katy – Page 80 – Apartment Apothecary

katy 13th December 2014

Weekend Inspiration

I first spotted the Dutch home of Editor of 101 woonideeen, Kim van Rossenberg, on one of my favourite blogs, My Scandinavian Home. It caught my eye because I’m always quite fascinated by the monochrome look and how it must feel to live with the look. But also, I really like the touches around the home, that don’t scream ‘Christmas’ but subtly create a festive feel.

Anyhoo, let me know what you think – could you live with this colour scheme? And are you all the about the big tree, tinsel and red, green and gold or does this understated decorating appeal? Either way, I hope you can find some inspiration for your own home…

All photographs by Ernie Enkelar

Happy weekend all!

Katy x

katy 12th December 2014

Liberty print baubles

Any sort of post that involves a big old pile of Liberty print, is my favourite kind of post. I actually did this project last year and it featured elsewhere so I wanted to share it here today.

If you are the kind of person who likes a handmade feel to your Christmas tree, then these baubles are perfect for you and they are quick and easy to do, without too many complicated materials. I made this set for my sister, Juliette, as we have a tradition to give each other a new bauble each year.

You will need:

Wooden cutouts

Wrapping paper, wall paper or fabric

Pencil and scissors

PVA glue, water and paint brush

Varnish

Ribbon

Liberty print baubles | Decoupage wooden cut outs to make tree baubles | Apartment Apothecary

Using fabric is probably the easiest option as it doesn’t wrinkle as much as paper.

I used some of my Liberty print wrapping paper, which I can never bring myself to wrap presents in.

Tutorial:

1. Draw round your wooden cutout – the back and front – onto the wrapping paper. Cut out the shapes, slightly within the lines so the paper doesn’t over-hang the wood cut-out.

2. Mix one part of PVA glue with one part water. Paint this onto one side of the wooden cutout and stick the paper/fabric onto it. Allow to dry and then repeat the process on the other side of the shape.

3. Use the glue and water mixture to paint over the paper/fabric. Whilst it’s wet poke out the hole of the wood cut-out with a pencil (if you are using fabric you will need to cut this out). Allow to dry and then repeat the process on the other side of the shape.

4. Paint on at least three thin layers of varnish on both sides of the wooden cutout allowing to dry in between coats.

All that’s left is to hang them on your tree!

What are you making this Christmas? If you want any more inspiration with how to use Liberty print fabric, then pop over to the Crafting the Seasons Pinterest board to check out the projects that were made during our craft party there last month – more will be added throughout the month.

Katy x

katy 11th December 2014

Mulled pear and ginger rum

I was supposed to post this yesterday but I was overtaken by a horrible sickness bug – and no, it wasn’t because I drank too much of this yummy recipe whilst I was ‘testing’ it!

I was recently sent some lovely new designs by Hinchcliffe and Barber to review and I thought what better way to try out new mugs than by making a festive drink, which can be enjoyed by all at the endless parties at this time of year (and unlike mulled wine, you can easily omit the alcohol and sugar, which means it really can be enjoyed by all).

Hinchcliffe and Barber is a design partnership formed in 1980 by artists John Hinchcliffe and Wendy Barber. Working from their studio in rural Dorset, their home-ware collection is inspired by the wildlife and the countryside. I was sent mugs and a tea towel from the Songbird collection (I can just imagine that bird hopping around in their garden now!) and I love the beautiful, simple colour and bold design; their unfussy designs are rooted in craft skills such as potato prints, cut outs and block prints. I love to hear the story behind pieces as it always seems to make them that much more special. If you are still looking for Christmas pressies, do check out their home ware and gift collections as it’s so wonderful to be able to support British artists and independent businesses.

And so to the recipe that I made to try out my new mugs and tea towel. It is originally a Jamie Oliver recipe but I have tweaked it slightly. I chose this recipe because I don’t eat refined sugar so mulled wine isn’t great for that as you definitely can’t skip the sugar part. Also, this is a great recipe for parties when you need to offer a non-alcoholic option, as you can make the mulled pear and ginger and the rum is optional extra that can be added to individual cups – it doesn’t have to be cooked into the recipe, like mulled wine.

Ingredients:

1 litre Cloudy apple juice

1 Thumb-sized ginger piece, sliced

1 Ripe pear, sliced

4 Cinnamon sticks, plus extra to serve

1tsp Cardamom seeds (or four pods)

1 1/2 tbsp Light brown sugar (optional)

Juice of 2 limes, zest of 1

250 ml Bacardi Gold rum (optional)

Recipe:

Pour the apple juice into a saucepan, then add the ginger, pears, cinnamon, cardamom and sugar (optional). Add the zest and juice of the limes, bring everything to the boil and simmer until all of the sugar has dissolved. Serve warm in mugs, with a good shot of rum (optional) and a cinnamon stick.

Pear and ginger mulled rum | Apartment Apothecary

It’s not the most beautiful drink, I have to say, but it really does taste delicious.

The Hinchcliffe and Barber mugs were perfect for this warm, festive drink.

How many Christmas parties have you been to so far or are you hosting your own? I’m definitely going to make this next week as I’m hosting a little festive get together with a few friends and the lovely Tia from A Crafty Alternative is coming to run a wreath making workshop with us – can you get more festive than that?

Katy x

Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Hinchcliffe and Barber but the views and opinions are my own.

katy 8th December 2014

An alternative Christmas table

Controversial, I know, but I’m not a big fan of red. I look at the way other people use it and I can see the beauty in it, but if I am surrounded by red, it makes me feel a bit anxious and seems to jar with the other colours in my home. So when it comes to Christmas, I end up filling my home with a colour that doesn’t make me happy, which is a bit of a shame. This year, I have decided not to let a single red decoration through the door and instead I am embracing the pastel pinks, blues and greens that I love, as well as my favourite white and a few hints of black. The only worry that I have is how to make that look Christmassy but as long as it looks beautiful and special, what does it matter?

I am very lucky to be sponsored this month by the wonderful Occa-Home and what I love most about this online store is that there is so much to choose from, no matter what your style, which is perfect for me because I am always combining different styles in my home. When I started to look for products to use for my Christmas table, I got lost in the all of the beautiful traditional tableware but then I was totally seduced by the gorgeous Scandinavian inspired designs that fit perfectly with my favourite pastel colours.

So, without further ado, here is my Christmas table, styled using lots of lovely goodies from Occa-Home and a few homemade bits by me…

I selected the striking Design House Stockholm Nordic Light as the centrepiece for the table and instead of choosing white dinner candles I chose Eau de Nil coloured ones, which tie in with the other colours I have used. This candelabra is foldable and you can adjust it to create different shapes – I absolutely love it and it’s perfect for my alternative Christmas table.

An alternative Christmas table | Pastel Christmas table setting | How to make paint dipped baubles | Apartment Apothecary

The Bloomingville Olivia plates are blue and green and the Bloomingville Alberte plates are pink and yellow.

Whilst browsing Occa-Home I came across the Bloomingville Olivia plates and they are the perfect colours for my pastel theme. They can also be used on any other day of the year, which is an added bonus, but by placing these beautiful Linen Works napkins on them, a piece of Eucalyptus and the bowl, it instantly makes it look far more special than your average dinner time. There is so much beauty in the simplicity of this place setting and the soft colours.

The candelabra is a Design House Stockholm Nordic Light.

I hung these co-ordinating baubles and a big pom pom from the ceiling to make the table feel more special and celebratory. I also made the octahedrons (just the technical name for the pretty 3D diamond shapes) from white card.

I love the soft blues, pinks, greens of my Christmas table.

I wanted to make some special name settings and I decided to make a personalised bauble, that could be taken away by guests after the meal – a bit like a wedding favour. The baubles fit perfectly in these gorgeous Design House Stockholm Dot bowls.

The napkins are beautiful classic linen made by Linen Works and the bowls are Design House Stockholm Blond Dot bowls.

I strung up the baubles, pom pom and diamonds with very fine white cotton and I love how it appears as though they are floating above the table.

I hung baubles and handmade diamonds from the ceiling.

To make my decorations:

1. Baubles:

If you’d like to have a go at making these personalised baubles, that I have used as name settings, all you have to do is buy a set of clear baubles and pour a very small amount of paint into them. Swirl the paint around to about half way up the bauble. Make sure you use a quick drying paint or chalk paint, as they do take a long time to dry. The key is to use as little paint as possible, and once you have swirled the paint to where you want it to be, place the bauble on an egg cup or glass and leave it there for about 48 hours – don’t disturb it (or put it on the radiator as I did which creates condensation and ruins the crisp line – very annoying mistake!). I used a Dymo tape machine to create the name labels, which just stick onto the bauble.

Place a piece of Eucalyptus and a personalised bauble on each place setting to make it special.

2. Octahedrons (diamonds)

The octahedrons are really easy to make. Jules very kindly drew out the shape for me on the computer and you can download the PDF here: diamond octahedron. We have an A3 printer so printed them onto white card and used double sided tape to stick them together. I attached white cotton with tape inside the shape before I stuck them together.

I really hope you like my different take on a Christmas table. I had so much fun putting it together and not a bit of red in sight! I also love how using a specific colour palette can unify so many different styles – from mid-century dining chairs and a Victorian dining table to modern Scandinavian tableware.

What are you planning for your Christmas table?

Katy x

Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Occa-Home but the views and opinions are my own.

katy 6th December 2014

Blog love

Happy weekend everybody! It’s a been a busy week prepping for Christmas posts and I’m super excited to share my favourite post to date on Monday. I’ve set my self the challenge this year to decorate without any of the traditional reds, golds and greens and create an alternative Christmas table using pastel colours, which are my favourite at the moment. I was sent lots of lovely goodies from Occa-Home for the table so it’s extra special and I even made some octahedrons to decorate with – you will have to join me on Monday to find out what that’s all about!

For this weekend’s inspiration, I’ve included a couple of posts based on using non-traditoinal colours and materials to decorate with this Christmas, as well as some great DIY home ideas…