Rainy day photoblocks

Usually when Dad visits he gets to replace all the blown halogen lights in the house. This left me with a stack of these:

I'd been thinking about making some photo blocks for while, since seeing others on CraftGossip.com, but didn't want to make them out of fabric.  Nor did I want to make them from wooden blocks, as did Missie Krissie, as my youngest is a "thrower". So small square cardboard boxes were just the ticket.

If I was doing this again I would start by covering the boxes with plain paper and glue, to give a plain base to work on. As it was, I simply sized photos to fit the side of  the four boxes, then using PhotoShop, cut the photo into quarters, and "spread out" the photo on the page before printing. This was so I would have paper to wrap around corners when I was sticking it on the boxes:

Choosing photos was fun. You don't often get photos with the subject isolated; often there is another head in the photo. This can work well, and make the puzzle a bit more tricky, if there is a quarter of someone else's head in the shot too.

They came together pretty quickly, and as a final step, and to protect the print and the paper, I wrapped them in clear packaging tape.

(Left) Austin in a photo block;(right) Austin gets to grips with the photo blocks. 

My $21.90 Missoni Scarf

20cm of Missoni Big Jagged Spring @ $89m:  $17.80       

20cm pink jersey @ $20.50: $4.10                              

Wearing your new Missoni scarf to the supermarket on a Sunday: Priceless!

Happy Birthday Letitia

Letitia invited me to her birthday party and I volunteered to make the cake. The "party" was in fact a sit down lunch, but after spectacular entree and mains, people wondered what dessert would be. That would be Bronwyn's cake! Lucky I made a big one. My first ever double decker cake!

Yo Yo biscuits (melting moments)

My Mum is famous for these, so I want to preserve the recipe for prosperity:

6oz Butter

6oz Plain Flour

2oz Icing sugar

2oz Custard Powder

Cream butter, then add all dry ingredients.

Mix until it forms a cohesive dough; this will take a while. For 5 minutes you will be thinking "there's not enough butter!", but eventually it will come together.

Use a teaspoon to pick up small pieces of dough - about half a teaspoon full (they will expand by about a third on cooking).

Roll dough in your hand to make a smooth ball.

Put on tray.

Use a fork to push ball down and make an indent on the back - but not too firmly.

Bake in a 180degree oven for 10-15minutes, or until they start to brown underneath.

Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Make icing - icing sugar, little knob of butter, hot water, and your choice of colourings or flavourings (half a passionfruit added to the mix makes a delicious icing).

Put a dob of icing on a biscuit and push another on top - but don't squeeze too hard.

This is why they are called YoYos.

Eat and enjoy!