Winter Skin Tonic

A facial toning elixir for all skin types – soothes irritated skin, tightens pores and keeps acne at bay

MAKES: 375ml
KEEPS: For two weeks in the fridge 

INGREDIENTS
375ml water
1 peppermint teabag
1 rooibos teabag
1 chamomile teabag
ESSENTIAL OILS:
1 drop rosemary
4 drops lavender

1 Bring the water to the boil, then leave to cool for 3 mins.
2 Pour the water over the tea bags in a pot and leave to stand for 5 mins. 
3 Cool completely before removing the tea bags. Add the oils and pour into a glass bottle. 
4 Shake bottle before use. Apply toner daily to cleansed skin prior to moisturising.

Courtesy of Jenny Pao. Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press)

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Make: Detoxifying matcha tea face mask

This wonderful green paste may make you look like a witch temporarily but will cast a spell on your skin, leaving it refreshed and glowing

1 tsp matcha tea powder
1 tsp yoghurt

1 Put the matcha tea powder in a bowl and stir in the yogurt to make a smooth paste.
2 Apply to a cleansed face and relax for 15 minutes.
3 Remove gently with tepid water and enjoy a healthy glow.

Why it works
Matcha tea is high in vitamins, antioxidants, polyphenols, flavonoids and minerals. It is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and draws out impurities. Yoghurt is moisturising and nourishing.

From All Natural Beauty by Karin Berndl and Nici Hofer (Hardie Grant). 

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Weekend project: Brioche tin candles

On a gloomy January day, why not take a bit of comfort from the relaxing glow of a candle? 

These projects offer bright ideas for refashioning bits you may well already have about into candleholders – then strategically place around the home, for instant cheer. We even tell you how to make – and scent – the candles themselves.

A quick word about wax. These projects use soy, which is made from vegetable oil (paraffin candles use petroleum oil). Soy candles have a longer burn time and less black soot than a paraffin equivalent. Using soy also means you can add essential oils to scent them – try vanilla oil for the hint of freshly baked brioches, or mosquito-repelling citronella oil to conjure balmy summer nights (remember those?). To get even fancier, you can buy colour wax flakes or add dyes. For wicks and wax, try Hobbycraft (hobbycraft.co.uk).

Brioche tin candles

Turn your old tins into something as sweet as the bread itself

Makes three candles
You will need:
3 x 10cm pre-waxed wick assembly
3 small brioche tins or metal jelly moulds, roughly 150ml capacity
Glue dots or glue gun
6 wick-supporting sticks (or wooden cooking skewers cut in half)
750g flaked soy wax – about 225g (or roughly twice the volume of your tin) for each candle
6 small elastic bands
Small pan or metal mixing bowl
Large saucepan
Old spoon
Scissors

1 Fix the wick assembly to the centre of the bottom of your tins by using a glue dot or a dab of hot glue from a glue gun. 
2 Take the supporting sticks or skewers in pairs and bind them together by wrapping a small elastic band around them at either end. Use the skewers to hold the wicks vertically by resting them across the rim of each tin, the wicks pinched firmly between the skewers. 
3 Put the wax in a small pan or bowl and set the bowl in a pan of water on the hob over a medium heat. Add about three drops of fragrance oil (if using) to the wax. When melted, the wax will appear completely clear. Use your spoon to stir the oil into the wax.
4 Pour a small amount of the liquid wax 5 into the bottom of your prepared tins to just cover the metal wick assembly in each one. Leave to harden for about ten minutes. This is to make sure that the wicks stay in place for the main pour in the following step.
5 Return the pan to the hob to ensure the wax is fully melted, then pour it into your tins to within about 6mm of the top edges and leave to cool and harden fully. If the wax dries with a small dip around the wick, top it up with more melted wax and thinly cover the surface of the candle evenly.
6 Using scissors, trim the wicks to about 12mm from the top surface of the wax. Leave your candles for at least 24 hours before lighting.

Adapted from Take a Tin by Jemima Schlee (GMC, available from thegmcgroup.com)

Turn to page 113 of January’s The Simple Things for two more candle projects: gold painted hurricanes and a candle in a jar. 

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Hangover-busting body oil

It’s worth having this uplifting body oil ready for those dreaded hangovers that can take you by surprise at this time of year. After the first obvious step of a bacon sarnie, try taking a hot shower, then applying this soothing tonic

Things you’ll need:
3 tbsp jojoba oil
3 tbsp almond oil
8 drops eucalyptus essential oil
8 drops peppermint essential oil
8 drops lavender essential oil
4 drops tea tree essential oil
4 drops geranium essential oil

1 This is the easiest of recipes. Simply combine all the oils in a glass bottle and shake until they’re mixed and ready. Use this body oil after a refreshing shower and, voilà, hangover no more!

Why this works...
Eucalytpus is invigorating and purifies the body. Peppermint supports digestion, improves focus, boosts energy, helps to clear headaches and eases muscle pain. Soothing lavender has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Tea tree reduces bad odours and can help to stimulate the immune system. Geranium helps skin to stay healthy. Jojoba oil contains vitamin E and has high levels of antibacterial iodine. Almond oil calms irritation and is moisturising. 

Taken from All Natural Beauty by Karin Berndl and Nici Hofer (Hardie Grant). 

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Christmas Survival Tummy Tonic

Settles the stomach after overindulging in rich foods, making it as much of a festive essential as sprouts and brandy butter

MAKES: 415g
KEEPS: 1 year
INGREDIENTS
Dried ground herbs: 
15g angelica root
15g chamomile
15g liquorice
15g marsh mallow root
15g artichoke roots or milk thistle seeds
340g jar of runny honey

1 Mix the ground herbs thoroughly with the honey to make a paste or thick syrup.
2 Take 1–2 tsp in a glass or cup of hot water, 1–3 times daily for as long as needed.

Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press)

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Christmas: Make papercut star decorations for your tree

If paper chains feel passe and you're a bit bored with your baubles, try a DIY papercut tree decoration for a feelgood festive craft

The appeal of papercutting is the simple satisfaction of creating something from nothing. Starting literally with a blank sheet of paper, a drawing can become an intricate work of art. And like many other creative pursuits, it’s a meditative process, requiring your full attention.

Papercut artist Poppy Chancellor says, “We all need time to be artistic. It’s good for your brain and soul. There is something very soothing in this art of taking your time. When you patiently follow the lines with the knife, you will start to see elegant artistry emerge from a single sheet of paper. The hours slip away and all those daily worries start to dim. You don’t need much skill to cut along a suggested line but practice and patience are essential. Anyone with a scalpel and a steady hand can give it a try.”

If you’ve tried cutting a few designs, the next step is to draw your own, either by hand or digitally (just remember to flip your image once you are done and trace or print this mirror image on to the back of your chosen paper). Start by following paper artists and other creatives on social media to feed your mind. Share your own creations online and ask for feedback.

From Roman statues to Greyhound buses, there seems no subject too obscure or too tricky for papercutting. But some things are easier than others; Poppy’s drawn us a beginner’s papercut star tree decoration*, for example – well, it is Christmas!

This beautiful 3D Christmas scene is practically a paper sculpture and not a project for beginners. But see where having a go at our paper star template could take you (find it in the December issue of The Simple Things). You can also download her paper snowflake design. We’d love to see pics of them hung on your tree @simplethingsmag

Our template design features in Poppy’s book Cut it Out! 30 Designs to Cut Out and Keep (Virgin Books). 

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Make: Stress-busting Massage Balm

Massage this fragrant balm into skin for a relaxing treat

MAKES: 130ml
KEEPS: Around three months

INGREDIENTS
For the lavender-infused oil: 
30g dried lavender flowers
180ml olive oil
180ml grapeseed oil
1tsp grated beeswax

Essential oils:
10 drops lavender
10 drops sandalwood
10 drops cedarwood
10 drops bergamot

1 Make your infused oil in advance. Fill a jar with lavender flowers and cover with the oils. Leave to infuse for 3 to 4 weeks, strain and bottle. 
2 Melt the beeswax into 125ml of the infused oil in a double boiler or bain-marie.
3 Add the essential oils and pour into a container.

Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press).
 

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Homemade lip balm

Ward off winter lips!

Dry and cracked lips are often a sign it’s getting colder. One of the best remedies for this perennial problem is a restorative mix of a few simple ingredients even the barest kitchen will have stocked. Use this homemade scrub in conjunction with lip balm to keep lips smooth and ready for even the boldest of lipsticks.

Things you’ll need:

2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil

Whisk all the ingredients together.
Apply to your lips and give them a gentle scrub until they feel like new.
Rinse the scrub off with plenty of water and apply a moisturising lip balm.

Why this works...

Sugar works superbly as an exfoliant. Honey has wound-healing, anti-microbial and antibacterial properties. Olive oil is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and protects and nourishes skin.

From All Natural Beauty by Karin Berndl and Nici Hofer (Hardie Grant). 

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Weekend project: Woven wall hanging

Weave your way to create unique home accessories

As with macramé, weaving is a skill that’s being hauled out of the 1970s and back into your home. And, also like macramé, it’s a pleasing way of adding homespun cosiness to your space. The techniques are as simple as they were back then, although the colour palette and styling may have shifted. The materials are easy to come by, too. You will need a loom though – follow the instructions below to make your own, or try eBay and Amazon for beginners’ lap looms. 

To make this wall hanging, you will need:

A simple lap loom
Various shades and thicknesses of wool
Doweling
String
Scissors
Wool shuttle or embroidery needle

1 Using the string, tie a knot around the top of the loom. Making sure it’s tight, start to warp up your loom. To do this you will need to feed the string up and down, looping around the notches on either end of the loom. Make sure your tension is tight as this will be the base of your weave.

2 To create tassels for your weave, cut your wool to a length of roughly 20cm. You will need to cut quite a few of these. Taking 3–6 strands of wool (depending on the thickness of your wool), lay the strands over the top of two warp threads. Twist the threads under the warp and pull down. Carry along the length of the loom.

3 To start weaving, take the wool and wrap around the weaving shuttle or an embroidery needle. To weave, take the wool up and over alternative warp threads all the way across the width of the frame. Do the same for the next row, but weave the opposite way – taking the wool under the warp threads it went over in the previous row.

4 To create knotted tassels, follow step two again but, before you thread the wool under the warp, knot all the pieces of wool together.

5 Carry on weaving using different thicknesses of wool to create texture. 6 Once you are happy with your weave it’s time to take it off the loom. To do this, cut the top warp threads but leave the bottom warp threads (under the tassels) as they are. This will just lift off the loom. Tie the top warp threads, and then tie around a piece of doweling all ready to hang. Don’t forget to tie a piece of string so you can hang your weave up on the wall.

Turn to page 110 of November's The Simple Things for another weaving make.

Project by Lucy Davidson. Lucy Davidson runs regular weaving workshops around southern England. Check her blog peasandneedles.co.uk for details and more woven inspiration.

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How to make a corn dolly

Turn over a new sheaf with this traditional harvest custom

1 For this basic neck or sheaf dolly, gather some undamaged, hollow straw. Any straw will do (wheat is the most popular) – try practising with paper straws.
2 Dampen straw so it’s easier to work with. 
3 Bundle together some waste stems to make your core: it should be around the size of a biro. Tie into place.
4 Tie five straws of roughly the same width around your core. Tie them near to the wheat heads as you can. Bend each stem at right angles so they’re each pointing in a different direction, like the points on a compass; with the last one pointing just to your left. 
5 Take the fifth stem and bend it up, before bending it right so that it reaches over the next two compass points. 
6 Turn a quarter clockwise and repeat, using what’s become the new ‘South’ straw.
7 Repeat, each time turning a quarter so that the circle builds. With broken straws, just slide a new one over it.
8 Once finished, tie with straw or ribbon.

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Be a kitchen witch!

Introducing a little magic into your cooking can be great fun: it’s exciting to go to the shops or garden and gather ingredients to bring love, luck or health to those you cook for. 

Start with these pearls of witchy wisdom:

• Pick parsley for parties. It’s said to bring eloquence and extra charm, helps reduce drunkenness and is a proven breath freshener! Serve with potatoes as they are grounding.
   
• Share a jasmine tea with someone and it will help you bond. Jasmine is a vine and represents the intertwining of people.
   
• Make an autumnal soup with leeks, squash, carrots, potatoes, fresh sage and chives. Prepare with love and serve to friends and family to bring warmth and happiness for the new season.

For more spells, recipes and magical meals read The Book of Kitchen Witchery by Cerridwen Greenleaf (Cico)

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Halloween: Pumpkin carving

What better way to see in the season than by gathering friends, family and a pile of big pumpkins…

Once pumpkins arrive you know autumn is really in full swing. Throw a pumpkin party: ask people to bring a small pumpkin as well as the one they’ll be carving.

Carve off the pumpkin tops and fill them with tea lights, votive candles or dried flowers and seedheads from the garden. Send everyone home with their pumpkin vase.

Tell stories as you carve of fancy dress disasters, maybe a ghost story you once heard or simply what the word ‘pumpkin’ brings to mind.

Eat pumpkin*, too – a pie is the obvious choice. But pumpkin and sage lasagne or pumpkin soup make for filling savoury dishes, especially accompanied by a mug of hot cider or two.

How to carve a pumpkin

YOU WILL NEED

Carving tools (a variety of spoons, knives and other tools for decorating
Cookie cutters (use a mallet to pound them through the pumpkin flesh)
Carving pumpkins 

TO MAKE

Place newspaper over a large table. Pile carving tools in the centre, plus a communal bowl for seeds and filling. 

When it comes to carving, there are no rules, just decorate whichever way you fancy. 

Extract from Handmade Gatherings by Ashley English. Photography by Jen Altman (Roost Books)

*Carving pumpkins are an altogether different prospect to eating varieties. Come back later this week to find out which types are best in which dishes.

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Nourishing chickpea and turmeric face mask

This mask is tempting to eat, but refrain from doing so and let your skin soak up all the goodness. 

Great for skin that's had a bit too much sun – and you’re likely to find all of the ingredients in your kitchen cupboards. 

You’ll need:
1 tbsp chickpea flour (gram flour) 
2 tsp almond oil
2 tsp honey
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground turmeric

1 Mix together all the ingredients and stir well to form a paste.

2 Apply a thick layer onto clean skin and rest for 15 minutes before rinsing off the mask with tepid water.

(Don’t worry about turmeric colouring your face; the mask washes off easily without a trace.)

Extract from All Natural Beauty: Organic & Homemade Beauty Products by Karin Berndl and Nici Hofer (Hardie Grant)

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Make: Luxurious Body Butter

Make your own aromatic, cooling skin smoother

MAKES: 250ml
KEEPS: 6 months
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp cocoa butter
4 tbsp shea butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
4 tbsp evening primrose oil
10 drops jasmine
10 drops sandalwood
5 drops rose

1. Gently heat the cocoa and shea butters with the coconut oil in a bain-marie until they have melted.

2. Remove from the heat and cool until hand-hot. Add all the oils and whisk well.

3. Put the bowl in the fridge, removing every 30 minutes or so to whisk.

4. When nearly set, whisk well and pour into jars.

5. Replace in the fridge until set.

Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press). 

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Make: Rosemary water

A delicious  flavouring for foods, and a great tonic for hair and skin

MAKES: 300ml
KEEPS: 2 years
INGREDIENTS:
150g dried rosemary (300g fresh) 
2.5 litres water

METHOD:
1 Put everything in a pressure cooker near the sink. Close lid and remove pressure regulator to expose the vent pipe.
2 Connect a hose to the vent pipe. Pass the hose beneath the water tap and then on and into a glass collecting bottle.
3 Turn the heat to high. When water boils, open tap to let cold water cool the hose.
4 The distillation process should be slow with minimum heat. Simmer on low until you have distilled 300ml of water – in a household pressure cooker, this should take around 30-45 mins.

Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press).

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Make: Exfoliating seaweed scrub

Kelp's wonderfully fresh seashore scent makes this exfoliating scrub a summer shower must-have

Exfoliating seaweed scrub

MAKES: 100g
KEEPS: At least 6 months
INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp kelp powder
5 tsp vegetable glycerine
7 tsp sweet almond oil
5 drops juniper essential oil
5 drops lemon essential oil

METHOD:
1 Mix the sea salt and kelp together.
2 Add the glycerine and half the almond oil and mix well. If the mixture is too stiff, add more oil until it makes a thick, gloopy paste.
3 Add the essential oils and stir really well.

Note: this recipe isn’t suitable for dry skins

Courtesy of Lynn Rawlinson. Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press). 
 

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Make: Homemade gardener's hand scrub

Give your hands some TLC. Just because you like to get your hands dirty, doesn’t mean you want them to stay dirty. This hand scrub will combat the perma-dirt that any keen gardener is familiar with.

Homemade gardener's hand scrub

Makes 300-350g scrub

60g coconut oil, melted
60ml liquid castile soap
225g sugar
10 drops rosemary essential oil
10 drops peppermint essential oil
5 drops tea tree essential oil

1 In a medium bowl, combine the coconut oil, castile soap and sugar. Let the mixture cool, then stir vigorously with a spoon. This will “whip” the oil for a pourable but creamy texture.
2 Stir in the essential oils then scrape the scrub into a clean jam jar. The hand scrub will last six months, though the scent may fade. If the scrub begins to separate, just give it a good stir.

To use: Wet hands, spoon a generous dollop of scrub into your palms. Scrub away, paying particular attention to the sides of the fingers and crease lines where dirt likes to stick. Rinse.

Extract from The Hands-On Home: A Seasonal Guide to Cooking, Preserving, and Natural Homekeeping by Erica Strauss (Sasquatch Books). Photography by Charity Burggraaf
 

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Homemade rose face cream

When the roses are in bloom all things floral become a little addictive. Make like a kid and stir up a summer potion for your dressing table 

MAKES: 175ml
KEEPS: 6–12 months

INGREDIENTS
100g coconut oil
25ml avocado oil
1 tbsp honey
5 tsps rosewater
10–15 drops rose (or rose geranium) essential oil

METHOD
1 Melt the coconut and avocado oils and honey in a bain-marie. Warm the rosewater in a separate bowl in the bain-marie.
2 Remove from heat, and whisk the oil and honey mixture, adding a drop of rosewater.
3 Keep whisking and adding rosewater until you’ve used all of it, then whisk until it starts to solidify. Add the essential oils and whisk until well blended.
4 Keep in a sterilised jar.

Courtesy of Lynn Rawlinson. Found in The Domestic Alchemist: 501 Herbal Recipes for Home, Health and Happiness by Pip Waller (Leaping Hare Press). 

Turn to page 123 of June's The Simple Things for more Miscellany wisdom. 

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How to get rid of moths

Moth larvae are most active when the temperature creeps over 10 degrees – about the time our woolies are put away. Act now to prevent moth munchies.

Prevention
l Only put away clean clothes. For moths, dirt is the icing on a woolly cake.
l Pack clothes in vacuum storage bags. Order from lakeland.co.uk
l Larvae loves carpet. Vacuum regularly, especially edges and under furniture.
l Lift and beat rugs.
l Moths like warm, dark spaces, so consider open wardrobes and turning the heat down.
l Lavender, conkers and cinnamon sticks are all natural repellents.

In the event of infestation:
l Put your clothes in plastic bags in the freezer for 72 hours.
l For carpets, blog.labourandwait.co.uk advises dissolving a quarter-pound of rock ammonia in about a half-gallon of boiling water. Immerse a large house-cloth, wring and lay flat on the carpet. Iron with a very hot iron until dry.

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From the May issue

Home posts

Natural remedies

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Make your own bath bombs

These bath bombs are fun to make and the reward for your efforts is a long soak in a heavenly scented bath. Kids love them and if you can bear to give them away, they make great gifts.

For about eight bombs you will need:

440g baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) 
180g cornstarch (cornflour)
220g citric acid
110g Epsom salts
2 to 4 tbsp water
food colouring (optional)
20 drops essential oil* (optional)
a stiff plastic or metal mould, like a muffin tin

1 In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp of the water with the food colouring and essential oils.
2 Stirring the dry mixture constantly with a whisk, drizzle in the wet mixture a drop at a time until it just holds together if you squeeze a bit in one hand. If it doesn’t hold at all, drizzle more drops of water, one or two at a time. If you start to see fizzing, that means there is too much water in one area and you should stir that area quickly to distribute the moisture. Be warned it doesn’t take much water so keep stirring and go slow.
3 Pack the mixture into moulds tightly, then smooth the surface of each bomb. Carefully unmould them onto a flat, dry surface. If any break during unmolding, just scoop up the crumbs and repack them in the mould. Let the bath bombs dry for about 24 hours, until fully dry. They should keep for up to six months.
4 Fill a tub with hot water and drop in 1 or 2 bath bombs. Relax... 

From The Hands-On Home by Erica Strauss (Sasquatch Books).
Photography by Charity Burrgraaf.

* Try matching the colour and fragrance, eg purple with lavender essential oil and a pale yellow-green with lemongrass.

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From the April issue

Homemade salt scrubs

Homemade reed diffuser

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