Find the answers to all of your decorating dilemas and stay up-to-date with the latest Interior trends.

It’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday, and this year it is particularly special, as Chinese New Year also falls on February 14th! With this in mind, I thought it would be a great opportunity to create some Asian inspired Valentine’s treats.

Fortune cookies are unique gifts which can be made at home and given to friends, or to that special someone. For Valentine’s Day, enclose with your personal messages of love, romance of friendship.

Here are few suggestions to get you started…

A secret admirer will soon send you a sign of affection

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved

If I know what love is, it is because of you

The one you love is closer than you think

Your heart is a place to draw true happiness

To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven

The best thing about me is you

Somewhere there’s someone who dreams of your smile

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence

Count your blessings by thinking of those whom you love

Those who have love, have wealth beyond measure

This is the recipe that I used for my homemade fortune cookies. I made pink cookies this time, but using colour is optional. (NB. these cookies are softer (and tastier) than the store bought variety).

1/2 cup plain flour

1/4 cup white sugar

Pinch of salt

1 large egg white

Two drops of vanilla extract

Red food colouring (optional)

Mix egg whites and vanilla until foamy

Mix the flour, salt and sugar

Blend all ingredients

Add food colouring to the desired colour (optional)

Drop two desert spoons of mixture onto a cool, greased baking sheet on a baking tray

Moving the tray in a circular motion, creating two even circles approximately 7cm in diameter

Bake the cookies for 5 minutes on Gas Mark 6

Remove from oven and insert the fortune in the centre of the circles, before folding them in half

Whilst still warm gently bend the cookies over the rim of a glass to create the centre fold

Keep folded cookies in muffin trays until cool to keep their shape

Package in cellophane bags, tie with a pretty ribbon and give to your loved ones

Makes approximately 10 cookies

As you can see we have now launched our newly designed blog site.  And although we still have some more updates to do,  it would be really great to get some feedback from you; what do you think works or doesn’t work?  What would you like to see more of?  Is it user friendly?  Are there any more topics that you would like to see covered?  We want you to get as much from the site as possible and so your feedback is really important to us.  Please comment below or feel free email me directly at blog@pippajamesoninteriors.co.uk

Well, it’s now 3 weeks until my second baby arrives and I am praying she doesn’t come early so that I can finish all of my styling jobs!

We have been asked to transform the upstairs of a pub by turning the 5 unused rooms into modern and welcoming guest rooms.  I have to say, it’s a fantastic job to be working on as we have total creative control of the design.  Once we have finished the rooms I will post a feature with all of the ‘before’ and after pics.

I visited the East London Design Show last weekend and it was full of fantastic last minute gift ideas for Christmas. The show is one of the largest of it’s kind in London, with over 100 independent product designers exhibiting their wares.

Here, I list my favorite products from the show:

People Will Always Need Plates - A unique tableware and textile range using technical elevations of iconic British buildings.

‘Sunhouse’ plate by People Will Always Need Plates

Let Them Eat Cake - Beautiful, tiered cake stands created from vintage china. With designs ranging from romantic to the eccentric, you will find one to suit even the most discerning gift recipient. They also provide a bespoke service – you supply them with your treasured family china, and they create your very own heirloom.

‘Blue Stripe Delight’ cake stand by Let Them Eat Cake

Plate sorting by Let Them Eat Cake

Clothkits - Making it easy to sew your own clothes and toys from scratch. A great activity for kids and adults alike. Clothkits collaborate with other well known local artists and designers, resulting in a vastly appealing collection of products to make at home.

‘House and Birds Kit’ by Clothkits

Miller Goodman- Stylish and fun, the ‘Playshapes’ range is made from 74 geometric wooden shapes, which can be endlessly arranged. When playtime is over, the shapes are stored away in their very own unbleached cotton drawstring bag.

‘PlayShapes’ by Miller Goodman

alp – alp is a design studio led by Swiss born, London based Annick L Petersen. Highlights from her homewares collection include white linen cushions with red stitched satin text, and plates with the same design. The text is inspired by Edith Piaf’s ‘La vie en rose’.

Cushions by alp

Plates by alp

Fabrications - ‘Re-think rubbish’ gift wrapping kits combine the Japanese art of ‘Furoshiki’ with vintage head scarves and fabric bows. A sustainable alternative to wrapping paper.

Gift wrapping kit by Fabrications

Colour is an affordable and effective way of making a change to our homes and can quickly transform a room or house exterior. It can also help cement a theme and bring a ‘look’ together.

To provide you with some colour inspiration, we are excited to present the predicted colour trends for 2010, carefully selected by the experienced ‘Trends Panel’ at Crown paints. The innovative colour palettes represent directions that the panel believes will be key for interiors this year.

Terra

The earthen hues of the natural world with a striking contemporary twist. A bold palette of warm oranges and burnt reds complimented with greys, purples and dusky pinks, resulting in a truly modern look.

St Germaine

As the name suggests, a colour palette inspired by timeless Parisian style. Think strong, monochromatic shades, teamed with elegant, rich detailing. A sophisticated twist on the baroque themes of last decade.

Simple Beauty

Reflecting one of the hottest trends right now, this theme touches on sustainability, craft and tradition. Experiment with neutral shades and accents of green and purple.

New Mexico

A fresh take on a classic theme inspired by the hot hues of the Mexican desert. Burnt oranges, yellows and dusty taupes feature, with accents of greying whites and midnight blue.

Paperback

Taking inspiration from a well-thumbed novel, this colour palette is based on comfortable, familiar pastels, teamed with the freshness of olive green and yellow.

Plush

Decadence encapsulated. Create drama at home with an intense colour palette of rich purples, and an eclectic mix of textured homewares.

Don’t panic if you haven’t managed to decorate your home – why not have a go at making some decorations yourself…

I always look forward to Christmas, as it’s a great opportunity to indulge my creative side and get stuck into some fun craft projects at home. This year I have decorated my living room with paper snowflakes. These are easy, inexpensive and fun to make, and ecologically more responsible than tinsel!

Here, I have used snowflakes and red and white butchers twine to create a hanging garland, but you can also create individual Christmas tree decorations by varying the size of the snowflakes or gluing them onto coloured card.

I have used recycled paper for my garland, but you could use patterned wallpaper offcuts or newsprint for a more decorative look. There are plenty of websites from which you can download snowflake patterns for free, or you can get creative and design your own.

Post by keinton Butler

Remember that time in school where you got the drawing of yourself on the class tea towel, no? Neither do I, missed that boat, so instead I seek nostalgia in these wonderful tea towels from Keep Calm..

I have a collection of pretty awful tea towels inherited from my Nana:  A Wimbledon one, one with silly cartoon elephants reminiscent of what a plastic fairground elephant might look like and a garish red 70’s floral print, but I do love them. There is something about a tea towel that is integral to a home and I’m sure everyone has once shouted “where’s the tea towel?” It’s something you can keep for years but almost better than a picture in a frame or a poster as you constantly use it.

It’s also a major factor in the “you wash, I’ll dry” which, back in the days of washing-up it was a way of bonding and possibly the most equal task in the home. You don’t see two people using the vacuum at the same time and holding a conversation over the hum. I digress…

I have seen these tea towels around Brighton in many of the local boutique and kitchen shops. They’re very funky and humorous with too many that I like, all very tongue in cheek and the kinds of jokes your dad might come out with which aren’t that funny, but the impulse is to laugh.

As I live with an illustrator she has many of her drawings and prints around the house, my favourite has to be the one that says “keep on being you” with a picture of a cartoon girl. It always makes me feel slightly better about the day ahead!

There are five collections for different tastes, styles and humour to suit. Keep calm gallery also does prints, cards and mugs.

Feature by Elizabeth Danon

Last weekend, myself and a few other Bloggers were invited on a Little Break press trip to Brussels with Eurostar.

It was an eventful day starting at an eye watering 5.30am in order to catch the 6am Eurostar from a very cold St Pancras.  Once we had all tucked into the breakfast and got to know each other a little better, we had arrived.  It seemed so quick.

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Hurray!! We have launched our new online shopping facility with our Christmas Gift Guide.   We have split the shop into four handy price brackets starting with the under £20.  This has some fantastic items on offer including some beautiful silver tea light holders for the center of the table as well as some stunning purple wine glasses.

For the under £50 you can choose from a pretty red table runner and a sophisticated wreath for your front door.

Then we have the under £100 with a very cool red capsule bin with a retro feel.  Finally, we thought it would be fun to create a ‘blow the budget‘ option with a variety of high end gift ideas.  My absolute favourite is the cow hide rug from John Lewis.  Just click the link to the left of the page and take a look…

Over the next few months we will be creating more style shopping pages for every room in the home.  The idea is to create a styled look that you can recreate without the hassle of trying to source all the items yourself.  So, thank you to Liz and all the design team at By The Scruff for working so hard on this and happy shopping to all of our readers!

Morning all,

I don’t normally write about jewellery but when something really special comes to my attention I have to share it with you.  The Shop is a new online store that sells internationally sourced designer jewellery that has a unique boutique and edgy feel.  But best of all it’s so affordable!  When you think ‘designer’ you think expensive but all of these pieces are under £100 and start from as little as £25……love it, love it, love it!!!

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