Mother's Day Love

Mother's Day is just around the corner and it's time we said thank you to our mummies for all they do! I love that Mother's Day falls just as spring has sprung as it gives me the perfect excuse to incorporate plenty of flowers and bright colours in to my gifts (as if I need an excuse). And in the essence of being a child again, it's only right that we hand make our cards.

I saw this little watering can flower pot in Asda for an absolute bargain price of £2.50 and instantly fell in love. Isn't it the cutest thing?! Asda have a great range of flower accessories like this at the moment so if you haven't picked something up for your Mum yet I'd recommend you go for a trip before Sunday. The watering can was plain white when I bought it but I couldn't resist adding my own personal touch with some little hand painted pink dots with some acrylic paint. Just perfect for my Mum's work desk and I can't wait to give it to her.

My boyfriend even got stuck in to the DIY for his Mum and made this adorable tea set in to a lavender scented teacup candle. You can see my tutorial for making candles here.

Home made card. Inspiration - Pinterest

I live 3 hours away from my Mum, it's not easy being so far away but hopefully it won't always be like that and it is sure going to be alot easier to see her once I can drive (fingers crossed soon!). This weekend I am lucky enough to be spending the weekend with her when she comes to visit tomorrow night. The pink wine is chilling in the fridge already and I can't wait!

What are your plans this weekend to spoil your Mum?

Some Dairy and Gluten Free Goodness

This weekend was a lazy weekend full of Breaking Bad marathons wrapped in fluffy blankets, late lunches and watching the sun stream through the bedroom window. As much as I love busy weekends socialising and going on trips, sometimes you just need some time at home to relax from a hectic week.

I've had a gluten free diet for the past 8 years since discovering I was intolerant at 16. After a few years you get so used to what you can and can't have that keeping a gluten free diet isn't actually as devastating as you might think, although don't get me wrong, I still wish I could eat proper pizza every day of the week! Recently however, I have been feeling like something else is wrong. I have been sticking to the gluten free and still feeling like crap. I started to cut out dairy and suddenly feel alot better (still not entirely but hopefully the doctor will shed some light on that!). 

But here's the thing - living gluten and dairy free is NOT easy! And here's where the wonderful blogging world has been coming to my rescue. Just this weekend I tried out two recipes from blogs, one from The Londoner for dairy free ice cream and one from Handmade Charlotte for grain free "n'oatmeal" - both are simple to make, use every day ingredients and are completely dairy and gluten free, yay!

Are any of you dairy or gluten free? Do you have any recipes which get you through the day?!

Fairy Project #4 Teacup Candles

Ever since I saw my first teacup candle in a shop I knew I loved them, but also knew that surely they couldn't be so difficult to make. At around £12 each in the shop, I decided to do my research and make my own! 
I'd recommend these teacup candles to anyone as it was SUPER easy! You can pick up teacups in charity shops and they are normally very well priced; the one I used here cost £2 and it is real bone china.

For the candles you will need:
Wax - I used soy wax after reading loads of reviews about the pros and cons of soy and parrafin wax. In the end I went for the soy as it meant to be more natural, but both types have their benefits!
Wicks
Colour dye (optional) - I used a tiny amount of fushcia dye which turned a lovely lilacy pink colour
Scent (optional) - I used lavender oil and it smells so good!

Fill your teacup with the wax flakes about two times over and then transfer to an old pan sitting inside a bigger pan which has simmering water until the wax will begin to melt and go clear. 

In your teacup, place one of the wicks in the centre and hold straight by placing the wick between two pens taped together at the top - this will keep the wick centred when the hot wax is poured in.

In the pan, add in a couple of small pieces of your colour dye to the melting wax (the wax will look really bright but as it sets the colour will lighten) and a few drops of your scent and pour carefully in to the teacup. 

Leave to set for 12 hours and then enjoy how pretty it looks!

Things Which Make Me Smile #2

Following on from yesterday's post, here are some more things which make me smile. Of course the most relevant thing to make me smile today is that it's Friday!

3. Fumbling upon amazing places you had no idea existed

I love travelling, and I love travelling "off the beaten track". Before I go away on a trip, I usually end up spending hours on the internet searching things like "quirky places to go in Paris" or "best street art in Berlin". I think you get to know a place far better when you jump on the underground and head on out of the town a bit - it's quieter, it's definitely cheaper and you're way more likely to come across something which makes you stop and want to take a million photos. That's not to say the big attractions of major cities aren't interesting or wonderful in their own right or that they shouldn't be visited, but if you have 3 or 4 days to spend somewhere new, a day or two spent adventuring the unknown with a coffee and my camera is what I like to do best.

Building in Berlin

Garden in Montmartre, Paris

Manchester

Bricklane, London

Pitlochry, Scotland

Bricklane, London

Scone Palace, back when I had pink hair!

4. The Edinburgh Festival

For those of you who have been to the Edinburgh Festival, you will know how unique and cool and absolutely manic it is. For those who haven't, the Edinburgh Festival takes place every year for the month of August and consists of thousands of shows - comedy, dance, art, theatre, burlesque, magic, circus, basically anything and everything you could imagine plus a whole lot of weird on top of that - which take place in various venues over the whole of the city. 

Some of the shows are by professionals and cost money, some are by amateurs and are cheap or even free. Pubs and clubs open till 5am, shows go on all night, there are crowds of people on every corner and the whole city is BUZZING.

I could go in to much more detail but I will leave that until August when I get to go again...for now I hope I've intrigued you enough to book a trip up for a couple of days and come and see it all first hand!

5. Cocktails
Because let's be honest, who doesn't love cocktails? And since it's Friday, it'd be rude not to include these!

Things Which Make Me Smile #1

Since today marks International Happiness day, I have decided to do a few posts over the coming days about things which make me...and hopefully you!...smile. 

I've had my camera a lot longer than Fairy in the Blossom Tree has been around and so through these posts I am going to show you some of the things which I get up to in my life. I really enjoy reading other people's blog posts where you find out what they like, where they've been and what they've been up to...so if you're nosey like me then you might enjoy these next few posts of mine!

Today's things which make me smile are:

1. The Sun
A few years ago I spent a summer in Tanzania in Africa teaching first aid to children in rural schools. During my time away, I saw some of the most amazing things I've ever seen. One of these had to be the sunrises. It still doesn't feel like it was me when I say that I have seen the sun rise over the Ngorongoro crater before going on safari, or that I sat on a deserted beach in Zanzibar at 5.30am watching ladies pick seaweed from the shores, but thankfully I have the photos to prove it!
I think travelling is a very important part of life and whilst going to far flung places like Africa might be a little too extreme for some people, I do think everyone should try at least once to go somewhere that is totally out of their comfort zone. The things you learn about yourself are amazing.
The most poignant lesson I learnt about myself from my 2 months in Africa? That no matter where I go, I WILL lose my mobile phone within 2 days of having it, no matter what!

Sunrise over the Ngorongoro crater, Tanzania

Seaweed pickers, Bwejuu beach, Zanzibar

Pier jumpers in Stonetown, Zanzibar

2. Food

Who doesn't enjoy their food?! I find so much pleasure from what food can bring - obviously the first and foremost is that it's bloomin' yummy, but I love the way food brings friends and family together, whether it be a birthday meal out to a restaurant, a summer BBQ in the park or a big Sunday breakfast in your PJs with your love. 

Breakfast in Gullane, Scotland

Pizza from the Vittoria Van at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Birthday dinner for the boy!

Fresh croissants and coffee in Paris

Currywurst at the German Market in Edinburgh

What makes you smile? Would you like to see more of these kinds of posts?

Coffee Table Browsin'

No coffee table is complete without some good "flicky" books. By this I mean books which you and any guests can pick up and have a quick scan through - think big, interesting and of course, pretty, pictures, and plenty of them!
I do a rotation every now and then of what books are on the table but my firm faves are definitely my Audrey Hepburn one (which I picked up in a charity shop for £7!) and the "Vintage Home" by Sarah Moore which are both just brimming with gorgeous bold photos. The "Everything is Going to be OK" book is also great for a browse when you're feeling in need of some inspiration since it's full of drawings and postcards with uplifting and cute sayings and phrases.

 Of course a coffee table's best friend is also some pretty flowers! My boyfriend came home on Friday night with 3 bunches of pastel loveliness and I had my first go at doing some flower arranging...what do you think?!