Stitching and Macarons - Warning, smug post alert!!

Happy Sunday folks - albeit a very freezing cold, wet and windy one!!  I am, however, feeling very smug with myself!  For the last couple of years I have tried and tried and tried and tried to make those gorgeous little French Macarons that you pay a fortune for in the shops!  Ask my boys what a tough journey it's been - not for them, they've enjoyed every single disaster!!  Once or twice I have gotten close to what a macaron should look like but never actually the real thing.  However......  Yesterday I bought this gorgeous book (£4 WH Smiths)



I read all the tips, went into the kitchen and about an hour and half later emerged with these:

Look, they've got 'feet' and everything!!!  Woohoo!!  What a process though, and they didn't last long!  I even ground the almonds myself in a pestle and mortar - not sure I'd want to do that again though....zzzzzz...  Inside they were soft and mallowy, and I managed to make 20 of them!  My only regret is that I didn't have enough icing sugar left to make the buttercream filling so I had to improvise with a tin of whippy cream - not as good, but still delish!!

I also managed to make a card yesterday which is perfect for this month's Totally Tilda challenge which is "Stitching"

I am just loving these new stamps from Magnolia's Summer 2012 collection.  Doesn't Edwin look adorable with his little pal!!  Coloured with Copics (don't ask which, I never take note!).  This card, along with a couple of unmounted stamps from the new collection, are for sale on my ebay site, if anyone's interested.  The link is on my sidebar. 

That's my lot for today.  Sunday is a day of shopping and washing for me so I'd better crack on!  How I would love to be better organised so I can have Sunday's all to myself!! 

Have a good one, and thanks for stopping by!