Showing posts with label diy. Show all posts

It's Mother's Day next Sunday! Sometimes the best gifts are the ones we make ourselves, so why not get some crafting going on with your little ones?
I've found some great and easy projects that would be perfect for this occasion. I'm sure mum will love any of these ideas!

Check the links below for instructions.

1 - Painted Salad Servers, Parents.com
2 - Photo Flower Cards, Better Homes and Gardens
3 - String Art, Muska & Elvis
4 - Origami letters Mom card, Zakka Life

Another one of my home made gifts this year was a herb infused olive oil, great for salads and seasoning.
This was so easy to make and it turned out a beautiful little gift.

Start by finding some small glass bottles. I found mine at a dollar store and I loved the fact that their are appropriate for oils and dressings.

Remove any labels, wash and dry your bottles. It's very important to make sure they are completely dry before adding the oil, as any trace of water can cause bacteria to grow. You can place the bottles in the sun or leave them out overnight to allow all of the water to evaporate.

Select your herbs, wash them and dry them thoroughly. You can dry the herbs by leaving them in the sun for a few hours or heating them in the oven for a few minutes on low heat. Remember you need to eliminate all moisture before doing this mix, to avoid bacteria growth.

Lightly bruise the herbs to release flavour and place them in the bottom of the bottle. I chose oregano but you can use rosemary, thyme, or any any dried herbs you like. You can even mix a few different herbs and create a unique flavour.


Pour the olive oil over the herbs, filling the bottle close to the top.

Seal the bottle and store it in a cool, dry place for 1-2 weeks to infuse. The flavour of the oil will intensify over time.

I found the recipe at Nigella's website and I've been using it in my house ever since. It's such a time saver and it makes for delicious and easy breakfasts on lazy weekends.

I got some inexpensive jars from a local dollar store, washed and dried them through.
Then I mixed all the ingredients and filled the jars with the pancake mix (recipe at the end of this post).



I also designed some cute labels to go with them, along with the cooking instructions. You can use the 2" circles to decorate the lid and attach the other labels with twine or ribbon around the jar.



How cute are these?
I've made this set of labels available as a freebie for you to download here.

Remember to check the Freebies page on our website for more freebies!

Home Made Instant Pancake Mix, by Nigella

Ingredients
for the pancake mix
- 600 grams plain flour
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 40 grams caster sugar (or vanilla sugar)

for the batter - to each 150g / 1 cup of pancake mix, add and whisk together:
- 1 large egg
- 250 ml semi skimmed milk (or full fat)
- 1 tablespoon melted butter

Method
For the Pancake mix: Mix all the ingredients together and store in a jar.

When ready to make the pancakes, proceed as follows:
1. Heat a flat griddle or pan with no oil.
2. Spoon drops of 1½-2 tablespoons of batter onto the hot griddle or into the pan
3. When bubbles appear on the surface of the little pancakes, flip them over to make them golden brown on both sides. A minute or so a side should do it.
Should make about 15 pancakes, each about 8cm in diameter.

Did you know you could use party circles in at least five different ways? No wonder party circles are so popular, they're so versatile that you can use them in a lot of different ways to embellish your party!


1. Use them as good old cupcake toppers. Simply cut out the circles and attach them to a lollipop stick or toothpick with a small piece of tape.

Ladybug themed circles here

Princess themed circles here

Princess themed circles here

Bee themed circles here

After finding a few tutorials on Pinterest, I had to try this. Rock candy is not only a great treat but also a cute decorative addition to any party table.
I followed this tutorial and it was really easy. Well, in my first attempt, some of the sticks got covered in crystals unusually quickly, as the sugar syrup hardened in just a few hours. That didn't seem right to me and the result was a bit sloppy, so I started again.
I think that happened because I put too much sugar in the mixture or maybe the sugar had not dissolved properly. So I went for 2 parts of sugar for 1 part of water, I kept stirring the sugar syrup for longer and it worked just fine.

This is my final product, 7 days later.