Chocolate pancakes!

HAPPY PANCAKE DAY!!
I'm still deciding what to make later on this evening, but here's a recipe form our #7 issue....

You will need:
-4oz/100g plain flour
-1/2 oz/ 20g cocoa
-Pinch of salt
-1 egg
-1/2 pint of milk
1- In a bowl, mix the flour, cocoa and salt.
2- Make a well in the centre of the mix and put in the egg. Mix in.
3- Add the milk gradually stirring well, so as not to have a lumpy mixture.
4- Heat a frying pan with a little oil. When hot turn to moderate heat and spoon in some of the pancake mix.
5- Cook well both sides (top tip keep the pancakes warm in the oven).

We served ours with a coconut sorbet! The recipe can be found in Sugar Paper #7.
ps tried to locate a picture but couldn't, but hey we all know what panckes look like right!?

I'm cocoa-nuts about you!

So the last part of the valentines baking trilogy is a heart shaped cupcake.

here's how to make these raspberry, chocolate, coconut layer cakes...

You will need:

-6oz/175g margarine

-6oz/175g caster sugar

-Pinch of salt

-6oz/175g self raising flour

-3 eggs

-1 TBSP cocoa

-1 TBSP raspberries (mashed)

-2 TBSP dessicated coconut

-few drops of red food colouring

for the topping:

-4 TBSP icing sugar

-2oz/50g butter/margarine

-Few drops of vanilla essence

-Few drops of red food colouring

-dessicated coconut and raspberries to decorate

1.Pre heat oven to gas mark 4/180c

2.Beat together the sugar, margarine and salt.

3.Beat the eggs and mix in gradually with the flour.

4.Split mixture into two bowls.

5.In one bowl add the cocoa, mix well.

6.In the other add raspberries, coconut and food colouring and mix well.

7.Place cupcake cases in a baking tray (we used a heart shaped one!).

8.Layer in the mixtures alternately, IE desert spoon of choc mix, desert spoon of raspberry mix until 3/4s full.

9.Bake for around 15-20 minutes.

10. Leave to cool and prepare topping!

Topping:

1.Mix the icing sugar and marg/butter together until well blended.

2. Add drops of vanilla essence and food colouring.

3.Spread onto cakes and top with a sprinkle of dessicated coconut and a raspberry!

Your my only scONE

Put a spin on this classic treat by, you guessed it, making it heart shaped.
For a tasty scone...

You will need:

-8oz/225g self raising flour

-Pinch of salt

-2oz/50g margarine

-1oz/25g caster sugar

-1 medium egg (beaten and mixed with enough milk to make 1/4 pint/150ml)

-Heart shaped cutter

1.Heat oven to gas mark 7/220c and grease a baking tray.

2. Mix flour and salt, rub* in the margarine. Stir in the sugar.

3.Add egg and milk mixture, saving a little to brush the tops.

4.Knead lightly onto a floured surface and roll out to about 1/2"/1cm thick. Cut out with heart shaped cutters (2 1/2"-3" width).

5.When used all of the scone mixture, brush the tops with the egg wash and bake for around ten minutes.

6.Serve with jam and clotted cream!

*Rubbing means just that, rub the mixture between your fingers for a fine crumb like mix!

Jam T'hearts!

This is a super quick and easy heart shaped bake and different take on jam tarts.

You will need:

-Puff Pastry sheet
-Jam

-A little milk

-Heart shaped cutter

1. Leave the pastry out of the fridge for ten minutes.

2.Lightly grease a baking tray and pre heat the oven at gas mark 6/ 200 C.

3.Take a cutter, approx. 2" width and cut out hearts, lay on the baking tray.

4. Brush edge of pastry with a little milk.

5. Add half a teaspoon of jam on each pastry heart (put in a V/heart shape)

6.Bake for around ten minutes until the pastry is golden brown!

7.Serve alone or with some whipped/fresh cream!

An interview!!!

This is a picture of us taken by Kate Holmes last week.
Kate is a PhD researcher writing a thesis on what part technology and social media plays within DIY culture.
She got in touch with us a few weeks ago asking if she could interview us (HELL YEAH).
We had a great time, I mean we LOVE to talk, and talk about ourselves! Speaking to Kate made me realise how much of a role the Internet does play in the making of Sugar paper (even though I love calling myself a technophobe!).
After the interview she asked if we had thought about/ been asked these kind of questions before (IE why we do what we do) Kandy said no, I said yes, as I think A LOT and have been interviewing myself about my various projects from a young age!
But then I paused and said not really, as much as I think about it, we never really get asked, not in depth, it's usually a few stock questions. It was nice. To question yourself, take a step back and think why DO we do this.
It made us leave feeling really glad that we do.

I think it helped that Kate was super nice (she bought us tea, was sporting a Tara McPherson watch and likes Harry Potter AND Lego, WIN WIN for us!) and asked us questions referring to craft and community, which we're passionate about!

You can read the post Kate wrote about us here and check the rest of the blog.

If I had the internet when I was 15 would I be as savvy?

So that is a picture of me when I was 15. I'm pretty sure I thought I was well rad back then.
But last night I was having some kind of mid-late twenties crisis/ love for the next generation.
I was just perusing the web when I suddenly realised , there are A LOT of hella cool teens out there and I'm EXCITED ABOUT IT!
OK I had a oh my god I feel like they make 15 year old me look like I didn't do anything. But i know that's not the case, then I thought imagine what i could have done if 15 year old me had the Internet (it most probably would have been dangerous AND messy, I'm seeing rants and emo poetry for the world to see!)instead of getting it at home at the grand old age of 21.

We'll never know, but what i do know is that teenagers get a LOT of stick from everywhere, and I'm so happy to see so many productive and creative types in the ether. A prime example of this is (yes I know everyone is talking about this) Rookie Mag. It's Like Bust magazine reincarnated as my favourite teen mag Just 17.

plus their posts for 23rd of this month features a picture of one of my all time favourite albums That.Dog-Totally Crushed Out!

Alice In Wonderland....

So the other day SP pal Alison informed me of an Alice In Wonderland exhibition at Tate Liverpool, only problem was it was coming to an end this weekend. So yesterday Alison, her significant other and myself (Kandy was busy helping at an SSRG roller derby bout) headed off to Liverpool.

The exhibition started on the ground floor with a few contemporary works inspired by the Alice stories. The only one that sticks in my mind is a series of neon light words hanging from the ceiling, from what we could gather these were just slang terms for vagina. It was incredibly 90s!

Then up to the 4th floor. The main room (or what I would call it, was a little bit confusing, no literature, cuts and going green meant lack of!) seemed to be more of a history of Lewis Carroll, with paintings by, of and inspired by him, photographs he took, pictures of the Liddell sisters (Alice and her two siblings).
To the left of that room, was probably my favourite part, original illustrations from the books, a collection of all the different illustrated books over the years and best of all original Alice MERCH!
Now Lewis Carroll was my kinda guy, he knew about merchandise, wooden toys, playing cards,

crockery!

Back in the main room, towards the end, was a collection of works by European surrealists with work loosely inspired by Alice. Which flowed into the next room with a collection of works by British surrealists.

What looked really amazing were a selection of films, that were in a small room off a corridor, which was obviously always busy and our hungry stomachs just couldn't sit it out, shame. So onto the next room which had selection of works from pop artists like Peter Blake and other works from the 60s/70s. One of my favourites were the three pieces from Adrian Piper:

There was also a collection of Alice inspired books, including a sci-fi one (that I want to read!) and this:

We headed on to look at more recent works which featured all sorts, paintings, illustrations, sculptures. A stand out piece for me was this etching (that I am useless and can't remember the artists name!)

We finished off and headed to the gift shop, where we we good and didn't spend a mint (lots of nice, but expensive things and who doesn't make badges?!?!).
Then left, feeling slightly cheated, but unsure as to why. The exhibition both not what we pictured, but then if we hadn't have gone, it would have been the raddest, weirdest, most psychedelic exhibition we never did see.
We stuffed our faces with the world's largest cheese on toast and the happy balance was restored!