Fabric Flower for Headbands, Brooches, Belts, etc

For these guys please be prepared for some pain ... hot glue on fingertips is inevitable.  But they are quite simple and great for jazzing up a plain outfit.  We are getting family photos taken at the weekend and I wanted to try co-ordinate us all so we're going pinks and blues.  These flowers will be added to my girls outfits just to give them a little extra for the day.  Though the blue one might end up on a hairband for my youngest.

For this one I cut off the hem of an old dress (the longer the material you use the bigger the flower) so it was about 15mm wide but you can go wider which will also effect the end size of the flower.  Then fold about an inch at the end and glue it (I've used hot glue for all these).  Then simply keep rolling up the fabric around it but as you go twist it every now and then (I roughly did 2 twists per round of the flower and then alternated the twists on the next round so they weren't always in the same part).  As you go along keep adding a little glue to keep it in place.  Then just glue the end to the flower and glue it onto more fabric at the back like this.

For the next flower it's so much easier and quicker.  Cut a circle of felt as above for the back.  Then of your flower fabric cut 4 circles for each layer.  In this one I've done 4 plain pink and 4 organza (horrid to glue).  I've used lace and a diamonte to finish off this one or you could use a small rose like the blue one above or cut another round of your fabric and fluff it up in the centre.

Now take your first circle of fabric, put a dot of glue in the centre and fold in half.  But another dot of glue in the centre of the straight edge and fold again so you end up with your circle in a quarter.  Do this with all your circles.  Glue your first layer to your felt backing.  Put some glue in the centre and add the second layer.  I alternated the 'petals' but you don't have to.  The I glued on the lace and diamonte to finish.  Then depending on what you want to do with it will decide whether you add a pin or elastic or ribbon to the backing with glue.

If you find you have strings of glue everywhere you can blow the flower with a hairdryer (warm setting) and they'll disappear.  I found I had a lots of glue on the blue flower so I heated it again with the hairdryer and added some glitter ... I mean what girl doesn't love glitter :)

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I did.  Let me know how you get on, see you soon xx

Risotto Stuffed Peppers - quicker than it sounds :)

I watch a lot of the cooking competitions like Masterchef Australia (my favourite) and whenever Risotto comes up it's always 'oh this is so hard' ... waffle ... it's very easy and a dish than can be changed to suit anyone's tastes very easily.

This is my Risotto Stuffed Peppers recipe which you can have as a lunch, snack or with meat for a more substantial dinner.  It looks nice and as we eat with our eyes first that helps :)

Now just to confuse issues there isn't exact quantities here as it all depends on how many you are feeding.  Basically it is 1 pepper per serving and if you cut the top off one and use it as a measure it's 3/4 pepper full of rice per serving.

You will also need Arborio rice, herbs (fresh or dried), garlic, onion, stock pot and parmesan.  After that it depends on what you want to add in veg or meat.  This is fab with chorizo sliced and fried in the pan first with the onion and then add the rice as per the following method.

1.  Heat 1tbsp oil, or I use the 1cal spray oil and it reduces the fat content and works just as well as olive oil or rapeseed oil, in a deep, heavy based pan.

2.  Chop the onion, garlic and herbs and fry for a minute or two in the oil.  (Add the chorizo too if you are using it).

3.  Add the rice and fry for another minute or two.

4.  Pop the stock pot (whichever flavour you like best - I find Chicken gives the nicest flavour).  Add some boiling water, enough to just cover the rice.  This will boil off quite quickly.

5.  Keep topping up with boiling water and stirring until it's cooked, takes about 20 minutes.  Taste test is the best way of knowing it's cooked.

6.  Add whatever veg you want to it - peppers, sweetcorn, green beans, any canned beans, whatever you want just chop it in a small dice.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

7.  Grate about half a wedge of Parmesan.  Add most of this and stir the Risotto.  (if you are making a big batch you might need all the wedge just reserve enough to sprinkle on top)

8.  Fill each pepper and top with the remaining Parmesan.

9.  Bake in a preheated oven at 180'C for about 15 minutes.

And that's it.  Serve with whatever you wish or just on it's own.

The Risotto itself heats up well the next day too so great for midday snack or lunch.

Let me know how you get on, it's not as hard as some people think it is and can easily be cooking while you are emptying the dishwasher or whatever in the kitchen as long as you keep an eye it doesn't boil dry and keep stirring to get it nice and creamy.

Chocolate Sprinkles Cake

So I was asked the other day if I would make a chocolate cake from my friends' daughter whose birthday is this weekend.  Of course, no problem ... a load of ideas started running through my head and I went through Pinterest :) as we all do.  But then I went to my press.  How many of us have bought bottles of sprinkles that look pretty, or the big tubs with 4 sections????  I had lots of bits but not enough of any.  So I bunged them into a bowl, gave them a mix and ta-da the result was colourful, different and looks yummy.

Now the cake itself had to be chocolate - so many possibilities.  So I went through my MANY cookbooks and found this one for a lovely light madeira.  The icing, however, is usually my downfall I just can't seem to get it nice and light and fluffy.  But I found one that was a cross between a ganache and a buttercream.  Very tasty.

For the Cake:

225g / 8oz Margarine ( make sure it's soft.  the tub stuff works best for cakes or zap the block stuff in the microwave for 20 secs - out of the wrapper of course)

225g / 8oz Caster Sugar (definitely works best in baking and is often cheaper than the granulated stuff these days)

4 Eggs, beaten

175g / 6oz Self Raising Flour

55g / 2oz Cocoa Powder

1-2tbsp Milk (if needed)

Preheat your oven to 180oC / 350oF / Gas Mark 4.  Line a 8" round tin and grease the sides.

Cream the sugar and marg until light (almost white in colour).  Add the beaten eggs and cream further.  Sieve the flour and cocoa into the mix and incorporate (the recipe I found said to fold but I just put the mixer on as low as possible).  Add the milk if you feel the mix is a little dry.

Put it into the tin and level the top.  Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.  Leave it cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Icing:

150g / 5 1/2oz Plain Chocolate, finely chopped

200ml / 7floz Double Cream

140g / 5oz Butter, soft again (butter is always better in icing than marg)

280g / 10oz Icing Sugar

Heat the cream to just boiling, but don't boil.  Add it to the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and stir until the chocolate is melted.  Leave to cool for about 20 minutes until it's thickened a bit.

Cream the butter and icing sugar until creamy.  

Beat in the chocolate mix.  Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes until it's set enough to hold but not so hard that you can't spread it.

Assembling:

Slice the cake in half.  I used a gadget for this but a knife is fine it doesn't have to be perfect ... if your guests complain cause it's not even don't give them any :)

Get a paper plate (8" again) so it hides under the cake.  Smudge some icing on the plate and put on the first layer of cake - I used the top of the cake and turn it upside down that way if you have a little  hill on the cake it matches with the shape of the plate.  This icing stops it from moving around.

Spread on some icing, about 2-3tbsp and top with the other layer.

Holding the cake in one hand on the plate spread the icing evenly all over.

As I said earlier I had mixed up my medley of sprinkles in a bowl and holding the cake at a slight angle over the bowl I scooped up the sprinkles and let them stick to the icing with the excess falling back into the bowl.  And continue until you've covered the cake.

And voila!!!!  I'll try get a pic when it's cut tomorrow before it gets demolished :)

I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did.  Let me know how you get on xx

Unique to You

Customise your printed gifts

Our range of printed gifts is getting larger each day.  You can customise anything from a mug to a beer stein, baby vest to show coat and key ring to photo board.  By the process of sublimation your image can be transferred to a wide range of items at a cost that would make you cringe!!!!

Here at Crafty Toppers I work to 2 principles - quality I would be happy to pay for and at a price I would be happy to pay - so you can rest assure that you will be satisfied with my offerings.

Marketing Mug

Marketing

These are not just suitable for personal gifts but also for marketing your business.  To the left you can see a mug with my youngest little princess on it.  This was taken by a professional photographer and I printed it onto the mug.  On the reverse are the photographers details so the likes of this can be used as Christmas gifts from a business to customers, as part of a marketing campaign, for sale or as freebies at shows or even to add to your selection available for your customers to purchase but making it unique with their photo or text.

Speaking the Language

The text on all the printed items is available in various languages so you can truly personalise your gift.  With Ireland being such a diverse culture these days wouldn't it be lovely to give someone a taste from home.  And Crafty Toppers ships worldwide so you can also send gifts home to family and friends in their language.

What should you do next?

Why not comment below or contact me to discuss what you would like to have done and I'm sure to come up with something that will suit both your needs and pocket.  I look forward to hearing from you xxx

Handmade Personalised Keepsake Cards

That personal touch to your handmade gift ...

How many of us sigh when we get an invite in the mail for an event be it a birthday, wedding, Christening, whatever?  One of the first thoughts that goes through my mind is ... what can I get them as a present?  Usually we can all think of some things but they are either commonly bought gifts, expensive or they have them already.  So why not go for something that doesn't cost the earth, is completely personal to the recipient and isn't something they are likely to have already.  My second daughter got a beautiful keepsake card for her Christening and I loved it so much it has taken pride of place in a frame on our wall.  So, inspired by a picture I saw I made a Christening Keepsake Card which comes in a presentation box.

This is as much a book as it is a card.  You can complete it as part of the gift or let the person do it.  Also the page on the left has intentionally been left blank so you can add photos or perhaps even get the guests to sign it or write a message to make it even more personal.  Colours can be made to match what you want, i.e. obviously this is for a little girl's Christening.

The devil's in the details ...

The first page will always have the name, date and location of the occasion with the cover actually stating the occasion itself.  After that the choice is yours as to what details you want on each page.  For example, if this was for a 21st birthday or an anniversary you could select some highlights from over the years and add photos and messages as a sort of 'This is your life' book ... but without Eamon Andrews!!!

A nice touch would be to have a little verse or poem on one of the pages as seen here.

Verse for Keepsake Christening Card

So the next time you are in a dilemma as to what to get for the person why not get a personalised keepsake card and make it really special.  I guarantee they'll treasure it for years, I know I would ... wouldn't you?

Handmade Cards & Gifts for All Occasions

The Countdown to Christmas is on ...

Halloween isn't even over yet and already I'm seeing '80 more sleeps to Christmas'.  I'm busy making handmade Christmas cards and putting together some beautiful and unique gifts.  So what's the first thing you organise for your Countdown to Christmas?  For me it's generally the cake, I like to make it well in advance and use lots of whiskey or brandy.  Though I don't eat it I really love the smell of Christmas cake baking in the oven :).  Then I look at presents.  I hate the idea of last minute shopping when everyone else is out and about.  Having kids the list usually starts on St Stephen's Day!!!!  And so they're not disappointed I must admit I get them to write their Santa letters early so they can be sure of getting what they want.

Then I start on my cards.  Again this is something I like to take my time over.  There's nothing more special and appreciated than a handmade card.  They can be personalised is so many ways - names, titles, pictures that compliment their likes and hobbies, humour can be added with the personal touch and loads more.  In the current climate when we are all cutting back on the little luxuries in life it's nice to be able to tell someone we remember them at Christmas, or indeed any time of year, without spending a fortune.  So I put together my list of who I want to send to and then I decide what I want to make in a card to suit them (or indeed what I would like someone else to make for me - don't forget that's what I'm here for).

Then it's those unique gifts for my loved ones.  Though I admit I do tend to look around all year for things - I'm a bit of a gatherer.  Again gifts don't need to be generic or expensive, personalised is best and I don't mean in a gaudy way.  Something as simple as a keepsake card with a picture of you and your family would make a gorgeous present for any grandparents or godparents.  I love looking around for Christmas gift ideas that I can personalise for my friends and family.

So in your Countdown to Christmas why not pop over to 'Crafty Toppers' on Etsy.com shop or Facebook and have a goo at what's in store.  Don't forget all cards and gifts can be personalised to suit your loved ones likes.  Let me know what you think of my ideas so far and pop back soon for more ideas and offers.  I look forward to hearing from you xx