Vegan Versions

Hey guys! So- I'm a vegan in training and anytime I can make a tasty treat without animal products I'm very excited about it.

At the bottom of most recipes I will have a vegan version for those of us who just feel like we can do without all that jazz =) I Hope that encourages all non-vegans to try these options... The vegan option is lower in saturated fat and cholesterol which means its much more heart healthy- something everyone can enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins with a Cream Cheese Filling

Simply delicious muffins that are not easy on your waistline but oh-so-worth it!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Filling:

-1 tub cream cheese (200g)

-1 egg

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-3 tablespoons soft brown sugar

Muffin Batter:

-2 1/2 cups plain flour

-1 3/4 granulated sugar

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-2 teaspoons cinnamon 

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-2 eggs

-1 can pumpkin puree

-5 tablespoons vegetable oil

-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Crumble Topping:

-1/3 cup plain flour

-1/3 cup granulated sugar

-1 tablespoon cinnamon

-3 tablespoons butter (softened)

-3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 190 C. Grease and flour muffin cups or use paper cases. 

2. Filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, egg, vanilla and brown sugar until smooth. Set aside. 

3. Batter: In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add eggs, vanilla, vegetable oil and pumpkin puree. Beat until smooth. 

4. Crumb topping: in a small bowl mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts. Mix in butter with a fork. 

5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 filled with batter. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese mixture into the middle of the cup, avoiding the sides if you can. 

6. Sprinkle crumble topping.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Vegan Version:
So, unless you are fortunate enough to find vegan cream cheese that bakes well, the cream cheese filling may be tough but don't let it stop you from making these muffins! You can still do the crumble topping with vegetable oil instead of butter (or better yet, if you can find a butter substitute that tastes like butter..but I can find nothing like that here in the UK) and the batter with an egg replacer (I use EnerG and it works great for baking). Another heads-up about the crumble topping made with vegetable oil...because vegetable oil is a liquid at room temperature, the crumble topping will turn into a glaze if you leave them out (which I did of course) but its still delicious! 

Frame Ring Holder

So, this post is on how to make a ring holder out of a fancy frame, which is creative way to show off those cute rings instead of hiding them away in a jewellery box! I came across this post and thought WOW what a great gift and its so quick to do! So heres a little step by step and some words of wisdom where I went wrong.

Supplies:
-Frame
-Fabric
-Felt
-Hot glue gun and glue sticks
-Scissors

Steps:
1. Measure width of frame and cut 4-5 pieces of felt. Roll the top down and the bottom up until you get a scroll shape like this: 

Then fit them into the frame, making sure they are tightly held together, if you don't want to find your rings all over the floor! 

Words of wisdom: make sure you don't glue the bottom and top bits together, or else the rings won't fit between them!


2. Next cut fabric rectangles and hot glue to give that felt a little more appeal.

3. Now to attach the fabric covered pieces to the frame you can either use hot glue, or if your pieces are long enough you may be able to press them in between the front and back of the frame. (Mine were glued because they weren't long enough!)


And there you have it, how easy was that??

Jute or Yarn Lantern

So this post is inspired by a lampshade we bought from B&Q for about 10 pounds to replace a broken paper lantern and it looks so much nicer for just a little bit extra. But when I took a look around the cottage it made me want to replace the other 4 lanterns that came with the place (and we don't have 50 quid laying around for new lamp shades) so instead I set out on a search for how to make them myself. This tutorial is a mixture of some of the ideas I saw online with my own newbie twist on anything "modge podge". 


Well all together this project (2 jute lanterns and 2 brown yarn lanterns) cost about 4 pounds and I have supplies to make a few more! (((Soon to come: cute spin on this with water balloons and christmas tree lights)))


Supplies:
-Homemade "modge podge" (PVA glue and water)
-Jute, yarn or hemp
-Balloon
-Plate to put glue in
-Scissors
-Plastic garbage bag for floor
-Sharpie marker
-Needle and thread 

Steps:
1. Start by blowing up your balloon to the desired size for your lantern. Next draw a circle around the tie of your balloon (large enough for you to fit your hand inside to be able to take out the balloon later).


2. Pour a good amount of modge podge in to your plate and begin to dip your yarn into it. Run the yarn through your fingers to remove the excess glue. Start to place the wet yarn around the circle you drew and then in circles around the balloon until you get the desired depth you want.

3. Carefully place a needle and thread through the top of the balloon to hang to dry.

4. Wait at least 48 hours before popping the balloon and peeling it away. Attach to hanging light with excess yarn.


Words of wisdom: don't be impatient. I read to wait 24 hours in most of the posts but maybe my jute was a little more glue soaked then other's...I popped the balloon after only one day and the inner layer of jute was pulled into the centre of the shrivelled balloon. But, I was thinking quickly that morning and  blew up another balloon inside to push the layer back out to the perimeter, now it looks pretty twisty. But its the jute one at the top of the page...can you tell?

A work in progress...

Hey there guys! So this whole blog thing is totally new to me- that said...please bear with me! I will try to post as much as possible and I'm currently working on a few pieces (with the help of my loving husband) they should be up shortly. Thanks for taking the time to check out the page and let me know if you all have any suggestions- they would be greatly appreciated by this novice!