How to make chocolate Easter eggs

Even if you love chocolate, you can have a bit too much of it. I know, what am I saying? So this Easter, I wanted to make a small-scale Easter treat.

How to make chocolate Easter eggs in the half-shell
Carefully crack the eggs in half, and set aside the yolks and whites for cooking. (Shakshouka, anyone? Perfect Bank Holiday weekend breakfast).
Rinse the shells and scrape out the membrane inside the shell. Wipe dry with kitchen paper.
Melt your choice of milk or dark chocolate (you'll need about 50g to fill four half-shells) in the microwave, or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Spoon the melted chocolate into the half-shells – no dribbles! – then sprinkle on whatever decorations you fancy. I used edible rose petals (Waitrose, £1.99) and chopped nuts, but sprinkles or even a chocolate mini egg would look good too. Happy Easter!

Enjoy more ways to cook with flowers

You are... a craftivist

This fine example of my appallingly bad embroidery is part of the 'You Are So Very Beautiful' stitched affirmations craftivist project from craftivism.com.

It is very messy looking but in my defence, I was in a hurry to finish it, and the only yarn I had to hand was some from a WIP longstitch project, which was too thick for the hessian I used. However, the main thing was to be involved with this project. Started by Betsy Greer, who sums it up: 'It’s time to let our acts of stitching go by leaving them in places for someone to find, someone who needs to hear those words just as you do, if not more. As craftivism is about healing ourselves as we make, and then healing the world with our products, let’s get to it.'

I tried a couple of places to perch my square; this painted windowsill was a good colour match.

In the end, I left it here, can't tell you where, just that it's in London.

Find out more about the 'You Are So Very Beautiful' project.

Save money: make your own body scrub

As I took to the bathroom last night for a bit of a pamper, I noticed that one of my all-time favourite beauty products had almost run out. REN Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish (£32, 330ml) is a sublimely scented body scrub, containing no nasties like parabens, and packed with essential oils.
Rosa damascena (damask rose) is the scent you notice, plus others such as geranium oil, all mixed together with cane sugar in a base of sweet almond and olive oils.
Used on dry skin (for a more robust scrub) or on wet (a softer polish), it gets rid of dead skin cells and moisturises, leaving you smelling gorgeous.
Anyway, as I say, mine had almost run out (I suspect my OH has been at it) so I decided to top it up, as I wasn't within reach of a REN stockist.

How to make body scrub
All you need is some oil, sugar,or salt and some essential oils. Oil-wise, sweet almond is the best (that's Prunus dulcis to those of you who read your labels), but you can use olive or sunflower oil. Pour in enough sugar or salt to give a grainy paste, not too sloppy, not too stiff – a suitable consistency for rubbing into your skin. Then add a couple of drops of essential oil/s. (If you don't have any, don't add any; the scrub will still work!) Stir with your fingers then scoop out and exfoliate away!

Sitting prettier: how to upcycle an office chair

Yesterday I sourced a free chair for my desk, from Streetlife. That's a social network for local communities. You sign up with your postcode and you're connected with others nearby. On the site you can post news, listings, ask questions, and give away unwanted items, including the office chair I got. A couple of messages were exchanged with its owner, he gave me directions, I drove down and picked it up. He was completely up-front about the damaged bits. Gorgeous, eh?(Getting it up the stairs to my desk nearly did me in - it's so heavy; I ended up sprawled at the top of the stairs with the chair on top of me!)








Today I finished re-covering the chair. I had some leftover fabric from a dress I'd made, and that was just big enough. (Sometimes being a hoarder pays off; I made the dress years ago.) So I simply sewed the leftover fabric directly to the existing seat, trimming it as I went.












Using this fabric has the advantage that, should I ever feel the need (which I doubt), I can coordinate my seat, dress and shoes!
See how I customised my shoes with fabric heels