the green gal

Make your own elderflower cordial

I posted a recipe for elderflower cordial a couple of years ago but I thought I'd give you an updated version rather than send you to the depths of my blog!

So, it's really easy to make, all you need are about ten elderflower heads, 600ml water, 800g caster sugar, one lemon, grated and juiced, and 45g citric acid (buy it from a chemist). 

Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water and leave to cool for ten minutes. Add the lemon peel and juice, the citric acid and the elderflower heads (having checked they're free of bugs first!). Give it a good stir and then cover and leave overnight.

Pour the elderflower mixure through a sieve and then fill up your sterilised bottles (to sterilise I put them in the oven at 100 degrees C for ten minutes). This recipe makes about one litre of cordial and it's really quite strong so a little goes a long way. Keep the cordial in the fridge and you should be able to enjoy it for a month.

Flowery ice cube DIY

This is a super simple way to add a bit of colour, flavour and interest to your drinks and the humble ice cube! As you know one little patch of my garden is devoted to wild flowers and herbs. One of the plants most popular with bees is borage and the petals are safe for humans to eat too.

So, while filling up the ice cube tray I thought I'd pop a little mint leaf and borage flower into the water to make ice cubes with a bit of zip!

As they melt in your drink (Pimm's was our choice of tipple on this occasion) the mint will add a touch of flavour and the flower a bit of novel colour. Super simple!

Past post: DIY flower vases

I stumbled across a DIY post I wrote nearly two years ago and decided it was high time I shared it with you again. 

It's a v simple tutorial showing you how to turn fabric scraps, like shirt cuffs, and jam jars into gorgeous new vases ready to fill with fresh Spring flowers. You can find the original DIY post here. I really enjoyed making this little collection and if you didn't catch it first time, I hope you find it useful now. 

Top photography tips from A Beautiful Mess

One of my favourite blogs to read is A Beautiful Mess by Elsie Larson. I started reading Elsie's blog a few years ago and it's definitely my go-to site when I need a lift, a blast of energy or inspiration, or just want to look at pretty pictures! Recently Elsie has posted several features on photography which I've found super useful and so thought I'd share them with you so you can benefit from her expertise too:

5 tips for lifestyle photography

5 tips for great indoor photos

5 tips for great outdoor photos

Photographing with backlight and sun flare

5 tips for better self-portraits

Photography: 10 things not to do

iPhone app mixology

Elsie's camera list

The last link is to a post all about Elsie's camera collection, she uses a lot of different fun and serious cameras to take a variety of different snaps and until I read the post I didn't know some of the cameras existed!

If you haven't come across A Beautiful Mess before do check it out, it's a brilliant blog packed with DIYs, tips, vintage fashion ideas, recipes and loads more with a real insight into Elsie's creative life and the store she runs with her sister, Red Velvet.

PS If you haven't yet take a look at this giveaway I'm running and be sure to enter!

Tutorial: How to make a bookmark

It's been a little while since I shared a tutorial and this one is a speedy little number! In just a few steps you can make a lovely stitched paper bookmark so you'll never lose your place in your chosen read again.

1. All you need is a piece of A5 paper (I used handmade paper made from recycled cotton rag so it has a lovely texture and an uneven edge), a piece of leftover ribbon, and either a needle and thread or a sewing machine.

2. Fold your piece of A5 paper in half lengthways and sew all the way around the edge in a contrasting coloured thread, to sew the two sides together. I did this on a sewing machine as it's super speedy but you can just as easily sew it by hand. Punch a hole at one end of your bookmark.

3. Thread a piece of ribbon through the hole and knot it. Voila! You have a pretty little bookmark! You could further embellish the bookmark by embroidering or stamping or whatever you like to make it your own.

I hope you found this tutorial useful!

PS In case you missed it, check out the desktop wallpaper designs to download from Thursday's palette pingpong post :)

The gift of palette pingpong

So, if you're wondering what's happened to the regular palette pingpong posts I can tell you that they're having a little holiday! But they will be back. In the meantime I thought I'd give you a round up of all the free gifts Kirsty and I have given you in our palette pingpong posts. Within 41 PPP posts lie 21 different freebies – printables, tutorials, desktop wallpapers – so there's a good chance you may have missed the odd one!

Here is a list of all the PPP posts that hold little gems of pretty palette-inspired downloads, in order, so you can be sure you've made the most of our offerings. Some of them are tied into seasonal events but you can always download the file to use at the appropriate time. As with all our free downloads, please remember they are only for personal use and if you'd like to share them be sure to link back to the original post.

Right, on with the list!

oh, hello card

cheery desktop wallpapers

handmade is heartmade print

bunting postcards

congratulations card

Hallowe'en ghost garland

you're a star card

Christmas tags

master plan sheets

twitter desktop

love you card

you are lovely card

life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful desktop wallpaper

you are the bestest cards

be kind prints

I heart you card

thank you cards

pears desktop wallpapers

mini flag garland tutorial

teardrops & rainbows print

patterned paper & Christmas tags

Lovely Monday

source

There are so many things I love about this photo. I love how the flowers look like they've just been picked from a garden, it makes me feel like Spring and pretty fleurs aren't too far away. I love that the vases are actually tin cans covered in pretty paper – so simple and so effective! And I love that there's a long line of vases running down the table, not just one or two spaced far apart, flowers look even prettier in abundance!

If you want any more ideas for how to make your own flower vases you might want to check out this DIY I wrote a while ago… 

PS Thank you so, so much for your lovely comments on here, twitter and facebook about my home featuring in Style at Home. I'm super smiley that you all like my home and really touched that you took the time to tell me. You're a lovely bunch, you are! xx

Gift wrap is not just for wrapping

As you probably already know I sell eco-friendly wrapping paper, tags and decorative tapes featuring my star and heart bunting designs. Their main purpose in life is to wrap up your presents and make them look gorgeous. But, that's not all gift wrap is good for, here are a few ideas of what else you can do with a humble sheet of wrapping paper…

Paper chains – this a great way to use up leftover scraps of paper, you can make the links as thin or fat as you like and the chains as long as your home can take!

Envelopes – this can make a great alternative to the plain envelopes you get with gift cards and they're super easy to make.

Gift bags – a fab solution to wrapping an awkward shaped gift, or lots of little presents, is to put it in a gift bag. Making your own is a doddle and it means your bags and boxes can co-ordinate for perfect presentation!

And if you want to keep your gift wrapping super simple this year try covering presents in tissue paper or brown paper and finish off with decorative tape and baker's twine or ribbon. Happy wrapping!

Daisy Green magazine

I've written a few times about fab website daisygreenmagazine.co.uk but this time I can tell you they've produced the magazine in print!

The website has been growing from strength to strength for three years so the team decided to take things a step further and produce a 32 page, A5 size magazine to showcase all the website has to offer. And, yep, little ol me has a feature in there too. 

The magazine is being given out at lots of events but you can get your hands on a free copy if you ask the lovely Daisy ladies nicely, find out how here. 

There's a Spring edition already in the making…!

Tutorials from around the www

Here are a few DIYs, how tos and tutorials that I've happened across on my web wandering and thought you might find them interesting too…

:: Make tissue flowers

:: How to wallpaper with fabric

:: Make glue-free book page bunting

:: How to update suitcases with fabric

:: Make a wallet

:: How to print on wooden coasters