Black cats before midnight

This was my Halloween pumpkin a few years ago. I looked online for inspiration and found that there are lots of websites with patterns to follow. Having found one I liked, I drew it on freehand with a marker pen, and after I'd scooped out the seeds and mushy part and thinned out the inside a little to make it easier to cut, I used a sharp knife and cut out the pattern.

When I cut out the little stars, I kept the cut-out parts and hung them inside the pumpkin, behind the cat. I used some invisible sewing thread and a needle to push it through the flesh, then did the same thing through the lid so they dangled inside and made the candlelight flicker. For the glowing eyes of the cat I cut through the skin and scooped a little bit of flesh out, but didn't go all the way through. 

A good tip is to use battery powered candles, especially if you're having a party with a lot of people, have children or pets, or are using your pumpkin lantern outside as they won't get blown out by the wind! You can find them in most poundshops or cheapy shops such as Poundstretcher, Home Bargains or B&M.

Mam's old buttons, recycled

When I was a girl, I used to sit for hours with my mam's old button tin in front of me, organising them into piles of colours, or sizes, or shapes. I have no idea how long it must have taken her to accumulate them all but there was literally hundreds. When I found out recently that she had thrown them out I was devastated as I thought of all the lovely crafty things I could have done with them. Fortunately when I looked in her sewing box (another treasure trove!) there was still a small amount of buttons remaining. I liberated some and made this vintage button frame

The photo isn't great but the frame looks really lovely, the buttons are all shades of cream, grey or peach and are clear, mother of pearl, or have a pearlescent finish, and are all sizes and types. The frame itself is just a cheap wooden one painted vintage cream. I haven't found a photo to go in it yet but think a really old fashioned one would look perfect.

Peanut butter cupcakes

Starting the posts of things I've made previously, I thought I'd share some baking. Every year for his birthday, my fiance Si requests a batch of my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.

Bake a batch of regular chocolate cupcakes and leave to cool. Meanwhile mix together some smooth peanut butter and normal butter at about a ration of 1:2. This is where the 'making it up as I go along' aspect comes into play, but I'd say I usually use about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and 2 teaspoons of normal butter. Add icing sugar a bit at a time and thoroughly beat with a wooden spoon. Keep adding the sugar until the frosting is light and fluffy, and has increased in volume. Keep tasting until it's how you like it. When the cupcakes are cool, place a spoonful of the frosting on top and swirl it with the back of the spoon, or use a piping bag for a prettier and neater finish. Take a bag of Reeses Pieces and bash them up with a rolling pin before sprinkling them on top of the cupcakes. Alternatively, chop up some Reeses Cups and use them instead.

A variation of this that I made recently (but unfortunately forgot to photograph) was peanut butter jelly cupcakes. I used the recipe for a peanut butter cupcake from my Hummingbird Bakery recipe book. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to type it out here but if you search on Google there are lots of good recipes for a peanut butter sponge base. When you've made the cake batter, put a small teaspoon in the bottom of your cake cases, then put a small blob of jam on top. Cover the jam completely with some more cake batter, until the cake case is about two thirds full. While they are cooking, mix up the frostings. Make the peanut butter frosting recipe above, but only make half the quantity. Then make a normal buttercream (butter and icing sugar creamed together with a wooden spoon) but add some jam of your choice, about a tablespoon? Add a little at a time, so you can taste the jam but it doesn't ruin the consistency. Then when the cakes are cooked and cooled, put a little of each frosting on top and swirl together so they create a lovely marbled effect. The jam in the middle makes a lovely surprise!

Hello!

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog! I've always been crafty and enjoy making things but haven't really had anywhere to document them so thought I'd start this blog as a personal diary so I can keep track of my makes. I'll try to include some sort of tutorial if I can although I usually just make it up as I go along! Hope you enjoy looking :)

Claire x