Getting Crafty

In times of stress I get crafty and lets just say Blaire's nursery is looking good for it! Is it just me who does things like this when stressed? My most recent effort is this Rainbow melt canvas, created using crayons and a hairdryer. Pinterest has a lot to answer for, this is where many of my ideas stem from.

It is super easy to do and below are the steps and equipment I used. All in I would say this cost around £5 to make (Crayola crayons are £1.25 in Tesco right now)

Equipment

• White Canvas (I got mine from the pound shop)
• 3 Packets of Crayons
• Super glue
• Plastic bag/Newspaper (melting the wax gets messy)
• And a good old trusty hair dryer

Method

• I started by glueing the crayons to the canvas, I used 3 of each of my selected colours. (Apart from the purple I used 4 as I miss judged the size) Once done it should like the above picture. Leave the glue to set for a few minutes.
• Lay your plastic bags or newspaper on the floor (this really is needed, I had no idea how much the wax would shoot of the canvas once melted!) 
• Now comes the fun messy part! Go to town with your hairdryer on a medium setting. I started by melting each colour at a time the once they started running I ran the hairdryer back and forward along them all to mix some colours together.
• Keep going until you have the desired effect.
• The wax drys almost instantly once you turn the hairdryer off

Voila, you are left with an awesome piece of art work to hang on the nursery wall! 

Has anyone else made their own decorations for their little ones room? Let me know if you try this, I am off to pin my evening away once more in the search for my next project!

Sweet n spicy Carrot Soup

Sweet n Spicy Carrot Soup 

I love nothing more than a bowl of good stick to your ribs soup on a frosty night. This recipe gives the perfect blend of sweet and a kick of spice. Served up with some crusty tiger bread and I am in heaven. 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 small leeks, sliced
• 800g carrots, sliced
• 2 tsp clear honey
• dried chilli flakes, add depending to your taste
• 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes made up in 2 pints of boiling water

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the leeks to the pan, cook these off for 3 mins until soft. Now add the carrots, honey and chilli flakes then cook this off for a few minutes.

Pour in the stock, bring this to the boil and simmer for 30 mins. Now you will need your food processor or blender, pour into the mixer and blend the soup a bit at a time, return to a clean pan, then season to taste. 

And that is you, if you are preparing this in advance bring it back to the boil before serving.

Have you tried making soup before, what is your favourite? Let me know below! 

Eilidh 

Gooey Chocolate Brownies

Gooey Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Hi guys, today I thought I would share with you the recipe i use for chocolate brownies. After taking them into work today it seems they are a big hit, and so simple to make!

Ingredients

250 g unsalted butter

200 g dark chocolate, broken up

80 g cocoa powder

65 g self raising flour

360 g caster sugar

4 large free-range eggs

1 bag of White Chocolate buttons (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line baking tin/glass dish with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. 

In a separate bowl, while your butter and chocolate are melting, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, and sugar, then add this to the melted chocolate. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a thick silky mixture. At this point I mixed in the white chocolate buttons, however this is an optional extra.

Pour the brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the middle shelf of the oven for around 25 minutes. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. 

Leave to cool in the tray, allowing the brownies to set and then carefully transfer to a chopping board and cut into squares.

I like to eat them on their own, however in a bowl with some vanilla ice cream is a great treat!

Let me know if you make these and share your pictures!