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Hello Folks
I'd like to take this oppurtunity to thank you all so much for your support over the last year or so, I have had to close my folksy store down and will not be blogging anymore due to illness and I hope you all keep doing the handmade thing, its good for your soul.
So you all take care and make and grow and mend!
Lots of love to you all
Marti

Cassis Oil Cookies (easter biscuits)

extra large butter cookie men



Daisy shaped cookies, notice the small hand coming in for a steal!



Today we decided to make huge ginger bread men without the ginger and used Cassis Oil instead which is typical easter scent and taste. These men are so large I could only fit 2 onto my cake stand! Now we made ours with a vegetable spread as my LO's both have a milk intolerance.

The recipe for these is so easy as follows...

• 500g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 200g castor sugar
• 7 drops cassis oil
• 250g chilled butter (vegetable spread)

Heat oven to 175 Degrees C.

Mix all ingredients together, form a nice dough on a floured surface, Chill wrapped in clingfilm for 40 mins in the fridge, Heat oven to 175 Degrees C. Roll out to about 3-4mm thick and cut with your favourite cookie cutters. Bake on floured or greased baking trays for 8-12 minutes.

Perfect!

Gardening & Crab Apple Jelly

Mini disaster - March winds?

Garlic, Spinach, Spring onions, Mint, Bay tree,

Large pot (left) ready for new potatoes

A peony popped up beside the bird bath
& Cosmos seedlings growing in the front

The beans are still growing, slower outside as its still cold yet

and finally my new crab apple tree

One of my favourites to grow and to use is Crab apples, so I purchased a new crab apple tree for our new home, and one day when she's grown into a tree we will have delicious crab apples. You will be able to find this recipe in my Family Cook Book once it's published....So here's a recipe for the jelly.

• 4 kg crab apples
• 1 kg caster sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced

Makes 6 x 500ml jars

1.Wash the apples, removing any bruised fruit. Put in a saucepan, fill with water to just cover the apples.

2.Bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit is soft (about 30 minutes).

3.Pour the pulp into a jelly bag or several layers of muslin and let drip overnight into a pan. Do NOT squeeze the bag or it will make the juice cloudy.

4.The next day, measure the juice, and add sugar in the ratio of 10 parts juice to 7 of sugar. Add some lemon juice, then bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

5.Keep at a rolling boil for 40 minutes, skimming off the froth. To test the set, chill a dessertspoon in the refrigerator.

6.When the jelly is set, it will solidify on the back of the spoon. Pour into warm, sterilised preserving jars and tightly seal while still slightly warm. Store in a cool dark place.

ENJOY! 

Stage 3 of summer dress

Well stage 3 complete.

Added some bias binding in a floral pattern.

Picture number 3 is my mothers day card (a bit early) in the form of Millie as the hungry green caterpillar.

How cute!

Dress stage 2

second stage complete

Now I have sewn all of the peices of fabric together I just need to get all of the trimmings for the neck line, and sleeve holes, I have a sample of the fabric and will go in search tomorrow for embelishments, possibly bias binding and then a coursage for the dress. Also it may need an underskirt, Will have to wait to see stage 3 .... watch this space!

Summer dress & cake!

Birthday!

Cut dress pattern

I made a birthday cake with bunting on, 37 flags for my OH. Yummy!

Then today I cut out a pattern for a summer dress for my neice (if it goes to plan!) its a trial make for the bridesmaid dresses I am going to hopefully make for October. I now just have to sew it all together, and add a zip??? ahhh!

Car tidy

My OH was cleaning my car over the weekend and had a little moan about the kiddies feet being on the backs on the chairs and about the amount of toys and rubbish we collect... So I decided to make some pockets that tie to the head rest to solve both problems. Ive made this one and a spotty one so both the girls have one each for all their "in-car essentials"

Made from left over fabric

What do you think?

Is there anything you've made recently to solve problems/issues you have?

Gifts added to Folksy Shop

My Folksy shop now has all of my goods in for sale, that I have been making for the past month. So please feel free to come along and have a peek, if you click on my name ---> MARTI CRAFTS this will take you directly to my shop. Also whilst you're there check out a shop called Lauramics. I have just brought two amazing hand made bowls from Laura there, and they are so lovely. Will post a picture of them later. Righ well I had a lovely time at the craft fair tonight, and came home with out spending anything except my stall money so that was a good night!

My Millie

Millie a couple of years ago

This is how I think the cooking should be done.... This was almost 2 years ago when we lived in our little apartment with a huge garden! She still loves to bake now, I'm glad she enjoys cooking, its such a relaxing job....and if it's not you're doing something wrong!!!

Childrens aprons & Ceramic hearts

Blue paper rose ceramic heart

Ivory ribbon rose ceramic heart

Pretties

Apron modelled by Millie

Fruit oil cloth



Set of 8 Unisex childrens aprons

I have spent the morning making these ceramic hearts, they came out better than I thought, so im pleased with them them. They look great hanging up.

I've also made 8 aprons from an oil cloth fabric for our local Sure Start childrens centre for the children to wear whilst they prepare their food and snacks. Making 8 in one go was abit tricky as my attention span is like a gnat's. But I did it and they even have my Marti Crafts labels in them just for a bit of good advertising! I will take them in on thursday when we have our next toddler play session.

Now its back to real world and the chores need doing, oh the ironing, the hoovering, the washing etc etc.

Joys of spring!!!!

Aprons wrapped and ready

All wrapped and labelled

who will buy???

Well thats another job, jobbed!

I Love it when you finish a project.

Now just have to do some selling!

xxx

Gifts ~ ready to be sold

Purple design

Green design

Well 4 more gifts now ready to be sold.

Love these I want to keep one for myself!

I have also brought some nice fruity style oil cloth fabric to make some childrens aprons as my next project.

Also I am now a registered Childminder,

It took me 6 months to get registered and do all of the relevant courses and peadiatric first aid But now its all done Yay!

Hope fully I will soon have lots of little crafters in my home with me!

Leave me comments on how you think my gifts have turned out wont you?!!

Custom order complete!

Apron finished !

All wrapped and ready to go

Well, what a lovely day we have been blessed with here in Somerset. Sun shining, A trip to IKEA for our wedding decorations and a Maccy D's all funded by my gorgeous OH. Got home and finished the apron for Liza. Next project is already swimming in my head!

Custom Order Apron & More

One plain pocket with white ribbon

...Now has pretty pale pink rhinestones on

Chiffon neck tie (adjustable) and "Nails by Liza" has
to be attacthed but its too late to have the sewing machine
going! So a job for tomorrow

Ceramic heart with embellishments for Mothers day

Well I have started the apron that was ordered last week, and all was going well until it got to 12am...Then I couldn't use the machine or I'd wake the whole house up! So I will finish it off tomorrow ready for delivery.

I also brought some gorgeous ceramic hearts today that were crying out to me for a personal touch! I thought I might hand paint a couple of them with some nice sayings. So that's it another crafty day in the Marti Crafts household!

Baby & Toddlers knitted jumper

Roo wearing her peek a boo jumper

What's in the pocket?

Eeeeek a mouse!

How adorable?

Just received this in the post amongst a little selection of jumpers and cardigans knitted 'with love' by my Granma. I just love this jumper, the idea is so brilliant. Roo looks a little like a boy in these pictures but the seriously cute factor is still there. Aww I love my granma - Thank you!

More gifts in the making

Painted the boards
white,pink and gold and then distressed them

Close up of the distressed look

Added some writing to the bottoms

Covered the notepads and stamped a design,
then used my hotfix tool to add rhinestones

Close up

Thomas working with me tonight

I have been working on the gifts for the pamper evening on the 25th March. Had some help from my daughter and Thomas our cat. Im waiting for holes to be drilled into the boards so I can add rope to hang them up by and they need pencils attatched to them too. Tomorrow I shall be working on the custom order for an apron for a lady who has put in a custom request.

Tutorial to make favour pockets



10 Steps to make favour pockets.

All of my products apart from the paper came from Karen a lovely stampin up demonstrator There are so many great ideas on her blog to try, I am going to use these, well, similar to these as my wedding favours. So I am practising for mothers day. See my Marti Crafts on facebook  to see how I've filled them and the extra embellishments I have added. 

Stamp the card (half A4)

Stick double sided tape to one end

Roll into a tube

Stick double sided tape to inside of one end of tube

Squash the two sides of tube together

Add tape to the other end of tube its at this
stage you would add something inside the pocket
(Nice chocolates?)  

Squash tube flat in the opposite direction to the first one

So this is how it should look now

Use the crimper to crimp both ends of your pocket

This is the effect the crimper gives

TA-DA! one favour pocket