Merry Christmas!

Thank you to all for taking time to read my blog and for your support over the last 6 months. I’ve had so much fun with spunkee stuff.

Wishing you all a wonderful christmas with your families and a fantastic new year!
(I’ve been loving this little tree so much I think I’ll make another one for myself to be enjoyed next Christmas. This tree went into a hamper at Khye’s childcare which was then donated to the Salvation Army.)

mmm…yum…shortbread

I have been making batches of shortbread lately for Khye’s christmas breakup parties. It is Mum’s recipe and I though I would share it with you.

They are a little bit crunchy, a little bit crumbly, a little bit “melt in the mouth” and a whole lot yummy. We struggle to stop at one biscuit!

So here is the recipe:

250g butter
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup cornflour
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
2 1/3 cups plain flour

Melt butter over low heat.
Sift icing sugar and cornflour in bowl and add sugar.
Add butter and vanilla and beat until thick and creamy.
Add sifted flour and mix well.
Press mixture into a lamington tin and smooth with the back of a spoon. Cut and prick each biscuit with a fork.
For christmas we like to roll the mixture onto a board, cut out star shaped biscuits and place them on a tray.
Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes.
Cut again while warm and cool in the tin or on the tray.

Evening Light

Last night as the sun was setting, the clouds reflected gorgeous colours and shone a wonderful glow upon our world that made everything look beautiful and special. I turned off the flash on my camera so as not to destroy the softness of the evening. But I cannot control the exposure time (it is just a small point & shoot digital camera) and I could not hold the camera steady. So here are the best of the blurry images I captured from our backyard.

It doesn’t really capture it but the sky through the middle of this photo was a deep dark blue.

Even the calico on the roof of our deck looked beautiful with its purple glow against the yellow fairy lights.

And then once the light had gone grey I took photos of the christmas lights using the long exposure time to my advantage. By deliberately moving the camera while the image is being exposed you can come up with some fantastic photos.

This is the christmas tree.

And the coloured fairy lights in the garden.

Try it yourself!

Happy Birthday Ella!

It's Ella's 2nd birthday today. For her I made a little toddler bag from a great piece of vintage fabric, lined it with green fabric and sewed little pockets on both sides of the bag. Inside the bag I hid a book and some flags with Ella's name on them and a tiny green teddy inside the little pocket.

We wrapped it up with paper that Khye painted (but I forgot to take a photo to show you). We had lots of fun at your party Ella and we hope you enjoy the rest of your birthday!

Here is the green sheep

Khye has been sick the last couple of days so I have been off work to care for him. Which also means a lot of sleeping (him not me) and a bit more time for me to blog!

The other week a friend asked if I could make a green sheep softie based on the main character of Mem Fox’s book “Where is the Green Sheep?”.

“Here’s our green sheep, fast asleep.”

The green sheep is going in my friend’s daughter’s Christmas stocking – I hope she enjoys it!

The Christmas Market

The market on Sunday was fantastic in every way. It was a nice sunny day, lots of stalls, stacks of people and heaps of sales. So thank you to everyone for your support over the last 6 months and for making spunkee stuff so successful. I have decided to continue having a stall at the Gisborne Olde Time Market and you’ll find me in my usual spot in front of the hall on the first Sunday of every month starting January 4th 2009.

Here’s a photo I was meant to post last week but didn’t have time.

Just some of the softies that went to the market on Sunday. Most have now found loving new homes!