Christmas Fruit Cake Muffin Recipe

I posted this picture over on my FaceBook page and everyone loved it ... so I thought I would share the recipe with you all here as well. 

I hope you enjoy them ... these are just mini bite sized little mouthfuls of Christmas joy.

Fruit Cake Muffins

300g unsalted butter

1200g – a mixture of currants, sultanas raisins, mixed fruit, chopped dates (really whatever you want to add as far as this type of dried berries go)

360g brown sugar

2 cups water

2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoon ground ginger (powdered)

2 teaspoon mixed spice

2 teaspoon bicarb soda

Mix all the above ingredients together in a large pot and bring to the boil, allow to cool.

Once coolish ... add the following and mix really well together:

4 beaten eggs

300g Plain

300g Self Raising flour (Sift the two flours together – although I only used  600g SR Flour as that is what I had)

Mix together all ingredients well.

Add mixture to your muffin pans/cases.   Cook at 170degrees Celcius for approximately 25 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

This mix makes about 40 – 45 normal sized patty cake sized muffins.   I like to use the mini ones.

When cakes are cooked and cooled, I like to add white icing and cherries on top.

I use the roll out kind of white icing  (Orchid White Icing) available at Woolworths.

I also make a little sugar syrup (1 part water to 2 parts sugar and heat in microwave until sugar dissolved)  brush this onto the tops of the cakes while it is hot and then stick down the white icing shapes.   Sprinkle with icing sugar/powder and then I put a glace cherry on top.

If you want to make a smaller batch, just halve each ingredient exactly.

Enjoy & Merry Christmas from Jane @ Jane Monk Studio!

7 Billion People out there now

 Did you know that there are now (proabably a few more) 7 Billion people in the world.   I know it was all over the news a little while ago ... I'm slow to catch up sometimes.     

You can see what number you were when you were born ...   

Apparently I am number  3,400,453,932nd person to be born.   
So in the 45 years I have been hanging about, we have doubled our population. Wow!

If you want to find out what number person in the world you are ... Click Here 

New Tangle Pattern - Fysh

I really am into circles lately and was revisiting my journal to see what I had done .. this was way back in May this year... then I thought ... did I show you this tangle pattern of mine ...   I call these ones Fysh.

 They remind me of sea creatures and go really really well with the Zentangle pattern "Squid" as a centre.

Here are a whole bunch of single ones ... they really do lend themselves to personalisation.


Enjoy and Happy Tangling for now ... Jane

Meant to say ... you can see them in my previous post of coloured flowers ... yep that's them Fysh there posing as flowers!  

I've been playing in my Journal

 I have been having fun with some ideas for String Lines ...  these ones are all running parallel horizontally and I have drawn a message in them, tangled the outside border.   These would be a great little gift tag or something like that for someone special.   Think of Christmas messages for your presents to those who are special to you.  (note here:  I celebrate Christmas, but if you dont' you could use the idea for your special celebrations throughout the year)

You could really go to town with these, what fun!

 And I have been quite immobile over the past week or so as a result of the SLE (lupus) that I have ... so I have been playing with my journal trying to cheer myself up! My hands can sometimes be quite wonky, so using watercolours help to make things look good.

This is something I truly believe - if you dream it, you will make it come true!  Dreams are the impetus to drive us forward to achieve that which we crave.   I used to dream of a little cottage overlooking the water and mountains when I was young ... for the past 12 years that is exactly where I have lived.  And I am sure I have seen my husbands face in my dreams before I met him!

It all comes down to Happiness ... it is life's contentment that makes me happy.  What about you?

 And here I loved playing with letters ... some styles are inspired by those I have seen in calligraphy books.   I am not a calligrapher, but sure would like to be able to turn a nice letter.

 Hmmmm ... thinking about all things fishing and my husband's story on how big the fish was that took his hook.

 Flowers, who doesn't love them with their glorious colours.

 And we all need sunshine in our lives.

Look ... more word strings ... almost all coloured in. 

Well ... I hope you are having a great week wherever you are.  I love Journalling in my down times as they make me take a look at how I am travelling and where I would like to head on my next adventure here at home!

Happy tangling for now ... Jane x

An Update on "Connections"

I thought you might like to see my progress on this huge drawing.  I've only shown you a little corner of it before, so here is the whole thing.

There are so so many circles, little circles and big circles.

You can see there is still a way to go with this and I only work on it when I need a little peace and quiet.

Connections.

Enjoy ... but don't copy.

Happy Tangling for now ... Jane x

Please don't call it a Doodle

High up on my horse right now!   I have noticed quite a few people calling what they do "doodles".   If you are intentionally using paper and pen, pencil or any other medium to make deliberate marks on paper - you are DRAWING (sorry about the raised voice).    Doodling is mindless, no direction, no intention and your mind is occupied elsewhere.   In a meeting, I doodle - my mind is concentrating on what the speaker is saying, or in some cases, what I am cooking for dinner.   While on the phone, I doodle - my mind is thinking about what I am saying, whom I am saying it to etc .... do you get the picture.

So, in my opinion (and you don't have to agree with me), when you intentionally draw something it is called a drawing.   When you intentionally draw something using the Zentangle method of string and patterns, you are tangling and you have created a Zentangle.    

I know that a lot of you, probably most of you, put in a lot of effort and thought into what you draw, so please don't degrade it by calling it Doodling.   You are drawing. 

Okay, hopping off the horse before I get bucked off for now.

Happy tangling .... Jane x

The winner is number 7

The winner is Number 7 ... that is Raylene (for Molly) 
I hope you enjoy it Molly.

Thank you to everyone for entering ... I hope you have been inspired to make your own book of tangles.

Happy Tangling for now ... Jane x