Beaded Pixie Sticks

My love of glitter scares my sisters. I'm a bit of a magpie. But I'm a jeweller so I think a love of glittery things is probably necessary. Though even before that, I was collecting beads and stones, because until the end of first year uni, I was convinced my path was destined to be in textiles.

Now, I could be completely anal and buy lots of matching containers to store of all these, but that would be expensive, so I found a very cool storage solutions for a grand total of 12p.

Clear drinking straws. Yeah, I know that sounds mad, but I bought 100 straws for 12p in a local (but despicable) supermarket, and I have managed to get nearly all my seed beads in them. Because essentially what you're doing is making sherbet straws, a.k.a. pixie sticks, full of beads.

How to:

Using a pair of pliers to pinch closed one end of the straw, you then gently heat this clamped end with a lighter (parental guidance if needed) to melt closed the end of the tube. Fill them with beads and seal with a stopper.

According to the tutorial I found, you're supposed to use packing peanuts to create stoppers. I didn't have any, so I tried cutting the ends off a cotton bud, which worked well but I decided to try and make a sturdier cap which wouldn't gave the potential to get stuck in the straw.

To do this, I used a few straw coloured straws cut into 1cm sections and repeated the sealing process. I then gently stretched the open hole out using the pliers so that it fitted snugly over the open end of the straw.

Now I have a two tin cans full of beads and have rid myself of loads of mismatched containers which had a tendency to open themselves. Generally, most packets of beads needed two or more straws, but I even went through my box of mixed up beads and separated them out. It's a strangely hypnotic process to sort them all out.

But that might just be me.

Here is the full tutorial: Bead straws on Wiki How

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Listening: The Strokes - Between Love & Hate

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

...my blog gave to thee...

...2 hedgehog gloves

...and a house to dunk into your tea.

Hedgehog Mittens pattern & materials by Morehouse Farm Merino Knitting Kits. Critter Knits are according to the website "the most loveable pair of mittens you'll ever knit and wear" and I think they're very cute. They remind me of my gloves when I was a kid, which had little people puppets on each finger. I do think there's something even nicer about being able to knit them yourself though.

Can't imagine they'd be brilliant for texting or using an iPod when on, but how cute would little kids be in these? Or at least the reaction to someone else wearing them. It would be priceless. Though still more expensive than putting your tongue out at a baby & having it giggle at you. But if that fails the hedgehog mittens would definitely manage a grin.

Merry Christmas! Part three tomorrow...

Morehouse Farm Merino Knitting Kits - Link

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Listening: Florence + the Machine - Last Christmas

Foodie Friday

So, I had intended to make macaroons today, having not made them in ages. However, my sister's been a little bake happy this week, so I think there are enough deadly comestibles around. Therefore I have Sarah's recipe for Elderflower Crunch Cake (Good Food Magazine|August 2010), which she made using my home made elderflower cordial.

Ingredients:

175g/6oz softened butter, plus extra for greasing

175g/6oz golden caster sugar

3 eggs

140g/5oz self-raising flower

85g/3oz ground almonds

1/2tsp baking powder

10oml milk

4tbsp elderflower cordial

4tbsp white or golden granulated sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas3. Grease & line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking paper.

2) Cream together the butter and caster sugar with an electric whisk until light & fluffy.

3) Beat in the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and milk until smooth.

4) Pour into tin & bake for 45-50 minutes until golden. (Check it's good through by poking it with a skewer, if it comes out clean, it's ready, if not, give it longer.)

5) When it comes out the oven, prick it all over with a skewer.

6) Mix together the elderflower cordial and the granulated sugar, pour over the cake and leave to cool in the tin and carefully lift out to slice.

:Yum:Yum:Yum:

This is a great cake & made even nicer since it was home made elderflower too, plus the cake keeps really well in an air titch tin!

Today's post is inspired by Curbly, who do Foodie Friday every week. Curbly's a great site for recipes, diy, craft designs and home improvements galore as well as showcasing other designers work. It's written by a team of writers and designers and is updated all the time. Definitely worth watching if you're into upcycling household wares and appropriate example for this cakey post being how to make a cake stand out of reclaimed plates, candlestick and a small door knob. Cute, quirky and unique. Nice!

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Listening: Daryl Hall & John Oates - You Make My Dreams

Elderflower Cordial

This year I made a batch of elderflower cordial, I've never made it before despite the fact that we've had an elderflower growing in the garden since we moved here in the very early 1990's, in fact it proceeded the house. Still it's taken me until now to try it. Although, if it's good and I try it again, I must remember to take an antihistamine beforehand because I can't stop sniffling now!

Elderflower cordial is one of them things that just reminds me of where I live, the smell of the flowers is one that I really notice around town and I still vaguely remember the first time I had elderflower champagne. We hadn't been living in Blairgowrie for long and we bought a bottle from a local cafe. Magic stuff.

I've also begun noticing it everywhere I do. Taking a run in the car to Perth it seemed that these pretty little flowers were in every hedgerow and I drove my sister mad going "there's one, there's one!" Think now I know how to make this, I will become obsessed but it every elderflower season.

Anyway, I had to make up the recipe a little bit, since none of them ones I found had the same measurements, so here's my mash up of Sophie Grigson's & Madalene's on the British Larder website:

Ingredients:

- 30 heads of elderflower

- 75g citric acid

- 2 unwaxed lemons

- 1.8kg caster or granulated sugar

- 1.5l of water

Method:

- Place sugar into a large pan & cover with the water, bring to the boil and leave to cool.

- Shake out the elderflower to get rid of small bugs & beasties & remove as much of the green stalks as possible, placing the flowers into a colander, rinse & put into a large bowl.

- Peel the skin from the lemons and limes and slice before placing into the bowl along with the elderflower - lime isn't in all the recipes but I used it for one batch and not the other. With or without is nice.

- Pour the more or less cooled stock syrup over the flowers and the lemons. It doesn't need to be cold, but it shouldn't be boiling or it will scald the flowers and taste bitter.

- Add citric acid* & stir the mixture.

- Cover in cling film making sure that it makes contact with the surface of the mixture, thus removing most of the air around it.

- Leave to steep at room temperature for two days, stirring from time to time.

- Strain through a sieve to remove larger pieces of fruit and flowers, squeezing out as much of the liquid as possible. Then strain through coffee filters to remove the smaller particles. You could use a fine mesh sieve or sterilised muslin but again I don't have any and coffee filters will do the job just as well and can go into the compost bin. It also means you get a really clear cordial.

- Pour into sterilised bottles.

- Dilute in sparkling water to taste.

Yum!

*I found citric acid on Amazon & the seller had it to me by Monday (I ordered on Saturday), but I also got some at my local chemist. Beware you will be quizzed over what your purpose for buying citric acid is, just explain that it's for making cordial or jam. I read an article in a magazine today which put this down to drug dealers now cutting heroin with it. Nice.

Also if you suffer from hay fever, take an antihistamine before you start! While I was picking through the elderflower to get rid of the green, my hand turned yellow because I was absolutely covered in pollen!

If you find elderflower near where you live, try this, it's lovely and it genuinely does taste like the cordial you buy. Perhaps not quite a sweet and with a slightly earthier taste, but the accomplishment really does make it even better and of my 'yum yum yum' bottles, I got just over two litres, filling three big bottles and a jug. And that was just the first batch! So in the end, it cost me just about as much to make three bottles as to buy one!

Enjoy!

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Listening: David Gray - This Years Love

Bunny Baby

CONGRATULATIONS!

I just heard that one of my friends has had her baby, a bouncing baby girl called Hannah, so I wanted to post this oh so cute Briar Bunny Baby Hat, by Knit on Etsy. I've wanted an excuse to post this sweet little hat for ages!)

via

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Listening: Billie Holiday - I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me

Contained Nature

I had been scouring the net for a beautiful chair another blogger blogged about, but came across this as well.

Ubiquitous by Naoko Ito, is part of the artist's Urban Nature series, which takes the natural growth of a branch and places it into the man made context by placing disjointed sections of the trees limb into the jars whilst, with careful placement, retaining the illusion of a continuous piece of wood.

It reminds me of the way they make Poire Williams liqueur, which whilst the pear is only just beginning to grow, is placed inside a bottle, then when it's ripe, cut off and filled with the alcohol of your choice. I think Poire Williams is brandy, but you could use vodka which would be nice...though making your own would involve having a pear tree to begin with...anyone lucky enough to have one?

Here's a tutorial how to get the pear in the bottle for the lucky few who have pear trees!

via

(Image || Poire William by Ed Gowan via Serious Eats

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Listening: Dana Fuchs Band - Don't Let Me Down

In the Frame...

I keep seeing ideas for making your own terrarium out of light bulbs, bell jars, baubles and jam jars - basically anything with glass elements, but I came across this very conventional looking terrarium which I find really sweet. It's made out of picture frames.

Find a tutorial how to make one on the Country Living website.

via

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Listening: Bon Iver: Flume