Green Fingers

The sunshine this week has left everyone with a distinct summer feeling; evenings spent in beer gardens, picnics in the park and afternoon BBQs suddenly no longer seem like a distant dream. And as always, at the beginning of a sunshine spell we all want to spend as much time outside as possible. So in the name of outdoor pursuits, The Amazing Blog has decided to delve further into the world of gardening, something we previously knew little about.

Thanks to My Garden School, however, that's about to change. The world's first online gardening school, My Garden School offers four-week long courses, with video tutorials delivered weekly and course notes and asignments that are assessed by your personal tutors. Pupils also get to chat to both their tutors and fellow classmates online in 'virtual classroom', thus being given the opportunity to discuss and ask any questions they might have.

My Garden School boasts the creme de le creme of gardeners; all the tutors are leading garden experts - they have all written gardening books, have their own horticultural businesses and some are editors of gardening magazines, thus you can be assured that you really will be learning from the very best in the business.

The courses cover all aspects of gardening, from landscape design to growing vegetables and herbs and garden photography; so whatever skill you're after, it's guaranteed you'll learn it with this fabulous online course. They have recently signed Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins for a course on Gardening For Kids, so the whole family can get involved. We'll certainly be giving it a go here at The Amazing Blog - why don't you join in too and find your inner green fingers?!

Chocolate Creative

Having lived in the same bedroom for the last five years with the same furniture and decoration, give or take a few pictures on the wall and decorative candles, I’ve decided it’s time to update my boudoir and give it a fresh new look. With neither the budget to invest in a complete set of new furniture nor the skills to fashion my own DIY crafts for the home, I have been on the hunt for easy, simple and affordable ways to update my furnishings and hopefully add a stylish edge touch to my existing belongings. As always, I knew I wouldn’t be searching long thanks to my colleagues here at the Amazing Blog and sure enough they came up trumps by introducing me to Chocolate Creative. Chocolate Creative is a London based boutique homewares and accessories brand focused on sustainable, hand-made products, combining traditional skills such as cross stitch and embroidery with silkscreen printing. Inspired by traditional crafts, antiques, vintage textiles and images Chocolate Creative have created a range of products ranging from handmade natural linen cushions to bone china mugs. Here at the Amazing Blog we love the new range of wooden wall hooks and furniture knobs which are handmade in Chocolate Creative’s studios and guaranteed to transform the plainest furniture or wall space with their bright colours and vintage glamour inspired designs. Adorned with old fashioned landscapes and vintage embroidery and available in a range of colours to suit any colour scheme, the hooks and knobs can be used to decorate walls and furniture in an instant. We love the hooks for adding a touch of glamour (and are always handy for hanging coats, scarves, bags and hats) and the knobs which are great for adding a personal touch to newly bought cabinets or chest of drawers or for giving old furniture a new lease of life.

Chocolate Creative is available to buy online here.

Ebury Home & Garden

The art of home improvement can be quite tricky sometimes. There have been a number of ocassions on which I've tried dabbling in a bit of decorating; trying to chose between a handful of beautiful colours and a number of chic accessories to enhance my humble abode, only to feel a bit overwhelmed by it all. And with neither the budget for an interior designer, nor the time to spend hours mulling over ideas, it seemed I was destined for failure. However, as the gang at The Amazing Blog do like being at the forefront of home style, I was recently recommended a gorgeous home collection, perfect for anyone wanting to add a stylish edge to their boudior.

Ideal for both contemporary and classic homes, Ebury Home & Garden offer a beautiful range of vintage and decorative pieces that are practical, yet stylish and provide perfect inspiration for your home - whether it's a modern townhouse or a charming countryside  dwelling.  Founder, Hannah Gooch launched the company in November, 2011. Inspired by light colours and natural materials, she likes to mix rustic elements with simple design, creating what she loves to call ‘rustic chic’.

The Ebury Home & Garden collection, which is sourced from both the UK and around the world, can be purchased online. You can also have a look at The Ebury Collection to see her selection of distinctive providers and wedding services available in the UK.

Be my Valentine...

And so, Valentine’s Day has arrived and people around the world are spending the day celebrating all things love related. Candle-lit tables for two, flowers, chocolates and a multitude of gifts designed to celebrate your coupledom. However, with a large percentage of the population proud 'singletons', here at Amazing PR we’ve decided to give you some fabulous ideas to make the most of Valentine’s Day – whether you’re dressing to impress your significant other or spending a night alone with some indulgent treats.

Firstly, what better way to treat yourself than with a relaxing bath? Our current favourite bath product is the amazing Peace Bath Oil by Beatitude. The deeply relaxing blend contains the pure essential oils of Ylang Ylang, Mandarin, Petitgrain, Lavender and Cedarwood. All the Beatitude products are mixed by aromatherapist Rebecca O’Connor, contain no nasties and are not tested on animals. Unlike most bath oils that leave a greasy residue these luxurious oils disperse in running water to give gentle bubbles leaving your skin feeling silky smooth. Now all you need to do is pour yourself a large glass of Pinot, lie back and relax…

Although most intensive skincare products require overnight application, if you’re in need of a quick pick me up before a night out we’ve found a product you can use as an intense treatment to smooth and firm your skin’s appearance that doesn’t involve plastering your face in thick cream overnight. For the perfect last minute skin perk up we love Aromatherapy Associates Anti-Age Mask. Depending on how much time you have (we recommend putting it on before your bath and leaving it on for a minimum of an hour) the mask’s potent botanical extracts help to restore your skins moisture and give a dewy, healthy finish. The mask also helps protect against environmental damage, perfect for removing London public transport grime! Aromatherapy Associates have a wide range of products rich in essential oils and active botanical extracts formulated to enhance your natural radiance from the inside out.

The Amazing Blog crew are well known for our slight obsession with nails, and a manicure and polish is always an essential part of our pre-date or night out repertoire. This Valentine’s Day we have chosen Little Bu’s fantastic nail polishes. Although strictly designed for children we love the water-based, wash-off collection of nail polishes thanks to their chemical-free formula and candy colours which are perfect for spring. Little Bu are available from Harrods or online here.

Not wanting to forget our favourite type of treat - chocolate has long been associated with romantic gestures and no Valentine’s dinner would be complete without it. For those of you planning dinner at home tonight, why not surprise your guests with the most deliciously decadent dessert chocolates? Squisitezza, La Sagra’s unique chocolates made with seasonal ingredients, will make your evening simply exquisite. Made with high quality authentic ingredients, La Sagra was created over a ten year period living ‘La Dolce Vita’ in Rome. Available to buy in small, medium or large, you can order them from the website here, where you can also find their amazing spring collection. They also make the perfect accompaniment for after dinner coffee.

And finally, make your lips irresistibly kissable with this year’s most fashionable and romantic colour, ruby red. A Million Kisses is a special Valentine’s lip tint from Lush that has a delicious smell of roses thanks to its main ingredient of organic rose hip oil which will leave your lips glossy, hydrated and moisturised. Wearing this deep seductive colour is sure to attract admiring glances whatever your Valentine’s Day plans! Available to buy from the website here.

Feed the Birds

Here at Amazing PR we have always been advocates of buying British wherever possible. However, with the Olympics and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee upon us we have recently become more patriotic than ever and have been keen to seek out and support our home grown produce wherever possible.

Nonetheless, although we will often choose British grown or produced food for ourselves, not only to support local farmers but also for the benefits to our environment and wildlife (not to mention it is a lot more cost effective) we seldom pay as much attention to ‘Buy British’ when it comes to our pets and, for those that do, the wildlife we feed. Here in the UK we are known as a nation of bird lovers and one in three of us now supports and encourages wildlife in our gardens. In order to help protect our environment and wildlife it makes sense that the source of the birdfood we feed them should be as local as possible. Natural gardening company Wiggly Wigglers have recently launched an all-British seed mix which, believe it or not, is the first of its kind in the UK.As birdseed typically includes ingredients which can not be grown here, such as peanuts, it is often exported and shipped long distances and therefore more expensive and carbon footprint heavy. Wiggly Wigglers seed is sown, grown, cleaned, mixed and bagged entirely by British Farmers and the mixture of black sunflower seeds, indigo wheat, rolled oats, rapeseed, millet, linseed, canary seed and a little oyster grit, is guaranteed to attract visitors to your bird table. The seed has been designed to support a wide range of birds so you may have some new guests and as it is free flowing it can be used in feeders as well as on your bird table.

Wiggly Wigglers Birdseed is available through selected farmshops, garden centres and online at www.wigglywigglers.co.uk.