As Promised

Well I have finally got around to taking a few more pics and getting them to the blog pretty impressive considering all - the kids are on holidays, the house is a wreck, work is full on and there is a never ending pile of washing to be done which can't be done due to the rain and anyone who knows me well knows that I like things done a particular way and this is not that way... but I will live just got to get a few things organised.

Lets get into the fun stuff....
I don't know if I have told you all before but I love the Tarisota collections not only do they all match but they are well priced and great value for your dollar.
This layout was using one of my Tarisota collections it actually went really well with this photo and I was pleased with the end result....



I love this paper collection from none other than Lisa's Stampin Up stuff and oh what bright fun colours and it just went perfectly with this photo of Katie and her friends.



This is out of this months Tarisota collection and I had Katie pleading for a piece of the hello kitty paper - which I handed over not game enough to ask what she is doing with it yet.



I love Basic Grey the papers are so nice to work with and it is so easy to put pages together with it. This range is the Marrakech paper collection and I love the way it is more designed for boy pages. I always find it hard to do boy pages....



This one I did the other night when at a girlfriends house scrappin' though I had to put the stitching on it later as I forgot to pack that sort of thing. This page is using the Kaisecraft Fun Fair papers and they were a lot of fun to put together and found that the bright bold colours worked well with Easter photos....



Well that all now folks... Will be back again with another update soon - heaps of projects on the go not many finished but we will give it a go.
Lots of hugs Jen xoxoxo

Did the Easter Bunny find You???

Well as you will be able to see he definately found us!!!!
If anyone missed out be sure to visit the Kirks fridge as I believe we have the whole Kmart shelf in our fridge out in the games room.

Katie sat on the couch when it was time to take photos and claimed that her chocolate were "mine" - typical Katie photo style but don't worry she is always quite willing to share - thank goodness as otherwise that would be chocolate over kill.



Johno was just content to sit there with his chocolate and pose as normal as possible so at least I have one child that wants to get a photo taken once so they can be gone.



And here is my Easter pressie... No not really we have just purchased a brand new Nissan Pathfinder and oh my it is such a yummy car. We are so thrilled to have it in the driveway as we waited nearly three weeks, so it was a really long wait but worth it in the end. The kids love it which is fantastic and we can't wait to go on our next family holiday in it... wonder where we will go this time....


So for now that is it and I will be back soon with some scrap booked pages yes I do have some but I haven't yet put the camera on them so maybe tonight or in the next couple of days - can't promise anything as I still have to go to work.

Lots of hugs xoxoxo

Egg-ceptional Egg-Hunt

Well Tuesday dinner came and went as quick as it could. All the family that live in Tamworth turned up for an early Easter dinner as I have to work over the weekend and it was a good chance to all catch up.
We had an egg hunt in the back yard and the kids enjoyed every minute of it which was a delight. Little Willow was so funny whilst trying to take these photos as all she wanted to do was steal Johno's eggs which made us all laugh.



I do have some scrapbooked pages which have not yet been completed but I will get them up very soon.

But for now I hope that you and your families have a wonderful and safe easter filled with many happy memories and of course lots of chocolate. If you are travelling anywhere please be safe on the roads and I will catch up with you all soon.

Oh! and by the way thanks for getting me hooked on these softies things I find that they are soooo cute that I just happened to come across a full book of them in the local book shop so watch this space I am sure there will be many more softies to come ha!ha!ha!



Have fun creating xoxoxo

Easter Cooking YUMMY

If anyone knows anything about me it is the fact that I love to cook. I will give most things a go once and if it is scrumptious I will cook it again - don't have alot of bad recipes fall into my hands but there is always the odd one.

So lets get started - the Day 7 of the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza was to cook easter things... YUMMY!!!
These are the adorable chocolate crackles that Mel did over on her blog site and I couldn't resist but make them for a girlfriends at home day care easter day party which happened yesterday so if you would like the recipe for this one toddle over to Mel's blog...



This one was a bit on the funny side as when I went over to Fionas blog to see what sort of a cooking storm she was arousing in the kitchen it was something similar to what I cooked for Easter dinner here at home on Tuesday night...



Here is the recipe for the Chocolate And Custard Tart
It serves 6 takes 30 minutes prep. + 1 hour chilling and 4 hours setting time.
Cooking time:10 minutes and this recipe can be made up to 1 day ahead.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge - that is if it lasts that long!!!!

70g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
1 x 600ml ctn thickened cream
4 egg yolks
200g good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
100ml thin cream
4 bought hot cross buns, thinly sliced vertically
2tbs warm water
2 1/2 tsp gelatine powder
2 tsp cocoa powder


1. Place the sugar, vanilla bean and half the thickened cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a gentle boil. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium heatproof jug. Discard the vanilla bean.
2. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the cream mixture. Return to the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring, 4 minutes or until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Transfer to heatproof bowl. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
3. Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and thin cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Use a metal sppon to stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.
4. Line the base of a round 24cm (base measurement) springform pan with non-stick baking paper. Arrange half the hot cross bun slices, in a single layer, over the base of the pan. Spread half the chocolate mixture evenly over the base to cover completely. Repeat with the remaining hot cross bun and chocolate mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour or until set.
5. Whisk the remaining thickened cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Use a large metal spoon and gently fold the cream into the custard mixture.
6. Place the warm water in a small heatproof jug. Sprinkle with gelatine and whisk with a fork until the gelatine dissolves. Gengly fold the gelatine mixture into the custart mixture. Pour over the chocolate base. Cover and place in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight to set. Dust with cocoa powder to serve.
YUM!YUM!YUM!


Oh!!! These are the kids favourite cookies and we made some so they could give them out as easter treats - the bunny cookie cutter I have didn't want to play today so we made them into rounds but don't worry they still taste delicious!!!!



Here is the recipe for the double chocolate freckles

Makes about 42 - depends on the size of cutter

125g butter, softened
165g Firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
225g plain flour
35g self-raising flour
35g cocoa powder
200g dark eating chocolate , melted
hundreds and thousands

1. Beat butter, sugar and egg in small bowl with electric mixer until combined. Sift in dry ingredients in two batches.
2. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth; roll dough between sheets of baking paper until about 5mm thick. Cover; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Grease oven trays; line with baking paper.
4. Using cutters cut out dough and place on prepared tray.
5. If using
3cm cookie cutter -round - bake for 10 minutes
5cm cookie cutter - round - bake for 12 minutes
6. Let bikkies cool on wire racks
7. Spread tops of cookies with melted chocolate and sprinkle with hundreds and thousands. Set at room temperature.

An extra tip. If you cook the cookies but don't chocolate top them you can store them in the freezer then whip them out when you need them. Ice them with the chocolate and sprinkle when defrosted.

This recipe is called "Bon Bons" and sorry to tempt you all but this recipe has been passed down to me and I have been sworn to secrecy but they are devine and white chocolate is one of my fav's.



And this is what our families easter treat bags look like with a bit of everything that was made out of all the chocolate goodness that I could find.



Be back soon with some more.....

Wow!!! What a hectic time!!!!

I have promised I know to update my efforts for the Egg-ceptional Egg-xtravaganza that I have done off Fiona and Mel's Websites - I have got not idea on how to drop in their websites but they are on the side of my fav's bar.

So lets get the show on the road... this could take a few updates as there is so much to show

These little bunnies are absolutely devine and as you can see my darling children conned me into making a few more for their friends. Mine are a little like Fiona's and are stuffed with lavender - they smell soooo good.



This is the Mini Moopy bunny and Mel put me onto a website so as I could purchase the pattern. I was going to make a whole heap to donate to Tamworth's Ronald McDonald house for the sick kids that are going to be here over easter but unfortunately time doesn't allow much at the moment so John and Katie are the proud owners of this pair - better luck with this idea for next year.
Note: I sort of replaced Day 5 Baskets with these bunnies



These are another set of bunnies that the girls came up with and I have actually put a bell in mine so that they are more like a rattle....



One of my fav's is this little EggiE don't ask me their names because I was in a hurry to get them finished so I could put them up today.... They are made out of flannelette material and it was such yummy stuff to work with. The kids love them and I think that they look great .....







O.K. so that is the Easter Bunny section completed now I will have to go drop the Darling childrens off to school so I shall be back with another post soon xoxoxo