Saturday 29 June 2013

bloglovin

Some of you may know GoogleReader is closing as of 1 July 13. You can use www.bloglovin.com from now on to keep up with all of your favorite blogs!


<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/9239177/?claim=fxuhfwwucdc">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Friday 28 June 2013

{book review} The Handmade Market Place

{book review} The Handmade Market Place. By Kari Chapin.



I am often asked what inspired me to launch my handmade business when I had absolutely zero experience & my only back round was hardcore travel sales. Well, I owe it all to Kari Chapin. Quite seriously. This book changed my life. A friend recommended I borrow it from the library and once I did, I didn't want to return it! I rushed out and purchased my own copy as I just couldn't be without it for a second.
It is well written & incredibly informative. Kari covers all the good stuff & gives you the confidence to believe in yourself and your product. Any maker will understand how terrifying it is to put yourself & handmade goodness out there in the big wide for world for everyone to see & comment on. IN PUBLIC. What if they hate it? What if I don't sell anything? What if it's a big fat flop?
Kari covers branding, marketing, blogging, how to join online communities, market, selling and everything else you need to know. I found the many interviews with fellow {handmade} business' invaluable.
If you are even considering creating a business from your handmade love, you must read this book first!
You can find Kari at www.karichapin.com

If you have a book to review or would like to submit your own review, please contact me at lilyandcharliedesign@gmail.com
** this is not a sponsored post, this book was my own purchase.

Monday 24 June 2013

{Recipe} Delicious Chicken & Veg Sausage Rolls


  • As Mums we know it can often be a challenge to make sure our children, especially toddlers, eat their veggies every day.  I often try new recipes with Miss 2, just to spice things up a little. She loved these sausage rolls and made sure I knew what was left on the plate was hers and not mine!  I found the original version of this  very simple recipe on Taste and adjusted it to suit the needs of our family. You can easily do the same. 
    Here is my modified version, let me know what you think!


    Delicious Chicken & Veg Sausage Rolls

    1/2 cup breadcrumbs ( fresh or packet)
  • 500g chicken breast 
  • 1 egg, plus 1 extra lightly beaten egg
  • 1 zucchini, finely grated or 5 finely chopped mushrooms 
  • 1 carrot, finely grated
  • 1/2 onion, grated
  • 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
  • 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 4 sheets frozen puff pastry, just thawed
  • 1 tbs sesame seeds
  • Tomato or sweet chilli or sauce, to serve


    1. Step 1
      Preheat the oven to 180°C and line 2 oven trays  with greased baking paper.
    2. Step 2
      Process crumbs, chicken and unbeaten egg in a food processor until well combined. Place in a bowl, mix well with vegetables and herbs, then season.
    3. Step 3
      Place 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface and halve. Spoon an eighth of the mixture lengthways along one edge of each piece. Carefully roll the pastry up to make one long " sausage roll".  Brush the beaten egg along the exposed edge to seal.  Brush the top of the roll with egg and sprinkle the sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Cut rolls into 3cm pieces. Place on baking sheets, cover and chill for 30 minutes.  Bake for 20-25  minutes until the rolls are lightly browned and cooked through. Serve with sauce on the side.

      Freeze any uncooked, spare rolls as a whole piece for later use. Perfect for snacks, parties or playdates!



Saturday 22 June 2013

Giveaway!

Hi everyone,
I am running a little giveaway on Instagram! You can get your hands on one of my popular & gorgeous {magnet sets}. All you need to do is follow me on Instagram @lilyandcharlie, repost this photo & #lilyandcharlie simple!
Good luck & looking forward to meeting you on Instagram.

Monday 10 June 2013

Almost done!

The long weekend is over and I have moved the last of my things into my new {studio}. Whilst my paint job is very average ( will certainly never be my day job!) I am so happy with my new creative space. A weekend well spent. Now, to get in there and create!

Saturday 8 June 2013

Creating my studio

I've been driving myself insane trying to work out better ways to utilise the space we have in our tiny house. Two adults, 2 kids, a handmade business & only 2 bedrooms, makes for a very tight fit! We do have a garage and storage room under the house & today I have claimed the storage room to myself. It is going to be transformed into the {Lily & Charlie} studio & I am SO excited!
I spent today dragging all of our ' stored' items out and in doing so I found 2 unopened tins of white paint! What luck! I spent the rest of the day painting the white undercoat on the roof. Monday will be the second coat and furnishing.

Im not much of a renovator & Im doing it on my own, so it will be basic. But it will be mine! I will be able to start a project without having to pack it up every time I walk away to prevent any little hands getting in. Oh the luxury. Where do you craft, sew, paint or make?



Tuesday 4 June 2013

We were reviewed!

Some of you may know I run a small handmade business from home, specialising in hair accessories, earrings, magnets, bookmarks, brooches and more.  You can't imagine my excitement when I discovered today we had been reviewed by the amazing Handmade Kids blog! You can visit it here.




There is something really special about having all of your hard work recognised by your peers. Would you agree?