May Workshops 2013

May 2013 Workshop Timetable.

Wednesday 1st May - Cupcake Decorating
Ever wondered how all those cupcake producers make them look fab? How do they make those little flowers for the top? How do they get the butter cream to look so luxuriously scrummy? Well now you can find out! 
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£20 per person
 

Thursday 2nd May - Celebratory Bunting
Come along and learn how to create and sew your very own celebratory bunting. We will show you how to use the sewing machine and make your creations.
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£20 per person

Friday 3rd May - Parent and Toddler In the Night Garden Sugarcraft
A great hands on experience for all littlies. They will make there very own In the Night Garden figure to put on top of a cupcake (supplied). This is great for hand eye co-ordination, colour recognition and social skills. If you have a baby as well as a toddler, dont panic, bring them along too we always have a spare set of arms available!
10.15am - 11.15am
£7.50 per mum and tot

Saturday 4th May, 11th May, 18th May - Intensive learn to crochet 3 week Workshop
Crochet is such a great adaptable skill to learn. You can use it to make clothes, blankets, household accessories etc The list is endless. Come and learn now and you can begin to make gifts for your loved ones for Christmas, saving you a fortune as well as creating a loving gift.
Adults - 10am - 12pm
              £40 includes a starter kit of crochet hook and yarn
Children - 2pm - 3pm
              £25 includes a starter kit of crochet hook and yarn

Monday 6th May - Bank Holiday Childrens Moshi Monster Sugarcraft special.
If your littlies are as obsessed with Moshi Monsters as ours are then this is the workshop for them. We will teach them how to make their favourite monsters and ice their cupcakes to put them on. This is always a popular workshop so early booking is advisable.
The art of sugarcraft has many benefits for children both on a social and educational level.
10am - 12pm
£15 Per child

Tuesday 7th May - Beginners Sewing - Drawstring Bag.
Have you always wanted to learn how to use a sewing machine? Then this is the workshop for you. We will teach you how to use a sewing machine and then you will use it to make a drawstring bag. A fun informative evening out. Great for a group of friends.
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£20 per person

Wednesday 8th May - Bread Making.
How many off you dream of the smell of freshly made bread in your homes? Easy to make when you know how, quick and healthy. Come and learn how to make bread for your family. 
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£25 per person

Friday 10th May - Parent and Toddler Button Jewellery.
This workshop is great for littlies as it encourages improved hand eye co-ordination as they create their own jewellery.
If you have a baby as well as a toddler, don't panic, bring them along too we always have a spare set of arms available!
10.15am - 11.15am
£7.50 per mum and tot

Sunday 12th May - Wedding Craft Day.
 Come and join us for a jam packed day of wedding craft. We'll share some of our secrets for creating beautiful decorations and handmade touches that will add a personal and stylish element to your wedding day.

We'll cover paper flowers, fans, paper bunting, fabric bunting, pinwheels, wedding favour ideas and more...

10am - 4pm

£60 person - book 2 places together for £100 - light lunch included

 Tuesday 14th  May - Cupcake Decorating
Ever wondered how all those cupcake producers make them look fab? How do they make those little flowers for the top? How do they get the butter cream to look so luxuriously scrummy? Well now you can find out! 
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£20 per person

Thursday 16th May, 23rd May, 30th May - Intensive Learn to knit 3 week workshop

Knitting is back in vogue, many celebrities can all be seen knitting when out and about. Fancy joining them? Then come along for this 3 week intensive course where we will teach you all you need to get going. You will leave with the skills and the confidence to continue at home.

7.00pm - 9.30pm

£40 for the 3 weeks includes a starter kit of needles and yarn.

Friday 17th May - Parent and Toddler Peppa Pig Sugarcraft

A great hands on experience for all littlies. They will make there very own Peppa Pig figure to put on top of a cupcake (supplied). This is great for hand eye co-ordination, colour recognition and social skills. If you have a baby as well as a toddler, don't panic, bring them along too we always have a spare set of arms available!
10.15am - 11.15am
£7.50 per mum and tot

Wednesday 22nd May - Introduction to perfume making
Learn about how to make perfume and then  you’ll get to create your own blend to take away with you using a variety of essential oils.
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£45 per person

Thursday 23rd May - Kitchen Swap
A little variation on our Frock Swap party for this month. Im sure you all have things in your kitchen that you no longer use, saucepans, crockery etc but that still has plenty of life left in it. Well bring it along to our Kitchen Swap evening and swap it for something that you will use.
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£5 per person

Friday 24th May - Parent and Toddler Hand Puppets
Bring your littlies along and help them to create their very own hand puppet to take home with them. If you have a baby as well as a toddler, don't panic, bring them along too we always have a spare set of arms available!
10.15am - 11.15am
£7.50 per mum and tot

Wednesday 29th May - Wedding Cupcake Decorating
Our you or someone you know getting married? This is the perfect workshop if you are planning a wedding on a budget, why pay somebody else to do it if you can learn to do it yourself? We will teach you all you need to produce professional cupcakes for your big day. 
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£25 per person

Friday 31st May - Parent and Toddler Farmyard sugarcraft
 A great hands on experience for all littlies. They will make there very own farmyard figure to put on top of a cupcake (supplied). This is great for hand eye co-ordination, colour recognition and social skills. If you have a baby as well as a toddler, don't panic, bring them along too we always have a spare set of arms available!
10.15am - 11.15am
£7.50 per mum and tot

The cost of  our workshops includes all materials (unless otherwise stated) and refreshments. For all day workshops a light lunch is included.
We also run workshops off site so if you would be interested in having us at your Youth Organization or just at your own home with agroup of friends then please get in touch.
We change our workshops on a monthly basis and try to include any that people request so if their is something that you would like to try the let us know and we will do our best to provide it.

Nice Buns, Nice Life is based on the Carrickmannon Road, Ballygowan, BT23 6JR. We run the workshops in our purpose made workshop area within our own home.
If you or your child has a disability of any kind then please get in touch as we can cater for most needs. We believe that no body should be left out and that making and baking should be open to all.

All workshops require a deposit to secure your place. 

Contact us at nice-buns@live.co.uk, 07772535380.

 

Dishwasher Delight!

Bit of a late blog post today but Neils jumped ship for a few days away so my backside definitely has not sat down today. I am currently enjoying my first hot cup of tea of the day!! (its amazing!!)

One of my favourite labour saving device has got to be the dishwasher. With 5 sets of dishes at every meal time and a business which produces large quantities of washing up, there is nothing nicer than loading the dishwasher up and pressing go. The biggest downside has to be the cost of dishwasher tablets, personally I feel they are hugely expensive. It had got to the stage where I was questioning our use of it. Lets be honest, when you have hot water, sink and washing up liquid it isnt exactly essential.

So i set about finding out what else could be used as an alternative to the expensive tablets.
After searching the internet i came across  many different recipes for dishwasher detergent but i wanted it to be easy to make with ingredients that werent going to be like hunting for a needle in a haystack.
Finally i came across http://kitcheningenuity.blogspot.co.uk. She has published a recipe for the tablets so i took it and adapted it and this is what i ended up with:

2 cups of borax - available from most chemists or hardware stores.
2 cups washing soda - available from all major supermarkets.
1 cup salt
1/4 cup of lemon juice
15 drops of Lavender essential oil
1/2 cup of water

Mix all the ingredients together and then push it into ice cube trays. To keep them as tablets I then placed the trays in the freezer for 12 hours, lifted them out and let them sit for a few hours before pushing them out and putting them in a storage container.

I also read during my searching that white vinegar in the rinseaid compartment is fab........its true!

I managed to make 52 tablets out of this mix, it will all be dependant on the size of your ice cube trays. On this quantity I calculated that it cost me £1.30.

So, it wasnt difficult to make, it was certainly cost effective but does it work?

YES!! It does, really well. I thought it was as effective if not better than shop bought. On top of that it smells great, no chemicals, no residue....love it.

Have a go, you really will be impressed.

Right, im off to bed.

Good Night,

Love n hugs,

Suzi  xxxxxx

Lets save money in the kitchen!!

Following on from yesterdays blog post about our Frock Swap Parties, I thought I would systematically work round the house telling you about the different things we do at Nice Buns, Nice Life Hq to save money.

Lets start in the kitchen.

Toys on floor, boots at door....a normal day in Nice Buns, Nice Life Hq kitchen!

The kitchen is one place where I would say we all spend a lot of money. Between antibacterial sprays, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets and that's before we mention washing powder or the food in the cupboards.

Today we will tackle Anti-bacterial spray and washing up liquid.
I did a lot of research into both of these and was shocked at quite how simple they were.
For the Anti-bacterial spray I filled an old spray bottle with water and then added 10 drops of Pure Tea Tree oil and 10 drops of Pure Lavender oil. Shook it all together and hey presto, its ready to use.
Tea Tree oil is anti-infectious, anti-septic, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. Lavender oil is anti-infectious, anti-septic, anti-viral and anti-bacterial. A simple and cost effective alternative to store bought products. We purchase our essentials oils of ebay so as we can get them in larger quantities. Trust me, when you start this, it is addictive and you will find you will be using them for everything!

The recipe I use for the Washing up liquid is:
1 litre boiling water
2-3 drops tea tree oil or lavender oil
 2 heaped teaspoons of grated soap
 2 heaped teaspoons of Soda Crystals - available from all supermarkets, hugely in expensive and useful for lots.
1 tsp white vinegar - Again buy a large bottle as it is used for loads of different cleaners around the house.

Mix all of these ingredients together and then leave for a couple of hours before you use it. We kept an old washing up liquid bottle so we refill that. When you make it up it will just look like cloudy water but once left for a couple of hours to cool it will take on a gel like consistency.
The biggest thing you will notice with your homemade washing up liquid is that it won't foam as you would expect. This is because there is no foaming agent, makes sense now eh? I suppose what we should be asking is why is there a foaming agent in mainstream products? Does it help? Ours doesn't clean any less. We are really pleased with it, the only thing to remember is that it doesn't contain a degreaserator so if we are washing anything really nasty we add a glug of lemon juice to the water.

Nothing in these recipes are dangerous for children so get the kiddies making it with you. It is great fun, it really doesn't take much effort and they will love the change from watery soap to gloopy cleaner. Maybe you can even con them into washing up to test it. We have failed this bit so far.

Tomorrow we will tackle dishwasher tablets, now this one was so fun and so successful that I cant wait until we have to make more!!

Little changes will make a big difference over time.

Love n hugs,

Suzi xxxxxx

We have snow money!

Well after another crazy couple of weeks at Nice Buns, Nice Life HQ I have finally found five minutes to sit down with a brew and catch up.
March has been a month of Sewing, Knitting, Crocheting, Frock Swapping and now Snow!!
Thats right, snow.........at the end of March, obviously Spring missed the memo!

As many of you know, Neil and I have battled hard to get to were we are ( The Journey So Far - A Dream Come True) . We are not out of the woods yet so we continue to strive and follow our dreams on a daily basis. It's not always easy, we are very lucky as we have such a strong relationship so we can always rely on each other if one of us is losing focus.
Some days it feels like money, or the lack of it, is all we talk about. Continually number crunching and always working towards a successful business and a comfortable existence. These converstaions generally provoke lots more thought processes to take place and many more random conversations that generally begin with, 'what do you think about?'.
It led us to sit down and evaluate what we spend money on and where things can be cut back. Its scary when you write everything down but also very good to help you pinpoint wastage.
Over the coming blog posts I will share with you, how we save money at home, things that work, things that don't and everything in between.
The one thing that is very important to me is that our children wont miss out. I never want them to feel like they have to do without, however I do want them to learn how to live well within their means.

Whilst enjoying a rare few moments to myself a few weeks back I had a bit of a eureka moment (as you do!! lol) . The one thing that Neil and I rarely do is shop for clothes for ourselves. Before the kids arrived I had been to a Frock Swap party when we lived in England. It was a really super night out so I decided we should organize one.
The initial feedback was amazing. On the night we had 11 ladies arrive, bringing with them dresses, skirts, trousers, hand bags, jewellery etc
Everybody paid £5 at the door to cover costs. After a nice brew everyone started to relax and the swap began. The idea being that everybody brings items that they no longer use and they exchange them for something that somebody else brought.
We had a fab night, there was lots of girlie chat, lots of outfits being tried on and finding new homes. It was great. A cheap and productive evening out!

March must be the month for Frock Swaps as Ikea Balfast is holding a Frock Swap party this Thursday from 6pm in their restaurant area. If you are free pop down and give them some support.

We were contacted by Ikea to do an interview for the Belfast Telegraph in relation to our own event. Obviously we jumped at the chance and later that week I was interviewed by Claire Mc Neilly from the Belfast Telegraph. I love telling people about what we do and what we hope to achieve and it was lovely to be interviewed by someone who appeared as equally excited as us!

Our Frock Swap was a great success so we are holding another one on the 12th April, 7.30pm - 9.30pm. This one will be slightly different as we are including mens and childrens clothes in the swap. So if you have some outfits in the back of your wardrobe that you know you will never wear again, come along and swap them and while you are here bring any clothes your kids have grown out off and swap them too.

Whats not to love? As far as i can see its a win win situation, you get to enjoy a great evening out whilst getting a new wardrobe all for £5!

And lets face it, if we can save money where ever possible then when the big things creep up like car tax, insurance etc, the chainsaw packing in (Shouts Neil from the front door), then hopefully we should have the money to sort it and life will be that little bit more comfortable.

Love n hugs,

Suzi
xxxxxx

Is that...THE SUN!?!?!?!?

Well hello there.  How are you?

Hasn't it been nice to see some sunshine peaking through and a hint of spring on the way?

This little glimmer of warmer days ahead made us abandon the workshop and run away to the seaside for a spot of beach combing. Well wrapped up of course!!

It makes for a wonderfully crafty day for you and the kids. Head for the beach with your back packs and hunt for pretty shells or bits of stones and old glazed tiles that have been washed up by the tide. Bring a flask. Pour a cup of tea? Coffee?...Whiskey?...It's a bit early. OK, now allow yourself to dream about where these things came from. Think Spain and Italy rather than 10 minutes up the coast. Meanwhile the kids will run round finding all sorts of stuff. You will know you have enough treasure when the kids start complaining about being cold, wet and hungry. Home time.

Right then...Lunch eaten and everyone suitably warmed up, lets have a dig through the bags. Disgard sand, rubbish and rogue sea creatures. Don't laugh! They'll be in there!! I guarantee it!! Sea snails, hermit crabs, you name it. What do you expect? You were drinking tea(?) the whole time. (Anyone would think I'm projecting my own daft mistakes onto you.)

With the good stuff separated and laid out, come up with a design or picture for a little mosaic. changes the shape and sizes of the tiles with a small hammer. Get dad in on this bit. Dads love hammers!!

Next glue the bits into your design in a box frame and you have a lovely little reminder of a nice day out and some decor for the kids rooms. I recommend a hot/warm glue gun and if daddy is particularly useful you can get him to grout between for a more finished look.

Pictures to follow of our latest finished creations. We are STILL waiting to see if our daddy is particularly useful. Here's one of our seaside trip to keep you going.

By the time you have all that done it will probably be dinner time. Fish and chips anyone?

Love & kisses

Suzi

xxx

Mad March Workshop Programme.

Its nearly March already! Spring is nearly here!

Here is the programme for March 2013:

Saturday 2nd March

Childrens Sewing Club - we are planning on running this every Saturday during term time. We will focus on key sewing skills building slowly each week by working on longer projects.
All materials, tools and refreshments are included.
9.30am - 11.30am

There are 4 Saturdays before Easter, 2nd/ 9th/ 16th and 23rd.
These can be booked at a cost of £50 for the 4 weeks. If spaces permit you will be able to book weekly at a cost of £12.50 per week.

Childrens Knitting Club - as with the sewing club, this will run every Saturday during term time. The children will learn everything they need to begin their first knitted project and we will help them to complete it.
The cost of the workshop includes a starter kit of needles and wool. Should more wool be needed we will let you know..
2-3pm
£30 for 4 weeks.

Monday 4th March

Adult Learn to Crochet Workshop - this workshop is aimed at beginners or people who need to refresh their skills.
10am - 12pm
£50 for 6 weeks or £10 per week.

Tuesday 5th March

The Sewing Project - this is a 4 week workshop (5th, 12th, 19th and 26th) aimed at people who want to learn to sew or who need to refresh their skills. We will begin with the basics. At the end of the workshop you will be competent on the sewing machine and will have completed at least 2 projects.
7.30 - 9.30pm
£70 for the 4 weeks or £20 per week
All materials and refreshments included in the cost.

Wednesday 6th March

Mothers Day Sugarcraft Workshop - come and learn how to make sugarcraft models to complete your cupcakes or cake. We are planning on covering shoes and handbags at this workshop but this can be changed if their is something in particular you would like to learn to make.

7.30 - 9.30pm
£20
Includes materials and refreshments.

Thursday 7th March.

Chin Wags - This is are new crafty drop in session. Come along and bring whatever craft project you are working on, enjoy a cup of coffee and a chat. It is a great opportunity to share skills and ideas.
We have decided to open the workshop for 2 Chin Wag sessions to allow people who work during the day to join in as well.

10am - 12pm 
7.30 - 9.30pm

£5 per session includes tea/coffee and a yummy treat.
You can hire a sewing machine for use during these sessions at a cost of £2 however you must supply your own thread.

Friday 8th March

Parent and Toddler Button Jewellery - Suitable for children aged from approx 18mths to 4years. Great for improving hand - eye co-ordination, social skills, colour recognition etc.
Baby Brothers and sisters are welcome too, we are planning on having a play area within the workshop that babies can use. Breast feeding is welcomed here at Nice Buns, Nice Life.
10.15am - 11.15am
 £7.50 per toddler

Saturday 9th March

Childrens Sewing Club
9.30 - 11.30am

Childrens Knitting Club
2 - 3pm

Monday 11th March

Adult Crochet 
10am - 12pm

Tuesday 12th March

Parent and Toddler Peppa Pig Sugarcraft - this always proves a very popular workshop! The children get to make their very own edible Peppa Pig to put on top of a cupcake to take home.
Suitable for children aged from approx 18mths to 4years. Great for improving hand - eye co-ordination, social skills, colour recognition etc. Baby Brothers and sisters are welcome too, we are planning on having a play area within the workshop that babies can use. Breast feeding is welcomed here at Nice Buns, Nice Life.
 10.15am - 11.15am
£7.50 per toddler

The Sewing Project

7.30 - 9.30pm

Wednesday 13th March

Easter Sugarcraft - Come and learn how to make Easter specific models to complete your cupcakes and cakes.
 7.30 - 9.30pm
 £20 includes all materials.

Thursday 14th March

Chin Wags 

10am - 12pm 

There will be no Chin Wags in the evening this week due to another workshop.

St Patricks Day Green Cupcakes Baking and Decorating - Come and learn how to bake green cupcakes especially for St Patricks Day. 
7.30 - 9.30pm
£25 includes all materials

Friday 15th March

Frock Swop Party - A chance to refresh your wardrobe and enjoy an evening of fashin chit chat with friends.
Bring along any clothes, accessories or handbags that are languishing in the back of your wardrobe. (we recomend that each person brings at least 3 quality items)
We'll pool everything together and you can rifle through in search of new gems for your wardrobe.
Any items that are left over will be donated to charity.
Come along for a fun filled evening.
7.30 - 10.00pm
£5 per person includes tea and coffee. You are very welcome to BYO wine or beer.

Saturday 16th March

Childrens Sewing Club
9.30am - 11.30am

Childrens Knitting Club
2 - 3pm

Monday 18th March

Adult Crochet
10am - 12pm

Childrens St Patricks Day Sugarcraft - bring you rkids along for 2 hours of fun filled entertainment. They will learn how to make their own St Patricks themed Sugarcraft models to put on their cupcakes.
2-4pm
£15 per child

Tuesday 19th March

The Sewing Project
7.30pm - 9.30pm

Thursday 21st March

Chin wags

10 - 12pm
7.30 - 9.30pm

Friday 22nd March

Free From Baking - Yummy Treats  - This workshop is aimed at people who have to follow a specific diet. Our daughter has Coeliac disease and has a severe dairy allergy too so we have perfected many yummy treats to enable her not to feel left out. During this workshop you will bake some yummy treats that you will take home with you along with a selection of recipes. We will talk about modifying recipes to suit your need etc.
7.30 - 9.30pm
£25 includes all ingredients.

Saturday 23rd March

Childrens Sewing Club
9.30 - 11.30am

Childrens Knitting Club
2 - 3pm

Monday 25th March

Adult Crochet
10 - 12pm

Professionally decorate Cupcakes using marshmallows for Easter - this is a fun filled cupcake decorating workshop. Marshmallows are easy to get hold off and when used correctly can give your cupcakes a professional finish. You will take home what you have decorated.
7.30pm - 9.30pm
£20 includes all materials.

Tuesday 26th March

Parent and Toddler Easter Cupcake Decorating - Suitable for children aged from approx 18mths to 4years. Great for improving hand - eye co-ordination, social skills, colour recognition etc. 
Baby Brothers and sisters are welcome too, we are planning on having a play area within the workshop that babies can use. Breast feeding is welcomed here at Nice Buns, Nice Life.
10.15 - 11.15am
£7.50 per toddler

The Sewing Project
7.30 - 9.30pm

Thursday 28th March

Chin wags

10 - 12pm
7.30 - 9.30pm

As many schools have started Easter holidays children are most welcome to this weeks Chin Wags.

To book a place on any of our workshops contact us on, nice-buns@live.co.uk, 02897 528331, 07772535380.
All of our workshops require deposits to secure your place.

Loads a Love,

Suzi
xxxxx

Amazing Shortbread in record timing!

I dont know about you guys, but somedays when the tins are empty and life is busy I want to be able to make something in super quick time without much thought. Or if the in-laws call to say they are on their way for an impromptu visit. Well after the manic rush round the house to give it a quick tidy up, its great to be able to throw something in the oven. I mean, how impressed will they be when they arrive to your clean house, with the gorgeous aroma of home baking and then to be presented with a brew and the most amazing shortbread? And lets be honest, bonus points from the in-laws never go a miss!

I have made shortbread for many years and have tried a variety of different recipes. They have all been good but I always felt like they just weren't quite good enough. They felt like they were missing something, not quite melt in the mouth. I also couldn't be bothered with recipes that contained semolina as its something that wouldn't really always be in the cupboard here. Ming!

Nanny gave us her faithful recipe, it's basic and fast. I love that side of it but still that little something was missing. We don't use 100% "real" butter for many of our recipes as it can produce too rich a taste and be a bit heavy but I was curious about the effect it would have on the shortbread.

Wow! Using real butter made the recipe complete. It melts in your mouth and tastes amazing. I cant ask for anything more from a super quick recipe. Its also very easy to make adaptions. If we fancy Chocolate shortbread then just add 2 tablespoons of hot chocolate to the mix. Bonus! And choc chips? Chuck some of them in too if you fancy. How many? Who cares? As many as you like. Enjoy!

YUM!! Shortbread chucked on a plate during the "inlaw imminent" run around.

Here is the recipe:

* 170g Plain Flour
* 55g Caster Sugar
* 110g Butter

If you have a Food Processor then put all of the ingredients in and switch it on. Let it mix until it all begins to bind together then switch it off and press the mix into a greased sandwich tin. (I use an 8inch round)
If you dont have a Food Processor then cream the butter and sugar together and then add the flour before pressing into greased tin as above.
Place it in the oven (pre heated to 190oC) for approx 15-20mins. When it is a nice golden brown colour its ready. As soon as you lift it out of the oven sprinkle caster sugar over the top. Leave it to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then cut it before leaving it to completely cool.
Enjoy with a brew and a sit down!

How simple is that? You can't get easier and we all love them. I even make gluten and dairy free ones for Madison (who's Coeliac and allergic to dairy). I just substitute the plain flour for Gluten Free Rice Flour and I substitute the butter with a dairy free spread. The taste is vastly different but Maddie enjoys them and for us, that's what is important.

Why not give it a go? Get in the kitchen, get the oven on, get the kids to help!

Love n kisses,

Suzi xxxxx