Christmas collection and giveaway, thrifty homemaking crafts with conker soap and beeswax candles and practical hygge tips

Did you know that conker contain saponins, a soap-like chemical compound that is also found in soap nuts. This makes them capable of cleaning your clothes, and now is the perfect time to collect them.

1. To make the soap collect some conkers, horse chestnut not edible chestnut. A handful will do a few loads or you could collect hundreds to sort you for the year.
2. Bash them with a hammer or rolling pin (great activity for children). Then you have two options you can use them in this state but you will need to soap them for longer e.g overnight. Or you could blitz them further in a food processor (see pics below) or blender to a finer consistency, then you only have to soak them for 30 minutes.
3. When you are ready to do laundry put a tablespoon of conker crumbs in a jar and add 100ml or so of hot water and let it sit for either 30 mins or overnight depending. The liquid will go milky. 
4. Strain the liquid and use that the same way you would use laundry liquid. 
5. If you wash a lot you can make a bigger batch as it will store in the fridge for a week.
6. If you want to make enough for last a while after you have broken up and or blitzed them you can dry them in a low oven or in an airing cupboard and store in a airtight container. They work the same when they are dried.
7. The spent conkers can be composted after use.

I am so excited to share my Christmas collection with you this year. I made all the products with the intention of being a part of a wholesome, cosy and special Christmas.

There is a traditional craft kit where you can make 8 beeswax rocking horse decorations- the perfect advent activity. Hand felted and botanically dyed star decorations made form local wool, of course my Christmas soap and the ready made vintage beeswax decorations. 

As a thank you to you and also as it is approaching my one year business anniversary I wanted to do a giveaway.  You are the first to hear of it and the first 20 orders of the Christmas collection will be entered into a hat and will win a Christmas gift box which includes 1 gold, frankincense and myrrh soap, 1 rocking horse beeswax decorations and 1 hand felted and embroidered star decoration.

The collection is currently open for pre-order, posting of Friday 5th November.

The perfect craft that is so useful and you have the edded benifit of knowing what you are burning in your home.

A lot of bought candles contain parrafin wax (a petrochemical) and synthetic frangrases ,which can mask hindrends of chemicals many of which are derived from petrochemicals and do not need to be listed indivdually.

Beeswax on the other has burns very clean and is mone of the most logest lasting waxes. 

To make beeswax container candles you will need:

• a container, preferably round 
• wicks- square braided cotton, these come numbered 1-9 and the number correlates to the diameter in cm of your container
• wick sustainers- the little metal tabs at the bottom of a wick
• something to hold the wick to the bottom of the container, double sided tape, hot glue gun or special wick stickers all works well.
• something to hold the wick center- a clothes peg works well
• beeswax 

• pots and bowels to make a boiler 
• a digital thermometer is useful but not necessary

1. First measure your container and select the correct wick size- if it is a large container it might be worth using three smaller wicks in a triangle instead of one massive wick in the center.
2. Melt your beeswax over a double boiler making sure the temperature does not go above 85c and that the water underneath never burns dry.
3. As the beeswax starts to melt dip you wicks into some- this removes all the air from inside the wick and primes it ready
4. Then attach your wick sustainers and stick your wicks to the bottom of your container
5. Center the top of the wick with a cloths peg or similar
6. When the wax is all melted and translucent take it off the heat and let it cool down slightly to about 68c or if you dont have a thermometer when a slight film covers the top. 
7. Then pour your beeswax into your container and leave to cool
8. Once cooled trim your wick to 5mm and you are ready to burn your beautiful candle.

With the nights drawing in, the clocks going back and the temperature dropping nobody needs an excuse to cosy up their home a little for these next seasons.

I am firm believer of visual cues and the path of least resistance so make things easier for yourself. 

• if you never light your candles because the matches are in another room buy a few boxes and keep them next to your candles. 
• If you dont wear your slippers because they are always upstairs in your bedroom make sure they are by your front door so you can slip them on as soon as you get in.
• Liberate your blankets from the bottom of the trunk and have them draped over your sofa so they are easily accessible.

.... you get the idea. 

Wreaths are not just for Christmas and you can make a beautiful autumn one for your door now. I love using rose hips, old mans beard, autumn leaves which i have pressed between books, pine cones, dried honesty, some evergreens, dried seed heads and pods.

Embrace special hot drinks, think sumptuous hot chocolate, warming chai latte or a naughty mulled cider on a Friday night. All much cheaper than anything you can buy at a questionable coffee corporation and can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home, 

Finally reassess your lighting- its amazing what a difference a few fairy lights or the odd table lamp can do to the ambiance of your room.

Align with the slowness of this time of year and prioritize your own comfort.