Monthly Archives: February 2016

Add some fun with garden signage!

Are you a gardening enthusiast? Do you love DIY? Well here is a fun, simple and eco-friendly tutorial on how to make a quirky garden sign for your garden: “The Bottoms-up sow-easy sign” courtesy of Mark Robson (Granny Mouse Gardener):

What you will need:

  • Small bottle of acrylic paint (many hardware/ hobby stores sell this)
  • Paintbrush/sponge (depending on what effect you want to achieve)
  • Beer bottle
  • Permanent marker/stickers

Here’s how:

Step 1:

Recycle an old glass bottle by soaking it in warm water and then washing off the labels with a mild detergent.

Step-1

Step 2:

Thoroughly dry the bottle and then place on newspaper on a dry surface

 

Step-2

Step 3:

Take your paint (using any colour you prefer) and apply a thick coat to the bottle using your paintbrush/sponge and leave to dry. Apply a second coat, once it has dried fully. Tip: The best way to dry your bottles, is to turn them upside down and rest them on the top as this part of the bottle will be buried when placed in the garden.

 

step-3

Step 4:

Place any desired stickers or write on your bottle using permanent markers and you will have a DIY upcycled garden sign that adds a personal touch to your garden.

step-4

Sugar & Spice & all things nice this Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day is celebrated on Sunday May 8th this year, so it is time to start planning a special Mother’s day delight to show her how much you care.

Apart from flowers, chocolates and gifts, Mum always loves a personal present, like breakfast in bed or a break from doing the dishes.

Now is the chance for the kids to get into the kitchen (under adult supervision of course) and get baking.

The easiest and quickest way to produce a delicious treat for Mom, is to make Flap Jacks!

Choose fun ingredients to include in the recipe or even to top off your Flap Jacks.

You can choose both savoury and sweet, depending on how Mum likes it, but Flap Jacks are often served with syrup, fresh cream, chocolate chips, caramel, cherries, bananas, blueberries and strawberries.

Ingredients:

2 cups cake flour

2 eggs, separated

1 ½ cups of milk

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking powder

2x tablespoons of honey, a handful of chocolate chips or a mashed banana to add sweetness

Method:

  1. Mix together the milk, flour salt, baking powder and egg yolks with a whisk until there are no lumps.
  1. Then separately whisk the egg whites till it is light and fluffy and you can turn the bowl upside down without it falling out.
  1. Then slowly mix the whites into the batter till it is well mixed through. You can add in your honey, mashed banana or chocolate chips at this point and fold in.
  1. Place a pan on the stove and turn the stove to the second highest stove setting (usually number 5). Spray the pan with non-stick spray and spoon tablespoons of the batter into round heaps. When you see bubbles on the top, turn them over and continue to cook until they turn light brown.

Serve these with syrup, cinnamon sugar or anything delicious to make breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day, one to remember!