No eggs required.

In need of chocolate mousse?


Can't be bothered separating and whisking and faffing with eggs, to doubtless be left with  a sad bowl of yolks you'll forget to use and which will then turn into strange orange cement in a tub in the fridge?


Thankfully, the ever-goddess-like Nigella has the answer in her instant chocolate mousse which uses melted marshmallow instead of eggs and takes about ten minutes to make.

And if you feel like you've been overindulging a little recently and that a bowl consisting entirely of cream and chocolate may not be the wisest choice, I can happily confirm you can replace the double cream with Greek yoghurt (I used Total 2% - the 0% fat stuff might be a step too far - it is chocolate mousse after all) and still end up with a delightful result.

Perfect. Save the eggs for baking. Or French toast. Or something.

Forgotten paradises of the reborn sun.

'Soon it would be too hot. Looking out from the hotel balcony shortly after eight o'clock, Kerans watched the sun rise behind the dense groves of giant gymnosperms crowding over the roofs of the abandoned department stores four hundred yards away on the east side of the lagoon. Even through the massive olive-green fronds the relentless power of the sun was plainly tangible.'

The Drowned World, J.G. Ballard

I was over in Bloomsbury today and stopped to sit for a while in the courtyard of the British Museum. This is their Australian Garden, but from my perspective it all looked rather Ballard...

Renegade Crafters

The Renegade Craft Fair was indeed a very pleasant way to pass an afternoon. Although there was no tea or cake available; possibly a bit of an oversight. Everyone likes tea with their craft.

However, the Truman Brewery is sufficiently ginormous that the very friendly security men let me take my bike up the stairs and chain it to a pipe in a corner. Brick Lane is not the best place to leave bikes if you're hoping to ride them home again.

There's a full list of all the artists and crafters here, with links to their websites, so you can go and have a mini craft fair from the comfort of your desk should the fancy take you. I would encourage anyone's eyes towards...

Night Ride, by  John Vogl

Really beautiful, intricate prints and illustrations. Obviously, I liked the bike one best but there were some other very strong contenders. His website is The Bungaloo.

Badges by Magic Industrie

Badges (or buttons, as they're American) made from vintage books. The best thing about these was the big tray of different badges to sift through and see what you could find - I can't explain how tactile they were! Magic Industrie also make wallets out of old books.


And also Lucy Panes Illustration; perfectly delicate drawings that I was very tempted by. My favourite illustrates G.R. Chesterton's quote 'The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese' and I think you'll be able to find it here...

This is (nearly) Hallowe'en...

I like October. It's still warm and light enough to do the occasional outside thing, the falling leaves look pretty, you can legitimately start thinking about woolly socks and hats and it includes Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night.


I love Hallowe'en. I know the current incarnation is a bit of an American import and there's a very good argument that it's all pretty much invented... but I like the excuse to dress up, have a party and drink strange coloured drinks without having to think about buying presents and visiting distant aunts.


Plus, The Nightmare before Christmas is one of my favourite films, and any excuse to recreate it in my sitting room is very welcome.


Which also means I spent far too long drawing a pretty Hallowe'en party invitation...

Some details from the original...

This weekend I'm off to the Renegade Craft Fair, on in London for the first time. There are going to be so many interesting arty/crafty people there, I'm really looking forward to it... and it's free!

In these stones...

Another weekend away, and another one in Wales. Cardiff this time though, which was a bit of a nostalgia trip for me as it's where I went to uni. It's changed a wee bit since then...


We stayed in a hotel with lots of windows. I have low hotel-expectations, but this one (the Mercure Holland House) I would actually recommend. Primarily for the windows.

We wandered around the arcades...

We took advantage of the freakishly lovely weather down by the Bay...

And found really lovely places to eat and drink that certainly weren't there in my day... 

Milgi, on City Road

A coconut martini and me

We even managed to find the most perfect bar in the middle of central Cardiff on Saturday night. Now, bear in mind that Queen Street after about 9pm at the weekend looks a wee bit like a scene from the Land of the Dead, and you'll realise what an achievement this was. It was all bunting, battered sofas and cocktails. Nick thought I'd perhaps conjured it into existence with the mere force of my will.... It was called the Bunk House (because it's also a youth hostel), but don't look at the website because I think they've made it a lot prettier since they took the pictures on there.


I've also updated my last post with the promised final picture. Have a look?

Crafty Photo Scavenger Hunt: September

Despite the weather trying to fool us all into thinking it's still mid-summer, my calendar's assuring me it is in fact the end of September and so time for another Crafty Photo Scavenger Hunt post.

I should probably mention that I've got a new app for my phone (Vignette for Android, if anyone's interested) so, in the usual obsessed-with-a-new-toy way, all this months photos have been taken with that...


Inspiration

This is the straw fox currently perched on top of the Hayward Gallery on the South Bank. Inspiring because it's strange and wonderful and I love the idea that someone must have said 'let's put a big straw fox on the Hayward!' and someone else said 'what a fabulous idea! Get to it!' (Rather than 'why?')


Something I Made

The screen for my screen print. Not the wood/screen part, I bought that, but drawing the design on with drawing fluid and then applying the screen filler was a new experience and I'm pretty proud that I managed it and it worked! (At my screen printing workshop we used photo emulsion - better results but needs a lot more equipment!)


Motifs: Florals

Can't get more floral than actual flowers. (Which Nick bought me for No Reason. Yes, sickening, I know.)


Vintage

These are some of my vintage frocks and hats. Most of which get worn on a regular basis. 


Craft on the Go


A little confession: I have an idea for this, but I won't be able to take it 'til tomorrow. So I will be back to update, but in the interim...

... have some retro underwear to be a place-holder. (Taken at the Steam Fair, oddly enough!)


04/10/2011


As promised, back to update the last picture. I like the underwear too much to delete it though, so it's now an added extra...

My patchwork (and the current issue of Oh Comely) on the train home from Cardiff this weekend.


Go see Kirsty for all the other pictures from this month.

Kitchen table screen printing...

...makes a big mess of your kitchen (possibly not ideal if you're supposed to be selling your flat...)

ruins your manicure...

and makes you look at things in a different way. Wine rack now = drying rack!

I feel like I'm making progress though, and have managed this print of my thistles design.

It's not perfect, and I think I need to get a screen with a finer mesh to get rid of the slightly 'pixelated' look. But I'm pretty pleased that I've managed it all by hand, and that I got three colours in the right places on the same print!