04 05 06 08 10 coming up
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welcome
contributers
diy birdcage
cocktail
homemade afternoon tea
these are a few of my favourite things
technology
wish list
welcome!
We are so excited and proud to bring you Fêted, a new online magazine honoring the everyday things in life and celebrating the new. Fêted went from being an idea to reality in a fairly short space of time. It was a labour of love and one we hope you get as much out of as we did. Every issue will be themed and the theme of this issue is ‘home’. We thought it was a good place to start as we all have one, whether it be a five bedroom country manor house or a studio flat in the city. This is a condensed sample issue, we’re putting the feelers out for bigger things in the upcoming issues with plenty already in mind. Let us know what you think and what you’d like to see in Fêted in the future. Tweet @FetedMagazine and follow the journey using the hashtag #FetedMag. Now, on with the show.
Clare and Sarah
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CONTRIBUTORS
Sarah is a recent journalism graduate whose dream it is to write and travel forever. She collects street art and has been known to sleep for 16 hours at a time. Considers herself a hotel aficionado. You can contact Sarah at sarah@fetedonline. com
Twitter @ConnoConCon www.wordsbysarah. com
Clare is a womenswear
Steph is a selfdescribed misplaced northerner who lives on the south coast, where she works as a freelance writer and teacher. Steph writes a blog documenting her many obsessions (books, tea, beauty products and knitting) and how she is dealing with recently becoming a mum.
Zoe Smith and lives in South East London with her three housemates and a very ginger cat. A keen baker and food writer, she creates recipes and writes for her own lifestyle blog, This little home in Peckham.
Rebecca is a Kiwi who moved to London in search of art, inspiration and an adventure. What started as a small blog to chronicle her art adventures soon led to new friends, guest blogging and the start of her own jewellery range, ‘Silver’ by Runawaykiwi.
Twitter @clareyconnolly
Twitter @wuthering_alice
Twitter @zoeeesmith
Twitter @runawaykiwi
www. stephaniepomfrett. co.uk
www. thislittlehomeinpeckham. blogspot.co.uk
www.runawaykiwi. com
designer who recently bought a flat in London. She is an afternoon tea obsessive with a fascination of wolf fleeces. You can contact her by email at clare@ fetedonline.com
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diy I have had an obsession with a Graham and Green birdcage lampshade for about two years now. I seem to look at it on the website at least once a week, but I just can’t bring myself to part with the best part of £400 to make it mine. After finding some artificial birds on eBay I decided to try a DIY version. It only took a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon and all of the components cost less than £20. Clare
YOU WILL NEED An old lampshade (It doesn’t matter what shape or size it is, or what state the fabric is in as you’ll be removing it. I got mine for £2 from a charity shop, but try eBay or you might have one lying around. A selection of florist’s artificial birds in different sizes (I got mine from eBay) Garden wire Wire cutters Copper spray paint (or the colour of your choice, a bright one will work well too) Superglue Scalpel Measuring tape 6
Sandpaper (fine grain) Fire-retardant spray
1. Remove all the fabric and trim from the lampshade. You may find that some stubborn bits don’t come away from the wire skeleton very easily, if this happens try sanding them away with some fine sandpaper. You want as smooth a surface as possible for the best finish when you spray paint. 2. Next you’re going to create the horizontal bars of the birdcage. Decide how many of these bars you want to create - this will depend on the size of your lampshade. I found it helpful to make a little score with the wire cutters on the vertical bars to mark where the horizontal ones
3. Decide which vertical bar is going to be the back and starting from there wind the garden wire firmly around each one, following the marks you made to keep the wire level, until you come back to where you started. You’ll need to do this quite tightly, otherwise the wire will bend out of shape and move up and down the vertical bars. Cut off the excess and start again at the next scored mark down, keeping going until you’ve got all your horizontal bars in place. You could also try soldering the bars on if you prefer a cleaner finish.
4. In a well-ventilated area, spray the lampshade with the copper paint until all of it is completely covered. This will probably take several coats. Allow to dry as per the manufacturer’s instructions. 5. Once the paint is dry you can start adding the birdies! Before you do this remember to spray them with the fire-retardant spray and allow them to dry completely. Then, remove the thin wire from the bodies of the birds and play around with their positioning in their “cage”. Remember you’re trying to replicate birds in a cage so don’t make it too uniform or symmetrical. Once you are settled on their position, cut a little v-shaped channel on their underbelly where the bar will lie and fill it with superglue. Let the glue get a little tacky before holding the bird in place for a few seconds. Repeat until you have enough birds in your cage, being careful not to get their tails too close to where the bulb will be.
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cocktail
In an English Country Garden By Zoe Smith
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YOU WILL NEED Ginger beer Fresh blackberries Mint leaves Blackcurrant vodka liqueur – If you have time and a good stock of berries, you can create your own berry vodka infusion. With it not being berry season I purchased a beautiful bottle of liqueur from Daylesford Organics; an organic farm shop in Pimlico who produce their own blends from their farm in Gloucestershire. You can also buy their produce online from www. daylesfordorganic.com
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When tasked with creating a cocktail recipe to incorporate this issue’s theme of home, I was left in a slight quandary. Think of cocktails and immediate thoughts of tropical tiki bars, exotic fruits and glamorous, swanky wine bars spring to mind, all of which are about as far removed as you can get from my little corner of South East London. It turns out that I didn’t have to look that far for inspiration, just outside my kitchen window in fact. Our gardens can produce a wealth of tasty treats, some which are perfect for a homely tipple! So, with an English country garden as my inspiration, I have created this rather lovely berry filled cocktail.
Jam jars are the perfect cocktail making accessory
Layer a few blackberries at the bottom of the jar, followed by a few sprigs of mint. Before adding the mint, clap it in your hands just to release a bit more flavour. Then top with a few ice cubes. Repeat this layering technique until your jar is just over half full.
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To make the cocktail you will need a clean jam jar with a lid. Jam jars are the perfect cocktail making accessory, especially if you don’t have a fancy cocktail shaker at your disposal as it doubles up as a shaker and a glass.
Add to the jar a shot glass full of the berry liqueur and then fill with the ginger beer until about half an inch from the top. Pop on the lid and give a quick shake to blend the flavours.
Carefully remove the lid and top with a little more ice, a few more fresh blackberries and a sprig of mint to garnish. Add a straw and voilà! A lovely refreshing homely treat. Let me know what you think by tweeting me @zoeeesmith and using the hashtag #homelycocktail 9
afternoon tea
Ginger and white chocolate truffles
Sometimes you just need sunshine. But when the weather is refusing to co-operate the only answer is an afternoon tea full of laughter, love and the taste of home. To try and summon the good weather from the Southern Hemisphere I included some of my favourite New Zealand treats; pikelets and melting moments. And just in case that didn’t work I also included some boozy piùa colada cupcakes, sure to bring smiles and sunshine. Enjoy, Rebecca
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Bring 100ml of double cream to the boil. Turn off the heat and add 150g of white chocolate pieces. Once the white chocolate has melted, pop it in the fridge until it is completely hard. Use a teaspoon to scoop out small balls, then coat in melted white chocolate and sprinkle with crystallised ginger. Put back in the fridge to set.
Salted Honey Almonds
Rose and Raspberry Melting Moments
Mix one cup of raw almonds with two tablespoons of honey and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Put in a 140°C oven for 25 minutes, remembering to stir them every five minutes to stop them from burning. As soon as you take the almonds out of the oven sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the top.
Soften 125g of butter then add 1/3 cup of icing sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence, 1 cup of plain flour and 2 tablespoons of custard powder. Mix until just combined (don’t overwork it) and make balls out of 1 teaspoon worth of mixture. Put them in the fridge taking them out after 10 minutes and squishing the balls with the back of a fork. Put in a 140° oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Make a standard white icing and add a couple of drops of rose water and a handful of crushed fresh raspberries.
Walnut mini loaves Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of yeast to 200ml of warm water, then put aside for ten minutes. Sift 500g of strong bread flour and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and 1/3 cup of walnut pieces. Add the water mixture to the flour and knead until the dough is in a ball shape and looks shiny (10ish minutes). Set in a warm place until it doubles in size. Knead again for 5 minutes and then divide into 6 to 8 mini loaves. Set them aside in a warm place to again double in size, and then pop them in a 180°C oven for 30 minutes.
Piña colada cupcakes Cream 115g of butter with 150g of caster sugar and when nice and fluffy add two eggs (one at a time). Sift in 1½ cups of plain flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder, adding half a cup of desiccated coconut. Pour in a ½ cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence and mix gently. Empty mixture into cupcake cases and push a small chunk of pineapple into each, then bake at 180° for 20 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, pour a tiny amount of Malibu over each cupcake. Make a normal butter cream icing, but use blended pineapple as the liquid (instead of milk or water). Dip the finished cupcakes in desiccated coconut.
Pikelets Combine ½ a cup of milk with ½ a teaspoon of white vinegar and set aside in a warm place to sour. Sift 1 cup of flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and a ¼ teaspoon of baking soda into a bowl. Add 1 egg to the soured milk and whisk, adding it to the flour mixture. Add 1 tablespoon of melted butter to the mix and cook as you would pancakes (but using only 1 tablespoon of mixture per pikelet). Serve with jam and butter.
Tweet Rebecca your thoughts using the hashtag #NZafternoontea to @runawaykiwi 11
These are a few of my favourite things By Steph Pomfrett
The comfiest chair in the world – this was a chair we bought with gift vouchers after our wedding. I love it, but weirdly I don’t sit in it very often, despite the fact it’s perfect for knitting in. The throw is one of my all-time favourite things in the house and was made by my friend, Jan, as a wedding present. She tried to stop it being TOO bright (which is my preference for home decor), as she knew my husband’s idea of a wild colour scheme is magnolia paired with beige. The postcard wall – this is an ever-changing art gallery that I use to brighten up our kitchen. I’m a member of Postcrossing and it’s a great way of connecting with people from all over the world. I started to send the postcards as a way of getting out of the house when on maternity leave. Now, I like to look at it with my son and show him all the bright colours.
The dinosaur in a dress – this was a present from my friend Emma, an illustrator, which she gave to me as a present after I had my son in October. She’d taken one of my tweets, in which I’d lamented feeling like a stegosaurus in a dress, and illustrated it. The reason it looks like Marie Antoinette is because I have a slight obsession with her. And dinosaurs.
My religious knick-knacks – I wasn’t raised a Catholic, but my mum was, so I had quite an odd relationship with religion growing up. I like to say I got all of the guilt and none of the pageantry of Catholicism! This collection is mostly made up of bits I’ve picked up on holiday. The Notre Dame candle is from my first visit to Paris five years ago, the little shrine was picked up at Sacre Coeur two years ago on honeymoon and the little Virgin Mary is from a shop in Cork, which I picked up while doing research into my family history. I think my favourite thing is the Child of Prague. My mum bought it for me, as I’d found an old Irish custom that said if you put it outside your back door the night before your wedding, it wouldn’t rain. It didn’t! I’m on the hunt now for a glow-in-the-dark addition to my collection. 12
Technology
#hashtag When I’m walking around the supermarket on the hunt for dinner, I’m always really conscious of people looking in my basket and judging me. Judging me on the chocolate yoghurts, the big bag of Minstrels, the box of popcorn and bottle of wine, which I try to cover up with a bag of rocket and a bulky item such as kitchen roll or a pizza. But not everyone is like me and in honour of the foodies among us, this issue we are launching the #whatsinyourfridge hashtag. Tweet us or post a picture on Instagram of the inside of your fridge using the hashtag with a few words on what is inside and why. Our contributor Zoe starts off the proceedings with a photo of the inside of her fridge showing delicious homemade beetroot houmous, a bottle of gin, yoghurt and a few types of berries. Perfect treats for a summer’s evening.
There’s something very appealing about the old mixed with the new, especially when it involves technology. This retro iPhone dock is handcrafted from solid oak and is Bluetooth integrated allowing for wireless talk while your phone is charging. Available to buy and order from oldtimecomputer.com for £105.
Send us your fridge photos and well feature them on our website. www.fetedonline.com Sarah
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wish list Etsy is a treasure trove of creativity and craftmanship. It’s a place to go for one of a kind pieces and to support up and coming businesses, which we at Fêted, are all about. Here is our (condensed) home Etsy wish list.
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Objectify Grid2 wall clock from ObjectifyHomeware £21.15
Metallic gold stag pillow case from KyleWayneTaylorHome £23.15
Badger King print from FabFunky shop £6.60 unframed
Vinatge Kodak nightlight from Relectronics £46.30