CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE AND MORE CHOCOLATE (oh and an elephant)

This week I have been commissioned to make a birthday cake for a chocolate loving 6 year old. 

This is the result

Chocolate cake with chocolate butter icing and chocolate chip cookies, melted milk and white chocolate and white chocolate buttons and chocolate rolls (with just a smidgen of sugar craft for his face).

  

Enough chocolate?

  

I made two pudding bowl cakes and one sandwich tin cake.

Sandwiched them all together (except one pudding bowl cake) with chocolate buttercream

Covered the whole lot with melted chocolate 

Added chocolate rolls for arms and legs and some cookies around his body 

Sandwiched his head with buttercream

Stuck it on top of his body using more buttercream

Made a cheeky face using white chocolate for background and then sugarcraft for his eyes, nose, mouth and tongue

Added some half cookie ears and just a bit more chocolate all over

Then filled the board with white chocolate buttons.

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE - enjoy x

 

And the elelephant?

Well I taught my friend to knit and it turns out she is a real natural.  Already deciphering patterns from the internet, changing colours, creating I-cords, you name it - look what she has made now .....

The pictures do not do this sweet little elehpant any justice - it is gorgeous and I have to knit one.  (I'll just add it to my long list of things to do!).

 

 That's it - I'm going on holiday now.

woyww (buttons)

Buttons

Whilst working on Stanley the Dog (which I have now finished), I came across my Mum's old tins of buttons - WOW.  I love them.  All sorts of colours, shapes and sizes.  Brilliant.  Now I just have to find some things to make to use some of them.

I laid them out on the table with all intentions of sorting them but they just got put back in the tins again. 

Oh to have a workdesk that doesn't need tidying away all the time.I finished my mum's cardigan but then realised one sleeve was slightly larger than the other (who would notice that but the person who it is for!!!!!!!!)  So it has to be undone again!

I'm still working on Rosie the pig but she now has a body, a snout, two legs and a nose.  Wahooo - not long now.

My Knit of a friend

About a month ago, I taught my friend how to knit.  She has never tried before.  Two lessons on the park and one quick lesson in her kitchen and she has made a chicken, an elephant and some beautiful flowers.  WOW.  I must be one hell of a teacher (Or she's just a natural).  I'm trying to persuade her to start her own blog but in the meantime here is her darling chicken.

Well done Mrs Bomberdill

Passports

On Saturday we go on holiday.  Hoorah.  However, Small's passport has expired so yesterday Smallest and I went to the passport office to sort out a new one for him.  When I got there I had forgotton the photos (bearing in mind the passport office is over an hour away).  What a wally. 

Smallest passed the time (while waiting for Huffle to bring us the photos - bless him) in the fountains.

He had fun and the passport is winging its way to us now - phew - I need a holiday.

Orios

This weekend I decided to make Orio Cupcakes. I saw them on someone else's blog. I'm sorry I can't credit them as I can't remember where I saw them now. Apparantly Nigella also made these sometime ago.

I had 12 Orios and the idea was to put one in each cake case. However, 6 of them were broken. So 12 cakes were made with broken bits in the bottom and 6 were made using full Orios. Then there were six cakes left which were just plain chocolate cakes.

7oz margarine

7oz sugar

4 eggs

6 oz plain flour

2 tbsp baking powder

1 oz cocoa powder

Splash of milk

I baked them for approx 20 mins. Ummm the smell!


When they cooled I completely forgot which was which and I decorated the ones I thought had full Orios in them as nicely as I could (so I could blog them) (and also add them to the sliced cake flickr group I am in).

Anyway I decorated the rest in a manner that wouldn't matter as we were going to eat them for our tea.

I got them all wrong. So now when we eat them we have a surprise every time. Is there an Orio in there? Is it a full one? Is it a broken one? Do they all taste yummy - yes yes yes.

 Give it a go. They are still crunchy at the bottom but all cakey still on top. The recipe I saw suggested using broken Orios in the buttercream topping.

Now that's for another time.

Gussets, Beads and Fingerprints

Stanley 

Hurray - I have finally finished Stanley the Dog (which in fact was a challenge set up by thefeltfairy some months ago but which I have only just managed to do).  With a small amount of trouble I have to say too.  I was given the pattern with bits to cut out and piece together and sew.  EASY PEASY, except that I interpreted the GUSSET as being in the bottom area (Why?  because all I could think of was pants had gussets!).

So this is how poor Stanley looked with an extra bottom gusset!!

Until I spoke to my friend who had successfully made a Stanley and informed me that the gusset meant a panel, and the panel should be on his head.  What a fool I am.

So Stanley had his bottom undone and I sewed it in the correct place.

Who would have thought he'd have gone so nicely with my tablecoth?

 What a handsome fellow he is.

 Bracelet

I often get dressed and think "oooh I have no bracelet that goes with that top"  so off I go to my bead box and see what I can throw togther.  This is one result.

I bought the beads whilst on holiday a few years ago in Venice.  They are Morano glass and very pretty.  They go with my green top beautifully.  Oh and my sandals and my new green bag which I just bought from a charity shop.  BARGAIN.

Vase 

I have mentioned previously how talented the rest of my family are but i wanted to share a vase that my Huffle made for me.  He loves to buy me vases (but never any flowers!!!! - it's the thought that counts).

The flower petals are his fingerprints - isn't he clever.  I love it.  ;O)

woyww

Wow, what a cacophony of colours and patterns today.  "Cacophany" - underused word but highly probable that I have used it in the wrong context!

Knitting Bag

Sewing Box

A pink baby comforter I am attempting to knit

Some lovely new tea towels I want to do something(!?) with

Stanley the dog, partly sewed (better late than never) http://thefeltfairyuk.blogspot.com

Rosie the Pig (waiting for snout to be knitted)

Wool Bag

Mum's Cardigan (really really nearly finished - just need trusty Mum to pick up some stitches so I can finish the other sleeve bit and away I go.

Doesn't everything go really nicely with my tablecloth?  Not!

Happy what's on your workdesk Wednesday

http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/

Which came first?

Two of my small projects were finished yesterday. 


The Chicken?

I finished the chicken I was making outside last week in the sunshine.  This was for a Christmas present (last Christmas, I'm a bit behind).   I haven't made one this colour before but it is to go on a shelf in a kitchen filled with beautiful green Denby and other collected green pottery. I hope he'll be happy there.

Or the Snake?

Another snake, bit strange but I kind of like him. The wool was really thick and fluffy. I didn't do stripes this time so I made him ridged by changing the stitch. I didn't use buttons as I thought I could use it for a baby or a small child.

They look like such an unusual partnership but I quite like them together.

Crafty family

As I haven't finished anything off recently, I thought I would show how talented the others members of my family are:-

Huffle wanted to show his creative talents off and made himself a new improved "Likes" picture. He found a new program which basically does it for you. Cool.



Small painted a beautiful picture of a Buzzard for his holiday project. He's only 7. I think he's got great talent already. (I'm his Mum so I have to say that - but I do believe it). He used my Acrylic paints which are harder for kids to use than the normal poster paint used at school.

Smallest, not to be outdone, painted a picture for me of an ice-cream. Six flavours, with a flake and strawberry sauce. Impressive. He's only four.

They put me to shame this week as I have nothing to show. 

Oh I did paint my toe nails a lovely shade of purple ;0}

woyww (outside)

Wow - outside crafting - how exciting.  Kids playing on the park.  Me and Mrs Jumbleberries knitting in the sunshine.  How lovely.

What's on my outside crafting picnic rug?

Knitting pattern - am now attempting a Rosie Pig - much larger than anything else I have knitted (except the cardigan which I left at home).

Green Chicken - present which needs finishing.

Oh how I could knit in the sunshine every day.

On the way home I passed a shop with the most beautiful picture in the window.  I took a photo but it hasn't come out so well. 

I wish I was there.  Swinging in the hammock, shoes kicked off, bees buzzing about their business.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh