My process of card making for my Etsy shop to produce unique cards from original engraving prints. Over the last couple of months I’ve been putting my time into creating original products for my Etsy shop which will be up and running soon. I’ve had a lot of fun creating eco-printed silk scarves and hand-made…
Preserving our harvest – DIY sun-dried tomatoes
How we have been sun-drying our cherry tomato harvest. To preserve our tomato harvest I’ve been sun-drying some of our cherry tomatoes. It’s been a very hot summer over here, so we have been hiding from the sun between noon and 4pm. Our garden has also been suffering in the heat, but our tomatoes have…
Eco-printing silk with flowers and leaves
Making wonderful unique eco-print silk scarves from flowers and leaves. This summer in our area of Portugal the flowers have been stunning, but sadly they don’t stay for long. Wandering through our garden and fields where lots of wild flowers grow always makes me eager to do more eco-printing, and my favourite is to eco-print silk…
DIY seed pots
It’s that time of year to start planting seeds for the coming season, so I have been busy making these simple DIY seed pots. We are always trying to re-use or recycle as much as we can, so when it came to finding seed pots I decided to make my own DIY seed pots. These…
February Portuguese Garden Diary
Things are beginning to happen in our Portuguese garden! We have had a very mild and dry winter, with very little rain. This is going to be a real problem later in the year as the fontes (wells) and reservoirs are getting low. On the plus side it does mean that the garden is springing…
Vegetarian ‘Heidi’ Pie
This is our favourite vegetarian pie, based on the Heidi Pie by Pieminster. It’s filled with roasted sweet potatoes, onions, spinach and creamy feta. I love a good hearty pie, especially in winter. As my husband doesn’t eat much meat I’ve been experimenting with vegetarian pies. When I lived in Bristol I remember loving Pieminsters…
DIY winter rosemary wreath
It’s been cold and rainy in Alentejo today so I decided to cheer up the house by making a simple DIY winter rosemary wreath. I love using rosemary for all sorts of things. The rosemary I planted a couple of years ago is doing really well so I decided to make a DIY winter rosemary wreath…
Creating an outdoor shade for the terrace.
We created a simple but effective outdoor shade for our terrace, with a bit of imagination and work! It’s been a seriously hot summer so far here, with temperatures getting up to 45°C. One of the big drawbacks of our house is it sits on an exposed hillside and we get full sun from dawn to…
Growing rocket from seed
My first attempt growing rocket from seed has been a huge success! We finally have home-grown salad and the more I cut, the more it grows. It’s been a very hot and dry summer in our little patch of Portugal so the garden has really suffered. The land around us looks like a desert and the soil…
DIY facial recipes
There’s nothing quite like taking the time to pamper yourself. These homemade facial recipes are so quick and easy to prepare, there’ll always be time to relax! In the summer my skin can really suffer from the high temperatures and dry atmosphere, so it’s important to give it a treat every now and then. Out…