What we cooked

PASTIES
Jon and I decided we should cook pasties. When we cook pasties we do not do it by halves! So... here is a photo of them all layed out, ready to be folded and put into the oven. (In three loads). Yep we made 13 pasties. Big ones too!

They tasted brilliant, and we still have a freezer full of them.

Ingredients: potato, carrot, swede, turnip, cabbage, minced beef, pepper and salt. frozen puff pastry

Method: Make big ingredients small in which ever manner you choose (mince, dice, grind, buy a fabulous choppy thing), mix together (most effective using hands), pile onto puff pastry. Fold in half or in any way you like, as long as the seams are joined (use a fork). Bake until cooked. (golden, maybe 25min?!)

See my recipes are in a language only I can understand! (Sorry)
~ Liz

A little amusing

The other day while walking down the street with my friend getting our lunch we saw this rather amusing sight. It was parked just on the edge of the road. I thought it was kinda cool and quirky.
~ Liz

Funtastic Friday...

Every Friday a friend and I run a craft group. It is my favourite day of the week. This week I sewed a test pattern for an apron. This is what it looked like. (I actually sewed the pocket on crooked -oops)

Our craft group is run as both a place where friends are made, and where community service hours can be done. The group is part of five8, who have friendship groups for prisoners, and other such things. Check out their website five8.org. 

We sew lots of other things for the five8 social enterprise, such as wheatbags, re-usable fruit and veggie bags, and scarves. We often have stalls and such things too, and are going to set up a online shop soon, where you can find five8's products to buy.

I will do a full post of our Friday fun and frivolity soon.... one day!
~ Liz

I got my tablet!

Friday I collected my tablet from the shop of awkward teenagers (see painting over Jon). I got it successfully, managing to navigate my way through the awkward moments of non-communication... I then got home, took the necessary shots of me and my new drawing tablet, marvelled at the cool packaging the whole time I was un-wrapping it, and then even more to my surprise, I was met by.... cool geometric, geographic keys! I thought they were pretty sweet, and proceeded to look at it all weekend, (because if I installed and used it Jon would be like 'stop working on the weekend...' etc). And so today I have finally installed and drawn with it all day! Hooray! I'm getting used to the different thing it does, and the weight I need to use to draw etc. Now to finish those Christmas card designs! :D

Painting over Jon

I've been waiting all week to get my drawing tablet. I phoned the shop on Tuesday (after being out all day Monday), and asked if they had any in stock? No... but phone later in the week, we should get a delivery of them then. So, I phoned back today, and they have got 1 in. YAY. But ONE!?! Someone else might get it before I do! I had a grand plan that my lovely husband would collect it on his ride home from work, and then it started raining, and it isn't the best thing in the world to get electronics wet.... So I phoned the shop again, to ask if my local store would get one in for me... No... But I could phone the other store, and it would deliver it to them for me to pick up tomorrow. YAY. A solution, and now it is reserved for me! I guess this is what you get for finding the cheapest drawing tablet in town, ... a lack of customer service. (And yes, when I've been into the shop before I was shocked that the shop 'assistants' serving me looked like 15 year olds, not helped by the fact that they were wearing hoodies).

Anyway... What does this have to do with painting over Jon? Well I decided today would be the day when I would start a painting, over the top of an old one I had already started. The first painting was going to be a portrait of Jon. But the size, and the gaze, and this being the first portrait I had ever painted was a little intimidating. So I gave up, and am now painting a landscape of trees over the top. At the moment it has quite an interesting effect with the eyes still peering through the trees.

Apologies for the bad picture, it goes from blindingly bright, to dark and pouring with rain every 5 minutes, and it makes it a little hard for photography, especially when I'm slack and take it on my phone.

What I've been working on: Christmas Card designs

Recently I've been working on Christmas card designs. Christmas... Already!? yes already! I'm planning on selling more cards than last year, and so, I need to have them ready to be sold earlier than last year! So here is a sneak peek at some of my designs.

I'm planning on screen printing them, when I eventually get them onto my screen. I guess this means more posts to come... especially since I have never made a permanent screen before, and I plan on trying to make this one all by myself. A bit scary, but we'll make it through! (Oh and it will take a bit longer, because I put a hole in the middle of my screen with a pair of scissors.. oops... guess I need to get that fixed!)

You can see some of my more recent cards on my etsy site: www.velvetlyric.etsy.com

~ Liz