Make your own Drinks too!

Oh Yes.... you heard it right!

Hiya folks! I hope you're all keeping well? It's been all go here at Casa Wollaston, juggling lots of different projects at the moment... I gotta say though I absolutely LOVE being busy busy busy... 

It keeps me way from the shops!

So, while I'm developing some more ideas and getting some stuff customised, I thought rather than leave it for ages, I'd do a little piece about some other things I love to make...... starting off with some delicious home made drinks!

I did a lot of different home made liqueurs last year, using some stuff I grew on the allotment and some shop bought stuff, and I intend to have a go again this year. I thought you might like to give it a go!

I tell you what started me thinking about it..... the Damson tree at the bottom of our garden exploded into blossom and I started to get really excited at the prospect of all those beautiful Damsons we can expect later in the summer.

Beautiful Spring Blossom!

Now I've seen all the little bees busily pollenating the blossom and I gave the tree a much needed prune last year, cutting away all the dead branches and letting some much needed light through, so I'm expecting a bumper crop this year! Soft fruit such as Damsons, Plums, Raspberries, Black currants etc make absolutely delicious home made drinks. Blackberries can be picked wild in August so you don't even need to spend any money on it and by Christmas, you could have a drinks cabinet bursting with home made goodies! (If you can stay away from them that long!)

Raspberries on the allotment

Just a few of the Damsons from last year's crop

So...where to start? The first one I had a go at was Limoncello... a firm favourite in our house for that after dinner digestive when you're having a special meal. It's extremely easy and the good thing about it is you don't have to wait for all the fruit to come into season as Lemons are available all year round!

What you'll need:

5 Ripe Lemons (Good quality for a better taste if you can)

1 Litre (1 3/4 Pints) Vodka (try and get over 40% volume as then you can keep it in the freezer)

750g ( 1lb 10oz) Sugar

700ml ( 1 1/4 Pints) Boiling Water

Stage 1:

1. Pare the rind carefully, avoiding the pith. Divide the rind between 2, 1 litre kilner jars

2. Pour the vodka over the lemon rind in the two jars, seal and give them a turn to mix.

3. Leave for 1 week, shaking the jars from time to time.

Stage 1: Lemon rind soaking in jar 

Stage 2:

4. After a week, place the sugar in a large heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over it, stir well to dissolve.

5. While the sugar syrup is still hot, add the vodka and lemon rind mix to it. Stir, cover with cling film and leave for 1 week.

Stage 3: 

Strain and divide between clean bottles/ jars. Add a few strips of rind from a new lemon to decorate. Seal and keep forever! (Or as long as you can keep your hands off it!)

Make great Christmas Pressies!

Wild Damson Gin Recipe:

• 1lb/454gm of washed wild damsons (or shop bought is fine!)
• 6 ozs/168gm of white granulated sugar
• 75cl bottle of medium quality gin
• Sterilised 1 litre (at least) Le Parfait jar or wide necked bottle with stopper/cork

Method:

Wash damsons well and discard any bad or bruised fruit. Prick fruit several times with a fork and place damsons in either a large Kilner/Le Parfait jar or a wide necked 1 litre bottle.

• Using a funnel, add the sugar and top up with gin to the rim.
• Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for at least 6 months). If you are planning to drink this after 3 months, have a nip after a month, and top up with sugar to taste.
• Some people strain the grog (through muslin/jelly bag) after 3 months and bottle it, leaving it mature for six months. Don’t leave the straining process any longer than a year; leaving the fruit in too long can spoil the liqueur. If you manage to make more than one bottle, tuck one away for a year and watch the flavour mature. This is a simply gorgeous drink .. a real winner at any Christmas party!

 Once you have strained your fruit and bottled your drinks, don't be tempted to discard the soaked fruit... I bottled my Gin around Christmas time and the juicy Damsons were chopped up, put into a pan with a little sugar and stewed. As I'm not a massive fan of mince pies, I used the stewed fruit to make some little alternatives, just using a ready made shortcrust pastry and a dollop of the fruit mixture. Served with home made custard and a shot glass of the Damson Gin ...Oh boy ...delicious is not the word!

A shot of pure heaven!

You can freestyle too here, I used the glut of raspberries from the allotment and added them to both Vodka and Gin using the same technique, I bought own brand varieties - no need to spend a fortune as the fruit will add a touch of class for you. We ended up with all kinds of different flavours and I gotta say, that's me hooked now. I'm going to make a lot more this year after this successful start and I'll be experimenting with some new recipes too. There are loads of websites out there where you can buy beautiful presentation bottles, these drinks make beautiful Christmas gifts. I guarantee, you'll be more than a welcome houseguest too if you get a reputation for turning up armed with a bottle of home made loveliness for your hosts!

I hope you like my post and I would love to hear from you if you have a go at making your own drinks, these kinds of liqueurs cost a packet in the shops to buy but theres no need to go spending loads of money on them when you could make your own! It's all part of the whole Make it yourself vibe. I gave some away as Christmas Pressies and they really went down a treat.

I'll be back very soon with more home-made loveliness.

Bye for now!

Leona X

..........hic!

P.S.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/Homepage.action

http://www.jamjarshop.com


for Jars and bottles

Have You Ever Had It Blue

Hiya folks!

Finally, I'm back! I hadn't planned on being away from you for so long, apologies for the hiatus..... There's been a lot going on here at Casa Wollaston - more on that later - it's hard to believe this is the first chance I've had to get back to my "Make Do & Mend" project.

You'll be happy to hear that, true to my pledge, I haven't bought a single new item to wear so far this year! Now, as it's already April, that means I'm already a quarter of the way through my quest. It hasn't been easy though. I mean, have you seen the collections and trends for Spring/summer 2012? They might as well have looked into my brain and seen every bit of gorgeousness I'd love to have, waited till I wasn't buying anything and then gone "HA HA! ...right lets roll this lot out now then!"....... Hhhhrrrrumph!
It's enough to drive you to the cake shop!
Speaking of cakes ..........

A bit of sweet inspiration!

One of the trends that I picked out as a 'must have' (or more like a 'must do') was the pretty pastel trend and at last I've got something to show you! I really wanted a 50's style, cupcake coloured prom dress and it took me a while but by jove I think I've cracked it.....

I wanted something that looks a bit like this.....

A vision in Blue!

Betty Draper eat your heart out!

So, where to start then? Let me show you what I did.....

I trawled through my summer wardrobe and pulled out a likely candidate or two for an imaginative makeover. First I found this Broderie Anglaise dress I picked up for £5.00 in a charity shop about 4 years ago, it's cotton, a nice fit and hardly ever gets worn. (I don't know about you but I find a white dress a tough one to wear unless I've got a bit of a tan...which I never have since I'm always looking after the old hide!)

Cute but a bit plain...

I also found a little white cotton card that had been languishing in the knitwear drawer for a couple of years, not quite worn out but somewhat past it's best.

Slightly underwhelming!

Firstly, some much needed colour....I don't know if you're familiar with 'Dylon' fabric dyes or not but I've been using these little packets of magic for many many years now to revamp and revitalise tired looking but still wearable clothes. I've done dresses for myself and even some of the Hubster's white shirts which have lost their gleam. You'd be amazed with the kind of results that you can achieve for the princely sum of £2.99 and an hour of your time! There are machine dyes available too, but the last time I used one of these, it stained the rubber inside my washer so I just stick to the hand ones now..... and we all know anyway.... anything you put a bit of love into always works out better in the end!

So here's the one I've picked for this project.

oooooh.... Bahama Blue!

As well as a packet of Dye ...you'll also need these.....

Weighing Scales, Fabric Dye & Plain old Salt!

Following the instructions on the packet, weigh the fabric (dry) and use the appropriate amount of salt. These packs do 250g weight of fabric but don't worry if yours weighs bit more, It just means you'll get a slightly lighter shade. Half of the fun of home-dying is never quite knowing what shade your project will turn out! These dyes only work on natural fabrics such as cotton and linen and wool so do check the contents label on your clothes before dying, it won't take on Nylon/Polyester etc.....Do wear rubber gloves, and don't wear a pair with a hole in the finger like I did last time ...unless you want to walk around like E.T phone home for a week.

Stand over it and keep it moving for an even colour

When it's done, just let it drip dry somewhere away for direct sunlight and then if you like it as it is, great. If not you can repeat the process for a stronger colour.

Cardi I dyed just once

Dress I decided to do twice to get a stronger colour

So, they look quite nice now don't they? The colour on the dress wasn't as strong as I wanted because the combined weight of the cardi & dress was more than the 250g on the packet, so I decided to over-dye it and get a much stronger colour. 

I could have left it at that as the colour looks lovely but I just thought they needed a little extra something to make them stand out a bit more and to make them look a bit more special. So it's back to my little box of trims & trinkets to see what I can find!

Some cute vintage blue trims

I thought one of these might be nice for the cardi, the light blue lace was the closest in colour so I plumped for that one.

Cute lace from the 60's

And as it's Spring ...gotta be daisies  for the dress!!

Now I've got some cute trims to add into the mix, I think these will put the finishing touches to the outfit. I started by very carefully pinning the lace around the collar of the cardi, creating little folds as I went along to give it that frilly 'ruffled' look. Then I stitched it down using very small stitches so you don't see the thread so much.

Pin down creating little folds as you go.

I was going to change the buttons on the cardi but as they stayed white when I used the dye, the contrast looked really lovely so I left them as they were. You of course could change the buttons too on your project if you want to.

Then I very delicately sewed the daisies around the neck of the dress, again using tiny stitches for a clean finish.

I sewed them all the way around the neck.

After a very good press and taking care to trim off any loose threads, my dress and cardi were ready! And WHAT a transformation!!!!

What was a tired looking plain white cardi is now a cute girly pastel cover up! 

A whole new garment!

So cute!

And what was a £5.00 nice but plain bargain dress from a charity shop has been transformed into just the kind of knockout 50's cupcake colour dress I have been coveting from every vintage site known to man!

I'm so pleased with the way this turned out, I think this is going to be one of my favourite dresses for the Summer.... I liked it so much I had to wear it straight away! I wore it out to our new Soul Night in Islington "Masters Of Soul" last Thursday as the sun was shining (more on that little distraction in a later blog!)

It looked absolutely stunning and drew lots of compliments.... all in all a great success.

Whaddya reckon?????

Ta Daaaaaa!

I've really enjoyed doing this project and I'll be back very soon with more customised stuff from my wardrobe. Watch out any boring old white stuff!!!

 I'm also going to be spending a lot of time down at the allotment too now it's Spring so expect some updates on that ... my Make Do and Mend skills cross over into the horticultural world very nicely ..... and the allotment is the perfect place for transforming what seems like junk into something wonderful.

Maybe this whole idea won't be quite so painful after all!

Lots of Love

Leona XX

A Passion For Pastels!

Hold the Front Page!! Trend Alert ...Trend Alert!

Everyone's doing it!

Ralph Lauren S/S12 .....swoon!

Hi Folks! I hope you're all keeping well and happy? Now........I've been looking through the Spring Summer 2012 Catwalk Collections for some inspiration and I gotta say ... what a year I picked for my "no new clothes" project! There is so much beautiful clothing out there at the moment, don't you agree? Just look at this lot! I can see that this task is gonna get tougher as the year progresses..... think I'm gonna need all the support I can muster to get me through!
I've been poring over magazines and checking my favourite websites to see which looks I'll be 'buying' into this year..... but as we both know .....I won't be 'buying' anything new at all!


As Penelope Pitstop would say ........

He-yalp!! He-yalp!!

One of my very favourite looks that is being showcased this season is the Pastel Pallet .... I remember having loads of cute stuff in these colours as a young lady in the 80's. I loved my pink Broderie Anglaise  dress and my lemon yellow skirt .. it was a really big look back then. Well it seems that this pretty look is going to make a comeback in a BIG way in 2012. Oh the joy!

Scrumdiddlylicious!!!

All these gorgeous colours in ice cream, cupcake and marshmallow hues (this is actually making me quite hungry now) really are good enough to eat! 

Think Ice Cream....

Think Cupcakes......

and Marshmallows!

Hungry now? Yeah thought so!
So, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to put my brain to work and figure out how I am going to achieve this yummy look. That is of course, without resorting to my usual trawling of Net-A-Porter and Brand Alley or running down to the West End to grab the high street versions before everyone else gets there first!

Louis Vitton

More Louis ..ahhhhhh.....

I have a nice stock of fabrics that I've built up over the years and plenty of trims, some of which I'm fairly sure are edible looking.  I'm going to have a good look through and see what I can find. Then it's a case of deciding what to make....... but wait! I don't know about you, but when I get an idea about anything ...I want it NOW.... I need a quick fix as well as the longer term joy of something of quality.



So, I've decided I'm also going to have a go at transforming something from my existing wardrobe into one of these covetable confections! I basically want to walk round looking like a cupcake......
And this my friends, will be my next project, I'll be using all my Make, Do & Mend skills and as little money as possible to create a one off ..... or maybe even several!

I'll be looking at Vintage for inspiration as no one does pretty pastels quite like the 50's...... check these little beauties out!

I'll be back very soon with the results and of course I'll be spilling the beans on just how I did it, so you can have a go yourselves.....

Wish me luck!

Leona X

Raincoat Revamp!......... Do it like Audrey

Welcome, frugal fashion followers! Thanks for having a read of my blog.


As you probably know by now, this year I'm looking for ways to look fabulous without resorting to a trip to the shops. I've made the pledge (I must be mad) not to buy any new clothes for the whole of 2012 and I've been busy researching crafty ways to achieve the looks I want.


It's during these winter months when we're all wrapped up, that my mind starts to wander towards my spring wardrobe ... I'm looking forward to casting off the sheepskin coat and layers and lightening up a bit! When it starts to get milder and April showers call, my trusty friend is a beautiful mac..... ahhhh how long have I loved thee?

£600 for a raincoat??? You gotta be kidding!

Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once

From Audrey Hepburn to Michelle of Zee Resistance, to Alexa Chung ...every style icon worth their salt has rocked a lovely raincoat as a staple of their wardrobe at some point over the decades.


Both Burberry and Aquascutum lay claim to the invention of this heavenly garment and they both still do the most eponymous (if expensive) versions to this day. 
Some history on the origins of the raincoat to be found here on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_coat

So this Aquascutum mac is the one that's got my attention, I love the strong contrast buttons and buckles, but even if I wasn't going cold turkey for a year, I'd never be prepared to spend £600 on a coat......!


So, I'm going to revamp my mac!

Here's the lucky candidate .. my £8.00 Charity Shop Dannimac raincoat!!

For those of you not familiar with the good old Dannimac, to the best of my knowledge it's a Manchester (of course!) based company that started making macs about 100 years ago. The 70's macs are particularly good... very similar to the classic Burberry and Co's raincoat and a lot cheaper. Put it this way, if you can't make a raincoat in Manchester then you need to find another job!

Here's the 70's label design to look out for

It's got everything you need in a classic mac, from the double breasted fastening to the signature check lining and the fit is very flattering indeed. You can find these vintage treasures in Charity Shops all over the place for next to nothing. So look out for those 70's Dannimacs ..they come in all kinds of colours and lengths ...I've managed to pick up quite a few over the years as you can see here!

All you have to do then is customise them with those hand finished touches that make a garment that bit more luxurious and expensive looking. Simples!


I've got a few different buckles, buttons and trim ideas here ... hmmmmm....which one to choose?

I'm gonna plump for the dark brown leather look buttons and buckle I reckon ... it'll look most like the Aqua one. So, what do I need?

I've got a belt buckle for the front, buttons of different sizes but there's one item I am missing.... I haven't got any small buckles for the sleeves!

I haven't got a small buckle for the sleeve ...what to do?

Hmmmmmm.... I have a cunning plan, I'm going to remove the original buckles from the sleeves and paint them with nail varnish to match the Large buckle at the front! 

Ta Daaaaa!

Start off by removing the original buttons using a seam ripper from the front, leave the bobble of thread from the original in place as you can use this to mark your button placement.....

Carefully remove the buttons

Here's a link for you if you're not sure about sewing on Jacket/Coat buttons, it's important that you don't sew them on too tight, if you do, then the coat won't sit cleanly when you fasten it.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2302827_properly-sew-coat-button.html

Once you've sewn on the buttons, unpick the stitches holding down the buckles, the fabric strip literally folds over the bar of the buckle and this is a lot easier than you'd think.

Gently unpick the seam holding the buckle down

You can either machine sew or hand sew the seam back down again once you've put your new buckle on, it doesn't have to look perfect, remember we're looking for a hand finished look.....

Speaking of hand finishing.... I've got one last trick up my sleeve for making this Mac look extra special,  when I used to work on Savile Row, we used to hand topstitch jackets and even down the side seams of trousers in a contrast thread to jazz them up and give off that "bespoke" vibe. I've decided that although this is pretty time consuming, I'm going to go for it as it'll take my Mac up to another level. Do it in stages over a few days so you don't get bored or get sore fingers ... believe me, it'll be worth it!

Got a lovely strong contrast thread here ...this should do the trick!

Simply stitch along all the edges of the garment, using the existing stitch lines as a guideline and a good strong needle. This is called a "Saddle Stitch"

Stitch along the seam lines at the front edge and flap

All these little extras make the garment look more and more individual

Look how well my nail varnished sleeve buckle matches the belt.... FAB!

Don't forget that the pocket edges and even the storm flap and belt can be customised too!

So, we've changed the buttons, replaced the buckles and we've top stitched all the seam edges..... let's see how our project looks now compared to before.

I'm pretty chuffed to be honest! It's turned out beautifully... I can really see and feel the difference in the before and after, the whole garment just looks a lot more upmarket and stylish.

So the next time you're passing by your local Charity shop, pop in and check out the Outerwear section and pick yourself up a lovely bargain raincoat and get customising,  it's a great way of having something completely unique. 

I've got another plain cream one here .... I'm thinking gold buttons and buckle might be rather snazzy!!