Simple Gift Giving Idea

I love, love homemade gifts :) both giving and receiving them is so much fun ..

I (with a little help from my girls) made these simple Succulent Gifts as an end of year gift for my girls teachers ..

They are really simple to make and cost effective too (bonus)

Here is what you will need ::

• Succulents
• Pots
• Compost
• Handful of decorative stones 
• Cellophane and ribbon to gift wrap 

Add a little compost to the bottom of each pot, add your succulent and fill with compost , add the stones on top to decorate :) 

I watered mine and left them over night before gift wrapping ..

I added a "Thank you for helping my grow and Bloom this year" to each pot ..

You can find the printable here 

To gift wrap, I covered some cardboard with tissue paper , so that the cellophane would squash the succulent and then tied with natural raffia..

That's it, simple :)  

Teacher's Gift Ideas ....

The long Summer Holidays are less than a week away.  The late nights, movies , picnics and ice cream will soon be filling our days :) ..

The start of the Summer Holidays also means that another school year has ended .. time to show the teachers a little appreciation for all they have done this past year . I am all for more homemade gifts, if you are too here are a few ideas ...

Simple Sweet Gift ~ B Inspired Mamma

Potted Plant ~ The Blackberry Vine

Starbucks Gift Card ~ Unknown 

Hands Down Gift ~ Eighteen 25 

I hope that these ideas have given you a little inspiration ?? 

I will be sharing our gift idea on Wednesday :) 

Are you more a homemade or pre-made gift giver ???

Thought For Thursday ...

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“And suddenly you just know…it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” -Meister Eckhart

As I start on my new adventure with "Oh So Peachy" , I am excited for change, to be challenged ,excited, a little nervous (Is anyone reading what I have to say ?) ... but these feelings drive me to the endless possibilities of starting a fresh..

After all who knows where this adventure could lead ?/?

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Its no secret that I love to experiment in the kitchen. I love how simple ingredients can come together to create something yummy, cookies are definitely one of those edible things you can make in so many ways, perfect for any occasion.

This weekend I had two little helpers :) my 7 and 3 year old..

Here is the recipe we used ....

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Cup butter, softened
• 1 Cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups plain flour  

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

• In a bowl mix cream butter and sugar until smooth.
• Beat in extracts and egg.
• In a separate bowl combine baking powder with flour and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients. The dough will be very stiff. If it becomes too stiff for your mixer turn out the dough onto a worktop.
• DO NOT CHILL THE DOUGH. Divide into workable batches, roll out onto a floured surface and cut. You want these cookies to be on the thicker side.
• Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet until firm enough to transfer to a cooling rac.

We used a simple icing sugar frosting, which we coloured in pink (well what other colour would we use ?? ;)

Enjoy :)

Simple Strawberry Trifle

I love experimenting with new desserts !! The combination of simple ingredients with a pop of colour really makes for an awesome sweet surprise ..

This Simple Strawberry Trifle, will definitely win your guests over and it is really simple to make too, bonus !! 

Ingredients ::

• Pre made Cake/Sponge ~ I used a lemon roll cake 
• Pre made Custard 
• Double or Whipping Cream 
• Fruit of your choice
• Mint and icing sugar to decorate 

Method ::

• Chop the pre-made cake/roll into slices and layer at the bottom of your dish, press together to form your first layer.

• Pour on the custard and smooth out with a spoon.

• Whisk the cream until it becomes smooth but not too thick, add on top of your custard .

• Layer with fruit, I chopped Strawberries in half length ways and places them around the edge, then filled the centre with kiwi  fruit.

• Repeat these steps again ..

• I decorated with a sprig of mint

• When you are ready to serve gently sprinkle with icing sugar.

Serve and enjoy :) 

Do you enjoy experimenting with desserts ?? Let me know your favourite recipes :)

Linking up @ Live Laugh Rowe 

Tips to make Ramadan Fun for Kids

Source 

I came across these tips whilst searching for something else and thought that they were really good and thought I would share them with you too :) 

So, how is your Ramadan so far ?? I am not gonna lie I have found a few days difficult :( but Alhamdulilah ..

I need to catch up with my Quran reading and start my Quran journal Insha'Allah 

I will be back tomorrow sharing a simple Recipe for my Strawberry Trifle !!

Ramadan Gift Baskets ....

Ramadan Mubarak to you all :)

 One of the things I wanted to accomplish this Ramadan was starting a few traditions in our home, getting the girls excited about Ramadan the meaning and a better understanding of the reason Why this month is so special to Muslims.

When I did a search on Pinterest  (because where else do you go when you need some creative inspiration?) I found these awesome Gift Baskets and  i knew I wanted to re-create those for my girls too :)

The contents of each baskets where very similar I just changed the colours up to suit each of my daughters, the older 2 (12,10) had exactly the same and the younger 2 (7,3) had very similar also..

Contents ~ Younger age basket 

• Ramadan Activity set by the Muslim Sticker Company 
• Art Journal
• Colours
• Stickers
• Bubbles
• Paper lantern (to decorate and hang)
• Paper Garland (to colour and hang) Ramadan Joy
• Prayer Beads ~ Check out my simple DIY 
• I also found a Black soap holder , which I thought they could decorate to look like the Kabba
• Embriodery hoop and fabric 

Contents ~ Older Age Basket 

• Ramadan Fasting Chart set by the Muslim Sticker Company 
• Art Journal
• Water Colours
• Stickers
• Bubbles
• Paper lantern (to decorate and hang)
• Paper Garland (to colour and hang) Ramadan Joy
• Prayer Beads ~ Check out my simple DIY 
• I also found a Black soap holder , which I thought they could decorate to look like the Kabba
• Embriodery hoop and fabric 

My girls loved them !!! I definitely think these will be a new tradition and I am looking forward to creating with them this Ramadan whilst we discuss what Ramadan means to us ..