Showing posts with label Blog Alongs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Alongs. Show all posts

A Ghoulishly Glorious Halloween Giveaway!
There comes a time, once every year, when magick fills the air.

 When fairies dance, and sprinkle dust, and glitter sparkles in their hair.

 'Tis also the time, when Witches come out, to celebrate their New Year,

And all over the world, come shouts of joy: 'Pepperberry's Ghoulish Giveaway is 'ere!'

 And so to win, this beautiful prize, of a Halloween Paper Pack,

You must visit the shoppe, of Papers By Pepperberry, and then you must come back.
 Once you are here, you must share with me, your ideas for further themes,

 For packs of paper, that fill you with joy, and fulfill all your paper dreams!

To enter this Ghoulish Giveaway and win a Halloween Paper Pack, leave a comment sharing your idea for a new Themed Paper Pack that could be created from the papers stocked at Papers By Pepperberry.

You may then have an extra entry for each of the following:

- Leave another comment listing the nine specific papers you would put in your Themed Paper Pack;
- Heart the Papers By Pepperberry store on Etsy (or tell me if you already have!);
- Become a fan of Pepperberry & Co. on Facebook (or tell me if you already are!);
- Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link;
- Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link;
- Post on Facebook about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link.

This giveaway will close at midnight, Melbourne time, on Wednesday the 21st of October and a winner will be drawn soon after! Thank you to the wonderfully creative and vibrant Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist for hosting yet another fabulous Halloween Party.

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9:14 PM | Category: , , , | 16 Pepperberrians Said...

A Bloggy, Octoberry, Festivally Fest!
Well, I've gone mad. Officially. But this is what happens when Sharon's out mowing the back lawn and I'm left inside to my own devices.

Now, I'm about to tell you something, but you can't tell Sharon. She'll pop. Why? Well, we returned from overseas the day before yesterday. We settle on our new land in early December. Between now and then, we have to renovate our house, sell it, and organise for accommodation to be built on our new property (the little details, you know?).

Oh, and we also have to run these two businesses I happen to own, get ready for and be at no less than eight markets, and do the other 117 things on our to-do list. No, that is not a number I pulled out of my hoo-ha. We actually have that many things to do, according to the very sexy spreadsheet I've created (go on, bring on the nerd comments!).

So that is why this thing that I've done is madness, absolute madness. I've (cover your eyes, Sharon) signed up for Blogtoberfest.

Blogtoberfest! A Blogging Party! An October Party! A festival of all things blogging and craft-related. What this means for you is that every single day in October, you will be spoilt with a treat from Pepperberry & Co. It may mean a giveaway; it may mean a tutorial; it may mean some fun crafty links; it may mean a gorgeous photo. But I make no promises that it will be anything more than a ramble from me, and a potentially nonsensical ramble at that!

I have so many new followers now (Hi! And welcome!) that I'm actually looking forward to using this as a way of getting to know you all. So please, don't be shy- leave a comment! Tell me what you think about what I've posted, or a new crafty project you're working on, or the bad day you're having. Blogtoberfest to me is an opportunity to connect with my fellow crafters and bloggers, so speak up!

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P.S. Thanks to the super-talented Tinniegirl for her Blogtoberfest organising!
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2:31 PM | Category: , | 11 Pepperberrians Said...

Miss Ning's Gai Pat Met Mamua
What do you get when you combine World Vegetarian Day with a whole group of Etsy craft fanatics?

Delicious recipes, handmade heaven, and stupendous savings, that's what!

As some of you may know, today is World Vegetarian Day- and it's also the start of World Vegetarian Month. My gorgeous EtsyVeg Team and I are celebrating with special sales and a collective sharing of vegetarian and vegan recipes on the web.

Today, I wanted to share with you a special recipe I learnt how to cook whilst living in Thailand- Gai Pat Met Mamua. It was taught to me by one of my favourite ladies of all time, Miss Ning, who looked after Sharon and I whilst we were living with her as though we were her own daughters. May the delicious flavours and scents of Miss Ning's food bring joy to your home also!


MISS NING'S GAI PAT MET MAMUA

Preparation: 15 minutes ~ Cooking: 10 minutes ~ Serves: 4-6


INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons Mushroom Sauce
2 tablespoons Medium-Hot Chilli Sauce
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Corn Flour
1/4 cup of Olive Oil
1 large Red Onion, chopped roughly
3 cloves of Garlic, skinned and crushed
1 large Carrot, sliced or julienned
2 cups of Mushrooms, sliced (Oyster, Shitake, and Straw Mushrooms are particularly good)
1 packet Firm Silken Tofu, sliced into chunks
3 medium Capsicums/Bell Peppers (one red, one yellow and one green), chopped roughly
1 cup of roasted/fried cashew nuts
1 cup of water
6 cups of steamed rice


METHOD
1. In a bowl, thoroughly mix Mushroom Sauce, Chilli Sauce, Brown Sugar and Corn Flour. Set aside.

2. Place Olive Oil, Onions and Garlic in a wok or a large frying pan and toss until the Onion and Garlic are translucent and a pale golden-brown.

3. Add a Tablespoon of water and the Carrots to the pan and continue tossing all the vegetables until the Carrots begin to soften.

4. Add the Mushrooms to the mix, and another tablespoon of water if the pan is dry. Cook until Mushrooms begin to shrink and turn brown.

5. Add Tofu and toss the mixture until the Tofu begins to brown.

6. Add another tablespoon of water and all of the Capsicums/Bell Peppers. Cook until the Peppers begin to soften.

7. Add a further tablespoon of water and pour in the Mushroom/Chilli sauce combination. Stir through thoroughly until all of the vegetables are coated.

8. Add cashew nuts and continue cooking for a further two minutes.

9. Remove from heat and serve over steamed rice.

10. Enjoy!


While you're munching away, you can head over to my handmade store, Pepperberry & Co., and my beautiful paper store, Papers By Pepperberry, where I'm celebrating World Vegetarian Day by offering 10% off all of my items from now until the end of this weekend (Sunday, 4th of October). Simply add 'World Veg Day' in the Message to Seller during checkout and I'll refund you via PayPal!

You can also head to the EtsyVeg blog for the yummy details of today's celebrations, including links to original recipes and a list of all the crafty shops offering great savings. Oh, and don't forget to hug every Vegetarian/Vegan you know and thank them for doing the world a favour!

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8:38 PM | Category: , , , , | 7 Pepperberrians Said...

A Not-So-Merry Pepperberry on this Christmas in July!
'Twas the day of Christmas,

And although it was in July,

There was no reason not to celebrate,

And call on that red suited guy!

Anyone who knows anything about me is well aware that Christmas brings out that special something in me. The joyous sounds of carols, the sparkle of fairy lights, and the delicious smell of Polish cooking really bring a twinkle to my eye. So what better thing to do than to celebrate it twice in the one year? Welcome, therefore, to this very Pepperberry Christmas in July, thanks to Maggi over at Kata Mommy!

I awoke on this Christmas in July full of anticipation. Would I receive something lovely in the post, perhaps?

Unlikely, considering my letterbox is 7378 kilometres away...

Maybe something would be waiting for me under the tree?

Nope. That's not only 7378 kilometres away, but also packed away tightly in a beautiful white box...

So what would it be? Well, this Christmas, my darling Santa brought me:
- a complete computer meltdown;
- a race around sweaty Bangkok to have my motherboard replaced;
- a complete Windows OS breakdown; and
- a lovely German man who temporarily fixed my computer until Monday, when I will race around sweaty Bangkok again to have my computer fixed... again.

Oh, dear! I think someone accidentally put me on the naughty list this year!

My Christmas cheer has therefore been slightly subdued... in fact, one might call me a downright cranky pants. With that in mind, I took this quiz to find out exactly which Christmas character I am, and guess what? I'm Mrs. Claus! Apparently, my unwavering support, hospitality, and comforting touch have landed me this important role. Further, I supposedly know how to take good cheer and deliver it wherever I go, spreading warmth even on the coldest winter days.

Let me just make it clear that that's not how chirpy I look at this very moment...

However, in the spirit of the day, I still wanted to share some bloggy joy with you. I have been saving this gorgeous tutorial until that special day in December, but I simply couldn't wait any longer!

The lovely Nikki over at Project: Domestic Bliss created this spectacular, simple and cost-effective Christmas Silhouette, and now you can too with her brilliant tutorial. The possibilities, however, do not stop at Christmas- this clever idea can be used with images of your family, friends, holiday spots, pets... anything!

I'm off to carve an image of a functioning computer now. May your Christmas in July be far merrier than mine- and don't forget to tell me what you asked Santa for!

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6:57 PM | Category: , , , , , | 32 Pepperberrians Said...

Why, There Is Magic In The Air...
In the land of tomorrow that was thought of today but will not exist until yesterday, there was an ordinary tea cup called Mr. Teetally Tea Cup.

He lived in an ordinary house on an ordinary street with an ordinary little old lady, who had one magical secret...

She could cook extraordinary Magical Scones.

She would order her minions to gather her piles of wood and set her stove alight, making very sure it heated up to exactly 220 degrees Celcius, or 428 degrees Fahrenheit if they were travelling through the magnificent land of Ah-merr-icka.

The minions would then collect 3 cups of self-raising flour, 1 tablespoon of caster sugar, 1 cup of soy milk, and 80 grams of vegan butter, perfectly cubed; for if it was not, the ordinary lady in the ordinary house on the ordinary street would turn into an extraordinarily evil Queen of Hearts.

Once the ingredients were accumulated, the little old lady with the extraordinarily evil streak would snatch her broom and chase her minions wildly from the depths of her kitchen, as they could never be allowed to discover the Top Secret ingredient within her Magical Scones.

With a beastly cackle, she would combine the self-raising flour and caster sugar in a medium-sized bowl; using her fingertips, she would rub in the room-temperature vegan butter until the mixture resembled fine breadcrumbs. She added the soy milk all at once, and used a round-bladed knife to mix the flour and sugar together with a cutting motion. She would be sure not to over mix her mixture, but simply mix until it was mixed together evenly.

It was at this stage that she would add the most important and Top Secret ingredient of all... a potion of Love, Sweetness and Delirium.

The extraordinarily evil Queen would bring the dough together with her hands on a lightly floured surface and wickedly work it until it was smoother than the Cheshire Cat's smile. She then used her weapon of choice (an evil rolling pin) to roll out the dough to exactly 2cm thick, and once she had captured her 5cm pastry cutter, would cut out perfectly round circles before placing them on a baking tray exactly 1cm apart.

They would then go into her preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the Magical Scones were golden brown on the top and sounded hollow when she tapped the bottom of one with her bony finger. To serve, she would drench them with lashings of vegan butter, rich strawberry jam and thick, whipped vegan cream.

One sunny Sunday in September, she was making her extraordinarily Magical Scones with her Top Secret ingredient in the ordinary kitchen of her ordinary house. Unbeknownst to her, she had accidentally left Mr. Teetally Tea Cup, the ordinary tea cup, in the room with her... and he overheard her entire Magical Scone recipe!

It was in that very moment that he knew he needed to escape, before the ordinary lady in the ordinary house discovered his presence and turned her wicked ways upon him. To escape, however, he needed one very special item... a Magical Beyond The Looking Glass Passport Cover.

He racked his small pink brain for hours, and in a moment of genius, knew where he could get one- from the bewitching world of Pepperberry & Co. To get there, he only needed to squeeze his eyes very tightly shut, poke his handle harder into his hip, and wiggle his nose five-and-a-half times. Within a second, the Magical Beyond The Looking Glass Passport Cover appeared inside him, and he was off! Flying through space in a whirlwind of madness and kitten toes.

When he landed, it was with a thump. Dizzy and slightly sore, he rubbed his eyes and looked up into the face of the most beautiful young girl. 'Hello,' she said kindly, 'my name is Alice'. She lifted him into her arms, and gave him the sweetest rub all over his little face; suddenly, he turned the brightest of bright pinks and a blinding sparkle began to shine from his newly-golden handle. He was no longer an ordinary tea cup- he was the extraordinarily pink Mr. Teetally Tea Cup!

He wandered down a green grass lane with Alice, towards a meadow of bright pink poppies. On the way, he began to think about the Magical Beyond The Looking Glass Passport Cover that had saved his life; now that he was safe as safe can be, he wanted to pass it on to one of the wonderful people who lived in the magical world of Pepperberry & Co. So, he decided that anyone who wanted to win his Magical Beyond The Looking Glass Passport Cover simply needed to become a Follower of the Pepperberry & Co. blog, and leave a comment describing the most magical journey they would want to take with its help.

Oh, and whatever happened to Alice and Mr. Teetally Tea Cup? Well, they found a thick, brown trunk made from oozing vegan chocolate, and there they lived together, eating Magical Scones full of Love, Sweetness and Delirium and living happily ever after.

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9:36 PM | Category: , , , , | 36 Pepperberrians Said...