tea for bini

Caramel Cookie Goodness.

I made some cookies a couple of days ago using Jersey Caramel lollies. Unfortunately I didn't have any Golden Syrup so I used Treacle Syrup instead. I'm going to try them again with Golden Syrup because even though they're quite yum as is, I think they'd be even better with the Golden flavour.

Just to illustrate how silly our cute old oven is, these are the bikkies I cooked on the middle tray:

They were completely obliterated! The cookies in the top photo came from the bottom tray in the oven - and the difference in temperature is clear. Ah well, such is life without a fan-forced oven. Whoops!

Anyway here's the recipe in case anyone wants to try them. It's pretty easy!

Caramel Cookies

60g unsalted butter
115g golden syrup
60g brown sugar
225g self-raising flour, sifted
8 jersey caramel lollies, cut in half

Preheat oven to 180 deg celc.
Place the butter, sugar and syrup in saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Add the flour to the mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms.
Roll into balls and place on baking trays lined with baking paper.
Press to flatten and top each by gently pushing half a caramel lolly on top.
Bake for 10-12 mins or until golden.

Makes 16.

Yum! I'm going to go have one now with a cup of tea and enjoy this beautiful sunny day (it's been so long since the sun felt this warm and the sky looked this blue!).

Image from The Cloud Appreciation Society.

Made on the Left

I've finally found a spare moment to blog about the recent Made on the Left market - and show you some photos of course. It was quite an experience!

The morning seemed to start well, in the sense that I had everything packed ready to go and managed to arrive in good time. But as we started to set up I soon realised that I had left my main metal display frame at home! Luckily Mum managed to drive back to my house, pick it up for me and return again before 10am, when the market was due to open to the public. Phew!

I started the day off quite stressed and sleep deprived(!), but after an hour or so I had managed to relax a fair bit and enjoy the experience. And even started taking some silly shots...hehe.

 

Mostly it was thanks to the fantastic help from my friend Jess, who kept me company and helped man the stall. What a champ!

Sales were good for a first market experience even though I didn't sell quite according to my expectations for certain products. But in any case that sort of feedback was very useful for me and has given me some ideas for next time!

 

The best part was meeting customers face to face and all the lovely comments people made about my work and my stall set up =)

The venue was really great, especially for the time of year, as it meant we were warm indoors away from the wintery weather. Plus the hot pub food was a big plus! Also, I managed to land a great spot in terms of lighting so I was very happy with that!

My only regret was not having enough time to really have a good look at all the amazingly talented sellers' work at the other stalls! Even a quick look was enough to convince me of the high quality of WA creative talent =)

Can't wait for the next market!

Something to Smile About.

Today was a big day of market preparation for me. I must admit that I was feeling a little overwhelmed, what with all that I have left to do, plus the limited amount of time left to do it in (thanks to work and uni). And on top of that were some other issues to attend to....

Anyway, I ventured out to buy some bags for the upcoming MOTL market this weekend (if you're in Perth, WA and haven't heard of it yet, check out the details here). I got a lift there and then took the bus on my way home. But what I hadn't considered was that it could be raining on my walk from the bus-stop back to our house.....and of course, it did! Now when I say I hadn't considered it, it's not exactly true because I did remember to take my umbrella. But I hadn't thought about the bags themselves...until a lovely little old lady who got off the bus with me commented about not getting them wet. She promptly reshuffled her groceries and handed me a plastic shopping bag to cover one end of the bags and allow me to cover just half of them with my umbrella.

It may seem like a mundane gesture, but something about this lady's thoughtfulness really cheered me up. People are increasingly closed off from each other these days, with a good proportion of the population listening to mp3 players as they travel, and many more in such a rush that they don't stop to take notice. Or don't care, whichever it may be. So this old lady - a paragon of times past, if you will - really set me thinking with just one tiny kind gesture.

Another pick-me-up today was the arrival of my business cards - all 1000 of them! (Less than half of them are pictured). I am glad they have arrived in good time for the market. Now I have at least one part of my display sorted....just have to figure out the rest!

 

Tea For Bini love.

In the lead up to my first market my head is buzzing with questions - what to make, how much of each design and colour, what pricing deals to offer, and so on. I've enjoyed a comfortable level of success on etsy (in the sense that my number of sales and popularity has been a perfect level to maintain alongside my busy studying and working schedule). I'm not an etsy seller superstar by any means! But I have enough sales and receive enough conversations from people who like my work to make me realise that there are other people out there who appreciate what I do.

And then today, when I went to look at my hearts I discovered that I had surpassed the 1000 milestone and it made me wonder - will appreciation of my work online translate well in a face-to-face selling environment? Is (relative) success in an online market place like etsy a good measure of what to expect in a physical market? I'm not sure that it is. A real, in-person selling experience really seems to me to be a whole other ball game.

All I know is that this whole market hoo-haa is really still a bit of a mystery to me, and that the only certainties will be that I'll be there to (1) learn and (2) to have fun.

I've finished work for the week (at my job) and now have 4 jam-packed days of crafting ahead of me, in preparation for the market. Tonight I'm going to finalise the paperwork (in other words, lists of exactly what I'm making/taking, and sale sheets etc). My friend Jess is coming over to help me out tomorrow and I'm sure she'll be impressed at my improved organisation. Last week we spent the better half of a day being indecisive over the plans, so it's progress!!
 
In one week from today Mr Bini is going home to Belgium for three weeks to visit friends and family. Wish I were going too! But then again I'm super excited about MOTL so I'll be kept busy with that while he's gone. Not to mention I'll be back at uni and adding study to my long list of things to do!

Here he is, looking very suave at my sister's wedding last weekend. He scrubs up well, eh? =) The venue was super dreamy with millions of fairy lights. So pretty.

I'm off to enjoy the week ahead! Pictures of hectic crafting to come...