Monthly Archive for November, 2010

Have a Greyt Xmas!

Published on November 24, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

It’s almost December now & Max and Molly Designs’ Etsy & Folksy stores are stocked full of festive cheer! From Christmas cards to Christmas stockings, you’ll find lots of pawsome gift ideas in store ;-)

To celebrate the start of the festivities, we are offering customers 20% off everything in our Etsy store from Fri 26th through Mon 29th Nov inclusive! Simply enter the coupon code GREYTXMAS at checkout & you will receive a 20% discount on your order. Happy shopping!


 Paw prints advent calen…

$32.00
Santa’s Little Help…

$16.00
Santa’s little help…

$13.00

Santa’s little help…

$16.00
Your choice of any 2 sc…

$8.00
Santa’s little help…

$16.00

Santa’s little help…

$16.00
Santa’s little help…

$16.00
Santa’s little help…

$16.00

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Longdog; Shortbread

Published on November 15, 2010 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Last week, I received a lovely gift from a friend who is a fellow greyhound owner: a greyhound-shaped cookie cutter! I didn’t have time during the week, but as soon as the weekend arrived, I stocked up on baking ingredients & got creative in the kitchen with my new toy…

I decided to bake greyhound shortbread biscuits & asked my Mum for my Great Aunt’s old shortbread recipe. Here it is:

Nan’s Shortbread

Ingredients:

  • 5 oz caster sugar
  • 10 oz butter
  • 8 oz plain flour
  • 4 oz self-raising flour
  • 4 oz cornflour

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 160° C.
  • Sift together the flours & set aside.
  • Beat the butter & sugar well until creamy.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter & sugar, mixing.
  • On a floured surface, roll the resulting dough out to desired thickness.
  • Cut into desired shapes & prick with a fork.
  • Cook in the oven until golden brown on top (mine took about 23 minutes).

It’s a little different to other more modern shortbread recipes I’ve come across but, judging by the results, my Great Aunt Nan was onto something & I’ll be holding onto this family recipe!

Once the shortbread had cooled on a rack, it was time for the fun part: the decorating! I melted 3 different kinds of chocolate (milk, dark & white) in a bain-marie & painted them onto the biscuits to create different greyhound markings.

Recognise anyone?!? Above are my attempts at creating Max & Molly biscuits!

For Max, I painted the whole of the biscuit in milk chocolate & then, whilst still wet added some dark chocolate & swirled it with a cocktail stick to create a ‘brindled’ effect. I even added some white chocolate under his muzzle & belly to show where he is starting to look a bit more distinguished! Molly was a little more straight forward: I painted the whole biscuit with dark chocolate, let this dry, then added in her white markings with white chocolate.

I also made versions of them wearing their trusty winter coats, Molly in blue & Max in red! To do this I used some blue & red food colouring to dye small amounts of the melted white chocolate,before painting onto the biscuits.

This was all quite time consuming, so I’ll admit that most of the rest of the shortbread ‘pack’ were simply painted with a single type of chocolate, giving them an all black/tan/white coat!

These were so much fun to make though (not to mention rather delicious to eat!) , that I’ll definitely be making them again. I have a feeling some gingerbread greyhounds wearing colourful coats with shiny sprinkles on may be adorning the branches of our Christmas tree next month… ;-)

Folksy Friday: Sweet Charity

Published on November 12, 2010 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

This Friday I’m sharing some beautiful handmade Christmas cards which I found on Folksy. These cards are extra special because for each card sold, a donation is being made to the artists’ chosen charity.

Artists (clockwise from top left):

♥ Pop-up Zoo Greeting Cards (charity: Sands stillbirth and neonatal death charity)

♥ Rhiannon Thomas (charity:  Hue Help Vietnamese childrens charity)

♥ Ruby Wren Designs charity: RSPCA Woodside Animal Sanctuary in Leicester)

♥ Miss Baclart Designs (charity: Macmillan Cancer Care)

Sales of my own handmade Christmas cards, which are also available to purchase of Folksy, support my local greyhound rehoming charity, Gracehounds.

The cards feature a black & white photograph of  my rescue greyhound, Max, looking comical in a pair of reindeer antlers. (Lots of turkey titbits were supplied!) Glitter has been carefully applied to give a shiny red nose & glistening silver antlers! The greeting inside reads, “Have a Greyt Xmas!”

Count Down to Christmas!

Published on November 8, 2010 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Our count down to Christmas has started early this year. Maybe it’s because Martin & I have been invited to spend Christmas itself overseas with his Dad & consequently have to fit in various pre-Christmas celebrations as early as 4th December with other family members! Or maybe it’s because I want to let you know about a very special screenprinting project I’ve been working on in plenty time for you & your pets to begin your own count downs on 1st December…

Introducing my paw prints advent calendar for pets!

The calendar features 24 festive red & green cotton pouches…

… each decorated with hand printed white paw prints numbered 1 – 24, counting down the days to Xmas!

The pouches can be filled with small toys or snacks of your choice…

… so that your pet will receive a special treat every day in the lead up to Xmas!

I screen print each numbered pawprint onto the fabric sacks by hand using non-toxic fabric ink.

The pouches measure 6 x 9 cm & are attached by drawstring cords to a length of natural jute cord measuring 170 cm (approx).

The whole thing is very light & can be hung in your chosen location using just a few drawing pins (or similar) to secure the ends.

The calendar is eco-friendly & can be used again year after year.

As with all my handmade products, 5% of the profits from the sale of these calendars will be donated to my local greyhound rehoming charity, Gracehounds.

Calendars are available to purchase via both Max and Molly Designs on Etsy & Max and Molly Designs on Folksy, priced £20 GBP / $32 USD each.

Martin, the dogs & I had so much fun photographing these calendars – we went a whole lot of treats, & I can tell you that Max & Molly definitely started their Christmas count down early! ;-)

Raffle for the Rabbits

Published on November 4, 2010 in Uncategorized. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Shhhh, don’t tell Max & Molly but I’ve been fraternizing with ‘the enemy’*! My good friend Annette organises an annual Winter Raffle to raise funds for Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare, & I am one of several artists who have donated a prize.

* the bunnies, not Annette ;-)

After being found covered in blood & urine on a disused railway line, Annette’s rescue rabbit, Wesley, was looked after by Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare. He now lives as a much loved & very well cared for house rabbit with his adoptive sibling, Arabella, & his new Mum, Annette.

Many rabbits & guinea pigs are bought as children’s pets by people seeking the ‘cute & cuddly’ stereotype portrayed by the media. However, children often tire of them quickly & lose interest (usually by the time they reach around 6 months of age & are starting to grow larger & less cutesy)  & every year thousands of them end up abandoned or neglected. Established in 1995, Rabbit and Guinea Pig Welfare in Rugby, England rescues as many of these animals as possible & rehomes them responsibly.

Every penny raised through the sale of raffle tickets will go directly to help abandoned rabbits & guinea pigs at the shelter. You can purchase your tickets here, to be in with a chance of winning one of 11 fantastic prizes.

The item I have donated as a prize is a tea towel rather aptly hand printed with my ‘All Ears‘ design:

The printed image is derived from a photograph of my rescue greyhound, Max, wearing a pair of bunny ears (whilst no doubt dreaming of chasing rabbits!):

My towel is just one of  a total of 11 prizes though, so let’s take a look at what else you can win in the raffle…

Jeanette of Square Hare has donated her Celestial Hare, Dancing Hare & Faun brooches:

Pey of Peylu has donated a set of her Esme the Brown Bunny prints:

Jen of McGuinness Photography has donated  a set of 4 of her Bunny Rabbit Photo Greeting Cards:

Carly of Naked Carly Art has donated her Original Rabbit Collage:

Alison of Eastwitching has donated her original watercolour painting, ‘The Protector’:

Eline of The High North has donated her Doggy Bag: (even my greyhounds would approve of this!)

Kirsten of Kirsten’s Clay has donated her Snowshoe Hare Footprint Mug:

Debbie of Shaded Memories has donated her Snuggle Sweet Nothings 8×10 photo print:

Kim of Veganessa has donated her White Rabbit Brooch:

& last, but definitely by no means least, Annette of Dragon House of Yuen has donated her own life-sized Mother Hare textile ornament ‘Ermine’:

For more information about each of these prizes, please visit Annette’s blog (where you will also find lots of adorable pictures & tales of her rescue rabbits, Wesley & Arabella). To purchase your tickets, please visit the Rabbit & Guinea Pig Welfare website where you can pay via PayPal.

& remember, I won’t tell Max & Molly if you won’t! ;-)