Ellie Ellie Wears

Ellie Ellie wears this week features some lovely feminine finds. This tea dress from Fever Designs in cornflower blue has a vintage silhouette with cap sleeves and a full skirt. Add this lace cardigan to keep your arms warm which completes the 1950's look. Finish with Ellie Ellie's Vintage Letter Tile Necklace, which can be personalised with an initial of your choice. These fun brogues from Mod Cloth finish off the look! 

Lace cardigan - Fever Designs
Blue tea dress - Fever Designs
Vintage letter tile necklace - Ellie Ellie
White and tanned brogues - Mod Cloth

National Strawberry Day!

Celebrate National Strawberry Day with a yummy Strawberry Jam Recipe! 

Ingredients:

• 2lb 3oz strawberries
• 2lb 3oz granulated sugar or caster sugar
• 1/2 lemon (juice only)
• Small knob of butter 

Recipe:

• The day before making the jam, hull and halve the strawberries and check for soft spots
• Remove any soft spots and throw away any berries that are overripe
• Put the strawberries in a bowl with 18oz of the sugar, turning carefully and mixing well - cover and place in the fridge overnight
• Place a saucer in the freezer to chill (you'll need this later)
• Sterilize the jam jars 
• Pour the strawberries, their juice and any residual sugary juices into a very large pan 
• Add the remaining 18oz of sugar and the lemon juice
• Stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has completely dissolved
• Bring the strawberries to the boil and boil hard until the jam reaches setting point (this may take up to half an hour) 
• To test if it has reached setting point, remove pan from heat and place a drop of the jam onto the saucer from the freezer, after a few seconds push the jam with your finger
• If the jam wrinkles it had reached setting point and is ready. If it slides about as liquid, it is not yet set.
• When setting point is reached, stir in the butter, skim off any scum on the surface of the jam 
• Let the jam cool and thicken in the pan for ten minutes
• Stir the jam and ladle it into the sterilized jars 

Enjoy!

You can find the full recipe, plus more here! 

National Banana Bread Day!!

Today marks another great day, this time dedicated to a popular fruit. It's National Banana Bread day and a Sunday evening is the perfect time to get some simple ingredients for a great cake that will last you all week for lunches and tea.

It's so easy to make, and uses simple ingredients you may have in your cupboard anyway!

1. Mix together 8 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of sugar
2. Stir into the mix 2 beaten eggs and 3 mashed bananas
3. Slowly mix in half a teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda
4. Slowly mix in 1 and a quarter cups of all purpose flour
5. Fold in gently a third cup of walnuts for an extra taste
6. Pour in a greased loaf tin
7. Bake at gas mark 4 or 180 degrees C
8. Wait to cool, add dried banana or icing for that finishing touch and serve

London Fashion Week Round Up

As the fashion elite, brands and designers descended on London this week,  we pick out the best trends of London Fashion Week AW14 as it draws to a close. With bold colours, statement prints as well as interesting shapes and textures, autumn winter will definitely not be boring! 

An Ellie Ellie favourite was Anya Hindmarch, who wowed with her energetic and bold handbags and clutch bags, featuring your normal household items and everyday breakfast cereal. 

To find out more about London Fashion Week and Anya Hindmarch's collection visit the website! 

The Winter Olympics 2014

The Winter Olympics is in full swing in Sochi Russia, with winter sports such as alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, ice hockey and figure skating. Some interesting facts about the Winter Olympics you may not know:

•  The very first winter games were held in Chamonix, France in 1924
• Six new games debut at the 2014 games.  Men’s and Women’s Ski Half-Pipe, Biathlon Mixed Relay, Woman’s Ski Jumping, Team Figure Skating, and Luge Team Relay.
• The town of Sochi is roughly the same size as Omaha, Nebraska.
• There are 4 athletes who have won medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics in different sports.
• Only 4 winter sports are held indoors.  Curling, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, and Ice Hockey
• Norway has won the most Winter Olympic medals at 303. 

 Here are some fun activities for the kids to get involved in during the winter games:

• Olympic ring cookies
• Olympic torch ice cream cones 
• Make your own Olympic torch 
• Olympic ring hoop the loop (make some colourful Olympic rings and get the kids to throw them and hoop them round a target)

2013 Jolly Fabulous Moments at Ellie Ellie

Our tin of fab moments and achievements has been filling up throughout 2013, and we couldn't wait to read all the exciting things that happened at the beginning of a fresh new 2014 and make this year even better. This is what we uncovered.... As well as many other wonderful moments!

Our new postal bags look brilliant filled with our customers Ellie Ellie goodies!

 

 

 

Our new packaging arrived at the beginning of November and we are in love with our new Ellie Ellie boxes and canvas bags!

Sending a pair of our best selling Personalised Map Cufflinks to David Cameron was a highlight of our Christmas at Ellie Ellie! 

We had a brilliant year at Ellie Ellie and want to make 2014 even better!

What great moments did you have in 2013? Why not start your own 'fab moments' jar to help you remember all the exciting things you are doing this year! 

Ellie Ellie Wears

Happy Valentine's Day from Ellie Ellie! 

This weeks look is inspired by Valentines, some inspiration for a fun and colourful look. This beaded top from Frock and Frill is perfect to wear for dinner or dancing and will add a touch of vintage glam to any outfit. This skirt is a great shape and structure and would look brilliant with some tanned heeled boots! Add this fun heart canvas pouch from Alphabet Bags for an added sparkle and finish off with our Recycled Aluminium Name Heart Pendant! Which you can personalise with a special name, like your first child, partner or husband! The perfect piece of jewellery this Valentines! 

Beaded top - Frock and Frill
Heart pouch - Alphabet Bags
Pink Skirt - Ted Baker
Date Heart Pendant - Ellie Ellie

Happy Valentine's Day!

Little Gnorm is such a romantic and gave Ellie Ellie a red rose for valentines! 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM EVERYONE AT ELLIE ELLIE! 

Re-love this Valentines Day

A great valentines idea, a heart wreath made from old red or pink clothing! Perfect for the home to hang up for date night this valentines day!

 

These will look great on your front door or in the house. Simply cut any old red or pink clothes into strips and wrap them up individually, sticking them at the bottom so they don't untangle, then stick to a background shape of your choice (you could make your family's initials) and hang up with ribbon! It would look great with a mixture of pink and red colours too!! They fit perfectly with Ellie Ellie's Re-love ethos!

Delicious Valentine's Day Breakfasts

There's nothing better than a yummy breakfast and Valentine's Day is the perfect opportunity to experiment with romantic recipes in the kitchen. Whether you are mixing up a feast for your friends, family or your loved on this Valentine's day, here are some yummy ideas for some inspiration!

This is the easiest way to spread love this valentine's day, simply toast some bread and cut out a heart shape and lay it in the frying pan ready to fry your egg!

If your a fan of a big English breakfast, this is a cute idea for heart shaped potatoes to go with your eggs, sausages, bacon and baked beans!

Another alternative is this scrumptious granola mix (Valentine's style) simply using strawberry yogurt, granola and strawberry's. Perfect for a healthy breakfast or if you're on the go!

These spinach and smoked salmon egg muffins are delicious and would be an extra special treat on Valentine's Day! For the easy recipe visit Good Food and get baking!

What will you be cooking for breakfast this Valentine's Day?

Ellie Ellie Wears

If your heading out tonight Ellie Ellie has the perfect outfit. This dress from Annie Greenabelle is the perfect date night dress, with a lovely structured shape and gorgeous sleeves that sit on your shoulders perfectly. Annie Greenabelle produces ethically made clothing, much of which is made in England, with great patterns and colours  to suit any body shape! Pair this dress with these Bertie heels in bright pink, perfect to compliment the dress. This Vera Pelle shoulder bag is the perfect accessory, made from real leather in Italy it will fit in all your essentials for your night out.

Finish off the look with our Ellie Ellie Recycled Aluminium Date Heart Pendant, which you can have personalised with an important or special day. A perfect gift with Valentines Day coming up!

Floral Dress - Annie Greenabelle
Pink Heels - Bertie
Recycled Aluminium Date Heart Pendant - Ellie Ellie
Cream Bag - Vera Pelle

It's Home Made Soup Day!

We are big fans of a hearty home made soup at Ellie Ellie HQ, so being Home Made Soup Day we thought we'd give you a favourite yummy recipe of ours for you to try at home!

Danielle loves making her leek and potato soup, always cooking a big batch and freezing individual portions to bring into the office, this is a great way to save time in the morning!

Danielle's Leek and Potato Soup: 

Ingredients:

• 50g butter
• 8 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
• 5 large leeks, sliced
• 2 large potatoes, cubed
• 1.2L vegetable stock
• 300ml milk
• handful of chopped parsley

Recipe:

• Melt the butter in a large pan and add the bacon until it just starts to get some colour
• Add the leeks and potatoes to the pan, stirring well
• Add the vegetable stock and season, bringing to the boil
• Puree the soup in batches with a blender (or all at once if you can) 
• Return to the pan and stir the milk in, season to taste
• separate into separate containers and store in the freezer until you need a quick and yummy lunch 

Best served with some crusty bread and butter!

What's your favourite soup?

A Card for Every Valentine...

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, Christmas and New Year are out of the way and before we know it it's time to think about whether or not to celebrate Valentine's Day or not.

Valentines is no longer just for couples, and at Ellie Ellie we believe in sharing the love! Whether you are in the mood to celebrate or a night in with friends is what your after Ellie Ellie has a card for every valentine this February!

This Sweet Heart card is the perfect card for the one you love, or a special family member! You can even add a jar of  Love Heart Gums too!

Our Sisters before Misters card is the perfect pick me up for your sister and the perfect way to tell her how much you love her on valentines!

If you are not ready to say those three important words, our I Like You Lots card will make someone very happy this valentines day!

Show your friends that they will always come first with our Mates Before Dates card, the perfect card for a single friend to show them they're still number one!

How will you be celebrating Valentine's Day this year?