Vertical pallet planter DIY

pallet garden DIY We’d all love to have acres of space outside our back doors – giant lawns where we can sit out for breakfast, embark on elaborate landscaping projects and perhaps host a small football match.

Sadly, as our city-dwelling readers will know, this isn't always a possibility. Which is why we love Fern Richardson so much. Her blog (and book), Life on the Balcony, is a haven of tricks and tips for those of us who only have a small space to work with but still want to get a little mud under our fingernails.

Pallet Garden DIY

One of her most genius ideas is this vertical pallet planter DIY. It ticks all the boxes of a good small-scale gardening project - easy to do, looks great and takes up barely more ground space than a plant pot. If you make like Fern and hunt out a second hand pallet, it’s dirt cheap too!

Do any of our readers have useful ideas for making the most of small gardening spaces that they’d like to share? We’re always on the hunt for inspiration!

 

Printed umbrella DIY

umbrella-printing-Christine-wisniewski Oh, it's been a bit of a drizzly summer, hasn't it? Luckily, Christine Wisnieski from Design for Mankind is here to save us from the rainy-day blues with her printed umbrella DIY.

You can use whatever colours and shapes you fancy, put personally we're big fans of Christine's day-glo orange / on-trend geometrics combo! After all, if the skies are grey, what's better than a little shocking neon to brighten things up? Check out Design for Mankind to see how she did it!

Pesto 3 ways

pesto-recipe-loveandlemons Hands up who's got a jar of pesto in their fridge? We've definitely guilty of this one. Pesto is one of those things which is SO good home-made that we're not sure why we buy it. Plus, it's incredibly easy to make - seriously, it's barely more complicated than opening the jar!

We were chuffed to find this pesto recipe post on Love & Lemons, in which foodie blogger Jeanine has provided us with a whole load of alternative pesto recipes . Mix up your basil with roasted red pepper, swap pine nuts for walnuts or add some honey or balsamic vinegar to shift the sweet / sour balance. Pop over to Love & Lemons to find out more!

Book launch: Cupcakes and Cashmere

cupcakes-and-cashmere Today, we thought we'd take a little break from our Simple Things magazine excitement to let you know about another fab launch.

Cupcakes and Cashmere is now not only the title of one of our favourite blogs, but it's also the title of a fabulous book! Creator Emily Schuman's first book promises more of what she does best on her blog - cute and quirky fashion, unique interiors ideas and chilled out entertaining.

Have a rifle inside and hear what Emily's thoughts on the Cupcakes and Cashmere blog. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom to see her simple ideas for home-made cards, too - we love.

Plum jam recipe

plum-jam-recipe There's something wonderfully homely and comforting about jam made from scratch. Plums are at their best this month so now's the ideal time to boil up a batch of sticky plum jam.

Blogger Yossy from Apt 2b baking has provided us with two plum jam recipes - one for small sugar plums, and a spiced plum jam flavoured with vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon.

If you feel a little odd about using such Christmassy spices in the middle of August, remind yourself that your jam will last well into December and beyond, when there is not a plum in sight. Sometimes a little forward planning pays off!

Braided rug tutorial

braided-rug-tutorial We've just unearthed this braided rug tutorial on A Beautiful Mess and we're itching to get plaiting. This DIY requires no sewing whatsoever, just a little patience and a big scrap fabric stash (check, and check!).

It may not be rug weather at the moment, but we thought we'd give you a little heads up on this one as it looks like it's going to take a little time. We love Elsie's bright colour choices and the fact she's mixed up plain fabric with gingham for a laid back, shabby chic effect.