I’ve said in the past that of all the colours I like, pink is nowhere near the top of that list. However, there is something about that shade which evokes the hallmarks of my favourite season – bright flowers in bloom, sunsets at the end of a long sunny day, rosy fruit bursting with juice, and lots of ice-cream to cool off in the balmy heat. Well, I blended the latter two with some milk as temperatures began to soar in the last couple of weeks, and greeted summer with this classic concoction in my hand – a glass of homemade strawberry milkshake…Mmmmm!

Apart from the solstice (Happy Litha!), this June brought us something else to celebrate, a birthday milestone. Not mine, but a friend who turned 50. A group of us at work got her a giftcard and a bottle of rosé with matching begonias, but I wanted to make her something special.

We recently had a conversation about natural products, and how coconut oil is great for haircare. She expressed an interest in trying out Himalayan pink salts, and that gave me a lightbulb moment… 💡

Instead of trawling through the likes of Etsy or Not on the High Street like I normally do, why not put together a bespoke pamper kit?

I already had a big bag of the pink salt at home and only needed to fill a small jar with some of it, but I managed to find the other bits and bobs at my nearest Holland & Barrett‘s (which was having a sale), and a local shop in Lytham. As you can see, all items were in the various hues of summer, including the gift bag I made.

To construct this, all you would need (apart from the bag itself) is a paper doily, some thin card, and gift tissue. Unless you’ve a deft hand, I’d advise cutting the eye-shapes etc. with a circle cutter. I designed a ‘badge’ for the body of the owl that says “turning 50 is a real hoot”, but if you haven’t got a printer, a simpler alternative would be to use washi paper, or another material that’s patterned, like gift wrap.

You might be wondering why the owl. I haven’t an answer for that, except…it’s cute. That’s one of the reasons I like these quirky looking birds. I guess it kind of looks like I’m saying with age comes wisdom, but mainly because…it’s cute. 😀