Friday 30 September 2016

Free knitting pattern- Caron Ms. Nutterson Squirrel

This awesome squirrel pattern is free to download...

Ms. Nutterson is the friendliest squirrel in the forest! Knit in Caron Simply Soft, and standing at approximately 21" tall, Ms. Nutterson is the perfect stuffy friend.

See the rest of the Little Forest Friends Patterns here.

Blogpost shared from https://s3.amazonaws.com/spinrite/pdf/Caron-SimplySoft-ms-nutterson-knit-WEB.pdf

Bernat Like A Fox Blanket Free Easy Baby's Blanket Crochet Pattern

The best blanket to wrap up in - the Like a Fox Blanket features a fun fox hood, for extra coziness. Easily crocheted in Bernat Softee Chunky yarn.

See the rest of the Little Forest Friends Patterns here.

See the lookbook here.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP recipe

This is so scrummy for this time of year!

Add a fragrant note with ground ginger and orange juice to this comforting autumnal soup
By Gary Rhodes

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
675 g butternut squash, seeds removed and cubed
1/2 tsp ground ginger
600 ml vegetable stock
100 ml orange juice
salt and black pepper

METHOD

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and fry until softened, but not coloured.

2. Tip in the butternut squash and add the ginger. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.

3. Add the stock and orange juice and simmer for about 30 minutes until the squash is tender.

4. Leave the soup to cool slightly, before puréeing with a hand blender until smooth. Season to taste, reheat if necessary and serve. ENJOY!

Thursday 29 September 2016

MARY BERRY'S COFFEE AND WALNUT CUPCAKES - something for the weekend!!

Make afternoon tea special with these palely pretty cakes topped with crunchy walnuts
By Mary Berry

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes:

1 tbsp instant coffee
115 g butter, softened
140 g self-raising flour
140 g caster sugar
2 tbsp milk
2 large eggs
25 g walnuts

For the coffee icing:

2 tsp instant coffee
100 g butter, at room temperature
225 g icing sugar
12 walnut halves, to decorate

METHOD

1. For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Put the coffee granules and 1 tablespoon of boiling water into a mixing bowl and stir until smooth. Add the butter, flour, sugar, milk, and eggs and mix with an electric whisk until smooth. Stir in the walnuts, then spoon into the muffin cases.

2. Bake in the centre of the oven for 2025 minutes or until risen and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack until stone cold.

3. For the icing: Put the coffee granules and 2 teaspoons boiling water into a bowl and stir until smooth. Add the butter, sift in the icing sugar, and stir until smooth and free of streaks.

4. Spoon on to the cupcakes, then decorate each one with a walnut half.

TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS

The cupcakes can be made and iced up to 1 day ahead. Freeze without the icing for up to 1 month.

How to soften butter:
To make sure the butter is soft enough to work with, cut it into small cubes and pop into a bowl of lukewarm water. After 10 minutes or so, squeeze one of the cubes it should be lovely and soft.?You can then drain them and use them.

These are made in muffin tins, which are fairly large, but make them in bun tins if you wish you should get 18 fairy cakes.

http://goodfood.uktv.co.uk/recipe/mary-berrys-coffee-and-walnut-cupcakes-1/

Super snuggly gifts; the perfect stocking filler!

Monday 26 September 2016

Happy Monday! My makes of the day

Well it's been a very busy day here at handmadelittlecreations HQ I've been making fabric hearts..

I love making these as it combined many techniques i love

The nights are definitely drawing in! The heating has had to go on tonight and looking outside it's dark. I'm not ready for the cold weather. It plays havoc with my old bones.

I suffer with various arthritis related issues and really do struggle in the winter.

ONE thing i have found this last couple of years is knitting and crochet helps alleviate some of the pains in my hands and fingers. I have swapped all my metal needles for bamboo and i really believe it has helped me whenever i start to get stiff and sore hands and fingers the needles and yarn come out

Sunday 25 September 2016

Sneak peek these aren't on Etsy yet

Unique gifts all one of a kind hand knitted or crochet by handmadelittlecreations

To see more please stop by my store

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HandmadeLCreations

Stop by my little shop - Baby boutique

To go to my store click here

Whether you are looking for Baby Boy or Girls Gifts we stock a good selection. All have been lovingly handmade. We deliver worldwide through our Etsy store

Thank you for looking

Peanut butter cookies - gluten free recipe!

PREP: 15 MINSCOOK: 12 MINS
With just three ingredients, these simple peanut butter cookies will delight kids and grown-ups alike - and they're gluten-free, too

EASY

MAKES 16

Ingredients

200g peanut butter (crunchy or smooth is fine)
175g golden caster sugar
¼ tsp fine table salt
1 large egg

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line 2 large baking trays with baking parchment. Measure the peanut butter and sugar into a bowl. Add ¼ tsp fine table salt and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the egg and mix again until the mixture forms a dough.
Break off cherry tomato sized chunks of dough and place, well spaced apart, on the trays. Press the cookies down with the back of a fork to squash them a little. The cookies can now be frozen for 2 months, cook from frozen adding an extra min or 2 to the cooking time. Bake for 12 mins, until golden around the edges and paler in the centre. Cool on the trays for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in a cookie jar for up to 3 days.

Baby Blanket, Traditional Hand-Crochet Pram Blanket, Cot Blanket, New Baby, Cot Blanket, Pram Topper, Reborn Doll, Newborn

Printable Instant Download Digital Photograph, Bottle Brush Flower Commercial use image, Jpeg

Hello to our friends out in Alaska

Hello to our friends out in Alaska today - hope the weathers not too cold for you

Sending warm wishes, watch out for more patterns coming next week

Designer of the month - Free Patterns click here if you love to crochet

Each month i will promote a new artist or designer from a different category, please show them some love and help share on social if you can

This months designer is:

Teri Heathcote - My passion for crochet actually stemmed from taking up knitting again. My Nana had taught me to knit at a young age so in 2011 when I was pregnant with my daughter I picked it up again. My mother had given me her bag of knitting needles so when I found a crochet hook in the bottom of the bag I decided I needed to learn. Thankfully CraftyMinx had just come out with Crochet School at the time so within a few weeks I was creating wonderful projects with just some yarn and a hook. It still amazes me what you can create with those two things.

Life has changed a lot since then. Writing patterns has now become a part time job. When I picked up that hook I never imagined I would end up here, or my patterns would be so well received.

Teri has a beautiful collection of free patterns available

Links

Knot Your Nana's Crochet
Facebook
Pinterest

Patterns on AllFreeCrochet

Read more at http://www.allfreecrochet.com/Crochet-Designer/Teri-Heathcote-Crochet-Designer#WSrPkZW8fPkGzvoK.99

How to Make a Halloween Eye Mask

Halloween eye mask – just grab some felt and black paint! If you don’t have any spider tulle, you could use any other sheer black fabric, more felt or just skip this element.

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Time to Make: 1 hour, plus drying time

You Will Need

Craft Essentials

How to Make

1. Start by painting your mask base with black glitter paint, you may need a few coats. Leave to dry.

2. Next, you need to make the bow. Take the piece of felt and cut a square shape, approximately 15cm by 15cm. Using scissors, cut in wave shapes along two opposite sides.

3. Cut a small strip of felt for the middle of the bow, approximately 1.5cm wide.

4. Assemble the felt bow by scrunching your large square of felt in the middle, in a sort of concertina effect. Hold in place while you wrap the small strip of felt around the centre, and glue gun where it joins, holding in place until it dries. Trim off any excess overhang.

5. Place your felt bow on the tulle, and cut a larger rectangle, using the bow as a rough size guide.

6. Pinch the tulle into the felt bow, as you did in step 4, and hold in place. Using a needle and thread, stitch in place on top and bottom to keep the shape.

7. Use the glue gun to stick your large double bow onto the front of the mache mask and leave to dry.

Shared from the Hobbycrafts blog to buy craft supplies go to the website now for spooktacular goodies

http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/occasions/halloween/halloween-crafts

Something fun for Sunday - How to Make a Halloween Feather Wreath

Go chic with your Halloween styling this year, and create a beautiful black feather wreath for your home. Super simple to make, it’s the perfect project for a nod to Halloween without too much orange and purple!

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Time to Make: One and a half hours