Days of Breakfast

Cinnamon Buns!

I haven't had the American type (maybe I'm missing out but Australia doesn't seem to be advertising any) but this is an adapted recipe, and its pretty darn tasty.
Recipe to follow.

What you'll need.

And for the toppings.

A sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon.

Before the oven.

After.

Boy: Nutella fiend.                                                                    Me: coffee addict.

Which ever way you desire to eat your cinnamon buns, enjoy!

Ingredients:
For Dough:
2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
125g butter, softened and cut up
3/4 to 1 cup of milk*

For Filling:
Butter
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Sultanas or any dried fruit and nuts you fancy

Preparation:
1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Add butter and rub between your fingers until it is cut into the flour.
3. Add milk until the dough is a bit sticky.
4. Put dough on a floured surface and roll out, you want a rectangular sort of shape.
5. Sprinkle filling on dough - butter, then sugar, then cinnamon and sultanas.
6. Roll up and slice into rolls **
7. Bake at 180*C for about 25mins or until browned at edges.
8. Enjoy with milk or your morning coffee!

*I used about 3/4 cup
**Use a serrated (bread) knife is best for this so you don't squash the dough

Jasmine Does Somedays.

Hey there!

I'd like to make a few introductions today: this is my beautiful friend Jasmine. 

She has just moved into the house from Malaysia, originally from Korea. 

Jasmine likes painting her nails, rock climbing (not in that order) and making us delicious Korean food!

And she has so graciously agreed to wear some of my vintage finds.

Drum roll please.

The dresses that we are wearing will be up on my Etsy account soon.

Much love, Laura and Jasmine.

Days of Presents: The perfect gift.

Are you ever stuck for what to get a friend for their birthday? 

Or just a simple gift to say "thank you", or "just because".

I had a few left over jars, and some spare ingredients so I decided to combine them all together to make a "cupcake decorating set".

What you'll need:

A few jars, I used 4. And some ribbon to tie them all together.

Cup cake paper and tape to hold it all together.

The more colourful and varied the paper the better!

Cupcake decorations: glitter, hundreds and thousands, etc.

Gummy bears and chocolate chips.

Maybe some vodka (it was her 21st)

I spray painted my lids so they were a uniform colour. Maybe I'll use some pink or gold next time.

I started by tying two jars quite close together.

Then added the other jars one by one, making sure they were still quite close.

When they were all closely together, I used the excess to fashion myself a handle.

A simple, colourful, useful present.

This gift could be for anyone - just fill it with their most loved thing or activity and you have a double rewarding present. 

Perfect even if I didn't say it myself.

Much love, Laura.

Days of Fondant II

I figured out pretty quickly that fondant is excellent. But having a whole stack of cake left over isn't so flash. Plus it wasn't my best cake (sorry dinner party friends, you were my trial group), it was a bit dry. Not my type of cake.

But, problem solved. With - more sugar. 

Joking, but there was sugar. And butter. And more fondant.

Crumbling dry cake into pieces.

Making a butter cream icing. A little bit less sugar than I would normally use (we are trying to cut back, right??)

Mixing until a nice dough consistency forms. Something that can be made into...

CAKE BALLS!

Covered in fondant.

Delicious. But only one at a time.

I used left over fondant, plus the fondant from the cake and kneaded it until I had a nice sticky (but not too sticky) icing. 

Then I cut it into large rounds using a glass then placed it over the cake balls (which were about a tablespoon in size, rolled).

I hope you can find an occasion to enjoy such delights!

Much love, Laura.

Days of DIY: Marble Painting

I hate to mention it, but Christmas is coming up. Or at least a whole bunch of birthdays (September/October - you do the math) but i've come prepared, and with a little bit of time you can be in the same position.

Marble painting!

That neat little thing you did when you were young and if you were like me, in childcare. What I like most about this is the carefree swirls and colours that you can mix in.

Lucky me I happened to have some left over acrylic paint from when I painted my fridge plus some pink and gold spray paint (for a up and coming DIY) on hand. 

What you will need:

A tub or tray which you don't mind getting dirty, scissors, pegs, paper, a stick or straw for stirring, mineral turpentine, and your favourite colour of acrylic paint.

And something to dry the paper on.

Put about an inch of water in your tray and add some turps to it.

Then, use your straw (or paintbrush etc), take up the paint and drop it into the water. 

The paint should remain at the surface of the water, this allows you to lay your paper CAREFULLY onto the water. The best technique is to bend the paper slightly in the middle and put that down first, then gently pat down the edges to make sure they got some paint on them.

Voila!

Paint spots and splatter!

Using my straw to gently mix the paint together. The gold was wonderful, once it hit the water it became a sort of gold leaf.

Trusty Hills Hoist.

My creations nearly ready to be shared.

I hope this gives you some ideas for gift wrapping, cards, envelopes.. the list goes on!

Much love, Laura