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Hand-made Christmas cards

Hand-made Christmas Cards | Christmas crafts

Family and friends love to receive hand-made Christmas cards

Hand-made Christmas cards

Are you feeling festive yet? December is just around the corner, so it’s time to make a start on your Christmas cards.

Time is short for the majority of us,
but it’s so special to send hand-made
cards that it’s worth the effort.

They don’t need to be excessive, or take hours to make – a few simple touches can be used to maximum impact.

So grab a laptray and a few materials and you can knock up cards in no time whilst perched on the sofa watching Coronation Street!

Equipment

  • Pencil
  • Christmas papers
  • Scissors
  • Blank cards
  • Double-sided tape
  • Embellishments; assortment of any: ribbons, diamonte, buttons, Christmassy sequins

Method

  • Draw a stocking/bauble/present shape on the back of a Christmas paper.
  • Cut out shape and stick onto a blank card using double-sided tape.
  • Adorn with embellishments of your choice, but try to use co-ordinated colours for maximum impact.

Win a Bumper Christmas card-making kit

If you fancy making your own Christmas cards don’t miss the chance to to win a Bumper Christmas card-making kit  on 26 November. Make a note of the date to revisit Dairy Diary Chat!

 

And while you are making your Christmas cards, why not treat yourself to a little something?

Custard Tarts recipeThese Custard Tarts from
Britain’s favourite diary
are just the job.

Recipe taken from
Dairy Diary 2013.

Beat the winter blues

Pilates power and keeping fit this winter

Now the clocks have changed, it’s very tempting to snuggle down under a blanket on the sofa and vegetate until spring!

However, it’s important for our heath and emotional wellbeing to get regular exercise – a little every day if possible.

It’s not so easy when the weather is miserable, but I find that if I can squeeze in a brisk 20 minute walk in my lunch hour and one exercise class each week I feel much better (and can eat the odd naughty thing too!)

I ADORE zumba and try to get to a class weekly but if my hectic schedule prevents this then I dig out my zumba DVD at home to shimmy and cha cha my way around the living room!

 

Pilates Power

Another wonderful exercise for mind and body (and one which my physio recommends) is pilates.

Check out these pilates tips from next year’s Dairy Diary – it’s attainable but really powerful stuff.

Enjoy keeping fit guys!

 

Quick curry from the Dairy DiaryAnd for some comforting but healthy
food try this super-quick curry.

Takes just 20 mins to make
Calories 256 per portion
Suitable for freezing

Halloween | Pumpkin carving with kids and delicious pumpkin recipes

Halloween fun with kids and pumpkin recipes

 

The trick to creating the perfect Halloween treat

Most children take great delight in carving spooky features into pumpkins at Halloween.

 

Pumpkin carving fun with your children

For the best guide on how to carve a pumpkin safely with your little ones:

Visit our How to Carve a Pumpkin blog here for all the best tips and tricks to keep children happy and involved while keeping little hands safe.

READ MORE

 

But what do you do with all
the leftover pumpkin flesh?

The Dairy Diary has the answer! For recipes to use up your leftover pumpkin, visit our blog for 5 Easy and Delicious Pumpkin Recipes here to use up every last bit!

READ MORE

And for even more Halloween themed recipes, including fun Halloween baking recipes for children, visit our Spooktacular Halloween Recipes blog here. 

READ MORE

 

Autumn – the best season in Europe?

Autumn is my favourite season

It has been a glorious weekend. As I have three small children I am always up early – rarely by choice – but yesterday it was a pleasure.

The view from the kitchen window – sipping my coffee in an attempt to wake up – showed the valley shrouded in mist, bathed in autumnal sunshine with russet coloured trees dotted along the horizon.

Autumn is my favourite season, I love the change
in temperature, the gorgeous colours and the excuse
to unpack my favourite snuggly clothes!

It has got me thinking about the places I have visited in the autumn and some of the delicious seasonal meals I have eaten whilst on my travels.

In England, one of my favourite haunts is Chatsworth, which is breathtakingly beautiful in October. One year, I had the pleasure of bumping into Antony Gormley whilst admiring a sculpture exhibition. I enjoyed a wonderful wander around the gardens and a delicious roast beef dinner – with the most AMAZING roast potatoes in the estate restaurant.

For beauty, an autumnal Lake District is hard to beat. One climb to Catbells above Derwentwater particularly sticks in my mind – complete with a delicious flapjack on the summit courtesy of a very kind couple we bumped into on the final scramble to the top.

A little further afield, just a short budget plane journey took us to the Bienniale in Venice – a wonderfully eclectic collaboration of art from all around the globe. We had a wonderful few days in the autumn sunshine soaking up the sights, enjoying a proper Italian Bolognese and indulging the occasional ice cream.

Another gorgeous place to visit this month is Bavaria, Germany. The colours in this region are out-of-this-world, especially around the fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle. A coffee and slice of strudel in a café in quaint Dinkelsbuhl will always be on my list of favourite cake moments!

So, though the beauty of my surroundings leaves its
indelible mark on me, it’s the food on my travels that
leaves a lasting impression too.

I’d love to hear about your favourite autumnal stamping ground and the meals you have enjoyed there.

Autumnal recipes from the Dairy Diary and Dairy Cookbooks

 

I’d like to some of my favourite autumnal recipes from Dairy cookbooks and Dairy Diaries… Sausages Baked with Apples & Squash, Red Cabbage Salad and Plum Streusal Tart.

Free shipping on Take a Box of Eggs

Free shipping this weekend!

 

Free shipping on Take a Box of Eggs this weekend.

Discover the delight of cooking with eggs; nature’s own convenience food

  • 100 easy, irresistible recipes
  • Easy straightforward style
  • Beautiful full page photography
  • Every recipe triple tested
  • Lie-flat format for convenience

Excellent value at just £7.49 and for this weekend you can enjoy free shipping.

Simply use the code BEW1 at checkout.

 

Order now!

But hurry, offer ends on Monday*.

Offer ends 8 October 2012.

Dairy Cookbooks join the digital age

Take a Box of Eggs QR codes shopping lists

 

Did you know that our latest cookbook Take a Box of Eggs has a QR code for each of its recipes?

Each QR code can be scanned using a smartphone to provide an exact list of ingredients to refer to when out shopping.

The data is contained within the QR code so you don’t require an internet connection to access your shopping list – useful in supermarkets where there is often no connection.

This is the first time this technology has been used in the Dairy Cookbook series and Executive Editor, Nick Rowe, believes it will prove a big hit with consumers.

“The Dairy Cookbook series has been going since 1968 and it has evolved over time, which is why our recipe books are still an essential kitchen companion. We are constantly looking at ways of improving the ‘user experience’ and this felt like a natural step. A large percentage of the population have a smartphone, so it made sense to include QR codes with our recipes because it will make the job of buying ingredients quicker and easier.”

Take a Box of Eggs explores the delights of cooking with eggs and features over 100 easy-to-follow recipes using ‘nature’s own convenience food’.

To order the Take a Box of Eggs cookbook

The book is priced at £7.49 (plus P&P).

 

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