Look what I made!

So this pregnancy malarkey means that I've picked up a nasty habit of eating between meals, something I've spent the last ten years untraining myself to do, with varying levels of success. I've been trying very hard to stick to things that are good for me, like fruit or seeds or whatever is in my graze box, but sometimes you just need something a bit more... substantial.



So I adapted a recipe for oat and raisin cookies to use up stuff we had in the cupboards. And here's how it turned out:




If you want to make your own, here's what you need:



4 tbsp butter (see, not even that much!)

125g caster sugar (but no-one's going to tell if you use granulated, or whatever you have to hand)

1 egg, beaten (I didn't beat mine first. I don't think it mattered)

50g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

175g rolled oats

125g dried apricots (originally raisins, but we have loads of apricots, and I didn't fancy picking the raisins out of the dried fruit mix we bought them in)

2tsp flaked almonds (originally sesame seeds but almonds just seemed like a better idea)



Start off by lightly greasing 2 baking trays with butter. Or oil spray, if you prefer. Put the oven on to 180 degrees, gas mark 4, or if you have a fan cooker like our new one (can't get used to it), about 160 degrees. Using a food processor, I then chucked in the ingredients in the following order: sugar, butter, egg, flour, salt, baking powder, oats, apricots (which I chopped in the mini food processor), almonds. This isn't how the book says to do it, but they still turned out lovely and tasty and only took me about four minutes to make.

You should manage to get about 12 dessert-spoon sized ball shapes out of these. If you cook them for 12-15 minutes in big lumps, they stay nice and chewy in the middle and crunchy on the outside. For a more biscuity, less flapjacky texture, shape them into biscuit shapes. I made half and half, and the biscuity ones went more quickly. I had to play about a bit with the timing because I'm not quite up to speed with how our oven works yet, but I took them out of the oven once I'd finished washing up, and when they started to look toasty-brownish on top.

For my next batch I'm going to use up some apples and throw in some cinnamon. What's your favourite flavour mix?

I'm back!

Oops, I seem to have disappeared for a while there. Not only did our new internet connection at the new house get messed up by our provider (but we kind of expected that), the problems I've been having with my back, hips and pelvis have unfortunately become a lot worse in the last couple of weeks. So much so that I've been signed off work for the next month, as well as having had to take it easy for the last two weeks when I was supposed to be on holiday.

This also means I can't do anything too crafty, not just on my doctor's orders, but also because it is bloomin' sore and affecting my concentration, as well as frustrating. The worst thing is not being able to bend over, I'm a very clumsy person and always dropping things. I'm not sure what is worse, having to wait until my husband gets home from work to pick up a dropped needle or pair of scissors, or the indignity of having to ask! But I'm in good spirits and able to blog briefly so I'll try to be a bit more disciplined about keeping up to date over the next month or so - it's very easy to fall into bad habits if you lose the hang of things for a while.

I'm going to try and take lots of photos of the new house, including the craft room as it comes together, and if I manage to get out and about, some of the local scenery - for example the lovely Ochils which you can just see from our back garden.

Catch up on Answers on a Postcard

Can't get your fix of my zine project while the Girl Industries etsy shop is on vacation? Fear not! AskingforTrouble.org has a great deal on all the zines in her shop at the moment, including your favourite interview zine. The buy one get one free deal is too good to miss, and there are a whole range of good reads in the shop, so if you're up to date with Answers on a Postcard there's still plenty more to treat yourself to.

I'm a big fan of Asking for Trouble designs and products, so hop on over to the shop and pick yourself up something lovely. And a couple of zines, of course! My current favourite (and best recent buy!) is this fantastic volcano tote with an Asking for Trouble illustration over at Zazzle. Luckily the volcano doesn't look like it'll be out of fashion for a long time, and with Fuji threatening to blow its stack later in the year, I'm going to be the best equipped and most trendy shopper at the supermarket for a few months to come!

Image (c) Marceline Smith/Asking For Trouble

Pssst - wanna see my new craft room?

So the moving in process (for me, at least) is on hold while I've not been feeling very well. Eventually this room will contain a fabric cutting desk and generic crafting area, a computer desk, and a curtained off storage area. Which I have promised myself and my husband will not get out of control!



At the moment it contains a ton of boxes waiting to be unpacked, and a newly-built shelving system. But this is what it looked like on the first day we got the keys...

And this is the view from the window. I think I might be spending a bit of time at the window on Saturday afternoons.

This is my former craft area, and as we discovered when we were packing to move house, I had crafty bits and bobs tucked away in nooks and crannies all over the flat. I can't wait to be up and running in my new space and will show you more photos once we're settled in.

Under the weather

Hello troops!

I've had a bad back all week, but needless to say, I had a wonderful time at Benmore Botanic Gardens on Sunday. Here are a couple of photos I took during quiet times in the crafty marquee.

And in the meantime, you can read how we got on over at the Asking for Trouble blog.

I'm closing shop on Monday for a couple of weeks to focus on moving house. But I'll be here blogging in the background and keeping my fingers very tightly crossed that our new phone line and broadband provider doesn't let me down.

Find me tomorrow at Benmore Botanic Garden

Photo by Trekearth.com

Here’s a quick reminder that I’ll be at the craft fair in the lovely surroundings of the Argyll peninsula this Sunday afternoon. It really is a lovely part of the countryside, and frankly, they had me at homemade preserves. It sounds like a wonderful day out, so I’m glad to be sharing a stall with Asking For Trouble so we each get a chance to explore the grounds, and the rest of the stalls on offer.

Here are all the details:

Benmore Open Day & Craft Fair
Benmore Botanic Garden
Free entry to Garden all day, regular trips aboard the Benmore Explorer, guided tours of the garden including the restored Benmore Fernery, Chainsaw Carving and a marquee shall host Tombola, Preserves, Cake & Candy Stall and our annual Craft Fair.

Date: 9 May 2010
Time: 12:00-17:00

More info: http://www.gardens-of-argyll.co.uk/events/benmore-open-day-craft-fair

p.s. if like me, you are scared of driving onto the ferry across to Dunoon, you can also go overland around the peninsula, which takes roughly the same amount of time, but maybe a little more gas and no pesky ferry fare to worry about. Don’t forget to call in at the highly-recommended Inver Cottage on your way home for a delicious and locally-sourced dinner.

Lots of news!

What a busy weekend! We got the keys to our new house on Friday, so I was pretty quiet over the weekend while I cleaned and prepped our new kitchen/diner/living space for painting. Mr P had the luxury of going up the ladders and getting up close and personal with the paint can. In the midst of all the activity, I managed to distribute subscription copies of the latest issue of Answers on a Postcard, which is available for purchase in the zines section of my Etsy shop. Contributors, as ever, can get a copy by clicking here.

I had a good response to my blog contest and now have a collection of new questions to ask contributors. I’ll be writing out to you once I’m all set up in my new attic craft room. Pictures to follow sometime in June when we officially move in, I want to get it just so before I share some photos! The lucky winner of the contest is Bronwyn, with her excellent question "what's your favourite tool/material/supply and how do you use it"

Thank you to everyone who took part, both posting on the blog and by emailing me directly. Bronwyn is a local crafter based in Glasgow and a fellow Glasgow Craft Mafia member. She makes some lovely things from found objects under the temptingly tasty name of Rhubarb Crumble and I’m always envious that she has managed to whip her sewing machine into serious good shape. If you’re already here, I know you’ll appreciate her upcycled treasures, so have a look at her shop on Folksy, and her tutorial-packed blog, too:

Commiserations to Marceline but all is not lost as she wins the pleasure of my company this weekend when we drive out to the countryside to set up stall at a craft fair in the beautiful Botanic Garden at Benmore, on the Argyll Peninsula. If you can’t make it (or want to make a shopping list before you set out), visit Asking for Trouble and Girl Industries to stock up online. Marceline is a huge supporter of the Answers on a Postcard zine and has copies available in her shop. She's currently running a special offer, too, so take a look. Also, now the Icelandic ash cloud is rearing it's gritty grey head again, take a look at the selection of products on Zazzle.com which Marceline has designed. I have a tote bag on its way to me as we speak!

Benmore Open Day & Craft Fair
Benmore Botanic Garden
Free entry to Garden all day, regular trips aboard the Benmore Explorer, guided tours of the garden including the restored Benmore Fernery, Chainsaw Carving and a marquee shall host Tombola, Preserves, Cake & Candy Stall and our annual Craft Fair.

Date: 9 May 2010
Time: 12:00-17:00
More info

This is your last chance to shop Girl Industries in person this summer, as I’m having a baby! All being well, I’ll be back in time for the autumn market season in October, with all the new goodies I’ve been planning for ages, including some brilliant collaboration opportunities with some of my favourite crafters. I have to apologise in advance for any baby-themed shopping features over the next couple of months as I sloooooowly get sucked in to the lovely handmade and very much non-essential baby things on offer around the internets. Between the house move and the new arrival, I’ll be closing my shop periodically from now until September. If you have custom orders for envelopes, please let me know as soon as you can, so I can schedule them around my other commitments. And I’d like to reassure everyone that normal Answers on a Postcard service will continue as planned, with subscribers’ copies out on time and new issues uploaded to the shop every month as usual. Hurray!