DIY - MAKE YOUR OWN CUSTOM ERASER STAMPS.

This weekend I had a go at making my own diy stamps using erasers. I did a little bit of printmaking in school and I've been wondering lately if there was a way to make my own custom stamps. Turns out plain, ordinary run of the mill erasers make excellent stamps.

Things you'll need to make these diy eraser stamps:

Erasers (you may want to get a few of these. Remember, practice makes perfect.)

Lino/Stamp cutting tool.

A cutting mat to protect your work surface.

And some custom stamp design ideas.

1. Draw or transfer your design onto the eraser. Remember any words you choose need to be mirror images otherwise when you come to print your designs they'll be the wrong way around.

2. Next use the small 'v' shaped blade in the cutting tool to cut around the outline of your design. You want to cut away any negative space (the part you don't want to print). Use the flatter blade to cut away the larger areas.

3. I always do a practice run first. Tap an ink pad onto your stamp and press firmly onto the paper. Check for any places where you've not cut the eraser away enough and the ink has caught.

4. Clean your stamp and go back in with your cutting tool and neaten up any raised areas or uneven edges.

5. When you're happy with your design, ink up your custom stamp and print away.

Once you start making these stamps it's hard to stop. I love my gold striped washi tape, you can see it over here when I was dreaming up stamp designs. I use it on everything so it seemed like a good idea to make a stamp version of it as well.

There really are so many ways you can use these stamps. You could use them to make cards, decorate envelopes, notebooks or even use fabric paint and make your own textiles. Try layering them up with your existing stamps and experiment with different textures and papers and let me know how you get on in the comments below.

DESKTOP DOWNLOAD - JAPANESE ANEMONES.

Today I thought I'd share another photo of those japanese anemones with you, this time as a desktop download. I don't know about you but I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to the summer yet even if it is technically September and autumn is starting to feel like it's on the way. Having these lovely flowers brightening up my desktop is definitely helping me pretend that in another few weeks I won't need a scarf. I think it might be called denial.

TO DOWNLOAD - Click the image below and wait for the image to load. Right click and select 'save image as'. When downloaded all you need to do is open the image up and select 'set as desktop' and you're all done.

EASY PEASY FROZEN BANANA ICE CREAM AND BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE.

Who knew you could make ice cream from frozen bananas? I know I didn't and it turns out it's not only delicious but couldn't be easier. All you need is a blender and one simple ingredient, yes you guessed it, frozen bananas. No ice cream machines needed here.

Frozen Banana Ice Cream

Take your frozen bananas and carefully slice into pieces.

Remove the peel and cut into chunks.

Place your chunks into the blender and pulse until smooth. Be patient. Short, sharp blasts is what you need to get this to work. Don't try and blitz the whole mixture in one go and burn out your blender.

You could also try adding a splash of milk or cream (I used cream, don't judge me) to help loosen the mixture up if you're having difficulty blending.

Eat immediately or pop in the freezer for later.

As good as this is on it's own I always think the best bit about eating ice cream is the toppings and nothing goes better with this creamy banana ice cream than warm butterscotch sauce. I don't know if you've ever tried making homemade butterscotch sauce but once you have it's hard to go back to the store bought kind, it's just nowhere near as good. Give it a go and let me know how you get on in the comments.

Butterscotch Sauce

100g caster sugar

25g unsalted butter

200ml double cream

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.

Add the sugar and whisk until golden brown and blended. You don't want a grainy mixture.

Lower the heat and add the cream. Make sure the cream is at room temperature. Adding cold cream to the hot mixture can make your sauce seize and clump together. If this happens don't panic, keep your pan on the heat and keep stirring until all the ingredients reach the same temperature and form a smooth sauce.

Enjoy.

SNAPSHOT - JAPANESE ANEMONE.

Here's something pretty for the weekend. I snapped this photo yesterday. Japanese anemones reaching towards the sky. 

THREE THINGS I LOVE - FLORAL EDITION.

Can you believe August is nearly over? How did that happen? I refuse to believe all the lovely weather we've been having is nearly over, even if it is a little grey around here. Here's three things I love right now, floral edition because nothing cheers up a dull day better than some bright, sunny flowers.

1. These paper flower cone bouquets on Oh Happy Day caught my eye.

2. Love these vintage style printable handkerchiefs from Eat Drink Chic. I think they'd make great invitations or thank you notes.

3. And have you seen these amazing hand painted cakes from Nevie-Pie Cakes? So beautiful. You can find more of their stunning cakes on owner Natasha Collins' blog Amelia's House. Definitely worth a look.