15-minute make: garlic, rosemary and chilli almonds

With the bank holiday weekend approaching and drinks with friends (or if we’re lucky, a picnic) on the horizon, these spicy nibbles are perfect for today’s quick recipe. And yes, clock-watching readers – you’ll be well shy of 15 minutes on this one. Let’s just say I’ve given you five minutes to collect the rosemary from the garden!

{adapted from The Passionate Cook}

Garlic, rosemary and chilli almonds

1 teaspoon olive oil

200g almonds

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 large sprigs of rosemary, leaves only

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or adjust to taste)

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

 

1) Gently heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan then add the almonds. Sizzle gently for 3-4 minutes until heated through and beginning to brown a little.

2) Add all the other ingredients, apart from the sea salt. Stir well to coat the almonds and heat for 1 minute more (take care not to burn the garlic, which can become bitter).

3) Line a bowl with kitchen paper and tip in the nuts. Shake around a little to soak up any excess oil then sprinkle with sea salt.

4) Pop into a serving dish and enjoy with a glass of bank holiday Pimms!

I hope you have something lovely planned for the next few days. I have a couple of little excursions on the cards so will be back on Tuesday to catch up!

15-minute make: magnetic storage tins

I’ve posted before about my tendency to buy foods just because I like the packaging. My kitchen cupboards are full of decanted jam, biscuits and spices – some labelled, others not. Sometimes fun / disastrous at mealtimes!

This (slightly belated) 15-minute make will require you to shop around for pretty tins and find another home for the contents… that’s the hardest part over and done with. The rest of this DIY couldn’t be easier! My local Turkish supermarket is a goldmine of nice packaging, or scout car boot sales for vintage alternatives.

Magnetic Storage Tins

Selection of square or rectangular tins

Magnets

Super glue / glue gun

1) Empty, rinse and dry the tins.

2) Glue a magnet onto the back of each tin. Use two magnets if you plan to store something heavy. Leave to dry.

3) That’s it!

{A Pretty Cool Life}

These tins are really handy on the fridge or invest a mere £11 in a magnetic knife strip from IKEA and you can stick them anywhere. I like the idea of a whole row above my desk for pens and paperclips or inside the door of my DIY cupboard for nails and screws.

15-minute make: nail polish marbled Easter eggs

How fun do these look?! There are loads of Easter egg decorating ideas about but I picked this one from Camille Styles to share because it doesn’t involve anything you won’t already have around the house. Can’t wait to try it this weekend!

Marbled Easter Eggs

Blown eggs (instructions here)

Nail polish (2-3 in a pleasing colour combo)

Plastic tub half-filled with water

Stirring stick

Kitchen towel

Simple drying stand made from card or foam board with drawing pins stuck through

1) Pour a few drops of nail polish into the water.

2) Swirl around with your stirring stick to combine the colours a little – take care not to over-mix.

2) Working carefully but quickly, dip the eggs into the water, twirling them around until they’re covered all over with colour. Set aside on your drying rack.

3) If the nail polish left in the water has become too blended, scoop it off the surface with a plastic spoon and repeat step 1. Carry on until all your eggs are looking pretty.

{all Camille Styles}

Have a fabulous Easter weekend and thank you soooo much to those of you who came to visit Joe and I at Somerset House last weekend to preview our new venture. I was really touched and we loved meeting you all in person!

15-minute make: homemade honeycomb

When I was doing my A-levels I had a Saturday job as a waitress in a local hotel. On my way back and forth to the pot wash I’d stop by the pastry kitchen to watch and scrounge. It was there I discovered the alchemy that is homemade honeycomb (cinder toffee).

I think it’s one of the easiest yet most impressive sweet treats you can possibly make, so it’s perfect when you need a little present to take to a dinner party… or pop it into a pretty box or jar and surprise your Mum for Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Homemade Honeycomb

100g caster sugar

4 tablespoons golden syrup

1.5 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Silicone mat or baking parchment

Optional extras: nuts, seeds, coconut shavings, melted dark chocolate

1) Put the sugar and syrup into a large non-stick saucepan, mix together then put on a medium heat. Resist the temptation to stir the mixture once it’s on the heat. Just watch it carefully as it melts, then turns into a golden brown goo. This will take about three minutes

2) Take the pan off the heat then whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and watch the magic happen! The mixture will transform into a foaming golden cloud – tip it immediately onto the silicone sheet / baking parchment. Sprinkle over the nuts, seeds and coconut if using.

3) Leave the honeycomb to set and cool then break into shards. Dip or drizzle with melted dark chocolate if you like, although I think it’s absolutely scrummy just as it is.

{Photographs At Down Under / Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson}

I urge you to try this – it’s so easy and so much fun to make. And it tastes like funfairs!

15-minute make: heart shaped paperclips

Whether you’re planning to send a love letter to a secret admirer, give a little bag of homemade chocolates to your best friend or pop a bookmark in a page of the Kama Sutra, these adorable heart-shaped paperclips will make your message that little bit more loving.

{How About Orange}

This must be one of the quickest DIYs ever, so I reckon you could easily heart-ify a whole pack of 25 pink paperclips inside 15 minutes.

Happy crafting my sweethearts… click for more quick craft ideas.

15-minute make: twiggy plant markers

Here’s a lemon squeezy little craft project for you to try out over the weekend. Spring is just around the corner so I’ll be adding a few green-fingered ideas over the coming months in celebration (anticipation).

Twig Plant Markers

Twigs about 20cm long and a little thicker than a pencil

Sharp craft knife and cutting mat

Alphabet stamps

Coloured ink pads or acrylic paint

1) Whittle one end of each stick into a point. At the other end, slice away the bark on one side of each twig, exposing about 6cm of the wood beneath.

2) Dab your alphabet stamps into the ink or paint being careful not to load the stamp too heavily. Stamp your chosen plant names onto the bare wood.

3) Leave to dry the pop into the pots. Standard craft ink isn’t waterproof so remove the markers before watering!

{both via Etsy}

15-minute make: pebble photo holder

{Danny Seo / Miki Duisterhof via Country Living}

When I was a child I was a bit of a magpie and my coat pockets were permanently filled with treasures I’d picked up and squirreled away… a grey feather, a scrap of ribbon, a patterned pebble or a shard of sea-smoothed glass. This simple craft idea takes moments and is one way to get part of your collection out on display.

Pebble Photo Holder

Nice smooth pebbles

Paper covered floristry wire

Pliers

1) Take a 20cm length of wire and wrap one end around the pebble. Twist to secure it tightly at the base.

2) Stand the remaining wire upright then twist the other end into a flattened spiral – the easiest way to do this is grip the end of the wire with pliers then wrap the next 3-4cm of wire tightly around them. Press with your fingers to flatten.

3) Pop a postcard, photo or polaroid into the top and voila! Experiment with different sized pebbles and lengths of wire to make a pleasing group.

Have a lovely weekend – wrap up warm!

15-minute make: mulled wine syrup

Here’s an odd quirk of mine – I really dislike wine (red, white, rose, sparkling – everything) but I love mulled wine. I’m not sure what that says about my taste buds, but it makes perfect sense to me! So, today’s 15-minute make is a gently-spiced mulled wine recipe that just tastes like Christmas… and makes your house smell like it too. There’s a little more to it than the regular teabag-in-a-pan method, but you end up with a lovely syrup base that can be bottled and used on another occasion. A bottle of this mulled wine syrup would make a nice last-minute homemade Christmas present too.

Mulled Wine Syrup 

Makes 12 servings

1 orange
1 lemon, peel only
150g golden caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
5 cardamom pods, gently bashed

5 cloves
Pinch grated nutmeg

Splash of red wine

 

Add to…
2 bottles of fruity red wine
150ml ginger wine

Orange slices to garnish

 

1) Squeeze the juice from the orange and place in a large pan together with the orange shells, lemon peel, sugar and spices. Add a small glug of wine (just enough to cover the sugar) and heat gently  until the sugar has dissolved, stirring every now and again. Bring to the boil and bubble for 5-8 minutes until you have a thick syrup. At this stage you can leave the syrup to cool slightly then pour into a sterilised bottle. If you’re thirsty now, carry on…

2) Turn the heat down and add the red wine and ginger wine to the saucepan. Warm through gently, giving it a stir occasionally Have a taste and add a touch of sugar or lemon juice if you need it. Serve in heatproof glasses garnished with orange slices.

{Photographs Hannah Queen / Recipe adapted from Felicity Cloake}

15-minute make: ribbon star tree decoration

So, here begins a new little mini series I’ll be visiting on Decorator’s Notebook from time to time. I love settling down to a day of solid crafting with only a box of materials, cake and tea for company as much as the next girl. But in reality, we all know that finding the time to be creative is hard. So in this post I’ll be collecting together stylish craft ideas that you can reasonably start and finish in the time it takes to drink a mug of earl grey.

{Crafts & Creativity}

To make this ribbon wrapped star Christmas decoration, simply bend a strip of wire into a basic star shape with a hook at the top, wrap with a length of ribbon and tie the loose ends in a bow. Visit Craft & Creativity blog for step-by-step instructions. Try Jane Means for a beautiful selection of seasonal ribbons or try it with jute string or striped baker’s twine for a more relaxed look. Your local hardware shop is the place to buy thick wire (pick up a pair of pliers at the same time to make it easier to bend into shape).

Let me know if you have a go at this and share a photo via Twitter @DecoratorsNotes or my brand new Facebook page.

Have a lovely weekend!