P is for Pincushion {Tutorial}

Good morning!

Today, I'm going to show you how to make these lovely kilner jar pincushions. They are so easy and would make a wonderful gift. I've made several to give this Christmas.

Materials

A kilner jar with 2-part lid
A piece of cotton fabric about 20x20 cm
A small piece of felt
A small handful of toy stuffing
Craft glue / PVA glue
A spatula
Fabric scissors
A pencil
A ruler

Instructions

1. Unscrew the lid of the jar and draw around the jar plate on the reverse of the cotton fabric. 

2. Use a ruler to mark a circle 2.5cm bigger than the jar lid. Cut out the circle.

3. Carefully cut small triangles all around the edge of the fabric. This helps reduce bulk so the lid will still fit on the jar.

4. Cut out a circle of felt to fit inside the jar lid.

5. Take the stuffing and scrunch it into a ball. Place it on the centre of the fabric.

6. Put the jar plate over the stuffing, and push it through the jar rim to form the pincushion.

7. Use craft or PVA glue to stick the fabric to the plate. Use glue underneath and on top of the fabric so it sticks really well and as flat as possible.

8. Glue the felt to the plate to cover the raw edges of the cotton fabric. Screw the lid of the jar on straight away so that the glue sets in place.

(It should look like this.)

8. Have fun with your embellishments! I used some lace trim (£1.39 per metre) and paper flowers on wires (£1.29 for 6) from Hobbycraft.







You can fill the jar with whatever you would like. I included a tape measure, some ribbons, cotton thread, a needle (safely tucked inside the thread), some cute buttons, some safety pins, and a needle threader.

Laura x

I is for Icing

Hello everyone!

This past weekend, I packed up all my cake decorating gear and headed (with husband and baby) to a friend's house for a cake decorating bonanza! It was great fun!

As per usual, I've made four small cakes this year: one to keep and three to give as presents. I've been scoffing the offcuts of the cakes and they are delicious! I think I did well with the brandy this year!

My method for icing cakes is quite easy, but it does take time. Firstly, cut the domed top off the cake, and turn it upside down on a piece of baking parchment, so that the bottom of the cake is facing upwards. The bottom is usually flatter so it gives a better finish on the marzipan and icing. I try to feed the cake at least once 'upside down', so that the alcohol isn't all concentrated on the bit of the cake that gets cut off.

Secondly, fill in all the pits, nooks and crannies all over the cake with blobs of marzipan. The smoother the surface before applying the marzipan layer, the better. If it's an extra special cake, roll a thin sausage of marzipan to smooth into the base of the cake, where the icing will meet the board.

Thirdly, roll out a strip of marzipan reasonably thick and wide enough to go up the sides of the cake. Then cut off the ends and stick it to the sides of the cake with sieved apricot jam. Then roll out a disc for the top of the cake, stick it on with jam, and smooth the join of the marzipan. It needs to be left to dry for 24 hours, ideally.

Next goes on the icing. I normally use ready-to-roll or fondant icing (although this year I tried royal icing for the first time, with mixed results!). Roll it out quite thick in a circle big enough to go over the top and sides of the cake, but not too big. Use gin (or another clear alcohol) to wet the marzipan and make it sticky, then gently place the icing over the marzipan, smoothing it out carefully over the top and sides of the cake. In theory doing this carefully should avoid air bubbles forming, but I usually lose patience and cover up any bubbles with decorations instead! Then trim off the excess around the bottom. I always use a ribbon around the base of the cake, so it looks neat. Again, it needs 24 hours to dry before being carefully placed on a cake board (avoiding touching the icing) and decorated.

Here are this year's efforts!

The ones with red ribbons aren't quite finished because they'll be garnished with rosemary sprigs and red fondant hearts, closer to the time of gifting. I'm pretty pleased with them!

Laura x