When the pages of a book come alive...


This year I am involved again in organising a Street Art Project in our town. This year's theme is 'Finding Neverland', giving people space to use their imagination to create a fairy tale kind of world on the streets! With fairy tales in mind, I tried my hand at a bit of book sculpture and I'm pretty happy with the results.





Introducing my Mardi Gras Dragon


 On the morning of 12th February I went to the Post Office to check our PO Box and in it I found what I had been hoping for! A yellow piece of paper - which could only mean one thing; there was a parcel waiting for me! And I was pretty sure I knew what kind of parcel it would be.


I picked the parcel up and took it with me to work. I knew from the label on the box that it was from Zooguu and I was excited to see what kind of plush creation was inside...

I opened the box, and when I saw that little tail poking out of the packaging I had a good guess at what it could be - a dinosaur or a dragon.


It was a purple and gold dragon! So cute and beautifully made.


 I love his little arms and his shiny gold wings.


And his little white teeth :)


As well as the dragon there was a lovely note from Jen and her bright and happy business card. Thank you so much Jen :) It made my day to receive this. If any of you readers are jealous of my lovely dragon, make sure you check out Zooguu's etsy shop or her website where you will find lots more lovely creations and perhaps be tempted to get yourself one!


It's Fat Tuesday!


Today is Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or as we call it in England - Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day! Here in Bosnia and Herzegovina they call it Maskara and their tradition is to do 'trick or treating' like we would do for Halloween. I'll wait and see how many of the kids we know knock on our door tonight! We will be observing the British tradition of eating pancakes :)

As the Plush Team we are celebrating this day by doing a Mardi Gras themed plush swap. Mine still hasn't arrived - but I haven't been to the post office yet today so maybe it's waiting for me there... This is the plush that I sent to Jen of FuzFrenzy.


Still Enjoying the Snow!

We've been going snowboarding a couple of times a week. Yesterday we went to try out the slopes at Rostovo for the first time. I'm getting better everytime I go. Still not confident enough to go on the lift and snowboard down from the top, but that will come...

S'mores Bars


I thought I'd let you know about the latest recipe I've tried out. This one is a good 'un! They taste amazing. If found the recipe here on Sugar Cooking's blog and adapted it just a little bit as some of the listed ingredients are not available here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Instead of Mashmallow Fluff I just used ordinary marshmallows and lined them up over the chocolate as you can see in the picture above. The other ingredient not available here is Graham Cracker Crumbs. Instead I used a local breakfast speciality called Plazma. If you can't get Plazma or Graham Crackers where you live then just smash up some kind of plain biscuits such as digestive biscuits and use that instead.



Cactus Love


If you're looking for an original, cute valentine's gift for that special someone, look no further! There are now plenty of cute little cacti available in my Etsy store. You can find this little on by clicking here!


Meet Judith, your perfect desktop companion, guaranteed to bring a smile to your face even on the most difficult of days. Give her to someone special in your life so that they remember you every time they see her cute face! She is a great gift for those plant lovers who just can't keep a plant alive, but need a little life and light brought into their office or study. She would also be happy to be an ornament on your bookshelf or mantelpiece. 


Sandy is a plant who will never die! Perfect for those of us who don't have green fingers, and those who do! She would be a lovely gift for that special someone. Or, if you want to keep her for yourself she would very happily be an ornament on your bookshelf, desk or mantelpiece. 

Chocolate and Cookie Dough Muffins


After some experimenting on Monday evening I came up with this recipe. They are yummy and they  taste even better the day after, so don't eat them all right away! The cookie dough has a slightly salty taste compared to the muffin which makes a great contrast.


To make the cookie dough:
90g butter
100g sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
200g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100g chocolate chips


In one bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and leave to one side.
In another bowl cream the butter and sugar. Then mix in the egg and vanilla.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, mixing all the time. At this point I usually use my hands to knead the dough. If the dough feels very sticky you can add more flour, a little at a time. When the dough is a good consistency add in the choc chips. Put in the fridge whilst you make the muffins.

This will make more cookie dough than you will need for the muffins - but when is too much cookie dough ever a problem? Wrap up whatever is left and put it in the freezer ready for a day when you feel the need for cookies!

To make the muffins: 
200g flour
75g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
175g sugar
2 eggs
100ml sunflower oil
175ml milk
2 tsp vanilla essence



Heat the oven to 170C and put paper cases in a muffin tin.
In one bowl beat the eggs.
In another bowl put the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix. Add the sugar and mix.
Add the eggs, sunflower oil, milk and vanilla and mix until it is all combined and looks like the picture above.



Put one teaspoon of muffin mixture into each paper case.

Put a small ball of cookie dough into each paper case.











   
Put 2 teaspoons of muffin mix into each paper case so that the cookie dough balls are completely covered.

Then put them in the oven for 20 minutes.
            
Once they are done, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool on a wire rack.





Once they are cooled, eat them!










I shared this post on the Back for Seconds link party.