Nicest biscuits in the world..ever!!

I have delevoped a strange craving lately of things that are both sweet and salty at the same time. Think honey roasted peanuts and sea salt flavored chocolate, hmmm! I think it's probably down to the fact that I'm getting older and sadly I can't eat as many sweet things as I used to.
I discovered these amazing rosemary shortread biscuits after a friend kindly made me up a batch. I think they're delicious and they make great presents when displayed in a vintage glass cookie jar.

Gordon Ramsey's Rosemary Shortbread

Usually associated with savoury dishes, rosemary is a great, robust winter herb that can give shortbread a different dimension. I find that it makes the biscuits taste a little less sweet.

340g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
140g caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
2 tbsp chopped rosemary leaves

1 Sift the flour with the salt. Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

2 Turn the mixer to its lowest setting and add the rosemary then the flour, a little at a time. Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. Shape the dough into a flattened ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 20 minutes.

3 Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. For bars, gently pack the dough into a lightly buttered Swiss roll tin. Score the surface to mark out bars and prick all over with a fork. For biscuits, roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to 5-7mm thick. Stamp out the biscuits using a cookie cutter, then transfer to two lightly buttered baking sheets, leaving a little space between each biscuit. Prick each biscuit with a fork.

4 Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale golden. Let the shortbread cool on the tray for 10 minutes until firm, then transfer to a wire rack for them to cool completely.

5 Sprinkle with caster sugar, if you like. Keep in an airtight container.

I'm loving Instagram!

Instagram is basically a toally free app that transforms a fairly average picture into a beautifully retro polaroid snap. There are various effects that you can put on your pics and it's just as easy as pressing a button. Here are just some of the snaps I took on my crapy iphone camera..look how lovely they are once I instagrammed them!

One sexy boyfriend!

Feet and half eaten fish

Gorgeous baby Ava

Our shoes on Brighton beach

I love yellow roses

Get an Effiel of this

Excuse the bad pun, and take a look at these Parisan style necklaces. These are my own creations, a choice of two different coloured Effiel Tower necklaces. If you want to rock 'le French chic' then there's no need to hang garlic round your neck, just buy one yourself one of these! They cost just £6 in my Etsy shop. Click here to purchase...

Bootiful Jewlery

Bootiful Tings (aka me) is about to launch a handmade jewelery line. It will feature scrabble- themed pieces like this ring and scrabble necklaces that can spell out anything you like. There will also be lots of pretty flower rings, teacup, camera and Eiffel Tower necklaces so stay tuned! x


Update: The scrabble rings are now on my Etsy site just click here, any letter for just a fiver.

My new favourite website

I stumbled across this amazing website and had to share it with you. If you've ever seen the design blog Fffound then it's a bit like that but for girls. It's called Pinterest and is basically collection of beautifully, quirky and funny things.

Here are just a few I have hand picked for you....

Lego shaped cake!

Beautiful flowers

Such a cutie!!

Olive this poster!

Brilliant idea for retro vase

Check it out for yourself here

Doilie Necklace

This is the first necklace I've ever made and I must admit I'm rather pleased with myself. It's made from a folded crochet doilie stitched together, four cameo buttons (bought from Hobbycraft), a bit of black ribbon and a gold chain. I also sprayed it with starch to firm it up a bit. I love that I've made something new and very on trend from using an old unwanted dollie and I'm now planning to design a whole range of doilie inspired items. If you would like to purchase this necklace it is now on sale on my Etsy shope here

Dream dress

I recently bought this crochet collar jersey dress from Topshop. It's one of those dresses that looks quite nice on the hanger but looks much better on. It's perfect for casual nights out and even work, if you don't have dress too corporate that is. I wear it with tights, brogues or ballet pumps. To buy it yourself click here

My Valentine's pressie

I got given this lovely sliver button pendant necklace from my boyfriend. I like the way he's combined my favorite hobby (crafting) with jewelery (something every woman likes). He even made a lovely dinner, after some very unsubtle hints, of steak and potato gratin. All in all he did pretty well, I think I'll hold onto him, for now at least.

My latest projects

It's been a while since my last blog but I've not been sitting on my arse watching Eastenders I promise! I've been making some new items for my Etsy shop. I'm slowly building up a collection and working out how to make cross stitch patterns, in the hope that I could eventually sell at craft fairs and markets. I also want to get into refurbishing old furniture like the table and chairs in my last blog. But in the meantime have a look through these. If you would like to make any of the cross stitches yourself let me know I can email you the pattern for a mere £2.50.

I saw this slogan and decided to make it my new motto. Instead of a crown at the top I stitched a cotton reel and crossed needles.


Triple tache action! Not much more say really...


Pretty bunting which incidentally is resting on the draw of my revamped antiques fairs table (smug smile).

If you would like to purchase any of these or make them yourself please visit my shop by clicking here

Ta x

I'm now selling on Etsy!

If you liked the 'I love..' cross stitch and fancy getting one for your Valentines then you can buy your own personalised version on my new Etsy shop. Click here.. Personal message and frame all included! Just email the name of who you love and i'll get stitching.

Newark Anitque Fair Treasures

So after watching Kirsty's Homemade Home I became obsessed with the amazing bargains she seemed to pick up from antique fairs and salvage yards. So I tracked down the IACF which holds huge antique fairs up and down the country and went along to my nearest one in Newark.
I was blown away by the amount of amazing stuff on offer. Some things have prices on them but the sellers are up for bartering and actually quite enjoy it. I got this table and chair below for the grand total of £55 after bartering it down from £75. I'm going to use this as my crafting desk and have already sanded and painted the chair..the table is next on my list.




Here's some other goodies we picked up...

What I want to wear!

I've just been paid, after a January that seemed to last forever, yay! Now that my account is at last, not in the red, I'm beginning to eye up lots of clothes I want to buy. Here, sadly are just a few of them!

I love this cardi from Topshop. Apparently this season is all about 1970s style, and this garishly coloured Laura Ashley-esq top makes me smile.


These are unashamedly girly! These would have been my absolute dream shoes at the age of six. Red, patent, and complete with a bow, what more could a girl ask? They'd have blown my Clarks Magic Steps shoes outta the water. I know I'm not six but i still want them. They're from Office btw..
This cardi from Warehouse reminds me of a top my nan once had. It also makes me think of the roaring forties. I want to wear it with a pencil shirt and those tights with the black line up the seam, and do 'the twist' whilst living off rations.

I love these gloves by Donna Wilson. I'm sure they've not been cleared by Clarence House as official merchandise but they do make me laugh!

Valentine's Day slogans

Some people find it hard to express their emotions and some of us just can't quite find the right words to say. If that's you this Valentine's then take a peek at these wonderful ways to basically say...'I bloody love you!'

Chubby lovers

Honest lovers

Lovers of font

Four-eyed lovers

Shy lovers

Either use these as inspiration to make your cards or just click on the links to see where you can buy them. Happy Valentine's to all xxx

Guinea pig wedding

When my friend Dawn announced she was getting married I knew exactly what I wanted to make her. Dawn and her partner Matt had two pet guinea pigs who they loved. Dawn loved her long haired guinea so much that she named it 'dream pig' because it was her dream pet. So I decided if they were getting married, so should the pigs. Don't worry these aren't they're real pigs, I found some extremely life-like toy guinea pigs in a card shop in Barnes, West London. Then I got some netting, and mini silk roses from Hobbycraft to decorate the bride. For the male pig I made his top hat out of black felt and then stuffed it. His tie was just a burgundy ribbon. I even managed to find a scrap of blue lace to make my female pig a little garter! Dawn loved the pigs so much they took pride of place on the cake table at the reception.

Bicycle cupcakes

I'm so impressed with my friend Lauren, she wanted to make her bike-mad boyfriend some two-wheel themed cakes and cleverly created these! After asking my advice (for some reason) I suggested she get some ready rolled white icing to place on the top of her cupcakes and then use icing pens to draw on the bicycles . When she text me this picture I was so proud of her and think these are ace. Well done Miss Kelly xx

Cute clothes

These lovely garments are all new from River Island and despite not having any money after the Christmas blow out I want them all! I'm currently trying to convince myself that this glasses hoodie, Peter Pan dress and lace skirt will be investment buys...Well they will won't they?!

Say I love you with X stitch

To celebrate the birthday of my best friend Anna Duke, (aka The Duke) I gave her this little declaration of my love. The key with any stitch slogan that you wish to put into a frame is to get the frame first! This is essential, trust me, otherwise it's highly unlikely you'll find a suitable sized frame to fit, plus cross stitch always looks better when it's all centred and even. This ornate gold frame was purchased from Laura Ashley for £12 and the only other equipment I needed was 14 count aida in cream, black and red thread, a needle and some scissors.


Cross stitching is so easy, and with the help of these online alphabets you can write any message you like. I'm always on the lookout for new and amusing cross stitch slogans so feel free to post any ideas. Claire x

I am now selling personalised 'I love you' cross stitch slogans on Etsy. Click here for link

I love POP

If you haven't already heard of POP bakery, I'm sure you soon will. The independent bakery set up by 22 year-old Clare O'Connell and her mum is rapidly becoming the new Hummingbird. This is just an example of the many beautiful cakes they offer. This 'Darling' cake is only £35, which is a real bargain, for such a pretty personalised cake. Clare's bakery has been receiving a lot of press lately mainly because of her totally unique cake toppers. These Russian Dolls and bride and groom toppers are an example of some of the quirky designs she produces. The toppers are made out of sponge dipped in icing, and then hand painted with edible paint.


Not only can these be purchased for a mere £2 but the best news is that Clare has just published a book showing you exactly how to make them yourself. I can't wait to my hands on a copy!

I will of course keep you posted as to when the book is out but in the meantime check out the bakery yourself here x

Homemade Christmas decs

When it comes to making my own Christmas decorations I bloody love felt! It's the easiest material to use because it doesn't fray. I like to make to make loads of little decorations at Christmas, but I don't have the time to spend days doing it. So with my trusty sheets of felt I just cut out two sides of whatever shapes I want to make, maybe stuff them, maybe not, (depends how you feel) sew them  together and voila! I made this Father Christmas tache with a bit of ribbon, some cream felt, red thread and a bit fluff for stuffing.

This Christmas poo was a favorite addition to my tree. He was created in the same way as the tache except I sewed on his eyes, glued on his hat, and stitched on smiley face before completely sewing him together.

This tasty little fella was just as easy to make. His beady eyes and buttons, and gingerbread grin were put on first then his two sides were sewn together using two strands of white thread. All of these decorations took no longer than 30 minutes to make. Bring on next Christmas when I can make even more!