Summer in a glass - Elderflower Cordial

Summer is here and that means lots of lovely foraging can take place :-)  With the recent mix of sunshine and rain the Elderflowers have stared bursting out all over the place.

So off I went with my gorgeous wicker basket and three children to collect some of those sunshine filled flowers.

They were then turned into cordial which tastes lovely when combined with sparkling water or Cava.

The flowers are so tiny and perfect .......

It's like drinking Summer in a glass ..... the recipe I used is here; Elderflower Cordial Recipe, I got it from this book. Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2   It is full of fantastic recipes, click on the text to be taken to see what other recipes it has in it.

Hobbycraft Giveaway - Texture Boutique Beginners Kit

Hobbycraft are selling this lovely Texture Boutique Beginners Kit which is ideal for avid papercrafters and newbies to the craft.  I don't know about you but I love pottering around Hobbycraft and also love the look of all their lovely papercraft accessories, those gorgeous papers, fab stamps, all those cute things you can stick to a homemade card that makes them so unique and special to the person who receives it.

Now, I wanted to try this out myself but my husband has banned me from getting into any other crafts, what with my sewing, needle felting, crochet ..... well lets just say our house is slowing looking like a craft shop :-) This is lucky for you as it means I am giving it away on my blog instead!   Wwaahooo

Here is a video clip on how you use it ....



HOW TO ENTER

Stop with all this chatting I hear you say, just tell us how to enter, just comment below, easy as that !

For another entry let me know if you have shared on facebook via my Scented Sweetpea page over there, shared on twitter (tell me your twitter address) or if you share via your blog then pop back here and tell me your blog name.

Closing date is Friday 20 June 2014 8pm gmt

Below is all the blurb about it:

Have fun making your own unique handmade greetings cards and more with this Texture Boutique Beginners Kit from Sizzix. Add a special touch to birthdays, holidays, invitations, thank you cards and much more with this fantastic kit.

This Card Making and Embossing 91 Piece Beginners Kit will produce fantastic cards that are sure to impress. This includes 1 card making machine, 2 embossing pads, 1 shim, 3 Textures Impressions embossing folders, 20 A2, 40 sheets of cardstock in 10 different colours, 2 rub on sheets, 1 sandpaper sample and 1 project booklet. The folders included come in three beautiful designs, Flowers and daises, Swirls and dots, Flowers, swirls and dots.

Now you can have fun make your own beautiful cards and save money at the same time. This kit contains all you need create a card for any occasion and then add texture to your design. The kit is so simple to use, that anyone can do it. The only limit to what you create is your imagination. Warning, choking hazard, plastic charm on machine can become detached. Keep away from children three years and under.
Great for adding a special touch to occasions
Machine dimensions 27.9 cm x 19.7 cm x 13.3 cm
Includes 40 sheets of cardstock
Three beautiful embossing folders included
Not suitable for children under 36 months

Hatching Quail

A few weeks back, on the 12th of March to be precise, eldest Sweetpea had some Quail eggs delivered.  He bought them on e-bay of all places and really wanted to hatch them out.

So, we popped them in the incubator and he made sure the humidity and temperature were correct for the eggs.  We had to turn them 3 times a day so that the embryo didn't stick to the side of the egg.  A few days before they were due to hatch we stopped turning them.

 
Fast forward to the 28th March and they started hatching out.  They were so cute, like little fluffy bumble bees with legs :-)  Out of 24 eggs 21 hatched, eldest Sweetpea did good !

Here are some obligatory cute shots of them .....

So tiny but so perfect .... you could fit a few in your hand at once (just so you know we didn't hatch a double headed Quail :-) ).

Then they started to grow.

They loved standing on tippy toes to see what was going on if you put them on your knee.

And they grew ..... now their beautiful feathers started to come through.

After a few weeks Eldest Sweetpea put them in a special pen outside so they could get used to living outside our house.

Then came the time we had to move them into their new home.  They moved in with 'Tiny' our Bantam to start with but she took a liking to eating their feathers so she had to move to a new home in the garden.  Eldest Sweetpea makes sure they have fresh water and food and the all important sand bath which they love.

Then on 25 May, just a few weeks after they hatched out themselves one tiny Quail started to lay ...... we were so excited, it was like finding a golden egg !

I hope you enjoyed reading about our Quail adventure .  I will be back tomorrow with a giveaway so please do pop back.

Take care
x