Archive for the ‘That's nice’ Category

Storm the statues

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

London based yarnstormers, Knit the City have posted pictures of one of their latest escapades.

Taking inspiration from The Nutcracker, a bronze ballerina in Covent Garden found herself overrun by miniature characters from the tale, all lovingly knitted or crocheted by members of the group.

Installed just before Christmas, the fairies, soldiers and mouse king will no doubt have scampered away by now, but keep an eye out around statues near you, as you might just discover it has found some friends.

ballerina statue covered with mini knitted characters
Picture courtesy Knit the City

close up of knitted characters
Picture courtesy Knit the City

For more pictures check out the Knit the City blog.

Green sandwiches!

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Pica Pica Magazine loves clever eco friendliness! So why not go for green sandwiches too? They’re cuter than transparent plastic bags, and more impressive than boring sandwich boxes. Here’s some weekend inspiration for snack lovers!

Image courtesy of evelynfields, etsy.com

Image courtesy of sacksavers, etsy.com

Image courtesy of bellsandunicorns, etsy.com

Image courtesy of wastenotsake, etsy.com

Image courtesy of coozyco, etsy.com

Buy them from etsy.com, or make your own personal one!

More noms – it’s Pancake Day!

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

1. Waffle Earrings by PetitPlat 2. Lumberjack Special Lip Balm by atomicrose
3. Tea Towel by MrPS 4. ‘Madris Gras Cat’ by jamieshelman 5. Lemon Squares Soap by sunbasilgarden 6. Make Your Own Brown Sugar Scrub (from Craft)
7. Frying Pan Charm Necklace by charms4you

All photo/picture credits – the sellers / websites

As Pancake Day is probably one of the best days of the year (well.. in the opinion of this Pica Pica girl), I thought I’d give you a few Shrove Tuesday themed picks (none of which are edible.. so if you’re still sticking to that new year diet…) as well as a simple batter recipe you can use every year.

Easy-Peasy Pancakes
110g plain flour
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
200 ml milk mixed with 75 ml water
50g butter

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl to help air the flour and get rid of any lumps. Make a well in the centre with a wooden spoon and break both eggs into it. Grab your whisk (although a fork works well too) and get busy – the mix will feel tough but worry not, just make sure you incorporate all of the flour.

Gradually add small quantities of the milk/water and whisk whisk whisk – any lumps will soon disappear. Use a rubber spatula to scrape any remaining bits of flour from the sides of the bowl once you have added all of the liquid. Aim for a smooth batter, with a thin cream-like consistency. I like thin pancakes, more like crepes – so I always add more milk/water if I feel the batter is too thick for my liking.

Melt the butter in a heavy based frying pan and spoon 2 tablespoons into the batter and whisk in. Pour the rest into a bowl and use a little each time you feel the pan needs ‘lubricating’ (thanks Delia).


Photo by ildarabbit

Get the pan really hot but be careful not to burn the butter. Turn the heat down to a medium and start with a test pancake. As they say, the first pancake is always the worst pancake.. but it still tastes good. Use a ladle or a jug to spoon your batter (how much is totally up to you, and comes with practice) into the pan and tip it around from side to side to get an even coating. It only takes about 30 seconds to cook on one side, lift the edges around with a pan slice or palette knife to test. Flip it over – it will only need a few seconds on this side, then slide it out onto a plate.

At this point, do what you like. Personally, I tend to enjoy taking turns making and eating my pancakes standing in the kitchen as it’s usually a group activity – and lets be honest, they do taste better straight out of the pan. You can also stack them up so they keep warm for later. Toppings? Go crazy. A family favourite is to add currants to the batter as soon as it hits the pan so they sink in and then, once cooked, drench with fresh lemon juice and caster sugar, roll up and devour. It’s up to you though – savoury (spinach and ricotta is amazing) or sweet (maple syrup, nutella, ice cream…).

Whatever you do though, happy baking!

Adapted from an original Delia <3

Your heart’s desire

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Here are some love-ly jewellery ideas for Valentine’s Day.

heart shaped jewellery

Heart cuff, £18, Lazy Oaf.
Photo courtesy www.lazyoaf.com

Heart earings, £12, Lazy Oaf.
Photo courtesy www.lazyoaf.com

Silver go-go glitter heart brooch, £8, Lady Luck Rules OK.
Photo courtesy Lady Luck Rules OK

Love struck silver brooch, £6, Lady Luck Rules OK.
Photo courtesy Lady Luck Rules OK

Lace doily heart stud earrings, £24, Tatty Devine.
Photo courtesy Tatty Devine

Black love heart necklace, £8, Lady Luck Rules OK.
Photo courtesy Lady Luck Rules OK

Heart folk birdy brooch, £12, Lady Luck Rules OK.
Photo courtesy Lady Luck Rules OK

Personalised tattoo style heart brooch, £12, Be-bop-a-lula.
Photo courtesy Be-bop-a-lula

Pearly heart ring, £33, Tatty Devine.
Photo courtesy Tatty Devine

Lace doily heart pendant, £21, Tatty Devine.
Photo courtesy Tatty Devine

Tweet tweet!

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Here’s cute a new tote bag all the way from Nottingham. Illustrator, doodle-bug and all round crazy cat Amy Blackwell has created a design that’s totally exclusive to eco screen-printing company I Dress Myself. What with all the bird-based fun going around the Pica Pica office at the moment, I thought this would be a nice way to get the blog ball rolling..