Christmas Preparations - Christmas Cake

Have you made yours? If you make it well in advance it means it can have a trickle of extra alcohol beverage each week right up until you decorate it
Heres the recipe I used

Christmas Cake

2 x bags of mixed fruit
7 1/2 oz plain flour
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground mace
6oz margarine
6oz soft brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp brandy ***
black treacle *optional*

Line an 8inch round tin with greaseproof paper (brown paper or newspaper and string wrapped around the outside of the tin and underneath)
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and a little flour
Fold in the rest of the flour, cinnamon and mace
(you can add a little black treacle at this point to darken the cake)
Add all the fruit and mix in well

Put the cake mix carefully into the tin, hollow out the middle with a spoon
Bake at a low temperature of 150c for 3 hours
Check after 1 1/2 hours, if browning too quick cover with double layor of greaseproof paper
Continue with the cooking time but keep checking on its progress
Once cooked remove from oven and leave to cool before turning onto a wire rackOnce cooled wrap in layers of greaseproof paper (and tin foil on the outside) and pour over some brandy, cover with the greaseproof paper and place in a tin.
Continue to pour brandy over cake once a week until christmas - you'll get one yummy christmas cake to serve up to family and friends

Now in all honesty, I think I burnt the top a little but i'll be levelling it off so i'm sure it doesnt matter

I'll be back at a later date with how I decorate mine x

Christmas Preparations - Gift Wrapping

I love wrapping gifts so I thought I'd share a few ideas that I've found online that are just super gorgeous

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I cant wait to start my gift wrapping :) I'll share of course

mini bunting

I've done some new pretty little buntingEach set comes with 8 pretty colours mixed with hearts and buttons - and only £8 - a great stocking filler x

I fell in love with this mabel lucy attwel fabric the moment I saw itI sold the blonde sweetie at the weekend, so the gorgeous brown haired girlie needs a new loving home - great christmas gift idea and only £8 x

I'm currently crocheting a range of cushions that will be for sale very soon, I'm getting the whole collection ready first before showing them off :) x

This week I'm

Last week seriously was a blur, poorly boys meant not much got done, although my personal facebook status on Thursday just goes to show how much energy even my poorly 4 year old has!

**so far today i've been a toy sorter, a felt stitcher, a comforter, a picnic organiser, inspector oso, a shopkeeper, a postman, a cook, a maths teacher and its not even dinner time yet - the life of keeping a poorly 4 year entertained eh!!!! **

I had two events over the weekend, I didnt do too great on Saturday but I made up for it on Sunday at my friends christmas charity eventLast week I did manage to at least sort the boys room out! nightmare, are all boys the same, I do hope so

This week I'm hopefully going to be resting, creating and sorting lots of personal family things too x

Enjoy your week x

poorly boy at home means not so much else going on - hope the bug hasnt reached you ... x

This Week I'm

up to mischief - but arent we always

I sold out of my christmas tree decorations this weekend so i'll be making up a whole new batch this week ready for the two fairs I have this weekend coming, I have another few ideas I want to try out too

I'm going to be making my christmas cake (late I know) christmas pudding and stollen cake this week (recipes to follow)

Walking - lots, I'm losing weight really well at the moment so i've stepped up my walking to help with the loss as well. I'm hoping I'll be in the next weight bracket my next week, only a 2lb to get there so fingers crossed

Nesting - with all the building work and decorating going on the last few months, I feel like we're just living in a house and I really want to start nesting it into our home, ready for the festive season, I made a start by sorting out a display cupboard yesterday, only a small achievement but one none the less

Starting on some homemade christmas gifts so theres no rush

I'm going to end with a stall holder that I just adore, she's one of my favourites,her goodies are just soooo gorgeous I cant resist them, I do have a fair few, and now she's started to do some super duper papier mache creations
See that little birdie on top of the display cupboard, thats mine that is ;)the strawberry shortcake in the jam jar is to die for, I just kept going back to sniff it
so so so so pretty and talented
You can visit her facebook page here

Breaking Dawn

What can I say *sigh*I saw it last night and in my mind, the best one of the lot so far! Those who havent seen it yet, you will not be disappointedand now to await the arrival of breaking dawn 2 *sigh*

Festive Handmade Market

Yesterday saw our monthly handmade craft market, it was a little different for me as I actually had a stall with my goodies.
I had a wonderful time, spoke to lots of different people and lots of quirky boots creations now have new homes, so I was super happy
My favourite grey crochet cushion and vintage fabric wall were sold, so I was happy and sad at the same time
My stall was VERY colourful
A few of us had fun with my photo props, yep heres me been a tad silly x

Buttons Galore

I'm using all of these fun buttons on a special projectYou'll have to wait to see it though as the end product is a christmas gift for someone, sorry x

Wicker Trees

I managed to find both these wicker trees in a local charity shop for £1.99, so of course I could see through the sparkly starsI removed the stars but have no fear for I shall reuse them as part of my christmas gift wrapI cant wait to use them at craft events now and of course they'll be used at home once all the fairs have finished this year

Quick Gifts

A quick gift idea to help reduce the pennies over this festive season is make a treat jarI already have a few of these jars at home so I filled with sweets and added a tag with twine and I've very quickly put together a gesture gift for my friends children for Christmas.

Yummmmm

Carrot cake has to be my most favourite cake
Quite a few slices went last night when friends came round
yum
Whats your favourite treat?

Craft Group

I love the girls at the craft group I run, I had a bit of news that upset me a little and they were a huge support. Even though I've been hiring the hall on the same saturdays (and for the market as well) for nearly two years, they've let someone else book in my craft group dates for next year!
I was so upset as it just makes me feel that sometimes been nice just doesnt get you anywhere, it just would have been appropriate I would have thought to at least offer me first refusal! but there you go, I've had to take what dates are available which means we will be missing out on two months of crafting next year :(

Anyways remember my vintage dolls post here well once I'd calmed down and stop been so upset I managed to at least unpick and restitch all the body parts
I'd already re done her face, so she is well on her way to getting started to her new look

super busy will have lots to share very soon x

Tags

New tags exclusive to my Not on the High Street online store

There lovely quality kraft manilla tags
Christmas ThemeHearts, Elephants, Cupcakes, WordsThese are all sold in sets of 3 and gift wrapped.

Stamp source is Stampin Up x

Packaging

I've been busy with Quirky Boots orders but really wanted to change my packaging to make it more me!
I've come up with this, blue tissue paper, string or wool and a stamped mini tag with my Quirky Boots toadstool stampI'm quite happy with it now - for the time being anywayWhat type of packaging do you use and how long did it take you to be happy with it x