The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Sarah-Jane aka Crafty Mama

Welcome to the final interview in The Twelve Makers of Christmas series! We have had smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. Crafty Mama Sarah-Jane is sharing with us, her honeycomb recipe. There's still some crafty time left folks! 

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Eleanor of Walnut Tree Home

We are very nearly at the end of The Twelve Makers of Christmas, where we have had a lovely line up of crafts, gifts and products. But we couldn't not hear from Eleanor, who very coincidently, lived very close by me back in Cambs! She's popped to say to you Crafty B's with this lovely cushion and for a bit of Christmassy nattering.  

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Samantha Schofield of Crafternoon Tea Hostess

Welcome to one of the final interviews in The Twelve Makers of Christmas series. We have had smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. This continues with Samantha, a Crafternoon Tea Hostess! 

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Gabriella of Kiddy Shack

Today with The Twelve Makers of Christmas, we continue our lovely line up of crafts, gifts and products with Gabriella. She's popped over with this beautiful embroidery hoop for some Christmassy chatter. 

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Kat of 'A Krafty Kat'

Today with The Twelve Makers of Christmas, we continue our lovely line up of crafts, gifts and products with KraftyKay. She's popped over to share a perfect handmade gift for a knitter and for some Christmassy nattering.

Christmas Crafting with The Early Learning Centre: A Felt Gingerbread Man

Last week was full of school runs in the car, (which I'm not yet used to) errands and housework and late afternoon trips to supermarkets and shopping complexes trying to get everything together for Christmas. Our holiday always starts when Hubby B finishes work and does the big Christmas food shop so I'm trying to be super organised and get prepared for that.

Last Thursday via social media, I told you I went into Cardiff for the first time on my own to start (and intending to finish) our Christmas shopping. Whilst in the Early Learning Centre I saw a little kit to make a felt gingerbread man. Baby B is a little bit besotted by gingerbread men so I thought it would be a lovely afternoon activity at the weekend and would be a welcome addition to our Christmas decor, which I am ashamed to admit, is looking a bit bare!

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Amanda of City Girl Gone Coastal

The Twelve Makers of Christmas continues with our lovely line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. Amanda joins us today with her stick Christmas tree!

Thanks Costa Coffee

Before offering thanks with reason, let me tell you a little bit about the struggles of 'The Big Move' and the effect on Baby B.

When we decided we would take up a job offer and relocate from Cambridge to Wales, we immediately told Baby B that we would be going to live in a new house in a new place. He was involved in looking at show homes and we spoke to him about everything, every step of the way. He named the new place 'the big house'. As the moving day got closer, Baby B started to say occasionally that he didn't want to move, so I followed his lead. If he seemed anxious or upset, I would reassure him and not talk so much about the move, just busy him with other fun stuff. If he wanted to talk about it, we would speak about our huge new adventure, what would happen on moving day and all the fun things we would do when we got there. 

Then reality hit. After Hubby B being away for 5 days a week over two months,  we moved mid October. We have had no internet since (it's a sad reality that we rely on it so much) and money has been a bit tight so we have not been able to go and do our regular outings like back in Cambridge and when I was working, like soft play centres and our regular trip to Costa! Baby B loves to go to cafes and his favourite is Costa because he can have a chocolate babyccino with marshmallows.

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Smita of Something Different

Today on The Twelve Makers of Christmas, we continue our lovely line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. We are joined by Smita all the way from India! 

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Heather of Minty Moose

Welcome back to The Twelve Makers of Christmas. We have a smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. Today our maker is sharing these lovely personalised wooden baubles.

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Tonya 'The Crafty Mummy'

Welcome to todays interview for The Twelve Makers of Christmas. We have a smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. Today we have a tutorial with a few other crafty shares! Read on Crafty B's and enjoy! 

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Jean of Pencil Portraits by Jean

Welcome to The Twelve Makers of Christmas. We have a smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. The third maker of Christmas is sharing a representation of the original 12 days of Christmas.

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Sarah of Sniffy Wiffy

Welcome to the second instalment of The Twelve Makers of Christmas. We have a smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Crafting a Daydream for some Christmassy nattering. Before leaving Cambridge, I connected with the lovely Sarah who has developed an amazing range of products with a twist. This is a good one. 

The Twelve Makers of Christmas: Ellie of FudgEl

Welcome to the first instalment of The Twelve Makers of Christmas. We have a smashing line up of crafts, gifts and products all being shared by lovely makers who have popped over to Mrs Crafty B for some Christmassy nattering. This first one is so exciting for me because I have know this lovely lady for around 12 years! So lets meet the maker of this lovely looking fudge.

Meet the Maker Catch Up With Katie of Katie Gets Crafty

With the end of the year fast approaching, we are catching up with a couple of past 'Meet the Maker' interviewees. This week, Katie of Katie Gets Crafty reflects on her answer to one of her interview questions. 

Making Home: Review of a Custom Address Stamp by The English Stamp Company

In my 'Making Home' mission I am considering all areas. The concept of 'home' is personal to everyone and I want to make ours perfect for every aspect of our lives from children to working to relaxing. I'll be looking at creating beautiful spaces, decorating, DIY, efficient living, organisation, getting creative in the kitchen and more. I am starting off by looking at an item that is bound to make my life a little bit easier and more efficient as well adding a bit of pretty.

Have you ever wanted to be Santa? #Foodbankfillup

I'm whacking a disclaimer straight at the top here:

*This post is not intended to be a demonstration of matyrdom, a dictation of what you should and shouldn't do with your cash or a guilt trip.*

Right. That said, let's move on and I'll tell you about my recent failure to follow through on good intent, an experience I had today and why I won't sponsor a donkey (other animals are available not to sponsor).

A few weeks ago, a shared post popped up on my Facebook timeline from comedian, Jason Manford. He had posted a picture of a huge collection of advent calendars that he had purchased to donate to a food bank. What followed was mostly positive comments but they were unfortunatly accompanied by a barrage of negative feedback and accusations including him using a charitable donation for self promotion and people demonstrating anger that they felt Jason was perhaps 'showing up' those who couldn't afford to donate 500 advent calendars with an 'I'm better than you' attitude. My reaction to this feedback was that each negative comment was born of ignorance. Not everyone can afford to donate something to a charity, sure, but when someone with such a big following promotes a cause, even by saying 'look at what I've done,' then even if a small amount of people are informed and are happily inspired, then more donations are made and this can only be a good thing. Surely?

Meet the Maker Catch Up With Vicky of This is Lullaby

It's Meet the Maker Tuesday again, but instead of meeting someone new, we are catching up with past interviewee, Vicky of This is Lullaby. Lets see what she has been up to...

The First Steps in Making Home

I am so glad to be back!

Having expected to publish my first post from The Welsh Valleys on October 30th when my internet was due to be connected, (a whole other story) I have updated this a few times not really knowing when I would get it out there to you! As it stands, my internet STILL isn't connected and I am working on a 3G signal to get back in touch with my online community. Baby B has gone off for his first day back at nursery (NOT pre-school) after a bit of a hassle with it all and Littlest B is napping, so I couldn't think of anything better than a bit of nap time blogging!

SO…here I am. Welcome back to Crafting a Daydream and my new Making Home venture. Boy it’s been a journey to get to here!

Meet the Maker: Kim of Kim's Handmade Cave

I saw this embroidery hoop work a few weeks ago via Twitter. It could not be more apt in the midst of the impending move as I strive to get my craft stash organised! I guess we should meet the maker as lets face it, all of us crafty folk will need one of these ;-) 

Meet the Maker: Ailsa of Bramalfie Beads

Facebook changes have meant that I miss a lot from some of my favourite Crafty B's. Bramalfie Beads etc often pop into my timeline however and I invited Ailsa to come and share one of her makes with us. Down to business...

The Crocheted Wave Blanket

Do you remember about 100 years ago (ok 2 years ago) when I posted about the start of a crocheted wave blanket? I wanted to create something lovely for my second baby and was inspired by the colours of (of all things) some espresso cups that Hubby B had purchased. 

The Cupcake Inspiration Station

Are you planning on a bit of baking this weekend to mark National Cupcake Week? Having already shared a basic recipe, I thought maybe I could provide a bit more inspiration on the flavours and decoration front.

Chocolate chip vanilla cupcake with white chocolate icing, cherry sauce,  sprinkles and cherries.

The Perfect Basic Cupcake Recipe

Hopefully, you have been inspired by some of the cupcakes this week over here at Crafting a Daydream. Why not make plans to bake this weekend?! I'm not really sure there is a perfect cupcake recipe. Just the one that works for each person. We all have a different way and different equipment i.e. pans and ovens. When I first started baking, I refused to use anything other than a wooden spoon and was far too nervous to venture away from the good old fashioned 'creaming method'. Now, I'm an 'all in one' and get the electric hand whisk on it kinda gal.

I have adjusted my recipe quantities as I have gone along and I believe I have found the one for me. Why not give it a go and adjust it till its right for you?

Peach Mojito Cupcakes by Courtney Whitmore

As part of joining in with National Cupcake Week here on Mrs Crafty B, I decided to have a look for inspiration on the web, world wide! I found some amazing looking cupcakes that seemed perfect to whip up in this lovely weather that seems to have returned.

I'm thrilled that Courtney Whitmore was happy for me to share these here! So here they are…Peach Mojito Cupcakes!

Retro Oven Cupcake Box by Claudine Hellmuth

It's not just about the cupcake itself. For the occasions when it needs to be packaged, nothing short of fabulous will do. Next up for Cupcake Week, we have the very talented Claudine.

I'm Claudine Hellmuth, a full-time illustrator who loves to design whimsical boxes and packaging for cupcakes and sweet treats!

Meet the Maker Meets Cupcake Week: Nancy of Nancy's Teashop

I couldn't imagine a better share during cupcake week than these beauties! Cupcakes in cups. Perfect. 

National Cupcake Week 2014

This week on Crafting a Daydream, we are going cupcake crazy. The 15th - 21st September is National Cupcake Week and I thought what better way to get involved than with a cupcake theme.

The Morning of a Mummy

The 3 year old is safely in pre-school (just) and the 1yo is is just falling asleep in his cot (hopefully) and now seems the perfect time to unpack and repack the dishwasher, put away the washing, put another load on and clean up the toys. Instead, I've made a cuppa and I'm sitting down to tell you about my morning. This is something I rarely do on the blog but I know for everyone person who had a morning completely different to mine, there are a few more unspoken who had the same (who should also sit down with a cuppa!)

Meet the Maker: Kathryn of Cheerfully Cheap Chick and Bhilee Designs

Pretty cute are two words (together or separately) that would perfectly describe these little notepads. Following my lists post, I'm 100% behind the idea and design of these 'to-do list' notebooks! This weeks meet the maker is Kathryn.

Excuse me, do I know you?

This week whilst at a soft play with my Little B's and my niece, a lady and her little one sat on the table next to us. I double took both of them and after a while of thinking 'I know you but I don't know where from,' (don't you hate that?) I simply said with a smile, (how I do, such a chatter box)  "I recognise you both but I can't remember where from!" 

Meet the Maker: Helen of MisHelenEous

Well aren't these adorable?! So so cute. I know we shouldn't be thinking about Christmas (…or should we? It IS September) but these would be a great little stocking filler. Shall we meet the maker behind them?

Mini Makers: Mess Free Painting!

My crafty workshops were always a quick turnaround. With a 40 min drive between two sessions, two little boys demanding my attentions as soon as I came through the door and the tea time/bathtime/bedtime routine to be done,  I had to be super organised. Especially with used glue sticks, paint brushes and dirty pots. My Little B's love to get crafty but when unpacking and clearing away after three workshops, it wasn't the ideal time. Then I discovered a cool activity.

When I finished my groups, whilst packing up, I used to throw all the paint brushes into a plastic bag for washing at home later. On taking this bag out on one occasion, I started squidging the paint around inside the bag (you're never too old). I took a picture and used it for a note to self for my next idea as 'Head of Home Entertainment' (I gave myself that job title, amongst others ;-) ). 

Upcycling Vs Recycling & Re-Imagining to Re-Create

It's all the rage. Sustainability campaigns, blogs, magazine features, its own publications, schools, stores, social enterprises, everyday craft projects and more, but what is upcycling really about? We have heard the word, seen the projects, been to scrapstores but lets break it down. What is upcyling? How about recycling? What does it all mean to us?

Meet the Maker: Janette of Cards by Janette

This beautiful invitation caught my eye recently on my Twitter feed. The colour of the ribbon is my favourite shade and teamed with pearl look ring in the centre and the polkadots, it is simple yet very classy. I couldn't wait to find out more about the maker. How about you? 

Meet the Maker: Matthew of Bonfire Cherry

Do you recall a short while ago I tweeted some pictures of my first ever attempts at lino cutting and block printing? One source of my inspiration was this camera picture which I occasionally see popping up in my news feed. Let's get to know the maker behind Camera No.2 (turquoise)! 

A List of Lists

Lists. A subject that has been topic of tweets between myself and others many a time.

I'm a HUGE list fan. I write lists for everything. It strikes me as the sort of thing that one either does with enthusiasm or just, well, doesn't. 

Generally, I don't spend a huge amount of time writing lists as I add to them as I go but I find the small amount of time spent on adding to them means that I can prioritise and not forget things. I used to keep a 'to do' list when I was in employment and it made for smooth running of my daily tasks and helped me to be efficient. Sometimes however I do wonder how much time I spend on list keeping and whether or not the time would be best spent on getting jobs done!

My lists normally consist of one for my childminding business, one for house admin stuff, a shopping list, a crafty list, a blog/virtual world list and a general 'things to do today' list. Of course I then have a wish list and a 'big ideas' list.  Sometimes though, I feel the need to separate a certain list into subcatergories to enable me to prioritise better. Of course this is my crafty list.

My crafty list consists of crafts for home, gifts for people, things to make for stalls, ideas based on crafts, tutorials I want to write and of course, crafts I want to try! They are all jumbled up together and as a consequence, when I do have an hour on an evening to get stuck in, I don't know where to start! 

My current task at hand is attempting to get the house super organised before the big move so I do feel a list overhaul coming on. I hope that I can start being more organised and spent more time on the crafty list! 

So how about you? Are you a list keeper? Do you never keep a list? What works for you in terms of time management and er....not forgetting things?! I wonder what sort of productive systems I can put in place to avoid list keeping. I'd love to hear your tips and ideas. 

Mrs Crafty B 

Meet the Maker: Ria of Ria's Rosy Lee Tearoom

For the last few months I have had to prioritise things quite rigidly and the Meet the Maker feature has taken a bit of a back seat. As I am starting to re-focus back on the blog, I thought it was about time the makers got their spot back on a Tuesday and I couldn't resist these extremely delicious looking cakes by Ria of Ria's Rosy Lee Tearoom to get us back into the swing of things!

So lets kick of with a drink! Tea or coffee? 
Tea obviously. Green tea most days. Black Russian Caravan/Rose Tea or herbal when fancy takes me. Never with milk or sugar, preferably loose leaf not bags unless I'm in an emergency situation - i.e. retail outlet/hotels that only has bags

Can we interest you in a biscuit or do you prefer a bit of cake? 
Happy with both, but 9 times out of 10 would pick a cake. I prefer traditional cakes that aren't too fussy. Sometimes cakes are overly decorated so there's hardly any cake involved. Some icings can be too sweet as well. I have to be careful as have a dairy free diet but sometimes I'll be naughty and indulge depsite the consequences, especially with French patissiere and always with Lauderee macarons!

So, tell us a bit about yourself and the item you are sharing.
I'm Ria and I live and work in Wellingborough, Northants. I run Ria's Rosy Lee Tearoom. Previousy I worked in childcare and healthcare, but I am now submerged in the vintage life and baking.

I am sharing a Ria's Rose cake, it is my signature bake. It is rose flavoured and shaped. I developed it when rose became the theme setting up the tearoom as not only is rose in the title, I have a rose based house tea, rose lemonade, and a lot of rose crockery, so I thought I need a cake to complete it. It took 2 attempts at experimenting to perfect it as I wanted to ensure you could taste the rose without it being overwhelming. I also add some pink colouring to warm it up and make it more lifelike, but again have to ensure the taste of the colouring doesn't affect the rose flavour. Most customers say it tastes like turkish delight. I have a special cake mould which makes a batch of 12 individual roses - I don't hand sculpt them like some people think. To finish them off I dust them with icing sugar so it looks like a rose with morning dew on it! They have become very popular with many people now ordering them for occassions rather than the usual celebration cake - they fit nicely into party/favour bags/boxes.

They look and sound AMAZING. How long have you been baking?
I've always enjoyed baking since I was a little girl, when I could stir but was never allowed to touch the eggs! It grew with me as my mother and Grandparents taught me, and as everyone knew I enjoyed baking I inherited my Gran's recipe books which I still use today - there are many family secrets in there which I've been entrusted to protect. It also gives me an edge as no-one else locally will have the recipes for things like Anzacs and Tottenham Traybake. I now keep up to date watching programmes, reading books and magazines, and doing a bit of research online. I do like taking tea and Afternoon Tea as well, so visit other tearooms in my travels which means I can see what others are doing for inspiration.

...and do you dabble in any other crafts?
I have also liked needlecraft and hand embroidery but they've both fallen by the wayside recently whilst I establish the tearoom. I'd also like to make clothes but would need to learn how to use a sewing machine first!

So when did you start Ria's Rosy Lee Tearoom and why?
I opened Ria's Rosy Lee Tearoom in July 2013, but actually started planning it and locating premises/stock in January 2013. In the local area there are a lot of coffee shops, and as I tea drinker I was fed up of having no variety and being presented with a teabag in scalding hot water. A lot of other people I noticed was saying the same thing, so when the opportunity came up last year, combined with the fact I was unhappy in my previous career, I decided rather than keep on moaning about it, I'd do something about it. It also gives me the opportunity to provide for dietary needs. As I follow a dairy free diet it was limiting going to other venues, so I make sure I can cater for dairy and gluten free all the time, and diabetic on request.

What inspires and motivates you?
I'm inspired by everything -nature, music, books, television. I'm also looking at different media forms, and scanning the wider picture for ideas for cakes and themes for the tearoom. That is where things like Scottish month, Spring in Bloom, and Pumpkin month originated from. I'm motivated when I get positive feedback and see happy customers, especially those who come in quite upset and down, but when they leave say how much better they feel. It also an honour when I have hosted special events or provided occassion cakes, being involved in someones special day, and seeing how you have contributed to that makes it worthwhile.

Any crafting heroes?
Saint Mary of Berry of course! Her recipes are foolproof and have never let me down. I grew up with Delia Smith who again I do rely on. More modern day inspirations are Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater, and Rachel Khoo. And of course, mum and grandmother's as they were ones to originally teach me

Any big plans for the rest of 2014?
Other than world domination? Ha ha! Continuing to build on customer base and push myself to try more complicated recipes and decorations. I'd like to hold more events at the tearoom so am listing ideas for that at the moment. I have also recently become a member of Wellingborough Chamber of Commerce, so am looking forward to getting involved with that, and advocating local, independant retail in the town.

So can we join you in your virtual world?
You can indeed, I have most of social media covered.
Website: www.riasrosylee.com
Twitter: @riasrosylee
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rias-Rosy-Lee/524488187617506
E-mail: riarosy@outlook.com 
I am also on TripAdvisor, and write monthly online articles for the local paper the Northants Telegraph. It goes live in the What's On section, under the Food and Drink heading.

Finally, some quick fire questions just for fun..

Favourite colour?
Pink!

The best season?
Spring.

Your favourite food? 

No one thing immediately comes to mind, but definitey prefer sweet over savoury. 

The best day of the week? 

Sunday.

What is the best word? 

Individual - it's what I get called alot, along with unique. 

Favourite place? 

Paris.

Your biggest achievement? 

Opening the tearoom!

It has been an absolute joy finding out all about Ria and Ria's Rosy Lee Tearoom. Such a lovely idea and makes a change to the regular coffee shop. Who doesn't love a proper cup of tea!? I wish I could visit and if any readers are nearby, why not pop in? I'm thinking one of these cakes might go down very well with a lovely cup of leaf tea. I wonder it they travel well in the post.....mmmmm

Mrs Crafty B

Winning a Hobbycraft Voucher

Way back, I won another Twitter competition run by @sundownstitcher! I recieved a Hobbycraft voucher and although I was very grateful and said thank you,  I did not post or say thanks on the blog. How very rude! I always like to say thank you publicly where it is due and this particular prize went to very good use.

I used the voucher to buy equipment and resources for some of the Crafty B's groups that I started (that have had to stop for now unfortunately :-( ). The children's Easter workshop's were especially popular. I always love getting involved in social networking competitions and I was really pleased to have won such a relevant prize.

So thanks again @sundownstitcher. I've been having a look around your newly refurbed site and it is fab. Some lovely pieces on there. Quick everyone, tweet @sundownstitcher and convince her to come and do a #MeetTheMaker interview ;-) 

Mrs Crafty B

The Week That Was: Filled With Happy Moments

Just lately, everything seems to be about our looming relocation. As Hubby is watching something I'm not that interested in, Baby B is sound asleep and Littlest B is crawling about like a crazy on the floor instead of sleeping, I thought I would log on and tell you about some other cool stuff that went on this week, inspired by the fabulous Hannah over at Make, Do and Push.

At the start of the week, Baby B had his last day at preschool for the summer term. As a thank you to all of the preschool staff, we decorated this cookie jar with some cermaic paints and baked some cookies. We recieved a lovely 'thank you' card and one of the staff asked for the recipe so I'm thinking that these went down quite well.

Although I don't want to mention 'the move' here in this post, we are still doing odd jobs through the week. On Tuesday, Baby B helped me clear out a few of the Crafty Bs boxes and decided to sit in the shade in the garden with his "BEST friend" Little Cat Tess and play with some stamps, brushes, pens, paper and scissors. He was happily entertained for a good 40 mins doing his 'paper work'. It was a really relaxed start to the week and Baby B's behaviour was golden. He has been so good and very grown up this week!

Wednesday was a really long day. After three years of hard work, my 'little' sister graduated. We traveled up to Nottingham (with both boys) to see her in her gown and get some pics and then followed on to Mansfield where we celebrated with the rest of our family. She graduated from the same Uni as I did and did the same course. I couldn't resist this shot for old times sake! 

Afterwards, we got to give her the card I had made with a few wise words courtesy of Dr.Suess and after celebrations, we made the long journey home with the boys ready for bed. They were so good all day and both slept the whole way home and were put into bed without any problems. Amazing. I love weeks like this one where you feel like you are winning on all fronts. 

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go"

On Friday evening, for the first time in a VERY long time, I 'popped' to the pub. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine in the sunshine with some lovely ladies and came home late. It DID result in me being a bit...you know...but having been resigned to the odd glass here and there for a good few years, I'm a bit out of the 'more than two' practice so this was to be expected. It took my mind off of things so this was all good. 

On Saturday we managed to replace our car. Someone drove into the back of ours quite recently and wrote it off, so this was a big tick off the list and a huge weight off our shoulders. Phew. 

Today has been spent mostly pottering about, doing odd jobs and making happy memories with my boys. We have enjoyed special moments of just being together at home together which these days, seem few and far between. I've also been doing a bit of up-cycling!

So apparently my weeks are indeed filled with more than housework, mealtimes and moving stresses so I really don't have any complaints. Well, if we are being picky, I didn't eat any cake...

Mrs Crafty B

Real Cornish Pasties and Deadly Seagulls

During our recent trip to Cornwall, we decided that it would be acceptable to eat our weight in fish and chips, ice creams, cream teas and of course, Cornish pasties. The hunt began almost immediately for the ACTUAL best one. Actually we found a good one and stuck with it, but that version doesn't tell you about the evil seagull/s! So....

On a few occasions, we enjoyed setting up base on the beach in Looe which is a beautiful coastal town and fishing port in south-east Cornwall. On the first day that we did this, we scouted out the yummiest looking pasties from the numerous shops claiming to be making 'the worlds best Cornish pasties' . We pretty much hit the jackpot first time as we decided on an open front shop in an old fishing cottage on Buller Street which had a view to a couple of the ladies making up the pasties.  We left armed with a box of delicious large Cornish pasties (it was massive and filled me up for like two days!) and headed back to the beach. By now we had learned to hide from seagulls and we hid inside our little dome tents scoffing our faces with the yummiest pasties ever. 

Our final day in Looe was again marked with a visit to 'Sarah's Pasty Shop' where I took a picture (my sister included, NOT a stranger) of the shop. You can't quite see their lovely Cornish blue display! Following this picture, we headed back to our beach base and decided, as I had a cup of tea, to sit on the wall. In our naivety, and despite our conversation about seagulls pooping on your head en route to the beach AND having an near miss with such poop during said conversation, we were completely oblivous to the evil blighters circling above our head and as Hubby B screamed "WATCH OUT" we did the girliest scream ever as a seagull dove straight at my sister snapping the food bag out of her hands followed by us chasing it down the beach. Can you say free entertainment? 

So the moral of this blog post, well, there are a few points really. Firstly, visit Looe, it's fab. Secondly, visit Sarah's Pasty Shop on Buller Street and enjoy a lovely freshly made Cornish Pasty. Thirdly and probably most importantly, watch out for those bloody seagulls!

Here's a picture of a little sign we acquired for the cloakroom door in our new place. It's in the utility which is the only room that already has a theme decided for it. Can you guess what the theme is? 

Mrs Crafty B

*This was not a sponsored post. Sarah's Pasty Shop did not ask for or request this post and all opinions are my own. I certainly did not get a free pasty (but if they want to give me one on our next visit, I guess that'd be ok).

I Tried Total Greek Yoghurt!

A while ago I was contacted by the lovely people at Total Greek Yoghurt who asked if I would like to get involved in #TryTotal. Although I have now long missed the Total+ competition, I love greek yoghurt and had promptly said "yes please." I waited for a couple of greek yoghurt vouchers to turn up and you can imagine my surprise when a box arrived! What kind of vouchers need a box?!

Here's what I found!

I know it's a bit sad but I was really excited! A cute little cheese board/chopping board. A pestle and morter and a little jar (who doesn't  love miniature) filled with tiny magnets showing different ingredient ideas for the Try Total and Total + adventure. The idea was to come up with winning combinations of Total Greek Yoghurt + 1 or 2 ingredients. Well I didn't think to far outside the box and I went straight for a couple of my favourites! 

Total + Lime + Coriander - Makes a really refreshing and yummy scrummy dip! 

Total + Malted flakes + Banana + Honey - Brand names omitted but this in ones of my favourite breakfasts. Really filling. Perhaps you could change up the flakes for granola. Ok I know this is 3 ingredients not 1 or 2!

So only two simple recipes for now, which isn't to say I don't smother this yummyness all over my chilli and lamb koftas but I don't always remember to get a picture! Doh....I'll have to make some more.

Mrs Crafty B

*I was sent this Try Total kit in order to get involved in the Total Plus competition. I genuinely do think greek yoghurt is yummy ;-)