Photoshoot

First I would like to apologise for the lack of blogging this week I have been busy getting creative, which I can not wait to show you all. So on that note I would like to introduce to you all 2 new graphic tees now available in the ElephantBum store 

Why Bloody Not - New tee available online

I do believe in Unicorns - New tee available online

I grabbed a few friends and headed to Battersea Park to take some photos to advertise the new tees. We are currently in England getting amazing sunny, hot weather, so why not take full advantage of this.

Here are a few shots from the day!

JUMP!

What beautiful ladies

Beanie Love

Having a bit of fun in the sun

Who doesn't believe in Unicorns?

Why Bloody Not??

O' Mr Sun how I love thee

I thought I would share with you all just how much I am loving the sunshine in the UK right now. The sun brightens up everyones day, if you have had a rubbish day at work sitting in the garden with a nice cider enjoying the sun is the best remedy.

Lovely view from the garden

The sun makes everyone look a little bit healthier and happier, we have a bounce in our step. My mood is definitely effected by the weather so I am super happy at the moment and getting lots done. 

Family day at the common eating loads of icecream 

Another thing that comes out when the sun appears is suncream and I can honestly say that it is my favourite smell in the whole world. I apply it a lot throughout the day just so I can smell it, strange but true. Also icecream vans appear which is the best thing as my favourite icecream is a Zap and you can only buy these from icecream vans which deeply upsets me.

Street party water fun with my brother

I really do love the sun and I am so glad to see that it is staying for a while. I have had a lot fun doing things outside the house rather than sitting in my onesie in front of the television. I would love to hear what you have been doing in the sun. 

Enjoy the sun everyone! 

Craft #005 - Tie-Dye T-shirts

I do love an eye-catching Tee and what better way than a colourful tie-dye top. I have searched a while for the perfect one and I couldn't find it anywhere, so I thought why not make one just the way I want it. It is so simple and fun I thought I would share with you lovely lot how to achieve a colourful tie-dye tee.

Equipment needed:

- Plain coloured T-shirt (preferably white as the colour shows up better)
- Fabric Dye (I used Dylon hand dye in colours Sunflower Yellow and Bahama Blue)
- 250g Salt per sachet
- 6.5 litres of warm water (per colour)
- Plastic bowl or sink
- Rubber gloves
- Elastic bands

 Instructions:

1. Soak the T-shirt in warm water and leaver damp.

2. There are many different patterns you can have on your T-shirt it all depends on how you tie it. I wanted a swirly pattern and to achieve this you have to pinch the centre of the top between the armpits. From this point twist the top tightly until it is in a tight circle.

3. The next step is to add the elastic bands. To achieve the swirls place the elastic bands breaking the circle in to six segments. These will work as a guide later on.

4. Using the rubber gloves, dissolve the dye in 500ml of warm water.

5. Fill the bowl or sink with approx 6 litres of warm water.

6. Add the 250g of salt and dye to the warm water and stir well.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 for all colours. 

8. Now it is time to dye the tee using a jug pour your first colour into one segment of your T-shirt.

9.  Alternate colours until you have gone the whole way round.

 10. Once you have gone the whole way round, flip your T-shirt and repeat the steps on the other side, making sure the segments match up. 

11. Leave your T-shirt for an hour to soak up all the dye. Once the hour is up without untying the elastic bands rinse in cold water until the water runs clear. All you have to do now is hang up the T-shirt and let it dry. 

Then Ta-da!!! you have a new Tie-Dye Tee.

This is how mine turned out and I love it! What is cool about making your own tie-dye tee is that it will come out different every time. As you can see my two colours blended together and created bits of green throughout the top, which adds something to the tee.

Alternatively if you only want a single colour tie-dye tee you can submerge the T-shirt in the dye and leave it to soak for an hour. The tee on the right was done using this process, it was also tied together differently. To achieve that pattern pick up the tee from the centre and twist into a sausage shape and tie elastic bands around the t-shirt to keep it in place. 

Throwback Thursday

For this weeks Throwback Thursday I thought I would show some sisterly love. When we were little our mum would dress us in the same outfit or colour and have a little photo shoot. We have lots of these and I really appreciate them as they show us growing up and getting an addition to the family soon the photo shoot turned from 2 models to 3. 

Growing up me and my sister clashed heads so during these photo shoots I remember my mum telling us to pretend like we like each other, I think this comes across? Now we are much older and get along great maybe its time to have another photo shoot and actually show how much we do like each other. I am sure that my mum would love a picture of the 3 of us now as we are all so grown-up and have changed a lot since the last photo shoot. I hope everyone in England is enjoying the sun as much as I am, I would love to see your Throwback Thursdays.

Craft #004 - Bottles

Some may say (and when I say some I mean Simon) that I am a hoarder, that is incorrect I just have a lot of things with sentimental value.  I like to keep things because they remind me of a certain point or person in my life that made me happy. One of these objects I like to keep are bottles; we have 5 in total and they all remind me of a special time from me and Simons first valentines day to the London Olympics’ 2012 themed coke bottles.

Until now they have sat on top of our bookshelf doing nothing and catching dust. This is until I saw this blog post from I SPY DIY it really inspired me to make our bottles a feature instead of a dust catcher.

These are the things you will need for the craft:

Bottles (how ever many you wish)

Spray Paint

Flowers (I went for fake flowers as I am not great at keeping flowers alive)

 Fake flowers, very pretty colours.

Sentimental bottles not hoarding!

How:

1. This is a very easy craft to achieve; the first step is to make sure the bottles are clean on the inside and out. You have to scrub the labels off from the outside and make sure there is nothing left, as this will show once you have spray painted it.

2. Once the bottles are dry it is time to spray paint. Make sure that you do this section outside and that there is nothing around you that you could possibly get paint on. Hold the bottle at one end at arms length and spray the other end.

3. Let this dry for a couple of hours. Once it is dry you can hold the end you have just painted and spray the other end, doing it this way makes sure you don’t get any fingerprints on your hard work. When spray painting the open end of the bottle spray a little just inside the bottle so the inside can get a light coating.

4. Repeat these steps until you are happy with the coating of the bottle.

Spray painting in the garden

Then ta-da it’s done, a quick and simple craft that can make a dust catching bottle a feature of the room.

 

I hope you enjoy trying out this craft as mush as I did.

Cupcake Wars!

I love cake! Who doesn’t but I can safely say that I am not a very good baker. My Pup and Simon both love to bake, all types of things from simple fairy cakes to complicated plaited bread.

The only way I seem to be able to make a good cupcake is if I am handing someone the ingredients, which doesn’t count or a good old packet mix. This got me thinking it is cheaper to buy a packet mix, easier to make for the non-baker type like me but are they just as tasty? So I decided I would do a test, I would make a packet mix of Red Velvet Cupcakes and Simon would make from scratch some Red Velvet Cupcakes so that we could see what would be tastier.

Lets start with Simons made from scratch Red Velvet cupcakes:

What you need:

Additional equipment, large mixing bowl, wooden spoon, small mixing bowl, cup, measuring jug, wooden spoon and 16 cupcake cases

Instructions:

Step 1.

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 (350 degrees F / 175 degrees C).

Step 2.

In the mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt and cocoa butter.

Step 3.

In a separate bowl add the butter and beat until soft. Add the sugar to this bowl and beat till light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time beating thoroughly after each addition. Finally add the Vanilla extract to this bowl and beat till it is all combined.

Step 4.

In the measuring jug whisk the buttermilk with the red food colouring. Slowly mixing as you go add this to the flour mixture. Once this is combined add the butter mixture to the flour mixture.

Step 5.

In a cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow this to fizz for a bit then add it to the cake batter.

Step 6.

Now add the mixture to the cupcake cases. The cupcakes should take 15-20 minutes, so sit back relax while your good work is baking. Once the time is up or you can stick a toothpick in the middle of the cupcake and it comes out clean it is time to rest them, do this for at least 10 minutes.

So that was how to make Red Velvet cupcakes from scratch, seems easy right?? Yes for those who can bake I was completely flustered whilst Simon was baking this recipe but don’t you worry you non-bakers it is time for the Red Velvet cupcake mix!

Danni’s Red Velvet Cupcake mix:

What you need:

Additional equipment: Mixing Bowl, Wooden spoon

Instructions:

Follow the box, EASY!

Verdict:

As you can see by the image Simon’s cupcake looks a little redder but is tiny in comparison to my packet mix cupcake. The taste is as different as their appearance; mine tasted of chocolate but was very bland where Simon’s was filled with flavour.

I think we can safely say that making a cupcake from scratch is better than a packet mix. They may not look as perfect as a packet mix but they make it up in flavour. If you can bake I am super jealous as I am sure your cupcakes taste and look good, I am going to start trying to perfect my cupcakes, watch this space! 

Throwback Thursday

As today is July 4^th I thought this week’s Throwback Thursday would pay tribute to the USA. Simon and I went to USA in the summer of 2010. We started in Miami which was amazingly hot, then moved to Orlando, which is my heaven. We ended in New York, an incredible city. Here are a few shots from the Holiday; I am sure in the future I will tell you more about our USA adventure.

I loved all the Art Deco building in Miami

 Harry Potter World was an absolute dream

 Disney world is my favorite place on Earth, it is the most magical place!

 

 The shows at Seaworld are incredible 

 Obviously going to photograph the Elephant Bum

 View from the top of the Empire State Building, what a view!

 New York is incredible at night it is London on steroids.

Simon and I loved America and we cannot wait to go back and visit more states - it is an incredible country with so many things to explore. So this Throwback Thursday is dedicated to you America: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!