Hand-painted Christmas Decorations, Teodora Paintings Style

 

My hand-painted Christmas decorations are selling quite well on both Etsy and Folksy platforms, not just around Christmas but all year round. I keep them listed and I am surprised to see them going in the middle of the summer. As they were flying off the shelves so to speak, I decided to create some more, even though it might be a bit late in the year. 

Halloween Food

 

I have never done Haloween inspired food before, nor have I decorated the house for this autumn celebration, although I did add some decorative pumpkins in the past. For me, is more of an autumnal display but this year, I decided to do a little bit more. So in preparation for the big day (or weekend), I practised some easy recipes, took some photos and then I decided to share them here. There is not a lot to write about them as they are very simple and straightforward and as a bonus, they are truly delicious! My husband and I decided to make the mummy hot dog one of our favourite party snacks. 

Thursday Inspiration: Autumn Flowers at Eden Project Cornwall

Make Your Own Spiders for Halloween

 

Allotment Life: What to Do with Your Green Tomatoes

 

What do you do if you cared for your tomatoes until they are about to ripen only to realise they contracted some kind of disease so they turn brown instead of red?  Would you give up or find the most amazing green tomatoes chutney recipe? Yep, the latter is the better option. Absolutely yummy!! 😋

My Gardening Planner

 

I was very inspired to create this gardening planner which is packed with drawings, descriptions of plots, gardening tips from my own experience and recipes. This is my first year of gardening and I absolutely loved having an allotment to keep me busy during these strange times. The weather was glorious which was an absolute bonus. 

Courgettes Five Ways

 

I haven't posted anything lately as I was very busy with my allotment. This is my first year of having it and I am a complete beginner. So amongst reading gardening blogs, taking photos and watching 'Gardeners' World' every Friday, I was way too busy to learn than actually having the time to post. I won't be getting into details about successes and failures, but one of the unpredicted consequences was that I ended up with a prolific crop of courgettes. 

Recycled Planters and Plant Labels

We were so lucky to get an allotment last year in summer and because it was too late in the year and wildly overgrown, we only started to work it this year. We got some seeds on sale from a local garden centre in autumn to get ready for planting this year and when the lockdown restrictions came, I knew that gardening would keep me busy. But one thing that I didn't have enough of and could no longer get were planters. Internet is full of inspiration and you are just a click away from the next idea for your projects. So here are my solutions as inspired by other keen gardeners and recyclers. 

Lockdown Sketchbook

Take the lockdown isolation, gorgeous weather and an eagerness to experiment with drawing flowers, my sketchbook started to look rather colourful these days. I am not doing it in the hope to transform the sketchings into paintings, but for capturing the flowers from my garden on a different media other than a photo. Not to mention the practising factor which I have been doing rather sporadically lately.