I know it’s a bit early, but a rainy February weekend is as good a time as ever to get the feather duster out and get spring cleaning at Makery Mill HQ, Leamington Spa! After a big delay, our “super satchel thread organiser” arrived in the post. Getting our spools organised was quick and satisfying – look at the lovely organised and untangled result… (now we have space to add even more!) If you attend one of the craft classes, keep an eye out for this!
These hanging decorations are perfect to dot around the home for Valentines, or all year round if you fancy! I’ve popped mine onto our ‘recipe for a happy marriage’ in the kitchen. Let’s see if the hubby notices…
You will need:
Red/ pink fabric – Main heart body
Red / pink felt – Front heart
Silk thread
Sequins
Ribbon
Wadding
Needle
Scissors
How to make:
Position the felt heart onto the centre of the main heart body. Pin in place.
Use a running stitch with silk thread to sew the sequins along the edge of the felt heart, joining it to the main heart body layer.
With the two outer faces against each other, sew the main heart bodies together with a backstitch. Sew around all but the top ‘v’ of the heart.
Turn the piece inside out, which will reveal both outer faces.
Stuff the wadding inside. If you want a rounder heart than mine, just add more wadding (I’ve added 2 layers).
Pin the looped ribbon into place at the top
Tuck in the remaining main heart body fabric, and use a running stitch to complete the stitching around the heart – this includes stitching across the ribbon.
Over the next 10 days we’re going to be doing a series of Valentine’s themed posts to get you in the mood for the loved up day and to give you some new ideas of how you can make it extra special with some simple DIY baking and crafting!
Do you fancy giving your Valentine a yummy homemade gift this year instead of the usual chocolates? We’ve found this lovely lemon biscuit recipe and adapted it with heart shaped cutters. They would be lovely wrapped in a little box with red ribbon and a heart shaped gift tag.
| Serves | around 20, depending on the size of your cutters |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 8 minutes |
| Total time | 38 minutes |
| Website | www.bbcgoodfood.com |
These biscuits would also be great with nutella or jam spread in the middle - just leave out the lemon zest in the dough and substitute the lemon curd for your preferred filling!
They will keep for up to three days in an airtight container. The biscuits will go a little softer when they are filled so leave filling the biscuits until the last minute if you prefer a crisper texture.
| Step 1 | |
 Put the softened butter, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest into a bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon until incorporated. | |
| Step 2 | |
 Sieve in the flour and mix together. The mixture will be quite dry so you may need to bring it together with your hands. | |
| Step 3 | |
 Place the dough on a floured surface and cut in half. Roll out one half to a little thicker than a 20p piece and start cutting out your heart shapes. The biscuits will be stuck together in pairs once they are cooked so make sure you have enough matching pairs. Remember to cut a little heart out of every other big heart so you'll be able to see the lemon curd filling when they're finished. | |
| Step 4 | |
 Repeat with the rest of the dough until you have used it all. Place your hearts on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with cling film and chill for 30 minutes. | |
| Step 5 | |
 Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Remove the cling film and place the trays in the oven for 8-12 minutes until golden brown. They will crisp up quite a lot when they cool so don't be afraid to bring them out of the oven when they are still a little soft. | |
| Step 6 | |
 Cool the biscuits on wire racks. Once they are cooled, spread a little blob of lemon curd onto a biscuit (be careful not to spread it too far to the edges as the curd will ooze out), then place a heart biscuit with a hole cut in the centre on top and gently press down. Continue with the rest of the biscuits. Dust liberally with icing sugar and they're ready to share with your Valentine! | |
Next time, a more chocolately homemade gift…Becky x
Hi everybody,
We are so proud of our “Makery Mill’ers” ! Yesterday we hosted our first adult cupcake decorating workshop, Everyone got a chance to learn sugar-crafting and buttercream piping secrets from Little Miss Cupcakes herself, and what creative results! Not only did we see some brilliant piping efforts, we also saw decorations ranging from lovehearts, flowers, hearts and birds to starfish and even dinosaurs! Here are some photos of their finished products…
We are pleased to say that we have finally found some fantastic premises for our upcoming cake and craft classes! Our workshop is based on Regent Place, just behind the Gaia health foods store in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. It is about 5 minutes walk from Leamington train station and the main shopping parade.
We test drove the workshop yesterday, and despite a minor hiccup (figuring out how to work an eco kettle!), both the Makery Mill team and the workshop attendees were very happy with the setting.
This great news means that the Makery Mill calendar of workshops is on it’s way, so keep checking back to see what classes are coming up and to get involved! We can also offer bespoke and themed parties for Hen Dos, children’s birthdays, baby showers or any other special event. Please email or call us to discuss..
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