From La Porte Rouge.
Nibble on a fresh berry tartlet
Berry tartlets are a wonderful, simple way to use fresh fruit. We found these little beauties on Little Upside Down Cake (well worth a peek - the photography alone was enough to get all our stomachs rumbling).
Follow blogger Sanda's example and make up the pastry cases and creamy mascarpone, then let your picnic-mates assemble their own tartlets, tumbling a mixture of berries and crunchy chopped pistachio on top for a relaxed but delicious end to your meal.
Liven up your door knobs
It’s the little things that can make all the difference when it comes to decorating a room. Kmadson must know this better than anyone, because she's filled her Etsy shop with handmade door knobs fashioned from vintage adverts, children's storybooks or prints of her own original artwork.
If anyone can take something as mundane as a doorknob and make it inspiring and individual, we think they deserve a round of applause.
Dip something in paint
Anyone who’s anyone is dipping things in paint at the moment. From furniture to jewellery to clothing, it seems there is nothing that is safe from this trend. Here’s our round up of the best dip-dyed DIY projects.
First up is Martha Stewart’s dip-dyed baskets, which we think may have been responsible for kicking off the whole craze off. Turns out, woven straw plus bright white matt paint equals summery design heaven - who’d have thought?
Second to make our lust-list is House of Earnest blogger Erin, who’s brought the trend to the kitchen with her dip-dyed wooden utensils. For this how-to, make sure you use non-toxic paint (Erin’s chosen high gloss food safe shellac) and only dip the handle end to minimise chipping.
Last but not least is this dipped wooden bead necklace tutorial from Laura Parke. Okay, technically these are painted, not dipped, but the effect is the same. We’re torn between neon shades (so cool as a contrast to the wood) and summery pastels. We may just have to make two.
Go wild swimming
The activity that has everyone buzzing this summer is wild swimming. For those of you who haven't heard of it, wild swimming is simply taking a dip in natural waters: rivers, lakes, hidden pools - you get the picture.
We were initially a little sceptical, as our knowledge of secluded, idyllic waterways is limited to say the least. There's a river outside our window, but it's in the centre of town, so stripping off for a dip seems rather inappropriate.
Luckily, we found wildswimming.co.uk. This handy website has a section on the best places to go wild swimming all over the UK, as well as a guide to getting started, including safety issues, what to wear, what to bring and so on. Useful, right?
If you're feeling really inspired, Wild Swimming have a range of books and apps available. Their latest offering gives the low-down on Wild Swimming in France, where the weather is warmer and there's almost no chance of bumping into someone you know. So there's no excuse not to get exploring!
Roll out a beam bench planter
The latest DIY project to make our weekend to-do lists is this bench planter that we discovered on the DiggersList blog. It's made from a repurposed ceiling beam, giving it a vintage charm that has been given a dose of modern cool with neon orange rollers.
This would be fab just as a bench, ready to be rolled out for unexpected guests, but we're planning on getting handy with a chisel and turning ours into a planter as well. Check out the DiggersList blog to see how it's done.
Try the perfect lemon curd
On her way home, The Novice Chef blogger Jessica got distracted by an elderly gentleman selling fruit from his truck. Said gentleman (in red braces) sweet-talked her into buying '39 million lemons'. And so, the resourceful Jessica came up with this recipe for lemon curd.
Because we're suckers for a cute story, and because Jessica calls it 'simply perfect' and because the sunny yellow colour makes us smile, we're sharing her recipe with you.
Wordless Wednesdays ... summer rain
From Joy Felicity Jane.
Knock up a folding tripod stool
Want to see our latest picnic essential? This folding tripod stool, which will help us relax in style when we're worn out from rambling through the countryside. We love the smart tan leather, we love the old-fashioned design and we especially love the fact that we can fold it up and sling it over our shoulders when we're on the move.
Matt from Design*Sponge assures us that it's possible to knock up our own using some study dowel and a few hardware essentials. Pop over to the blog to see how it's done.
Throw a retro outdoor cinema party
Outdoor entertaining is one of summer's top simple pleasures. We're massive fans of lively barbeques and lazy picnics, but for an extra-special event, we love this outdoor cinema party idea.
Channel old-school cool by setting up a projector in your back garden, draping old crates and boxes with tablecloths and popping up some deck chairs, mismatched cushions and plenty of blankets to keep people comfy and cosy. Keep the retro theme going with your snacks - jars of flavoured popcorn, old fashioned sweeties and bottles of pop.
This awesome party idea comes from Bash, Please for Design*Sponge, with photos from the super-talented Brandon Kidd.
Mix up your tea break
We're firm believers that there are very few problems that can't be fixed by a good cup of tea.
Even though nowadays there seem to be more types of tea than there are days in the year, our interest was still piqued when we stumbled upon a beginners guide to tea mixology at Yellow Bird Yellow Beard.
Like chamomile? Love mint? Well, now there's no need to make that agonising choice, because we can have both together! Guest blogger Lauren from The Perfect Pear has done all the leg work for us and shared the best combos so we can avoid a nasty oh-that-really-doesn't-work surprise, but we still can't wait to get experimenting for ourselves.
Cool off with raspberry elderflower granita
What Katie Ate is one of our all-time favourite foodie blogs. Recipes that make our stomachs rumble plus utterly gorgeous photography equals the perfect blog, in our opinion.
Recently Katie posted up an American retro food special, and this raspberry elderflower grantia recipe inspired by a New York Cocktail caught our eye (actually, most of the recipes did, but we're trying to be a little more focussed!).
We'll be serving this vibrantly-coloured granita as a refreshing desert on a balmy Summer evening. Pop over to What Katie Ate to see how it's done.
Lust after a sunshine-yellow barn door
We’re experiencing some serious house envy. We hadn’t realised it before, but we definitely need a sliding barn door in our bedrooms. Preferably in sunshine yellow, please.
This lustworthy décor comes from the home of House Tweaking blogger Dana and her Handy Hubby. Feeling inspired? Well, this door was not knocked up in a few hours, oh no. It took a considerable amount of elbow grease and not-a-little DIY savvy – if you’re still not convinced, pop over House Tweaking and check out the series of diagrams.
For the moment, it looks like we’re going to make do with ooh-ing and aah-ing over Dana’s efforts - unless anyone has a handyman they’d like to lend us?
Hang up a Mason jar planter
Is there no end to things you can do with a Mason jar? We've already expressed our love for Mason jar chandeliers, now we're thinking of going green and upcycling them into a wall planter, à la Not Just a Housewife.
Blogger Stacy had a brainwave in the midst of a peach-canning spree, and knocked up this quirky Mason jar wall planter using leftover jars, some wood and clamps.
If you're worried about drainage (admittedly, it might be a bit of an issue), fill your jars with water, add some pretty flowers and you'll have your very own floral wall display!
Wordless Wednesdays ... daisy chain
From Joy Felicity Jane.
Treat yourself to nectarine honey cake
Mmm ... its been a while since we posted a yummy cake recipe on here, hasn't it? We love a sweet treat, and the latest addition to our 'to bake' list is this nectarine honey cake recipe from Good Things Grow. Soft and juicy nectarine, honey-sweet sponge and a hint of crunch from the brown sugar topping - we think this is the perfect summer pud. Baker Jacqui is convinced she could eat this cake all summer long, and we're inclined to agree.
Design your own fabric at Spoonflower
What do you get when an internet geek marries a crafter? Well, in the case of techie Stephen Fraser, you get Spoonflower, an online fabric shop with a difference.
At Spoonflower, users create their own custom fabrics, and then sell their designs in the Spoonflower marketplace. There are too many gorgeous, unusual designs to mention here, but top marks for creativity go to The Boer War for their hand-painted flower and veggie print, and Weaving Major's floral fabric using real pressed flowers.
If you need convincing further that this is a totally genius idea, pop over to the Spoonflower blog to see what crafters have been stitching up with their fabric. Our current favourite is a sundress sewn from fabric printed with an old beach snap from Hello Beautiful blogger Emma. Surely the best way to show off your holiday pics, right?
Camp out in a homemade pup tent
Rigging up a makeshift hidey-hole must be some sort of rite of passage.
Everyone we've spoken to has fond childhood memories of fashioning a lopsided tent out of some old sheets, the edge of a sofa or two, and 'camping out' indoors until their parent's had had enough of the mess in their lounge.
ReadyMade has gone one step better and knocked up their very own pup tent, using an old sheet and some wooden rods. If you're feeling up to it, pop over to the ReadyMade blog to find out how they did it. Your kids will love you for it, trust us.
P.S. If you're having problems with the pictureless instuctions, pop over to craft blog cakies where there's a similar A-frame tent how to, with helpful photos to make things a little clearer!
Dry your leftover herbs
With a little luck, your window boxes should be exploding with fresh herbs any day now.
We’re expecting to be inundated with more herbs than we know what to do with (best to start the summer with a positive outlook), so this year, we’re going to dry our extras to make them last through the colder months.
If you’re wondering how to dry fresh herbs, pop over to Design Mom, where Lindsay of Café Johnsonia has guest posted a great guide. When the weather turns chilly, we’ll be following her example and harvesting our leftover herbs, hanging them out to dry in our kitchens and then tucking them away into our store cupboards ready for the winter.
Join in the Slow Food UK Week
News has reached our ears that next week is … Slow Food UK week! If you haven’t heard of the Slow Food movement, where have you been?
For those that have come to the party late, Slow Food is a non-profit, member supported organisation which reconnects people with where their food comes, so we can all make better choices about what to put on our plates.
This year, Slow Food has been creating links with chefs to champion local, sustainable ingredients, and that is what this year’s Slow Food UK week is all about.
From Monday 18th – Sunday 24th July, Slow Food invites you to feast on special menus from top UK chefs, get inspired by vibrant talks, or attend the first ever Slow Food Crawl. We’re definitely up for that last one (we’re assuming it doesn’t involve actual crawling).
Pop over to the Slow Food website to find out what’s going on near you.