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Hello Winter! ❄️

Have you felt the chill in the air? The mornings are frosty, the days are shorter, and there’s a peaceful stillness that only winter brings.

In this fortnight’s newsletter, we’ve gathered some warm, winter-inspired ideas for indoor crafts and hearty seasonal recipes. Simple, fun, and perfect for making the most of the colder days from the comfort of home.

Beaded Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes

DIY Beaded Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes

These beaded pipe cleaner snowflakes are SO SIMPLE and adorable! It’s such an awesome low mess craft for winter, or even Christmas ornaments!

Materials:

  • 2 Pipe cleaners (or 6 inch size pipe cleaners x 3)
  • 30-36 Pony beads (Shades of blue and clear)
  • 6 Snowflake beads
  • 1 Rhinestone sticker

Step 1: Find what you need

Pipe Cleaners and Beads!

Step 2: Twist the pipe cleaners together

  • Start by taking two 6″ long pipe cleaner pieces and crossing them at their mid points.

Take the right side and wrap it tightly around the top to the left side.

Then take the left side and wrap it tightly around the top to the right side. As long as you go over the top once with the left and once with the right, they’ll stay in place securely.

Add in the third pipe cleaner and do the same thing. I didn’t twist or tie anything, I just crossed each side of each pipe cleaner tightly over the top and to the other side to hold them in place.

Shape the pipe cleaners so the space between each point is even.

Step 3: Add the pony beads

Start sliding on the pony beads and pushing them to the center. I used 6 pony beads per side.

Then add one snowflake bead to each of the ends.

Take each pipe cleaner end, bend it over and poke the end into the middle of the snowflake bead, pushing it through enough to keep it in place. 

Step 4: Place the rhinestone in the center

Then add a medium sized sticker rhinestone to the middle where all the pipe cleaners cross.

Mrs Dooleys Lemon Slices

Ingredients

Lemon coconut base

  • 300 grams (roughly 3 cups) plain sweetened storebought biscuits
  • 100 grams (1 cup) desiccated coconut
  • Zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
  • 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 240 ml (1 cup) sweetened condensed milk
  • 2–3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (roughly 1 lemon)

Lemon icing

  • 125 grams (1 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • Lemon zest, to decorate
  1. In a large mixing bowl, add crushed biscuits, coconut and fresh lemon zest 
  2. Give dry ingredients a quick stir 
  3. Add sweetened condensed milk, melted butter and fresh lemon juice 
  4. Stir until crumbs are fully coated – the mixture should resemble wet sand 
  5. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press down using the back of a dessert spoon into one even layer . Place in the fridge to firm up slightly.
  6. Stir together icing sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over lemon icing and spread out into one even layer . Place in the fridge to set.
  7. Sprinkle slice with extra lemon zest. Slice into squares to serve.