I wish you a "Merry Christmas"

I can take the time to sit down and write this snippet because I think I'm pretty much there.... 
I can welcome Christmas with open arms, hug it tight and tell it how much I love it xxxxx

And with that ... I welcome home my Sister and & her partner, they have returned to England having lived in South Africa for many years, I know this has been a tough journey for both of them and my Lil Sis knows I have been holding her hand all the way. We can start being Sis's again (but please no hair pulling) and welcome Phil in to our little family. Welcome Home Jen & Phil xx

We are staying at home this year and it will be a quiet affair, and for me mixed emotions, my children are grown up and apart from my daughter have left home, my son, girlfriend and grand daughter are off to France Skiing this Christmas stopping off in Lapland for the day so that Madeleine  can help train that naughty  Reindeer, my eldest Son is spending it with his wife and in laws. When your children are little Christmas is hectic and fun I loved it, it was always about them I felt wanted, now not so much. my role as a mother has moved on.

This year I found myself at a bit of a crossroads. I had to do a lot of soul-searching in order to discover who I actually am and what and where I go from here.


                                             Finally, I think I now have a jolly good idea.

One thing I have realised is just how precious the PinkPeonyPetal part of my life is. The creative outlet, the soapbox, the mental stimulation, the community, the witty repartee! It brings me more pleasure than I can say and I thank my lucky stars for the opportunity. I also thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your friendship and your support. I would fight fire for you lovely lot, really I would.

So ... my PinkPeony adventure is about to step up a notch and start getting interesting. That's all I'm divulging for now but I do hope you'll stick with me for the ride?
So it leaves me to say
I wish each and every one of you a Christmas filled with love, laughter and creativity.

See you on the flip side!

                                                                       Lots of Love

                                                                            Fiona

                                                                               xxx

Who needs a pin wheel.....

You need a pin wheel....


Seriously, you need a pinwheel right now. They are amazing. I have discovered if you add a pinwheel to anything, it suddenly becomes epically awesome. Have a piece of paper? Put a pinwheel on it! Have an ugly, plain wall? Put a pinwheel on it! Have a White wins Spritzer Alright...maybe it doesn't work all the time, but you get my point!I decided to now put pinwheels on gift boxes, cards, and even some plain kraft paper to make super-cute stationary! Kraft paper is one of my new secret loves.
 I found a roll of it (more like the end of a wrapping paper roll, but hey, it works) during my pinwheel photoshoot, and I immediately found a use for it. This may be a weird, pack-rat kind of habit, but I can't throw nice paper away. I've even been known to keep the paper used to wrap around a bouquet of flowers. Ehem, yeah, I am weird.

So at this point, I am guessing you are dying to make your very own pinwheel to decorate, well, everything? They are very easy to make. 
All you need is a square-shaped piece of paper
scissors, and glue (I use a glue gun. It's a life-saver.). 
Cut from the corners to the center about 3/4 of the way. Then fold in every other corner and glue accordingly. I use a button to conceal the center (yay for buttons!), and there you have it.

1. Clay
2. Cookie cutters
3. Stamp-able letters 
4. Dough rolling pin to roll out the clay
5. Paper tissues for the decoration
6. Mod podge for glueing
7. Acrylic transparent gloss vanish (water based)
8. Bakers twine or thin ribbons

1. Start by rolling out the clay until it’s all about 1cm thick or less if you prefer.
2. Use your cookie cutters to stamp out your shapes. Use a pencil or tooth pick to make a hole at the top of each shape enabling you to hang them later.
3. While the clay is still pliable you can stamp in the doodles into your shapes. 
4. Set aside and wait for an hour approximately so the clay starts to dry a bit.
5. Take your favorite tissue paper motives and rip it into small pieces so you have a pattern that fits onto parts of your clay.
6. Use the mod podge and apply onto clay and tissue paper. Glue the paper onto the clay so that everything sticks evenly. Do it as often as you want onto other parts. Set aside.
7. Leave all the shapes to dry out overnight. I had a clay that dries in the air. No microwave needed.
8. The next day you can glaze your decorations. I did two layers so it was nice and glossy.
9. As the last step use thread or bakers twine and get it through the hole. Tie a knot in the end. Tadaaa ready is the ornament.

Gingerbread Houses

This year I am planning on making Gingerbread houses & cookies 

Here is a tried and tested recipe that I find makes the best dough

Gingerbread House Recipe

1/3 cup soft shortening

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1-1/2 cups dark molasses

2/3 cup cold water

7 cups flour

2 tsps. Baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Cream the shortening and sugar in a large stand mixer.
2.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fluffy. 
3. Add the molasses, salt, soda, ginger, and cinnamon.
4.  Mix completely. Add the flour, one cup at a time. 
5. The dough will become very stiff, and the bowl will be quite full.
6.  Once the flour is incorporated, turn the mixer off. It is a very stiff dough, and the object is to incorporate the flour, nothing more.
7. Roll dough to a generous 1/8” thickness directly on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
8.  Trace around paper stencils (available for publication) to cut out the walls and roof of a gingerbread house.
9.  Lift away the excess dough on the cookie sheet with a spatula or knife.
10.  Be sure to leave some space between the pieces—the dough does expand while baking.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for between 10 and 14 minutes.
12.  Slightly over-baked (short of burning) is better than slightly under-baked as you need rigidity for constructing gingerbread houses.
13. Let the cookie pieces cool completely before assembly—even overnight. 
14. When cooling and storing, do not stack the pieces more than three high. If you do, the pressure will cause warm cookies to cement together.

Operation Gingerbread’s Top 10 Tips:

Tip 1: Buy the cheapest store brand of shortening you can find. Something full of trans-fat goodness. I’m all for getting rid of trans-fats as a general principle. You will get much better performance with the cheap stuff. It’s not like a huge house-shaped cookie is good for you, anyway. Just exercise moderation.

Tip 2: Don’t roll out the dough on the counter and transfer to a cookie sheet to bake. Grease the cookie sheet and roll the dough directly on the pan. Trace around your templates and lift the excess away.

You might have noticed that I didn’t roll directly on the pan. That brings me to…

Tip 3: Especially if you are going to be making multiple houses, roll the dough out on parchment paper. I raid my pastry-chef-mother’s stash of perfectly pre-cut sheets, and each year vow that I should pre-cut a massive stack of my own. They’re really handy.

But the parchment paper slips and slides all over the counter, you say! Fear not...

Tip 4: Simply put a Silpat down on the counter. Put the parchment on top of the Silpat and ta-da, it sticks! Be careful not to get flour under the Silpat, though, or you’ll have to clean everything thoroughly to get it to stick again.

But I don’t have a Silpat, you say! Simply take a clean dishcloth, get it wet, and squeeze the dickens out of it. You want it to be barely damp. Put that down on your counter, and put either your cookie sheet (if you’re not using parchment paper) or your parchment paper on top. The parchment will get a little damp, but it’s not a problem, I promise.

Tip 5: Your dough will spread at least a bit while cooking, especially since this recipe doesn’t require chilling before rolling (and is WAY easier to roll because of that little fact). If you want the pieces to fit together with precision–and that’s pretty important in construction of the real or cookie kind you’ll need to trim the edges. Do this immediately after pulling the cookies out of the oven. Don’t even wait 30 seconds! You need to move very quickly, while the cookies are still very hot! Use your template and a sharp paring knife and trim the excess away.

Tip 6: Let pieces cool completely before daring to stack any up to save space. Once completely cool, you can stack the pieces three or four high to save counter and cooling rack space. Do not stack higher! If you do, you run the risk of the pieces cementing to each other. 

If you’re going to assemble more than one house, use a large disposable pastry bag. You want to have to refill as infrequently as possible.

Tip 8: Cake circles make perfect, pretty bases for small houses.

Yes, I buy them 100 at a time and they have so many uses

For larger houses, I cut cardboard boxes into rectangles, and cover with freezer paper, dull side out. It makes a nice, snowy white, inexpensive base. While it’s not strictly necessary to make the house on a base, it’s much sturdier, and I love having room to landscape around my gingerbread houses.

Tip 9: Especially if you’re going to make multiple houses, seriously consider an A-frame design. Not only does it look cute and germanic, it’s also super easy to assemble!

Santa's little helper's job, holding the first two pieces for me:

And then it stands up on its own while I assemble the rest:

If you’re going to make more elaborate designs, especially ones with four walls and a roof, assemble in stages. Adhere the walls together, and prop them in place with cans. DON’T add the roof yet! Wait a few hours, come back, and then you can add the roof. Be sure your royal icing is nice and thick, especially if you have a steep pitch to your roof, and if possible, stack cans to reach right under the eaves, to hold the roof in place should it start to slip before the icing sets up.

Tip 10: Don’t underestimate the decorative power of royal icing. Don’t get me wrong, I love to decorate with candy! But that can get really expensive, and using royal icing as its own decorative element can look absolutely gorgeous!

If you’re going to do decorative piping, or if you’re going to put on heavy candies, it’s much easier to do the decorating before the house is assembled.

gift wrapping xx

The "gift wrapping" has begun at our house! & I love it!....Being a true believer that the "wrapping" of a gift is as important as it's contents, makes this holiday task one of my favorites This year I want to lean toward papers that are similar to old wallpaper "vintage designs in the glorious colours I have chosen for my theme I have a huge stash that I have gathered over the year, so I have ribbons that are a bit faded or slightly off in color and pretty deconstructed jewelery which will end up giving such an interesting effect to the overall look of the wrap. And since "millinery flowers & leaves" are something I have gravitated to since childhood, their velvety leaves & organdy petals will have their starring moment  sneaking in the ribbony folds of grosgrain.....and of course at holiday time.....sprigs of berries, fresh & faux may be spotted peeking their little round faces out from under greenery & twine

To finish off these joyous packages. the "perfect tag" will be added I often make my own, by stamping unique designs & monograms on simple packing labels and usually a "dusting of glitter" adds just that last bit of sparkle that every wrapped gift deserves!....


For me, wrapping a lovely gift for someone special, is a wonderful form of self-expression. With simple papers, tidbits of ribbon & a bit of imagination, the gift you give can become something that will be delightfully appreciated  & remembered for always So on that note, join me this year, in creating the prettiest assortment of parcels ever! Make every box nestled under the tree, one that will thrill it's recipient, while all the while, filling you with the warmest holiday spirit!.....

This pretty little bag would be ideal for homemade treats, any paper bag can be decorated with ribbon, lace, pretty flowers or a brooch.






 These clay tags are so easy to make (tut in next post) and can be used for any celebrations.




I love the simplicity of this wrap. 




This idea is perfect if you need to wrap lots of gifts on a small budget, this comes a close second favourite 



for me the best bit is the felt bird.....


The list is exhaustive these are just a few of my favorites, my next post will show a couple of handy tutorials.
A few tips...
Have a theme
Start collecting bits and pieces early
Sit down relax.  enjoy it
Don't rush maybe buy then wrap this means you don't have piles spread it out.