Party Pieces

I’ve now completed my order for 23 tractor badges! Here they are in all their glory ready for the party on Saturday at a local Farm Park.

I think these (and other types of badges or little handmade gift) are a great alternative to the usual things kids get in party bags these days, usually a load of cheap plastic tat that is broken by the evening! Hopefully these will be enjoyed and treasured a little longer!

Another great idea for party bags would be finger puppets – usually pretty easy to make in bulk if you go for a fairly simple straightforward design like a horse etc. Especially good for themed parties.

If you would like something a little different for gifts for your kids party then why not pop on over to the shop and send me a message – I can create a custom order for you and will do a good deal on a discount for multiple bulk orders.

 

 

Tractors and Pie!

This week I have been having a bit of a rush on trying to order some more of those awesome green ceramic tractor buttons for a bulk order for some cute tractor badges for a special boy’s birthday party.

I’ve made 10 so far and awaiting a further 10 buttons to arrive in the post for me to make some more.

Looking pretty good!

I also made a rather nice fish pie this week too. My husband doesn’t like fish so it’s something I tend to have if he wants to eat something I’m not mad keen on so we make different things or if I am at home on my own. I had picked up a pack of ‘fish pie mix’ from the supermarket the other day as it was reduced and had put it in the freezer so I got it out to defrost – it is an ok selection of little cuts of salmon, haddock and smoked pollock.

I then made a white sauce using 35g of butter and 60g of plain flour and once they were combined I added 500ml of milk (mine was skimmed – fully skimmed not semi) and stirred until thick (at one point it got a bit gloopy so I gave it a wazz with my handheld blender which really de-glooped it and made it quite nice and light.) I added some ground black pepper, some chopped parsley and the juice and zest of a small lemon and I put some chopped spring onions in aswell as some frozen peas. I lovingly dolloped it on top of the scattered fish bits in my nice dish. While I had been making the sauce I had some diced potato on the boil to make some nice fluffy mash with – and added some chopped leeks that I had sweated off in a bit of butter and mashed it all up nicely and spread on top of the sauce, made some nice fork marks and then finely grated some applewood smoked cheddar on top and baked for about 25 mins until all nice and golden and bubbling. It was rather nice – the lemon helped make the sauce quite light and it was plenty for dinner and for lunch the next day!

Flexing the sewing fingers!

Wow, it has been weeks since I have used the sewing machine, mostly because I’ve been unwell for a couple of weeks and because we got a new cat and I’ve been busy getting to know him!

Yesterday I decided to make another cushion cover – this time to sell. I used the leftovers of the coffee pot fabric I used to make my own squashy cushion covers a while back to make an envelope style cover but this time with the same fabric going all the way around.

Initially I am putting it up for sale on my Facebook page but will be making others in order to put into the Etsy shop so watch this space!

I also got some more dinosaur buttons in stock to be able to make more dinosaur badges and I got two different types of tractor ones which are pretty fab. They are really lovely handmade handpainted ceramic fair trade buttons made in South Africa, yes they are pricier than the usual plastic buttons but they just stand out and have a nice rustic charm to them.

Incomparable Buttons – just super lovely!

Sam saw I had the camera out to take photos and decided he wanted to help….

I am helping – honest!