Blog neglect.

Poor blog has been somewhat neglected of late.
I've had no inspiration or ideas to do anything creative really, but I found this brilliant website today. Here are some of my favourite things from it...

Rainbow cake.

I've been wanting to make a rainbow cake like this one for a few months now, but never had the nerve, as I am not much of a baker.

Well, I should have known to quit when I came across my first hurdle - the gel food colours required to give the layers that rich, vibrant colour.
I could not source these in my crappy little country, and didn't fancy paying £50+ to get them shipped here from the US.

So, I settled for normal food colouring. Mistake.


Determined to make a 'Welcome Home, At Last!' cake for my sister Steph (away for six months in Malawi, she got back last Thursday), I spent £20 on ingredients, about five hours in total to create it, to get this...


Oh dear.
It didn't taste so good either. Probably all the food colouring I pumped into it, in a poor effort to get the colours looking better. Lesson learned.

I'm looking for a new project to do online over the next few days as I have to stay home from work on my doctor's orders (possible swine flu, argh!), so I'm off to look for something easy and non-energetic to do tomorrow.

Pop top can.

I saw these a week or two ago and loved the idea, so decided to have a go myself.
But when it came to decorating the can, I couldn't find any of my patterned craft papers. I've no idea where they are, I imagine someone around here has 'borrowed' them.

Here's how I made it...

I used tins of pineapple, with ring-pulls.

Using a smooth-edge can opener, open the bottom of the can.


Clean out the tin, and dry thoroughly.


Fill 3/4 full with sweets.


Carefully glue the bottom back on.


Place a heavy book on top until the glue has dried.


Decorate the can.


Give as a gift, or keep for yourself =)

Hello, Summer.

Loving the sun.

The weather we've been having lately has been absolutely incredible.
People in Northern Ireland don't know how to cope with such heat, myself included.
Apparently, it's to break by Wednesday or Thursday, so my mum and I took advantage of the warm evening by playing Scrabble outside. What a novelty; we usually play it inside while a storm rages outside and our cardboard home gets a battering.

While I was searching around the farm for a table-type item to play Scrabble on, I found this amazing old cable reel. I had forgotten about it, I found it when we first moved to the farm (almost three years ago, cannot believe it) and we used it to serve drinks off for Joel's birthday BBQ that summer. I had asked for it to be kept for me to use in my room once we got the house finished, but it was forgotten about, left outside, and our dog claimed it as his 'throne'.
Now I've reclaimed it, and I plan to clean it up and use it somehow in the new house, possibly as a coffee table, or something. But, for tonight, it was our board table.



I love how the sunlight shines through the barrel part of it.
I love that it was used to hold cable or baler twine, years ago, and has the marks to prove it.

Push pins.

I made these cute little cork-board pins this evening...




So easy.
Scrabble tiles, push pins and a glue gun.
Don't worry, I didn't go and ruin the best board game ever, I ordered a new set of tiles off eBay.
Friends with noticeboards, watch out, this is your next gift!

My latest creation.

I made this messenger bag for my sister Stephanie, who is in Malawi until July. It's her birthday in May, and she asked me to make her a new bag because they are very expensive to buy over there. I wish I could say I enjoyed making it, but I really didn't. I think I went wrong with the lining fabric I chose, it was silky and very hard to pin. Once I understood the tutorial it got slightly easier, but overall I am just relieved it is finished.

The front of the bag.

Back.

Dave was less than excited to be my model!