Country Living Spring Fair

ashley thomas
Come and see me at the Country Living Fair. With fantastic exclusive shopping straight from the makers. Wonderful craft classes such as patchwork workshops. Interior styling tips and even talks or chicken and bee keeping. The country living fair is where all things country chic come to life. 
It's really not to be missed! 

Stay tuned for my ticket giveaway on social media  

Follow & Join me at...
facebook / twitter / Instagram

(or use the special code below for a discounted ticket to the fair)



Buy discounted tickets for the Country Living Spring Fair with this code: S15EX19
It can be redeemed online at www.countrylivingfair.com/spring/book or by calling 0844 848 0150

Heart shaped cheesecakes

baking

These heart shaped cheesecakes are perfect for a Valentine's homemade meal and are super easy to make, but they need time to set so make them the night before.
Make them using my heart shaped mould, available from your local Debenhams 
or click here to shop online.




You’ll need…

For the base…
8 Ginger biscuits
25g butter
1tbsp golden syrup

For the cheesecake…
300g cream cheese
65g caster sugar
Juice of ½ a lemon
200ml double cream

For the topping
1tsp sauce flour
Juice of ½ a lemon
40g caster sugar
2 tbsp water
a punnet of raspberries

To make…
Blitz the biscuits using an electric mixer or you can alternatively put them into a plastic sandwich bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the biscuits and the syrup
Mix together and spoon the mixture into the heart shaped mould.
Using the back of a teaspoon push the mixture into all of the edges of each mould and compact the mixture into a flat surface.
Put in the fridge, meanwhile mix together the cream cheese, sugar and lemon. Whisk the double cream until it thickens. Add the cream to the cheese mixture.
Take the heart mould out of the fridge and spoon the cheese mixture over the biscuit base. Pushing it into all the edges of the mould. Put into the freezer overnight.

To make the topping, in a saucepan mix together the flour, lemon juice and water until smooth.
Add the sugar and heat gentle until the sauce thickens.
Add the raspberries and stir gentle until the sauce turns red and the raspberries soften. Leave to cool and chill until ready to serve.

Taking the heart mould from the freezer, push the cheesecakes out from the bottom and remove from the mould. Leave to defrost for approx 3 hours. Pour over the raspberry mixture and serve.

 
Heart shaped mould, £10

Valentine's gift guide

Debenhams

 

Love is in the air! There's still time for some last minute Valentine's day shopping. Here's my top five gift ideas from my Debenhams collection. From cosy heart cushions to champagne flutes. Celebrate this Valentine's day in style.

White heart patchwork cushion, £20
Set of two spotted glass flutes, £18.50
'A Lovely Cuppa' mug, £8
Blackberry and fig fragranced soap bar, £7
Pink silicone eight heart muffin mould, £10 

 All products exclusively available from Debenhams.
 

Scotty dog cushion

2015

Newly added to my collection at Debenhams is my super sweet Scotty dog cushion. This hand drawn little scotty dog has a lovely ribbon collar, button nose and soft velvet backing. This cushion is a must have for your home and will add a quirky touch to any sofa or chair. 

Scotty dog cushion, £20

Floral Heart collection

Ashley Thomas at home

Newly added online to Debenhams.com is my new 2015 floral heart collection.
A gorgeous retro inspired range which aims to brighten up your kitchen. With rich red tones, hand drawn florals and a coordinating ticking stripe. Available now exclusively from Debenhams a variety of products from kitchen textiles, cake tins and even an extra special set of scales.

Start your collection, shop online...

Red heart 3kg mechanical scales, £20

New Stockist: Eyam

ashley thomas
The Village Green is a little cafe in the beautiful Peak District village of Eyam in the Hope Valley.
Eyam is such a fascinating village full of history, it's one of my favourite places in the Peak District. (maybe because I got married there!)

Eyam is one of the best-preserved villages and is the famous 'plague village', which went into voluntary quarantine when the plague arrived from London in 1665. The village lies in Eyam Moor which is a beautiful area for walking, with good views across the Derwent valley and many Bronze Age remains and monuments.

With a legendary plague history, fascinating stories and a setting amongst the beautiful Peak District a day in Eyam is a day to remember. Make sure you stop by the Village Green cafe for lovely homemade food and fantastic gift ideas.

Find out more about them on their website...
www.cafevillagegreen.com

Spring 2016

Ashley Thomas at home
My spring/summer collection for Debenhams has started to appear online. My 'Bryony' duvet cover is one of my favourite pieces, I even have this bedding at home! Inspired by beautiful vintage, silk handkerchiefs. This design was a real challenge due to the nature of the repeat, but the results are gorgeous! I'm so pleased with it. It showcases my distinctive vintage-inspired style, featuring a combination of hand drawn bold and ditsy floral prints off set with a contrasting pale blue spotty border. The reverse print is a very sweet yellow floral repeat which offers a more subtle option.

Here's the product Details:
50% cotton, 50% polyester percale, Thread count: 180, Machine wash on a 40 degree cycle,
Suitable for tumble drying, Suitable for ironing on a warm setting





All products exclusive to Debenhams

 'Bryony' duvet cover from £40
Budgie Cushion £22 
'Love' slogan cushion £26

Scottie Dog cushion
'Bakery Shop' cushion £25  
Purple floral embroidered throw £100

True Love Shortbread

baking
With Valentine's day a little over 2 weeks away you may be wondering, what an earth am I going to get for my true love this year? Well if you don't know what to give your valentine there is nothing better than something homemade! These shortbread biscuits are super yummy, very easy to make and are very cute present. I made mine with my new cookie cutters and stamps which are now available from my Debenhams collection. Click here to shop the range.




You'll need...

My set of 4 cookie cutters,

My set of 3 biscuit stamps

175g plain flour,

75g caster sugar,

100g butter

Plus a little caster sugar for sprinkling



To make...

Measure the flour and sugar into a bowl and mix together.

Cut the butter into cubes, add to the mixture and rub in until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Squeeze the mixture together into a ball, add a small cube of butter if the mixture is too dry.

Roll out on a well floured surface to 1cm thick.

Cut into shapes using the cutters, and using the stamps press firmly into the dough to add decoration to each biscuit.

Preheat the oven to 160oC and bake for 10 to 15mins or until light golden.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Fill a cake tin and give to the one you love or keep them for a little treat for yourself! 

Add these items to your collection, click to shop... 
Pink floral and gingham apron £14
Set of four metal assorted cookie cutters £6
Set of three silicone heart biscuit stamps £10

Set of three pink floral and gingham tea towels £14

Be my Valentine

Ashley Thomas at home
With Valentine's Day is on it's way bring a little love into your home with my new heart collection for Debenhams. Collection the whole range of kitchen storage, printed textiles and heart shape accessories. This range is inspired by retro kitchens, vintage lace and ditsy prints. The perfect excuse for a spring clean and give your kitchen a new look.



  
Photos curtsey of Vintage Frills

New Cushions

ashley thomas
To start the year off I've launched three new cushion designs. My cushions are printed in England and handmade by me on my little sewing machine. They are limited edition and come with my signature rosette. They also have a envelope opening for easy cleaning and include a feather cushion pad. You can wash them on a normal cool cycle in your machine too. Guaranteed to cheer up your sofa and ease your winter blues.