Birthdays and Tiffin

My good friend Julie recently celebrated her 40th birthday (sorry for telling everyone Julie but there was no hiding it - it says so clearly on the card!). It was a little daunting giving such a talented person something handmade but I bit the bullet and made her her own special card. I've made cards similar to this particular design before but this one was a little different because I decided to stick to a palette of browns, pinks and creams. It was an interesting experiment and I quite liked what I came up with. Julie seemed pleased with it too, though of course it's possible that she was just being polite!

Moving on from a very girlie card to one for a young man. My lovely friend in India who ordered cards for all the boys in her family last year has now started the ball rolling with this year's birthday cards. Her 10 year old son has grown his hair since last year, so I showed him with a shaggy look. He enjoys reading the Bone books and loves everything about the FIFA World Cup. When my friend e-mailed to tell me that the card had arrived she asked if my eldest had helped me choose the correct World Cup football. I explained to her that I am so surrounded by football supporters in this house that I no longer need any help with anything related to that sport!

My mouth is watering just looking at this photo! I've made way too much of this Cranberry and Pecan Tiffin lately but it is just so easy to make and tastes absolutely wonderful! I have made Tiffin cake before but this variation, with the crunchy pecan nuts and sharp cranberries, is just delicious! Pop over to Attic 24's gorgeous blog right now and you will find the recipe right here. If you decide to have a go at the recipe yourselves, in Israel digestive biscuits can be bought in the food market of that well known Swedish home products retailer that we all know and love. For those of you in the US, you can substitute with Graham Crackers.