25 Handmade Gifts Under

Great blog post I 'Stumbled' upon.

25 Handmade Gifts Under

Homemade skincare

My skin is very sensitive and prone to redness and there are very few products that help (and unfortunately the ones that do cost a small fortune). I have always hated the idea of putting chemicals on my skin anyway, so I though I'd have a go at making my own treatments.

Sugar and Oat Body Scrub


Demerera Sugar
Porridge Oats (I use Asda Smart Price)
Olive Oil
Milk


The amounts don't really matter, so long as you use just enough oil and milk to soften and loosen the scrub - the sugar shouldn't dissolve.
Rub over skin as part of your cleansing routine.

The sugar and oats act as exfoliator and the milk and oil soothe and moisturise.

Keeps well in the fridge for up to 24 hours - after that it becomes too soft.

Turmeric Moisturising Cleanser

(to make 1 treatment)

1 level tbsp Natural yoghurt

1 level tsp Runny honey

1/2 heaped tsp Ground turmeric

Mix together into a loose paste.  Rub onto skin after washing and rinse off well.

Yoghurt acts as a soothing cleanser and honey moisturises.  Turmeric is known to ease redness and also acts as a very light exfoliator.

Keeps well in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

*Be warned - this is best used in the bath or shower as it will stain clothes.  If you don't usually wear make-up it is best to use this at night as it may also leave your face tinged slightly yellow.  Towels may also suffer!


Lemon and Rosewater Toner

Lemon Juice
Rosewater


This works well in the little travel spray bottles you can get from places like Boots. Simply mix 1 part lemon juice to 3 parts rosewater and spray lightly onto skin.

Rosewater is an anti-inflammatory and astringent while lemon juice lightens skin, reducing scars and redness.

*Be careful not to use too much lemon juice, as the acid may do more harm than good to your skin if not watered down sufficiently.


I've been using the Turmeric and Rosewater treatments every day for about a week now and the improvement is definitely noticeable.  Angry red spots that had refused to back down in the face of the usual acne treatments have shrunk right down and the scars I have from previous acne have gone from purple to light pink.  And it is much kinder to my skin, the environment and my bank balance.  Success!

Sheena x

Plectrum Holder Necklace

My husband just gave me a lovely surprise - a Plectrum Holder necklace made from a recycled spoon from 'Hairy Growler Handcrafted & Recycled Jewellery'.  Hopefully he is making his way through my 'wish list'!

Guacamole

Just discovered this stop motion film - so clever!  I love the 'diced' ingredients.




Sheena x

Trying Something New Part 2

I realised that our tea on Sunday provided the perfect opportunity to test out the quinoa.  We were going to have citrus turkey with broccoli and rice, but since I remembered the night before to get the quinoa out to soak I was able to use it in place of rice.

And it worked brilliantly.

CITRUS TURKEY WITH 
BROCCOLI AND QUINOA 
to serve 2 adults and 1 child


Soak 100g quinoa in 1 tbsp natural yoghurt and 450ml warm water overnight at room temp.


Sprinkle 3 turkey steaks with a light dusting of cornflour.  Fry until golden and cooked through then put to one side.

Nathan certainly enjoyed it!

Put 1tsp of honey, 1 tbsp fresh grated root ginger and the juice of 1 orange in the frying pan and fry over a low heat.  Mix 1tsp cornflour with 1tbsp cold water and add to the frying pan, stirring constantly.  Fry until syrupy.  Peel and segment 1 orange and 1 pink grapefruit (unfortunately I couldn't get one of these and had to use segments from a tin of grapefruit salad in juice, which didn't work as well) and add to the frying pan along with the turkey steaks.  Heat gently until warmed through, then sprinkle with chopped chives.


Meanwhile, chop florets from 1 broccoli and steam or boil, covered, in a little water for 5-10 mins.
Boil the quinoa, covered, in the soaking liquid for 20 mins before draining in a fine mesh sieve.  Put it back in the pan with the lid on and leave to steam until ready to serve.  Fluff a little with a fork.

Serve and enjoy!

Sheena x