Orange Cake with Plums

 

I absolutely love baking these sponge cakes using various fruits as they are easy to make and they taste divine. Not to mention the smell in the house when baking. For this cake, I tweaked a little bit the original recipe of boiled clementine cake as I used half sugar and less almond flour replacing the difference with wholemeal self-raising flour.  The taste is as good as the original even with less sugar. Actually, both my husband and I love fruit cakes that are a bit acidic and not too sweet so this was perfect for our taste. 

Art Project for Children's Mental Health Week

 

Between 1-7 February 2021, it is Children’s Mental Health Week and this year’s theme is express yourself. What better way to do that than through art. From painting and drawing to colouring in and making something, there are other forms of art that can be explored by children. 

One of my favourite techniques is incorporating various materials into my art, such as doilies, fabric, old maps and music sheets or cuts from my own art prints. From this to proposing a collage project for children is just a matter of actually doing it and presenting it here. And what an enjoyable activity this was! 😊

Sicilian Inspired Landscape

 

You've probably seen my last post showing the first steps into creating a Sicilian inspired bedroom. One thing that I did, was to paint a seascape inspired by the Mediterranean island. I don't really do many seascapes, but this one is specially created for our home getting inspiration from photos taken while on holiday. Enjoy the step-by-step photos, I hope you like my seascape. 😊

Spread the Love with Hand-painted Hanging Hearts

 

When I normally create these hanging hearts, what I have in mind is the forthcoming events such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter or Spring. They are perfect to give to loved ones for these occasions, but this year is a bit different. Due to lockdown 3 when staying home is a must, it would be so nice for people to send little messages by post to loved ones to remind them that they are precious. I know we communicate a lot online nowadays, but there is something thoughtful about sending messages by post. We are so used to giving cards for every occasion, imagine if a loved one would receive a nice little hand-painted heart with a hand-written note. How lovely is that? With this gesture in mind and a few people that I want to send some hearts to, I started to create these new hearts, painted with floral pattern in my style. 

Sicilian Inspired Bedroom - Part I

One of the things recommended by psychologists to keep you sane in these strange times is to make plans for the future. From planning your next holiday to hosting a garden party for when this will be safe, nothing is too insignificant to make a significantly positive contribution to your overall wellbeing.

Merry Christmas 2020

 

What an extraordinary year it's been and no words can describe the amount of distress, insecurity and instability we've all experienced at a global scale. I won't be getting into any political and medical debate that surrounds our country these days, but I will carry on doing what I do best and keeping my spirit positive while inspiring others. No matter what I have been thought in my life, I always had my hobby as an outlet for keeping my mental state healthy and happy and I always recommend others to try it. Painting, crafting, cooking, gardening, reading  - having something on the side when the future looks bleak, will always give some sort of balance. 

Hand-painted Christmas Decorations, Teodora Paintings Style

 

My hand-painted Christmas decorations are selling quite well on both Etsy and Folksy platforms, not just around Christmas but all year round. I keep them listed and I am surprised to see them going in the middle of the summer. As they were flying off the shelves so to speak, I decided to create some more, even though it might be a bit late in the year. 

Halloween Food

 

I have never done Haloween inspired food before, nor have I decorated the house for this autumn celebration, although I did add some decorative pumpkins in the past. For me, is more of an autumnal display but this year, I decided to do a little bit more. So in preparation for the big day (or weekend), I practised some easy recipes, took some photos and then I decided to share them here. There is not a lot to write about them as they are very simple and straightforward and as a bonus, they are truly delicious! My husband and I decided to make the mummy hot dog one of our favourite party snacks. 

Thursday Inspiration: Autumn Flowers at Eden Project Cornwall