Welcome Blog Tourists!

Hello everyone and a very warm welcome to my blog. I hope you are all enjoying the Blog Tour and picking up loads of ideas, freebies and discounts along the way. My blog is all about my creative passions of cooking, baking and sewing. So for today's tour stop, I'm giving you a little bit of everything, a 10% discount for any purchases from my website and the chance to win a little something!



Make of the week
Inspired by the hot weather I've been making picnic accessories this week...

My cutlery roll has space enough for 12 pieces of cutlery. Perfect to pop into your cool bag or hamper. I've used Designers Guild Miami fabric here. It's a thick loose weave cotton in crisp white with a vibrant geometric print in blue, red, orange and green. I'm busy working on a matching bag, which would be finished if my pesky daughter would return my toolbox...

You'll find my cutlery roll in Homewares on my website.

Today's recipe

Just in case the weather isn't holding up, here's a lovely summery recipe to enjoy at home indoors!

This fresh fruit tart is delicious and so easy to make. You can use whichever soft fruit you like - strawberries, raspberries and blueberries would be brilliant here.

Nectarine Tart

• 1 x 18cm sweet shortcrust pastry case - either make your own or buy ready baked
• 1 large egg
• 25g sugar
• 200ml whole milk
• 25g plain flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 2 ripe nectarines sliced, or whichever soft fruit you like (you can leave small fruits and berries whole)

1. Begin with the pastry case. If you're using ready made then you're done! If you're making your own, use a sweetened shortcrust recipe and bake blind until golden and crisp. Leave to cool.
2. Next make the pastry cream. Put the milk in a small saucepan and heat gently. Meanwhile, whisk the egg and sugar until thick and creamy. Add the flour and whisk thoroughly. When the milk comes up to boil, pour it into the egg mixture and whisk together. Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently whisking vigorously until it becomes very thick. Remove from the heat and place in a clean bowl. Whisk in the vanilla, then cover with cling film to prevent a skin forming. Leave to cool a little then place in the fridge until completely cold.
3. Assemble the tart by spreading the pastry cream over the pastry case and top with your chosen fruit. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

Don't forget to make time for Creative Crafting magazine where you'll find more of my recipes

Grab some goodies!
As a special thank you for visiting my blog, leave a comment and share my blog for a chance to win this rosebud cushion cover with fabric covered buttons.

And if you'd like to buy anything from my site or place a bespoke order click here to email and quote "Blog Tour" to get 10% off your order. Visit my website Personal Space Interiors for details of my ready to buy items and bespoke services.

Thanks for visiting everyone, it's been lovely having you. Please call again soon :)

Time for a new make do you think?...

I love to try my hand at a new project. And this one was certainly something I'd never made before. I had a commission from Joan who was about to go on holiday. Her trusty favourite travelling companion was looking more than a little worse for wear, and she'd scoured the shops looking for a similar replacement with no luck. What is this faithful companion I'm talking about? A sturdy yet flexible rucksack style bag; soft enough to roll up and squeeze into the corner of a suitcase and strong enough to cope with the rigours of the beach and poolside.

Joan had kept her bag and passed it on to me for inspection to see if I was up to the challenge of deconstructing, creating a working pattern and making a new and improved version. Always looking for ways to upcycle, I managed to remove all of the metal fixings and rings from the bag to reuse but I knew that eyelets for the drawstring closure would be a new skill I would have to master.

I chose a medium weight denim in black with an off-white thread in the weave. This would give a stylish and practical finish to the bag. I used strong black polycotton for the carry handle and for the D-ring fixings as I wanted to provide a contrast fabric for the look but also add strength to the finished product. It certainly proved to be strong - managing to bend and break my machine needle twice in the process!

I'm really pleased with the results, and more importantly Joan was thrilled. I haven't heard back from her since her holiday, but I'm hoping her new bag lived up to it's high expectations.

If you would like a similar bag made, prices start from £20.00 plus fabric and fixings. Email enquiries@personal-space-interiors.co.uk