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This Mother's Day remember to treat your Mum to all things that make her happy.

After all, she's spent many years caring for you - tending your skinned knees, wiping your tears, and cheering you on. Call, send flowers, make a card - and if you're lucky enough to live close by, perhaps you'll invite her over for brunch or an old fashioned tea party. We've been busy in our kitchens testing and sampling new recipes for the occasion. And just to be thorough in the process, we sat down with a few cups of tea and ran a taste test to be completely sure that our vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free baking would be just the right fit for teatime.

Here are two of our favorites:

Lemon Poppyseed Loaf

A comforting classic, this recipe was originally for 12 muffins, but it works equally as well as a loaf. It also has a blend of flours, which makes a big difference in gluten-free baking. Not a fan of maple syrup? You can substitute agave nectar or concentrated pear juice for the syrup. It will change the flavor slightly - the nectar and juice will result in sweeter muffins or loaf. The recipe is from Flying Apron's Gluten-free and Vegan Baking Book, by Jennifer Katzinger (published by Sasquatch Books). If you're vegan, gluten-free, or both, it's an incredible resource full of tasty recipes. Highly recommended.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup garban...

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Do you know which way the wind is blowing?

Often used in Chinese New Year celebrations for their symbolic meaning of 'turning one's luck around', pinwheels became widely popular children's toys in North America in the early 1920s. But they aren't just for kids anymore! You've likely spotted a pinwheel or two in bridesmaid's bouquets, table centerpieces or as decorative garden flourishes. Inspired by our pinwheel-adorned Mother's Day gift, Happiness, this craft is simple, beautiful and sure to impress your mother dearest.

Materials Needed:

• Colorful, double-sided craft paper
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Large straws (or wooden dowels with a hole drilled through the top)
• Small felt or fabric flowers
• Long, bendable pins
• Medium-sized round beads

Step 1 The very first, and most important, step is to make sure your paper is a perfect square. Fold your paper in half, and then in half again, to find the center. Mark it with an X.

Step 2 With your pencil and ruler, draw straig...

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 Eggs add life to damaged hair, and promote healthy skin functions too. Binding together other ingredients in Fresh Face Masks and hair care, eggs are an important ingredient in many LUSH favorites, including Cosmetic Warrior Fresh Face Mask and H’Suan Wen Hua Hair Moisturizer.

1. In Maya culture, the color yellow is associated with life. One of the primary examples supporting this is the color of an egg yolk.

2. Eggs contain protein and a host of vitamins and minerals that encourage hair’s conditioning in products like H’Suan Wen Hua Hair Moisturizer, Curly Wurly Shampoo and Shine So Bright Split End Treatment. These are products targeted for the most thirsty, lack-luster hair!

3. All that protein makes them effective in a restorative function on the hair, building tensile strength, which increases the hair’s ability to withstand tension. Imagine the difference a pair of gloves would make if you were about to climb a rope. The rough rope might otherwise shred up your hands, but the gloves give you more traction, increasing your tensile strength.

4. A Hen may lay around 365 eggs per year, but this can (free-)range quite a bi...

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'Tis the season for delicious homemade treats. Our favorite crafty crafter Julia is back, and this time she's getting busy in the kitchen with Poppycock. Not just the expression of ladies who bridge or third grade teachers, Poppycock is a tasty popcorn treat perfect for the holidays inspired by our (equally delicious) Popcorn Lip Scrub. Hop in your kitchen, turn on your favorite holiday song and get ready to indulge in this seriously addictive caramel corn.

How to Make Your Own Poppycock!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup popcorn (or 8 cups popped)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter (or vegan margarine)
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
• 1 cup almonds
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Steps:

1. 1. Pop popcorn until it's lightly toasted and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
2. 2. Melt butter in a small saucepan, then slowly whisk in the sugar until fully melted.
3. 3. Add brown rice syrup, baking soda, salt and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and bring to a boil. Allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture doubles in size and gains a glossy, caramel top.
4. 4. Remove from heat and mix in almonds.
5. 5. Pour the mixture on top of the popcorn and mix quickly to evenly coat each kernel.
6. 6. Turn the popcorn out onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate overnight.
7. 7. Break apart into...

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After watching, and re-watching the ridiculously addictive Crafternoon videos, I admit that I was jealous that Julia, our LUSH Times Editor was having all of the fun. So I decided to do something about it!

I've been wanting to create my own mason jar snowglobe for a over year now and I had already put aside a mason jar and a retro Christmas tree figurine that I kept just for this project. With Julia's easy to follow instructions (and masses of inspiration from all of her wonderful cats), I was able to craft a little Winter Wonderland of my own in no time at all.

Here's how you can create your own masterpiece:

1: Materials

• - Empty mason jar (a wide mouth is easier to work with)
• - Figurine of your choice 
• - Superglue
• - Distilled water
• - Glycerin (just a capful or two is needed)
• - Mica or cosmetic glitter

2: Pick a figurine in proportion to the size of your jar. This little tree has been around at every Christmas for as long as I can remember. (It still had tinsel stuck in some of its branches!)

3: Use a small amount of glue and attach your figurine to the bottom of the mason ja...

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