rYU2EkLbu28Qqtno9jNiLJspJAcKKQQJPg7OCQWAKUSVDdE5O0OfS0J_eVd_j-UHPQMNGrg3yCWxeIm2FF2oBngV74Eq8Ue9k1b-o8/s1600/DSC00037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SXTZG5X6S_UEi6OqebxSixBIyBkpIV4aMIEd2rYU2EkLbu28Qqtno9jNiLJspJAcKKQQJPg7OCQWAKUSVDdE5O0OfS0J_eVd_j-UHPQMNGrg3yCWxeIm2FF2oBngV74Eq8Ue9k1b-o8/s400/DSC00037.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Chocolate Fudge</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">125gm Butter</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">375gm Sweetened Condensed Milk</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2 tbsp Golden Syrup</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 cup Brown Sugar </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">85 gm Dark Chocolate.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Line a square cake tin with greaseproof paper. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, then add condensed milk, sugar and syrup. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture up to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow the mix to gentley boil until it reaches soft ball stage. I stirred the mix continuously at this stage for about 20 mins. The mixture will turn a beautiful golden colour at this stage and look like boiling mud. Remove from heat and then add the chocolate, stirring til smooth. Moving quickly, pour into your tin and leave to set in the fridge. Slice into squares and serve. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is extremely rich, so you will only need a small square. Next time I make this I will add a couple of tbsp of Kaluha or Bailey's for a truely wicked indulgence.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-44695013741792021052010-04-11T10:14:00.003+09:302010-04-11T10:17:43.078+09:30Why wait for the party to have cake?It's a gorgeous Sunday morning. Started with a well recieved sleep in, followed by a hot cup of coffee. My parents will be up at some stage later today, so i'll be in a whizz trying to get the house looking a bit presentable ( yes, at 30+ I still feel the need to look organised for my parents). If I manage to get that done with time to spare I hope to get some cooking done in preparation for the rest of the week. Let's hope the time and inclination meet for that!<br />
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While I have a couple of moments spare, I thought I'd share a little idea from last year. My son was having a sleep over birthday with just a couple of his mates. Since he was turning 12, he was "too cool" for all the potential bells and whistles that come with the birthday parties of the younger kids. But I still wanted to add something a little special for him and his friends, so created these invitations that went down a treat. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QGveOaLGNc6O6i2B9e9W4fe5cWcjS-JnAY04WLJgZhoLGLc-tcaVMKAvbC7oRl_sry2TMJUiUNPtRuyWwHEChDiXlW7tDkRNeJsozVeZoQpqtt20vXtkT3hbpJDJIlKO9139jBrRwZg/s1600/DSC00009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QGveOaLGNc6O6i2B9e9W4fe5cWcjS-JnAY04WLJgZhoLGLc-tcaVMKAvbC7oRl_sry2TMJUiUNPtRuyWwHEChDiXlW7tDkRNeJsozVeZoQpqtt20vXtkT3hbpJDJIlKO9139jBrRwZg/s400/DSC00009.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How are these party invitations?? I'll explain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dpbFuJB9qoxA54YgrugtVN2dkBEr6EmaPf50A3d93SQ9WvKt9BIyj2vf6WViAzV08CUdlEdvl-zJw9s57KsykzpwDfm-OcuAYUk-I9JJ4jKZ_4_wQnTWlLETvm7tNDd1DQoSJz9AqG0/s1600/DSC00008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dpbFuJB9qoxA54YgrugtVN2dkBEr6EmaPf50A3d93SQ9WvKt9BIyj2vf6WViAzV08CUdlEdvl-zJw9s57KsykzpwDfm-OcuAYUk-I9JJ4jKZ_4_wQnTWlLETvm7tNDd1DQoSJz9AqG0/s200/DSC00008.JPG" width="200" wt="true" /></a>Firstly I made some cupcakes and decorated them using edible images of my son, but you can obviously decorate in any way you choose. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXCBeuYCXUG7GR-G1ITYoe561LStmZHe6SGvSB3S7whPvQi-oIFjipaCw4lmOoQuZ9lIPkeJ2wLmg9tybR8NTFhBUYDg0kRmuxv5M5xBQpeTVz9CKacCAJFnwgQlbxyMF2H8gjQTTyjE/s1600/Jimmy-invite-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXCBeuYCXUG7GR-G1ITYoe561LStmZHe6SGvSB3S7whPvQi-oIFjipaCw4lmOoQuZ9lIPkeJ2wLmg9tybR8NTFhBUYDg0kRmuxv5M5xBQpeTVz9CKacCAJFnwgQlbxyMF2H8gjQTTyjE/s200/Jimmy-invite-2.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA02JY22N-ntmMcIa46q0kdmzQsTeZNkP2aRMhK3eC9ybMqaAw2ie0jNoR0_tnW1vSdddJSpu7zoZ45V0iKoepRBcV1CCaLl-CplQpzcW7qUnHrAPfZg_AYcDvQTgTahGlBKOI6vWICQY/s1600/DSC00005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA02JY22N-ntmMcIa46q0kdmzQsTeZNkP2aRMhK3eC9ybMqaAw2ie0jNoR0_tnW1vSdddJSpu7zoZ45V0iKoepRBcV1CCaLl-CplQpzcW7qUnHrAPfZg_AYcDvQTgTahGlBKOI6vWICQY/s200/DSC00005.JPG" width="200" wt="true" /></a>Then I made up the invitations using the pictures of the kids to be invited. I printed then out and stuck them on to cupcake size cake boards. On the back of the cakeboards I stuck magnets so they could be stuck on the fridge at home and a reminder of the party. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then I just placed the cake on top of the cake board and tied up using some clear cellophane paper.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8c1RsNnq-PyZPxh1CXBwGT0zmsAmkWWzweSmtqikbETKtQYTIyx7xi7mtVtUnPV8Px8FkIy0nnc-mF9AcseqRiGdyvrvQyASfcb-ZvqOJ9Lq3OPEXNIPU_ZKk-qg14oExksI04X0Ohw/s1600/rexy.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8c1RsNnq-PyZPxh1CXBwGT0zmsAmkWWzweSmtqikbETKtQYTIyx7xi7mtVtUnPV8Px8FkIy0nnc-mF9AcseqRiGdyvrvQyASfcb-ZvqOJ9Lq3OPEXNIPU_ZKk-qg14oExksI04X0Ohw/s400/rexy.bmp" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_56oXFXN4jMITM1CsUjTT1wmoqKYrb2H0gJaovIzBmhyphenhyphenpS01SAN72NGlo0Wv8FN1xs2FozXATrlSYi1gBvz9WEb6DEDUrmQ1KyJYjYUX7g570sKtgYIOSIcvusiMafchMG_4Mj1gAc4/s1600/DSC00026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_56oXFXN4jMITM1CsUjTT1wmoqKYrb2H0gJaovIzBmhyphenhyphenpS01SAN72NGlo0Wv8FN1xs2FozXATrlSYi1gBvz9WEb6DEDUrmQ1KyJYjYUX7g570sKtgYIOSIcvusiMafchMG_4Mj1gAc4/s400/DSC00026.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-62873439153961408092010-04-09T10:05:00.000+09:302010-04-09T10:05:57.096+09:30The 2 yr old fingerDo you have one of these??<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwRuHmXLG1X1QFuzPHyQrLcMXhMGoNr9XLCJqLaIJn_nVK-_c74HZ9JEYQY8hdEjq3_VnxQJTShl3tNO5KmPHnlmzsOkiRkTXWUoPyqUbQE3lCEXCnZhyphenhyphenM4simkqQnaRtkaP7ljHw_cM/s1600/DSC00026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwRuHmXLG1X1QFuzPHyQrLcMXhMGoNr9XLCJqLaIJn_nVK-_c74HZ9JEYQY8hdEjq3_VnxQJTShl3tNO5KmPHnlmzsOkiRkTXWUoPyqUbQE3lCEXCnZhyphenhyphenM4simkqQnaRtkaP7ljHw_cM/s400/DSC00026.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm not talking about the utterly adorable 2 year old in this picture, I refer to the finger, and that look of trouble that is matched on his face. Meet Mr T. </div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That finger is often the cause of my lack of time and inclination. Here are some examples of that finger's typical day.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO1vghOw37qIwhArEfwQaiyMTAsm9Az6jtD2iZop5EkWMvMxo8n8j24RpxR3Arq96Y0M1GY-w9fYI4bHaKZ8y1ErUWTSRHBLbGS6Tshqher3CWGC_fv6uMZWaaseP4J6f6QdQRMakdb8/s1600/DSC00021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO1vghOw37qIwhArEfwQaiyMTAsm9Az6jtD2iZop5EkWMvMxo8n8j24RpxR3Arq96Y0M1GY-w9fYI4bHaKZ8y1ErUWTSRHBLbGS6Tshqher3CWGC_fv6uMZWaaseP4J6f6QdQRMakdb8/s400/DSC00021.JPG" width="300" wt="true" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If I'm brave enough to give him a cupcake, I'll be met with this</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJbpv3lEl8KrUyprc_OqHcvt1BCuZB5vQpBNXvCz-YhBPQ43v02E-dNt-jHA4NWmeYAdVy_hkEP9vBDBZWN1fZJ47qYklfcHjabprOvKgBNtpRPv8H0lI_TWCeAX_gdtYYDmjBDJ-wwM/s1600/DSC00053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJbpv3lEl8KrUyprc_OqHcvt1BCuZB5vQpBNXvCz-YhBPQ43v02E-dNt-jHA4NWmeYAdVy_hkEP9vBDBZWN1fZJ47qYklfcHjabprOvKgBNtpRPv8H0lI_TWCeAX_gdtYYDmjBDJ-wwM/s400/DSC00053.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We love our adorable little munchkins, but sometimes we need to realise just how time consuming they can be. I may not have been able to create a work of creative genius today, but I got to be in this picture</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q7XXV-PYfVHs8RkqFFpIG6CkBHQiC4f5wvQGqkoxABAOzpwgNV6ZCoreKDi4wa-z-bS_XSFzMMrcIkiBxBjDgeewuAJyPqX8Y5jrn5eCpYuq2e8qm3GPQhRYZYlOuc0CEbwi-n01i7Q/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0q7XXV-PYfVHs8RkqFFpIG6CkBHQiC4f5wvQGqkoxABAOzpwgNV6ZCoreKDi4wa-z-bS_XSFzMMrcIkiBxBjDgeewuAJyPqX8Y5jrn5eCpYuq2e8qm3GPQhRYZYlOuc0CEbwi-n01i7Q/s400/DSC00040.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-61668286749215637332010-04-09T09:02:00.000+09:302010-04-09T09:02:14.432+09:30Fairy SpellOne of the presents I need to get ready for May is for a special niece of mine turning 8 years old. Miss J is into all things magical and whimsical. So as a part of her present I have made her this Fairy Spell. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zOwAbAmOrgnbSUHw4xTOGtBkiIx2i24CBKEH53xgxXQ13J1zGe7JjgEKbGskrOTb6BRn6wdbtelkupnng5FowbJ1K8uVEK9tsswj4_7Zd3ZFieYL_KU9DrZYZpZjONaqjnV8isU1IWY/s1600/DSC00012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zOwAbAmOrgnbSUHw4xTOGtBkiIx2i24CBKEH53xgxXQ13J1zGe7JjgEKbGskrOTb6BRn6wdbtelkupnng5FowbJ1K8uVEK9tsswj4_7Zd3ZFieYL_KU9DrZYZpZjONaqjnV8isU1IWY/s400/DSC00012.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
I'm really happy with how it's turned out. I thnk it'd make a great little party favour for a fairy themed birthday.<br />
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You will need<br />
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1 small organza bag<br />
1 small glass bead or gem stone (Wishing Stone)<br />
1 small container, I used a lip gloss pot<br />
Glitter in your chosen colour (Fairy Dust)<br />
Ribbon<br />
Cardstock to print your fairy spell.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Here is the Fairy Spell I created.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJuVfMZVFobZo1h6dlD71hURton8vImMnJ4vih7e2Iz4l29vE72M923lm2lHnFzDgZruAa7sGP333b67Mm1mrt__Ff4ujbocmNiqyon4P0uZhvYYsQ1z9KdDc0Lc7G2M7BLyC5_DeZjA/s1600/Fairy-Spell.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJuVfMZVFobZo1h6dlD71hURton8vImMnJ4vih7e2Iz4l29vE72M923lm2lHnFzDgZruAa7sGP333b67Mm1mrt__Ff4ujbocmNiqyon4P0uZhvYYsQ1z9KdDc0Lc7G2M7BLyC5_DeZjA/s320/Fairy-Spell.pdf" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">You can download it <a href="https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B_z0duK446KcOTI1NmZiZjMtNmUzYS00ZWQ0LTlmMjQtMTAyMTI2NzlmNzg5">here</a></div><br />
Simply place your choosen gem (Wishing Stone) in the bag along with a small pot filled with glitter (Fairy Dust). Tie the bag with some ribbon and attach the Fairy Spell Card. I've made a point of tying a very tight knot in the ribbon so Miss J can't access the pot of glitter without her mum's help. We all know how messy it can be in little hands!Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-89029911193798063112010-04-08T09:04:00.000+09:302010-04-08T09:04:40.905+09:30Gathering InspirationAs I mentioned earlier, May is going to be crazy. I haven't made things any easier by approaching my boss to suggest we (read me) put together a little something for the mum's who work for us, just to recognise Mother's Day and say Thank you for working with us. Plus I got invited to attend a national conference for the company I work for which is yep, you guessed it, in May! So I've been busy blowing the dust of my craft collections and searching the internet for ideas. In my search I have come across some beautiful ideas that I had to share. <br />
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How utterly gorgeous is this<a href="http://www.nonpareilmag.com/featured/nonpareil-02-desserts-with-a-twist/"> spread</a>!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_2nWaWb2rOE1JPa2srLyrXYaTGKipyziLkhW7CQSv9bpByIptoBsywE5MmTFolKJsq0pA-dbAsDMG6_DxCq0oqEJJ60s2zI7-vWspVqxi0NN8WaDEd2maRjlG8ApezkNzGEwrRQzikI/s1600/desserts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_2nWaWb2rOE1JPa2srLyrXYaTGKipyziLkhW7CQSv9bpByIptoBsywE5MmTFolKJsq0pA-dbAsDMG6_DxCq0oqEJJ60s2zI7-vWspVqxi0NN8WaDEd2maRjlG8ApezkNzGEwrRQzikI/s400/desserts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="http://www.nonpareilmag.com/">Nonpareil Magazine</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a dessert table of homemade bath goodies. A gorgeous fat free dessert table! I never thought such a beautiful combination existed. You will find all the recipes for bath bombs, soaps, bath salts as well as beautiful downloadable labels.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the download is for a <a href="http://www.nonpareilmag.com/downloads/issue002/nonpareil-cupcake-box.pdf">cupcake box</a> template. This has made my world. It has so many wonderful uses! It's obviously great for cupcakes, but it's so versitile. You can add your own labels, fill it with rafia and then your special treats. The size is great. I've found often downloadable templates only give you a small box, but this is a great size. </div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is one a mocked up this morning.</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MJfCY1DrJcgQVE39N30g1X9sAtVe60gGetLvenMmlSjEpC8LBXctcK-MwACqWot01lR9PZgI4Wc9FyJ34ypU4yuuQYSUqX8fZedVDcbfGkS9jJg-hF_2GkUzm9mqCDKiw8efvjGvukg/s1600/DSC00009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MJfCY1DrJcgQVE39N30g1X9sAtVe60gGetLvenMmlSjEpC8LBXctcK-MwACqWot01lR9PZgI4Wc9FyJ34ypU4yuuQYSUqX8fZedVDcbfGkS9jJg-hF_2GkUzm9mqCDKiw8efvjGvukg/s400/DSC00009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I'll be sure to show you my finished results.Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-53826691909154050042010-04-07T08:51:00.002+09:302010-04-07T11:25:11.805+09:30I Heart CupcakesI do, it's no secret. If I had my way, I'd own a cupcake shop and spend all day decorating and seeing people enjoy my delish sugar and butter filled creations! As I mentioned earlier, I like making them more than eating them. But I think that has come simply due to the hundreds I have come to eat in my time. Mid last year my obsession really started to take over. I bought my first edible cake topper printer, and fell in love! Between that and a piping bag, I'm in heaven. <br />
So I'm clearly just an amature, I'm in awe of the beautiful cakes the professionals make. But one day (gunna..haha) I'll turn my passion into my income. But for now, it's my little way of spreading a smile to those I love. I find creating a batch of personal cakes for an unsuspecting friend a nice way to brighten their day. I work as a department manager in retail at the moment, and I also love creating a batch for my team's birthday's. Who wouldn't love their boss to make them cupcakes, right?! You find the event, I'll make the cakes!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Here are some that I've made recently</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Would you like some cupcake with your chocolate?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzk6AEv4K-ygh1z4Mu47J6Bz7revx6ZbztTh-_ayMPZUWE83C_KHS4miMax5U3KFsHfKeBQ2Q9ewojdkChS7Epu7Ex5FXXY_TqMqmmnxWKiVRkXqZgPxUe_S0a5KHLyN4zcsBJE7Xt2w/s1600/DSC00028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzk6AEv4K-ygh1z4Mu47J6Bz7revx6ZbztTh-_ayMPZUWE83C_KHS4miMax5U3KFsHfKeBQ2Q9ewojdkChS7Epu7Ex5FXXY_TqMqmmnxWKiVRkXqZgPxUe_S0a5KHLyN4zcsBJE7Xt2w/s400/DSC00028.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzAoGuiVf5DS96O6tw_DoxViLPWA_TwBiPfKYZ643FMfkrSud947o6Lrgsq7znQ4kCptsiCOwxcgmF04o5aqDVVvDTiZzEOLCXqKygvVl8LEfuVjhgqaqZepNzVW7zKIeJFxwI0WkM7vg/s1600/DSC00005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzAoGuiVf5DS96O6tw_DoxViLPWA_TwBiPfKYZ643FMfkrSud947o6Lrgsq7znQ4kCptsiCOwxcgmF04o5aqDVVvDTiZzEOLCXqKygvVl8LEfuVjhgqaqZepNzVW7zKIeJFxwI0WkM7vg/s400/DSC00005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My personal favourites...Vanilla Cream filled Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with peppermint Buttercream</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXATuFYbMuKUzoXI5tHvcnRAfA9AYomk7PVyjNpHIIvU23BYaVNj7eBCevdDvd-YIfYt2LEz1P3-KBm2-T06kGbzxjClIMTr2Iane9bRSLEhozmanw60BA2VTFTAdBu-eEDYyzA2JPvE/s1600/DSC00006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXATuFYbMuKUzoXI5tHvcnRAfA9AYomk7PVyjNpHIIvU23BYaVNj7eBCevdDvd-YIfYt2LEz1P3-KBm2-T06kGbzxjClIMTr2Iane9bRSLEhozmanw60BA2VTFTAdBu-eEDYyzA2JPvE/s640/DSC00006.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cherry Ripe Cupcakes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0_XPmWunCmi4Wux_MnGGkz1gzrjxJo9rLtPB5GLsDp7OUGbY0nRiCJu02mWO7_98meeOl0vdHldwaZoDepMFVx7rsurvBWxMw-Qkmb5UIqlM5xJfeIBtmkIwKsBbmfIG4s-cGvAzuuA/s1600/DSC00006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0_XPmWunCmi4Wux_MnGGkz1gzrjxJo9rLtPB5GLsDp7OUGbY0nRiCJu02mWO7_98meeOl0vdHldwaZoDepMFVx7rsurvBWxMw-Qkmb5UIqlM5xJfeIBtmkIwKsBbmfIG4s-cGvAzuuA/s400/DSC00006.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">These last 2 were made for a friend's baby shower...too cute.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCl2-zkSQdBV_GmBRYUZo-_3xc3GS_VkMLg0GnMkt36JK4loqHf5HFR5frW4n96pfaffPUdcrZ1EjfDY9_lOD7h7r6221Oz8fEiV-H-hPylh6CuWbEurvqARfrPHmQwaLOyPodbqI3qfY/s1600/DSC00013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCl2-zkSQdBV_GmBRYUZo-_3xc3GS_VkMLg0GnMkt36JK4loqHf5HFR5frW4n96pfaffPUdcrZ1EjfDY9_lOD7h7r6221Oz8fEiV-H-hPylh6CuWbEurvqARfrPHmQwaLOyPodbqI3qfY/s400/DSC00013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-56264130830173576002010-04-06T09:01:00.000+09:302010-04-06T09:01:29.688+09:30Is it Time or is it Inclination?More often than not, it's easy to cry the excuse "I would, but I just don't have the time." I know I've used it plenty of times. I can even back it up with the facts I work full time in retail with hours starting at 6am and hours sometimes finishing at 930pm, depending on the shift. Then I can throw in my family with 4 kids ranging in ages from 15yrs to 2yrs. Those 2 things alone give me reason to say, I just don't have the time.<br />
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But I ask you, is it time or inclination? I'm often woken at 630am to the lovely squawk of Mr T (2 year old son) yelling "Mum!! Mum!!" from his cot. So we get up, I grab him breakfast, then I sit on the laptop reading, drinking my coffee trying to wake up for the day. This can take somewhere from 30min to an hour. I often have shifts that have me home by 4pm. I usually have an hour before I need to start getting tea ready. So that leaves me and hour of time. Somehow it ends up disappearing without anything being acheived except me re-living how good/boring/busy/sucky my day was and catching up with the kids and my husband on their day was. Usually this is done whilst sitting on my butt.<br />
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There I've shown almost 2 hours in my day that go towards not doing much. Could I still catch up with my family while stirring a bowl of yummy treats? Could we do it hanging out the washing, leaving that time free for more fun things? Do I just put my hand up and say "Yes! I've got the time, I just can't be bothered?" Ofcourse there's a balance, but you get my piont. <br />
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My challenge is to be more proactive about my time. Why do we make feeling alert and awake more important for a working day, than we do our personal time? <br />
So this morning I gave myself that kick up the butt and got a few things done before I started to get ready for work. You will quickly learn I love cooking from scratch, but find "time" is my enemy to doing as much as I'd like. This morning I made some delicious Apple & Cinnamon Muffins and whipped up a batch of home made Sweetened Condensed Milk to use later in the week.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPh3zIvrLoRJ9b5_UzKM6_VZmjCT9hGHvfZt1X5k_h9aVsQq3BuEH4qakM1ubwu5CsDwXhCJcKl4E2oJEJRVZQHo45nRlwyar-rBFPv172Yhd6qvtQ4mdf28Lb-wAXzwzbYyN-1mfLiPI/s1600/DSC00002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPh3zIvrLoRJ9b5_UzKM6_VZmjCT9hGHvfZt1X5k_h9aVsQq3BuEH4qakM1ubwu5CsDwXhCJcKl4E2oJEJRVZQHo45nRlwyar-rBFPv172Yhd6qvtQ4mdf28Lb-wAXzwzbYyN-1mfLiPI/s320/DSC00002.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Apple Cinnamon Muffins</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3 cups Plain Flour</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 tbs Baking Powder</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3/4 Brown Sugar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 tbb Cinnamon</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">125gm Melted Butter</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2 Eggs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 cup Milk</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 cup Tinned Pie Apples, chopped</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1. Sift flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Add sugar and Cinnamon</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2. Combine all wet ingredients in a seperate bowl.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3. Mix wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">4. Gently stir through apple pieces.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">5. Spray 12 hole muffin tin with oil. Place spoonfuls into your tin until about 3/4 full. the pop into a 180C </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pre-heated oven for 20-25mins.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_attw8qC9mbSfLOGftI128Yp_QO0VG10G_l7LmHvZuvjhenCNP1UnCpRzXZumZ2UpiSHf3k9ninNYzAI6DFr4xYRRhQLxekest9gPz9wcfJ3QOaR3x8NLKX71-0Z_Zorla7BmcMrrGbs/s1600/DSC00007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_attw8qC9mbSfLOGftI128Yp_QO0VG10G_l7LmHvZuvjhenCNP1UnCpRzXZumZ2UpiSHf3k9ninNYzAI6DFr4xYRRhQLxekest9gPz9wcfJ3QOaR3x8NLKX71-0Z_Zorla7BmcMrrGbs/s320/DSC00007.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Sweetened Condensed Milk</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">1/2 cup warm/hot water </div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup of sugar </div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup powdered milk </div><div style="text-align: center;">3 tbsp butter </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Place all ingredients in the blender and let it blend for a full two minutes. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iiN7DjAbBLPc94crKkte5OV88qMPliMPxKTytDLe3TjXbaOltdmzaepWdT_FJaWXzbziyprG-EgIp10nkLyonrdFTiwlRsd27Hhyphenhyphen3F8C5UFurFd2n7LpIA0rJ_ILKJXxY16Iw1oxtN4/s1600/DSC00005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iiN7DjAbBLPc94crKkte5OV88qMPliMPxKTytDLe3TjXbaOltdmzaepWdT_FJaWXzbziyprG-EgIp10nkLyonrdFTiwlRsd27Hhyphenhyphen3F8C5UFurFd2n7LpIA0rJ_ILKJXxY16Iw1oxtN4/s320/DSC00005.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How easy!! Why go to the shops, waste money, waste time, put nasty chemicals in your body when I had all the ingredients home and these 2 things took me only 30 mins to make. A much better use of my time than sitting around feeling tired. Plus I've now got yummy afternoon tea for work. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Have a great day everyone. It's back to reality of work after a glorious 4 day weekend</div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-80190140613630525562010-04-05T09:02:00.000+09:302010-04-05T09:02:43.048+09:30Are you a Gunna or a Doer?I have to confess, I err more to the side of "gunna". I am comfortable that it's a genetic predisposition thanks to my dad. I have so many collections all destined to become fabulous works of craft, yet most of them remain in containers largerly untouched, or worse, unopened! Here are a few of my collections of shame..<br />
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Here is the ingredients purchased to make glorious home made beauty products for myself and friends. I think I made one lip balm.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9jNJ5LQALjYyYSyvepkSVH6JX34CN2WX6RI3zeoaJQbcoT3Ro0-qJl18Wij8VVSDTJ18UxTvODziJ74HFArgtBH2JxzhOt7gXm2hJhatJHbTZry-EnjRwMwclN8CuBJHBMZBJkphrVA/s1600/DSC00008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9jNJ5LQALjYyYSyvepkSVH6JX34CN2WX6RI3zeoaJQbcoT3Ro0-qJl18Wij8VVSDTJ18UxTvODziJ74HFArgtBH2JxzhOt7gXm2hJhatJHbTZry-EnjRwMwclN8CuBJHBMZBJkphrVA/s320/DSC00008.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Here is my soap making ingredients. Unattempted so far.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Y1HeRO4x5mqs3SPa2fu5FsLoT-798sBQhoXwOA_51pPCGmv-XPG_odoYcWNV6zLNEjmVj09hxIujOLCCOeMJjRONF8mJDcyWMnXbkAgAIIfXkvH7R14nfFtJl6uLfkJfRkSTuhhLt3o/s1600/DSC00007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Y1HeRO4x5mqs3SPa2fu5FsLoT-798sBQhoXwOA_51pPCGmv-XPG_odoYcWNV6zLNEjmVj09hxIujOLCCOeMJjRONF8mJDcyWMnXbkAgAIIfXkvH7R14nfFtJl6uLfkJfRkSTuhhLt3o/s320/DSC00007.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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Here I was planning to make my own recycled paper as beautiful gifts for my friends. I've owned this now for 9 years, still unused.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q2LJBcWfpxhHmgBJuSgGda6QDO54vWyoquEl2ztc-TapJpbnrHeaEr1zuWmupGtINa313Al-TgzpcYBpY0Ie7aFCTHXjS7kIFJNLnNUIiV_M6iO_LT4JBDxMOKJs389z6ybLMafoXvU/s1600/DSC00009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q2LJBcWfpxhHmgBJuSgGda6QDO54vWyoquEl2ztc-TapJpbnrHeaEr1zuWmupGtINa313Al-TgzpcYBpY0Ie7aFCTHXjS7kIFJNLnNUIiV_M6iO_LT4JBDxMOKJs389z6ybLMafoXvU/s320/DSC00009.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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This crate has crafty bits and pieces all meant for creations at some point in time, but currently it just sits gathering dust in a cupboard.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6ii8JG71fCGcO-1PyQ8tGPP5THsv4ApOMfSJ4d2a0Eo13YRtATgImwI7NeY1VsRhnWMxw8DEcEZj8HnJIfdnB1HtvclYm52Fs6Vt8elB2Px62gQmims4giDIrDDezw0hj385s7nRNHQ/s1600/DSC00011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6ii8JG71fCGcO-1PyQ8tGPP5THsv4ApOMfSJ4d2a0Eo13YRtATgImwI7NeY1VsRhnWMxw8DEcEZj8HnJIfdnB1HtvclYm52Fs6Vt8elB2Px62gQmims4giDIrDDezw0hj385s7nRNHQ/s200/DSC00011.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfz9CJz6nK_9czCOP0RoxmdVvcrYZDM2CpKgepzQ5kri2W3CDvGyVXeXcUgyijaozpmjm23KwZXYshmVF_0mB6fburw5WUPUShqFxroEteIRJqLw232WFP_LKMoKfpjZKtCLB59VrgcOw/s1600/DSC00012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfz9CJz6nK_9czCOP0RoxmdVvcrYZDM2CpKgepzQ5kri2W3CDvGyVXeXcUgyijaozpmjm23KwZXYshmVF_0mB6fburw5WUPUShqFxroEteIRJqLw232WFP_LKMoKfpjZKtCLB59VrgcOw/s200/DSC00012.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This is my baking collection, now I can boast using this collection quite frequently, but the cookie cutters were purchased to make amazing iced biscuits for my friends at Halloween. Well, as you can guess by now, I didn't, so cross your fingers this year I get to them!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcsKud2vtGU9dzZQDu4z-U1DyClFFpGejtFtE0M5GLl_QWe_zjLQiuiedTW0qJ_EqSKBKpuaL4ZTsMWchSXePU3Mtrn4sxUI9EOeqmTkHnt8Mer-wRBSapmfOmAf2FUDorbzeOq68V_M/s1600/DSC00013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcsKud2vtGU9dzZQDu4z-U1DyClFFpGejtFtE0M5GLl_QWe_zjLQiuiedTW0qJ_EqSKBKpuaL4ZTsMWchSXePU3Mtrn4sxUI9EOeqmTkHnt8Mer-wRBSapmfOmAf2FUDorbzeOq68V_M/s200/DSC00013.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScaDhHnzzBmVlC7QzmgABQuMgfgGlN7olW8ThTK2gwoG2bh_YbufADv9AEp1hlLtbxHk4ed0L06qJUtKV8omAI0-65OJuMC5WEWOH-Pz2TPmTZ0BTHGuFEpWwMgNgvvrXZjsKWdkIqX8/s1600/DSC00017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScaDhHnzzBmVlC7QzmgABQuMgfgGlN7olW8ThTK2gwoG2bh_YbufADv9AEp1hlLtbxHk4ed0L06qJUtKV8omAI0-65OJuMC5WEWOH-Pz2TPmTZ0BTHGuFEpWwMgNgvvrXZjsKWdkIqX8/s200/DSC00017.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now I've bared my dirty little secret, please tell me I'm not alone. I see so many gorgeous creations, get all inspired, then the inclination passes. My other terrible habit is great ideas at the last minute, leaving myself short of time to acheive them. Not this year!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">May is a crazy month for me. In the first 2 weeks of every year I have my son's bday, 2 best friends b'days, a special niece's bday, Mother's day and the annual Medieval Festival that my 3 closest friends and I have gone to now for over 10 years. Every year I know of this crazy time, but I never get organised enough to get everything I want done. So I'm starting now. I've got 4 weeks to get crafting! So today I'll be spending searching for the ways to use up elements of my collections!</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Before I do leave, just to show I'm not completely hopeless at homemade gifts, here is what I managed to make one of my special friends last year for her bday. It's a ferrero rocher gift basket. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocLuSvVHYw6iSKhx_5YfCBYhrlb8CCc-gprMfObwEABJ6Tab6MzAuOjHoCCfA9E_I3mBpK8FED7_F8OcRzutON9lCNvCJwrAhc9OxYG1dbIasyTOBlZ0SbLRoVLcwy2Y79GuoPA76y3U/s1600/DSC00045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocLuSvVHYw6iSKhx_5YfCBYhrlb8CCc-gprMfObwEABJ6Tab6MzAuOjHoCCfA9E_I3mBpK8FED7_F8OcRzutON9lCNvCJwrAhc9OxYG1dbIasyTOBlZ0SbLRoVLcwy2Y79GuoPA76y3U/s320/DSC00045.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-75153009057410476552010-04-04T16:42:00.008+09:302010-04-04T17:32:27.446+09:30Easter Wrap Up #2To continue our crafty Easter<br /><br /><br />Saturday we made the Cupcakes mentioned earlier as well as....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Home made Chocolates with strawberry and peppermint fillings</span></strong></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456178178930067618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRO-uxg7K01UOCkdPg7s-VtRuFM7-5HomIcDY2wKwzd2E-ymlksnjzknAfrSHwbcauAczs-Nn2PgSzu2GdcV4jXM5YPCucjPunANAGar_epaCBASifx1hXc-lNUZ0NZyI8SS1TH1sPK4/s320/DSC00002.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Fresh Turkish Bread</span></strong></div><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span></strong><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 283px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 204px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456178188296042578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXezgRyRHj0YxTyI4pQ2GfBFh_NSuvOemtF7E5X-fq71fuOpsZ0bRGMpJmaY7ERJ-L1dlNbXOdfYsM11UDIVAO2lG3VAQhxsP-jk4gpM1ME8v3uMrNU1i0wfORKz9Wf2s7vb_Juercwzk/s320/DSC00004.JPG" /><br /><br /><br />And this morning after Easter Bunny delivered his treasures..<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456179520789177538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWhW7VYBo0hCmG_4WmPJkXGiGJHvREoNr6POYnqiv45A0KIq8D9gP5KHq_HrWkbbVwb2n4YbPQhQxW23a29-nVQu1MYb-AzlZpRT9DPxOb70nkmuVlRtPioERTVp5WMZCWk3_zuqhnS4/s320/DSC00007.JPG" /><br />I made Easter Bunny Pancakes for my kids.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc33cc;"></span></strong><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456179526413744242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsotEjDI1LvuAiV7XLKnbrn95QorPjxQ1yIFg5tfMiJOSoKVXIlFLOmz2LTZXeP9PgeSkgAyouvkJTY8noS77WArSkS64iwXTEi6bZ6kYJeAAvOIu_IsVClnJxuJnMO03-wUg5nEtpVFQ/s320/DSC00041.JPG" /></p><p>I hope you all had a great Easter weekend with those who make you feel special.<br /></p>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1526297911059866827.post-10656913373103016332010-04-04T15:17:00.011+09:302010-04-04T17:32:07.457+09:30Easter Wrap up<div align="center">This Easter I wanted to make it special for the kids. Usually Easter just involves my kids eating lashings of chocolate. To be fair, this year was no different in that respect. But since working full time again, you realise how few and far between 4 day stretches with the kids are, so I wanted to make the most of them.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Surprisingly I got somwhat organised with some craft ideas and cooking to do with the kids. A big thanks has to go out to <a href="http://www.skiptomylou.org/">Skip to my Lou </a>for giving me the inspiration for a number of the activities. </div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center">I decided spread things over a few days to help build up the anticipation of Easter Bunny's visit</div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center">Friday we made </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc33cc;"><strong>Easter Baskets</strong></span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH7Yfukq9M0IdED2sdug8wSPrdEzY2TjwFaRtlBLJNtCtHv0gBkjknyuS7IkzTGdRs0BUj_4-W6IMHcvokjBs8cxfOMvWFO2VcH2f8wdXxL3ToedLtHWtoPOqXEYRqHG0Roqn-jN93RU/s1600/Egg-Holder.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 230px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456167980751940274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEH7Yfukq9M0IdED2sdug8wSPrdEzY2TjwFaRtlBLJNtCtHv0gBkjknyuS7IkzTGdRs0BUj_4-W6IMHcvokjBs8cxfOMvWFO2VcH2f8wdXxL3ToedLtHWtoPOqXEYRqHG0Roqn-jN93RU/s320/Egg-Holder.jpg" /></a></p><div align="center">These were really easy and the download can be found<a href="http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/03/21/bunny-egg-holder/"> here</a> </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#993399;">Easter Bunny Cupcakes</span></strong> </div><div align="center"><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456171838289151042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlchYSLBM2EH48X2Zxat4hydZ7xRMGT4DocY5_rfN5I0vsCO0doQbeIrZxdH0Ala80DlHFaI2Xa3gxRB5_LevnazY6HCX3HANRgjl-R5pOnXJvRKm4bHqxy-vPA7tgbqh_U0YfYsawUD8/s320/DSC00046.JPG" /> <p align="center">You can find the instructions <a href="http://www.skiptomylou.org/page/2/">here<br /></a></p><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc33cc;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cc33cc;"><strong>Hot Cross Buns & Fruit Loaf</strong></span></div><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 355px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 292px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456170338250660818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfndwKP1Gj_BDbvJxkNOi0mTBuQaJ5ns6JcsVme9znPfnucs9vLkIgaIpPzsFbmis2e5T93Gr28ubGLdy4KOm2RZ39zVWnw31zLGJGMLOjvOYXp-9pb9AbPm0C1ehGH9plyAVY_H0V1aY/s320/23713_438158813008_681608008_5318279_2280228_n.jpg" /> </p><p></p><p>I use the recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly cookbook All Time Favourites.</p><p>Hot Cross Buns</p><p>INGREDIENTS<br />2 x 7g sachets granulated yeast</p><p>¼ cup (55g) caster sugar</p><p>1½ cups (375ml) warm milk</p><p>4 cups (600g) plain flour</p><p>1 teaspoon mixed spice</p><p>½ teaspoon ground cinnamon</p><p>60g butter</p><p>1 egg</p><p>¾ cup (120g) sultanas</p><p>Flour paste for crosses</p><p>½ cup (75g) plain flour</p><p>2 teaspoons caster sugar</p><p>1/3 cup (80ml) water, approximately</p><p>Glaze</p><p>2 Tbs warmed apricot Jam</p><p>METHOD<br />Combine yeast, sugar and milk in small bowl or jug; cover, stand in warm place about 10 minutes or until mixture is frothy.Sift flour and spices into large bowl, rub in butter. Stir in yeast mixture, egg and sultanas; mix to a soft sticky dough. </p><p>Cover; stand in warm place about 45 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.Grease 23cm-square slab cake pan.</p><p>Turn dough onto floured surface, knead about 5 minutes or until smooth. Divide dough into 16 pieces, knead into balls. Place balls into prepared pan; cover, stand in warm place about 10 minutes or until buns have risen to the top of the pan.</p><p>Meanwhile, preheat oven to hot.For the flour paste for crosses, combine flour and sugar in bowl. Gradually blend in enough of the water to form a smooth paste.</p><p>Place flour paste for crosses in piping bag fitted with small plain tube, pipe crosses on buns.</p><p>Bake buns in hot oven about 20 minutes or until well browned. Turn buns onto wire rack, brush tops with hot glaze; cool on wire rack.</p><p>To be fair, I have a breadmaker, so I just put all the ingredients in the machine and use the dough setting. Much easier.</p>Time and Inclinationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08964277493103889321noreply@blogger.com0