DIY - Ice Pops

Seeing as the weather has been lovely this bank holiday weekend, I've decided to write a post about ice pops (freeze pops?). This is really easy and (sshhhh) can be healthy too.....


Smoothie and Lemonade Ice Pops


You will need:

• Zipzicle ice pop molds (one pack has 18 bags)
• A selection of fruit, yogurt, juice, coconut water, lemonade/ginger beer/Prosecco/anything!
• Funnel
• Jug
• Blender

I made two versions:


I blitzed some strawberries, raspberries, natural low fat yogurt in one batch and then strawberries and lemonade in another.
Pour the smoothies/juice into a jug and, using a funnel, pour up to the fill line on the zip lock bag. The benefit of these Zipzicle bags is that you don't have to wash them afterwards - yay!
Freeze overnight and enjoy in the sun :)

Good presentation skills.....

10 minute DIY

Here is a quick and simple DIY that you can do in 10 minutes!

Tattoo Decorated Glass


You will need:

• An old jar/glass candle holder (mine is an old Nutella jar - of course!)
• Temporary tattoos - mine are from MeriMeri 
• A cloth/kitchen paper
• Clear varnish/ModPodge

First of all, ensure your container is clean and dry - rubbing alcohol wipes are great for this.


Follow the tattoo instructions and apply them to your glass as you would to your skin - this normally involves peeling off the backing, applying the tattoo to the surface and dabbing it with a wet cloth. This will take about 30 seconds.


Slowly remove the backing paper and dab off any water gently with kitchen paper.


To protect the design, apply some matte varnish, ModPodge or similar with a small paint brush.

I wouldn't recommend popping it into the dishwasher but may be okay if gently hand washed. These are ideal as small vases and tealight holders :)


Have a great weekend :)

Customising with Heat n Bond

Another great little product I’ve tried out is the ‘Heat n Bond’ iron-on ultra hold adhesive.

'No sew’ tutorials suggest using an adhesive of some kind – I’m not keen on using hot glue as it’s messy and, erm, hot, but this non-sticky paper adhesive is great especially if you’re not confident at sewing. 

If you go ahead and buy Heat n Bond, be careful when you open the packaging – don’t just rip it open like I did as the instructions on how to use it are on there! Just snip the top off :)

Here is just one idea for its use:

Customised Canvas Bag

For this diy, you will need...

• A canvas bag
• Heat n Bond
• Scissors
• Fabric
• Pencil
• Iron

1. Pre-wash all materials without fabric softener (if using clothing) - with a canvas bag, I wouldn't bother (I found it made the bag crumple and go deformed)
2. Pre-heat your iron to about a medium setting (no steam) - place the adhesive side of the Heat n Bond onto the back of your fabric (paper liner should be facing up as you'll need to draw on this side)

3. Place and hold your iron on the paper for a few seconds - repeat all over your fabric until bonded. Allow to cool (this won't take long)

4. Draw the shape desired with a pencil and cut

5. Decide where you want to place your shapes and peel off the paper backing - press and hold the iron for about 8 seconds on each section until bonded to the bag (this may take longer with a thicker fabric)

And there you have it - a customised canvas bag. If you want to use Heat n Bond on clothing, buy Heat n Bond Lite and use a sewing machine's "zigzag" setting to sew around the edge.

Happy Sunday guys :)

Let's talk about....meringues

I have to admit, I'm not a meringue expert. I've only made meringues to be used in a pavlova maybe a few times but when I have made the meringue mixture, I've never really experienced any problems. This why I think it is a fantastic and impressive dessert. Here are a few positives:

• They look great
• They are easy to shape/manipulate into nests/pavlova layers
• Easy to colour:



Lucy's mini rainbow meringues

• Easy to decorate
• Minimal effort - it may be a long bake, but the most difficult bit is separating some eggs
• If they are slightly undercooked, they're still yummy and you can hide it with loads of double cream
• The back up plan - if it all goes wrong, you can buy meringue nests

...and that's all before you eat them!


So some tips:

• Whisking - I've always used a mixer and I've never done it by hand. You can control your mix and keep going if you aren't achieving those stiff peaks!
• Some swear by warming up the caster sugar in the over first, making a more glossy meringue
• Don't be scared to be spectacular (ha!) - pop some of the mix in a piping bag and do something fancy - the mix is easy to control and looks good
• Don't rush - concentrate on getting those egg whites and if you need some egg separating practice, load up Cooking Mama into your Nintendo DS ;)
• Remove any egg shells - this is easily done with wet fingers
• Make sure your mixing bowl is clean and dry
• Start mixing slowly until bubbles start to form then pop it onto full blast
• Mix until the egg whites 'stick' to your whisk
• Feel the mixture between your fingers - you don't want it to be grainy - if it is, keep mixing

As for the egg yolks, you could always make mayonnaise or glaze a pie (guess which one I did) ;)


Here's a recipe I followed recently, where I changed the filling slightly - original recipe is available here


Crown Layered Pavlova

• 6 free-range egg whites
• pinch salt
• 350g/12oz caster sugar
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

For the filling

• 600ml double cream whipped into soft peaks
• 3 passion fruits
• Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Draw two 20cm/8in circles and a 15cm/6in circle on greaseproof paper and place onto three separate baking trays.

Whisk the egg whites and salt in a large clean dry bowl until they form soft peaks when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the sugar and continue to whisk until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour and vinegar.

Spoon one-third of the mixture onto one of the 20cm/8in circles. Spoon another third onto the other 20cm/8in circle.

Spoon half of the remaining mixture onto the 15cm/6in circle. Pipe the remaining meringue around the edge of the 15cm/6in circle in a crown shape.

Reduce the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and bake the meringues for 1-1¼ hours, or until the meringue is crisp outside, but feels soft yet set inside. (If you notice that the different meringues are not cooking evenly, swap the shelves.) Switch off the oven and leave the meringue to cool down in the oven.

To assemble the pavlova, carefully peel the greaseproof paper off the bottom of the meringues. Place a 20cm/8in meringue onto a large, flat serving plate. Once you have whipped your cream, mix in the passion fruit into it. Spread the double cream onto each layer, topping with the soft fruits (saving your best looking ones for the top). Finish by placing one meringue on top of each other.


Taaa daaaa!

For further tips and inspiration, have a look on YouTube or search for the Meringue Girls on Instagram.


Lowri, and guest meringue expert, Lucy xx

 

Water Slide Decal Paper Candle - DIY

This is a great little DIY before Mother's Day but it can be used for so many gifts, wedding favours etc.

Water slide decal paper is brilliant - slightly fiddly but when you get it right, it looks great.

I bought a pack of 20 sheets from Amazon - WARNING - make sure you buy the correct type for your printer (i.e. laser or ink jet) and I recommend getting the 'clear' paper as you don't have to worry about a white background/border around your pictures.

Decorating a Candle

You will need....

• A candle (!) - any plain pillar candle, any size you like
• A printer
• Scissors
• A bowl of water
• Kitchen roll/dry cloth

First of all, decide on what design you want to put on your candle - there are millions of free artwork sites/free downloadables out there. If you want to be super clever, scan a photo or a drawing done by a little 'un and resize it to fit your candle. One image I used was a free printable from here. 

I'd advise printing on regular paper first before inserting the decal paper into the printer.

Once you are happy with the image and its size, print onto the shiny side of the decal paper.

Cut around your design and submerge into water for about 30 seconds for the backing paper to start to slip away from your decal. 

With the backing still on, start to slip away the design onto your surface. Be careful as it is delicate and rips easily. Position the decal then gently smooth out any water left under it and gently dab it dry with a cloth.

Leave it overnight before handling. 

According to my instructions, if you use the decal paper on ceramics, you can pop them in the oven to harden (although this doesn't make it dishwasher safe).

And there you go! A personalised candle. As I mentioned earlier, the paper is very versatile and works really well on glass and ceramics.

And finally, big up to Anne who used it on The Great Interior Design Challenge this week! If you haven't watched this yet, get onto iPlayer now!

Lowri xx

Hearts are not just for Valentine's Day

This is a great little DIY and it is not just for Valentine's Day - but seeing as it's heart shaped, I thought now would be a good time to post it.

Danish Heart Ornament

I first made one of these last year - they're simple to make and the weaving is the only fiddly bit. You can make these from thin cardboard or any robust fabric but I think contrasting felt works really well. They make very cute Christmas tree decorations too. Yes I've mentioned Christmas IN February.

Anyway, let's get on with it...you will need:

• Felt, two contrasting colours
• Scissors
• Pins
• Printed template (there are plenty online, just search for 'Danish Heart')

First of all you need to print this template and cut out one of the long ovals.

Pin the template to one piece of felt and cut around the edge - take your time to cut it well as this will be half of the heart.
Repeat with the other colour of felt.

Fold the felt pieces and carefully cut the slits - they need to be as even as possible - I was pleased with the purple felt more so than the cream, as the sides are too wide, but anyway....

You then need to weave the two pieces into a heart - here is a great diagram and works not matter how many slits are cut into the felt. Just ensure that the colours alternate.

Et voila!

Here's one a made exactly a year ago - this was a second attempt and I sewed around the edges to keep the pieces in place. Also, I stuck on a little message (permanent ink stamped onto calico).

Have a good weekend xx <3

Weekend Drinks

Here are two drinks recipes - perhaps one more suitable for Friday/Saturday night and maybe the other one for Sunday night....? :)

Bloody Mary

This is a great cocktail to make at home as you need some store cupboard ingredients - chances are when you have it anywhere else, it won't be that great and will literally just consist of vodka and tomato juice. But there's so much more to it than that....

• Ice
• 75ml Vodka
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (bottled is fine if you haven't got lemons)
• 1 tsp Worcester sauce
• Dash of Tabasco or to taste
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 150ml tomato juice
• Dash of red wine

Put the ice, vodka, lemon juice, Worcester sauce, Tabasco and celery salt in a tall glass and stir a little. 

Add the tomato juice and give it another stir. Add the red wine. Drink!

Flamingo optional

You can chop and change different elements of this recipe - A Beautiful Mess have some great ideas such as using Jalapeños. 

Vanilla Chai

Here is a great recipe I picked up from one of my favourite YouTube-rs Estee Lalonde.
The recipe can be found on the old version of her website - click here. Here is the recipe as she describes on her video.

• 2 cups of water
• 2 peppercorns
• 2 cardamon pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tea bags - you can use decaf if you prefer
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Milk

Combine the first six ingredients and simmer for a few minutes. 

Take off the heat and add the brown sugar (sweetener works fine too), vanilla and tea bags to stew (length of time depends on how strong you like your tea - but about 2 minutes).

Strain into your mug and add the milk.

Again, you could make this into a latte, by heating up the milk beforehand and then using a milk frother before adding the tea.

If you'd like more drink-related posts let me know in the comments!
L xx