Natural beauty products.

My goal to be 'naturally beautiful' will be forever be an unreachably high one, but I have ditched a LOT of nasty chemical cocktails from my bedroom and bathroom of late and replaced them with completely natural alternatives. 

My favourite product is as simple as could be (a bit like me). 

ORANGE AND COCONUT BALM

It is just pure coconut oil and orange essential oil. (Orange oil has anti skin cancer benefits so its my personal choice)

That's it. 

All you do is mix thoroughly until the product becomes 'fluffy'

Then pot up. 

It is wonderful as a natural sunscreen, conditioner, cleanser, moisturiser, nail cream, etc etc etc. 

It really is my ultimate product that I use constantly every day. 

I adore it. 

The blending prevents it from going solid. 

Be generous with the oils. You can use others if you wish such as clove oil for a winter scent or lemon thyme, rosemary etc etc. 

Have a go yourself. 

NATURALLY TINTED BALM

This is my other daily product that I use. 

Merely coconut oil, beeswax, and beetroot powder.

Just gently melt over a low heat. 

And jar up!

How easy is that?

You can add essential oil if you wish for fragrance. Mint works well. 

I use it as a lip gloss and cheek stain. :)

My latest experimentation was with SHAMPOO!!

Sooo easy. 

It is just potato starch (farina), vinegar and water!

It doesn't look promising at first:

But then it starts to thicken and become translucent. 

Bottle up when done. 

I added lots of lavender oil to mine but you could add any you desired such as tea tree for a lice repellent version etc. 

Rye flour shampoo is another one ingredient version if you want to google for ratios. 

My next venture has to be an eye definer. 

I've bought activated charcoal to try but haven't yet got round to it :)

Have fun, peeps x

Ferments galore

A lot of summer has been devoted to a blossoming love affair with ferments. 

I made the usual whopping batch of elderflower wine made with wild yeasts:

I've experimented on fermented soft drinks with a home made ginger bug starter:

This is the ginger bug starter...

 Basically it's just grated ginger which you add to daily with more ginger and sugar which allows airborne friendly bacteria to inoculate it. 

It makes the best probiotic and naturally carbonated drinks for kids (and grown ups!). Think REAL ginger ale, REAL lemonade but all with the benefits of super strength probiotics!!

I've also fell I love with true sauerkraut. The best bit is having the heart of the cabbage all to myself when preparing the veg. 

(Such warm memories of mum giving it to me as a treat on a Saturday night when she used to prepare the veg for the next day's roast dinner!)

Here it is in its glory along with a probiotic pickle of red onion. :)

My favourite ferment of all is KOMBUCHA!!!

I drink it by the pint frequently. It's my daily beverage. 

I cannot make enough of the stuff so I've had to invest in further drinks dispensers since this pic :)

Last but by no means least is my sourdough bread. 

I don't have bread often but when I do it is home made with organic wholemeal spelt and wild yeast only. 

It looks so pretty too :)

I hope you look into naturally fermented foods. 

It is MASSIVELY beneficial for the immune system. 

One of the very best things you can do for your body. 

Toodles for now (or should that be, 'live long & prosper'?)

X

Fun n foraging frolics

As promised, first of possibly many backdated blogs as I browse through my photos. :)

A recent walk resulted in a beautiful little crop of rose hips and blackberries. :)

Not to overlook this wild free food, I decided to preserve it in liquid form. 

The blackberries were added to a kilo of unrefined sugar and a litre of water with some lemons and left to steep. 

When they had given up their berry goodness, I sieved through a cheese bag and bottled up. 

Kids are loving it as a cordial :)

The rose hips got the Second World War treatment...

I followed the official recipe issued during war time:

A bit of an ordeal to wash, top n tail the hips...

And to mince em...

And to boil em...

And to sieve em...

And to bottle em...

But it was worth it in the end...

Now what are you waiting for?!!

There's a larder out there, free for the picking!

X

Prettifying the pantry

Well, hello there! :D

Sorry about my sabbatical. 

I've still been upcycling and general shenanigans inbetween some health issues but simply haven't got round to blogging about my adventures. 

There may be a few backdated blogs when I plough through pics to remind myself of em. 

Anyhow, to business...

This afternoon I spent a good hour in true Blue Peter fashion with sticky back plastic, leftover oilcloth, a wall sign, a crochet hook and a toilet roll. 

Ok, ok. 

I lied about the toilet roll. 

As I recently cleared out my pantry, I wanted to pamper it a little. 

I decided it needed a sign. 

I looked for one at the car boot but only found a tacky Friends sign for 30p so thought I could improvise. 

A quick google search brought up a perfect pantry font so I resized it and printed it off on some sticky back vintage patterned paper (a previous boot find at 25p a roll!!). 

As the ink refused to dry, on went sticky backed clear plastic over the top!!!!

Then it was simply a case of attaching to the sign. 

Voila!

Just the job!!!

YET MORE BUNTING

Next I wanted to use up a little bit of my oilcloth offcuts for bunting across my little pantry window. 

I simply used pinking scissors to make the triangles, a hole punch for the holes and a few chain stitches to hold em in place. 

Easy!  Must have only taken under 20 mins from start to finish!!

I'm delighted with it. 

Then again, it takes surprisingly very little to make me happy. 

You may have noticed the closed sign, it does read 'open' on the side facing the window though (which is all that matters!)

Hope this blog finds you all ridiculously fine and dandy. 

Toodles x x

More garden shenanigans involving the chicken coop and LOTS of strawberries!

Hi,

Hope you are all well. 

:D

I've not done any major upcycling lately but have been 'pottering' and keeping busy. 

Lots of jobs in the garden recently but firstly I will share a little crochet project or 2...

Firstly, heart bunting is SO incredibly easy!  

It is also very pretty and practical. 

I have draped mine over my bedroom mirror for jewellery hanging and you can see that I have now put my little Peter Pan sequinned collar necklace (that I bought a week last Sunday as seen on a previous blog) on with my other trinkets: 

My summerhouse bunting was very very tatty too so I linked up some crocheted granny triangles that I had made a while ago and turned them into a length of woolly bunting!!!

Tada:

MAJOR REJIG OF THE CHICKEN ENCLOSURE....

Remember how the chooks destroyed my lawn....?

Well, enough is enough. 

The lawn has grown back after I put them in the woodchipped area so it was time to put them back in the enclosure as my produce plants were getting destroyed every time I planted them up. 

I decided to move the actual enclosure into the woodchipped area. 

It was a sight for sure eyes. 

I singlehandedly moved each of the HUMUNGOUS (and very heavy) panels through the tiny gap in the fence with the hens making a bid for freedom. 

What a palava!

When I was trying to dig the holes for the posts, the girls were trying to help too. 

It was a bit tricky to avoid injuring them but I am happy to report that they all came out of the ordeal fully intact and full of earthworms. 

I am utterly delighted to have the patio area back to ourselves and can now plant away to my heart's content in the knowledge that they will not be decimated by the hens (the slugs are another issue entirely!)

Ah, bliss!!!

There is a little area that is kind of not in use next to the newly situated chicken enclosure so I have put my extra table and chairs out. :)

As the table looked a bit bare, I re'pot'ted some lobelia so it will look nice in a few weeks when they flower and cascade over the teapots :)

Today, I filled my window planters (£4.99 each from Home Bargains) with soil and planted more strawberries (99p for 4 plants also from Home Bargains!)

CAR BOOTY FROM YESTERDAY:

A little haul from the boot sale but it was still satisfying. 

The planter was £3 and the other 3 items were 50p. 

The planter needed upcycling so it has now been chalk painted and stencilled (I didn't hang about, eh?!) and potted up with yet MORE strawberry plants!!

(Thanks, Home Bargains!)

The other little planter that used to live under that window has now been put by the front door instead. 

Here it is in all its chippy glory (I'm thinking I might not repaint it this year as I kind of like it that way!)

I hope I haven't bored you too much!  

It was as brief an update as I could make it under the circumstances ;-)

Well I'm off now. 

I have a chalkboard to make....

Catch you later x x x

Bank holiday bargains

Well this weekend is a boot sale bonanza!!!

Here are a few of my finds:

This beautiful set was £4 so it is now permanently on the summerhouse table instead of my Portmeirion tray. :)

This looks infinitely better as for one thing, it is circular!

I got these 5 teeny tiny spoons for 50p. 

Hopefully these will be transformed into into vintage hooks soon :)

I bought the 2 end egg coddlers so now I have a full complement of them :)

Yayyyyy!

(Sadly, my Wedgwood clock no longer has a home though since it used to live in the centre of this top shelf!)

I bought this cute little black dress for £2. 

As you can see, I am intending to use a doily or 2 to customise it with a collar at the very least :)

I also bought these vintage Irish linen tea towels for 25p each. 

They still had the extremely dangerous original tags in the corner that nearly did me a mischief!!!!

This little haul is made up of a tiered cake stand for £1.50, a jug and bowl for £1, a vintage tea tin for 50p, several metres of wide lace 30p and a vintage plaque for 50p. 

The tea tin is now with some friends on my wall unit:

The tiered cake stand is now repurposed as my new fruit bowl:

So the above are Saturday's and Sunday's finds. 

Are you ready for Bank Holiday Mondays finds?

Are you sure?

Do you wanna stick the kettle on first?

Well here goes....

Phew. 

That was a lot, huh!

It took me hours to sort through it all when I got home. 

The catalogue of stuff is basically as follows:

3 royal Albert teacups and vintage tea tin was 50p for all 4 items. 

I bought another huge bundle for £4 which included......

Vintage handles and door knobs

Vintage serving spoon and fork set. 

Vintage spoons including sugar sifters (update on these below)

2 matching chintzy hanging mirrors with candle holders (bought with the intention of using in my summerhouse but they sadly don't look right in there)

2 doilies

Vintage tobacco tin full of old needles

A vintage letter rack

Vintage tea infusers (one still in original box. Update on the unboxed one to follow below...)

2 old iron brackets in a floral design. Gorgeous ❤️

And a HUGE bag of randomness which upon opening had an old glam Peter Pan sequinned collar necklace and an old ladies Gucci watch as well as odd earrings and chains etc that I can use for upcycling!

I also bought a trendy hat for 20p. (Very mod style)

A pair of Levi's pumps for a quid, a pair of skinny jeans for a quid and a red elasticated belt for 50p

And last of all a large vintage serving plate for 50p

Bargaintastic!!!

UPDATES

As I was trying to process my haul upon arriving home, inspiration struck twice. 

Firstly, remember the 2 vintage sugar sifters that I had bought?

Well it occurred to me that these tiny perforations would serve to affix to my new hallway table as key holders. 

I care little whether these are silver or not as I have a use for them. :)

I bent them into shape and put them on immediately. 

Yes, I know they aren't an exact match but I PREFER it that way, OK?! ;)

The second lightbulb moment was when deciding what to do with the tea infuser that was unboxed. 

Ding!

Here is the perfect home for it:

Don't you just love it?!

Perfection. Sheer perfection!

It was made to adorn that little key!

Anyhow, time for me to go or else my forefinger will develop repetitive strain injury from typing on this touch screen.

Toodles x x x