Hopscotch Creations

Fox Among the Sheep

2013-03-29T02:10:00.001-07:00

Do yourself a favour and take a look at the work of Stacey Mead - The Goode Wife of Washington County.

Stacey has been making and selling her work for 35 years and found primitives 14 years ago where she then had to learn how to sew.

Stacey also sells patterns on Etsy and they are cheap!

Fox

Marjorie the Sheep

Rocky Road Easter Bunnies Recipe

2013-03-28T23:16:00.005-07:00

You can't go wrong with these Rocky Road Easter Bunnies. They are so easy to make and are ready to eat in half an hour. I got this recipe from a friend but have modified it slightly to suit my tastes.

Ingredients:

1 block of Cadbury Turkish Delight Chocolate - 200g
2 tbspns shredded coconut
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/3 cup popped corn (cooled)
1 tbspn cooking oil (for popcorn)
Cooking oil spray (optional)
I silicone rabbit (or other animal) cooking mould
Plastic wrap

Method:

Heat 1 tbspn cooking oil in a pot until hot and add unpopped corn. Once corn starts to pop, turn gas on low until all corn has finished popping. Set aside to cool.

Break chocolate into small pieces and microwave on high for 1 minute 10 seconds. Stir chocolate then microwave for an additional 10-20 seconds if chocolate is not fully melted. Be careful not to burn the chocolate.

Mix mini marshmallow, pop corn and shredded coconut into the melted chocolate and stir thoroughly ensuring all ingredients are coated.

Spray bunny (or other) rubber mould lightly with cooking oil and spoon in rocky road mixture to moulds.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to harden (takes around 30 minutes).

Makes 8-9 bunnies. You can add more chocolate if you wish which will make the mixture go further.
If you wanted to make a Rocky Road log, all you need do is place all mixture on greaseproof paper in the shape of a log. Fold over paper and twist ends like a bonbon making a sausage shape within the paper. Cool for half an hour and slice thinly with a sharp knife.

Peacock Cushion by Hopscotch Creations

2013-03-26T05:32:00.001-07:00

It was my sister's birthday recently and I spent a lot of hours perfecting this 51 x 51 cm cushion using wonderful peacock fabric designed by Haruyo Morita for Elizabeth's Studio. One thing's for sure, my sister was happy with the result. Attached to the zipper is a silver heart charm with the words "My Sister My Friend" and a spotted Scotty Dog paper tag.

Peas Please!!

2012-05-20T03:59:00.001-07:00

I've had to polish up on my French to learn about artist Chloe Remiat. Chloe is French illustrator and paper sculpturer. Very talented and beautifully made models and creative boxes that tell a story. It looks like she has her own clothing line too. I think I need to go back to language school! Du beau travail.

Tea Time

Alphabet Soup

The Hungry Princess

Let's Twist Again

2012-05-20T00:49:00.001-07:00

I've got this thing going on with wire lately. I need to go to the craft shop and purchase some thin jewellery wire and some thick floristry wire and start twisting. I found this lovely piece of work by Laura Bracken Designs which has inspired me to make a wirework ring. I thought the bead in the middle was a great idea. Hopefully I can finish it off and share it with you since I have so many projects half done it's shameful.

So Sweetly We Sing

2012-04-09T05:34:00.001-07:00

So Sweetly We Sing is by Amy Borrell, a designer, illustrator and pattern maker from Melbourne, Australia. Her whimsical pastel coloured designs are right up my alley. I wish these birds were a download freebie because they'd make a beautiful blog background however they are available for purchase from Amy's website Cake With Giants. Some of Amy's clients include Frankie Magazine, Peter Alexander and Mambo.

The Fox Family

2012-04-09T00:45:00.001-07:00

I adore the work by Russian illustrator Nalogina Lubov who created the Takiyaje Doll. The Fox Family is to die for and I want one now! I haven't been able to locate a great deal about this artist unfortunately but I can share with you her Flickr photostream so you can see more of her fantastic creations. While you are browsing, take a look at The Crocodile Family.

The Easter Egg Tree

2012-04-08T18:45:00.006-07:00

An Easter Egg Tree does exist, and it can be found in Germany. Around 1945, when he was a young boy, Volker Kraft saw his very first Easter Tree (Eierbaum, Osterbaum or Ostereirbaum, in German), and decided he would have one of his very own, when he grew up. Time passed and young Volker got married and had a family but his childhood dream stuck with him and he decorated his first Easter Tree, in 1965. He used 18 colored plastic eggs.

But the tree was growing fast and he and his wife, Christa couldn’t afford to waste so many Easter eggs. So they began drilling holes into the eggs, using the contents in the kitchen, and the painted shells as decorations. When their children grew up, they started helping with the decorating,and the Easter Tree became a family tradition, known not only in their home town of Saalfeld, but all of Germany.

Visit the official website of the Easter Egg Tree: http://www.eierbaum-saalfeld.de/?seite=home&lang=eng

Take a look at the egg count starting from 1965 where the tree had 18 eggs and now In 2012 there are 10,000 eggs - WOW!

I want to make an Easter Tree too - but maybe I should start off small =)

Fantastic Mr Fox

2012-04-06T06:02:00.005-07:00

I just love anything fox lately and these lovely foxes by Lucy Kate Crafts are all sold out unfortunately but they are very inspiring.
Mr Fox was made from an old woolen skirt which Lucy Kate felted in her washing machine. He is beautiful and soft.
This craft makes me want to sit down and start stitching one of my very own.

Vintage Squirrel Card

2012-04-02T19:52:00.005-07:00

I loved this vintage squirrel card which I nabbed free from www.greenpaper.typepad.com. Not sure what I'll do with it yet but wanted to share it with you just the same.