Mother's Day Pamper Zone

One of the things that my mother had been wanting to do was have a  bit of a pamper in the form of a facial, so that was what she got today. By candlelight and jazz music softely playing in the background.

Step 1 - Remove makeup. (Standard cleansing wipes)
Step 2 - Steam face to open the pores. (Home Facial Steamer - I got mine from Agros) Massage hands and arms with almond oil and creams.
Step 3 - Apply the Sauna Mask. (Standard Mask bought from a high street pharmacy)
Step 4 - Remove the Mask and moisturise skin.

The whole pampering did involve a bit of step up and clean up, but  overall was a storming success in the mother pleasing scales.

Try it next year or if you aren't based in the UK, try it out when it comes up. Dad's might even like it for Father's Day.

DIY Teacup Candle Making

These candles make unique gifts for a Mother's Day, Birthdays or Weddings and can even be used to add that special touch to special ocassions. To make candles in containers you'll need to use special container wax that won't pull away from the sides as it cools. Soy wax is kinder to the environment and it's much easier to clean up, but reusing partially burned candles is also an enviromental option. Any utensils you use can be washed simply with hot soapy water or put in the dishwasher, when you use Soy wax.

What you'll need

* Teacup, pot or jar

* Flaked soy wax (£3.85 for 500g at The Make Lounge) or partially burned candles (if you want to go down the reuse, recycle route)

* Eco wicks (£2.00 for 5 at The Make Lounge)

* Double boiler or two saucepans that fit on top of each other

* Cooking thermometer

* Two pencils/ wooden skewers (to support wicks per Teacup, pot or Jar)

* Fragrance oils (from £1 a bottle) if you want to scent your candle

*Tongs (to pick out the old wicks)

How it's done

1 Pour your flaked wax/partially burned candles into a double boiler or a pan placed on top of another pan of water. You can work out how much wax you'll need by filling the teacup with water and weighing it, but I like trying the game of guessing. Melt the wax, heating to 165°C to 185°C. Add scented oils if using. The ratio of fragrance to wax is eight per cent, but do weigh it as some oils are heavier than others. Mix in the oil using a metal whisk.

2 Place the wick in the centre of the cup. It will come fixed to a metal disc enabling it to stand up. Wicks come in various sizes and the one you need will depend on the width of your container. Most suppliers will have a size guide.

3 Once you've melted the wax, slowly pour it into the teacup, filling it to the top. You should have some wax left over - you'll need this for the second pour. Hold the wick in the centre by placing it between two pencils balanced across the cup.

4 Once the candle is completely cool to the touch (about one hour), do your second pour. Wax shrinks as it cools so a crevice will develop in the centre. Heat the leftover wax to 10°C hotter than the first time and stir again for a couple of minutes. The wax needs to be hotter when you top up the container as this will give you a nice smooth surface once it's cooled.

5 Leave the candle to cool and harden thoroughly and then trim the wick to 1cm before lighting.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Jem Made This - Covered Button Broach

I recently joined my local WI  group (Shoreditch Sisters) upon signing up I was given a white sticky label to write my first name on and stick on myself. Easy, so far. While waiting for the proceedings to start a member shouted out asking for safety pin, to our shame, (he he) within a group of  approx. 40 ladies that had gathered so far, not one safety pin available. The member jokingly quipped "Ladies we are the WI", to some laughter. But that got me thinking if we are the WI, my white sticky label needs to be upgraded. You can see the result.

If you want to reproduce this covered button broach, you will need:

An embroidery hoop
some coloured embroidery thread
8" square piece of fabric of your choice
38cm or larger self-covered button blank (ideally the type with a safety pin on the back, otherwise you will need a safety pin)
An embroidery needle (or one that has an eye big enough for the thread to go through)
And little imagination and depending on your design and sewing skills, anything from 20 minutes to 3 hours to sew.

I felt I wanted to add alittle bling, so I also used my glue gun.

Happy sewing.

I would love to see any attempts at this project please email any pictures to jamila@magpiespirit.com.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

My Guilty Pleasures... aren't so Guilty

I was recently watching a programme on the box, it was on of those film review bits, where a celebrity is asked about their favourite film choices and then reveals their film guilty pleasure. It got me wondering about  mine.

Lets start with my film pleasures; Dune "And how can this be? For he is the Kwisatz Haderach" and musicals Sister Act, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Burlesque etc.

Strawberry flavoured Angel Delight is high on the general pleasures list.

Craft/Design Mags may be more of a growing addiction, especially as they can not be thrown away. Or is that just hoarding?

Sugar Sifters - growing collection?? Or more hoarding?

As I write this, I realise that my guilty pleasures aren't so guilty... so with that said I will continue my list of pleasures.

Jam making, preserving and pickling is all part of my attempt at becoming some sort of domestic goddess. There is aslo the added realisation that no matter how good shop bought products are homemade always, always tastes better.

Notebooks are scattered around my studio space, most have had some kind of use, few have ever been finished.

Macaroni Cheese, hmm, hot fresh with stringy cheese sauce - homemade ofcourse. The thought makes my eyes roll back in my head and I think I'm mentally purring.

Tea - the proper stuff, I freely admit to being a bit of a tea snob. As a result, I try and avoid prepacked teabags unless I made them. Loose leaf is the way. Today I bought some fabulous Gunpowder and Mint at The Tea House in Convent Garden.

TTNF

MagpieSpirit