diy // lotion bars >>>>

these are a given in my home there always have several hanging around. i use them for my hands, for my legs, the kiddos, and dry spots of skin. my husband swears by them to keep his hands from cracking when he's on the building site. they're simple to make, and fairly inexpensive.

you'll need:

one cup beeswax

one cup coconut oil

one cup sweet almond oil

melt all the indredients in a double boiler, stirring until they are combined. if you want to add some essential oils, now the time! then pour into your molds - i use silicone cake trays - this amount made 18 bars for me. leave for a couple hours to set, then pop them out.

essential oil suggestions - myrrh, sandalwood, lavender are good for dry, chapped skin

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diy clipboard + a printable >>>>>

apologies for the absence here the last few days.... there's some stuff going on at home that we're working through. normal service will resume shortly ;)

in an attempt to keep track of all i'm meant to do, as my tired mama brain can't manage it by itself, i make a new things to do prinable. then i decided that it would be even better if i had it clipped up somewhere i could see it, so it didn't get buried under a mountain of stuff on my desk!

so.... as i didn't have a clipboard lying around, and am too impatient/poor to buy one - i made one! i used a canvas board i had already, a sheet of scrapbooking paper and a bulldog clip

first things, i covered the canvas board with the paper, folded the edges over the back and taped 'em down.

then added a blob of hot glue and fixed the clip on {it doubles as a hanger too!}printed out my things to do list and hung it up!! {click on the image below to print out a copy of my things to do list}

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salted sunflower seeds recipe >>>>>

i am obsessed with these right now. seriously, this mama could eat this morning, noon and night ;) they are tasty and easy to make, i keep a jarful in all the time.

you'll need:

2 cups sunflower seeds

1/4 cup seasalt

water

place the seeds in a bowl/jug and cover with water. stir in the seasalt until it dissolves. leave these to soak overnight. drain and spread on a baking tray. place in a preheated over {170, 325F, gas mark 3} for one hour, turning over half way through. leave them to cool and store in an airtight container.

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lavender oil diy >>>>>

i love lavender. it's one of my favourite herbs, and we're lucky enough to have lots growing in our garden. one of my favourite things to use the lavender for is to make my own lavender oil. perfect as a bath oil or for massage, it's easy to make and smells divine.

you'll need:

2-4 cups lavender flowers {fresh is best, but dried works well too}

glass jar with tight fitting lid

carrier oil {i use sweet almond oil}

muslin/cheescloth for straining

dark blue or amber bottle for storing the finished oil

first, fill your jar with the lavender flowers. you want it to be full, but not packed tight. then pour over the carrier oil so all the flowers are covered. put the lid on securely, and give it a little shake. you need to leave it for around 6 weeks, shaking it once or twice a week.

after 6 weeks, strain the oil through the muslin, squishing the flowers to press out all of the oil. pour your finished oil into the storage bottles, add a pretty label and enjoy :) this makes a perfect pressie too!

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from the archives // boho dream catcher

it's whole year since i posted this diy, we've just been making some more to give as gifts! the kiddos loved making them, and they look so pretty that i thought i'd post it up again in case you didn't see it the first time around!



Supplies:

• stick
• crochet/lace doily
• yarn
• twine
• decorations (feathers, beads, gems)

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guestpost // noodle's chocolate crunch cupcake >>>

i have a delicious sounding recipe from fern and penny at penny bakes love for you today - can't wait to try it out!

ingredients-

115g good quality dark chocolate- we use Green & Blacks

85g unsalted organic butter at room temperature

250mls organic semi skimmed milk

180g golden caster or soft dark brown sugar

3 medium free range, organic eggs- separated into bowls.

195g plain sifted flour

Seeds- no quantity here, it's totally down to you to decide just how seedy you want them.

pinch of salt

good quality, organic granola.

pinch of baking soda

1tsp of good quality vanilla extract.

step one-

Start buy melting your chocolate, in a bowl over some simmering water- or in the microwave, but be warned! it's super easy to burn it this way so go careful and slow! 

step two

Cream your butter and sugar until 'Light and Fluffy' and set aside- Next take your egg yolks and beat for several minutes. Slowly add your yolks to your butter/sugar combo and mix well... next add your super scummy (and not burnt!) melted chocolate, try to resist licking the spoon! ;)

step three

In a separate bowl mix all your dry ingredients, except your seeds..we aren't ready for those yet! Pour your milk and extract into a jug. . Now! to mix your mixes! In your main bowl (your sugar and butter mix) add some of the dry ingredients, followed by part of the milk mixture. Beat as you go, slowly adding your mixes into one. Add in your chosen seed mix- I used pumpkin, sunflower & sesame seeds, but feel free to experiment with whatever takes your fancy! I probably used around 3 tbsp into my mixture. When fully combined and thoroughly mixed, it's time to use you're egg whites. Using an electric hand mixer beat the whites until they begin to peak. Using a metal spoon fold the whites into your batter- be sure not to beat your mixture, your aiming for lots of air so your cupcakes rise all super cute and fluffy.. we don't want flat chocolate pancakes (hey.. now there's an idea!)

step four

Fill your cases carefully.. your aiming for just less than half full. Take your granola- I used a combination of Sainsbury's 'SO' organic granola & Lizzi's treacle and pecan granola - and sprinkle over the top to add that fantastic CRUNCH! These will take between 15-20 minutes at 190*/Gas mark 5. Keep a close eye, but avoid opening the oven if possible. A metal skewer in the center of your cupcake will tell you when they are done.

These are a suitable treat for children over 1, due to the seed content.. but are super yummy for mama's & daddy's also. :-)

These cupcakes lend themselves to any topping- forgo the seeds & granola and top with your favourite icing.. add blueberries during the last stage of mixing for a fruity twist. This recipe is super versatile, so share your variations!

Enjoy!

Fern & Penny

xox

PennyBakesLove.Blogspot.com

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bake it // cherry & coconut muffins

ingredients {makes 12}
300g self raising flour
50g butter
150g glace cherries
100g desiccated coconut
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
225ml milk

* preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.
* rub the butter into the flour, then add in the cherries, coconut, sugar and salt.
* in a jug, mix together the eggs and milk.
* stir the wet into the dry until just mixed
* spoon into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 mins.

these were what we baked on sunday. weekends are the perfect time for baking - our weeks get so busy that we don't always have the time. lazy weekend days are great to bake cakes {and eat them!} these were delicious and not too sweet like some muffins can be :)

todays for catching up on my HUGE to-do list while the girls have friends round {5 girls in one house - how much work do you think i'll get done?!}

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guestpost // pink lemonade cupcakes

Hello Enchanted Pixie readers. My name is Keri-Anne and i blog over at i was the sea. I am married to a very handsome auburn haired boy and a mummy to two little fairy girls. I love baking, sewing, photography and hiding in forts in the woods with my darlings and creating the most wonderful memories for us to look back on. 

Today, i would love to share a recipe for you all to make Pink Lemonade cupcakes. Oh, they are so scrummy and my family and neighbours VERY much approve. 

Ingredients

115g(4oz) of self raising flour
1/4 tsp of baking powder
115g (4oz) butter or margarine
115g(4oz) caster sugar
2 large eggs
Pink food colouring
55g(2oz) granulated sugar
Juice of 1 small lemon

Buttercream:
115g (4oz) unsalted butter
juice and zest from half a lemon
4 tbsp double cream
225g (8oz) icing sugar
pink food colouring

1. Preheat the over to 180 degrees/Gas mark 4.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the butter, caster sugar and eggs. Beat until smooth and then add pink food colouring to make a pale pink batter.

3. Spoon the mixture into paper cases and bake for 15-20 mins.

4. While the cakes are in the oven, place the granulated sugar and lemon juice into a saucepan and heat, stirring gently, until the sugar has dissolved. Leave the mixture 15 mins to cool.


5. When the cakes are ready, prick them with a skewer all over and brush over the sugar and lemon syrup. Leave the cakes to cool. The syrup will drizzle into the cakes and leave them very moist and lemony.

6. To make the buttercream, place the butter, lemon juice and lemon zest into a bowl. Mix together until pale and creamy. Add in the cream and then sift in the icing sugar. Beat for 2-3 mins until light and fluffy and then add the pink food colouring.

5. Use a knife to swirl the buttercream on top of the cakes once cooled. Add sprinkles around the edge and decorate with a straw


If you end up making the cakes, come on over to the blog and let me know. i would love to hear from you!

**************************

thanks keri-anne! these sound delicious, i can't wait to try them out!

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banana//butterscotch flapjack

last week lola and i were making flapjack, spied some butterscotch chips in the cupboard and decided to throw them in, added a couple overripe bananas and out came the most delicious tasting flapjack! the first batch went down a treat at home and at my knitting group. this week when i was baking some cakes, more of this flapjack was demanded and several people asked for the recipe on twitter. so here it is!

note: these weights are approximate - i don't tend to weigh things out when making flapjack, i just go on how it looks.

you'll need:
250g rolled oats
150g butter
75g golden syrup
75g dark brown sugar
75g butterscotch chips
2 largeish ripe bananas, mashed

melt the butter, sugar and syrup together, then mash in the bananas. stir in the rolled oats, and lastly the butterscotch chips. put the mixture into a greased cake tin, and bake at 175 °C (Gas Mark 4) for 25/30 mins.

turn out, allow to cool and cut into squares. enjoy!!

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guestpost + giveaway // hidden beauty photography

Warning: This post contains an overload of photos

Hey all you Enchanted Pixies!!! I'm so so so happy to be here with y'all today!!! My name is Rachel and I blog over at Hidden Beauty Photography! You can also find me on Facebook (head on over and join my parties!!! It's where the cool people are. ;)

I'm a 17 year old photographer trying to navigate through the world without breaking down from drama and stress, trying to keep a smile on my face the whole way. About a year ago I discovered my passion for photography, and every since then you can always find me with something related to photography!

I create PhotoShop Actions for CS, you can find them here! And in honor of my guest post and giveaway here, I'm offering a discount! Enter the code ENCHANTED at checkout to get $50 off your entire purchase!! This code will only be good for a week, so go go go!

I'm a lover of hair, jewelry, nail polish, and all that good stuff!! I'm always playing with my own hair to try to find a cute new way to wear it! {I'm kind of overly obsessed with my hair because several years ago my sister cut it... chopped it to be more exact. It was boy-cut short. Devastating! So now that it's long I'm obsessed with it. Hehe!}

Today I'm going to share with you one of my quick hairstyles -- a lazy-ish way to get a boho-type messy braid! (please excuse the bad quality of photos!!!)

What I did today was I just let my hair air-dry, so it looked like this when I started....

Then I alternated (randomlly) between curling loose braids, and curling just chunks of hair. Don't worry about getting the curls nice (you don't even have to curl loose braids, I just did that to get a bit more of a wave)

I just did a few curls on each side, just on the top layer. You can of course skip the curls, I just did it to add a little more to the braid (the curls help add to the messyish part of it).

After I had those curls done, I spritzed a little hairspray over, waited a bit, then I ran my fingers through it to break up the braids and curls....

After that was done, I grabbed the headband I wanted to use (I decided to kind of clash with everything else because I wanted too, so my headband is a bit more....elegant, I guess you can say, than everything else)

Once I had the headband on, I took my bangs on either side of my face, and tucked them under the headband....

Now it's time to braid! I pulled my hair over to opposite side than the headband detail, so that it wouldn't be super heavy on one side.... When I braided, I didn't pull them tight, you just put them over each other, making sure to keep your hair relaxed and loose. Once I had it down all the way, I held onto one strand, and pushed the other two up to bunch it a bit at the top.

Once this was done, I pulled some of the fly-aways that weren't long enough and pinned them down, but I didn't bother getting them all, just the biggest one. After all, it's supposed to be messy!!!

Yes, I had to do one with a peace sign. I couldn't resist. Hehe!

And there you go, a super easy and fast boho-ish braid!!! Oh and please excuse me looking gross. See, I adore blog readers, because I'll post pics with me looking bad! Haha!!

So head on over to my blog and Facebook and say hi!!! I love my new friends, my old friends, and my future friends. So stop being my future friend and come be my new friend so that we can become old friends! YAY!

Psst.... I also have some pretty epic giveaways going on over on my blog. Come check it out! They end at the end of the month!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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