Pretty Shabby Uk

I love this recipe, its a hearty, comforting easy midweek meal. Which is super quick and easy to make. Ingredients For the batter 140g plain flour ½ tsp salt 2 eggs 175ml semi-skimmed milk 8 chipolatas 1 tbsp sunflower oil Method Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the sausages in a roasting tin with the oil, then bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned. Meanwhile, make up the batter mix. Tip the flour into a bowl with the salt, make a well in the middle and crack both eggs into it. Use an electric whisk to mix it together, then slowly add the milk, whisking all the time. Leave to stand until the sausages are nice and brown. Remove the sausages from the oven – watch out because the fat will be sizzling hot – but if it isn’t, put the tin on the hob for a few minutes until it is. Pour in the batter mix, transfer to the top shelf of the oven, then cook for 25-30 minutes, until risen and golden. Serve with Mash, gravy and Peas Feel free to ...

There's nothing like greeting your guests in style and with this Martha Stewart door mat, you are bound to make a lasting impression. Before you start, practice the braid by making a miniature version of the mat with thinner rope. When you're ready to make the big mat, cover a large work surface with kraft paper. Draw a cross on the paper; it should have a 33-inch vertical line and a 12 1/4-inch horizontal line. (This is the dimension of the mat when you get to step 4.) As you weave, use the cross as a guide and tape down loops to retain the mat's shape. We used 1/2-inch-thick twisted nylon rope. About 165 feet makes a 33-by-20-inch mat. Step 1 - Starting at one end of rope, form a loose knot as shown; leave a 30-inch tail on right side and slack on left side. Gently pull down on loops. Step 2 - Flip loops to left as shown. Lift the first loop and cross it over the second. Step 3 - Using tail end, weave as shown. Step 4 - Using sla...

This Paper Tube Lavender Sachet from  Maria Chatzi  is a great way to use up items around your home.  These handmade sachets work well in your drawer or closet and make wonderful gifts for loved ones.  Materials: ·          A piece of white tulle, 5.9 inches long and about 11.6 inches wide ·          Four ribbons, 2.8 long each, any purple (dark or light) will do - they could also be checked or striped ·          A piece of purple waxed jewellery string, 9,8 long ·          A round bead (any colour), with a hole big enough for your waxed string to go through it if folded in half ·          A long embroidery needle with a large hole ·          A small paper rose, colour: white ·      ...

These small-scale singers are poised to echo their joyous strains this holiday season. Total Time Needed: 1 Hour Materials Acrylic paints Capped acorns Hot glue 2 small twigs Small pinecone, between 1" and 2" tall Glue stick Small piece of photocopied sheet music Coloured construction paper Instructions To make your own tiny choir, first use acrylic paints to create faces on a collection of capped acorns and allow them to dry. Use hot glue to secure each acorn head and 2 twig arms to a small pinecone (ours were between 1 and 2 inches tall). For each songbook, use a glue stick to attach a small piece of photocopied sheet music to a rectangle of coloured construction paper. Give each book a centre crease, and then attach the music to the carollers’ hands with hot glue. If you enjoyed this craft, why not check out the  pinecone topiary tree Photo courtesy of Family Fun

Does the thought of preparing Christmas lunch bored you?  Well try serving it in this easy to make little Christmas number. The Mrs Claus Apron is so simple to make, and you have to admit, it is so cute too. Dont forget to pop over an have a look at the adorable  Pinecone carollers  or my  Top 10 christmas wreaths

Well guys, its coming to that time of year........yes....christmas craft making time. The kids and i had these Five fingers snowman ornament, which i originally found on  Full of great ideas , there is a wonderful step-by-step pictured tutorial. My version Love the way the white contrasts with the red bauble I made 6 of these in total Surprised at how good it looks I did not think i would like the silver baubles, so i used these as my practice ones, but i really like them, i am surprised that they look so good. Not only do we have keepsakes for this year, but we have started a tradition, as each year i plan to make more with the kids to see how they have grown. I made 6 of these baubles - Luke did 3 and Chloe did 3, so we are going to keep a set, and the other sets will be given to my parents and parents-in-law. The kids enjoyed this activity so much.  I would recommend that you try this......

Tutorial: Make a Jenga Block Keychain  Follow this easy tutorial to make one of these great keychains, which you can personalize with your own images. Materials: Old Jenga Blocks or other similar sized pieces of scrap wood sanded smooth Papers/Images or your choice Cording for knot at top 1 Keychain ring per keychain Drill bit (similar width to the cording), and drill Glue Woodburning tool Sharp scissors Sharp pointy object like an awl (I use a metal cake tester) X-acto knife (optional) Some kind of sealant, I used a glossy, quick dry, polyurethane First drill a hole in the block (approx 1/2" from the top). Drill straight through till the bit comes out the other side of the block. Be sure to do your drilling on a scrap piece of wood. Next, take some glue and spread it lightly on one side of the block. Place the block (the glue side) on your paper or image. You can hold the paper up to the window or other light source to see through the paper to find the best placem...

Good close up photography requires good lighting. The lighting that is needed to provide the product to be shown to its best colour and detail is difficult to achieve. A light box is the perfect solution to this. The lightbox provides light diffusion and a uniform background to your project. Unfortunately they can be expensive, but as you know if there is a frugal option, I will find it. Materials Cardboard box (Yes i used an old nappy box) Tracing Paper Few sheets of white card/paper Ruler Cutting knife Sticky Tape Lightening for the box (ideally clip on table type) Step 1 Choose a box the appropriate size for the project you want to photograph. You could make a number of different sized boxes for different sized projects. My box was a nappy box box from the gruesome twosome. Step 2 Make sure the bottom of the box is securely fastened before you start to cut the sides. Step 3 If your box has flaps, cut these off. Step 4 Mark the inside of the box with lines about 1 inch (2.5...

I love peacock feathers, Did you know have been used for healing for tens of thousands of years in every culture throughout time? They are said to carry Spiritual Healing Energy that can be used to assist people seeking balance and harmony in their lives. Materials 2 Peacock feathers 2 Closures 2 Earring findings Scissors Needle-nose pliers Darning Needle Scissors Find two peacock feathers with the eyes similar in size. Cut the eyes off of the peacock feathers, it is better to leave a little bit of the rachis (the feathers main shaft) With the darning needed, piece a hole through the rachis, be careful not to damage the shaft. Thread the closure through the hole in the rachis, then add the earring finding, remembering to make sure that the eye of the feather is facing the front of the finding. Pinch the closure closed..... and there you have it.....your own easy peasy peacock feather earrings. If you like these yo...

My son Luke is crazy about Lightening McQueen, no word of a lie we watch Cars and Cars 2 at least once a day.  I am almost word perfect with the films. The banner was really simple to make. I started by cutting out 6 triangular pieces of brightly coloured card. I drew out a speech bubble for each of the characters using Microsoft Publisher. Cut these out, glued on to contrasting card scraps left over from the triangles and cut around the speech bubbles leaving about 5mm of card showing, to make a border and popped them to one side. I chose six of Luke’s favourite characters which were Lightening McQueen, Doc Hudson, Mater, Chick Hicks, Fred and Filmore.  These were printed onto white paper and cut out, glued on to the card scraps and put to one side. Once again, using Publisher to make their quotes I used different fonts and colours that complemented the characters.  I have to agree with Allison, it was fun trying to find fonts that fit th...

As i have mentioned so many times before, I am a hoarder. I decided to count my unused photo frames, and i have 47....  I decided that it was time that I did something with them. This frame I was lucky enough to buy 2 for 50p at a local car boot sale.  They were nice enough, but did not match any decor in my house. I love the French theme, but it just did not suit my house. The Frame was a little scratched. The back was made of brown paper (like the kind you send parcels in ) I got some beige paint and painted the frame (first I sanded it to smooth it, and enable the paint to stick). I love this picture of Luke on my Nieces Go-Kart, I love the colours. I printed it off on A4 Canvas that I bought in poundland for....you guessed it £1.00 I Parcel taped the back the canvas to the original front of the picture to ensure that it was held tightly, and fitted snugly into the frame, I am sure that there are neater way t...