Whether planning a girly night for 2 or 20, this captivating book is packed full of irresistible makes, bakes and beauty projects that will keep every guest entertaining even with the minimum amount of effort.  There could be no better way to spend time with the girls.  And in these cash-strapped times, this book offers ideas for the perfect alternative to costly bars and restaurants.

Unique makes include the Pin Up Girl Tea Towel, Floral Felt Fascinators, Leggy bunting and Fabric-covered Books.  Delight your guests with simple and delectable food such as the Rustic Pizza, Cupcakes in a Cone, Leggy Ruffle Cake and Posh Popcorn, and wow them with delicious cocktails like the sophisticated Flora Fizz and the Grease musical inspired Pink Lady Cocktail.  If that’s not enough there are hilarious party games and pampering instructions for hair, nails and make-up to complete your evening.  Why not try Hannah’s tips for a Vintage Roll Hairstyle or delve into a Banana and Avocado Face Mask?

If you’re looking for a quiet and relaxing night with your girls or a party that will rival the best of them, Girls’ Night In is a fun and simple guide to making any night with your friends special.  For more top party tips, check out Hannah’s video here for inspiration!

Photography © 2013 Tiffany Mumford & Verity Welstead

 

 

Hannah Read-Baldrey

Hannah Read-Baldrey is a successful stylist and author, known for her quirky ideas and fantastical set designs as well as creating the hugely successful Everything Alice: The Wonderland Book of Makes and Everything Oz: The Wizard Book of Makes & Bakes, co-writing, styling and illustrating the books.  After studying at London’s Central Saint Martins, Hannah went on to work within television and film art departments, which led on to photographic styling.  In advertisers and writes her own blog, www.couturecraft.blogspot.co.uk.  Girl’s Night In, available from Thursday 11th April, is Hannah’s first solo book.  Follow her on Twitter @CoutureCraft or find her Facebook page here.  For more ideas from the book and competition prizes to boot, visit her website http://www.girlsnightinbook.com/

Girls’ Night In: Craft, Cakes and Cocktails by Hannah Read-Baldrey, published by Quadrille Publishing, £16.99, is available now!

Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo - Exclusive Preview from VOGUE online

Celia Birtwell is one of Britain’s best-known, best-loved designers.  She is an iconic figure on the global arts scene.  Her book, available now, is a lavish, multi-layered book - the first to be published on Celia - and delves into her work and eventful life.

This year, Celia has worked with highstreet store, Uniqlo, on a unique collection that will be available from 21st March 2013.

Illustrations ©2011 Celia Birtwell

For a preview of Celia Birtwell’s upcoming range for Uniqlo, watch Vogue’s exclusive film, which goes behind the scenes on the making of the collection lookbook. Vogue.co.uk contributor and model, Portia Freeman, brings the colourful printed creations to life, as the designer herself talks us through the range.

The video can be found here, courtesy of Vogue online.

“I always use paint, paper and a brush and I believe that when you’re designing it should come from the hand, eye and heart,” said Birtwell. “I’m often asked where one takes one’s inspiration from, so obviously nature and I like quirky things too, which I think Uniqlo quite understands.”

Watch the models prepare for the shoot, then see a first look at some of the covetable pieces on offer - from button-through cropped jumpsuits and spring-like skater skirts to slouchy vests featuring playful cat motifs and floral-printed scarves. The collection launches in stores on March 21.

“I loved working with Uniqlo, I find lots of smiling faces, which is very pleasant,” she said. “We have a language actually that relates to each other and that’s been a real pleasure.”

Above video link and text ©VogueUK

Celia’s early 70s print Baroque Bouquet © Celia Birtwell

Celia’s book, entitled Celia Birtwell, conjures up all the personal warmth and visual intricacy of a family scrapbook: it features intimate photographs of Celia, her family and friends from her own albums and archive, her drawings, her charmingly idiosyncratic, fashion sketches and a multitude of examples of her fashion and home fabrics.

David Hockney painting ‘Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy’ ©Peter Schlesinger 1971

Her bohemian lifestyle in the 60s and 70s, which saw her hanging out with such colourful personalities as Manolo Blahnik, the Beatles, Mick and Bianca Jagger and Paloma Picasso, is brought to life through stylish photographs from the time. Her ongoing relationship with Hockney both as friend and muse, is illustrated by his personal photographs, drawings and paintings of her, including the sketches that led to Mr & Mrs Clark and Percy, recently voted one of the nation’s favourite paintings. Celia’s renaissance in the Noughties has seen two sell-out collections of frocks for TopShop as well as a plethora of her prints on a wide variety of items.

Celia Birtwell by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens, published by Quadrille Publishing, is available now for £30. 

There is also a special edition available which includes a signed copy of the book together with a specially designed scarf in a box set for £100.

For more news on Celia’s latest work, follow her on twitter @celiabirtwell, like her facebook page or check out her website at www.celiabirtwell.com.

For more fashion books from Quadrille, please visit our website here.

Festive Drinking: A Red and White Christmas by Matt Walls

I wonder what Scrooge’s idea of the perfect Christmas lunch would be? Roast pauper with all the trimmings I suspect, washed down with a few bottles of claret.  Well if you can’t treat yourself on Christmas Day, when can you?

If you’re opting for a more traditional roast this year, different types of meat taste their best with different types of wine. The general rule of thumb is the more intense the flavour, the more intense the wine to go with it. Matt Walls, author of ‘Drink Me! How To Choose, Taste and Enjoy Wine’, gives us his recommendations for festive drinking.

Drink Me! How to Choose, Taste and Enjoy Wine by Matt Walls (Quadrille Publishing, £12.99)

Glazed ham

Ham is pretty versatile when it comes to wine, but whites that have freshness and richness in tandem often work a treat – like an Alsace Pinot Gris, or an Australian Semillon Sauvignon. For something a bit different, you could try a Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley – their autumnal apple and quince flavours backed up with a zingy bite can work well, particularly if the ham is served with a fruit sauce or honey glaze.

Good: Château de la Roulerie ‘Les Grandes Brosses’ Chenin Blanc 2011, Loire, France (£8.75; Oddbins)

Roast goose

Goose, eh? Get you. There’s something wonderfully decadent about roasting a goose though I must admit: partly how it starts out plump then gradually shrinks as you spoon off ladles of fat from the roasting pan below. The meat is richer and darker than turkey, so whether you go white or red, you need something with plenty of flavour and natural acidity to stand up to the richness of the meat. If you want white, try a dry Riesling from the Pfalz or Mosel in Germany (it will be dry if it says trocken on the label). If you’re going red, try something medium-bodied with a bit of spice – maybe a Syrah from the Rhône or New Zealand, or a Cabernet Franc from the Loire.

Good: Sainsburys ‘Taste the Difference’ Crozes-Hermitage 2010, Rhône, France (£9.79, Sainsburys)

Turkey with all the trimmings

I suspect there’ll be a fair few more of us eating turkey than goose this year. They may both be birds, but the meat is very different and calls for a different approach. Turkey is relatively mild in flavour, sometimes with a slightly earthy side, so opt for a medium intensity white wine like a lightly oaked Chardonnay. Red wine can also work well if you prefer, but try and veer towards the less full-bodied end of the scale – so avoid powerful Shirazes or Cabernet Sauvignons and go for a lighter style like a Beaujolais or a Pinot Noir.

Good: La Grille Pinot Noir 2010, St-Pourçain, France (£6.99; Majestic Wines)

Very good: Jean Foillard Morgon 2010, Beaujolais, France (£23.00; Green & Blue Wines)

Rib of beef

Roast beef loves a big chunky rich red wine. You’re safe with pretty much anything full-bodied and red. If it’s from a hot country, chances are it will be more powerfully flavoured. If it’s too light, like a Valpolicella, you won’t be able to taste the wine very much and it might taste a bit sour. This is the only time where you really need a red wine for the match to work; if you do want a white on the table too, go for something rich, flavoursome and maybe a bit oaky. Definitely not Sauvignon Blanc, it never works very well with red meat. Choices like an Aussie Shiraz, a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon or an Argentinean Malbec would all fit the bill, or powerful reds from Spain and Portugal.

Good: Tesco ‘Finest*’ Stellenbosch Red Blend 2010, South Africa (£9.99; Tesco)

Very good: Palacios ‘Camins del Priorat’ 2009, Priorat, Spain (£17.95; Green & Blue Wines)

Christmas pudding

Stuffed or not, there’s nothing more pleasing at the end of the meal than digging your spoon into a steaming chunk of Christmas pud and inhaling the boozy vapours. Sweet foods call for sweet wines, but instead of going for the traditional golden Sauternes from France, consider one of the darker, browner wines that contain more dried fruit and nut notes rather than fresh fruit flavours. That way you are marrying the flavour of the pud with the flavour of the wine. Try a fortified wine. If you haven’t drank one for a while, you’ll wonder why not on revisiting them, good ones are utterly delicious, great value and work really well with food. Try a sweet Oloroso sherry, a Malmsey madeira or a tawny port. They’d all go well with a mince pie, too.

Good: Tesco Finest* Late Bottled Vintage Port 2006, Portugal (£10.00; Tesco)

Very good: Grant Burge 10 Year Old Tawny, Australia (£19.75; Slurp.co.uk)

To find out more about Matt’s forthcoming sampling sessions or to read his blog, go to www.mattwalls.co.uk

First published in The Transmitter Magazine (November 2012)