6th March - World Book Day. The ILG team selects their treasured childhood books...

March 6th is world book day, children everywhere are heading to school dressed in their favourite fictional character (and dutiful parents have scurried, scraped and sourced the costumes...) http://www.worldbookday.com/books/

We think books are brilliant. We’ve all spent time engrossed in a really good read… whether its time spent in a magical mystical land, inside the belly of a whale or giggling manically along with our favourite fictional friend. So we are running a competition to win some lovely book tokens (one can never have too many books!) 

Tell us your favourite childhood book on our facebook page for the chance to win a £30 book token (there’s 2 up for grabs). Simply post your answer in the comment box and you'll be entered into a draw, entries close at midnight (GMT) Thursday 13th March, enter here http://on.fb.me/1g2xaaW

Bill Granger's delicious recipe for pancake day

YAY! PANCAKE DAY HAS ARRIVED... We love any excuse to eat zillions of divine fluffy pancakes so we thought we'd ask an ILG friend for a super scrummy recipe idea...

 Internationally renowned for his easy-going approach to cooking and particularly well-known for his way with brunch (New York Times christened him the 'egg master'), Australian restaurateur and food writer Bill Granger has sent over a delicious recipe for pancake day. We’ll be trying these tonight...

BILL GRANGER'S RECIPE:

We also love Bill's lovely restaurant 'Granger and Co', in Notting Hill (we recommend you go! http://www.grangerandco.com and if you can't make it to Notting Hill, why not try cooking some of the lovely recipes in Bill's Italian Food Cooking book... see below - for more information visit Bill's website http://www.bills.com.au

Send us your pics for pancake day - if your children are joining in the fun, then you really can't beat the classics: lemon and sugar, good old-fashioned jam and one of our fave's - banana and nutella... yum yum, send us your pics on instagram to #ilovegorgeousuk

ENJOY!

Sweet Treats for Valentine's Day...

Treat someone special with one of these sweet ideas... 

So simple - perfect for children & adults - go to the ilovegorgeous pinterest board for more gorgeous images & cute crafts...  http://bit.ly/1byv2Wm

http://www.leannebakes.com/2013/02/chocolate-covered-pretzels-for.html

                 http://www.paperpony.net/2012/03/how-to-make-glitter-heart-cake-topper.html  

http://www.paperpony.net/2012/03/how-to-make-glitter-heart-cake-topper.html 

http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/strawberry-rice-krispie-treats/

DON'T FORGET

Send us a picture of your makes on instagram @ilovegorgeousuk

Enjoy!

JANUARY BLUES - CUTE BIRD-Y CRAFTS TO MAKE AND DO...

As dreary January draws to a close we've put together a fun selection of crafty things to make and do...

Whistle whilst you work with these bird-y inspired ideas... don't forget to post your makes on our facebook/instagram - we'd love to see how you get on!

Orange Bird Feeder                                                                                             

You will need...

An orange

Prepared bird seed mixture

A piece of string

1. Cut a lid out of the top of your orange and hollow out the juicy middle - you could also make a yummy juice with the middle!

2. Pierce a little hole for the string to thread through, this will make your handle.

3. Fill the orange peel with the bird mixture and leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours.

4. Hang outside on your favourite tree and watch the hungry birds enjoy their yummy treat!

link: http://diyhomesweethome.com/homemade-citrus-bird-feeders-birdseed-ornaments/

Coloured Bird Houses

All you need is a bird house, old or new, and some weather proof paints/top coat, and whatever bits you want to decorate your birdy house with... Buttons/twigs/beads etc.

link:http://www.plaidkidscrafts.com/2012/04/23/MondayFundayBirdHouses.aspx

Toilet Roll Owl

You will need..

empty toilet rolls

paints

marker pens

pva glue

1. take your toilet roll and bend the cardboard to meet each other at one end of the roll and secure with glue or a bit of sticky tape, this will make the ears.

2. when the glue is dry, paint your owl any colour you wish and put it somewhere safe to dry.

3. once your owl is dry you can draw him on some eyes, a beak and some feathers just like the ones in the pictures!

link:http://xny.co/2013/08/toilet-paper-roll-owls/

Pine Cone Owl

You will need...

A pine cone

Coloured felt/card/craft paper

Pva glue

Scissors

1. Cut out the shapes for the wings, eyes and beak. Try to use different colours to give your owl his own identity.

2. Stick the bits onto your pine cone and there you have it! You could even use fun googly eyes like in the picture above and use different colours and sizes to make a whole family!

link:http://goodideasforyou.com/ideas-a-inspirations/christmas/pinecone-decorations.html

Have Fun!

Christmas, comedians and kids - an unusually starry poetry event

Harry Enfield and chums entertained a carpet full of children at the new ilovegorgeous shop in Primrose Hill on Saturday morning. Allie Esiri (who Tatler have called 'The Poetry Powerhouse') directed the event, choosing poems from her anthology, iF: A Treasury of Poems for Every Possibility. The starry cast - Harry Enfield, Gina Bellman, Sarah Alexander, Morwenna Banks and Ben Miller surprised the Primrose Hill posse of parents and kids with genius, energised readings. Harry Enfield had the crowd in stitches reading Benjamin Zephaniah's 'Be nice to ye turkeys dis Christmas', and then he told the audience they could boo at his Australian accent as he read the part of the kangaroo, opposite Sarah's sweet Duck in Edward Lear's 'The Duck and The Kangaroo'. But he was way too good to boo!

Poems ranged from Tim Burton's 'The Girl with Many Eyes', which ends with the line, 'You really get wet when she breaks down and cries' to A.A. Milne's winning poem about friendship 'Us Two'. By the end of the hour all the audience were joining in....

Audience members included Gina's husband and daughter, Ben's wife and kids, Sarah's husband, the actor/comedian Peter Serafinowicz, Caroline Spencer and chef and food writer Bill Granger.

Both Ben and Gina then had to race off to do matinees - Gina at The National theatre, Ben to the West End to do The Duckhouse. He said they update the play as the run goes on including the latest MP misdemeanours!

There were of course absurdly delicious cakes from Primrose Bakery and colourful  juices from Belvoir Cordials,  and 20% of all takings on the day went to Save the Children. Festive fun was had by both adults and the little ones, and if you want to know more about Allie's apps where you can read, write and share poems with your friends, visit her website Ilterature here.

If your stuck for gift ideas, we think our Moon Festival Dresses & the iF: A Treasury of Poems for Almost Every Possibility book are the perfect Christmas present combo! We are offering free post & packaging until midnight on the 20th December, AND a free gift wrapping service at the checkout for your gorgeous gifts. 

COMPETITION: WIN - PRIMROSE BAKERY, CELEBRATIONS BOOK - a great gift idea!

Primrose Bakery produce a mouth-watering selection of cakes and treats, and are famed for their gorgeous cookbooks. We are offering one ILG fan the chance to win a copy of their latest title 'CELEBRATIONS'. Beautifully laid out and awash with delicious ideas - this is the perfect Christmas present. (FYI: Primrose Bakery will be providing gorgeous cakes for our Primrose Hill event, in-store this Saturday - see below for details.)

Primrose Bakery began when friends Lisa Thomas and Martha Swift began baking in their home kitchens for children's parties. Fast forward nine years and they have opened two shops in Primrose Hill and Covent Garden and have launched three cookbooks and an App.  We are offering you the chance to win a copy of their fabulous new book Primrose Bakery Celebrations by Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas, photography by Yuki Sugiura. The perfect Christmas present!
All you have to do is like our Facebook post here and you will automatically be entered into our prize draw to win. For an idea of what delightful treats lay in store, our friends at the bakery have given us two exclusive recipes straight from the pages, just for you!

INSIDE THE BAKERY:

Primrose Bakery is THE place to relax with a sweet treat. The delicious smell and pink neon glow lures you in to a cupcake grotto; malted marshmallow, pink lemonade or strawberry daiquiri with rum-butter icing anyone?

Visit the website here and you'll find an emporium of cakes made to order, including personalised celebration cakes.




We will be sampling the winter wonderland themed cakes and gingerbread men decorated with little scarves and wooly mittens.

We love following them on Instagram for news and pictures of their new inventions...

We want to see photos of your own wonderful celebration cakes, so tag us via Instagram and Twitter @ilovegorgeousuk

CHRISTMAS, COMEDY & CAKES - Saturday 14th December 11 & 11.30am, ilovegorgeous, 73 Regents Park Road, London NW1 8UY

Sample Primrose Bakery's sweet treats this Saturday at our Primrose Hill store. Actors Harry Enfield, Ben Miller, Sarah Alexander, Gina Bellman and Morwenna Banks will be reading a selection of quirky, funny & silly poems chosen by Allie Esiri, creator of The Love Book & co-creator of the the iF poems. See details on how to book below...

Pearl & Betty Lowe's Christmas Edit - 1 red lace dress, 6 adorable puppies & lots of vintage chic

Pearl Lowe and her family with their six puppies in a recent Sunday Times Style magazine. Betty Lowe wears ilovegorgeous,  Moon Festival Dress and Sparkly Plimsolls in silver

Pearl Lowe knows a thing or two about good style. Having started out in the industry as a singer, Pearl's love of all things vintage have translated into a successful fashion and textiles design career. As well as being a vintage queen, Pearl is a mother to some seriously fashion-savvy offspring, Daisy, Alfie, Betty, Danny and Frankie.

The Lowe's will be spending Christmas together in a stylish vintage setting with their 6 adorable new puppies - so cute!

Pearl and 8 year old daughter Betty are both huge fans of ilovegorgeous (from very early on) so we thought it would be lovely to have them work together on an ilovegorgeous Christmas edit. Together they've hand-picked their favourite items for the festive period. See below for some of Betty's favourite looks, pieces and her 'ways to wear'...

Shop Pearl and Betty's full fashion edit here. Don't forget to take advantage of our free gift wrapping service this Christmas for all your gorgeous gifts, and we are offering a 10% discount on our fabulous Gift Sets.

CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA - Vintage Craft by Pearl Lowe

Pearl's designing career began when she dyed her lace curtains and before she knew it, the editor of Elle Decoration had snapped up a pair and featured Pearl in her magazine. This lead to a collection of handmade dresses for Liberty, her own line for Peacocks and a stationary range that sells in the likes of Selfridges. Pearl's recent project is "Vintage Craft",  an inspiring book with 50 step-by-step projects as well as a how to guide on sourcing your own vintage treasures. Pearl's favourite periods are the 1920's and 1950's, and she insists that "glamour never goes out of fashion". From fringed vintage lampshades to handmade winter wreaths, the book is packed with unique ways to create, decorate and upcycle beautiful objects for your dream home. You can buy Pearl's book here and visit her website www.pearllowe.co.uk for further collections and her blog "Living the Vintage Life".