Cushions for my father

I made these for my father's birthday, he had specifically requested I make him cushions that incorporated the smiley face that I do when I sign notes or cards. I was always a big note writer – you know like 'Gone out to the shop, back at 5pm :D', 'some leftover quiche in the fridge if you want it :D', 'welcome home, I will see you tomorrow :D'. Well, you get the picture. That face was what I would put at the end of the notes. The dog is also something that I would draw around the edge of a postcard or something.

The fabric is IKEA fabric believe it or not. A very nice heavy woven cotton. The fabric covered buttons are from my stash. I was trying for that whole Japanese-French type style, like Cotton Time or Paumes. I wanted to keep it super simple in design. I think the result is better in real life than the photos because the cushions have a very nice feel to them, and my father really liked them which was great.

The birthday feast; everyone brought a dish along:

This salmon was good. I will never be a 'true' 100% vegetarian because I love fish and seafood too much. This would also cut out way too many of my favourite Japanese dishes :)

The ice cream cake. This was my contribution. There are lots of allergies in our family but no one is allergic to dairy, so I experimented and made a batch of Ultimate Chocolate Ice cream from the Ices book and froze it in a cake tin with some crumbled chocolate on top. It worked out very well. I was worried that it would get sloppy on the edge and still be as hard as a pebble in the middle but it reached an even slice-able texture after about 2hrs defrosting in the fridge.

Definitely a recipe to keep in mind for another occasion.

Ps. I think there is something awesome about this Frackers pet carrying bicycle. I would like one in cream.