Monday 26 January 2015

DIY Shampoo and Rinse Recipe



I have been doing the no-shampoo method for many months now and only using conditioner which was going very well but I wanted to go further and try to cut out all the chemicals so that meant stopping the conditioner too! I searched online for homemade recipes for shampoo and also rinses and came up with one that was most suitable for me. I thought I would share my recipes with my blog followers.

Shampoo Recipe:

2 tablespoons of Baking Soda (named Bicarbonate of Soda in the UK)
2 cups of water

Instructions:

Mix together and then store in a container - I used an empty Shower Cream container!


Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse Recipe:

2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup of Water
4 drops of Essential Oil (optional)

Instructions:

Place the ingredients into a spray bottle and mix together. I add the Lavender Essential Oil as my young daughter can not stand the smell of the vinegar, though it was fine for me! However the smell goes away very quickly!

My Routine:

I start by wetting my hair first and then apply the homemade shampoo and rub in vigourously from roots to the end. Then I rinse with normal tap water. Then I spray the vinegar rinse all over my hair again covering from the roots to the ends and massage in. Then I rinse the vinegar rinse out using normal tap water.

I have seen a great difference in my hair since I stopped using the shop bought shampoo. I have been using the vinegar rinse for a few weeks and so far it is going well and I am still new to using the homemade shampoo so will hopefully update you after a month to let you all know how my new hair regime is going.








Monday 19 January 2015

DIY Martial Arts Canvas

diy martial arts canvas


I have recently re-decorated my son's bedroom and he wanted a Martial Arts Style/Theme.  I looked online for something suitable to decorate his wall and apart from expensive transfers and canvases there was not much choice out there!  So being the crafter I am, I decided to make my own canvases at a fraction of the costs! I made 2 martial arts canvases to hang next to each other on his wall.

diy martial arts canvas


Requirements:

  • Canvas
  • Black Paint (I used acrylic)
  • Paint Brush


Instructions:

STEP 1: Find or draw an inspired picture of a martial art theme, I went for the silhouette style. Once you have the picture you may need to enlarge it to fit the size of your canvas. I used my printing setting to print of a poster size and taped the paper together to make the full design.

STEP 2: Once you have the correct size picture you then need to draw an outline of the picture on the back of the paper by tracing it with a pencil.

STEP 3: Then place the paper, newly pencilled drawn side, onto the canvas and using a pencil scribble over the outline of the silhouette, this will leave a mark of the outline onto the canvas, check to make sure it is working while you are doing it. Make sure not to move the paper around or your drawing will not be correct.

STEP 4: You are now left with a pencil lined drawing on the canvas which you can now paint black.

STEP 5: Once dry you can now proudly hang your artwork onto the wall.

Below is a photograph of my son's new artwork hanging on his bedroom wall.





Wednesday 7 January 2015

Nutella Brioche Flower Recipe


These brioche's are all over the internet at the moment, so I thought I had to have a go too! There are quite a few recipes around but I actually quite liked following the video recipe by Titli. I love her recipes and have followed a few before which have worked out well. The photos are actually from the brioche my daughter made a few days after my first attempt.



Ingredients:

500g Bread Flour
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Teaspoon of yeast
60g butter (melted)
190 mls of Lukewarm Milk
1 Grated Lemon Skin
2 eggs


Instructions:


  • Start by putting the sugar and the yeast into the milk and whisk them together. Leave for 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. 
  • Break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly.
  • But the flower, salt and lemon rind into a mixing bowl and mix well.
  • Place a well into the middle of the mixing bowl and add the melted butter, eggs, and the yeast and milk mixture. Mix all together into a nice soft dough.
  • Once the dough has been made you need to knead well for about 10 minutes.
  • Pop the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise between 1 to 1 and a half hours - .until dough has doubled in size.
  • Remove from bowl and knead again for about another 3-4 minutes.
  • Split the dough into 4 pieces of equal size and shape them into round balls.
  • Take one piece and roll out into a circle shape until about 3mm thick which is about 10 inches diameter.
  • Lift and place onto some baking paper.
  • Then take your Nutella and spread a layer of Nutella all over the piece of rolled out dough, leaving a slight edge.
  • Then take the second piece of dough and roll out as before and then place onto the first layer of dough and chocolate. Then spread a layer of chocolate onto this second layer.
  • Then take the third piece of dough and roll out as before and then place onto the second layer of dough and chocolate. Then spread a layer of chocolate onto this third layer.
  • Then take the last piece of dough and roll out as before and place onto the third layer of dough and chocolate. Cut around the edges making them all similar and removing excess dough.
  • Then you need to place a glass into the centre of the pile of dough. Then with a sharp knife you need to cut into 16 equal pieces. Start by cutting one slice then cutting on the opposite side if the glass. Then cutting half way between those two point so you have 4 cuts. Then cut into the half of each of those cuts. Then cut into half of the 8 cuts so you have 18 pieces.
  • The take hold of two pieces of the 18. Twist outwards once, then twist outwards twice and then twist a half twist to bring the ends together.  Repeat with the rest of the dough until all twisted.
  • Lift the baking paper and place the dough and the paper onto a tray. Then wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rise for between 1 and 2 hours.  
  • Once it has risen it is good to brush the flower with a glaze mixture of 1 tablespoon of milk and one tablespoon of water. 
  • Place into the oven for 20-25 minutes at 180 Degrees.
  • Allow to cool and then you can finish by dusting lightly with icing sugar. 


I highly suggest watching the following video by Titli, which makes it easier to follow the instructions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcgk-j8BS1c