Folksy Friday ~*Lammas*~

Well it's nearly August 1st, the time of the first harvest or Lammas/Lughnasadh.  I love this time of year where everything is ripening up for Autumn and the hedgerows are laden with berries and also the sunsets are beautiful over the fields.

So this week, my inspiration for finding Folksy Friday items has been the sight of fields full of wheat and barley surrounding the area where I live.  The word 'Lammas' is derived from 'loaf mass' and is indicative of how central and honoured is the first grain and the first loaf of the harvesting cycle.

 

This pretty love heart corn dolly can be found in Kays 

 

This elegant corn and marigold brooch can be found in Lynwoodcrafts 

 

This charming John Barleycorn  carving can be found in Woodwose Carving and Crafts

And finally this beautiful yarn 'Lammas Night' yarn can be found in Solstice Yarns

Just checking in...

Sorry I haven't been around much to blog lately.  No real excuses really, apart from just being generally busy!

Tomorrow I will post a Folksy Friday which will feature some lovely items I feel are ideal for Lammas on August 1st.  But in the meantime, here are some newly listed soaps in my Folksy shop.  They're not designs, just some popular craft fair soaps that I thought would also do well online!  Thanks for looking...

Candied Ginger & Fig Glycerine Soap (scented with ginger and fig and brown sugar fragrance oils)

 

'Birthday Cake' Shea Butter Soap (scented with dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk and sugar fragrance oils)

 

Citrus Creme Glycerine Soap (scented with satsuma, grapefruit and sugarcane fragrance oils) 

Folksy Friday - ~*Coconut*~

This week's Folksy Friday is brought to you by Coconuts!  I chose coconut because my latest soap it coconut scented:

Calming Coconut Shea Butter Soap. This is a dreamy pure white coconut scented soap with pearlescent swirls throughout the slice. It has added shea butter for extra moisturising qualities and coconut milk powder to give it a creamy lather. Pure luxury!

Making this soap inspired me to check out the other items on Folksy which were made using coconut materials, and it opened my eyes to how versatile they are!

This amazing brooch is made with coconut shell and is available from FLOURISH

 This virgin organic coconut oil can be found in Cebra ethical skincare and it can be used for a whole host of things!

And finally, this innovative coconut tea light holder is available from Wentworth Wood

Truly an  amazing fruit (or is it a nut??!)

Folksy Friday - ~*Donkeys*~

My apologies for not doing a Folksy Friday last week, but I was away on a short break with the hubs and my daughter in sunny Devon.  It was a really nice trip and we visited a place called The Donkey Sanctuary.  It's such a wonderful place and a lovely day out.  It is literally a sanctuary for rescued donkeys and they rely completely on donations to keep running.  Apart from rescuing donkeys, they also work closely with children with special needs and have their own day centre at the sanctuary where the children have a play area and can visit the donkeys.  

Here are some pictures of the lovely donkeys!

Aren't they awesome?!

Anyway, I was so impressed by these modest creatures that I decided to find the best donkey inspired items on Folksy for my Folksy Friday this week.  This is was I found...

This beautiful watercolour painting can be bought from eastwitching 

This lovely mouse mat can be found in Clever Ferret

...and finally this adorable donkey cross-stitch picture can be found in Sew Lovely

New soaps for Midsummer

Last weekend, I finally got into the kitchen to create some new soaps and have a play around with the new moulds I ordered a while ago.  And here are the results! ...

This is Midsummer Goddess Shea Butter soap (SLS-free).  It's scented with a sensual blend of patchouli, ginseng and cinnamon and it's has a beautiful depiction of The Goddess in shimmering golden mica on a purpley summer sunset coloured background.  Available now in my Folksy shop!

This is my Nectarine and Honey Blossom Shea Butter soap.  A luxury, SLS-free glycerine soap, in the shape of a teardrop with intricate Victorian style patterning. With added moisturising shea butter and scented with a lovely feminine nectarine and honey blossom fragrance oil.  Also available in my Folksy shop!

Folksy Friday: ~*Africa*~

I thought for this weeks Folksy Friday, I would find items inspired by Africa or made with African sourced materials as it's the World Cup at the moment, which, if you hadn't noticed (!) is being hosted by South Africa this time round.  I'm also half South African, thanks to my late Dad and I was also born in Johannesburg, so Africa is rather close to my heart :)

 This beautiful bone and glass necklace can be found in Daeb

 This vibrant choker can be also be bought from Daeb

  

 These cute African animal finger puppets can be found in MuNGBEANS

 And finally, this stunning Africa sunset greetings card can be found in Annie's Cards

Honey, Honey, Honey!!

It is now the height of Summer, our lovely bees are now making honey and the Midsummer full moon is known as the 'Honey Moon'.  Honey is wonderful for the skin as it's a natural humectant, meaning that it attracts and holds in moisture.

To celebrate this time of year, I have made a Somerset Honey soap, using SLS-free glycerine soap base, beautiful golden mica and pure honey from local Kingsbury Episcopi bees.

Available now in my Folksy Shop!

A Honey Cake is a perfect way to celebrate Midsummer, or to give as a gift. Make it with locally produced honey if you can. (Recipe from www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk)

Ingredients:

225 gms Butter
250 gms Honey
100 gms Dark Muscovado Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
300 gms Self-Raising Flour

Cut the butter into pieces and heat slowly, adding the honey and the sugar. When fully melted, turn up the heart and boil the mixture for one minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Add the beaten eggs to the cooled honey mixture. Sift the flour into a large bowl and beat the liquid honey mixture into it until you have a smooth batter.

Pour the mixture into a round lined sponge tin and bake in a preheated oven at 160C for about 50 mins - or until the cake is well-risen and springs back to the touch.

Cool on a rack and glaze with a few tablespoons of warm honey.