Making Something Every Day Makes Me Happy!

It’s true, I’m never happier than when I’m lost in creating something. It might be an article or a piece of art. I use the word ‘art’ in its most light-hearted sense because I’m no artist! However, that doesn’t matter because as we all know, the journey is more important than the destination,  so it is the process of creating that lets loose new ideas, forms new neural connections, allows us to express emotions and just simply have fun.

I issue a challenge. To you. Yes, you, the one I’m looking at. Spend a day thinking about it and then commit to making one small thing every single day for 30 days. You will be surprised where it takes you. Your thoughts will become ever-more creative as you search for inspiration for the next ‘make’. I have some ideas for you, right here:

Make Something…

 

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Home Baked Bread Makes Me Happy (& I sort of wish it didn’t!)

Got this book for Christmas, “Five-Minute Bread” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I think it has changed my life. Always wanted to be the kind of person who bakes her own bread but, alas, I seemed to have rising dough issues. It just wouldn’t happen, not properly. I developed yeast-anxiety and turned, instead to making stews, casseroles and curries, and, the goddess-awful store-bought rubbish that passes for bread in the UK. No local bakery, y’see.

Happened upon the above mentioned book and a whole new world of bread has opened up… look!

My husband loves it. My kids love it. Unfortunately, I love it too!

I don’t follow the recipe precisely as given in the book – there is a ‘Master Recipe’ plus about 80 others – but have worked out my own version. I use less equipment (the book advises a baking stone, a pizza peel and polenta to avoid sticking) and it all works perfectly well. Today I tried another variation to get a less crusty crust.

Complete directions with photos:

What is Artisan Bread? How to Make It

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Klutz Makes Me Happy!

Klutz makes my kids happy, therefore I am happy. It was great fun to put these Klutz collections together on Squidoo. Some of the books we already own, some have already been ordered and there are lots more on my wishlist.

My son enjoys the humour in titles like “The Encyclopedia of Immaturity” and the “Klutz Book of Inventions”. When he was young he had the paper plane kit and the clothespin car kit. He’s asked for a few more Klutz-es for Chrismas gifts this year – there is so much choice available, I put together these two pages as collections of Klutz publications that boys might like. That’s not to exclude girls mind!

Klutz for Boys

Klutz Science

My daughter is very ‘girly’ so her favourites are the fashion and craft kits. She loves to create and these kits fit the bill perfectly.

Klutz Fashion Kits

Klutz Craft Kits

My baby was born on 9/11 so is 10 years old now. Like me, she also enjoys journaling and was really pleased to see a Klutz journal among her birthday gifts the other week.

Klutz Journal Kits

Both kids love to draw and paint so this collection was a joy to put together. I want some of these for myself!

Klutz Drawing & Painting

Finally, I couldn’t ignore the younger kids, we have several birthdays coming up soon, friends’ kids, nieces, nephews, and step-grandkids (yep, I’m way too young!). Klutz have a really good range for younger children in their “Chicken Socks” series.

Klutz Chicken Socks

Note: Every single one of my Squidoo pages donates a percentage of its earnings to Kiva That makes me extremely happy!

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Good Service Makes Me Happy!

I’m attempting a few crochet ‘garden scarfs’ as gifts this year and wanted some yellow buttons to sew into the middle of the flowers. Found some on eBay that are perfect for the job and ordered four packs of 12. The whole lot came to less than a fiver (£5). They arrived this morning and once again, an eBay seller, a complete stranger to me, has put a smile on my face. She could have stuffed the buttons into a plastic bag and I would have been satisfied but Laura Rogers of Charmed Cutie packs them beautifully in a small sparkly bag, embellished with a sweet pink heart button.

Don’t you love it when someone makes that extra effort and makes you feel valued in the process?

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Painting Rocks Makes Me Happy!

Came across the art of painting rocks almost by accident. I do remember seeing ladybugs and things painted on small stones but hadn’t really taken any notice – it was the sort of things you do with your kids. Well, I have done some with my kids but I also discovered some really wonderful artists, such as PetaRock and Pietrevive

Of course, I had to have a go myself and its one of those things – once you start, it becomes addictive and I have painted rocks every day for about two months. In fact, I have even started a new blog to show them off.

Yay!

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Steampunk Makes Me Happy!

Photo courtesy of albany_tim under the Creative Commons license.

I love steampunk… It feels as though all my life I have been unconsciously leaning towards it without knowing what IT was. In my younger days I was drawn towards, high-heeled lace-up boots, culottes, Indiana Jones-type explorers’ fashion and clockwork. I love art that looks mechanical but with an element of organic.

I’m a bit too old for dressing up but not too old to indulge in some fabulous steampunk literature. Come join the adventurers at The Best Steampunk Books

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Butter Makes Me Happy!

I am thrilled that butter is starting to lose its reputation for being the dietary instrument of death for mankind. Most of us, who still eat it, always knew that something so good could not possibly be bad.

Here are five good reasons to incorporate butter into your diet:

1. Contains Vitamin A for thyroid and adrenal health.
2. Contains lauric acid,; fights fungal infections and candida.
3. Contains lecithin, necessary for cholesterol metabolism.
4. Contains anti-oxidants; protection against the effects of free radicals.
5. Contains other anti-oxidants that protect against arterial damage.

For 15 more excellent buttery benefits: Butter, the Healthy Option

But the real reason is simply…

Butter is good for you

Photo courtesy of Last Hero under the Creative Commons license.

PS Happy St David’s Day!

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Living in Wales Makes me Happy!

View from the Rhigos, South Wales

View from the Rhigos, South Wales

I wasn’t born here but just a little way across the water in Cornwall. However, having lived here since the age of 10, I feel a strong affinity towards Wales and Welsh people. Their sense of nationality, their warmth and their particular brand of humour have seeped into my heart.

So it was inevitable that I would make a series of pages centred upon my country and my locale, and, with spring approaching along with the Welsh national festival of St David, not to mention the Six Nations Rugby tournament in full swing (you should have seen us whup Scotland’s backsides last week!) it is now time to give Wales a little bit of a cheer.. Hooray for Wales!

Please visit my Welsh pages – you will make an old Cornish woman very happy!

Traditional Welsh Food

St David’s Day

Brynna & Llanharan

Quiz: What Do You Know About Wales? (Not for Welsh people!)

Myfanwy

Tegwen Lewis

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Delicious Anticipation Makes Me Happy!

Don’t you love looking forward to things? Do you find that sometimes the delicious anticipation is almost better than the actuality? I used to fret that what I was waiting for wasn’t coming quickly enough. I used to be depressed in the lead-up – can you imagine that? How silly was I?

Now I deliberately revel in the gorgeous, delightful anticipatory stage. It’s the best bit. The longer it takes, the better I feel; knowing I can enjoy that ‘knowing it’s coming and loving it’ for as long as it takes.

What I have learned in all these years is that, generally speaking, having the thing you want or achieving a new level, is never as exhilarating as the original idea of getting there. Really. However, the really, really important and exciting thing about reaching your goal is that you have now a new place from which to delightfully anticipate the next big thing, or even the next small thing.

DELICIOUS ANTICIPATION

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Nigella’s Chocolate Cookies Make Me Happy!

I’m not a great cookie (‘biscuits’ in the UK) lover. I do like a nice, buttery shortbread. However we saw the luscious Nigella make these on her show last year and my kids persuaded me to give them a go. We bought all organic (you don’t have to) and it cost about £15. For a batch of home-made cookies! We made them as a special Boxing Day antidote to turkey. When I say ‘we’, I mean that my kids and stepdaughter made them. I’m not stupid.

Well they were gorgeous, very grown-up and not too sweet. Best of all the triple chocolate – cocoa powder, semi-sweet choc chips and the very dark chocolate bar gave all the chocolate hit anyone could want. We tried them with ice-cream – yummy-scrummy – and the kids had them with ice-cold milk and ice-cream floats.

The full recipe, ingredients and method are here: Nigella’s Ultimate Intense Chocolate Cookies. Plus there are links to her site and her new BBC show: Nigella’s Kitchen.

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