Friday 28 October 2011

hey there sweet stuff

ok, the oven is set to 180, to my right there are pink bowls filled with thick, gooey icing in colours of black and orange, dainty blue and green plates hold mini mountains of rainbow sprinkles, hundreds and thousands and tiny swirls of grated vanilla white and the darkest velvety kind of chocolate. on my left sits a glass bowl filled with smooth melted chocolate, just waiting to be smothered over juicy apples.
it really is a sight to behold. me and kim waste no time and dive straight into the sugary mess. 
here are our creations...


kim working her magic


yes that is edible glitter :)





i swear that baking soothes the soul, maybe if i bake often i'll live longer? hahaha a chocolate covered apple a day keeps the grim reaper away :) 
x








Saturday 22 October 2011

happy saturday! 


i spent today being very productive (which is very very very unusual for moi) 
after taking the boyf to work for 8am (small eek!) in ross on wye, i got to my parents house with all the determination under our fiery sun to march straight into my workshop and begin writing. that, however, was an unlikely occurrence. instead, me and the mothership stomped (back) into ross to choose which delightful shade or orange the mother should paint the bathroom. (spiced pumpkin)
when lunchtime rolled it's lazy self around i was finally sneaking out of the 'which wall shall we paint cream and should we redecorate the living room whilst we're at it?' discussions and skipping up the garden path to my beloved little shed. 
remember that cute little christmas fabric mouse? well....she has been a saucy little minx and has had even littler cute fabric christmas mice! 

they're christmas tree decorations! they hang from the tree by their tail :)



i just need to think of names for them...any suggestions are most welcome :) 

so then i get a bit peckish...

roasted chestnuts! 



the parents have this amazing old stove that does the most delicious roasted chestnuts :)

well, that was my happy saturday, how was yours? 
x










Wednesday 19 October 2011

my! what red apples you have!

winter is fast approaching, and with these blustery days it is bringing the beginnings of that warm, spicy excitement for christmas. all summer long i've watched the tree's at the bottom of my parents garden swell and stretch, preparing themselves for the fruit they will bear. and now as autumn whispers and hushes, their branches have grown heavy with mouth watering apples and pears; with skin soft and ripe to the touch and juicy flesh so sweet you can't bear to lose one drop.
as i collect the fruit in baskets i can almost hear the tree's breathe a sigh of relief that their work is done, and their bough's creak as they settle in for the long rest the sleep through winter will bring them.






x




Monday 17 October 2011

a happy little birthday wish to my love

so i spent a lovely evening last night baking until the early hours of this morning. don't know how i lasted to be honest, was out saturday night and only had 4 hours sleep, then popped to work on sunday where i almost fell asleep on the popcorn counter (i work at coleford cinema if you're wondering!) only to then get back and begin a marathon baking extravaganza! :) 
i even compiled a 'baking playlist' :) hahaha oh what fun!

giant cookies :)


then its time for the cake...


and chocolate cake always tastes better with a dash of...


vanilla extract and rose water, they go beautifully together and make for yummy cake :)


the boyf doesn't like 'fussy cakes' (i usually go for glitter and flowers and 5 tiers, the whole shebang) so instead i kept it simples with just a moist chocolate sponge, a creamy icing in the middle and melted milk and white chocolate over the top. then i made a cookie man and cookie guitar, (the boyf plays guitar!) and again covered then in decorative chocolate, and ta-dah! :)

now to add some birthday candles... 



voila!

and with some left over mixture these little cuties were born...


and as always, all the yummy stuff is vegan :) 
hope everybody had a fabulous weekend? i had attempted a healthy eating thing...but there is no point in trying to deny the fact that i will be on that cake soon hahaha! health can wait!
x










Saturday 15 October 2011

got my dancing shoes on

just a few little words...
sometimes it can feel like a few monsters have been let into your world, creeped in through the open window when you weren't looking.
but even monsters have weaknesses. wana know a secret? 
monsters can't dance
so as long as you keep your dancing shoes on and dance your way through the world they'll never be able to keep up :) 


x

Friday 14 October 2011

time well wasted

today has been all kinds of wonderful in that special way that only comes when you have't planned to have a wonderful day, but it happens anyway. (like finding money stashed in a winter coat pocket or discovering another square of chocolate in the wrapper when you thought you'd eaten it all)
at 8am this morning me and my mothership were wandering around the forest (part of our get fit scheme) never realised how invigorating fast walking can be early in the morning, the smell of damp earth and leaves was intoxicating and the cows and sheep were still drowsy from waking so just merely watched us as we marched on past.
i then spent lunchtime doing some sketches of animals for my pet portrait work.
take a looksee
Marmie and Tina

Buster

(if anybody wants a pet portrait done for a christmas pressie just contact me on here and i'll be happy to oblige!) :)

the rest of the day was spent repeatedly jumping up and down on the trampoline my brother has recently required. i must say that it is so so sooooo much fun! i just couldn't stop laughing! with every bounce i'd shriek and then crash back onto it only to be propelled back into the air again followed my more shrieking.
i am now one tired bunny.
off out to the cinema with the boyf now, johnny english here we come! woop woop! 
it's the beginning of the weekend people! lets all party like we wana bring the stars down.
x




Monday 10 October 2011

i've got that christmas feeling...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 
'what?! this girl is mad! crazy i tell you! does she not know that it is only october?!' i hear you say.
well, yes i do indeed know that small little fact and am quite aware of just how strange it may seem that i have wished you all a merry little christmas. have no fear, i haven't lost the game of where's wally yet. i can explain.
today has been a little dahling of a day because i have spent it in my workshop designing....christmas cards! :)
i've only got a few that i'm pretty much happy with at the moment but i'll let you take a sneaky peek just because you're all too lovely.






they're so much fun to draw :) so then i thought, well if they're cute on paper...cute can only get cuter in fabric right?!


he took quite q while to make, i think if i make any more for christmas craft stalls i'm guna have to simplify them a bit. 

anybody got any good name suggestions for him?!

i was slightly cream crackered after today's work so me and the family ate our way through the apple and blackberry pie mum baked :)



sooooo yummy! :)

hope you guys had a good monday! (but even if it wasn't that great it's all good because theres an entire week before the next one!)

love and all that jazz x








Saturday 8 October 2011

welcome to my world...

hello...welcome to the mad house

so this is me in my natural habitat. my workshop is the place i feel most safe, hidden away from reality, and i can dream up stories and ink down images as they pop into my mind. i'm usually sat in that black swivel chair, chewing on my pen and staring out into the garden.
the location is amazing, my workshop is in my parents garden, which means a beautiful view of fields, vegetable patches, chickens and the rabbit. (and it's only a short hop skip and jump away from the house when i need another cup of strawberry tea). 

'the owls that sleep under red skies' 
'pink car'
'seaside rock'
all these were done with pen and ink onto board.

had some fun today doodling these, i was feeling a little bit, not stuck but something close to that. so i took a break from what i like to think is me actually trying to make some money and just got fancy with the inks :)
hope you guys like!
last night i think i started the slippery decent into madness...a tiny thought entered my head, and that thought said 'hey millie, wouldn't it be swell if you knew how to make paper cranes?' so on the internet i popped, and got instructions to make them. i'll just do one i thought, thinking i would probably give up halfway through. but that is not what happened. oh deary me. it was like an addiction, i just couldn't stop! and i'm still not cured. all last night i made paper birds and then today i made some more! what is wrong with meeeee? 
on the bright side of life, they are mighty cute :) 

hope y'all having a good weekend! 
x









Friday 7 October 2011

more tea sweetheart?

i've heard that people buy greetings cards, to say things that they can't say themselves. but if you can't say something, i think that cake is a much better way to say it. 





Thursday 6 October 2011

art exhibition

i have finally got round to putting up photo's of my work that i recently had in an exhibition, it's taken me a small while but here you go! have a looksee :)







next time you see a faery, don't try and catch it, they're always too fast and when they get away they'l just play mean tricks on you. instead, just ask to draw them, they're very flamboyant and love to be the centre of attention!