Handmade Earthly Creative Swap

After receiving such an enthusiastic response about who would like to be involved in an Handmade Earthly Creative Swap we have decided to get the ball rolling and post up a little bit of information about the proposed swap. A few people are curious as to how the whole swap works so hopefully I can answer those questions here.

Basically we are hoping to get as many people involved as possible, the more the merrier after all! And it comes down to the concept of hand making something for another person, who you may not necessarily know, but making that item full of love to send to your partner and you in return will also receive a hand made gift made from love. I have taken part in a few of these swaps and they have been very successful. Obviously the success of the swap rests upon the concept that all participants make a thoughtful gift, sending it to their partner and in turn receive a parcel. If some one takes part but does not send their parcel off before the due date, then that action in turn will cause someone elses unhappiness, and nobody wants that!

So the concept of this very first Earthly swap is to create a care package that creates a smile... care packages are made up of beautiful things that are sent to those that need a little bit of comfort, but sometimes in our busy lives we all need a little care. It doesn't need to be a lot of things, more so thoughtful, made with love and sent to your partner. I am thinking some sort of box, something that everyone can access to fill with a few goodies and post. I thought of a shoe box, however was not sure if that was too big, so was thinking of another idea... would love suggestions and find out what you think!

'Handmade' will include ALL types of handmade, so not just sewing. This may be handmade jewelry or a set of handmade tealight candles or perhaps handmade wooden lettering. I just wanted to let you know that you don't need to be able to sew something to be involved, all styles of handmade are most welcome!!

Now for the Earthly twist, as we are committed to supporting the environment where possible, using recycled or organic materials, so this theme will be central to the swap. All this means is you need to include an eco aspect to your care package. This might be some organic filling in a softie, or an item made from materials of a pre-loved piece of clothing or buttons from an old bag. It doesn't all need to necessarily be organic or recycled, but does need to be incorporated in some way. Lets get creative and see what we can come up with!

Ok, before this post becomes an essay, I will leave it there. Still gathering interest, anyone is welcome to participate so talk to your friends, invite them over (or to the Earthly facebook page). The next swap post will give more detailed information, including an email address to send in your name, to be part of the swap and some questions for you to give your partner a little heads up about yourself :)

Please please, I would love for you to comment on this post, let me know your thoughts and ideas!

xx
Bec ~The Earthly Creative

Bon Appétit!

Now that I am back in the swing of things, I decided to do a bit of baking today. On the menu today was old fashioned scones with strawberry jam and vanilla cream. Rather happy with how they turned out and even the hubby scored them a 10 out of 10, so can't argue with that! :) My batch made 14 plus a little ball of scone (yum!) & only 8 survived tea time!

Here is the recipe I used to make my scones (feel free to use it, if you need a quick reference).

Ingredients:

3 cups self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
4-5 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Sift flour & salt into a bowl.
3. Rub in Butter with tips of fingers until mixture is a fine soft crumble.
4. Make a well in the centre of bowl & stir in milk with a knife to form a soft dough.
5. Turn onto a floured surface & knead lightly.
6. Pat dough gently to a 2cm thickness & cut out with a floured scone cutter (or floured rim of drinking glass, works just as well).
7. Place on a ungreased scone tray & brush scones lightly with milk.
8. Bake at 200C for 15-20 min
9. Turn out into a tea towel lined dish & cover & wrap with another tea towel.
10. Leave for 5 mins or until cold.
11. Serve with jam & cream or butter if preferred.

Tips:

If you like your scones to rise higher, you can add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the recipe.
Place your scones on to the tray next to each other, so that they can use each other to rise.

Bon Appétit!


In the next couple of days I will have some new products to share with everyone. Currently working through orders and then making up new stock for my first 2011 market (details to be announced). Don't forget to share your masterpiece with us by hanging it on the Earthly facebook wall:

http://www.facebook.com/TheEarthlyCreative

Let me know if you or your little ones enjoyed the colouring in & I will put up another :)

xx
Bec ~The Earthly Creative

Something for Nothing :)

After working on a bright and colourful logo for a client I am in a very creative mood. So I have just created a colouring-in-sheet that little ones can enjoy. If you would like to try it, simply click on the image and then print the PDF at A4 size.

As I have not been working on my blog a lot, I only have 3 followers, if you would love to keep these 3 lovely people company & keep an eye out for more earthly creations feel free to follow my blog too :)

Hope your little ones enjoy trying out my very first colouring sheet.
Let me know how it goes. I would love to see any of your little one's masterpieces, you can upload them to ...

http://www.facebook.com/TheEarthlyCreative

:)

Still breathing :)

I have to apologise for having been MIA for quiet some time now. I almost forgot I had a blog *yikes* However I am back now, and promise to be more dedicated to keeping my blog up-to-date. So much has happened since my last posts and I have learnt so much! I will have to do a recap post later...

After a very special day on the 9th of January 2011, the day I got to marry my best friend, we enjoyed an amazing time in The Maldives for our honeymoon and a stop over in Singapore full of wonderful cultures, scents & tastes!!


I am looking forward to developing some new products this year for myself, my markets and online. I will get my website off the ground and will be using even more eco friendly, recycled, sustainable materials!

xx