Chocolate Covered Sponge Toffee

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I made some sponge toffee as well as the mice today so there has been major sugar consumption here today. I have wanted to make this candy forever but just never got around to it. My dad’s mum used to make it for him when he was a kid and I always thought such a feat was amazing because it looked like complicated stuff to me. It is so simple. Candy scares me sometimes because of the temperatures you need to get just right, but it was no problem. It bubbles up like crazy when you add the baking soda, so it is kind of fun for kids to watch, from a safe distance of course as it is hot. I melted a bit of milk chocolate and dipped it in that for extra tastiness. I am very pleased with how everything turned out but I probably won’t want to eat candy again for a year.

Sugar Mice Candy

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I was over at my friend’s house the other night and a group of us were discussing candy and the candy we remember from when we were kids. One of my friends mentioned sugar mice from their childhood in Ireland. I had never heard of them before and was a little curious. I looked them up online (who knew there was a whole world out there revolving around sugar mice) and I found instructions on how to make them, so I had to make them of course. I think if I try them again I will use candy flavouring oils from LorAnn because my grocery store maple flavour just didn’t do the job. I am going to drop them off for my friend as a surprise tonight as well as another treat, which I will post on in a little bit as the chocolate is still cooling on them.

Diaper Cake and Hatched!

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sloane_hatchedMy sisters and I made this diaper cake for a baby shower for some good friends who are expecting their first baby. When I was expecting my son, my sister in law found some really fun cards for me, which I haven’t been able to find again anywhere. Which is unfortunate because I would love to get some more. The cards were pages from Sloane Tanen’s book Hatched!: The Big Push from Pregnancy to Motherhood. One of the cards is a playful take on the popular kids book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, with the caption reading “Goodnight moon, hello martini”. We used this card for our friends shower and decided to continue the theme of the card with the gift. Now our friends who are expecting are fans of pomtinis or pomegranate martinis so in the centre of the cake we put a bottle of vodka, and then along with that we put other little baby things in a bag, including the Goodnight Moon book with a little stuffed bunny and the other pomtini ingredients. Mommy won’t be enjoying them for a while yet of course but eventually she’ll be able to relax with a pomtini. It might be a little weird to give alcohol at a baby shower but they loved it and making diaper cakes is always fun too.

I have put a new print in the shop of three little otters. I am hoping to have another print up tonight so check out my etsy shop.

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Birthday Cake and Container Gardening

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This past week my son turned one year old. It has gone by so quickly and it seems like he has always been with us. He is starting to charge around walking and banging his head every two minutes. I made him an ice cream cake on the actual day of his birthday which I don’t have a great picture of. It was good but pretty simple to make. I used cookies and skor bars crushed up for the base a layer of ice cream then a layer of ice cream sandwiches and another layer of ice cream and then covered it all in blue whipped cream. He thoroughly enjoyed making a big mess while eating it until he started crying because his little fingers were freezing. We had another birthday cake last night at my husbands parents house for him and his little cousin S. who is turning one as well this week. I saw this cake made by Kaitlin who is the author of  Whisk Kid blog and had to try it. I cheated and used cake mix because I knew the cake would never be made if I didn’t simplify things for myself (were in the middle of a bathroom reno). Anyway it was a good surprise and the birthday kids loved it. It is really easy and her buttercream recipe was great. I was a little stressed while making it because I have been unsuccessful with buttercream in the past but it turned out really well. Her directions are simple and easy to follow. There is even this video of her making it with Martha Stewart. I like seeing videos of how to make things, as I am definitely a visual person. It is just easier when you actually see someone do it. When their recipes says add slowly you can actually see what there add slowly is like. Maybe I am just inept at reading recipes.Anyway I was very happy with it.

I was also able to get some things planted in the past week, which was no small feat as it has been raining here almost non stop. Well thankfully it did stop a couple of times so I was able to plant some tomatoes and herbs in containers. So hopefully if all goes well and the sun comes out we will be enjoying some tasty things this summer.

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lemon meringue pie and pink quails

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I made lemon meringue pie for the first time yesterday. My mom requested it for her birthday instead of cake. I put on extra meringue because it looks so nice. It turned out ok but the lemon was not as firm as it should be. I think I  brought it to a boil too quickly. It tasted good anyway. I have also put a couple of things in my etsy shop and will be adding the quail image below today as well. It rained solid yesterday but today it looks clear so far, so i am hoping to get more work done in the yard.

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Waskesiu Weekend Trip

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We went for a little trip up North last weekend to Waskesiu to a friends cabin. I thought I would share some photos of how beautiful it is up there. I love it there at this time of year because it is so quiet. I think I need to sign up for a Flicker account so I can post my hundreds of pictures of tree bark and other forest odds and ends for those like me who wish to see that many photos of tree bark. My artwork has been put on hold a little by a temporary part time job, but I’ll be back. In the meantime I will set up Flicker soon and you can look at bark to your hearts content.

Red Bird Painting

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I finished this painting this morning. It is going to go in my new niece’s room. It is going where I had planned to put a grouping of fabric in embroidery hoops. I found that they just seemed a little skimpy compared to the opposite wall and unbalanced things a bit so I decided to paint a big canvas with a simple illustration for the spot instead. The canvas is 3 feet by 4 feet I think. I am moving the embroidery hoops beside the window in a straight line. I will have to post photos when the rooms are finished. I am taking a break this week and waiting to finish the rooms next week when my sister-in-laws are able to help out. I wanted to get this canvas done though so it would be ready to go. I think I hear someone waking up in their crib so I’m off.

Quilt Blocks

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I was sorting through some boxes with my mom when we found a bunch of quilt blocks made by my Grandma and Great Grandma who have both passed away. My mom had been telling me about them for ages but she couldn’t remember where she had put them. I have been hoping to come across them because I would like to finish them. I want to make them for the cabin for the whole family to use whenever they are there. I love the look of vintage fabric. I might try to use some new vintage inspired fabric to accompany them. Hopefully some day I will be able to post about the finished quilts. I had big plans to make a ridiculous number of baby quilts for when my son was born and so far I have managed to make him one. We will see how far and how soon I get on this project.