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.

Personalised toasting forks for Father's Day

We think dads may be the most difficult people to buy for. Unless yours has a genuine penchant for golf-themed socks or novelty mugs, you’ll be having problems deciding what to buy for Father's Day.

Well, blogger Miranda of One Little Minute’s suggestion is personalised toasting forks, and we have to say we think it’s a great idea.

A little light DIY (of which your father will surely approve – honestly, it’s a win/win situation) and you have a unique gift that’ll add a lovely personal touch to this summer’s BBQs. Pop over to Miranda’s guest post on Design Mom to find out how to make your own.

Vegetable of the month ... peas

We love peas. Just as good from frozen as they are fresh, no chopping required and they cook in no time at all. What’s not to like?

Well, apparently, not everyone is such a fan of the tiniest of the vegetables. In a bid to change this, we’ve hunted around for the most exciting pea recipes (bear with us) to share with you.

First of all, peas and pasta. Everyone knows that peas go with carbonara but have you ever tried pea pesto? Nah, thought not. Recipe pro Deb from Smitten Kitchen has come up with a pea pesto recipe which looks super-simple and totally gorgeous. Pop over to her blog for a peek.

We can’t help but be intrigued by Beyond [the Plate]’s pea and ricotta spread. Blogger Danielle’s recipe combines creamy ricotta and sweet peas with roasted garlic to give an ‘earthy, aromatic kick’. We’ll be following her example and serving this on toasted bread for a light lunch with a difference.

There’s definitely something about peas that says Springtime. What do we like most about Spring food? Salads. And so, we present this lentil and shell pea salad recipe from La Buena Vida. This salad had been ramped up a notch with feta for creamyness, pistachios for crunch and mint to keep it fresh, and we cannot wait to try it out.

Have we converted you yet?

Click to see the rest of our vegetable of the month series!

Book shelf: My Cool Shed

What do you have tucked away in your shed? Apparently, sheds can be much more than hidey-holes for lawn mowers and cracked plant pots, as Jane Field-Lewis proves in her new book, My Cool Shed.

Following on from the success of My Cool Caravan and My Cool Campervan, this latest offering delves into the nation's hippest sheds, cabins and beach huts and invites you to meet their creative / reclusive / crafty owners.

Check out Jane's My Cool... blog for a little taster of what's in store.

Have you read any of Jane's books? What do you think? Let us know below!

Stitch some mitre-edged cloth napkins

There’s no denying that cloth napkins add a special touch to a meal. Crafty blogger Elisabeth from My Growing Home has created a helpful guide on how to sew linen napkins, guest posted over at Design Mom.

She’s included special instructions on how to sew mitre-edges for a super-neat professional finish. We won’t lie, the photo guide looks a lot more like origami than we’re entirely comfortable with, but we're assured that it’s far simpler than it appears.

We love the quirky charm of mismatched napkins, and hate wasting material, so we’ll be using this tutorial as an excuse to dive into our stash of fabric scraps.

Vintage umbrellas for drizzly days

It is not easy to look good in the rain. Damp clothes, frizzy hair … let's not get started on the see-through shirt issue. If you’re not planning on embracing pac-a-mac chic, we’ve found another way to guard against unseasonable drizzle. Etsy is an online treasure trove of vintage umbrellas and parasols.

Miss Salty Vintage has found this vintage floral print umbrella. We adore the bottle green and rose pink combo on the fabric.

For a 50s vibe, check out this Vintage Pagoda umbrella from Archivia. Its listed as a ‘dress umbrella’, so we’re not sure how good it’ll be at keeping you dry, but we couldn’t resist its retro charm.

Or, if you’re really planning on splashing out (sorry, that was unintentional… honest), Aesthetikara has managed to get her hands on a vintage Dior umbrella with wooden fittings and a suede handle for true rainy-day glam.

Find a miniature terrarium landscape

The Slug and the Squirrel have done something magical to the humble terrarium.

In their unique designs, wild mosses, locally grown plants, sand and earth find their home in vintage and found bottles and jars of all kinds, to create whimsical designs inspired by far-away landscapes.

Pop over to The Slug and the Squirrel's beautiful website to see their unique range of terrariums for yourself.

If you fancy making one of your own, pop over to crafty blog The Little Red House for a terrarium how to. We love the way blogger Sheena has chosen straight-edged jars, and used her terrariums as quirky book ends.

Wordless Wednesdays ... street party nostalgia

From Join me in the 1900s.

Learn the capital's secrets in the London Style Guide

Born and bred Londoner Saska Graville has decided to divulge her insider secrets in her London Style Guide. As we all suspected, true London style doesn’t reside in Big Ben or the London Eye, but tucked away in backstreet bars and pubs, cool boutiques and hidden markets. London Style Guide also gives us a little window into the lives of those who have shaped our capital, with interviews with the likes of boutique owner Brix Smith-Start and hotelier Kit Kemp.

If you’re as curious as we are, keep an eye out in your local bookshop from 7th June.

Deck the house out in Jubilee designs

It’s another Jubilee themed post, sorry. We can’t help it, we’re caught up in all the excitement! This time, its a round up of all the best products inspired by Her Majesty. Back to normal tomorrow, we promise.

First up, this pop art postage stamp bunting from Etsy's LottieDots1. Crafter Laura’s design has a cool, retro feel that will definitely stand out in the midst of all the red, white and blue.

Secondly, we’re buying into the age-old tradition of commemorative tea towels. Our favourites are Rocket St. George’s Singing in the Reign design (love a good pun), Lovely Jubilee from Hunted and Stuffed (there we go again) and this commemorative Corgi tea towel, also from Rocket St. George.

Finally, we’ll be rounding off our day with a lovely cup of tea, which we will be sipping from a delicate corgi teacup purchased from Emilou Makes on Etsy. With a raised little finger, of course.

Cool down with fruity ice cubes

We applaud anyone that can take the stress out of summertime entertaining. Bits of Taste’s idea for fruit ice cubes is a cool way to add a colourful twist to your drinks without having to faff around with fresh fruit and the like while your guests are waiting.

Make up a load in advance, then when people arrive, just pop 'em out of their moulds and into your glasses. Tah dah! Instant drama and a cool drink all in one. Cheers.

Bake up a storm with Jubilee cakes

If you’re living in the UK, you’ll know what’s happening this weekend. That’s right, Jubilee time! 60 years on the throne for Queen Liz! Street parties! Union flags everywhere! FOUR days off!

Phew. Exciting times. The proper British thing to do seems to be to mark the event with cake, and lots of it.

We’ll be baking up a storm, starting with a Jubilee sponge cake with blueberries and strawberries. Our favourite recipe comes from Edd Kimber, aka The Boy Who Bakes (is that name ringing any bells? Edd’s the man who had us all attempting macaroons back in series one of The Great British Bake Off).

To take along to our local street party, we’ll be trying out these Jubilee cupcake swirls à la The Magenta Cakes Blog. This looks like a super-easy way to achieve Union Jack style icing, but we’ll let you know how simple it really is once we’ve tried it.

Finally, we’ll be displaying our creations in style on their very own cupcake thrones. Or maybe not…

Do you have any impressive Jubilee cakes you’d like to share with us? Pop them on our facebook page for us all to coo over!

Button up a shirt cushion cover

Cushion covers are pretty easy to make, right? If you can make anything, you can make a cushion cover. Impressively, Ducks In a Row has managed to simplify the process even further with her upcycled shirt cushion cover DIY.

No fiddling around with zips or buttonholes, no painstakingly hand-stitching the final seam. Just sew around your cushion pad and unbutton! (Pop over to Ducks in a Row for proper instructions, we definitely missed a few steps there...).

These will look fab just as they are, but it's also really easy to make a kids' version. Blogger Chrissann has customised hers by tucking some surprises into the pockets - check out the cute love heart, retro pocket watch or for the more tech-savvy infant, a felt Blackberry!

Share some sticky marmalade picnic bread

Enthused by yesterday's Etsy cutlery wrap discovery, we’ve spent all morning hunting out recipes for lovely nibbly food to take on all the picnics we’ll be having.

This marmalade picnic bread recipe from apt 2b baking is quite possibly the ultimate in picnic food. It combines bread and filling in one handy loaf which can be pulled apart for sharing. No need to pack sticky jam jars, knives or cutting boards! How clever.

So clever, in fact, it renders our new knife and fork wraps totally obsolete. Looks like we’ll have to extend our picnic food hunt a little longer…

Keep your picnic tidy with cutlery wraps

The sun is shining, the grass is green and jackets are stowed securely back in our wardrobes. That’s right, picnic season is upon us.

To make al fresco eating much more practical, Etsy seller NStar Studios has come up with these genius picnic cutlery wraps. Roll it up and tie it in a bow to keep your cutlery neatly together rather than clattering around the bottom of your hamper and poking holes in your food bags.

Designer Nicky Ross gets extra points for using bamboo cutlery (reusable, and much more eco-friendly than plastic) and designing a pouch that can be put in the washing machine, ready for the inevitable (or is that just us?) lemonade / yoghurt / juice explosion.

Craft yourself a piglet tea towel

We’re always on the lookout for ways to put our stamp on our homes and we think we may just have found the perfect idea.

This piglet tea towel tutorial from Elsie Marley is a great way of adding individuality without compromising on functionality – after all, it’s no good if it doesn’t dry the dishes and can’t be thrown in the washing machine!

Elsie has included a simple how-to and we're pleased to find that it requires hardly any effort (and minimal artistic skill!) to achieve such a professional-looking result.

Bake a chocolate beetroot cake

How pretty is this cake?

Blogger Joy the Baker has sidestepped unnatural dyes and the like and still managed to bring us a confection the colour of which is rarely seen outside of a sweet shop. Her secret? Beetroot.

Joy’s recipe for chocolate beetroot cake with cream cheese icing includes grated beetroot to keep the texture moist and the colour bright. The taste, Joy assures us, is sweet-but-not-too-sweet and absolutely, definitely, not like a salad!

It is worth bearing in mind that beetroot is messy though, so don some rubber gloves if you don’t want your hands to look like Miss Piggy for days afterwards.

Of course, you can leave the beetroot out of the icing if you want to keep it classy and cream-coloured, but we think that there’s nothing wrong with the occasional touch of kitsch, especially when it comes to cake!

Clear your clutter with magazine stash seats

We hate throwing out old magazines. For instant inspiration, nothing beats a quick flick through a few back issues. That said, we don’t want to be tripping over piles of paper every time we try to walk down the hallway.

German designers NJU Studio have come up with a solution to our problem in the form of these magazine stash seats. They let us display our collections proudly and neatly, where we can still have a quick read when we fancy. Very hoarder-chic, don’t you think?