Look at all these pretty new colours I now have!! That light in the photo is from the beam of my smile :D
I have many ideas for these new threads. Watch this space to see what I'll create. You can now send me your custom orders - pick any colour combination you like or let me create something special just for you.
I made this today for a friend's little girl. I hope she will like it. This is a surprise present especially for her.
This is how they do chocolate balls in Sweden, yum!
Our pitstop at Wayne's Coffee (Scandinavia's leading café chain) on Kungsgatan - caffe frappe anyone?
So colourful! 15 little birds tagged and ready to fly (post) to their new homes. If you'd like one, see here.
Being in Stockholm and often hearing the locals rave about them, we just had to try it for ourselves - köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) topped with lingon berry jam at the Ikea restaurant. Very tasty. Almost AUD 60 cents per meatball. It's worth it.
You can also buy meatballs, such as those by SCAN, at the supermarkets. It is a staple food like bread, eggs and milk.
How exciting to find out my Emerald and Jet Trinity earrings had been selected by marymary to be in this weekends' Etsy Deals Guift Guide, and on page 1 too! Thank you!
Pulling out what I had in my fridge and pantry... and taking inspiration from this Easy Sugar Cookies recipe this is what I used (without measuring utensils):
11 tablespoons of plain flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons of white sugar
block of butter, about 3cm x 5cm x 2cm (1 1/5 x 2 x 4/5 inches)
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (375 degrees F).
Cream the butter and sugar until smooth, I use a tablespoon to squash the butter against the sugar, squash squash squash until both are well blended together so you can't see one for the other. Then over this, crack the egg and mix all together.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar. Into this put a few tablespoons of the butter/sugar/egg mixture, and mix. Gradually adding and blending all together.
Flour your tabletop or surface and roll out your dough to about 6mm (1/4 inch). Sprinkled a generous amount of vanilla sugar onto the top of your dough and pat down.
Line a baking tray with baking sheets (alternatively you can grease your tray, I like the convenience and cleanliness of baking sheets). Place your cut cookies on top of the baking sheets.
Bake for about 10mins, or until golden brown if you prefer.
Let the hot cookies stand on a wire rack to cool for at least 2 minutes. You must resist, it will be worth it.
I started making these little amigurumi birds for fun and to hang around our house for that extra dash of colour. I received lots of positive comments from friends and family, 'so cute!' they would say.
Then, on twitter I stumbled upon this competition hosted by moonfruit (a site where you can build your own website for free). I customized a bird to replicate moonfruit's mascot. And, wouldn't you know it, I won a creative prize - an iPod Touch, 2nd generation too!
And another hooray, I received an order for 15 today - mixed colours!
I'm happy others enjoy my lil tweets as much as I enjoy making them. Let me know if you would like one too :) They are also available in my shop.
It was a beautiful sunny day for our morning walk today. Here's an example of the stunning architecture in Stockholm - at the corner of Hantverkargatan & Scheelegatan (Kungsholmstorg) in Kungsholmen. Just a 5 minute walk from our city apartment.
Into my Etsy shop today, I listed this old favourite design of mine. I feature 4mm (1/7 inch) cubed Swarovski crystals on the ends of various lengths of silver plated chain, to create a waterfall that is feminine and modern.
I think the single light rose cube adds just the right touch of colour to the jet blacks. What do you think?
I don't have a weigh, so mairuru kindly translated the measurements into tablespoons - thanks mairuru!!
Oh, and I don't have a decorating tube to make the lovely patterned cookies, so I improvised with shaping the dough with 2 teaspoons.
I halved the recipe, just as a first try. I kept 2 plain, and added a little something to each of the rest - 1 mocca, 2 jam drops, 2 raisin, 1 dried coconut and a dried papaya.
Here they are prepared and ready to bake.
Very tasty little treats.
I experienced living in the snow season for the first time, it was so special, I will treasure it forever.
Stockholm is a very beautiful, clean, fresh city. While it is filled with a long history, everything is immaculately maintained. I'm very impressed. Even more so after travelling around other countries in this region and returning to our little city apartment, it feels like home.
Stockholm has a fantastic location for exploring Europe. From here, we've visited Tallinn Estonia, Riga Latvia, Helsinki Finland, Berlin Germany, Rome Florence and Pisa in Italy and Copenhagen Denmark. I never thought I'd ever see some of these places! Thank you to hubby for taking me on these incredible trips.
Another unforgettable experience was Kiruna in northern Sweden in March. It was still peak snow season and where we went to the infamous Ice Hotel and witnessed the marvel that is the Northern Lights. The Ice Hotel is incredible, built 100% out of ice from the nearby Torne River. We were so lucky to see the Northern Lights on both nights we were in Kiruna, they appeared very strongly.
It is now Spring, the sun is out and everything is green and pretty.
Until next time! I must show you some delicious Swedish delicacies.
