DIY Paper Heart Card Décor

Assalamu Alaikum!

Today's post is an unexpected one, but altogether a delight! Yesterday, Maryam received this lovely handmade card from Sumayyah, masha'Allah. It was a complete surprise! Allahhumma Barik!

Sumayyah had come up with the idea all by herself and even took photos (with Zainab's help) with the intention to show you all how she made it.

So let's dive in!

You will need:

Different coloured paper

Scissors

Glue Stick

Pencil

Method:

Firstly, draw and cut out a heart.

Then cut out strips of different coloured paper.

(Here Sumayyah advises you cut out slightly thicker strips than she did, because it makes sticking them down easier)

Stick them onto the heart overlaying them in different directions.

Sumayyah says, because her strips where a little to thin, the heart got sticky with glue. So she went over it with Mod Podge, to act as a kind of seal.

Next choose your card and bend a thick strip of card like below.

Stick the heart onto the thick strip and then stick the other end of the strip to the card. This makes the heart pop a little.

Then decorate how you like! Sumayyah outlined the heart with a glitter pen and added some jewels to the edges.

Masha'Allah it turned out lovely. And here is the final product and the message she wrote inside for Maryam, masha'Allah!

Alhamdulillah Maryam is very grateful and has hung it up on a noticeboard in her room. 

We hope you liked this DIY and we will see you again on Friday, insha'Allah!

Love and wasalaam,



Nature Drawing Fun

Assalamu Alaikum everyone!

Insha'Allah you are all feeling well. For today's post we wanted to share with you some of the drawings we have done, relating to nature and animals. You all must be aware by now that we have loved drawing and sketching for as long as we can remember, and we don't think we will ever stop, insha'Allah! These drawings are all recent, apart from a few by Maryam which are from a couple years back.

Well, here they are!

Sumayyah's Spread

Sumayyah drew a picture of Cata (our cat!) and Romeo (a neighbour's cat). Cata is white and Romeo is Grey.

Masha'Allah, she captured them well!

Zainab's Spreads

Zainab wrote the same quote in two different styles.

For the first picture she used colour pencils and a black pen.

The second picture is painted and outlined with a black pen. She used watercolour for the background and acrylic for the flowers.

Maryam's Spreads

All Maryam's spreads are sketched with a basic HD pencil. However the flowers where done with proper drawing pencils.
The big spread of the woods took days to complete!

Hanifah's Spread

Hanifah first sketched out her page, then outlined everything with a black pen and lastly coloured everything in using fine-tipped colour pens.

Well, that is all for this Friday. Alhamdulillah we think they turned out nice, masha'Allah. We hope you liked looking at our drawings, and that it might put you in the mood to sketch or draw.

Insha'Allah, we will see you again on Tuesday!

Love and wasalaam,



Carrot Cake with Maple Butter Frosting Recipe

Assalamu Alaikum everyone!

Maryam here, and todays recipe is this filling moist carrot cake with a yummy maple butter frosting.  So let's jump right in!

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots, peeled

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon powder

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup soft dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups sunflower oil

1/2 raisins

Maple butter Frosting:

6 tbsp. butter, at room temperature

3 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line an 11x8 - inch rectangular cake pan. I used a glass Pyrex dish.

2. Grate the carrots and set aside.

3. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs until blended.

5. Add the vanilla, sugars and oil; beat to incorporate.

6. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, beating well after each addition.

7. Add the carrots and raisins and fold in thoroughly.

(If you like nuts you can add 1 cup of chopped walnuts to the mixture)

8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake springs back when touched lightly, 40 - 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then unmould and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

9. Mean while make the frosting. Cream the butter, icing sugar and maple syrup until blended.

10. Spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

Cut into squares. Serve and enjoy!

I hope you liked this recipe. It is one of my favourites, masha'Allah!

Well that is all for today. See you on Friday, insha'Allah!

Love and wasalaam,

Maryam