Choux pastry overload!

One of many (& varied!) problems I have is that I always, without fail, end up making too much of a particular clay mix & find myself having to make bazillions of one thing! At the minute it's choux pastry! Profiteroles, gateaux St Honore, religieuse, eclairs......anyone got a favourite to make out of choux pastry...I'm running out of ideas!
I did come up with this little concoction of eclairs, choux buns & a profiterole to alleviate the boredom & then decided I'd make an orange gateau St Honore......I have absolutely NO idea whether it's ever been made in an orange flavour, but now there's a mini version with sugared citrus rind as a decoration! I think I'd rather have the chocolate version myself!

Withdrawal setting in!

Not only am I just about on my knees after having family here for a few weeks...all that cooking & playing with the grandchildren has really taken its toll :-))......but the severe shortage of mini making time is leading to real withdrawal symptoms...I've had to turn to the wine to keep them at bay LOL.
They leave tomorrow & I just know I'm going to miss them all terribly, the place will be soooo quiet...not to mention tidy....all I will be left with is the good old hubby, the dog & the hens & even the dog is too old to play now! BUT, once the bed linens are changed & washed & the house mucked out I should be able to get back into the workshop & catch up a little with the very long list of work I need to get done.  Every cloud has a silver lining!
Amazingly, I have managed to make a few pieces in between food shopping, cooking, washing, ironing & vacuuming, not to mention reading ever longer bedtime stories until I need matchsticks to keep my eyes open every night...I think I might sleep for a full day before I get back to "work"!
So here you go 2 of the very few pieces I've actually made in 3 whole weeks......not an impressive work rate!

 My version of the classic French dessert Gateau St Honore....chocolate, of course!

& a strawberry torte gateau!

Maybe summer will come back........

Even though summer seems to have deserted the good old cold & dreary NE of England...beautiful the Cathedral & castle in Durham might be but the weather never is......I couldn't resist putting together my dream al fresco eating food...a jug of red wine, some coarse pate, olives, tomatoes& bread...now all I need is some SUN......please!

Blueberry jam set & a broken jar!

I've been seeing tiny blueberries in my sleep recently! A jam prep board, 5 filled jars & a broken jar of Heidelbeermarmelade for a friend! I hope you like it! :-))

As I'm totally hopeless at judging the amount of resin I need, I had enough left over to make this broken jar too....this is the English version....blueberry jam & not Heidelbeermarmelade!

Tiramisu!

I just know I'm going to be frustrated.....the arrival of my grandkids for a few weeks means not too much time in between the washing, ironing, cooking & tidying up....not to mention playing with them :-)).... for making minis! One of their favourite desserts is the scrummy Italian Tiramisu & having made one for their arrival, I just had to make a mini version too!

Workspace chaos!

Oh dear...why do I seem to be incapable of finishing one thing before starting another? Is it only me or is anybody else afflicted with this problem?  In my defence, whenever I'm working on one particular thing, there is always a "waiting time"..either glue, resin or icing needs to set...& in that time, rather than waste it, I start on something else! THAT's why my workspace always seems to be in a chaotic state!

In this photo how many UFO's can you see?....In my defence...again (methinks the lady doth protest too much!"...Macbeth for the uninitiated!) part of this photo is a large commission order & the beginnings of another! As the sun was shining here today & I didn't want to waste it entirely, as the forecast is for heavy rain all weekend, I decided to start on basket weaving 'cos I don't need my magnifier for that & could enjoy the sun whilst doing it..but, guess what...yep....before I've finished one, I try experimenting on another! There's no hope for me really!