A silver tray set with homemade English bread, homemade jam, and a pot of tea. A lovely ordinary thing.

~English Bread, Strawberry Jam, & a Love for Simple Things~

/ Recipes / By

Welcome to my blog space. Today, I will be sharing my favorite homemade English bread recipe (complete with strawberry jam), as well as some lovely DIY crafts. These crafts include homemade bookmarks and mini dried flower bouquets. All this fun will be sprinkled in with a bit of vintage (thrifted) treasures. So come along for the adventure!

 

Let me begin with a little poem I wrote:

 

The lovely, ordinary things,

The excitement that life brings…

With contentment and joy,

Let us all strive to rejoice in our story.

A story written by the Father above,

That is certainly filled with great love.

So, savor the sunsets, rainbows, and laughter…

And all the lovely, ordinary things that come after.

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow along for a slice of English bread,

Topped with a tasty, strawberry spread.

While I seek to celebrate the lovely, ordinary things,

That this delightful season of motherhood brings.

A lovely, ordinary Rose
*The beetles got to the rose petal before I did- but I love that it is in the petal's imperfection- that we can see a beautiful heart has been made.

~Encouragement in Wise Words~

I recently had a meaningful conversation with a dear friend, from England. Her words gave me great encouragement.

She said that motherhood was a time of serving others, but it also is a time that allows you to enjoy the lovely, ordinary things in life-like going for walks with your children.

What a great reminder to rejoice in the small things!

And you know something? As a result of our encouraging chat, I have used the simple phrase, “lovely-ordinary things” in many of my conversations this week. 

My oldest daughter has reminded me multiple times to be thankful for those very things. Saying, “Mom, water from our kitchen sink- that is a lovely, ordinary thing.” or, “Mom, the covers on my bed- that is a lovely, ordinary thing.”

From the mouth of a babe, a gentle reminder to give thanks- because for some people-water or a warm cover, may be anything but ordinary.

~English Bread with Strawberry Jam~

A handwritten recipe for English bread and Strawberry Jam staged with a vintage book and pen set.

With the theme of lovely, ordinary things chosen- I toyed with a few different recipe ideas that might fit the bill for this week’s post. I kept coming back to one of my family’s favorites- English bread and strawberry jam.

It is not fancy per say, but it is indeed lovely. 

(A little back story here: and also here: ) When I lived in England, I always took note of how delicious the fresh bread was! Every type of bread I tried was equally as delicious as the one before.

Straightaway, I noticed that the English bread did not last long before it began to get moldy. I later learned this was because English bread generally only contains a few simple ingredients. It also has less sugar than the American bread that I was accustomed to.

In fact, when we moved back to America, my husband and I struggled to find a suitable bread that we both enjoyed.

That is what inspired me to begin making my own English bread. Now breadmaking is generally a weekly happening in our home. (And no, I am not a superhero mom, we still buy storebought bread too.)

However, as a mom, I do feel better knowing what ingredients go into our bread- and better about the fact that all the preservatives and additives are left behind.

A handwritten English Bread Recipe.
English Bread ingredients are set out on a kitchen counterop.
*The ordinary ingredients- soon to become something new and lovely!
Freshly made English Bread Dough
*The smooth, kneaded bread dough ready for its first rise.
English Bread Loaf freshly baked and ready to be served with butter and Strawberry jam.
*My English-inspired bread- ready to be devoured by hungry little ones!

~Homemade, Strawberry Jam~

Homemade Strawberry Jam sitting on a thrifted silver trivet.
*The vintage, silver trivet was a thrift find- as was the pink, gingham fabric.
A handwritten Strawberry Jam recipe

My family loves jam! Strawberry and Raspberry jam are two of our favorites!

This strawberry jam recipe is not too sweet, as the lemon juice helps to balance the flavors out.

It is delicious on buttered bread or toast, and it also makes a tasty peanut butter and jam sandwich.

This is a simple recipe that only uses three ingredients (strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar). Plus, a bit of time and equal parts love. 

Strawberries and Lemons in a colander.
*A bit of cheery-cheer for the eyes and belly!
A lemon on a vintage glass juicer- ready to make lemon juice.
*My grandmother's gold-rimmed plate and a vintage glass juicer. Ordinary things- making an ordinary chore lovely.
Lemon juice being added to strawberries and sugar
*The sliced strawberries and sugar receiving a healthy squeeze of the lemon's juice- while they work together to release the juice of the lush strawberries.
Strawberries in sugar and lemon juice. The ingredients are added to a saucepan ready to be cooked down.
Fresh poured Strawberry Jam
*The jam, still warm, in the jar. The final jam consistency is thick, but very spreadable.
A fresh slice of English bread spread with homemade jam
*Warm, English-inspired bread- spread with butter and a nice dollop of jam! Delightful, in my book!

~Fabric, Fit for a Jam Jar Lid~

I wanted to dress my jam jar up a bit, so I used some ordinary scrap fabric and a pot lid- to cut out a circle- suitable to cover the top of my jam jar. 

An unfussy, nice looking, topper.

I love using lovely, ordinary things to make something simple, all the more beautiful.

A silver tray is set with homemade English bread and strawberry jam.
*The toast holder is from England. Craig and I bought this together shortly after we were married. While technically my bread pictured above is not toasted, a toast holder is still a lovely way to serve sliced bread.

~Dried Flowers-A Homeschool Activity~

This week-with my lovely, ordinary topic in mind- I thought it would be fun to have a lesson on pressing and drying flowers. This was a perfect activity- as generally, everyone agrees on the lovely nature of a flower- but also, I knew we could gather some flowers from our yard.

Perhaps I was excited about teaching the children this skill, as I remember pressing flowers as a young girl. Nostalgia is a strong force.

The backstory: on occasion, my dad would take me- and my sisters- out on a date and he would present us each with a lovely corsage.

After the date, our mom would help us press the corsage into paper and place it in our family dictionary to dry.

I can still remember peeping at the delicate flowers- enveloped inside their paper cocoon-and thinking how magical they were.

Back to the present: Naturally, I was delighted when I ran past a neighbor’s yard and noticed a pile of beautiful roses. My neighbor had pruned some of her rose bushes and put the cut roses at the end of the road. They were fresh, and generally in beautiful condition, so I quickly knocked on her door-so she did not think I was crazy running away with her roses- and asked if I may have them.

She was more than obliging and happy for me to use them for our homeschool activity! She even gave me a few fresh roses for my family to enjoy!

How lovely and unordinary to receive a generous, unexpected gift of extra kindness.

And how special to use a bit of garden rubbish to turn into a charming treasure. 

~Upside Down, Flowers Abound!~

I immediately took the flowers home and dried them upside down on the fireplace…ready for our school project.

Flowers hanging upside on a fireplace down in order to dry.
*English ducks, English bunting, and drying flowers? Yes, please!
Fowers hung upside down to dry and be used for a future craft.
Drying flowers is an easy process with a beautiful end result.
Dried flowers and a bunting flag- give the space an English flare.

We later took some of the dried flowers and put them between two pieces of parchment paper. We ironed one set of the flowers (to remove some of their moisture). We also pressed some of the flowers, in my family’s dictionary. (Which was the same dictionary I used to press my corsage flowers in-when I was a little girl). 

Dried flowers ready to be pressed in an old dictionary.
*How neat to think that the same dictionary that pressed my childhood corsage flowers, is now pressing my children's flowers.
Pressed flours in a vintage book
*"M" is for Making Memories with Mom, of course!

~A Homeschool Hypothesis~

The oldest two children made a hypothesis, by drawing illustrations, about which method they thought would be the most effective at drying the flowers.

We learned that drying the flowers upside down, in a dark place, helps to keep the shape and form of the flower. It also keeps the stem straight- so this method would be most effective if you wanted to use the dried flowers in a vase.

The pressing method is effective for flower preservation, craft activities, or for framing the dried flowers. In the end, this method ensures that the flower petals are nice and flat.

And lastly, the ironing method was an alternative if you are limited on time.

This was a fun hands-on learning activity that they all enjoyed…mom included!

~Dried Flower, Mini Bouquets~

While we were learning about drying flowers, I thought my oldest three children would also have fun making mini bouquets with some previously dried flowers that I had on hand. (I find that baby’s breath flowers dry well, and they look charming in little vases around the house.) We used vintage lace (that I had bought at a thrift store), and some cream-colored ribbon, to tie the bouquets together. We then had fun placing adorable bouquets in different areas around our home.

*Check out another post on dried flowers here:

Vintage lace and dried flowers- a homeschool activity
*My little helpers-eager hands and curious minds.
A handmade wooden heart is decorated with mini bouquets and the mini hands of children.
*The wooden heart my husband lovingly made for me, the precious hands of my three oldest children, and some winsome creations.
A thrifted, vintage, heart, trinket box is placed on a golden mirror.
*The silver, heart, trinket box was a recent thrift find. It still has the original "made in Japan" sticker on the bottom. An ideal jewlery box to hold rings and earrings- or to hold mini bouquets made with love.
Vintage trinket box and a DIY mini bouquet of dried flowers.
Vintage trinket boxes are being used as a home decoration.
*The box to the left was one of the first gifts my husband gave me. I had seen the box in a shop in Chicago, and I had simply said it was cute. He went back to the store and bought it for me- as a sweet gesture of his listening and love. *The heart note is from my daughter. What thoughtful, ordinary, perfectly lovely, treasures.

~Fabric and Ribbon Bookmarks~

The last lovely, ordinary activity that we did as part of our homeschool lesson was making fabric and ribbon bookmarks.

It was a very simple activity. We first used some scrap fabric to cut out little hearts. Then, we used hot glue to attach the back of the fabric hearts to our ribbon. We dipped the ends of the ribbon into a bit of hot wax, from one of my homemade candles, to help keep any fraying at bay. In the end, we created an inexpensive, attractive bookmark.

These bookmarks are very adaptable, and perfect to give as a heart-felt gift. (Especially if you pair the bookmark with a vintage, thrifted book.)

Fabric and small roses are laid out on a table- ready to be transformed into a bookmark.
Supplies for homemade ribbon bookmarks. A pink candle is lit in the background creating a warm glow.
DIY ribbon bookmarks are displayed on a dining table.
*I love these beautiful, thrifted, watercolor books. I bought five of them for a bargain. They look pretty staged and stacked in areas around the home. *The pink lace of the first bookmark (left) is a vintage, thrift find and the last (far right) bookmark is also made of thrifted, pink lace.
Homemade DIY lace and ribbon bookmarks are being showcases.
Easy ribbon bookmarks with vintage vibes. A lovely display of bookmarks and vintage books.
Vintage books with homemade heart-topped bookmarks. An easy craft for any age.

~Remember the Lovely, Ordinary Things~

Here we are at the end of another blog post,

And I hope you all are inspired to cherish those you love most.

Look for the lovely, ordinary things,

That cause you to smile and cheerfully sing.

Remembering the joy… that the simple can bring.

*For more lovely, ordinary ideas and inspirations follow my Cotswold Kitchen Mom Facebook and Pinterest pages. And please, subscribe to my blog and share with those who may find joy and inspiration in my posts.

Until next week…

~Elizabeth~

An English Garden bench with a vintage basket full of dried flowers.

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