so that was august...

As you may have read I’ve recently returned from the sunny climes of Turkey. Having a break for two weeks reminded me how necessary it is to have a decent amount of time away.  One week doesn’t really do the trick if I’m wanting to relax fully, forget about to do lists and rediscover my sense of humour. Despite this the adjustment to being back on home soil has been harder then I thought. So what do I miss? Well....

*Waking up to guaranteed sun 

*Complimentary mezzes...surprise!
*Opening my curtains to mountain views
*Being able to swim lengths in the outdoors until my legs feel like jelly
*Baklava dripping with honey
*Late night Lagretto games
*Spending entire days with the hubby
*For it to be totally acceptable to have homemade cocktails every night
*Spectator mountain goats lining the roads
*Ditching wheels for a rudder
*Over friendly stray Turkish dogs
*Endless reading time
*Forgetting what day it is

*The smell of suncream
*Freshly caught fish on my plate and in my belly

What are the perks on being home? Well...

*British safety (never thought I'd grow to love our over cautious health & safety policies)
*The beautiful flat landscapes of Shepherds Bush. Not a hair raising, barrier-lacking mountain road in sight.
*Our church family, much missed!
*Supermarkets selling cured meat in a colour spectrum that doesn’t verge on magenta

*Being able to flush my toilet paper down the toilet rather than putting it in an unhygienic little bin, yuck!

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sometimes you gotta

There came a day on my hols when it had just been too long since I'd picked up a pencil. To medicate this unhappy situation I decided to spend the morning having a creative mess around. I very lazily decided to draw what was in front of me, which happened to be all my shoes lined up by the side of the bed. So here they are; all the lucky pairs that made the cut to travel to Turkey with me.

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stay green

Hello! I'm back from the Turkish sun and boy was it amazing. Last night I was left dreaming about fresh fish and mountain views but hey ho, back to drizzly London it is. This post is late out as lovely Lauren over at Aspiring Kennedy has already posted the recipe but I'm sure my frustratingly moody internet connection abroad means it's forgivably late! Hop on over to Aspiring Kennedy for this broad bean brushcetta recipe. It's a mish mash of a few recipes I've seen floating around which is why the measurements aren't all that precise. Just make sure you don't let all the green fool you, it really is addictive.

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toodaloo

Photo reworked from Bonjour Tristesse

I’m off on my hols to Turkey and I’m so excited I feel like a kid again. I haven’t actually been abroad since our honeymoon two years ago so I’m really looking forward to some sun, sea and plentiful mezzes. Things will be pretty quiet here at The Lovely Drawer but I’ll see you in two weeks. Hope you’re going somewhere lovely this August!

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print me a notebook

I love print!...really? You can tell? I bought these plain recycled notebooks from Paperchase months ago, hoping to have a bit of fun with print. I essentially used the same technique as my DIY heart print tote so once again you'll either need a speedball carving kit or a piece of rubber and carving tools. I was desperate to get some fluorescent paint because fluoro and recycled board are such a happy match.

You'll need:

• Recycled notebooks like these
• Pencil
• Speedball carving kit
• plastic/ wood to mount (optional)
• 3 paint or ink colours

How to: 

1. Draw the design onto the rubber and carve your stamp with your tools or scalpel. Both designs are very simple to create. For the semi-circles I created two separate stamps but it might be easier to carve the whole line.
2. If you have anything sturdy and waterproof (wood/plastic) then back your stamp onto it but it's not essential. I was lazy and didn't bother.
3. Now ink up your stamps. I tried to do all areas with the same colour first, which may mean you need to mark these out. The pink and white were acrylic paints and the black was from an ink pad, which I have to say works the best. When it came to the acrylic, I painted the colour onto the stamps and had a few practises on spare paper to gage the right coverage first. 
4. Stamp each stamp, pressing down firmly. Repeat over the whole design, washing well between colour changes.

And now you can enjoy your new notebooks, transformed from ordinary to striking in a few simple steps.

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just because....

You'll probably never see me without nail polish on my finger nails but usually I'm not fussed about my toes. However, this is such an easy way to make your feet look pretty (and I'm no big fan of my feet...or feet in general for that matter) that it begs a try. People will marvel at your intricate brush work skills but actually all you need is a trusty old sharpie pen.

How to....

1. Paint two layers of white nail polish (I used Barry M)
2. Then start zig-zagging your way across your toe nails with your sharpie marker
3. Seal them with a coat of clear nail polish.

I've had mine done like this for over a week and there are no chips at all! Fun...check. Pretty...check. Durable...check.

Next time I'm after a gold sharpie marker.

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lolly party invite

Been trying to get round to posting this for ages...preferably before the summer was up! Here’s a very straightforward DIY invite where most of the work has already been done for you, which means they honestly don’t take very long at all. Be advised; they are not edible. Those sprinkles may look tasty but they won’t taste too good. Download the lolly invites here.

You'll need:

• The free downloadable designs printed onto card
• Scissors
• A selection of 2mm multi-coloured beads
• Wooden lolly sticks
• All-purpose glue
• Tape
• Spray mount 

To make:

1. Cut out the ice lolly sides
2. Then paint the top section of each ice lolly front with your glue. Make sure all of it is coated but don’t over saturate the card.
3. Sprinkle your beads over the glue and leave to dry.
4. Tape the backs sides and attach your lolly sticks with strips of tape.
5. Spray mount the back of your beaded sides and adhere to the back sides, making sure to line up the edges.
6. Press down gently and you’re ready to write your invites.

I made them so that they would fit in a standard envelope, so you can send them on their merry way if you want to. See, I told you it was straightforward. I hope these give you an excuse for a summer party!

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