Loppy's Gingerbread Biscuits Recipe

Today I decided to make gingerbread as it's something I haven't made for a long time. Here's the recipe I use, I can't remember where I got the original recipe from but I've adapted it over time and it always turns out great. Feel free to adjust the amount of ginger and spices to your taste, or try adding extras such as chocolate chips :)

Loppy's Gingerbread

350g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

175g soft light brown sugar

 2-3 teaspoons ground ginger

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon or nutmeg (or both)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

100g butter
1 egg
4 tablespoons golden syrup

Combine ingredients and cook at gas mark 5 for about 10 minutes.

Today's batch :)

I managed to get 23 small gingerbread men and 18 decent sized gingerbread stars in today's batch. This isn't the hard gingerbread that you'd find in high street bakers, it's crunchy on the outside but soft inside and really delicious.

Loppy x

DIY Painted artist's mannequin - Hulk

First of all I want to say how awesome Midge's first post was! If you didn't see it, you can read it here. She's crazy good at art :)

So yesterday my wonderful boyfriend took me shopping and bought me this Spiderman bear and costume;

Say hello to Peter Parker :)

I wanted to make something for him to say thank you. I've had this project pinned for a while but I've never got around to making it.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/63/35/b7/6335b72bdb348c687c18d939a2a1b136.jpg

My boyfriend spends obscene amounts of money on figurines so I thought it was perfect.

I picked up a mini artist's mannequin from The Works for £2. I already had acrylic paints and brushes so that makes this a super cheap gift idea :) It just requires a little patience.

I don't feel ready to tackle the intricate webbing on Spidey's costume so I went for the Hulk instead.

Here are the steps to make it;

Start with a plain mannequin

Paint the skin area and base green

I had to remove some of the paint with white spirit because I accidentally painted the wrong section

Paint the shorts purple

Paint the hair black

Use white paint for the eyes and mouth

Use a fine black pen to add detail to the face, I used a Stabilo fineliner

Ta-dah!

Just coat with varnish or matte Mod Podge when the paint is dry and there you have it, a fully jointed Hulk figurine for £2! I think I might try to make the full Avengers team at some point.

Loppy x