Hi pinups! I thought I would put together a quick blog post with my top picks for Black Friday sales. I know I'll be stocking up on a few bits and pieces, and it would sure make me feel better if I knew you were treating yourselves too!

Below are the UK sales I've currently collated and more will be added as I come across them. Happy shopping!

Minerva Crafts











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Best of the rest:


Tilly and the Buttons - 25% off sewing patterns

Sew Essential - Multiple offers

Adam Ross - 40% off fabrics

My Fabrics - up to 60% off

Girl Charlee - Multiple fabric offers

Simplicity - 50% off everything

The Range - Multiple offers

WeaverDee - Multiple offers

Evie La Luve DIY - 20% off

Remnant Kings - 20% off

Sew Over It - 30% off patterns, kits & online classes. Code: BLACKFRIDAY2017

Sew Me Sunshine - 20% off selected items. Code: SUNSHINEWEEKEND

The Fabric Fox - 20% off fabrics

Cocowawa - 15% off all patterns. Code: SELFCAREFRIDAY

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Thanks for reading, pinups!
Abi xo

I'm always looking for a work distraction, and baking has provided me with some great procrastination recently. I shared a photo of these lemon and poppy seed muffins on my Instagram page and they had a surprisingly keen response!

Simple is how I like my baking, and I'm not particularly precise or delicate when it comes to finishing touches and I'm certainly not going to be turning into a baking/cooking blogger! But I really enjoyed making (eating) these.


The muffins don't use any butter and the oats make them filling enough to be a breakfast muffin for busy mornings or when you're on the go. The yogurt and oil keeps the muffins nice and moist and light! So maybe there's a touch of sugar, but hey, I only said 'semi-healthy'.

Perhaps you'd like to try them for yourselves...

Ingredients:

225g cups plain flour
75g porridge oats
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
110g caster sugar
2 tsp poppy seeds
2 lemons - zest & juice
95ml sunflower oil
2 eggs
150ml low fat natural yogurt
115ml semi skimmed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
icing sugar

Method:

• Turn the oven to 190C/fan170C/gas mark 5.
• Grease a 12 hole muffin tin - or you can use muffin cases if you'd prefer
• Combine the flour, oats, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, caster sugar, poppy seeds and lemon zest in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl combine the oil, eggs, yogurt, milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice.
• Tip the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until you have a nice tasty combined muffin mixture.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin holes.
• Bake for 30 minutes until risen slightly and golden brown on top. I like to poke a skewer into the muffin to check the batter isn't raw inside and that they are nice and cooked through.
• Remove and wait (not-so-patiently) until the muffins are totally cool before icing.

For the icing, I can never get the amounts perfect first time. But I put a couple of cups in a bowl, add a touch of water slowly and a squeeze of lemon juice. Then drizzled over the top of the cool muffins. I find a touch of icing on these muffins is just what they need, but it's of course optional. I then stored them in a plastic tub in the fridge, all of which were devoured within 5 days.



Thanks for reading, pinups!
xo

Afternoon Tea at The Berkeley - Prêt-à-Portea

Hi pinups! Something a little different for you today, but I couldn't resist sharing some images on my blog seeing as I took so many... but hopefully you'll see why!


For my sister's 30th birthday me and my mum wanted to visit her in London and take her somewhere special. Afternoon Tea was the first thing that came to mind, but we didn't want to do anything too traditional. So I searched online to find some more contemporary and fashionable Afternoon Tea options in London. That's where I came across The Berkeley.

A delicate collection of cakes and fancies inspired by the world’s finest designers. With this being Spring Summer 2017. Below are some of my highlights...

Miu Miu’s retro bikini lime biscuit – the must-have swimwear making a splash on the seaside this summer season.

Balenciaga’s new perspective on street style, recreated as a raspberry bavarois and blueberry compote, topped with a kinky, slinky pointed stiletto biscuit.

Charlotte Olympia’s high-kicking ‘Chiquita’ banana pump biscuits to channel your inner Carmen Miranda.

Mulberry’s ‘it’ Pembroke bag in a Valrhona ivoire chocolate-glazed cake, inspired by British collegiate stripes.

Ralph & Russo pain de Gênes dress cake with velvet lavender cremeux and beriolette jelly, romantically topped with a showstopper sugar frill. // Emilio Pucci’s playful colour-blocked jumpsuit  reimagined as a caramelised pineapple compote with coconut jelly and strawberry bavarois, crowned with a psychedelic chocolate wave.

Everything was visually STUNNING. It's impossible not to take photos of the food when you visit a place like this. Looking around, everyone was doing the same with lots of 'oooos' and 'ahhhs'.

We started with a cocktail in the bar as we were early for our 2pm reservation and were greeted with complimentary bar snacks and an extensive drinks menu. I ordered what I think was an ultra fancy pina colada which was of course too drinkable and delicious.

Then we headed to our table for the Prêt-à-Portea Afternoon Tea. Firstly the customer service was wonderful. It's easy to feel out of place in a setting like this when it's not your usual habitat, but we were made to feel really comfortable and relaxed. The menu was explained to us in clear detail which we certainly needed!

The menu starts with a glass of champagne, veloutés and sandwiches, which then led on to the main event. Not only was every single item served beautiful to look at and skillfully created, literally everything was delicious. We'd also mentioned at the start of our meal we were visiting for my sister's birthday, not to expect or request anything, but the waitress had asked if it were a special occasion. We were then delighted that my sister was served with an extra special birthday plate with chocolate writing and an extra treat. A really lovely and unexpected touch.

Overall, we had a wonderful experience having Afternoon Tea at The Berkeley. It surpassed all my expectations and I would certainly visit again. With the Prêt-à-Portea menu changing every 6 months, there's reason enough just to go back and visit to see what beauty they create next! It was a shame we just missed the new line up (which is now advertised on the website), and it felt a little odd to be celebrating Spring Summer 2017 on Halloween weekend. But even more reason to go back ASAP!

Where would you recommend visiting for Afternoon Tea?
Thanks for reading, pinups!
xo

Simplicity 8019 - 1970s Button Up Skirt

Hi pinups! It's been a whole month since my last sewing pattern review, which was also my last Simplicity Stitch by Stitch make. But after all my house moving palava, it's great to be back doing some selfish sewing in the form of my 1970s make! You may have already assumed, but the 1970s is not at the top of my style agenda, not because I don't think it's amazing and lust-worthy, but because I personally find it a tricky decade for my personal style. But there's certainly areas of fashion from the decade I like, including this reproduction Simplicity button up skirt pattern from the 1970s.

Here's a peek at the pattern:


I thought for me, I would find the 8019 pattern the most wearable. These button up skirts are all over the high street at the moment and I hoped my version wouldn't end up looking 'fancy dress', especially if I made one of the shorter styles. I opted for version B.




You can see in the video just how quickly the skirt comes together. It was a dream to sew and my light weight denim fabric works beautifully with the shape of the skirt.


Whilst this version maybe a little too light weight to be wearing in November... this skirt would work great in needle cord and thicker denim. I can definitely see myself sewing this again and trying out option A for a shorter length.


Sewing Summary:

Pattern: Simplicity 8019 Women's Vintage 1970's Skirts

Fabric: Floral Print Stretch Chambray Denim Dress Fabric

Notions: 6 x Clip On Jeans Buttons - Silver

Sewing time: An hour!

Modifications: None.

Fit: Great.

Difficulty: Easy-peasy!

Watch out for: A tidy front corner.

Make Again?: Yes! I can see this being my go to pattern list.


Overall, the 8019 pattern was the simplest and quickest of my Stitch by Stitch projects so far. After a chaotic month, this is the perfect make for getting my selfish sewing fix. I love the end result, even though I might wait until the warmer months to wear this version.

As this is the last of my Simplicity Stitch by Stitch projects in this vintage series (for now...). I just wanted to say a huge 'thank you' to Simplicity for having me as their Vintage Ambassador and another HUGE 'thank you' to everyone who visits my blog and especially to those who have been inspired by my Stitch by Stitch makes and tagged me on social media and shared their gorgeous versions with me.

To add a shameless plug, if you enjoy The Crafty Pinup blog, it would mean the world to me if you would vote for me in The British Craft Awards as I've unbelievably been nominated for 'Sewing Blog of the Year' - the first time I've been nominated for such a thing. You can vote for me, along with your other fave sewing bloggers and businesses, under the 'sewing' category HERE.

Thanks for reading, pinups!
xo