DIY - Heart Shaped Sugar Cubes

We have some sweet treats for all your DIY fans out there. A fab ideas for wedding favours, these heart shaped sugar cubes are the cutest thing!

They are super simple to make, but look so gorgeous!

Gather together all the items you'll need. Let's begin! 

1. First off, pour out some regular caster sugar into a bowl. Obviously how much you'll need will depend on how many you want to make, but start off with half a cereal bowl amount - or about 150g.

2. Take your food colouring, and pour a teaspoon into the sugar. Stir it in until it's thoroughly combined. This can actually take a while, so have patience. If you feel like the sugar isn't 'wet' enough to combine the food colour, add a teaspoon of cold water. You want the final texture to be like damp sand. It needs to be even in colour so sticking to smaller batches of sugar will actually make this stage easier.

3. Once you are happy it's evenly coloured, tip it out onto a flat surface. We used a plate to avoid covering the floor with blue sugar!

4. Take the back of a spoon and press the sugar flat. Make it just under 1cm thick.

5. Now, take a clean cutter and press it into the sugar. You can get these from cake shops to cut icing and they come in a wide range of shapes.

6. Carefully, lift the cutter out - this requires a delicate touch!

7. With a little tap onto the baking paper, the sugar will pop out. Make sure they are on a flat surface and try to avoid touching them now as they are really delicate.

All that's left is to repeat the process to make as many hearts and as many colours as you need. Leave them in a warm place to go hard, and within 30 minutes, you can gather them into pretty bowls, decant into individual envelopes and give them to your guests! 

Here's an idea, why not have a beautiful bowl of them on each table when you give your guests tea and coffee? Or create a little pouch with 2 teabags in and some sugar cubes for your guests to take away with them and enjoy the following day?

Enjoy!

Henry and Flora x

DIY - Sweet Jar Place Cards

Hurrah, the seating plan is sorted! Phew! Now, you'll need somehow to show guests where they are sitting on their table. Folded place cards are a lovely idea, but we've found that unless you or a friend has beautiful handwriting you can be left disappointed with the result.

We have put together a nifty way of creating quirky place cards, that also doubles as cute little favours.

You will need:

Paper for the names (it doesn't have to be brown kraft paper!)

Assortment of fabric - we love mis-matching patterns and colours!

Sweets

Twine or pretty ribbon to tie around the fabric

Mini pegs - widely available

Scallop circle punch - available here

Paper flowers - available at most haberdashery shops

Letter rubber stamps - like these

Ink pad - available in many colours, we used white!

So, get the lid from the jar and cut out a circle of fabric that's about 4 cm bigger all round. If you are careful, you can lay several pieces of fabric on top of one another and cut 2 or 3 pieces at one. Then, fill the jars with your sweets and screw the lid on. Place the fabric on top and secure with twine - tying in a bow. Cut a scalloped circle from the brown paper with the punch, and start stamping your guests' names. We suggest finding the middle letter of the name and stamping that right in the middle of the circle. Then work your way outwards - this way you won't have an off-centered name! Fix to the bow you tied with a mini peg, and if you want, add a paper flower! You could maybe glue on a button or even sparkly gemstones!

It's a simple idea but will look so sweet sitting on everyone's placemats. Also, it's a great way to create something for your wedding yourself without getting too stressed out, as once you have all your materials gathered they can take less than10 minutes each. And if you have lots of guests, why not invite people over to lend a hand - you can get your own little production line going!

You don't have to stop at sweets, perhaps loose tea, coffee or even homemade jam is more your style! Simple, sweet, and tasty - what's not to love?

Pinterest Love - Pom Poms!

We have gathered together some of our favourite images of pom poms from Pinterest. From hanging displays that add interest to an otherwise neglected space in a room, to decorating cakes and even adding wire hooks to create name cards, pom poms are so versatile! We love the idea of pom pom confetti - perhaps not the quickest, nor the most eco-friendly - but that aside, how cute would it be to throw pom poms over the newly wedded couple?!

Credits: 1. Potter and Butler 2. Pom Pom Factory 3. via. RuffledBlog 4. via. Rustic Wedding Chic 5. via. Style M ePretty 6. Aliexpress 7. via. Martha Stewart 8. via. Red Velvet Occasions 9. Pom Pom Factory 10. Antropologie 11. Pippi

Alphabet Bags = Our New Obsession!

We have fallen in love all over again.

Alphabet Bags is an online shop selling tote bags, purses, pouches and other lovely accessories all with beautiful and simple typography on them.

They have various collections for sale but, obviously, our favourite was their wedding collection.

Can you imagine anyone not being thrilled receiving one of these bags?! All designs come in a range of delightful colours so you are sure to be able to find something to match your theme. They are the ideal tote for your lovely bridesmaids or maid of honour - fill them with gifts and let them carry out their duties in style!

We nearly squealed when we saw this 'bride' pouch - so useful for all those little items you just can't do without on your big day!

Out of all their gorgeous designs, our favourite here at Henry and Flora has got to be the glittery heart pouch! The heart design has been printed in super sparkly gold glitter on soft natural canvas with a natural cotton lining.  Not just for weddings, these pouches are perfect for any party too - who wants a heavy, dull handbag when you could have one of these!?

The perfect accessory for your big day. Ideal for carrying essentials and they'd make a fun prop for photos! They are also a wonderful keepsake for when the big day is over.

All of these items are for sale at www.alphabetbags.com

You can also follow what Lucas and Hayley are up to over on their blog.

DIY - Lemon Sugar Scrub

Dry skin is a year round issue. The last thing you want when you show off your wedding ring to your guests is dry, flakey skin! So if you want your skin to look buffed and polished, and beautifully moisturised, then read on. Not only does a good exfoliation get rid of dead skin cells, the circular massage motions increases blood flow which leaves your skin looking radiant.

For our lemon sugar scrub, you will need:

100ml olive oil

200g caster sugar

1 lemon

Clean empty jam jar, or Kilner jar

(This fills one small jam jar. You can easily make a larger quantity, just aim for roughly 1-part oil to 2-parts sugar)

Spoon into clean jam jars or retro Kilner jars, add a label and tie it on with twine or ribbon. And that's it! It really is that simple. 

Use on your hands twice a week and you'll soon notice the difference. Why not use it on your feet, elbow and knees too? These also make great gifts, just be sure to tell anyone who has sensitive skin to rub gently.

As this is a totally natural product, we recommend that you store it out of direct sunlight and in a cool place. 

Henry and Flora x