Category Archives: sewing love

Kanzashi Flower Wreath

Kanzashi Flower Wreath

Hello there!

It’s me – today with something completely not food related! Unbelievable, I know! 😉

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

I made this wreath for my grandma’s 75th birthday last week and I liked it sooo much that I needed to show it to you!

It is not hard to make, you just need some time and patience, a styrofoam wreath, some yarn, fabric scraps and some buttons. I saw some yarn wreaths at pinterest – a thing I’m only using since this year. I guess it would be correct to say this is the first thing I made because I saw it on pinterest! 🙂 In my own way, of course, as there was no ‘how-to’ with that picture.

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

The flowers are made in the ‘Kanzashi’- Style. You take squares of fabric in different sizes, fold them and then sew them together! If you want me to make a tutorial on how to make those flowers, just leave me a comment! 🙂

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

Well my grandma liked it very much too and hanged it on her front door of her appartement. Also my other grandma already told me that that’s what she wants for her birthday in September! 🙂

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

Next week there will be something very special waiting for you on this blog! All I can say is that it will be my very first series I am doing and that it is very special to me! I am so looking forward to how much you will be liking it! Or not – but that’s not what I hope that happens 🙂

And here is a last picture, just because I can’t get enough of them!

Kanzashi Flower Wreath by gingerlemonandspice

Have a nice day!!

~ Kathrin

Mini Pavlovas with Lemon Curd, Raspberries and Chocolate

Mini Pavlovas with Lemon Curd, Raspberries and Chocolate
Mini Pavlovas with Lemon Curd, Raspberries and Chocolate

Hello everybody!!

My very first giveaway is over and very soon  this cute and roomy Apple Pouch will be sent to a new owner!

Who is it you ask?

I used random.org to draw the lucky winner: Congratulations to Ariane from arifra83!! 

Apple Pouch Giveaway by gingerlemonandspice

She said she would use this pursie to store all the small things a woman needs during a day  🙂

 

But all of you that weren’t so lucky – don’t be sad!! There will be another giveaway sometime for sure! And for now you can take a teensy bit of your time and make those tender and delicious Mini Pavlovas. They aren’t difficult to make but look  and taste so decadent and sophisticated! A very special treat for you or your loved ones. Or make them for your mother on mother’s day?

Donal Skehan's Mini Pavlovas with Raspberries, Chocolate and Lemon Curd by ginger, lemon & spice

 

Mini Pavlovas

adapted from Donal Skehan

Donal Skehan's Mini Pavlovas with Raspberries, Chocolate and Lemon Curd by ginger, lemon & spice

Donal Skehan's Mini Pavlovas with Raspberries, Chocolate and Lemon Curd by ginger, lemon & spice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Meringue:

250g powdered sugar

4 egg whites (maybe left from making Creamy Lemon Curd?)

2 teaspoons corn flour

1 teaspoon white vine vinegar (I used white balsamico)

 

Filling:

500g cream, whipped (if you like with some cinnamon)

250g raspberries and/or optional lemon curd (I had bananas with the lemon curd version)

Chocolate shavings*

Donal Skehan's Mini Pavlovas with Raspberries, Chocolate and Lemon Curd by ginger, lemon & spice

 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 150°C and put baking parchment on two or three baking trays. Then place the sugar and the egg whites in a bowl and mix until white and stiff. This takes at least 10 minutes! Lucky you if you have a stand mixer, if not take some patience and use your electric hand mixer 🙂 The mixture is ready if you can form peaks and they stay stiff! Fold in corn flour and vinegar gently with a rubber spatula.

2. Take about one tablespoon of the mixture, put it on a baking tray and flatten out a little. This is your first mini disc! Repeat until all the batter is used up. You should have about 14-16 discs. I made mine a little on the very flat site, I guess you could leave them a little thicker and use only 2 discs to make the staples later!

3. Bake them for 45 minutes and then open the door of the oven a little and let them cool down completely. Meanwhile prepar the filling!

4. Assamble the Mini Pavlovas by stacking a meringue disc, a tablespoon of cream and some raspberries and maybe some lemon curd and repeat. I made two different kinds – One with cinnamon cream and raspberries and one with plain cream, bananas and lemon curd. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings on top!

5. Enjoy immediately after snapping a picture or two 😉

Donal Skehan's Mini Pavlovas with Raspberries, Chocolate and Lemon Curd by ginger, lemon & spice

* How to make chocolate shavings:

Take one bar of dark chocolate and a very big knife. ‘Shave’ the chocolate from the bottom of the chocolate bar with the big knife. For some people it is easier to press the chocolate liying on a table with one short side to their belly and shave towards their body. It would be good to wear a clean apron if you try this 🙂

This is a video which shows kind of what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6NjcsdvgwM

Have fun trying this yourself!

Donal Skehan's Mini Pavlovas with Raspberries, Chocolate and Lemon Curd by ginger, lemon & spice

~ Kathrin

1000 Facebook Fans and a GIVEAWAY!!!

1000 Facebook Fans and a GIVEAWAY!!!

Hey there people!

I am soooo excited to tell you that I now have more than 1000, I mean ONE THOUSAND Facebook Fans!!! I am thrilled!! That is soooooo amazing!!!!

Each and every one of you makes me soooo happy and I am very grateful! I feel so honored that you read my page and blog and that you even ‘like’ it!!

It means the world to me!! 🙂

To give a little something back I decided to take this occasion to host a little giveaway for you!!

Apple Pouch Giveaway by gingerlemonandspice

By leaving a comment on this post you can enter to win this cute and roomy Apple Zipped Pouch! It is handsewn with a lot of love 🙂 You can use it to organize smaller things you might loose in your handbag otherwise, or you can use it as a small handbag or as a make-up bag,… I guess you can think of a lot of other things you can use it for! 🙂

Sorry for the crinkles on the upper pic… You can hardly see any on the actual pouch – I don’t know why they are on the pic.

Apple Pouch Giveaway by gingerlemonandspice

What to do to get into the fortune pot: Leave a comment on this post telling me what you would use this cute pouch for from now until next monday (29th April 2013) 12.p.m. MEZ!

That’s all 🙂 Everybody is allowed to enter and has one entry! That means it doesn’t matter if you’re from the U.S., Germany, Europe or Asia.

If the winner is not claiming his prize until 48h after the announcment another winner will be chosen.

So let’s have some fun!!

Apple Pouch Giveaway by gingerlemonandspice

Take care

~Kathrin

my first steps in starting a sewing business

my first steps in starting a sewing business

Hello everybody! 

 

Some time has passed since my last entry. You wonder what I have been doing apart from going back to university after the winter holidays?

I was focused on preparing my first steps to share my love in sewing with more people out there.

I think it is quite common in America to buy and sell homemade products on sites like etsy.com . In Germany however those communities exist, but are quite a bit smaller than over there.

After I got a sewing machine for my last birthday I started to teach myself how to sew and I like it a lot!! The problem is: I could be sewing all day long – but what to do with all the things I sew? i definitly can’t use them all by myself!

That is why most of the pouches and things I did in the past I made for somebody special and gave them away as presents. I must say, I was very supprised how much they loved those!! Some said it was very special to them because they got something that was handmade only for themselves. And as bonus – I liked sewing them very much too, so it was a win-win on both sides 🙂

When the new year started, I thought about if it was possible to sell some of those on handmade websites like etsy.com or dawanda.de even in Germany. So I opened up one shop on either of the platforms and started to make some produkt to sell:

IMG_9265

I put one of each pouch on one of the websites to be able to compare the success. Until now I can say that etsy really disappoints! On dawanda I have some views, but on etsy I still have none. I guess one reason might be that I only advertised the products on the german websites. I guess etsy is way more used in America!

As I have a lot to do for university at the moment I have to update my shops time by time.

I did only one more thing, that I want to put on the dawanda page: this cute little owl!

IMG_9316

but more things are in the making 🙂

I am really enjoying this little experiment!! I am excited to see how it works out!!

Do you have any experience in using or selling on handmade websites like etsy?

Have a nice day!

Kathrin

 

P.S. Link to etsy page: click here , for dawanda page click here