Artful Parenting

Days of Creation colouring pages

2010-11-08T13:35:00.004Z

These images are for personal use only and
not to be sold in either printed or digital format.

My first re-upholstered chair!

2010-07-22T22:43:00.004+01:00

Been inspired by some of the DIY blogs outhere. I've had a set of these 4 chairs for ages. I really like them, not just the shape, but the fact that they stack! The black plastic has started to split on a couple of them and does not look very appealing with the foam sticking out. Sorry about the picture quality, was using my phone and was either wobbling or had it on the wrong setting!

This is what the chair looked like originally.

Unscrewed the seat pad from the chair, and took off the black plastic.

I kept a piece of the plastic to put on the top of the seat pad as a bit of protection for the foam, as the new cover is cotton and I envisage there still will be spills!

I had a couple of pillow cases that I bought 2nd hand that I had stashed away ready for a project. Laid the foam and the wooden seat on to the fabric, pulled the fabric up and started stapling!

When it was all stapled, I trimmed the excess fabric then drew around the seat onto another piece of fabric.

Placed the fabric over the back of the seat and folded it under, then stapled at regular intervals all the way round.

The finished back.

Screwed it back on to the chair.

Voila! Funky new chair cover!

And just to remind you what it looked like...

Spritz cookie recipie for a Cookie Press

2010-05-20T12:19:00.003+01:00

Just received my Pampered Chef Cookie Press and done my first batch of cookies.

Looking online at the different reviews some people seem to have had problems with the mixture and getting it to work correctly.

I printed out to recipes and did a combination of them, and the results were good. It took me a few goes to get the hang of the press. I tried doing the cookies onto a silicon sheet...bad idea! Direct to the baking tin is best. There is enough fat in the mixture to stop them sticking once they are cooked.

Here is my version (I use the American Cup sizing)

Ingredients
1.5 cups or 7.5oz margarine or butter (not the spreadable marg - I used a combination of 3oz butter and 4.5 marg)
1 cup or 5oz sugar (I used Golden Caster)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3.5 cups or 17.5oz plain flour
2 tablespoons water
Pinch of Salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375f or Gas Mark 5
Beat butter/Marg till creamy. (I used a handheld electrc mixer)
Add sugar, beat.
Add egg, salt and vanilla, beat.
Add flour one cup (5oz) at a time, beat.

The dough will be soft, this is fine it needs to be.

Fill your cookie press and follow instructions for your own press to create your cookies.

bake for 10-12 minutes until they are nicely golden.

Next time i would like to try sprinkling on some 100's and 1000's, put some allspice in the mixture and try a chocolate and a lemon version. As long as the mixture is smooth there shouldn't be a problem.

Savoury Muffins

2010-03-28T19:45:00.002+01:00

I've sort of created it myself so that you can use it with any combi of veg/bacon and cheese.

1 cup of 80% milk or yogurt and 20% oil
2 eggs

BEAT TOGETHER

1 cup of cooked veg (spinach, broccoli, courgette, carrot, mushroom) /bacon/sun dried tomato/olives
1/2 cup of chopped or grated cheese (cheddar, feta...)
1 tsp veg stock powder
Salt to taste, especially if you're NOT using bacon

MIX IN

1 1/2 to 2 cups of self raising flour (depend how wet your veg mixture is are)
1 tsp baking powder

SIFT and FOLD IN (Should be a nice plopping consistancy, not too runny)
SPRAY or WIPE oil into a 12 piece MUFFIN tin
PLOP mixture in
COOK on GAS MARK 6/400f/200c for 20 mins (test with a knife or skewer, should come out clean)
TURN them out onto RACK to COOL

BEST EATEN WARM

Chocolate cake alert...

2010-01-21T22:57:00.002Z

Oh dear, I have found a recipe I am going to have to try sometime! It's here.
And as we have around 30 eggs in the house at the moment, its a good excuse to bake cakes!

Lemons and Globes

2010-01-19T18:56:00.005Z

For those of you who know me personally, you have probably had a conversation with me that has inevatibly turned to food, and possibly the famous lemon icecream!

I have become an avid follower of Smitten Kitchen, a fabulous foody blog. And as a fan of all things lemony (I must post my lemon chicken recipe) I had to try this. It is currently cooling in the kitchen. The filling is already a hit with my eldest son, as I had to much mixture for my pastry shell and put the excess in a ramekin dish to cook, that taster is now no more.

The other thing that my friends know about me is that I am a Charity shop frequenter. Love those bargains! And not only that, but the randomness of what one might find. I have been thinking about buying a globe for years, mainly so I could show the children various places in the world, so that they could have a better idea of where countries are and to have a 'global' world view. Well, I finally found one today, not as big as the ones I had been looking at, in fact, just perfect for our already cluttered home. I love it. I have already shown Luke where Haiti is (I had to look it up on Google Maps myelf first!)

Now, who would like to try the easy peasy, lemon squeezy icecream? It is based on one that Nigella Lawson does, I am not sure which book it is available in, I have also seen her do variations on it. Beware, it is thoroughly addictive, and when you start you can't stop. I gave this recipe to a friend and I think she makes it once a week!

You will need...
3 juicy lemons, preferably unwaxed
175g/6oz icing sugar
420ml double cream (or whole tub)
3 tablespoons iced water
Then...

Grate the zest from two of the lemons using a microplane grater (I don't have one of these, so I use an ordinary fine grater, and am careful not to grate too deep). Squeeze the juice of all three lemons and pour into a bowl with the zest and sugar, stir to combine and leave for 30 minutes, if you can, to let the flavour deepen.

Whip the cream with the water until it holds soft peaks, then whisk in the sweetened lemon juice. Turn into a shallow container, cover and freeze - no stirring, crystal-breaking-up mixing or anything needed - until firm. This could take anything from 3-6 hours depending on your freezer.

Let it stand in its container in the fridge for half an hour or so to get scoop-ready.

Enjoy!

When is a blog not a blog?

2010-01-19T00:06:00.002Z

Perhaps when it has not been updated for over a year!?

I had such grand intentions for this blog, it was going to be a place where I could share my family adventures. The tips and tricks I've learnt, the inspirational thoughts that help me and various other ramblings. I think I got stuck. Too often just stuck on the internet reading about stuff, looking at stuff, and dreaming about the stuff I was going to do. Things have got to change. I have to do more!

So, I'll start with sharing some sweet things my 2 and a half yr old comes out with.

"I hold it" - it is his baby sister.
"Daddy hold it" - it is as above, and usually uttered when he wants mummy's attention and mummy is holding same sister as above.
"Baby Mae sick"
"Baby Mae not sick"
"Baby Mae done poopoo"

Slow cooker adventures

2008-11-26T18:34:00.003Z

About a week ago, I decided to dust of the TWO slowcookers I have in my house, and get cooking. I had a go making a mammoth amount of curry for a friends party.

I used my tried and tested recipe for coconut chicken that is quite adaptable depending on what you have in the cupboards.

You will need... (this is a large amount, so you will need to oven bake or put in two slowcookers)

Approx 15-20 pieces of chicken (thighs or drumsticks)
Half a jar of Pataks Korma or Mild curry paste.
About 3tbs veg oil
A large pot of yogurt.
Grate about 3cm off a block of coconut cream (I guess you could substitute coconut milk, but I prefer the block as it doesn't tend to have that `off' taste the milk has)
A large onion.
Approx 6 cloves garlic.
Depending what you have... a couple of carrots or a small cauliflower or a couple of courgettes, you can even get away with some apple. Put in a food processor, so they're the texture of grated carrot.
Lemon juice if you have it.
Salt
Dessicated coconut.

Then...

Skin the chicken and if you have time mix the curry paste and yogurt with the chicken and leave in a bowl in the fridge overnight.

If not seal the chicken in heated oil.
Put the onion and garlic in. Cook for about 5 mins on medium heat.
Add the yogurt and curry paste if you have not let it marinade before.
Add the vegetables, 2 tsp salt and coconut cream, give it a good stir. Add 2 tbsps lemon juice if you have it.

Put all of it in a large baking dish or 2 slow cookers, if the sauce isn't runny enough for you, add some hot water.
Sprinkle the dessicated coconut over the top, cover with foil or lid.

Bake in oven for 2hrs on Gas Mark 3 or in slowcooker on high for 4hrs or low for 8hrs.

just too cute not to share

2008-11-03T21:04:00.001Z

Nifty idea!

2008-10-15T22:40:00.001+01:00

I've been getting so annoyed at loosing shoes off my 1yr old feet. Especially when they're the nice leather soft shoes, that are not cheap!

So... I've taken them to using a big nappy style pin, and pinning them to his trousers, that way, if they come off, they don't go very far!

When composting could go so horribly wrong...

2008-09-06T17:23:00.002+01:00

I was really chuffed at the beginning of the summer when I dug out the compost from a rusty old barrel. It was a beautiful colour and there was the most fantastic colony of worms living in the top half with the partially rotted veg etc.

I transfered the top layer into a new barrel, noticing it had a useful tap at the bottom, great for drainage I thought.

Picture my horror today after the rains we've had, I looked into the compost bin and there were worms floating in the water logged bin.

I quickly unscrewed the tap at the bottom and got a fork to try and loosen the compost so the water could drain down, thankfully I had put an old cat mat in the top and when I moved it aside discovered there were loads still alive. After I fished them out with a trowel I put them on the garden to live another day.

So the moral of this story is, always make sure your compost bin is well drained as it can be perilous for those vital worms.

Best toys

2008-08-26T23:21:00.003+01:00

No 1 son has just had his 6th birthday.

I've been thinking about toys lately. We have far too many in the house, in our lives. Not that I don't agree with playing, I do. Playing is one of the most important aspects to a child's development and growth and as I have also come to realise, important for adults too. How else do we learn how to problem solve creatively, be co-operative, dream and aspire?

I'd like to record some of the toys/games that have been signicant to mine and my children's lives.

I hope it might inpspire you to play too.

The first I will tell you about is a peg doll. Literally a peg, with pipecleaner arms and perhaps some wool for hair.

I was about 8 or 9 years old, living in Nigeria. It was probably a gift from one of the other missionaries out there who thought I would benefit from such a thing.
I kept her in what I think was a pencil case, with some oddments of fabric, scissors, needle and thread. Whenever I got the chance I would open it up and stitch away, creating new outfits for her. I loved it.

It was my first introduction to design and fashion. I later progressed to knitting for my Sindy doll, then making interesting outfits for GCSE and A level Art, costumes in my degree and then working for Hayley J a bridal wear designer, where I got to do it for real! Designing wedding dresses and hand finishing them.

So if you are not sure of what to get a 8 year old girl or boy for their birthday, howabout making them a little peg doll kit. All you need is:

An old fashioned wooden peg
A pipe cleaner
A pen to draw the face on
Some wool and glue for the hair
Oddments of fabric (if patterned use a design with small detail)
Needles
Thread (The plaited kind with lots of colours in it)
Small pair of scissors
Small pieces of lace and ribbon
Small buttons
and a Small box or pencil case to put it all in.

happy creating!

Fab book...

2008-08-12T17:59:00.003+01:00

The Phantom Tollbooth (Essential Modern Classics)
by Norton Juster

I haven't quite finished it yet, but it is so good I had to tell someone about it!

It probably would be aimed at children age 12+. A friend recomended it to me saying `it changed my life'. There are not many books you read to which you can hold that claim. When I quizzed him further he said it made him look at things differently.

Without giving much away, it's the story of a boy called Milo who enters this strange world throught a phantom tollbooth. This world seems to be able to shed light on the quirks and idiosyncrasies of our world and the way we do things in an entertaining way. All I can say is please read it, it will change the way you view the world.

I think it will become one of those books that will be read, re-read and recommended in our household.

How to make virtually free or very cheap rugs!

2008-08-07T21:02:00.004+01:00

A few years ago we visited a friend of ours and was so inspired by his funky and frugal way of carpeting his living room. He had got a load of carpet and samples and attached them together. I had a go doing it and got aching hands from the stitching. Recently I have discovered an easier way - hot glue!

So here is what you do...

Get free or very cheap sample pieces of carpet from your local carpet shop (they have a clear out every so often when their neew sample books arrive)
Lay them out in the pattern you would like.
Plug your glue gun in, and make sure you have supply of extra glue sticks.
Turn them over remembering to reverse the pattern.
Holding pieces together as close as you can, run the glue gun down the join of two pieces.
While the glue is still warm keep holding the pieces together and use the tip of the gun to rub the glue in.
Keep gluing all the pieces together.
When you have finished, it's worth waiting a few minutes to allow the last pieces to set properly.
Place somewhere useful.

Things we say...

2008-08-03T17:02:00.001+01:00

Holidays...

2008-08-02T13:51:00.003+01:00

Just got back from a Christian family conference, had a great time. The children didn't stop playing from the time they woke to the time they went to bed. My one yr old was surrounded by a cloud of teenage girls who seemed to serve his every need and give us a nice break from his constant need to explore.

I put into practice a tip that was given to me at the same conference last year.
When packing the children's clothes, roll up the outfit for the day with pants and socks.
Then either put them in a bag for that child, or lay them somewhere where they can get to.
Encourage them to reach for a roll of clothes each morning when they get up, and dress themselves (dependant on ability and age of course).

It saves having to scramble to assemble a set of clothes each morning, giving you those welcome extra minutes in bed!

Shelves!

2008-07-26T13:25:00.003+01:00

I am constantly on the look out for cheap storage ideas. Ones that will get "stuff" off the floor and on a wall somewhere. However, I also like things to be fun and look good. I think I have found the answer... and it's eco friendly!

Ironically its called the chaos bookcase! and can be found at Nigel's Eco Store

New Website!

2008-07-26T09:29:00.002+01:00

After doing a bit of research, and realising that this project is getting bigger, I've decided to create a website to run alongside this blog. I am planning that it will have a huge link list to resources on the internet and also have my book recomendations.

Check it out HERE

Sentences I try and say... no1

2008-07-26T01:49:00.004+01:00

I've been thinking about some the useful seneances I have picked up from books and friends.

Sentances that build my children up or just make more sense to them.

So here goes with my first...

When you have (insert your action request), you/we can do (insert your consequence)

This is such a great sentence, it replaces the "If you do such and such then we'll do such and such" one.

It gives your child the information of what is required, it can give an incentive, and it lets them know the outcome of them complying with the request.

On a personal note, it tends to slow me down when I would really like to shout a request.

Flapjack happiness

2008-07-24T20:36:00.000+01:00

I've been enjoying Jane Brocket's book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity and in particular the flapjacks she has inspired me to create. I have slightly adapted it for the needs of our household, mainly the volume!

The original recipe can be found on jane's blog - Yarnstorm, here.

This is my adapted version...

You will need;
330 grams/6oz butter 330 grams/6oz margarine 660 grams/ 12oz sugar (I used a mixture of dark brown sugar and caster, Jane uses soft brown sugar) 2 tablespoons of Golden Syrup

Melt the above together in a pan then add and mix in

660 grams/ 12oz Porridge oats
A handful of a mixture of the following, or none at all - sunflower, poppy, sesame seeds, sultanas, dessicated coconut or whatever takes your fancy.

Pour into a large tin and flatten with wooden spoon.

Bake on gas mark 2/300f/150c for approx 35mins, until golden brown.

When you take it out the oven wait about 10 mins before cutting into it, then wait for it to cool completely if you wantto stand any chance of getting whole slices out. Even then it is not guarenteed!

Enjoy! Preferably with a cup of tea (Earlgrey)

My slightly obliterated flapjack, as I was in too much of a hurry to get eating it!

It's been a while in the making...

2008-07-24T19:34:00.001+01:00

Thirty two years to be exact.

The decision to create a place where the goings on of my life that relate to parenting and domesticity meet has finally arrived.

It is with great trepidation and excitement that I start a new chapter in the blog sphere. I am not sure where it will lead. All I know is that I would like to share the good stuff of life with others who are on a similar journey.

Being a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, community member, peer counsellor, church member and general consumer of food, books, ideas etc will hopefully give me some qualification for the ideas to be shared.

Thank you for reading thus far and God bless you in whatever chapter of life you are in so far.