TAGS, TAGS & MORE TAGS

I have developed a penchant for tags, grungy tags. I came across an image on the internet that I think best describes me. Here it is ~

Having said that...here are more tags that I have been making in utter oblivious obsessiveness....


I Love using Tim Holtz's distress inks and am trying hard to apply new techniques each time. At the moment i have only 3 up my sleeve. Distressing the edges, blending colours and water blotching with different colours.


By the way, if this all sounds like the beginnings of a craft blog rather than an ongoing food blog....you may be  right. I think its beginning to be one. I have also ditched my DSLR for my mobile phone camera. The DSLR unofficially belongs to R now. I think. Even more so for his next semester.


This all started (the crafting I mean) when I bought a few paper craft tools to make favours for N & J's wedding later this year. I had stictched some linen and lace pouches and crafted some other things. I will not be posting them until after the wedding though. But they are all done and ready....and quite beautiful..if I have to say so myself. Very pleased indeed.


I cant wait to make the wedding cake.


Anyway, here's what i've been 'tagging' .....I LOVE tags. I make them for no reason. I have not given or used any of them...Yet.....maybe i just want to build a collection...I don't know...what do people who make tags and cards do with their stuff? Especially in Malaysia? Card giving and tag attaching is not quite  a culture here. But ...ho no...that's not going to stop me form making them. It's artsy. I like artsy.

I love flowers too ~ fresh and paper....can you tell?

Mmm hmmm I love grungy-ness ~

Now these flowers are a no brainer. Cut out a circle. Any size you want. And then cut the circle into a spiral beginning at the circumference and ending at the centre of the circle. Then roll it up and glue the bottom. You will figure it out when you attempt.

Got my mom's left over chiffon from her tailor and scrunched it up into this flower. Literally scrunched it up. And quickly glued it together before it opened up again. Then I glued the faux pearls into the middle.

It's got to be love. I can't make a hate tag. Can I ?

This flower was easy peasy too. But fiddly. Nothing new to flower making world.....made form organza. Cut out plenty of circles in 3 different sizes.. Pass the edges over a candle flame to singe it. Place the circles on top of one another in descending sizes...smallest at the top and stitch into place..add whatever you like as the flower centre. Just in case you're wondering, I do not intend to do photo or video tutorials because that would give me stress. Right? I craft to de-stress.

Flower made from a  printed music sheet. By the way ~ I am a Purl Gurl. Love pearls (even fake ones). 


All photographs were taken from my mobile phone.


I do hope you have a lovely day today :)


xoxo
Zurina

CRAFTY EYE CANDY

Hi Everyone...if you're still there...remember me?


Sorry for the long absence. 

But I've been crafting. 

For a reason. 

I hum when I craft.


These are some of my excuses.......

A cake card ....makes me want to make a wedding cake in this colour....draped with pearls...

Dried paper roses made from cardstock ~ cardstock by K & Co...love them ~

Beautiful water colour bouquet cardstocks by K & Co. LOve the doily lace edging. I made it using the doily lace Martha Stewart punch... i love punches ~

A 'letter card' .....I love old world scripted backgrounds ~

A grunge style tag ~ flowers made from pages of a vintage book...and used a bird cage stamp that is so cool and elegant ~

Now this I love....a vintage insipred Thank You tag. Flower was made from pages of a vintage book 


The end ~


This requires no washing up ~ ;)


PS ~ All photos were taken using my mobile phone...do excuse the poor quality..

BUY CUTE APRONS AND SOME JAM DROPS

A designer apron was just what I needed to give me a renewed vigour to cook something-worth-blogging-about. 

Buycuteaprons.com is an online store from the UK that sells a range of designer aprons. Kirsteen, owner of buycuteaprons.com had been kind enough to send me this elegant vintage inspired Ulster Weaver's apron which I had chosen. Although the red was less vibrant than I expected it did look very pretty once I had put it on. Very Audrey Hepburn-ish. Very vintage. Very hostess with the mostest-ish. 

Buycuteaprons.com is stocked with all the top UK and American apron designs. With new styles being added regularly. Mostly feminine, some of them being vintage inspired, some retro, some sexy and some just plain cute-adorable. Designer brands include Cupcake Provocateur, Jessie Steele, Sugar Baby Aprons, Ulster Weavers and many more. They also have cute aprons for children and manly ones for men. 


But what took me by surprise was that Jessie Steele aprons have been featured in Desperate Housewives and Oprah. And in the a scene from the recent Sex and the City 2 movie a Cherry Cupcakes apron was used  by Charlotte.  Talk about celebrity status!


If that has piqued your interest in Jessie Steele's apron creations you'll be sure to find them at buycuteaprons.com. 


However, to go with the vintage inspired Ulster Weavers apron which was totally responsible for this renewed burst of energy I made some jam drops from a recipe by Ellice Handy. Her recipe book was first published in the 1950's in the then Malaya. That makes this recipe a vintage cookie recipe. And yes, I actually used the apron while fiddling with the dough. It's cotton, very comfortable, very, very light and of course it made me feel very pretty. The apron I mean. 

Here's the recipe that I made while donning this apron which had a pretty flower brooch on one side and 2 cute pockets to boot ~ I think pockets on aprons are so important. 

The Recipe ~

This recipe was so tiny I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Measuring butter by tablespoons is just not my thing. 


I have made these before when i was a dreamy newly wed but I've never made them again since because filling a small ball of dough with gloppy jam and sealing it up into a ball was not that much fun. It's no wonder that Ms. Ellice Handy made such a small recipe. 


As I had expected the jam seeped through which wasn't a bad thing because I thought it added character. I decided to crown them all with a quarter of a glace cherry so they would look a little more photogenic. All in all they do look quite vintage. Just like the apron that came all the way from buycuteaprons.com



I have to say that this cookie isn't fantastic. Mediocre at best. It would have been better if the dough had more butter in it. Apart from that the overall taste would depend on the quality of jam you used. But it does satisfy your sweet tooth if you have a craving but don't want to ruin your diet.


Jam Drops ~


1 1/2 T butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup SR Flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
some jam


Grease or line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside. Sift flour into a bowl. Set aside. In a seperate bowl cream butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and beat until well combined and smooth.


Fold in flour and mix well until you get a soft dough. You may refrigerate the dough for  a 1/2 hour to firm it up if necessary.


Divide the dough into 16 balls. Make a hole in each ball and fill with some jam of your choice. Seal and roll up into a ball again. Arrange them on the baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minute until lightly golden at the edges. Enjoy.

STEAMED CHOCOLATE CAKE ~

First of all I wish all my friends from blog land and the real world and my dear blog visitors who celebrate Christmas a Merry Christmas. 

This cake was made for N's birthday today and as always most times I end up making a chocolate cake. This is a steamed chocolate cake that I got from San's Blessed Moments.

Chocolate has always been a favourite in this house with everyone and also because ~ 

" Every time I hear that dirty word exercise I wash my mouth out with chocolate." Unknown

This was a moist and chocolatey cake with the perfect amount of sweetness ...meaning not too sweet at all. I covered it with fresh whipped cream because ...

I had taken out the butter from the fridge, looked at it then put it back in.

Since we had only cut the cake this evening I could not take a photo of a sliced piece. I hope to take a picture tomorrow. Do take note of the word "hope" though. 

The recipe...

200 gm sugar

200 ml evaporated milk

180 gm butter

2 eggs

100 gm plain flour

50 gm cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Butter and line an 8 inch pan with greaseproof paper. Prepare the steamer and let the steamer heat and come to a boil while you make the cake. 

In a medium pot simmer over low heat the sugar, milk and butter until the butter has melted. Let cool until almost cool then beat in the eggs. I used a whisk. 

Sift the flour , cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Pour the butter/milk/egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. I used the whisk again to do this. I find that a whisk mixes the dry and wet ingredients faster and better than a wooden spoon would.

Pour mixture into the cake pan and when the steamer water is on a rolling boil place the cake pan into the steamer. Steam for about 45 mins . I divided the mixture into two 8 inch pans and steamed each for 30 minutes.

the cake is done when it feels firm when gently pressed in the centre. Let cool before turning out.

It is quite difficult to over bake a cake that is being steamed. Steamed cakes are moist and does not dry out while being steamed. 

I had used a bamboo steamer and the one challenge I often encounter with a bamboo steamer (placed over a wok) is to have the cake pan level and not dipping more to one side. But often the cake comes out thinner on one side and thicker on the other because of the imbalance. I would have used a pan rather than a wok if I had one large enough to accommodate the bamboo steamer.