Mrs Birks Blogs

As I said in my previous post, I was a very lucky girl at Christmas (thank you friends and family). Aside from paper cutting stuff, my husband and I were given afternoon tea for two at The Shard - Aqua Shard to be precise (I think there are other restaurants there).  At £45 per person, it was a very generous gift, so we decided to make the most of it and also booked to go to a show while we were in fancy London Town. Our tea was booked for 5pm - possibly a bit late for a dull Saturday in January but having seen the London skyline during the day at the Sky Garden a few years ago (top recommendation for free things to do in London) I was quite keen to see the Skyline at night. It didn’t disappoint! The lights made London look magical and we had a great view having been sat by the window.  The darkness inside the building meant that you could see out really well, although at times it was difficult to see what was on the table in front of you! Now the lovely people that ...

I was a very lucky girl this year because my Secret Santa bought me a book about Paper Cutting.  I had admired paper cutting at the Norwich Makers Market earlier in the year and somehow my Secret Santa found out - be warned boys and girls, Santa is watching. There is not a lot that I like more than a cheap craft and papercutting has got to be one of the cheapest I've encountered.  All you need is a cutting mat, a scalpel and blades and some nice paper/card.  As a beginner, I know very little about the weights of paper or the different shapes of scalpel blade but my new book by Paper Panda is full of tips and ideas...not to mention designs and templates. Each design in the book is graded with scalpels to give you an idea of its difficulty.  I chose the easiest, then taped the design to my cutting mat and was away. My first few cuts are shown above.  I have since read that it is better not to push out your cuts until later in the process as the paper ...

As readers of this blog will know, I have developed a thing for afternoon tea.  So when a 'Pan-Asian Afternoon Tea' with 2 hours of unlimited Prosecco came up on Wowcher, I was the first in line, debit card in hand.  The price was £34 for two instead of £71 - bargain, I thought but I've since learned that you get what you pay for! I had never been to Gilgamesh in Camden but had walked past it and read about it online.  I was keen to try out a restaurant that sounded a little bit glamorous and the pan asian twist of a Great British classic was really tempting.  My last afternoon tea was amazing (read about it here ) and had set the standard incredibly high but I was not expecting the same, just something a bit different. To start with, booking was actually quite hard.  I tried several different Saturday slots but each time was told they were fully booked.  No matter I thought (I had left it until the last minute) I will try a week day in half term. ...

It is a long time since I subscribed to the Crafty Creatives boxes, mainly because I was struggling to craft and commit to my full time job (I know which I'd rather do!).  So it was with excitement that I jumped at the chance to review a subscription box when I saw the opportunity on Twitter.  The boxes have changed since I last received one but I was still full of excitement when I saw the following tape on a big brown package. What spoilt the surprise of what was inside was the other picture on the box which revealed the kit inside.  I say spoilt but of course it didn't really, I was excited to see what the little felt creatures would look like and what the kit would contain.  Plus who can be disappointed with craft stuff arriving through the post and with the added bonus that everything you need is inside, with nice clear designs. I started the kit a few days later at 'Craft Club' - our attempt at work to relax and catch up once a week during lunchtime...

This summer we finally got around to defrosting the freezer (oh the glamour!) and, in an attempt to do my part, I decided to use up the frozen damsons that had been in there for I don't know how long (I could guess but I'm too scared to!)Anyway, jam was always on the cards - we have made Damson jam before with some success - I used this simple recipe and using the plate in the fridge test, the set was pretty good.     I also wanted to do something a bit more adventurous though and after a bit of a search, discovered this Damson and Gin sorbet recipe.    We had gin, we had damsons and I also had a Kitchen Aid ice cream churner still in its box from last year when I was lucky enough to get it free with my Kitchen Aid.    A perfect combination! Now with an ice cream maker you do need to freeze them for a long time (15 hours at least) so it's not something you can use spontaneously.    So I put it in the freezer overnight (it only ju...

While Game of Thrones goes from strength to strength (how is this season over already?), what has happened to House of Cards?  The TV drama that changed the way drama is produced and distributed, has gone from gripping, edge of the seat stuff to unbelievable, over-the-top and dissatisfying in one season. Although I didn't always understand the politics, I loved House of Cards from day one and it was one of the reasons we subscribed to Netflix.    As a Media teacher I admired the way it changed the media landscape by putting the control back into the hands of the audience,    allowing them to choose exactly how many episodes (chapters) they watched and when.    It also proved that in a world of short form video, long form drama is still something the audience wants.    With its film star cast and director, it was also responsible for blurring the boundaries between film and television - it's becoming difficult for critics to claim tha...

A few weeks ago, I was very lucky to receive a surprise sample of Scrumptious Sprinkles to try out.  I was very excited because I love this brand!  I first came across them when I lived in Ludlow - I was thrilled to find edible mini dinosaurs at the Food Centre and took them home to decorate the Husband's birthday cake (I had some help from a small child!). Now that I no longer live in Ludlow, it is more difficult to get hold of them (although Lakeland has started stocking them), so I always look out for their stand at the Cake and Bake show, where they normally have a special offer.  On my last visit I got two shimmer powders and some small sprinkles.  They also do cupcake cases in a range of fantastic colors and designs.  I'm due to stock up on these - they are lots of fun and very good quality.  If you look carefully, you might spot some of the polka dot ones in my older posts.   Anyway, through the post, I received a bundle of joy which incl...