Ooh it's getting cold outside...time for some home-made ginger cordial

As the weather starts to cool, the skies seem more grey than blue, we all know that our first winter cold is about to make itself known. My home-made ginger cordial isn't a cure all but will warm you from your core and only takes about 30 minutes to make.

Try it and let me know what you think.

Ingredients :~ Makes 350ml approx but this recipes doubles easier

• Rind of 1 unwaxed lemon
  
• 150g golden caster sugar
  
• 240ml water
  
• 3 inch (generous chunk) piece of ginger peeled and chopped finely (or cheat and throw in the blender with the water)
  
• 2tsp cream of tartar
  
• 50ml fresh lemon juice
  
  Step 1. Peel the rind off the unwaxed lemon making sure you remove any of the white pith and put in a heavy based saucepan.
  
  Step 2. Add the water, ginger, cream of tartar and the sugar last.
  
  Step 3. Turn up the heat to bring to the boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
  
  Step 4. Take off the heat and add the lemon juice.
  
  Step 5. Bring back to the boil then strain the mixture through a fine sieve or muslin into a bowl and set aside to cool.
  
  Step 6. When cool, pour into a sterilised bottle jar (I used a bottle that originally contained olive oil).
  
  Keep refrigerated and use within 2 weeks .
  
  I got this recipe from how to cook good food.
  
  Enjoy,
  
  TTFN
  
  MagpieSpirit

Food Glorious Food

I would really like to  take full credit for this beautiful spread but I wasn't the cook but one of those invited to taste test . With that said I did remember to get the recipes...once I actually asked for them.

Herby Tomatoe Salad

6 tomatoes 

1 medium red onion

Dressing

Big hand full or parsley and coriander minced.

2 cloves of garlic minced, 

Good glug Balsamic viniger

Good glug of Olive oil

Squash Salad
1 butternut squash , peeled and cut into long pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
250g pearl barley
300g Tenderstem broccoli , cut into medium-size pieces
100g SunBlush tomatoes, sliced
1 small red onion, diced
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp small capers, rinsed
15 black olives, pitted
20g pack basil, chopped

Dressing 

5 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove , finely chopped

Pepper Parcels
½ red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
4 baby courgettes, halved and sliced
16 small cherry tomatoes
16 small black olives
200g feta cheese
2 tbsp shredded basil
olive oil
4 red peppers , halved, seeds removed

Grilled Portobello
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 large portobello mushrooms
2 thick slices beefsteak tomato
2 ciabatta rolls, toasted
2 slices red onion
2 handfuls rocket

Cougette Salad
2 large courgettes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 tbsp clear honey
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 small garlic clove , crushed
salt and pepper , to taste

In my own opinion, I have left the best to last
Schug
1 pound of peppers (you can mix it up, but go red or go green for bright, consistent color)
1 head fresh garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
Black pepper and sea salt to taste
Olive oil to cover

Hope you like them. Let me know what you think.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

New Lampshade from Cath Kidston

Apologies for that late post but Cath Kidston is to blame or rather the fabulous Cath Kidston lampshade workshop that they held this evening.

The whole event was well worth the 20 minute wait on hold the day of the ticket release back at the start of this month and the cost of the ticket.

I went to the Marylebone store with my crafter-in-crime partner, you've seen her hands and kitchen in the soap making post.


Our tutor this evening was the amazing Georgie of Sew Over It.

I would type out all the instructions but a quick internet search looking for lampshade making kits found kits that come with paper instructions inside. If you need additional help search youtube for "Lampshade Making".

p.s. if this is truely your first time making your own lampshade, I would suggest inviting a friend around for abit of a craft evening and you both making lampshades. You will be so greatful for the extra hands!!

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Dry Wipe Board

This is so easy to do that you can be done in less than ten minutes.

You will need:

-A picture frame (any shape or size you wish)
- A remnant of fabric, wallpaper or wrapping paper.
-Dry wipe marker with sponge lid


Put desired paper inside the frame, close frame and you are done. Now you can write and wipe the surface of your dry wipe board to your hearts content.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Plum Chilli Jam

Here's a great recipe that is good on scones, cheese, meat and toast, an all-round jam.

Ingredients :

• 1kg red plums
• 500g Preserving Sugar
• Juice of 2 Lemons
• 2 Red chillies - mild kind
• 25g butter

Step 1. Half and stone the plums.

Step 2. Finely slice the chillies. I recommend de-seeding them at this point. Use a teaspoon to scrape the seeds out. Instead of slicing, I used my kitchen scissors.

Step 3. Cook gently until the plum skins are soft.

Step 4. Mix in the sugar, stirring the pan until it has dissolved.

Step 5. Add the chillies and then bring to the boil and boil until the mixture has reached setting point.

Step 6. Add the butter and stir into the pan.

Step 7. Pot into sterilised jars, seal.

At this point you can label or boil jam in jars which creates a firmer jam, then label.

Can be eaten immediately but I recommend leaving for 2 weeks before consuming. You can leave the jars in the fridge for up to 6 months if left unopened.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Rosemary Gardener's Soap

Rosemary Gardener's Soap is meant to cleanse and revitalize skin and makes upto 16 bars of soap.

Ingredients:
300ml (1/2 pint) Cheap olive oil
175ml (6 1/2 fl oz) coconut oil
120ml (4 fl oz) cooled, boiled or distilled water
60g (2 oz) caustic soda (lye crystals)
1 tbsp green clay
3 tsp spirulina powder or 4 crushed spirulina tablets
1 tbsp bran, oatmeal or rolled oats
30 drops rosemary essential oil

You will also need some equipment, it's not necessary to purchase a separate set of equipment for soap making, but if you're using cooking equipment, make sure you clean everything extremely well.

-Digital kitchen scale
-Stainless steel / Enamel pot
-2 x plastic spatulas
-Thermometer that register between 38-93 degrees C (100-200 degrees F)
-Spoons / bowls for weighing / measuring
-A good-sized container for mixing the NaOH solution (this should be reserved for you soap-making only).
-Hand blender (optional)
-Plastic or wooden mould
-A little oil and greaseproof paper for lining the mould
-Blanket or large towel
-Rubber gloves
-Apron (safer still to wear old / house clothes under the apron)
-Goggles
-Cloth for cleaning up spills
-Bottle of vinegar

Step 1. Mix the olive and coconut oils in a saucepan with a whisk over a low heat until the temperature reaches 60 oC (140 oF).

To make the lye mix, pour the water into a stainless steel or glass bowl placed in a sink in case the contents froth over when you add the caustic soda. wearing protective goggles, gloves, and an apron, add the soda to the water and mix with a wooden spoon until the crystals have dissolved. Leave to cool.

Step 2. Add the the cooled lye mix to the hot oils in the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed. then beat with a metal whisk until the mixture reaches the consistency of thick custard so that a line is visible if drawn across the surface.

Stir in the green clay, spirulina, bran/oatmeal/rolled oats, ans essential oil.

Step 3. Pour or spoon the mix into your moulds. Cover with a cloth and leave for 24 hours. While still soft remove the soap from your mould wearing plastic gloves, and cut into bars using a knife. Arrange on trays and leave to dry out fully and harden this process is called curing and will take atleast 4 weeks. An alternative to plastic or wooden moulds, try using juice or milk cartons, pour or spoon the mixture into the cartons. Wrap the cartons in a large towel and set somewhere warm for 24 hours like the airing cupboard. The cartons will feel warm and will get hot as the mixture neutralizes and turns into soap.  To unmold your soap, peel off the cartons and cut soap into sections for hand soap. Place each bar on a wire rack in a cool, dark place to cure for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, soap can be buffed with a cotton cloth and wrapped for gifts.

I'm always looking out for new soap recipes, so if you have any suggestions for lye solution based soaps please send them to me to try.

Mug gets a Sharpie Makeover

Today I decided to decorate a latte cup with a Sharpie marker, I have seen it on pinterest and thought that it was a cool, cheap way of jazzy up a bland white cup.


I found several different sources but the info was basically the same - use a Sharpie on a glass/porcelain/ceramic mug with the design of your choice and set it by baking it in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 180oC.

You will need:
A Sharpie marker
A cup or plate
Some design or artistic inspiration - I had to decided to use a stencil
so also needed some tape.

Going freehand and writing a quote would be cool as well.  But as I used a stencil that I had in my craft space, a cut out section from an old lampshade. Guess that not all hoarding is bad.

After picking a design and applying to your mug, follow these steps:

    Preheat your oven to 180oC degrees.
    Stand your mug up on a baking sheet, or something similar.
    Bake your mug for 30 minutes.
    Use an oven mitt to remove and let cool.

The mug looked no different, but I guess this helps the Sharpie stay on. Now it should be safe for the oven and microwave. On methods of washing, opinions are divided as to whether or not your design will make it through a dishwasher cycle, so I have written hand wash only on the bottom.

This could be a great gift idea, craft event idea or favour for a party/wedding/shower. Just buy cheap mugs (would also work on plates) from a pound shop and decorate the way you like.

Simple NoteBoard

This simple noteboard is called a Noteboard as I use no cork in the construction so you can't actually pin anything unless you have thumbs of steal.

For this projesct you will need:

Piece of board (any size you want)
Fabric
Wadding
Scissors
Staple gun and extra staples (I'm always running out of Staples)
Ribbon
Ruler or tape measure
Maker Pens

Step One:
Using your ruler or tape measure, measure your board and work out where you are going to place your ribbon. it may seem strange to workout the ribbon placement first but I find it easier to make to board. Make your marks by lining up your ruler to the board and mark on the inside edge (also makes a nice guide line when stapling your fabric and wadding).

Step Two:
Turn your board over and lay your wadding across the top (you want to make sure that you have atleast an inch overlap to staple to the back). Pull wadding round the back and staple making sure that you staple about 1cm from the edge of the board and trim excess wadding with care.

Step Three:

Repeat Step Two with your fabric. Pull wadding round the back and staple making sure that you staple about 1.5 - 2cm from the edge of the board and trim excess fabric with care. Fold the corners in and staple securly.

Step Four:
Staple Ribbon to first mark on the back of the board pull the ribbon forward across the front of the Board, diagonally and round to the back staple to next mark.

Step Five:
Repeat stapling Ribbon across the entire board until you have a series of diagonal stripes.

Step Six:
Staple Ribbon crossways now and if you are using striped ribbon (like I have) try weaving it. It adds to the look.

Step Seven:
Once the entire board is covered with the Criscrossed Ribbon, staple at each and every intersection. You can at this point use a glue gun to attach buttons or the like, I personally don't bother as the board will be covered within weeks and more irritatingly the buttons have a habit of falling off.

I hope this has inspired you, have fun!

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Chair - Re Upholstered

Now you may not believe me but this chair cost less than £5 to do.How? You may be asking, well I found the chair by the bin (someone had actually thrown it out, no fabric ripped, no broken legs), I already owned the staple gun, the staples, the fabric and the wadding.The only thing that I needed to buy were the foam pads for the seat and back.

Despite the length of time this project took to complete it was very worthwhile and I will enjoy all the sitting and crafting I will be doing in this chair.

If you want to copy me and replicate this project you will need:

Chair or stool
Craft Knife
Bread Knife
Staple gun Staple remover (A flat head screwdriver will work but it takes longer)
Staple Gun
Staples (make sure you have plenty)
Scissors
Foam Pads for Seat (and Back if your chair has one)
Wadding
Eye Mask or Goggles
Flat Noses Pliers
Heavy duty gloves- Optional

Step One: Organise Yourself

Put on your Goggles and make sure that you have everything thing you need for the first few steps to hand.

Step two: Remove the old Fabric

Use the craft knife to cut the fabric, do this carefully as you may find that the wadding and pad underneath are reusable, although they still need to be removed. (I didn't take that time as I needed to strip back to the frame as it had been raining and I didn't want the frame to rot, at this point I left my chair skeleton to dry, hopefully you won't have to do this). While you are stripping the chair frame take time to notice how the chair was originally upholstered, take photos if necessary. I will explain why later.


Step three: Get rid of the old staples

Remove all the old staples using the staple remover and the pliers, you should probably be wearing gloves but I found it fiddly enough without wearing gloves. (My main excuse is that I'm a lady with lady sized hands and the Heavy duty gloves I have fall off if I drop my hands to my sides).  If you can't get the staple out and it's close to the surface of the wood use your staple gun and bash it down. You don't want to do this to much as it will make it difficult to staple when your re-upholstering later.
Step Four: Checking the seat

Place the seat pad on the chair and sit on it, the chair will either fill saggy or not. Mine had a little slag so removed the staples from one side of latticed straps and pulled them tighter and re stapled. When I re-checked the seat it felt great.

Step Five: Sizing and securing the seat pad

You can use a paper template made by placing it on the chair skeleton and making out the outline where the seat pad will go. As it is unlikely that the chair will be square like the pads are generally sold, use the bread knife to cut the pad, trying to cut in the downward direction only. (I have never perfected that skill so my edges were a little ragged). Use your staple gun to secure in place with a couple of staples placed just above the base of the pad no more than 1cm.

Step six: Wa Wa Wadding

Cover seat pad with the wadding making sure that the wadding covers over sides of the chair. Staple from the middle of each side, started on the right side, pulled the wadding alittle on the left, stapled, front then back. The repeating again so that all the wadding is secured across the sides evenly. Make hospital corners on the corners by folding in the fabric and ensure that you don't leave unsightly bulges. I cut all the excess wadding away once I was happy.

Step Seven: Repeat this if your chair has a back that you want to cover.

Step Eight:  It's time for the fabric

The idea is the cover the chair so it looks as professional as you can, so this is when those photos you took or the mental notes you made come in handy. Cover with your chosen fabric like with the wadding in Step Six the only difference is that you will stapling your fabric to the underside of your chair frame. Start with a few staples on each side, once you have all four sized secured in the middle, Make your hospital corners. Use your scissors, cutting  against the chair legs so vertically, then cut horizontally  about 1cm below the seat of the chair frame. The aim is the fold up these corners that sit over the legs so that they are the same height as the fabric that is stapled under the chair frame creating a beautiful continuous line. You repeat this to cover the back of the chair.

TTNF
MagpieSpirit

Is it ever to early the plan for Christmas?

Not if it's going to be a Homemade Christmas and with less than 25 weekends to the best day of the year.

The plan for this year so far are to make soaps, flavoured oils, flavoured vodka, sloe gin, sweet and savory jams as they all require time to mature, to give as gifts. Look out for recipes, links and tutorials as I gear up for the festivities.

TTFN,

MagpieSpirit