Happy Birthday To .... Everyone!

Hi everyone! And if you've had a birthday sometime last year (hehehe!!!), then HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It's been a homemade/handmade birthday theme this past year. As much as possible, I have tried to give handmade gifts or contributed to a party as my present. What I am most pleased about is that I have tried to use, as much as possible, the supplies that I already have on hand.

Here's a snapshot of some of the gifts given this past year...

Handmade notebooks with pen and paper (the paper was sometimes printed with Made By ... ). This is, proudly, my own creation.

Fabric Balloon balls for the little ones (again, my own creation!)...

A variety of cakes (including a Yoda cake!! Yeah - for once my failed icing colouring actually comes in good!). This was made by searching for heaps and heaps of images on the internet and trying to sculpt accordingly. Dear Husband made for an awesome critic (in this instance) - "It's Yoda. It had better be good, otherwise just forget about it and bring a round iced chocolate cake."

Word to the wise - I made my own fondant using marshmallows. Awesome stuff, but it's MESSY!!! I tried to take photos of the process, but it was like the blob and was going to take over my dining area if I let it go to take photos.

My little pet shop cake...

And this contribution to a little girls party (as suggested by Little Miss M after watching an episode of Peppa Pig... so who says that TV is useless?) - a ribbon piñata! I think this will be making an appearance again at one of my little ones' birthday celebration.

The cutest bag I have made so far (courtesy of my favourite bag designer). I think I will probably need to make one for myself. I might try a "grown up" material, but gosh yellow sure does make me smile! And again, I cannot rave on enough about this designer and her bag patterns. In this instance, her pattern encouraged me to try some embellishments (the flower was eventually attached to the bag) and to use boning in the handle. ** sigh ** so many bag patterns, so little time!!

I think I had better start on the birthday presents for this year. I have a feeling my little ones will be demanding this year - for themselves as well as for the birthdays they will be invited to.

Comments

It's a skill and I need more sleep

Do you tell jokes? I don't. Hardly ever anyway. One - I don't know many jokes. Two - I can't tell jokes. I stutter the punch lines which ruins it. Or I'm laughing before I finish telling which, again, ruins it. And three - I have a really BAD sense of humour. Only my husband gets it. He gets my humour and reacts. It's why I married him. And yes, please note the purposeful use of "reacts" rather than "laugh" because ... yeah ... no ... he doesn't always laugh. And the times when he does laugh he's usually not laughing at the joke; he's usually laughing at me. But that's ok because that was the point of the joke - to make him laugh. Which he does. Why he's laughing ... well, that's secondary, isn't it? And what about pithy witty comments? I'm full of them. Clever, imaginative one-liners. But, again, it's all in the...

Back from my hiatus

Have you ever struggled with your identity? Like how you define yourself; how you think of yourself? I do. I have been. I still am. Rather than simply stating "I am Ag May", I need to add labels. I'm a mother. I work but I'm on leave at the moment. I'm a crafter, but I just make things not really create things. I bake. I cook. And right now, I'm confused. I wonder if the lack of varied adult interaction has made me lose sight of how I define myself. My wardrobe is probably a good metaphor... I've cleaned it out. So now I'm left with 2 pairs of jeans; a pair of light coloured pants; a pair of tracksuit pants; a handful of t-shirts; and a handful of dresses. Add to that a few jumpers and a couple of cardigans and that's my wardrobe. No more "smart casual"; no more "office-wear"; no more "formal wear" or "going-out on the town wear". I think I donated my personality to good will alongside my c...

The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days Cupcakes

I have seriously tried to limit the number of cookbooks in my bookshelf. Not only is the internet a major source of information (and free at that!), but we just don't have the space. However, there are a few cookbooks that I love having on hand, in person, ready to be flicked through at a moments notice. And this book - the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days - is fast becoming one of those books. I love it even more so as it was a "just because" present from my Dear Husband :) The cover is textured and PINK. Not just a pastel pretty pink, but a bright-in-your-face PINK!! There's no mistaking the market for this cookbook. And the rest of the book follows in its bold use of colors. This cookbook, for me, provides inspiration by way of baking, photography, and food styling. Much progress on the first one, not so much on the last two.. oh well, so let's talk about the baking. So far, I've tried two basic recipes - the vanilla cupcakes with van...

Ag May ...

Search This Blog