Date & Walnut Loaf

Need cake - out comes the Be-ro cookbook, never lets me down.....

Made this a bit bigger so you can see the recipe

I set my oven at 160 degrees centigrade and it was fine.

Ingredients;

All mixed and ready for the oven

I don't think baking parchment was in vogue when this book was written, but I find it essential for stress free cake removal!

Ready for the taste test.....

It didn't last very long!

Robin Hood's Bay Craft Fair - May

Today I've been mostly doing a craft fair! There's a really lovely one in Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire on the 2nd sunday of every month (contact me if you would like info).

I loaded up Doris the Citroen and set off via the Whitby car boot sale where I purchased a rather fabulous clothes horse for displaying my quilts.

Got to the hall in plenty of time and started to set up

A few familiar faces were there!

This is Stewart - he makes some splendid stained glass.

I also met up with Deborah from www.bestaromatics.co.uk , who also plays in the Scarborough Symphony Orchestra, as I do!

There were some new faces too - like the lady who was spinning wool that had come from her alpacas- I know she's not there at the moment I took this photo - but we all need a cuppa every now and then!

Beautiful soft alpaca wool - wish I could knit!

I love these toadstools carved from old logs! My aunty has one in her garden which I bought at a pre-christmas fair.

Here's some of Stewart's stained glass

I had my eye on these lovely pendants on the stall next to me.

By mid-afternoon the fair was in full swing and I was hoping that Pauline would come round with some of the tasty looking cakes I'd seen in the cafe - sure enough we were rewarded with generous slices of homemade chocolate cake and a mug of steaming tea thanks to Jane!

Plenty for the little ones!

Personalised bunting from Oakapple & Rose

After a really enjoyable day, I called the chauffer to take me home

If you'd like more info on the Robin Hood's Bay craft fairs, please email me ellie@oakapplerose.co.uk and I'll do my best to help, or pass your details onto the organisers.

In the beginning....

Well, thought it was maybe time to do a blog!

So a few things about Oakapple & Rose;

It's basically me (Ellie) and my Mum (Barbara) - who was until the purchase of an ipad last month, a Ludite.

I'd been selling some of my handmade things on ebay and getting in a few custom orders, so Mum asked if I'd sell some of her watercolours for her.

Wanted to think of a name that linked us together and as 'Barbie' seemed to be taken already (ahem) I hit on the names of our respective streets. Strictly speaking, Mum's street is 'oakwell' rather than 'oakapple' but a rose in a well would not have made a good logo.................





The O&R logo has been drawn by my husband, who has been a cartoonist in the past!

I'm actually rather fond of it.

Some of the first things I sold were my children's party bags, I used to make ones in different coloured fabrics until a customer asked me if I could personalise them, which I did. She placed an order for about 50, but was very patient at the time it took me to make them (thank you Roa).

Since then I am much more organised at making larger orders!

Part of a custom order for a lady who wanted various drawstring bags for her childminder.