Wrappings of goodness.

If you want an ethical alternative to wrapping paper or just haven’t had the time/ money to pick some up, then why not try wrapping the goods up in good ol’ fashioned newspaper and jazzing it up with some coloured tape?

My photography skills may not be award-winning, but I think it creates rather cute, quirky presents (and is a little kinder to the environment, of course!). I only hope that my sister agreed – Happy Birthday sis!

You could use anything really – ribbons, coloured glue, painted pasta… – and finding newspaper pages with stories and images the birthday girl or guy would like is a nice touch too.

(NB. Check all newspaper clippings for horrific, un-birthday-ish stories and images; that would not create the fun festive feeling you’re going for!)

What a corker!

I can’t tell you exactly when it all started, but at some point in my life I began to collect corks… as you do.

During the many hours spent mulling over beautiful, crafty blogs, I have come across a great number of great cork projects.

So, obviously, I started collecting them – just picking them up whenever I saw fit, telling myself that they were only going to be thrown away anyway and I was going to make a masterpiece out of them. A masterpiece!!

Well, needless to say, the masterpiece still hasn’t quite happened and, instead, I have a draw full of clandestine corks.

So I thought I’d scour the web to find some of my favourite cork-orientated craft ideas.  Several hours after starting the search, I can say, or rather type, with confidence that today’s young cork entrepreneur really is bloody spoilt for choice!

(L to R): 1) Cork ornaments/ pendants 2) Place card holders 3) Classic cork board 4) Pretty little stamps 5) Trivet and coasters 6) Hand decorated key rings

Raspberry and cream cupcakes

Another rainy day activity for today.  These little beauties are easy to make, nice to look at, pretty darn tasty (if I do say so myself), and being home-made means you avoid the silly shop prices and the excess plastic packaging, so these are both economical and ethical!

On a wet, London-y Saturday afternoon I found this great recipe online and immediately, with wooden spoon and an upbeat attitude in hand, I set about it!

It might not actually be sunny outside, but by jove, we can still eat summer fruits and pretend it is!