Mod gingerbread house 2011
December 24, 2011
Merry Xmas to all, and to all a good night…
The gingerbread recipe
December 16, 2011
As promised to many, here’s my gingerbread recipe. It’s been lovingly tweaked and tested over the years and works really well for houses and biccies like the Reindeer cookie above (inspiration from Meet the Dubiens via pinterest). These were devoured at work when I took them in, thanks Lizi for the photo!
.
Gingerbread Recipe
Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely dissolved then remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
.
Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and bi-carb soda in an electric mixer bowl and add the cooled butter/sugar mix. Combine.
.
If you have one, use the dough hook on the mixer. Using a medium speed, add the flour to the other ingredients. Mix until well combined. If you don’t have a dough hook, use beater attachments until the dough becomes too heavy at which point bring the dough together by hand.
.
Roll out between two sheets of baking paper until it’s around 8mm (1/4 inch) thick. Cut out desired shapes and bake in an oven at 180 degrees for between 8-20 minutes depending on size of pieces. I find 8 minutes for biscuits, around 15 for larger house pieces works well.
.
Gingerbread dough can be used immediately or can be frozen (wrap tightly in cling film and put in a zip-lock bag).
Enjoy!
Beginning to look a lot like Xmas
December 1, 2011
I love Christmas. I the carols and the candles, the presents and the pudding, but most of all I love the creativity (just call me Wombat Devine). There’s no way on earth I’m going to get through the list of things I’d like to make this year but I’m happy to report that the advent calendar is in full swing and the ALL important gingerbread house has been designed. Sadly last year I missed the house making because we had to move house on the 21st of December. Well this year I promise to go completely over the top to make up for it.
Sketches have begun, templates have been printed. I’m going with a Mod Gingerbread House (2o09 house here) again but upping the ante. This year it’s Seidler house inspired and involves a rocky outcrop of rocky road and a pool in the backyard. You heard it here first sista…
Santa Special
December 6, 2010
I’ve been very busy (yes, I am crazy), making new little owlie kits and today I’m busy putting them up in the Craft Schmaft store. The good news is that the Stocking Stuffer Special of 3 baby owl kits for $75 and free postage is back. Here’s a sneak peek of the owls.
I also have two brand new owl mobile colours in the store. I shouldn’t play favourites with my owlies but I do love the grey.
.
See the Grey owl mobile kit in the store.
.
See the Pink Mobile Kit in the store.
.
Between all this and Mathildas Markets yesterdayI think I need a bex and a good lie down!
Productive procrastination
November 30, 2010
I am a queen of procrastination and today is no exception. I should have spent the hour while bubbas were sleeping constructing a pink owl mobile. Instead I got carried away with an advent calendar idea. I’ve wanted to do an advent calendar ever since the very clever Amelia told me about hers at Craft Room last year. Oscar would love it but I’ve been so busy with Mathildas market prep that I haven’t had a chance to make one.
..
A picture in Donna Hay gave me an idea for using these plastic baubles from Ribbons Galore – I plan to adorn them with fabric and fold up a little note of an advent activity for each day. It’s a perfect no sew, stash buster solution.
..
Heres my hour of procrastination list of activities so far, in no particular order. Any more thoughts? Do you do advent calendars with your kids?
..
Put a present under a tree for charity
Watch an xmas movie
Decorate house with Tinsel
Help Nan decorate her tree
Make Christmas cookies
Go Christmas shopping for daddy
Visit Santa
Drive around and see xmas lights
Go to Christmas Carols
Make xmas card for best friends
Write a letter to Santa
Dance to Xmas music
Have a bubble bath (make Santa Beards)
Play with red & green playdough
Wrap up some presents
Read story about baby Jesus
Read night before xmas
Make Jingle bell bracelets- Use pipe cleaners and lace beads and jingle bells on them
Have a candy cane – yum!
Have an xmas chocolate
Colour in a christmas picture
.
.
Repeat after me… procrastination is good, procrastination is good!
A merry little Christmas
December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you’re all having a wonderful day filled with love, laughter and lots of pressies.
.
My mod gingerbread house was a success – not that it was all smooth sailing. I completely forgot to bake the back wall so had to do an extra batch of gingerbread at the last minute and I was not at all confident that the lifesaver besser block wall would hold, but it did! Hooray! That royal icing is amazing stuff. I was very restrained on the lollies and adornments this year. For some reason I just wanted to keep it simple and putting all the extra marshmallows and lollies all over the house just seemed to go against the whole mid-century modern theme. But the rocky road chimney was very well received and I’ve made a little habit of using the star anise over the door of my houses. So without further ado here is the making of and the finished Mod Gingerbread house.
.
One ornament tells a thousand words
December 19, 2009
So I pulled out the box of Xmas decorations last night and realised that none of them match and that, of course, I’ll need a whole new set this year. Ummm, yes, I’ve left it all a bit late. I don’t have many ornaments but most of them represent a moment in time. This year’s owl angel being very representative of my crafty life right now.
This angel I bought while backpacking in Europe. I found her in a little shop filled with crafted things on a cobbled laneway winding down from Prague castle. I was 23 and seeing the world for the first time. I loved that the angel was created from wood shavings just tied together.
The glitter ball I bought for Christmas in London. It was the first Christmas Mr Schmaft and I spent together which sounds very cosy and lovely but was actually a blur of clubbing and glitter. I had a little pot of dusty glitter that I used to wear when I went out clubbing – Mr Schmaft hated it because he’d end up covered in it and could never get those last little specks off!
The last one, the Santa, I bought when I was in labour with Oscar. I’d been told that walking around helps the labour progress and was bored with being at home so we decided to go shopping. It seems ridiculous now but at the time it made sense – a bit of retail therapy? Anyway, I distinctly remember standing in front of the Xmas decorations in Myer and picking out this but then having to wait for a contraction to pass before picking out the others. I guess the tummy on him reflected my state at the time although I did have thankles rather than Santa’s slender ankles (that’s like cankles but when you’re ankles are the size of your thighs).
.
Ahhhh the memories. What do your Xmas decorations say about you?
The mod gingerbread house begins
December 16, 2009
Every year I make a gingerbread house. Well every year since Oscar was born so this will be my third. The first year I went very traditional, burnt half the gingerbread but discovered that enough lollies and icing and chocolate cover anything and that despite everyone having eaten a huge Xmas lunch it will be devoured. Burnt bits and all. The second year the gingerbread was baked perfectly. The only hitch was that I had to take it to Melbourne and assemble it in my in-laws place on Christmas eve. So I made a flat pack house and put it together ikea style. I was terrified it wouldn’t work and my in-laws spotless kitchen would be covered in royal icing which is impossible to remove once it sets. Thank goodness my brother-in-law, who is in construction, was there to oversee the works and in the end that was one sturdy house! I went nuts on the lollies at hubbies request (he is a total sugar addict).
This year I’m going Mod with the house. Well Mid-Century Modern to be exact. I have a real thing for early 60′s architecture so I spent last night researching mod houses on flickr and working on my design. My mother thinks I’m being ridiculous, my other half just shook his head and laughed. I mentioned it on twitter and got a VERY positive response with a great link from @AmandaFuller for a very inspiring mod gingerbread house competition. So I’m doing it.
Here’s the very rough concept so far. I’m thinking I may have chocolate cone trees out the front and perhaps a vintage looking car in the carport. I’m ridiculously excited about this.
I only get the rolling pin out once a year.
December 21, 2008
It’s gingerbread house time! I’m having to flat pack the gingerbread house this year as we’re off to Victoria. I’ve baked all the individual pieces, wrapped them up ready for transport and decoration on xmas eve in Woodend. I like to think of it as gingerbread pre-fab! This is bound to have it’s difficulties but I’m up for the challenge. Last year’s gingerbread house was all about red and pink lollies with white chocolate drops covering the roof, not sure about this year, maybe we’ll go for blue…
Little Monster Keds
December 2, 2008
I was mucking around with customising a pair of Keds for my little monster, Oscar, today. I wasn’t intending on buying them, just wanted to see what the application could do. They turned out so much better than I expected that I’m almost tempted to spend the $75 on them…. I wonder if I could slip that one past the ministry of finance that is my husband…christmas pressie? Little Monster Keds.
Hello. My name is Claire. I have a sock toy addiction. It began two years ago when I was pregnant and nesting. At first I dismissed it. I hadn't sewn in years. "Craft Schmaft" I said. Well it seems this crafty thing is here to stay. This blog brings you the delights of making sock softies, fabric finds and crafty inspiration from round the interweb.
