Got to paint a pine cone or two...

...or three or four...or bundles more!

Trust me once you start this project you will be hooked and you won't stop until all your pine cones are decorated! It's highly addictive and great fun to do on a cold winters eve.

You will need:

- an assortment of pine cones (dried)

- acrylic paint - I chose a selection of pearlised paint and glitter glue to coordinate

- glitter glue

- vase - for decoration

1. Paint the tips of the pine cones in the acrylic paint. The pine cones naturally have a visible outline on the top and bottom on each tip, which I used as a guide. 

2. Allow to dry and add glitter glue over the top of each tip for added sparkle. 

3. Repeat for all colours and allow to dry. 

4. Once complete you can chose how to display. For the time-being we chose a glass vase but the long term plan is to have them threaded on string. 

This was a great way to spend an evening, relaxing and catching up with my mum over Christmas and great fun too! 

Back to basics - salt-dough Christmas decorations - step 2

In my previous post I detail the basics for making salt-dough decorations with 3 simple ingredients which every one has at home - salt, flour and water. Now for the fun bit...decorating! 

Step 2 - decorate

- Paint or not to paint? That is the question!

For this batch I went for paint. As soon as I had painted a couple I was hooked. 

Using paint which I've had since I was a child I turned this basic bakes into cute, festive ornaments ready to be displayed pride of place on the tree this Christmas! 

- Don't paint both sides at once as you will only end up trying to peel them off whatever surface you have left them to dry. Instead do them in batches, allowing them to dry each side to dry. 

- For finishing touches add glitter, sequins - whatever you fancy. 

- Finally thread ribbon through the hole so your decorations can hang on the tree.

What will you do with your salt dough decorations? Give them as a gift this Christmas or have them as part of your wrapping decoration - the perfect homemade finishing touch. 

Festive family food - Rudolph pretzel cookies

Today is about the perfect partners for a festive family party this Christmas. Making their second appearance for 2013 are the melted snowman iced spiced biscuits and new for this year are our Rudolph pretzel cookies.

Here's our simple steps for making these yummy Rudolph cookies : 

1. Make the cookie dough - I followed a simple cookie recipe found here minus the choc chips.

In addition for each cookie you will need - 2 Smartie eyes, 1 Smartie nose and 2 pretzels for antlers! 

2. Roll the dough in to small squashed sausage shapes / pear shapes. 

3. Bake for approx 7mins at 190 until the cookies start to go golden and crack. TIP: Make sure they are well spaced out on the baking trays as they will rise and spread during the cooking process.

4. Whip the cookies out of the oven and add a Smartie red nose and blue Smartie eyes by gently pressing into the dough. Add the choc covered pretzels the same way and return to the oven for approx 20seconds allowing the choc to melt into the dough. 

5. Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack. 

TIP: If any of the Smarties fall off once cooled you can attach them back on using a small blob of icing sugar. 

Ta da...the cookies are ready to eat! Perfect I might say with a glass of milk or cup of tea! Enjoy and happy baking! 

Back to basics - salt-dough Christmas ornaments - Step 1

Take 3 simple ingredients - salt, flour and water and turn them into charming decorations for the Christmas tree and home. How to do it? Easy with these simple steps.

Ingredients

- 1 cup salt

- 2 cups flour

- 1 cup water 

Step 1 - bake and make 

- Mix together the ingredients forming a dough - as if you would bread.

- Roll out the dough until it is approximately 2mm thick or as desired. My recommendations are any thicker they will take longer to bake and any thinner they will be more brittle once complete. 

- Use an assortment of cutters, stamps, presses or anything else you can get your hands on to create the design. For example, cookie cutters, cake decorations, leaves from the garden etc. The more creative the better! 

- If you are planning on hanging your decorations make sure you add a hole, using a cocktail stick, straw or pen. Remember the hole will close over slightly during the cooking process, reducing in size.

- Place your decorations on to a grease proof paper covered baking tray. 

- Cook in the oven for 3-6 hours on a low temp. Approx 60 degrees c. I found that they cooked a lot longer than I was expecting but I wanted to ensure they were truly hard. Check on them regularly and don't allow them to burn. 

I had read a couple of blogs about microwaving for 3mins. This didn't work for me! Mine didn't even last 30seconds! Here's the results...

They bubbled and burnt - even if painted these wouldn't work as they are brittle. I'm glad I tried it though, as let's face it who doesn't want to speed up 6hours!  

- Once cooked leave out to cool on a cooling rack or switch the oven off and leave them in there to cool. 

The results: 

 

Step 2 - decoration

Coming soon...

Holidays are coming...

In the past I've made Christmas cards by hand - drawing designs for friends, family and love ones. Although lovely these are very time consuming and this year was about making on mass...well 30 and required a speedier option - cue the scissors!

To make:

- recycled Christmas cards

- glue

- scissors

- star sequins

- double sided tape

- plain cards (pack of 20 for £1 bargin!)

- pen

- double sided foam (optional)

1. Cut out varied tree shapes from the recycled cards - the more the merrier. I did this free hand as I think it adds to the charm but you could use a stencil if you prefer. 

2. Arrange 4 trees on the card and glue down. 

3. Add a sequin to one tree using the double sided tape. Glue would work also but tape is my preference for sequins. 

4. Write your message onto scrap bits of recycled card and attach to card using double sided foam. Creating a 3D effect. 

Voila! The cards are then ready for you to add your own personal message and send - to be received and displayed pride of place on all your friends mantels and window ledges! And all of this for the bargin price of £1! 

Enjoy! 

Also this week making their 2013 comback, we have melted snowman biscuits. Click here for how to make.

Eye for detail

Make you presents stand out under the tree this Christmas. 

I've got to admit I normally go all out with patterned paper, shiny bows and glittered tags, but this year and I can't believe I'm saying this but less is most certainly more. 

Decorate your gifts with elegant paper snowflakes, completing the look with hand made tags for a sophisticated finish. Here's the results...

Tis the season to...sparkle

Marks & Spencer I believe in 'magic and sparkle'. If anything I don't think there is enough of either! It's time to bring back the magic beginning with some sparkle...

It's that beautiful time of year again...Christmas! What better way to get in the festive mood on a chilly weekday eve than to make some Christmas cards of course. 

Inspired by a wall decoration found on Pinterest, these pretty, handmade cards were born. 

Simple, yet effective. Traditional, yet modern. And most importantly full of sparkle! 

These cards are easy to replicate but we're not going to lie they are time consuming to produce, taking up to 2 hours, but we think the results are worth it. 

To make you will need:

- card

- thread

- needle

- assortment of beads and sequins (with holes)

- tape

- pen

To make: 

1. Draw a tree outline onto the card.

2. Thread a needle with green thread and tie a knot in the bottom (so the beads don't fall off).

3. Thread the beads and sequins onto the thread and repeat.

4. One you have enough, start at the top with the knotted end of the thread and zig zag the thread down the tree like tinsel. 

5. Secure the thread with tape as you go.

6. Towards the end add more beads if needed. 

7. Tie thread in knot at end and tape, cutting off the remaining thread.

8. Finish by adding a star sequin at the top. 

Ta da! 

We hope you enjoy making them as much as we did! 

Baby Isla

Welcome to the world the gorgeous Baby Isla. 

Our gift to you...

Bespoke cards/prints available on request. Inbox via Facebook for more info. 

How to make crayon art.

It's a craze taking over the Internet and I have been guilty of sharing several pics on Pinterest. This weekend I gave it a go myself! Here's my step by step guide on making crayon art...

Materials - crayons, canvas, superglue/ glue gun, hairdryer 

1. I started by arranging my crayons in order, making sure they filled the top of the canvas. 

I bought 2 packs of 24 crayons, disregarding the dark colours brown, black etc. 

2. Once happy I superglued the crayons to the canvas. This was probably the hardest part. Apply the glue along on reverse of the crayon, there is a crease in the paper to follow which helps. 

3. Leave to dry. I left mine overnight but that was just to be super sure. A couple of hours would have sufficed. 

4. The fun part...melting!!

I covered my floor and wall with bin bags as I heard it could be messy and I'm glad I did. 

On a warm low heat I started melting the crayons, working from left to right, focusing on the middle to end of the crayon.

The crayons go glossy and then start to drip. You can continue and focus on the top or move the air over the drip allowing it to flow down the canvas. Move the hairdryer around in a small circle to get even drips. 

Repeat this step across all the crayons, creating the pattern desired. It took me about 20-30mins to create mine and I'm delighted with the results. I could have continued but there's a fine line of going too far. 

Voila... Crayon Art! 

The next step...to make more!! This is a cheep and cheerful piece of art to make and some pieces sell on Esty for £20+...I need to get creating!