A Handmade Life

Apart from creating my String Me Along jewellery line, I love to find other ways to indulge my creative whimsies. I've always loved spending time messing about in my kitchen, and since I have moved into my new home, my creative juices are extending to planting and decorating.

Here are some of my recent projects.

In true messing about style, I have become addicted to making marshmallows. Such a surprisingly easy confection to make, and a truly delicious end result. My co-workers have grown to love me since I always bring the bulk of the batch in for them to snack on. Last week, I did a minor experiment, expanding my marshmallow repertoire from dreamy vanilla bean, to heavenly toasted coconut. I followed the basic marshmallow recipe from marthastewart.com. Before adding them to the dish to firm, I liberally sprinkled the bottom of the pan with toasted coconut along with the powdered sugar. I did the same with the top of the marshmallows, and pressed in the coconut. It added a lovely flavour, and a fantastic texture.


I have never been blessed with a green thumb, but I am striving to improve my lot in life. Today, I am happy to say that my luck does seem to be changing. Last week, I sowed these little pots of arugula sprouts. I can't wait to wake up every morning to see how much they have grown. I tend to them religiously. I should be careful that I don't baby them too much. Sometimes, I do think if I was more aloof, I would be more successful.

And, finally, with spring upon us and Easter just 40 days away, I thought it might be nice to have a spring themed decoration for my front door. I also decided that I want to create something purely from scratch. No store bought elements. So, I decided that rather than adding to my green bin, I am going to use some of my compostables as decoration. I have started collecting my egg shells. After cleaning them thoroughly, I have been using my discarded coffee grounds to sprinkle over to spot-dye some brown speckles onto the eggs. Once I receive the desired effect I will tea stain them with our discarded tea leaves.

Since I have a wooded area at my disposal, I plan to seek out some small branches to twist into a wreath form, and from there I will drape it with moss which grows liberally around the edges of my yard.
Assuming that I am happy with the end result, I will share photos in the near future. In the meantime, I have some baking experiments in mind that should provide me with a good harvest of egg shells.