Christmas Shortbread Jars

Today I quickly made some homemade little gifts for my friends.  I altered my shortbread recipe until it fit into these little jars I got from Ikea  called Korken

For my wedding favours I did the same but in mini milk bottles and they worked out really well so I just copied this but had to work out how the recipe would fit in different jars.  As usual I just guessed until I got it right 🤣

For the Ikea size of jar I needed 50g of plain flour, 25g of caster sugar and 25g of cornflour.

First I weighed out the plain flour and poured this in to the glass jars followed by the caster sugar and finished off with the cornflour.  

 I love how white they are and the cornflour is so smooth it feels like snow 🌨 

I tried to print off labels but as usual there was an issue with my printer when I needed it isn't that always the case?!  So I handwrote the instructions on brown card.  All you need is to add 50g of salted butter.  By hand or in a food processor mix everything together, roll out thinly and cut using a festive cookie cutter for Christmas biscuits.  Bake for 30 mins at 150°C or Gas Mark 2 (they will still be very pale) then immediately sprinkle with caster sugar.  Allow to cool completely before eating them.  Yum!! 

I rolled the instructions up and put them through the little metal handles.   For my wedding milk bottles I hung them with string and used vintage fabric cut into circles for the top of the bottles.





















I finished the Christmas jars off with some green and white twine.  Lovely festive little gifts when it's just the thought that counts.  I think I will give my neighbour one of these too.  I gave my daughter's teacher something similar one year also.  I do love a homemade gift and these are really easy to make and equally easy for the recipient to bake.  I am not sure how many biscuits this mix will make as it depends on the size of cutter you use but enough for you to eat with your festive cuppy! 

Let me know if you make these shorties yourself this year and who you would give them to!


For more recipes see my other posts here

Muddy Puddles Party

 Just realised I have never posted about Eliza's third birthday theme - she is going to be 8 this year!!

No idea how I missed this.  I loved this party!

Eliza loved Peppa Pig so we had a Muddy Puddles party for her third birthday.

         Such a pretty party theme raindrop backdrop, watering can full of marshmallow flowers, a tiny cupboard of tiny cakes , mini trifles....I could eat all this right now.

          White paper pompoms hanging above the table for clouds

 Every party needs a meringue - these are my go to baking choice for every occasion

                      My sister made some cookies

                                                                    Marshmallows

                                                                         Smarties

                        Marshmallow flowers

- do not make these ahead of time they have to be done that morning - the ones I made overnight shrivelled up and died :(

Mini cupcakes in a min cupboard - so cute!

Individual trifles made in the Ikea spice jars - I made these for our Easter picnic too

Chocolate gingerbread bites with nutella (see recipe at bottom of this post for similar)

July birthday so lots of lovely juicy strawberries in season

 The cake!

 All of the little characters Eliza loved to watch

 So fun to make these miniature versions out of fondant

All sitting on their own muddy puddle

It has been a long time since I made a little figure but these were actually quite easy to do and Eliza knew who they were supposed to be so job done :)

 We did have some savoury food too but that doesn't look as good as the dessert table!

 Umbrella babybell (I love babybell art check out Eliza's 2nd birthday party ladybirds here)

Mini quiches - these are great for any occasion so tasty and easy to serve hot or cold 

Little blue party bags - everyone had a little felt cloud attached - every party needs a felt decoration 

see Princess and the wizard

Woodland

Under the sea

Mr Men and Little Miss

for other felt party bag decorations I have made 

Lovely little Snow White - how time flies.  How can she be 7 already??

Noone was allowed to eat the little characters she kept them in her room for a long time - yuck! Haha

Follow me on Instagram and Pinterest 

Felt Cat

Last year I made a Babushka doll last minute for a gift to fit in a homemade bed.

This year Sidney loves cats...

Very simple white felt with pink heart and a ribbon collar.  I have tons of buttons I bought for Eliza's quiet book so I sifted through them all and found the little pink star.

I saw this pin for the felt cat but it was just a picture so I can't credit whoever came up with it sorry!  It seemed pretty simple to follow for me who never draws just goes straight to cutting and usually at a really inappropriate time like this morning when I was looking after FIVE children - two of which are my own!  The gift is for Friday but I have two parties I am planning right now so I had a spare half an hour to get this finished.  The kids were playing happily and Finlay was making a rainbow loom bracelet for Sidney.

We are LOVING rainbow loom right now.  We have not mastered anything other than this basic design but we will sit and watch a tutorial one day soon!  Easter holidays just now so we are busy touring the parks with a picnic full of old Halloween and Christmas sweets :) Not good enough as a choice of sweet in the house but when you are out in the cold a chocolate coin goes down a treat :)

Party season soon Nerf and Cocktail parties coming soon!!!

I Love a Tutu!

For not being a girly girl I am really turning into one!!

My love of tutus started when Eliza was 2.  Her second birthday party was a Ladybird Picnic and Eliza was dressed of course as a ladybird.  Pinterest had taken over my life and I wanted to try every craft going :) I already had bought a little red tutu in a sale though so I just added black felt circles through the layers and I loved it at the time 

But knew I wanted to go back and make a tutu myself - they looked so easy to do.  I found out from this pin how to cut tulle easily - and I bulk ordered TONNES of tulle!!!  I don't know what I thought I was going to do with it all but once I saw all the colours I couldn't resist!  I found them on an Ebay shop really cheap by the roll so ordered in every colour I thought would be useful!  Lifetime supply :) 

My friend's little girl is just a couple of weeks younger than Eliza so for her birthday I made her a tutu using these instructions

She is a huge Elmo fan so I cut out an Elmo face and stuck it to a red t-shirt.  Home made Elmo tutu gift <3

It was so simple - basically tying the tulle in knots around a ribbon.  Simples :) 

Unfortunately I also bought a blue tutu in the sale so Eliza still didn't get a home-mader for her cousin's space party - just some silver stars stuck onto her shop-bought one.

Still, how cute?!?!

But I was desperate to make my own tutu for Eliza

Our holiday to Florida was the perfect occasion

 My very beautiful Minnie Mouse <3 <3 <3



Once we were home it was time to make a new one for Hallowe'en 

 Superhero tutu!!
For this tutu I used this pin to satin wrap it with yellow ribbon.  This is really too big for her here but I knew I wanted to make them so they would last some time because even though I bulk bought quite cheap tulle it is still an expensive hobby!

And here she is with her friend in her Elmo outfit from earlier in the year :) 

 Next was another hero outfit - this time Batman for her brothers Superhero Party

SO cute Batgirl :) 

Look how big she got!!  10 months on and she has turned into this little lady <3

World Book Day 2014 and she was dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood.  The "hood" is very dodgy just an old Santa hat attached to a cape - not my best effort but left myself little time as usual!  And the old Minnie Mouse tutu still fits :) 

I am sure there will be more in the years to come especially judging by how much tulle I have left :)  Might need to have a tutu party this year!  

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬