To decorate your Jubilee table with a distinctly British handmade festive feel, all you need to do for a chance win your own craft hamper, is email us with Jubilee in the subject line and include your Make it and Mend it member name. Just follow the instructions below. Competition closing date is midnight, 23^rd May… so get your entries in fast!

The prize includes

• 5 metres ribbon
• Handcrafted Roses
• 10 Glitter Sheets
• 12 Garden Party Mixed Shapes
• Storage Box with Embellishments
• 4 Printed Dress
• 5 Blank Cards & Envelopes

How to enter

1. You need to be a Make it and mend it Member. It’s free to join – see the box on the right
2. Send an email to info@makeitandmendit.com. Put Jubilee in the subject line. Include your member name in the body of the email. Include your name and your postal address – if you win we want to send your prize on the 24th May to give you time to design and make your table decorations.
3. See our competition rules in our T&Cs. Also see our privacy policy.
4. Closing date is midnight, May 23rd. 3 winning entries will be selected at random.


great newsletter… fantastic competitions… offers…
Join now – it’s FREE

And while solar lights may save energy, if you end up buying new ones every year the old ones  just add to the growing mountain of plastic and metal that goes to landfill. So, before they go in the bin, try these simple repairs. And if you do need to dispose of unfixable ones, I have some tips for that too.

What you’ll need

• Screwdriver
• Spray penetrating oil
• Spray contact cleaner
• Replacement rechargeable batteries (if required)
• Clean cloth / kitchen roll
• Cocktail stick or spent match (trust me, you’ll thank me later)

Taking the light case off to clean

Lights would last longer if we stored them somewhere dry over the winter. but most of the time we leave them in the garden where they fall victim to damp and creepy crawlies.

Most standard javelin solar lights, which just stick straight into the ground, have plastic light casings that simply unscrew. Spray a clean cloth with a little penetrating oil and gently wipe the inside of the casing and around the light itself.

Check out the battery compartment

Batteries are normally in a small compartment that’s designed to be accessed. Don’t replace the batteries at this stage unless they’re showing signs of leakage.

Clean the compartment with your cloth sprayed with oil, paying particular attention to contact points. Remove any oxidisation with fine sandpaper wrapped round a cocktail stick or spent match (which allows you to work the sandpaper into small areas).  Shiny metal contact points look pale grey if oxidised – these can often be restored to working order with cleaning. Brown staining denotes rust and is more likely to be terminal.

Getting to the wiring

To get into the wiring and connections you normally need a small crosshead screwdriver to remove the complete underside of the light. This is usually when the reason why your solar lights are not working becomes abundantly apparent.

Again, spray a dry clean cloth with penetrating oil and gently wipe clean. Don’t poke at connections too roughly and don’t use water or a damp cloth as it just introduces more moisture.

Once clean, gently spritz the main contact points with the contact cleaning spray. Then reassemble.

Test and then change batteries if necessary

Because both the oil and the contact cleaner have penetrating properties it can take a day or so for your lights to start working again. Leave them in the garden to charge.

If they still don’t work you can try changing the batteries. Not all rechargeable batteries are the same. Check what’s in there already. Solar batteries are typically Nickel Cadmium and should last about 2 years (longer, if you take care of your lights). Another tip I’ve learned is to switch your garden lights off for two or three days occasionally (there should be an on off switch on the bottom) as this lets the batteries fully charge up.

Disposing of unfixable solar lights

Despite your best efforts there will be lights that can’t be brought back into service, such as those which are heavily rusted (pictured).

I try and minimise what goes into the general rubbish by removing metal casings and stakes for metal recyling through my local tip and disposing of spent batteries safely (not in the rubbish). I’d put the plastic parts in a seperate bag as you may be able to put them in with electrical recycling rather than general household waste.

I alread save rainwater, but during the height of dry weather last year my water butt ran dry despite very careful use of its contents. I had a 100 litre butt and it was obvious that I needed more capacity. But I didn’t want to throw out my existing butt in order to get a bigger one. Instead, I’ve connected a second butt to the first, which was easy and relatively quick.

What you need

• Water butt (same height and dimensions as the first)
• Water butt connector kit
• Electric drill
• Suitable drill bit
• Sharp knife
• Friend (optional)

Positioning the water butt

This was the trickiest part and the bit where an extra pair of hands would have been useful. Thanks to lots of April showers my existing water butt was full and very heavy. I needed to shift it slightly to make room for the second one.

Even with help it makes sense to drain off some of the water into watering cans, buckets (and the second water butt), before you attempt to move it.

Positioning the water butts

Because I didn’t want to heave my existing full water butt too far, it was easier to make the new water butt the one that connected to the down pipe.

This was easy. All I had to do was disconnect the down pipe diverter from the old butt and connect it to the new one, cutting the connecting hose so it was shorter.

Drilling

Usually, each side of a water butt has a small indentation that indicates where you should drill. If you only have one water butt, you drill on one side and connect it to the down pipe using a diverter kit.

Special drill bits help

When connecting two butts together you drill the second hole on the other side of the butt that’s connected to the down pipe and at the same height. For my connector kit I needed a 25mm hole. You can get special drill bits and hole cutters designed to drill larger holes and this saves a lot of fiddling. (Wear safety glasses when drilling anything!)

Drill bits and hole cutters

Lining them up

Line up the second hole in the water butt that connects to the down pipe with the only hole in the second water butt. They need to be on the same level and as close as possible.

Once you’re sure everything is level check that all the connector tubes, retaining nuts and hoses are tight to minimise leaks. When the butt nearest the down pipe is full the water flows into the second butt.

Tip: If you find you have a water butt which isn’t filling up it usually means that the down pipe diverter is too low. If it overflows, the diverter is too high.

How to save water and money – we show you how

Whether you want to cut those metred water bills, keep the garden looking blooming lovely despite the hosepipe ban or simply be more water conscious around the home, we have loads of water saving tips and water saving gadgets for you…

• Saving water in the bathroom
• Saving water in the garden
• Saving water in the kitchen

A word of advice before booking

You can book package cookery courses or pay for your holiday and travel separately. When buying holidays or flights look for ones protected by ABTA or ATOL and take out holiday insurance from the time you book. Paying by credit card also offers protection if your holiday company fails.

Deciding on a short course or a longer one Do you want to spend the entire week cooking, or are you looking for a short course as part of a longer holiday? It’s worth thinking about how much time you want to spend in the kitchen and whether your course also includes trips to local markets or foraging for ingredients.

What size of group? This is another critical factor when choosing a course. With some courses you can be in almost industrial scale kitchens with lots of other participants. Others are far more informal and intimate. Will you be staying  in a large hotel or a small B&B? What’s the maximum number of participants on your course? Is the kitchen at a secondary location? These are all important questions to ask. (Along with whether you do the washing up!)

5 TOP DESTINATIONS FOR COOKERY COURSES

1. Italy

Hams and other delicacies. Freshly made pasta and sauces bursting with flavour. Italy is our number one destination for cookery holidays. The food and style of cooking varies significantly between  regions so it’s worth spending a bit of time doing your research. Our personal favorite is northern Italy around the beautiful Lakes such as Garda, where cheeses, superb olive oil and mushrooms in Autumn are cuisine staples. Another great place to learn to cook is Tuscany, and locations like the Toscana Mia Italian and Tuscan Cooking School run by two sisters, Simonetta and Paola, in Chianti. They’ve been offering cookery classes since 1990.

2. France

Some would say France is the spiritual home of all foodies and a great place to learn the art of high cuisine and fine dining, as well as regional dishes. It’s probably home to some of the most expensive cookery courses on offer but you can still find reasonable alternatives away from major cities and tourist areas. Provence, Bordeaux and the Dordogne have some great courses to choose from. Look for courses that combine cookery with wine tasting. And if you’re worried about language issues, check out cookery classes run by American Patricia Wells in Paris and Provence.

3. Poland

Perhaps a few years ago this wouldn’t have been on our list, but Polish culture is raising its profile and its appeal as a holiday destination. Closer to home, Polish restaurants vie for custom alongside their more established competitors from France, Italy and Greece. Learn to make pierogis, stuffed dumplings, or bigos, Hunter’s Stew, or wild mushroom soup. These days there’s even a website for ‘Poland Culinary Vacations’. As well as week long courses they also offer one-day cooking classes in cooperation with The Culinary Institute in Cracow.

4. Thailand

If you fancy going further afield, Thailand offers cookery courses. There are a number of cookery schools in the northern town of Chiang Mai, such as the Baan Thai school or the Thai Farm Cooking School teaches cooking classes at its organic farm. Another area to check out is Ko Lanta Island in southern Thailand. There are also a number of day cooking courses that can be added to a more traditional holiday. We even came across cooking and yoga holidays.

5. Ireland

Okay, technically not ‘abroad’ as such but easy to get to and you don’t need a passport (air travellers may need one anyway, or some form of photographic ID – so check). Plus the food is fantastic. There are some lovely cookery schools in wonderful locations plus the options of longer courses for those who want to come away with a qualification. For example, Ballymaloe Cookery in County Cork, probably one of Ireland’s most famous cookery schools and run by top chef Darina Allen, offers 12-week certificate courses down to one-day courses.

Bon voyage and bon appetit!

What you need

• One traditional Christmas cake, matured as per recipe
• A jar of apricot jam
• Bought marzipan: honestly, it’s cheaper to buy a slab of marzipan from the supermarket than make your own
• Beaten egg white
• Ready roll sugar paste icing – Regal Ice: again, buy it
• Edible glitter (optional)
• Pastry brush
• Icing sugar for rolling
• Rolling pin
• Star cookie cutters – mixed sizes

Step 1 – an apricot glaze

Coating your cake with an apricot glaze, seals the marzipan to the cake. First stick your cake to a cake board. mix a little icing sugar and water to ‘glue’ the cake in place. Melt the jam in a pan over a low heat. Don’t boil it and watch because it will burn quickly. Add a little water if you need to thin it. Paint the whole surface of the cake with the melted jam using a pastry brush.

Step 2 – cover with marzipan

Sprinkle icing sugar on a clean surface and roll out your marzipan as thin as you can. Imediately mould it around your cake, avoiding getting any air trapped. Seal the marzipaz right down to the base. This layer stops the fruit and alcohol in the cake discolouring the icing. It also helps to preserve the cake.

Leave to dry out for up to one week, but at least 48 hours.

Step 3 – cover with icing sugarpaste

Roll out your sugar paste onto a very clean surface sprinkled generously with icing sugar. Aim for 3-5mm thickness – so fairly thin. Quickly brush a very thin coat of beaten egg white all over the marzipan covered cake. Then mould your sugar paste all over the cake, just as you did with the marzipan. Make sure the icing completely seals the cake to the board.

Step 4 – decorate

You can decorate your cake anyway you like. This design is simple, but very effective. Just roll our your icing again – 3-5mm thickness. Make sure there are no cake crumbs or other debris anywhere near. The icing will easily discolour. Now cut our your shapes. Arrange any way you like, and stick to the surface of the cake with egg white, overlapping for effect. You can leave it as a pure white affair – very classy – or you can pick out one or two of the stars, paint with egg white and sprinkle with the edible glitter.

Let everything dry and after a couple of days, it’s ready to serve. It will keep for months in theory if kept dry. A Christmas cake makes a lovely gift, especially if you wrap in transparent cellophane for presentation.

Other decoration

This style of decorating is easy and requires no special skills and the white on white produces an impressive effect. You could just as easily decorate with other shapes such as Christmas trees or holly leaves – the berries shown here are made from colouring marzipan and rolling into small balls. See what cookie cutter shapes you can buy and let your imagination go.

See how we made mini Christmas cakes for more inspiration.

Self watering plant pots

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These really easy to make self watering pots will keep your plants damp throughout a hosepipe ban

How to make a self watering pot

Plastic cloches for your plants

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Give your seedlings and young plants their very own greenhouses. Simply cut the bottom off a plastic bottle and cover your plants.

Build a green house out of plastic bottles.

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I know it sounds daft, but the clever guys at REAP Scotland school created this amazing green house out of discarded plastic bottles. It’s cheap, light and really effective. Here are instructions and plans to build your own

Make a water resevoir for pots and hanging baskets

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Simply cut off the bottom of your bottle and take off the lid (or punch holes in the lid) and insert into your pots beside your favourite plants – the bottles will act as a reservoir so that when you water, the water will be taken down the roots where it is needed and not immediately evaporate.

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Make a sprinkler

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You can even use a plastic bottle as a make shift garden sprinkler. Punch holes in the bottle and attach securely to your hose (though never during a hose-pipe ban!).

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Watering your seedlings

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Use small bottles with holes in the lids to water your seedlings. An easy way to put holes in a plastic top is to heat a fine knitting needle or strong darning needle and just melt a few holes into the lid. Voilà - a mini watering can.

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Anti slug cuffs for your tender plants

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A ring of plastic around a tender plant will keep the slugs away…and if you use clear plastic you won’t even notice them.

You will need

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• Plastic bottle
• Scissors or knife
• String, cord or a piece capillary matting
• compost
• Plant

Step one – prepare the bottle

If your bottle has contained anything other than water you will need to give it a quick wash out. Remove the label (this is not essential, but it does look better).

Step two

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Cut across your bottle one third of the way down. It’s important to make sure that the bottom half is longer than the top.

Step three – make your ‘wick’

Take the lid and make a hole in it (if you’re using string you might want several holes). Insert the ‘wick’ through the hole. For this one I’ve used some old piping cord which is a really useful thickness, but you can use ordinary string or even capillary matting. If you’re using matting you probably won’t need to keep the lid as the matting will stop your compost spilling out.

Step four – insert the wick

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Insert half the wick into the top of the bottle and replace the lid. You’ll have half the wick inside the top of the bottle and half outside.

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Step five

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Fill the lower part of the bottle with water. Turn the top half upside down and insert into/onto (depends on the shape of the bottle) the lower half. Making sure that the ‘wick’ is immersed in the water.

Step Six

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Fill the top half (the pot) with potting compost and plant your seedlings. The wick will continually draw up the water from the reservoir into the compost and will keep your plant moist even on the hottest day.

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If you have more bottles knocking around you could also create a cloche for your plant by simply cutting off the bottom and placing the top over the plant.

Watch this space to find out who won.

First, we’ve got a great member competition for you to win Mira Eco Shower Heads each worth £35. Whether you’re looking to cut metred water bills or just beat the drought and hosepipe ban in the garden, our great water-saving tips will show you how. Enter the competition and then read on…

Enter our great competition

great newsletter… fantastic competitions… offers…
Join now – it’s FREE

B&Q have given us two Mira Eco Shower Heads to give away. In stylish chrome and retailing at £35,  they fit easily to any (non electric) mixer shower and can cut water per shower by up to 70% without any loss in “oomph”, as they aerate, mixing air with your water supply.

You must be a Make it and Mend it member to take part. If you’re not a member already you can join using the button above. Then all you have to do is…

1. Email info@makeitandmendit.com. In the SUBJECT line type Eco Shower Head.
2. In the email itself give us your water saving tip.
   Include a picture (jpg) if you’d like to.
3. Include your full name and postal address (so if you win, your shower head can be sent direct to you).

Closing date for the draw is Midnight, 6th May 2012. The two winning entries will be selected at random after the closing date.

See our competition rules in our T&Cs. Also see our privacy policy.

How to save water and money – we show you how

Whether you want to cut those metred water bills, keep the garden looking blooming lovely despite hosepipe bans or simply be more water conscious around the home, we have loads of water saving tips and water saving gadgets for you…

• Saving water in the bathroom
• Saving water in the garden
• Saving water in the kitchen

Fit a water butt, or add a second

No garden should be without a water butt these days. They can be fitted easily and there are plenty to choose from in garden and DIY centres. Space saving butts are great for small gardens and patios. Water butts

But why stop at one? Water butts can be connected to each other so that when the first one is full, the water is saved to the second. All you need is a simple connector kit

Choose drought resistant plants

Choose plants that thrive in dryer conditions. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, drought tolerant plants tend to have silver or grey-green leaves, their light leaf colour reflecting the sun’s rays. Some have a coating of fine hairs on their leaves or stems, helping to trap moisture around the plant. Ask at your local garden centre.

Don’t water your lawn

Even without a hosepipe ban, watering your lawn makes it more thirsty. Don’t worry if it starts to look a little dry, the roots will just dig deeper to seek out moisture – and it will recover surprisingly quickly when it rains. Let the grass grow a little longer to trap the moisture in the soil better.

Recycle grey water

Rather than pull the plug after the bath, use the water to irrigate plants and lawns but don’t use this ‘grey’ water on plants you intend to eat. You can get grey water diverter kits that can divert water from pipes directly into a water butt. Failing that use a bucket or syphon.

How to save water and money

Whether you want to cut those metred water bills, keep the garden looking blooming lovely despite the hosepipe ban or simply be more water conscious around the home, we have loads of water saving tips and water saving gadgets for you…

• Saving water in the bathroom
• Saving water in the kitchen

Swap to a water efficient shower

An aerated shower head cuts energy consumption as well as water use. Air is mixed into the water supply to the shower head automatically so you use up to 75% less water than with a regular shower head. Enter our competition to win a Mira Eco Shower Head worth £35

Eco shower heads

Flush less money – and water – away

A toilet can use as much as 10 litres of water in every flush. A dual-flush toilet could cut your water bills by 15%. Toilet flushing is 30% of your daily water use. Depending on the age and type of toilet it may be possible to simply fit a dual flush to your existing loo. Failing, that, add a special bag filled with water to the cistern, this reduces the amount of water in each flush. Check with your local water company who may offer bags for free.

Dual flush mechanisms

Save your bath water

If you do have a bath rather than a shower, don’t pull the plug on the water. Instead use it to water the garden (not vegetables or fruit) or clean the car. You can get grey water diverter kits but you can simply fill the watering can or bucket direct from the bath or use a syphon.

Read more tips on saving water in the garden

Discover how water efficient you are with this B&Q calculator

How to save water and money

Whether you want to cut those metred water bills, keep the garden looking blooming lovely despite the hosepipe ban or simply be more water conscious around the home, we have loads of water saving tips and water saving gadgets for you…

• Saving water in the garden
• Saving water in the kitchen