Create: Pressed flowers

Pressed flowers are a Simple cost effective project. They make beautiful affordable art for your home which can be changes as you wish to reflect the seasons. All that's really required is a little patience...

I gathered this bouquet in my Mum's garden a few weeks ago, Mum tells me she doesn't grow flowers but I have evidence to suggest otherwise. I've also collected further bouquets on Aylestone Meadows and along the canal path which is easily accessible instant green for a city dweller and a rather lovely way to spend a slice of the weekend, if i'm in need of escaping my kitchen!

You will need:

• Freshly picked flowers, herbs and/or grasses
• scissors
• greaseproof paper
• heavy hardback books, cookery books work particularly well here

Trim sheets of greaseproof paper to the size of your book, place the flowers onto a sheet of paper, allow plenty of space between the flowers, being careful not to overlap, else they'll stick together. Top with a further sheet of greaseproof paper and close the book.

Store in a bookshelf, preferably out of reach from marauding cats, Truffle destroyed a few stalks she found poking out of a book.

Leave the flowers for 10-14 days to dry completely. You'll see some variations on colour and texture from the drying process, this is part of their charm I think. 

Glass photo frames are available from Nkuku (Though i've actually borrowed the one on the right from Kayleigh Tarrant!) For Leicester locals Harriman and Co have a selection also.

As always, we'd love to hear from you if you have any tips and tricks for pressed flowers or affordable artwork, give us a shout in the comments!

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Create: Herb Planter

Right off the bat I'd like to explain that my gardening skills are pretty dismal. I have visions of my garden filled with beautiful colours and texture, and perhaps a homegrown vegetable plot thrown into the mix. The reality is that my garden is a slug ridden, insect infested mess.

The grass is unruly, the flowers are nibbled to stumps by aforementioned slugs and the garden fence is half painted and falling down. I gave up on the vegetable growing about two years ago, I'm just not patient enough and after checking on my newly planted seeds every day for a week, to find nothing is happening, I then forget all about them completely. The result is hundreds of overgrown marrows, mouldy tomatoes and a big mulchy mess that has to be cleaned up, so i've stopped bothering.

Herbs however are a different matter. I love them because they can pretty much be left to their own devices and they are useful to have on hand for use in the kitchen. I believe every home should have a small herb garden or planter filled with herbs ready to be picked, chopped and thrown into whatever is cooking.

This particular planter was a birthday gift for Becca a few weeks ago, back when the sun was shining. Truffle (the cat) is always up for a bit of gardening so was on hand to oversee proceedings. We spent a lovely afternoon creating a little planter, it's pretty straightforward to make. 

You will Need:

• 1 large planter
• Sandpaper
• Masking tape
• Paintbrushes- large to use for covering and small for any areas of detail
• Paint- I used emulsion paint in cream and gold poster paint
• Compost
• Herbs - I opted for rosemary, lemon thyme and Morrocan Mint

Ensure the terracotta pot is nice and clean. Gently sand down the surfaces to be painted, this will help the paint to stick. Wash the pot and allow to dry completely before painting.

Carefully mask of any areas where you want to keep the terracotta colour. Apply paint to pot, this may take a few coats to get an even and streak free covering, allow the paint to dry completely between applications. For the gold accents I decided to go freehand as it blends nicely with the terracotta, for a neater finish I would recommend masking off areas for accuracy, be careful not to lift off any paint if masking over areas that are already painted, remove the tape slowly and cautiously. 

Fill the planter about halfway with compost, place the herbs into the planter and top up any remaining holes and spaces with more compost. After a good watering the planter is ready for display. Outside the kitchen door is the best place, so it's within grabbing distance.

The planter is no longer in my care, which is probably for the best. 

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