Bespoke handmade picture frames

Bespoke handmade picture frames from King & McGaw | Nursery decor | Saar Manche print | Double Merrick print | Apartment Apothecary

A little sneak peek into the nursery.

I’ll be honest and say I get a lot of emails from companies that sell prints and posters online and they want me to feature them on the blog. One of the main reasons I turn them down is that I know how much of a pain it can be to find frames to fit prints and if you want to get it done properly it can cost a lot of money; far more than the value of the print itself in most cases.

Well, I have a brilliant discovery to share with you today that I hope you will be as excited about as I am. When King & McGaw got in touch I was a little sceptical that their new bespoke handmade framing service would live up to its name but it did – and more. It is not often that companies exceed my expectations but this is one of those occasions and the fact that the service is cheaper, yes cheaper, than the off-the-shelf frames I would normally buy is just amazing.

Let me tell you how the service works. You can either order an art print from King & McGaw (so many cute kids prints!) and choose to buy it framed or just buy a custom frame for a print you already have at home, which is what I did. I have two prints that I want to put in the nursery and I needed them to be framed but as per usual, they were sitting on the side and at the bottom of my to-do list. I had looked online and neither print is standard sized and I wanted them to have a mount, which makes the whole thing so much more complicated. So, King & McGaw’s online bespoke framing service is perfect! All I had to do was put in the exact dimensions of my prints, choose the colour and style of frame and add a mount if I wanted one. Within a few days along came a perfectly wrapped parcel (the last time I ordered a frame it arrived smashed to pieces) with two beautifully handmade frames, still smelling of paint. It was like I had been to the framers.

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to framing pictures I always have to do it down on the floor…

Bespoke handmade picture frames from King & McGaw | Nursery decor | Saar Manche print | Double Merrick print | Apartment Apothecary

The frames are beautifully handmade and very easy to add your own prints to. A really lovely and handy feature is that each frame comes with its own little hanging kit…a great touch.

Bespoke handmade picture frames from King & McGaw | Nursery decor | Saar Manche print | Double Merrick print | Apartment Apothecary

I ordered a solid wood slim frame with a satin black finish and mount for this lovely Saar Manche ‘Mother and Daughter’ illustration for the nursery.

The quality and finish of the frames couldn’t be better and to see the prints fitting to perfection is so satisfying. And here are the finished results with the newly framed prints in situ…

Bespoke handmade picture frames from King & McGaw | Nursery decor | Saar Manche print | Double Merrick print | Apartment Apothecary

Bespoke handmade picture frames from King & McGaw | Nursery decor | Saar Manche print | Double Merrick print | Apartment Apothecary

I also ordered the satin black slim frame for one of my favourite Double Merrick prints to go above my new little desk space squished into the corner of the nursery.

Bespoke handmade picture frames from King & McGaw | Nursery decor | Saar Manche print | Double Merrick print | Apartment Apothecary

Bespoke handmade picture frames from King & McGaw | Nursery decor | Saar Manche print | Double Merrick print | Apartment Apothecary

I have always said that it’s a good idea to add touches of black to any room to help ground the scheme and create a bit of contrast and picture frames are a great way of doing this. However, I have a few more prints that I plan to get framed by King & McGaw and I would love to try their white limed ash frames and the oak frames, too.

The one thing that I could find fault with – if you can call it that – is that the ‘slim’ frame isn’t quite as slim as I would like it to be but I suppose with handmade wooden frames there is a limit to how slim you can go compared to metal frames, for example. Other than that the service was faultless and the products are amazing. This will be the only place I buy frames from now on and I promise this is not just late pregnancy emotional gushing!!!

Katy x

*This was written in collaboration with King & McGaw.

Festive baking with AEG

Christmas came early for me last week after a trip to Taste of London: Festive edition to take part in such a fun baking masterclass to try out the new AEG Mastery Range. There were twinkly lights, Christmas trees, champagne whilst we cooked, festive recipes, and now a couple of AEG appliances on my Christmas list (Jules, I want this and this) – I’m ready, I’m telling you.

Now, even if you are not quite ready for Christmas chat, you may want to know more about some of the wondrous kitchen appliances I used on the night led by GBBO finalist Richard Burr (he kept a pencil behind his ear – do you remember?) and Gluts & Gluttony founder, Kathy Slack. I have long dreamed of designing my ideal kitchen and when I watch videos like this one of all the super clever appliances, storage solutions and accessories it makes me realise just how much is possible. During the class I was lucky enough to try out AEG’s new MaxiSense Pure induction hob as well as the Steamboost Steam Oven, which are part of the Mastery Range, as well as some of their small kitchen appliances so let me tell you a bit about them…

Festive baking with AEG spiced sausage rolls with cranberry chutney using the new AEG mastery range

Expertly led by Richard and Kathy they set us to work on one of Richard’s recipes for spiced sausage rolls, filled with orange, sage and chilli – yum! – and a cranberry chutney.

Making the sausage rolls themselves was super easy and after a little mixing and rolling they baked perfectly in the Steamboost Steam Oven as the steam browns and crisps, which is exactly what you want with pastry. However, I couldn’t quite work out how we were going to make an red onion based chutney in the small amount of time we had because it literally takes HOURS to properly cook onions in my kitchen.

Firstly, we all need to be using a stick mixer for chopping our onions. Seriously, it’s life changing. The AEG stick mixer is so quick and so powerful so my worst kitchen chore is no longer an issue. Also, I have only recently realised that blending onions almost to a puree for the base of sauces makes the cooking process so much quicker if you are short on time and it’s particularly good for cooking for a baby who can’t yet chew bits of onion.

Anyhoo, it turns out the only reason it takes forever to cook sauces in my kitchen is because I don’t have an induction hob. The new MaxiSense Pure induction hob that we used during the class is flipping amazing – we cooked that chutney in about five minutes. It heats so quickly, cooks so evenly and is super easy to control. It’s sleek too as it is completely black when not cooking. I WANT!

Christmas spiced sausage rolls recipe

So here are the finished spiced rolls with the delicious cranberry chutney (you need to make the chutney – it’s really, really good).

Festive baking with AEG spiced sausage rolls with cranberry chutney using the new AEG mastery range

Ingredients for four sausage rolls:

100g puff pastry
75g unseasoned sausage meat
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
Zest of half an orange
10g sage leaves roughly chopped
1 egg
Flour for dusting

For the chutney:

1 small red onion
170g fresh cranberries
100g caster sugar
Zest of half an orange
2tbsp red wine vinegar
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Black pepper to taste

Method to make the sausage rolls:

1. Put the sausage meat, salt, chilli and sage into a bowl and zest half an orange over the mixture, mix thoroughly with a spoon.

2. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the puff to 10x20cm.

3. Shape the sausage meat into a ball and cover in flour, then roll out on the floured surface to 20cm long.

4. Lay the sausage meat onto the puff and paint one edge (of the puff) with beaten egg.

5. Roll the pastry over the sausage and seal onto the egg coated edge.

6. Cut the sausage into four equal pieces and brush with the beaten egg. Slash diagonally with the paring knife and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees (fan).

To make the chutney:

1. Finely dice the red onion and soften over a low heat in the saucepan until translucent.

2. Take 40g of the cranberries cut them in half and set aside.

3. Tip the remaining 130g of cranberries into the pan (with the onions) over a low heat and add the caster sugar, salt, vinegar, cayenne and the remaining zest of the orange.

4. Stir constantly for 5-10 minutes until the sugar has melted then turn the heat up (to a medium heat) and continue stirring until the cranberries burst (about another 5-10 minutes).

5. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining uncooked cranberries.

Festive baking with AEG spiced sausage rolls with cranberry chutney using the new AEG mastery range

Ok, now I get to talk about all the twinkly lights, star decorations, champagne and canapes! Christmas is nearly here, people!!! The event has got me very excited.

Have you got any good festive recipes you can recommend? Or maybe plans for a new kitchen in the new year? I’d love to hear more…

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with AEG.

Morning rituals with my Emma Bridgewater retro radio

Blueberry smoothie recipe | Emma Bridgewater radio | Morning rituals | Apartment Apothecary

I am such a morning person (come the afternoon, forget about it) because I love the light, the quiet of the early hours and that great feeling that the whole day is ahead and the possibilities it could hold. Since being pregnant I have been taking the mornings a bit more gently: staying in bed a bit longer, listening to the radio whilst eating breakfast. I wanted to share with you my favourite morning smoothie recipe today, as well as showing you this gorgeous new Emma Bridgewater designed VQ radio; two things that got me through the rough mornings of the first trimester of pregnancy and that I have been thoroughly enjoying during the more relaxed mornings of the third trimester.

Blueberry smoothie recipe | Emma Bridgewater radio | Morning rituals | Apartment Apothecary

VQ have collaborated with Emma Bridgewater to design five new radio patterns for their Retro Mk II radio. I chose the Blue Daisy pattern as I love blue and white and it goes perfectly with my collection of blue and white crockery – perfect for long, leisurely breakfasts whilst listening to Radio 4. The Retro Mk II radio also has a lightening dock or it’s possible to connect with Bluetooth so I can play tunes from my phone, too, perfect for kitchen discos in the evening whilst cooking dinner.

Blueberry smoothie recipe | Emma Bridgewater radio | Morning rituals | Apartment Apothecary

For exclusive access to a pre-sale for the Retro Mk II on Tuesday 22nd November from 5pm visit QVC here.

The five new Emma Bridgewater designs will be available as a special offer on the QVC shopping channel on Black Friday, November 25th. To get exclusive access to a pre-sale for the Retro Mk II on Tuesday 22nd November from 5pm you can visit QVC here. As well as that QVC have launched a poll so that you can vote for your favourite pattern. Which style would suit your home best? Vote on your favourite by scrolling to the bottom of this post.

Blueberry smoothie recipe | Emma Bridgewater radio | Morning rituals | Apartment Apothecary

Smoothie recipe

The radio is the perfect addition to the kitchen to keep me company early in the morning whilst making breakfast. It’s super easy to tune into my favourite radio stations and the sound quality is great.

Here is the recipe for my favourite smoothie that is perfect for a good dose of energy plus I sneak some spinach in there so it’s extra good for you.

Serves 2:

  • 1 banana
  • 50g oats
  • A small handful of your favourite nuts (I use pecans, almonds, hazelnuts and brazils) or 1 teaspoon of nut butter
  • 75-100g of frozen blueberries (so much cheaper and easier to have bags of frozen fruit as this time of year when they are not in season)
  • 50g of frozen chopped spinach (again, such an easy way to keep spinach as fresh leaves go off so quickly)
  • 1 heaped teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 500ml milk (any type you prefer)
  • Optional extras: 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of raw cocoa nibs

Blueberry smoothie recipe | Emma Bridgewater radio | Morning rituals | Apartment Apothecary

Once I have had my smoothie I am ready to tackle my to do list and the radio never leaves my side during the day as it can run on batteries so can travel around the flat with me. The pretty, delicate daisy pattern and retro styling of the radio looks great with a vintage decor as well as being fresh enough for a more modern room. I use it on my desk, in the kitchen, on the dining table and it has a great alarm system so it’s good to have next to the bed in the morning, too.

Blueberry smoothie recipe | Emma Bridgewater radio | Morning rituals | Apartment Apothecary

Don’t forget, vote for your favourite design below and don’t miss the sale starting on November 22nd at 5pm! Happy weekend!

Katy x


*This post was written in collaboration with VQ.

You could win £1000 when you start your own Etsy shop!

Have you ever thought about selling the lovely things that you make at home that would make wonderful gifts this Christmas? As the festive season approaches now is the perfect time to take the plunge and it couldn’t be easier! All you have to do is sign up to become an Etsy seller and to help you get started you can begin selling on Etsy here and if you use the code ETSYHEROESAPARTMENT by November 30th you could be in with a chance of winning £1000 to spend on absolutely anything you like (terms and conditions apply**). Couldn’t ask for a better start than that, right?

I am very excited today to share Sophie’s Etsy story with you and I hope it will inspire any creatives out there to set up their own shop.  Etsy is a brilliant resource to enable anyone to sell their creations, perhaps for a bit of extra money in the run up to Christmas, to help develop a hobby, or like Sophie to help launch a full-blown creative career. Sophie’s business geo-fleur is a brilliant example of what is possible so when I caught up with her last week I couldn’t wait to hear more about how she has grown her business over the last two years from the early seeds of being an Etsy seller to today with a bricks and mortar shop selling her gorgeous terrarium kits, plants, macrame hanging planters, ceramic pots; a book on the way; a plant installation at the Tate and running massively popular botanical workshops – it is truly amazing what you can achieve! She was also kind enough to teach me how to make one of her very cool macrame hanging planters that she sells in her Etsy shop as well as giving me a few tips on how to plant up a terrarium using her DIY kits.

Etsy Hero: Sophie from geo-fleur | How to start a creative business | Botanical styling | Photograph by katharinepeachey.co.uk

Sophie is a very inspiring Etsy seller whose botanical styling business has grown by leaps and bounds since setting up her Etsy shop just two years ago. I met up with Sophie to hear her story and she taught me how to make one of her gorgeous macrame hanging planters that she sells in her Etsy shop. All images by Katharine Peachey.

Why Etsy?

Sophie’s mum is a florist so she was always surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers and she tells me that at a very young age she was always helping her granddad in the garden so her interest in botanicals started there. After studying fine art and starting down a more conventional job path she started geo-fleur ‘on the side’ as a hobby and decided to open an Etsy shop to help her sell her handmade plant accessories and terrarium kits, as well as running market stalls. She remembers her first order well and the excitement of receiving the notification: “I was like, YAY! Someone wants to buy something I have made. It was a wonderful feeling. Etsy is great at connecting you with people that want a custom order, or want something more specific, for example we made 200 mini concrete pots for succulents for wedding favours!”

WIN £1000 to help to start your own Etsy shop | Etsy Hero: Sophie from geo-fleur | How to start a creative business | Botanical styling | Photograph by katharinepeachey.co.uk

Sophie explains that Etsy helped her get a foot in the door and, “connect with customers I wouldn’t normally be tapping into via selling at markets.” Setting up an Etsy shop was really easy in her experience and the app really helped as she could just upload everything from there – particularly helpful when you are maintaining a full time job, I would imagine (I remember trying to upload blog posts when I was still working full time as a teacher and it was a real juggling act).

A lot of hard work and very little sleep later Sophie’s business has grown from strength to strength. She has managed to build up a great network of support (especially her mum!) and a huge Instagram following where she can showcase her products and services: “Now we have a few more resources, a lovely van that we crowd funded, it enables me to go and partake in some amazing jobs around the UK and just last week I was styling up a lovely new creative space in Liverpool and we’ve currently got a plant installation at the entrance to the Turner Prize exhibition. I never believed it would be this exciting or take me this far. It’s been a very big rollercoaster and it’s still growing!”

WIN £1000 to help to start your own Etsy shop | Etsy Hero: Sophie from geo-fleur | How to start a creative business | Botanical styling | Photograph by katharinepeachey.co.uk

Words of wisdom

Sophie loves the freedom of running a creative business and the fact she can connect with someone over a lovely product and make their day. Her one piece of advice to anyone who wants to follow in her path to run a creative business is not to give up. She never dreamed that her teeny tiny business on the side could grow so quickly or become so successful: “It’s crazy but I’m so thrilled. Plus we’ve got some really exciting growth plans for 2017. I’d love to have a couple of branches of our geo-fleur shops around the UK and maybe an international version. Also our geo-fleur book is out next May, which is super exciting.”

I have to admit that I am a bit blown away how far geo-fleur has come in such a short space of time; it’s enough to inspire anyone. My one piece of advice would be to take that leap to start, which can be the hardest thing to do. I remember it took me six months to press publish on my first blog post. Sophie and I both agree that you don’t need a hard and fast business plan when you begin your creative journey as growing organically and being open to possibilities and opportunities can get you so much further than a rigid plan that can lead to disappointment.

WIN £1000 to help to start your own Etsy shop | Etsy Hero: Sophie from geo-fleur | How to start a creative business | Botanical styling | Photograph by katharinepeachey.co.uk

Sophie’s top tips for setting up an Etsy shop

  1. Make sure your product stock levels are up to date
  2. Dispatch orders as soon as you can!
  3. Use lots of keywords to optimise the search feature.

Starting your shop in the run up to Christmas is great timing, Sophie told me. The demand at this time of year is massive and apparently DIY craft kits go down very well – her terrarium kits are always best-sellers as they make such great gifts.

Etsy Hero: Sophie from geo-fleur | How to start a creative business | Botanical styling | Photograph by katharinepeachey.co.uk

Sophie gave me a quick demonstration on how to plant up a terrarium using one of her DIY terrarium kits that she sells lots of during the Christmas period.

Set up your shop now

So, what are you waiting for? Set up your Etsy shop this month, begin selling your creations for fun, experience the same excitement Sophie did when she received her first sale notification and you never know where the journey may take you. Remember, you can begin selling on Etsy here and if you use the code ETSYHEROESAPARTMENT by November 30th you could win £1000 to help you launch your creative business (terms and conditions apply**). Good luck and fingers crossed!

Go on, take the leap…

Katy x

Etsy Hero: Sophie from geo-fleur | How to start a creative business | Botanical styling | Photograph by katharinepeachey.co.uk

*This post was written in collaboration with Etsy and with thanks to Sophie from geo-fleur and Katharine Peachey for the photography.

**Terms and conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER. Promotion is open to legal residents of the United Kingdom, age 18 or older who open an Etsy shop via http://etsy.me/2eHlwH7 between 7 November 2016 and 30 November 2016 using the code: ETSYHEROESAPARTMENT. Entries must be received between 12:01 AM GMT on 7 November 2016 and 11:59:59 PM GMT on 30 November 2016. One prize available of £1,000. Odds depend on number of eligible entries received. Sponsor: Etsy UK Limited. See full terms and conditions here.

 

Scandinavian Christmas dining

I always think that Christmas and Scandinavian style go hand in hand and where better to bring those two things together than on the dining table? I’ve never been a massive fan of the traditional red, green and gold of the festive period so I have been on the look out for more pared back tableware but pieces with lots of lovely textures that help to soften the hard edges of winter light and weather.

Scandinavian Christmas dining | ALSO Home | Apartment Apothecary

The perfect Christmas table by ALSO Home

To create that Scandi feel go for beautiful ceramics, warm wooden serving boards, touches of blue, the natural texture of baskets for bread, linen table cloths and napkins and lots and lots of beeswax candles. Here are some of my favourite pieces that would help to make any table this Christmas look and feel amazing…

Scandinavian Christmas dining | ALSO Home | Scandinavian tableware | Apartment Apothecary

Sue Pryke’s tea pot – Simple Shape / Handmade oak serving platter – ALSO Home / Seagrass basket – ALSO Home / Linen tablecloth – ALSO Home / Natural beeswax honeycomb candles – The Future Kept / Hand painted dinner plate – ALSO Home / Monochromatic dinnerware – Heals / House of Rym -Tea & Kate

Oooo, it’s making me feel all festive and excited for the next few weeks!

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with ALSO Home.