Pink Sugar Cookies

This week a certain little girl I know turned six, and seeing as this VIP was popping round for a cuppa and a Birthday present with her Mum and brother today I thought I would makes some cookies to celebrate.

In my head this was going to be a quick and easy cookie make, as I had some frozen cookie dough in the freezer, but on Friday things went a bit a rye. 'P' search in the big chest freezer for about a hour to no avail the cookie dough was missing dum dum dum!

So at this point I decided it would be much quicker just to make some more. Foolishly I decided to make a batch of cookie dough using a recipe that came in a magazine with my Butterfly cutters, as the plan was to make some Flutterby biscuits for the birthday girl.

Brain fog, no energy and a dodgy recipe meant that despite following the recipe to the letter when it came to rolling out the dough, it was still really sloppy sticky and unrollable, we must have added more flour to mix on the board than was in the orginal recipe. 

They finally went in the oven, after a bit of a change of plan. I decided to make some little some stars too as they were easier to cut out.

So sorry no photo's of this as I was in such a exhausted daze by this point, I completely forgot.

It was off to bed for me, one exhausted baker.

So day two of the bake it was time for the fun part. I rolled out some ready roll pink icing, I love using this vintage Pyrex rolling pin, although I'm also a little scared every time that I might drop it.

After topping the biscuits with the icing it was time to decorate them, I loved this bit letting my creativity loose.

I finally got to use some of the cake decorating bits I got for my Birthday back in the Spring.

So as you can tell I don't bake very often these days as I find it very exhausting, pesky ill health ruining the fun again.

I made some cookies without icy too, so they were suitable for one of my guests who has a nut allergy. The actual cookies are lactose free too.

I made Pretty girly butterflies for the Birthday girl

Lots of fun was had with different designs for the star cookies.

Star with mini stars

Crazy glitter icing 'more is more' stars

Pretty stars

I even made a couple of Spongebob Patrick's stars as some of the cookies lost there shape when baked and looked just like him, so I couldn't resist.

Ta-Dah here are the butterflies ready for tea and

a second Ta-Dah for the star cookies.

 I think I like them the best, even though they were a happy accident and not part of the original plan.

They are all long gone now, munched by family and friends and some taken home for another day.

Clare x

Three Things 31/52

 Hello........ it's year of happy time again so here are this weeks 'three things'

Number one:

Is my little bit of Autumn.  Being mostly stuck in the house, over the last few weeks this view, no in fact these four trees have made me skippy happy, every time I pass the window I stop and look at there gorgeous colours.  It's hard to believe they have held onto there wonderful leaves for so long, when all the other trees about have bare branches, I mean, come Sunday it'll be December.

Number two:

This weeks second happy are my crafting assistants Dylan and Merlin  They are never far away especially now the weather has turned colder, although sometimes it is a bit tricky trying to find some people space in the bed.

Number three:

Is that yippee and hooray my guitar is finally back from being repaired, It's been in need of repair since August when it developed a strange rattle as a large piece of wood had come loose and was floating around inside the body, so I'm skippy happy to finally have it repaired and back with me.

Due to  November  grey I was unable to take a good photo of it today, so I found this gorgeous image on goggle. It by a artist called 'Charlie Corrigan'  you can see more of her fab artwork 'here' on her blog, go check it out.

I hope she doesn't mind me using this image, it's just so lovely and peaceful.
 

Well that all the Happy for now, the weeks just seems to be flying by lately.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who's been celebrating.

Have a happy week

Clare xx

November's Pick and Mix

Hello........ It's time for Novembers Summerhouse pick and Mix, the little bits and bobs of Summerhouse living.

The view from the window:

This month I have two images for you. This one how I wish the month had mostly been, bright breezy and sunny and don't get me wrong we have had a few of these days

but..........

Mostly it has been like this November grey, and as for last week here at the Summerhouse house the weather was truly miserable. All it did was plip plip plip with rain and blow a gale straight off the North sea.  

While the rest of UK seemed to fair much better with it's weather, with tales of blue skies, crisp morning and frosts.  How I longed to see those things, thankfully this week has proved much better with blue skies aplenty. At least all that rain means the field are turning green again.

So what's to be done on a rainy grey November day? Well it calls for hunkering measures

candles to be lit

and chocolaty treats. 
Have you come across these Winter Wonderland bars yet, they come in very handy to ward off the November grey.

Plus of course a splash of colour helps,

my orchid now has five gorgeous blooms on it, with one more bud still to open.

It makes me smiley happy to see it.

Last but not least I find a bit of magazine indulgence is also great to remedy the rainy grey.

Yep all the hunkering essentials.

 

Out in the garden :

There is still colour to found if you look, with even Roses in bud and a few geraniums hanging in there. As well as the winter Jasmine that is now out. Lots of  pinks and purples about still, my favourites.

I had to look hard but I even found one lone flower in the wildflower border.

As this relapse seems to have set in for the long haul I've been doing a bit of reading up and have decided to make some changes in the New Year.  I already eat a fairly healthy organic wholefood diet (except for the odd bit of chocolate) I  mostly eat dairy and yeast free. 

Lately I've been reading a lot about anti imflammatory diets for Lyme disease and seeing as a lot of my symptoms are inflammatory based I think I'm going to give it a go. I'm already a lot of the way there, but I do need to cut out sugar and other inflammation causing foods. eek.

There's no way I'll be able to start this before Christmas so it's a plan for the New year. 

Wish me luck !!!

Has anyone tried a anti imflamatory diet, if so I'd love to here how you got on?

November's four seasons:

Out in the Summerhouse garden things have become a little confused, with evidence of

Autumn

Winter

The hope of Spring

and even Summer thanks to this determined Geranium that is in bud.

All to be found this passed month.

Crafting Assistants:

Spending lots of time in bed I find that especially now the weather has turned colder, crafting assistants are never far away.  On Monday firstly Merlin hopped up on the bed and snuggled down to keep a close eye on some Ribbons

Followed not long after by the lovely Dylan. I'd not had my craft supplies out long before they both appeared.  Does anyone else have handy crafting assistants like these?

They truly are a blessing !!!!!!

 I did get some crafting done though.

Ta-Dah

Here's what I was making.

Ribbon flowers for my Wintertime wreath.

Well I guess that's all the pick and mix for this month.

Happy Crafting 

Clare xx

Three Things 30/52

Hello it's that time again, I'm running a bit late this week with my Year of Happy post as I've a few bad days this week, with my health but better late than never here's this weeks 'Three Things'

Number one:

This week is the fab fun girls night in, that we had last Saturday night. With my two best friends, we've know each other since we were teens, far to many years to count back. So it's always great to get together. Lot of chatting, laughter, good food and drink (for those who can) and some music.  

While the mini's also had sleep overs too. So a big thank you to my lovely friend 'L' for hosting and managing to fit all 8 of us in for a sleep over.

I even finished a song I've been writing for a while now, we had a lot of fun working on a three part harmony for it. A great night all in, shame it's taken me a week to get over it, but well worth the payback health wise as so lovely to have a get together.

Number two:

Now this did make me skippy happy, as it was such a wonderful surprise.  Last weekend my sister went to a nearby farm shop and when I got home on Sunday after a wonderful night I was presented with these gorgeous anemone's. Ohhhhhhh how skippy skippy happy they made me as they are my favourites and I thought only flowered in the Springtime. So it was a double delight.

Just look at the colours, how gorgeous they are ...

Evey time I've looked at them this week, they have made my heart sing and the good news is a week later they are still going strong. So a huge thank you and a happy hug for my lovely sister.

Number three:

Is the joy that is new  P'J's, need I say more ..........

I hope you've had a happy week, what ever you have been up to.  I know that soon things will start getting crazy busy with the onset of the December frenzy, but I'm going to try and hold onto the happy in the next few of week. To try and find it, in all the stressful and exhausting busyness that comes with lead up to the big day.

Have a happy week

Clare xx

Wintertime Wreath : Mistletoe Tutorial

Hello......... so today's post is all about Mistletoe, over the last few months I've been playing around with this lovely Sirdar Ella yarn in pistachio, trying to come up with a pattern for some little sprigs of Mistletoe for my Wintertime wreath.

Here's just a few of them, any road I finally settled on the pattern I liked the best and thought I would share a tutorial for it with you. It really easy.

I made my Mistletoe as I said before using a Sirdar cotton with added sparkle as with the other components of my wintertime wreath, I've been using lots of yarns with glitter and sparkle, well 'tis the season'. Also excitingly I got to use my new ergonomic 4mm crochet hook which came from 'here'

So here goes.....

Oh before we get started I suppose I should say I'm using UK crochet terms.

Leaving a quite long tail (you'll be needing it later) make a slip knot then chain 10.

Working in the 2nd chain from the hook do one treble

 then a treble into the next four stitches. 

In the next stitch do one half treble, 

then a double into the one after.

then slip stitch into the last two stitch of the chain.

Ok so the next bit is a bit different...........

Using the long tail end from when we made the slip stitch at the start. (sorry the pictures not clearer)

chain 3 and fasten off.

Hopefully you can see from this picture, that the 3 chain to finish uses the tail end.

So now all you have to do is make another leaf.

Once you have done that you can sew in the ends.

 I used one of the long tails ends to sew the two leaves to together at the bottom.

Then all you have to do is add some pearl beads to represent the berries.

And Ta-Dah

Mistletoe complete

I'm planning on pinning mine to my Wintertime wreath with these lovely pearly pins which will form my berries so for now I have just the leaves, (the bead in the photo, is just resting there for purpose of this tutorial)

You could also try sewing on a pearly button instead, I would have done, but can't find mine at the minute.

If you have a go at making some Mistletoe please leave a comment to let me know how you get on. As you can see I had lots of different variations of the pattern, all scribbled down on Peppa Pig post its, but I've hopefully chosen the best pattern to share with you all.

Right I'm off to get on with some Secret Santa makes

 Linking up with Christina's Made by hand 
and Nicoles KCCO 
and yarning along with  Ginny
This week I'm still reading 'All I want for Christmas' by Amy Silver
 a little bit of Christmas fluff to escape to for 10 mins each day.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx