Cooking on a Candle

So, I survived Samba Band - and the Bailey's laced coffee and the pint in the pub afterwards (there seems to be lots of alcohol involved in playing Samba) or maybe this was just to stave off the cold as band practice is in one of the local churches which aren't the snuggest of buildings. Good fun and was volunteered to make up numbers on the largest sirdar? drum which makes up the bass rhythm and which only halfway through did people admit that they had been going for weeks and never had the nerve to give it a go - thanks for not mentioning that earlier!

Tonight I passed on an old bushman survival skill picked up in the outback to a group of teenage boys at the youth club (yep that's where I spend my Friday evenings). Should you find yourself lost in the wilderness and in need of sustenance all you need to create a meal from heaven is the following.

1 nightlight candle
1 box of cornflakes (or rice crispies)
1 bar of chocolate
A small aluminum foil pie dish - cup cake size
1 wooden peg
1 teaspoon
And something to light the candle with. 

Whilst out gathering tucker in the bush I find these things are readily available, especially if your walkabouts take you past the local supermarket.

Heat the chocolate in the foil dish over the candle - using the peg as a handle to stop burning your fingers. When it eventually melts ( and this could take sometime especially if it's cold) quickly mix in some cornflakes before the chocolate solidifies again and hey presto! You've made a chocolate crispie cake thing.

Yum Yum

The Big 40!

Five days ago I reached the big 40. At which, so they say, life begins. In truth, I've never been that fussed about age. Yes, admittedly, as a small child, I always wanted to be older, and there are moments where I would to return to nursary school where there was nothing more stressful than the sand pit to negotiate. But in general, age has always been just a number that plays no direct role in how I lead my life.

However, turning 40 has made me stop and think for a while. Not about getting old nor about my life being half way through (in fact isn't 50 the new 40?), but that somewhere along the line I seem to have lost the believe that nothing is impossible that I possessed at 19. With age comes increased responsibilities and an increased awareness that none of us are invincible, But surely, if anything, being 40 means that I am more confident and have more life experience, knowledge and skills to be able to deal with the new and unexpected more competently that I could at 19?

At 19, along with two friends, I caught a coach from London to the South of France, with £50 in my pocket and a plan to work our way to India. Weeks later, relieved of my money and my friends of their passports, and an epic 24 hour hitch hiking adventure through France, I caught another coach, alone this time, to start a new job in the Lake District. Just after my 20th birthday, I flew to Israel to meet friends (the same ones involved in the French catastrophe) where I danced in nightclubs with armed soldiers and swam with dolphins, picked peach blossom and joined the hundreds of sun burnt tourists floating in the Dead Sea. 

At 39, I tend to put things off until tomorrow.

So, at 40, I've decided to stop procrastinating and grab every opportunity that comes my way. Who knows where it may lead?

So far, over the past five days, I've witnessed the natural spectacle of a starling murmeration where hundreds of thousands of starlings flock together to roost over the Somerset Levels. The sheer number of birds flying over your head is almost too many to get your head around. 

Pulled apart an owl pellet. There's skulls and jaw bones and all sorts in there! 

Helped to coppice a hawthorn wood to provide new growth for dormice and this evening, off to try Samba band practice.

So much for growing old gracefully. I aim to grow old inquisitively.

Coffee Bag Rag Rugs

Back home visiting my folks for Christmas, I managed to obtain a couple of hessian coffee sacks from a local tea trader.I'd been told they make the ideal backing for rag rugs, and as I've never tried making one before - here goes.

It makes a change from making Toothbrush Rugs and also enables me to use up some of the scraps of material and old clothes I've been carrying around for ages and not wanted to throw away nor known what to use them for.

So far I've used an old t shirt, some material scraps from the dressmaker who works in an office upstairs from me and a pair of stripy trousers I bought in Kendal 20 years ago.

I think I maybe making the stitches or whatever they are called too close together as its taking ages, but 'hey ho!'

A Shameless Plug

I hope you are all busy and enjoying making seashell necklaces with your shore line finds. However, should Christmas be approaching a wee bit too fast for all your planned makes and project ambitions. You can purchase a range of seashell necklaces from me directly through my Folksy Shop - check it out at http://folksy.com/shops/driftwooddreams.

I can make items to order and please send me a message if you have any queries about shipping outside of the UK.

Thank You Very Muchly,

K

Seashell Necklaces - PArt 2

Some more necklace ideas...happy making!

Stocking Fillers - Seashore Necklaces Part 1

Equipment

Drill and small drill bit - I use a hand drill and 1.5mm drill bit.
Leather thong / cord - approx 55cm in length. Shorten or lengthen as desired.
2 x 7mm split ring
1 x lobster clasp
2 x 5mm jump rings
1 x head pin
1 x small pearl effect bead
clear nail varnish
2 pairs small / jewellery making pliers - round nosed are better - these can often be picked up for £1 a pair in tool shops.
1 pair small wire cutters.
1 mussel shell - cleaned


Step 1

Place the mussel shell upside down on a piece of wood or work bench surface that it won't matter if it gets drill marks in it. Place the drill bit in the top corner point of the shell, and drill a hole about 5mm in from the edge of the shell. Be careful not to drill too close to the shell edge or it will become too fragile when worn. It may take a bit of trial and error to work out how much pressure to apply when drilling the hole so not to break the shell.

Step 2
Once the hole is drilled, paint both the outside and inside of the shell with a couple of coats of clear nail varnish. This both strengthens the nail and gives it a shiny, fresh from the sea look.

Step 3
Once dried, work one of the split ring through the hole in the shell and check that the shell is able to swing freely from the split ring. If it doesn't, it's time to drill another shell I'm afraid. Working the split ring can be a bit fiddly, just like trying to get a key onto a new keyring, and I find using either a pair of small pliers or my thumb nail best.

Step4
To make the pearl embellishment, thread the head pin through the bead and cut the end of the pin about 1cm from the bead. Use the round nodes pliers to bend this end into a hoop that sits snugly against the bead. Attach a chain of two jump rings to this hoop, and attach the jump ring furthest away from the bead to the split ring on the mussel shell. The bead should now dangle in the hollow curve of the shell.

Step 5
In one end of the leather thong / cord, tie an overhand knot to form a loop about 1cm long. Fasten the second split ring into this loop and then fasten the lobster clasp to this split ring. This forms the fastener of the necklace. In the other of the leather thong, tie another overhand knot, also about 1cm long. This forms the loop you will clip the lobster clasp into to fasten the necklace.

Your necklace should now be ready to wear or give as a ideal stocking filler for Christmas.

Enjoy making!

K

Stocking Fillers - making a seashell necklace

Right! I know I've said it before, but this time I will keep up to date with my blogs. I PROMISE I WILL TRY HARDER.


So first off, as the Halloween pumpkins gently rot in the garden and the smoke of November 5th bonfires drift away, it's time to start thinking about Christmas.

I have never been a full on fan of the commercial side of Christmas and although it is nice to receive bountiful gifts, as I've got older, I appreciate more, a gift that a friend has spent time and thought over rather than two minutes choosing which bar of special offer chocolate by the checkout whilst queuing to pay for a pint of milk.

And yes, in these times of financial austerity, it is cheaper too.

So what I aim to do over the next few weeks, is post a series of blogs on 'how to make....' ideas for gifts for friends and family and decorations for your home.I believe quite strongly that we all have a creative, artistic type somewhere inside of us waiting to be unleashed. And so most of the projects are make able by all, although I will try to make some specifically for children.

I've got to go off to work now, but when I get home this evening, I will start posting the step by step guide to how to make seashell necklaces as pictured above.

cheers

karen