My Lavender bushes have been flowering beautifully this month and I have already been harvesting those wonderfully scented heads to make a very delicious liqueur and for drying to use later to fill my sweet, little, handmade bedtime bunnies. I just got my regular delivery of fairtrade, organic cotton for the pink bunnies and I have been washing and drying my vintage blue and white French linens for the other ones. They look so wonderful draped on the washing line in the sunshine, catching these summer breezes. If you’d like to order a bedtime bunny you can go to the ‘crafts’ section of my website and choose one there. […]

As promised, here is the recipe for what are ridiculously easy and sinfully delicious Vanilla Macaroons….You’re welcome! -Makes 16  75g  ground almonds  115g icing sugar 2 large egg whites 50g caster sugar ½  tsp vanilla extract Filing; 55g soft, unsalted butter ½ tsp vanilla extract 115g icing sugar Put the ground almonds and icing sugar in a bowl and mix together well. Put egg whites in a large bowl and whisk until they hold soft peaks. Gradually whisk in the caster sugar to make firm, glossy meringue. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Using a spatula, fold in the almond mixture into the meringue one third at a time. When all […]

Here in Ireland many people mark the 1st February as the official first day of spring, calling it either Imbolc or St. Bridget’s Day. I have to say that this year it has certainly felt as though the increasing daylight and sparkling sunshine has brought everything back into life very early. Then came this month’s stunning full moon, painting everything in brilliant silver light, heralding the change of season while keeping everyone awake in the wee hours of the morning. Living as we are right on the edge of the Atlantic, it’s with some trepidation that we now await the next of nature’s events which is the biggest tide of […]

Wherever you are in the world, most of you will come across some ghost, ghoul or witch at some point today and a lot of you will be getting a familiar *knock knock – TRICK OR TREAT!* at the door. Here on our windswept little peninsular we’d probably get a bigger fright than most if we got a knock at the door tonight, as we live at the end of a very bumpy and isolated lane. It would be a very dedicated trick or treater who made it down here! But that doesn’t stop us celebrating the day, especially as we live in Ireland where the ancient festival of Samhain […]

It’s no secret that we’re are about to begin my favourite season of the year again. Don’t get me wrong, summer is wonderful with its long days, sunny cheerfulness, barefoot freedom and general fun and frolics. But autumn is when all of nature’s – and our own! – hard work pays off and we get to reap what we sow. Blackberries, raspberries, peaches, pears and plums, as well as a huge variety of plump, colourful vegetables are all ready for harvesting. If you are one of those people like me who love to make jams, chutneys, tarts and casseroles, the start of autumn is almost a sensory overload of flavour […]

Here on the beautiful, Atlantic coast of Ireland we can finally begin to see that spring has officially sprung. It’s a wonderful feeling! All our early flowers have pushed their way up and are nodding their heads in the mild breeze and our fruit trees and bushes are waking up after what always feels like too long a winter. Best of all though are the baby animals suddenly appearing in the fields around us, running, jumping and rolling in a way that reminds you how much joy there is in a bit of sunshine. Jules is especially taken with the lambs and is hankering to feed them again as he […]

Being and illustrator and a mother of a two year old can sometimes be a little challenging during the month of January. As an artist, the Christmas rush is over and inspiration is now needed to start this year’s line of prints and crafts. As a mum, January’s harsh wind and rain tend to lead to little, bored noses pressed up against window panes in need of mum’s bright ideas! So what better way of breaking the grey, drizzly monotony of this month than getting stuck into as much colour as possible? For Jules that means recycling all of those amazingly colourful sweetie wrappers that (after shamelessly eating all the […]

With Christmas just around the corner it’s time to get down to some serious crafting and gift making here at Little Cloggs. Not that it’s ever a chore in this house! I firmly believe that you are never too old or too young to make a much loved Christmas heirloom. I’m hoping that some of you have already tried the salt dough tree decorations that I posted recently. Painted, sprayed or just sprinkled with glitter they are so easy to make and if you paint a name on they make a sweet personalised gift. Here at Little Cloggs we are launching our own collection of personalised Christmas gifts. We have […]

Welcome to Little Cloggs and my brand new website! I can finally say with great pleasure that we are now open for business online.