Christmas Gingerbread

I made lots of gingerbread today, some as presents, some for a party at work. I gave some to my lovely neighbour who then promptly told me I was 'The Gingerbread Queen'. And then I was asked on Twitter to share my recipe, so here we are:


Ingredients:

350g Plain Flour
1 Teaspoon (or more if you like it gingery) Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Bicarb
100g Butter
175g Brown Sugar (I use demerara)
1 Large Egg
4 Tablespoons Golden Syrup


Method:

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees c.
- Mix flour, spices and bicarb.
- Rub in butter to breadcrumb like consistency.
- Add sugar and mix.
- Break egg into mix and then add golden syrup.
- Mix thoroughly and knead.
- Roll and cut out.
- Bake in the middle of an oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

You can then ice them, or just eat them. The finished products are quite hard once they've cooled down and very good for dunking in tea!

I don't have a picture of any I've made I'm afraid, but here is a picture of my favourite cookie cutters - they're in the shape of Lego men and women!

Paper Origami

Before I make anything in fabric, I always make it in paper first. Paper is cheaper than fabric, you don't need to iron it to make it hold creases, and when it all goes wrong I get less cross!

So I thought I'd show you some of the things I've made in paper recently. Some of these pictures I've played about with in lo-mob so they look cool, others are just boring phone pics - I apologise for the quality of some of them!

Firstly, a full ball made from 12 flowers. Each of these flowers is folded from 6 bits of paper, so these take a while to make. They're really pretty though:



This is half a flower ball, so made from 6 flowers, each made from 6 pieces of paper. Several people have pointed out to me that these would look good around the bottom of candles, if I left the central flower out, but I'm sligtly worried about the paper + candle flame aspect of that!



Here are some random little flowers I made in a mug on my desk at work. I've tried making this flower design in fabric, but it just doesn't work sadly!



I made this just a few minutes ago - practicing a new design. It's a waterlilly and I rather like the way it turned out:



And just to prove I'm not all about origami, here's a picture of my hair. I plaited it across my head, and I loved the effect, so I took a picture!



Also this week I had my first sale in my shop which has made me very happy. I'm hoping it's the first of many. I'm also still waiting for some ring blanks to arrive so that I can make cute cocktail rings - hopefully they'll be here soon!

My Week...

...of being positive was hard. But I got through it, and no one told me off for being negative, so I'm counting it as a success!

Things I found to be positive about:

- Managing to get to work through a foot of snow!
- Winning some prizes in a work raffle
- Finishing my Christmas shopping

And a really big thing to be positive about - I sold my first set of hair slides today! I sold them to a friend from work, rather than online, but a sale is still a sale, and she's told other people about them too, so I'm hoping for more!

Sadly I don't have any pictures of the hair slides I sold, but here's a picture of some I made last week from Japanese kimono fabric:



They, and many other things are for sale in in the shop, and as I still haven't had a sale online, the code FABRIGAMI for 25% off will still work!

Promotion

One of things I'm really trying to focus on at the moment is promoting FoldedFrippery, and I'm rapidly running out of ways to do so.

I've recently come across Craftgawker and so I'm trying to submit photos to there, and I've set up a facebook page, which can be found here (I'd love more likers!).



I've also been advised to start using my flickr page to better effect, which I'm going to try and and start doing.

Does anyone else have any ideas for promotion of FF? Comments please!

A Positive Week

It has been pointed out to me recently that I can be rather negative on twitter and suchlike. And so for the next week I'm going to endeavour to be positive in everything I put out there on the internet. So if you see me moaning over on twitter, or here, then send me a message and tell me to stop it!

I'm hoping this will not only make me feel better as a person, but hopefully show people that I am a nice person, honest, and I don't only moan!

Oh, and look at the really cute pin-badge I just bought from Meridian Ariel at Etsy. I *heart* it.



Check out her shop (linked above), she makes some really cool stuff!


PS. You can still get 25% off at my etsy shop with the code FABRIGAMI. I've recently added some new items!

Discount Codes!

Etsy finally has coupon codes available at their site - when I have a sale now I won't have to mess around with paypal invoices! And in honour of this, and the fact that this is apparently the biggest internet shopping day of the year, I'm having another sale!

If you enter the code FABRIGAMI at the Etsy checkout when you buy anything from Folded Frippery you'll get a massive 25% off!

So if you're looking for cute gifts this Christmas, check out the shop!



If you're shopping from overseas you'll need to order your items by December 4th at the latest for them to reach you by the crucial day!

Good News!

This week so far has mostly been spent by me and the boyfriend discussing important money issues (eeek, scary!), and generally behaving like grown-ups. All of this discussion has had a purpose though, and it looks as though in the spring, we'll finally be able to move out of the hellish living situation we're in now.

I've been here just over 2 years, and the boyfriend has been here getting on for ten, and neither of us are happy, but we finally have a light at the end of the tunnel! And so, I've been looking at lots of gorgeous houseware items on Etsy that I'm mentally decorating our (at the moment hypothetical) new house with.

Here are some of my favourites:



I really love this this Origami clock from giftedpapers - with my love of all things Origami how could I not?!



I actually have a dress made from this fabric, and it's one of my favourite fabrics ever, so how could I resist this funky little pillow? It's by OlivetheBeach

And finally, for now,



I love the look of this rug. It looks like it would fun to walk on and lie on and generally just look at! It's from Crafttasticparties.

There'll probably be more of these posts the nearer we get to moving! I hope none of you will mock my bizarre and eclectic tastes!

I've gone Etsy Mad!

As I posted about yesterday, I've reopened Folded Frippery over at Etsy. And today I'm trying to learn to be a more active member of the Etsy community.

I've started posting in the forums over there, although I'm still quite timid (they're really fast paced!), and I managed to make my first ever treasury today, which can be seen here, although here's a screen-shot of it:



It looks much better at the site though!

Other than that there's nothing else for me to really say - I've had an entirely unproductive day, making wise, and I'm back to work on monday, which means I probably won't be making at the rate I have been, but I'm going to try!

Oh, and any tips for dealing with the Etsy forums without being eaten alive?

Grand Re-opening!

So a month or so back I opened Folded Frippery, a shop selling my fabric origami products. And I haven't sold a single thing!

Since then I've worked hard on new and different products, and on improving my photograpgy skills (which I think I've done!). And so, I've taken new photographs, made a new banner, and have decided to have a grand re-opening!

Here are some pictures of the new items I've been working on and that you can buy here:






As part of said Grand Re-Opening I am offering 2 things! Firstly, from today up until Midnight on Sunday 14/11/2010, I am offering a 20% discount on all items in my shop (postage not included), which will be refunded once payment is recieved. Secondly, for my very first sale, I will be sending the buyer a special (and secret) free gift!

So, any questions? Comments? Feel free to leave them in the comment below!

Folded Frippery

A few posts ago I posted about making Origami from fabric. Since then I've been working really hard on the idea, and today, I've opened a shop to sell all of my new items!

Folded Frippery is now Open For Business!

Please, take a look around, and tell me what you think - I'd love to hear your feedback. There's only 3 products listed so far, but more will be listed as soon I get home from work today, and with the first item I sell I'll be giving away a free gift!

Along with the item my first customer buys I'll be sending them this:



A Fish Brooch made from some really cute heart printed fabric!

So spread the word, and please keep checking the shop, and the blog here, as many more products and updates will be appearing soon!

Oh, and one final thing - this is my 99th post! For post number 100 I think I'll be doing a giveaway...so keep yout eyes peeled!

Apryl's Bookish Craft Swap

I'm a little late in blogging this, but better late than never I suppose!

Here are things I was sent by the lovely Emma as part of Apryl's Bookish Craft Swap:

Firstly the book:



I've started reading it in the last few days, and while it's certainly not something I would choose to read myself, so far I'm enjoying it.

The whole package arrived wrapped in this gorgeous little tote bag:




Stamped on the back is one of my favourite Oscar Wilde quotes.

There was also this pretty friendship bracelet:




And some cool Origami paper:



Some of which I have already folded into cranes:




There were also some liquorice catherine wheels with the package, but they were gone by the time I got to photographing all the other gorgeous things I recieved...

Fabric Origami

When I get bored at work I inevitably end up folding bits of paper into interesting and fun shapes. As I've mentioned before of this blog, I really like doing Origami, even I'm not the best person in the world at it.

My new favourite thing to make are these flowers:




And on Friday, when I was really quite bored at work, I had the notion that I could make these out of fabric. And so, that's what I spent my weekend doing! (Apologies for the rubbish phone pics!)




This was my first attempt, and although I liked the way it came out, I really wasn't happy with the raw edges, or the way I'd sewn it together.

A quick trip to Hobbycraft later for invisible thread and elastic, and this was my second attempt:



It's hemmed with invisible thread, and I liked it much better.

But then I had another idea - what about multicoloured flowers?!




I turned these two into hairbands - as you can see, one is on my head! As well as sewing the two fabric colours together, these two also have interfacing in the middle - I wondered if it would help them keep their shape, but I actually think it makes them too bulky and I don't think they fold right.

I've made one more of these too - a plain black one for my hair, which the boyfriend tells me is pretty, but I'm undecided about. If we get decent enough light today I'll take some pictures!

I'm not sure they can be technically called origami as they're sewn together to help them keep their shape, but they do stay up and together without the sewing! And now I know it works I'm thinking of trying to make things using all the other Origami patterns I know!

I've looked at Etsy this morning, and it seems like no one else is selling flowers like these, which is exciting for me, as I think this is the first original thing I've ever come up with. I want to open a shop to sell them in, different to Dria's Sock Shop, but I need a name - if someone can help me think of one, I'll send them an origami flower - either on elastic or on a brooch back!

EDITED TO ADD: I'm keeping this open until 9pm on Saturday (the 21st August). I'd really like a new shop name by then! So please keep coming up with ideas!

Quick Post

Just a quick post, before I go to work today, to say that along with the two sock creatures I've sold this week, I've got a commission from someone at work for another one! It needs to be baby pink though, and I cannot find socks the right shade anywhere! If anyone knows where I can get baby pink socks, either striped, or just with different coloured heels and toes I'd be really grateful for the information!

Not much else to say - expect pictures when I eventually find socks!

What I've Done This Weekend

I haven't done an awful lot to be fair, it's mostly been a terribly lazy weekend. I've watched Season 3 of Arrested Development, and Season 3 of The Guild and done very little else.

What I have done though, is make a sock bunny. Matt, of "Rayguns, Chainsaws, Swords and Dice" who I know from the SFX Forum and Twitter sent me an @reply saying that he'd wanted me to make him a Sock Bunny for ages. And so I did!

This is a WIP shot I took about halfway through making it:


And here are two shots of the finished Bunny:




I'm going to send it off to it's new home tomorrow, where I hope it will be well loved! And I've had interest in a Monkey I made, Bernard, which has made me happy. For good measure's sake, here's a picure of him:

Facebook Shop!

Oh yes, I have opened a Facebook Shop. I'm not sure if it'll mean I'll get any more sales, or if it'll be another platform where I get grumpy no one wants my things, but it's a chance I'm willing to take for now! So go take a look, and then tell me what you think!

I'm still on a bit of a crafting low, but I did sew a pincushion for my new sewing box, and then another pincushion thing, which was meant to be a strawberry but ended up looking like a chilli. It's so mishapen I'm not even going to bother taking pictures and showing the world.

I'm sort of in the mood to start sewing something bigger though, so I might start another creature. I'm still not sure. I'm still in a slump where I know we have too many sock animals already cluttering up the bedroom / house, and I really am loathe to add to them when I know they're just going to sit here with the others. I might have to start looking for little sewing projects I can do just to entertain me. My mum wants a sock Elephant, so I suppose I should start on making that.

I'm not sure if I posted this picture before (and I'm too lazy to go back and check!), but this was the first Elephant I made from socks - yes, it has two heads - it was meant as a gift for Amanda Palmer in reference to the song Elephant Elephant by Evelyn Evelyn (a concept too complicated to explain...please, look it up and enjoy!).

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I'm not sure if my mum wants a two headed or a single headed elephant, but I might make a two headed one just for the fun of it!

So...

It has been nearly a month since I blogged. I really am bad at this blogging lark. Maybe I should write and schedule posts ahead of time, when they occur to me, because I can never find the time to actually blog once I get home from work. I'm not too bad when it comes to blogging in the morning I guess!

I haven't blogged because I really haven't had anything to say. Everything minor I just post on twitter, and in the end, all of my minor things end up as the major things I would normally blog about!

Craft wise I'm not doing anything at the moment. I still have French Knitting waiting to be finished in preparation to be knit into something else. I have a pile of socks waiting to be turned into fabulous creatures, and zero inspiration or inclination to do it. Our bedroom is already so full of creatures that it seems pointless to make any more that will sit here waiting for homes, and in all honesty it's been too hot to knit!

I'm also having a weird time of things at home at the moment - our Landlord / Housemate seems to have a new girlfriend, and she's been here pretty much every day for the last 2 weeks cleaning our house. I know it's entirely irrational of me to be cross about this, as someone else cleaning is always a good thing, but it's the fact that she's been doing it so relentlessly, and it seems to me (again, probably entirely irrationally), that me and P are being blamed for half the mess in this house, despite the fact we pretty much live in one room. I dunno, it's complicated, even in my head. I'm just ranting about here.

In some better and more cheery news, I got a birthday present yesterday from P's sister. It's a Cath Kidston sewing box, and it looks like a house! It's so gorgeous I'm almost inspired to sew again!

Here are some pictures, of the outside, and the inside, now I've filled it with lovely things! The button box is actually filled with tiny reels of thread - they all fit perfectly in there:

Day Twenty

Day Twenty — A hobby of yours

One of my hobbies is Origami - I love folding paper! At the moment I'm working on filling a vase with tiny 3D origami stars, which I think might take a while! There's something quite relaxing about folding paper and seeing fabulous shapes appear, and while I'm hardly the best at it, it's still entertaining!

Here's what I have so far:

Day Nineteen

Day Nineteen — A talent of yours

I don't really think I have many talents. I can sing okay, I can bake fairly well, I can do crafty stuff to an extent, but I don't think anything I do can be called talent. Aside from maybe procrastinating, I can do that!

Hmm...I guess what most people would call my talent is my Wenching ability - I sit on knees, I pour beer expertly, I make Grog any pirate would be proud of and I look damned good in a corset!

Still not sure it's a talent though!

Day Eighteen

Day Eighteen — Whatever tickles your fancy.

Ah, blogging about whatever tickles my fancy again...difficult. I never know what to blog about, hence my not blogging normally!

Ah, I have an idea!

Craft swaps are often fun, but I always really stress over what to make for people. Apryl has come up with a really awesome idea - a crafty book swap - alongside sending some handmade craft items, the participants are also going to swap a book!

I think this is a really great idea, and I am going to sign up just as soon as I'm done blogging! All the information is here:

Click me for swapping fun!

Day Seventeen

Day Seventeen — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)

I don't really know a lot about art, but I have bought some art recently that is cute, surreal and makes me smile.



They're from the super talented ravengirl at Etsy - check her out!

Day Sixteen

Day Sixteen — A song that makes you cry (or nearly):

Wow, am I behind on this. Apologies for the blog spamming which will now ensue. Sorry for anyone who's reader is now filled solely with posts by me!

There are very few songs I can think of off of the top of my head that make me cry (or nearly), but one that definately does is Rufus Wainwright's version of Halleluja. I'm not sure what it is about it that affects me in a way no other version of it does, but there we go. I'm not sure what else I can say, so here's a video of it.



Apologies for the crap video - I could only find the Shrek version of it!

Day Fifteen

Day fifteen — a fanfic.

I'm not sure I've ever really read any fanfic (except maybe the awful Dr Who nonsense my friends over at the SFX forum know about, but which isn't suitable to talk about here!).

I have written fanfic though. When I was about 14 or 15 I wrote some truly awful Star Trek fanfic, which I'm laughing at even remembering now, and at the same time I was a member of a Buffy-verse based roleplay site, which probably counts as a kind of fanfic.

Other than that, it's really not something that interests me. I like characters to stay where they belong!

Day Fourteen

Day Fourteen, a Non-Fiction book.

I'm not really big on Non-Fiction, but I suppose the non-fiction book I've read most often is 'Byron: Life and Legend' by Fiona MacCarthy. It's a biography of Byron, and it's probably one of the best written, and my love for Lord Byron means I feel the urge to read it every now and then to reacquaint myself with him, as it were!



There's not really very much I can say about it, it does as it implies - talks about Byron's life, and his legend. If you have any interest in Romanic Poetry, or even the man who was Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know, I recommend it!

Day Thirteen

Day Thirteen, a fictional book.

I read a lot. I always have a book in my bag - it's very rare I leave the house without one. As I mentioned previously on this blog, I've read Gone With The Wind about 10 times. I'm re-reading it at the moment in fact!

I know it's not politically correct, I know it's racist, but it reflects a time I really wish I could have experienced, and you can't help but fall in love with Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. There's something timeless about the story. Even though it doesn't have a happy ending, you find yourself siding with Scarlett and her determination to fix things.

There are sequels as well, commissioned by the estate of Margaret Mitchell - Scarlett, which focuses on life for Scarlett after Gone With The Wind, and Butler's People, which is about Rhett Butler before and after he meets Scarlett O'Hara. They don't work together, and I was really confused when I read Butler's People, as it doesn't link in with Scarlett at all, but they're both as entertaining as GWTW.

Day Twelve

Once again I have been very bad with actually keeping up with this. So, many posts this morning!

Day Twelve: Whatever Tickles Your Fancy.

I'm a bit stuck on what to write about here. I think I might talk about Lego. Yup, plastic bricks.

I love Lego. I have done since I was a kid. Who would have thought there could be so much fun in snapping bricks together? As a kid I made cars, houses for dolls, towers, anything my imagination could come up with. And at the end of the day, it all came apart and you could start the next day!

Pete is a much bigger Lego nerd than me, our bedroom is full of completed Lego models, and more recently, a couple of them are mine. And mine are all Toy Story Lego. As mentioned in the previous day's blogging about favourite films, Toy Story is quite high up on the list of my favourites. I'm very excited about Toy Story 3 coming out next month!

My favourite Lego model is my Lego Buzz Lightyear. He looks like this:



If I had the money, I'd have the entire Toy Story Lego range!

Day Eleven

Day Eleven - a recent photo of me.

Generally I don't like having my photograph taken, so I don't really have many recent photos of myself. I think the most recent one I have is this one, which was taken about a year ago.



It was taken at an SFX Forum weekend meet up, and it's a picture of me, with a jug of Grog I'd just made. The Grog went down well, and I do actually like this picture - one of very few I do!

Day Ten

A photo of me taken over ten years ago...



This is me and my sister (I'm the redheaded one, obviously!), outside of the house we grew up in in Bristol. I'm probably about 4 or 5 in this picture, and my sister is probably about 2 or 3. I miss that house!

This is actually a photo of a photo, so apologies for the poor quality - I took a photo of it ages ago, when I was too lazy to find my scanner, when everyone was posting baby photos of themselves at the SFX forum!

Day Nine

Okay, I am really quite bad at this. I blame the fact that P is off work this week and taking me to work, so I don't have to get up early. So I don't have time to play about online!

Okay, Day Nine - a photograph I took.



This is a picture of Lilah, one of the first sock bunnies I made. She's probably still my favourite! This is probably also one of the best photos I've taken of my crafty work!