homemade jotters

Nick and I decided to continue last years tradition of making Christmas presents, which perhaps sounds sweeter than it actually works out in practise. We set aside a day to embrace our inner elf and set up a production line. One day is simply not enough if you want to go at a leisurely speed. These shopping lists and memo pads were my idea for our Mum's. I designed them and printed them out, but it was at this stage I realised just how many pages would be needed. On our 'making day' Nick was cutting the sheets from 10.30am to 8pm with only a brief lunch break! So it isn't for the faint hearted, which is why, unsurprisingly this is not a DIY tutorial.
If you do still fancy giving it ago or trying something similar, I used bookbinding glue to create the pads. I stacked all the pages and weighed them down with heavy books. This helps to keep them aligned, as well as preventing too much paper warping when the glue's applied. I used 3 coats, allowing each one to dry in-between. Once finished you can easily peal a sheet off when it's written on. It's a bit like a 'post it note'. I also bought some magnetic strips with adhesive backing. I attached these to the shopping lists so they could sit happily on a fridge. 



merry christmas

In amongst all the frills and thrills of Christmas day it's easy to lose sight of what we're celebrating, when in fact it's the best news ever to hit this world. God came to this earth as a man, giving up the glory of heaven for a humble life as a human named Jesus. He shone his light into this dark and corrupt world on a mission to save us. By nature we have all rejected and rebelled against God, but in Jesus at Christmas God sends the remedy. He restored the relationship that we broke and gave us new life in him if we just believe.


Photograph sourced from Bonjour Tristesse

a spoonful of sugar



I love Oreos and I love fudge so this seemed like a very happy idea. The recipe is so simple and doesn't require a huge list of ingredients. 

To make the fudge...
1.Break Oreos into small chunks and split one of the cans of condensed milk in half. 
2.Heat some water in a saucepan until it simmers and then put the white chocolate, butter and condensed milk in a heat proof bowl and melt over the the simmering water.
3.Drop Oreos into the mixture and give it one gentle stir. Then pour this mixture into a lined 8 x 8 inch pan.
4.Leave in the fridge for one hour until set.
5.Then wash the heatproof bowl and reuse over the simmering water, to melt the dark chocolate and the remaining can of condensed milk. Stir while it's melting and then pour over the white chocolate layer and spread to the sides. 
6.Place back in the fridge for another hour before cutting.

calendar love


1.TwoPaperDollsShop/2.Darling Clementine/3.Mademoiselleyo/4.Dozi/5.Bomobob/ 6.Pistachio Press/7.Rifle Paper Co.



It's nearly time to throw away your 2012 calendar and wheel in a fresh one for 2013. In case you're lacking in inspiration, here's seven possible contenders.



falalalalala

I was recently asked to design a flyer for Aberdeen University  and Robert Gorden University Christian Union’s carol service. I pretty much had free reign, which always means more thinking time to start with, but much more fun in the end!