Just Add A Flower

While I have been playing around with my latest new stamp set, I came across the latest Just Add Ink challenge (JAI 66 - Just Add A Flower).  My hydrangeas fit this challenge beautifully.  :-)


I like these latest two cards.  I used blender pens instead of watercolouring this time.  I made a couple of mistakes, which I had to cover up.  One cover up resulted in a nicer card, the other not so successful!


Here is my challenge entry:

Gee, it's hard to photograph white on these grey days we've been having lately!  I probably should have chosen a different colour background. That pink doesn't work!  The little flowers with the diamantes are popped up slightly, also.

This card uses (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps - Because I Care
Paper - Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP
Ink - Basic Black, Bashful Blue
Ribbon - Daffodil Delight taffeta


My other card for today is similar, because I was working on a theme.  Here it is:

And a close up to give you some idea of the levels:

This card uses:

Stamps - Because I Care
Paper - Whisper White, Tea Party DSP
Ink - Basic Black, Almost Amethyst
Ribbon - Pretty in Pink grosgrain

I hope you like these latest efforts. Thanks for coming by to take a look.

Michelle
xxx

Mothers Day is coming

It just hit me yesterday just how close Mothers' Day is!  This late Easter is throwing my timing out, oops!  So today, I sat down and started thinking about Mothers' Day cards.  I have two designs, one which I quite like and the other that hasn't grabbed me just yet.  I am thinking of giving it another go and coming up with a third design.  Take a look and let me know what you think.

I have used the Stampin' Up! stamp set Because I Care, which is new for me.  I just put the rubber on the blocks today. :-)

The first one:

Paper: Watercolour, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Old Olive
Ink: Basic Black, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel


The second one:

Paper: Watercolour, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel
Ribbon: Old Olive Taffeta

So what do you think?

Michelle
xxx

Watercolour technique class

Several weeks ago I attended a watercolour technique class.  I had fun!  I still have one card left to complete, and I am eagerly awaiting the time that I and my stamping friends have the time to catch up to work on it.  :-)  I am showing you the three cards I did have time to complete.  The designs are by my friend Manda, the watercolouring is all mine.  I thought I'd better put pictures up of these before I give them all away. . .

I like this little truck. The hub caps, bumpers, and lights are shiny metallic.

After making this little monster, I have these monsters on my wishlist. Cute!

Tess is very cute. Check out Manda's paper-pieced version.

Watercolouring is great fun.  It is a more complex version of the colouring in I enjoyed as a young girl.  I hope you like these cards.

Michelle

xxx

Kourabiethes

Mmmm, yum!  Kourabiethes (Greek shortbread) are one of my absolute favourite biscuits to bake.  I love all sorts of shortbread, but these little darlings are perfectly to my taste. After making a batch this evening, I thought I'd share the recipe so that you can share in this melt-in-your-mouth delight!

Kourabiethes
(I make between 40 and 50 biscuits with this recipe)

Ingredients
250g butter
2 x cups pure icing sugar - 1 for the mixture and 1 for dusting afterwards - you need to sift it
2 tsp vanilla essence
Orange zest (grated rind) from one orange
1 x egg
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup almond meal

Before I tell you how to put these together, let me just say one thing: Working with pure icing sugar can be frustrating because it is hard to sift.  Sifting the sugar is the one thing that stops me making these all the time. LOL.  You CAN'T not sift it though, it's a bit like chunks of sweet rock before sifting sometimes.

Method

• Beat butter, 1 cup sifted sugar, vanilla, and orange zest together until light.
• Beat egg into butter mixture.
• Sift flour and baking powder and add to mixture with almond meal.
• Mix everything together until the mixture is combined (it might still look crumbly, but the mixture will stick together when you roll it into balls).
• Take spoonfuls of mixture and make logs/snakes about 7cm long.  I find that making the logs from a ball of dough is easiest.
• Curve the log into a crescent and place on baking tray.
• Bake at about 160 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes (until starting to turn slightly golden).
• Place the other cup of sifted icing sugar in a bowl and coat the biscuits while they are still warm.  I always find I have some sugar left over in this bowl, so I just throw it over the biscuits in their container - it makes them pretty when you take them out later for serving (you might need to shake off some excess sugar!)

If you give this recipe a go, I hope you like it. :-)

Michelle

Cupcakes

The other day, I received my latest stamping treasures.  It has taken me a week to find any time to play with them.  But today was the day.  Nothing spectacular yet, I was just playing around with colours and seeing how the stamps and the punch worked together before moving on to something a bit more exciting.  Since it has been a long, long time since my last post, I am sharing my experiments with you as a little wave HELLO.

On another note, I can't resist sharing this little Easter gift I received from my very talented friend, Manda. I love this idea, the base is already keeping my pens safe at my desk.  The "flowers" are sitting in the fridge away from ants. :-)

I hope to be back soon to show you some more cupcake creations!

Michelle
xxx