Summer Outdoor Fun... Continued!

Okay, so I never said there would be a continuation of my previous blog post but it has been so amazing out at the front of our wee cottage since we knocked down the old vestibule/porch. We kept putting it off for so long thinking about what to replace it with when BAM... It hit us! (Well, hubby really though he claims it was my idea.) WHY REPLACE IT AT ALL?

Mind = blown. 

Moving on! We have basically now got a vintage-styled cottage garden at the front and are still reaping the benefits of having spent so much time on the back garden... Literally the best of both worlds! :) happy! 

Soooo, it hit me earlier that the back is the result of hard work and money, with a few exceptions on both counts. The front, however, is recycled, upcycled, thrifted, handmade JOY! And it's the most peaceful place ever to sit, too.

This blogpost will focus more in the individual decorative elements we made rather than the whole effect. We're still working on that! :) 

Here are some bottles I had collected. I love the Buddha ones as they were green (brand: lucky beer) but I really wanted them matt or shiny so the detail stood out. Cue a trip to halfords and the purchase of purple and oyster champagne spray paint. (We already had the silver.)

Next up was an old footstool I had in the spare room and we hadn't used for a while. It's got the perfect cushion cover to stencil or paint onto as it's a really thick and usefully neutral material. I used bright red fabric paint (just had a tiny jar, didn't need much!) and pritt-sticked the matryoshka stencils I bought in hobbycraft. The pritt stick is ok on fabric but you'll need to go slow and dab the paint while holding it a bit taut, rather than crazy brushing. 

Excuse the finger on the middle photo! :) 

Also, but massively not lastly, hubby made a table in a morning. Seriously, literally from 9.30 am until it was finished at 1! He had spare wood in the garage (insert own double entendre here...) and set about it. Needless to say his new table saw played a part in the construction. Happy hubby! :)

Wash Tape Fun!

I had a craft extravaganza this weekend. A craft-travaganza, if you will. :) I had been pinning and liking lots of things on Pinterest and decided to stop pinning and get crafting! I tried my hand at stripe colour-blocking and thought I'd decorate a thick cardboard cd box I got from Hobbycraft a while back. It was on sale and has a cute chalkboard paint bit at the front. CDs?! Pah... Sewing stash, more like! 

I used some washi tape to create areas I didn't want the paint on and quickly covered the lid in coral-coloured acrylic paint like so:

Then came the fun peeling bit... 

It's a bit like a Pinterest post I saw about making wall canvases from old shoebox lids but I resisted the temptation to stick it on the wall!

I added some measuring tape patterned washi tape round the edge of the box like so:

And here's the finished box, complete with handmade-by-me resin chrysanthemum glued on the front. What do you think?!

Vintage-esque Photo Fun!

I love the app 'old photo pro'. There, I said it. I don't work for them or anything but it's just a cool app for when you want a straightforward vintage filter with no messing. I've vintaged up quite a few photos with it but wanted to share these two...

It's the top corner of our small bookcase in the living room. There's a cute key print square plate I got on eBay and a gorgeous Ashleigh and Burwood fragrance lamp we got as a wedding gift. Behind is the birthday card I got hubby and an empty frame I have yet to fill. Card from an independent art shop in Edinburgh - Edinburgh Art Shop, funnily enough! 

The photo below is my craft book shelf. I devour craft instructions and ideas and inspirations so always assumed I had loads of craft books but I actually don't! When we rejigged the living room and I put in this bookcase, I thought they would fill it but no! Has given me the excuse to buy more, though! Now... To find a place for all my magazines! 

Roll up!

My lovely sister was over at the weekend. I love my Saturdays with my big sis! We made tapas and other snacks for lunch - chorizo in red wine, red pepper Spanish omelette, lemon houmous and breads, since you ask. Sis brought homemade sunflower bread and it was YUM! :)

She also helped me to sort out my craft brain (see previous post re too much inspiration and not enough focus) so I am thanking her by custom-making a make-up brush roll for her holidays. Sis picked the materials from my stash -Cath Kidston cowboy print and some red and white polkadot - and I started working on it the next day. 

It's a pattern I tweaked from an old edition of 'Craft Seller' magazine and basically you need to cut two pieces of fabric measuring 21 x 30 cm and one piece of 16 x 30 cm (for the inside brush pocket).

It's actually almost done with just the final slipstitches needed to close it. I'll post more when it's done but here's a sneak preview of the button I made from the cowboy fabric and one of those self-cover buttons. 

Can I get a big YEEEEEEEHA!!!! xx

Lotsa Craftin!

Argh!  Do you ever get those times when you simply can't decide what to make?  I need to craft.  Scratch that.  I NEEEEED to craft!  It's an outlet for my soul and a great way to unwind - not to mention a fabulous way to ensure original gifts and homewards.

Do you ever get those times, though, when there's not a birthday coming up so no immediate cards or gifts to make?  Or not a massive need for any new home decorations?  I'm kind of at that stuck point just now!

Don't get me wrong - inspiration is everywhere.  I mean, look at my three latest magazines to get an idea of the cuteness I could be making...

I need to just stop looking at so many ideas and decide what to do next! Oh, and I'm also collating all my old jewellery-making stock so that's having a retro effect! Too many craft supplies!! :)

Hats Off!

Happy early summer! :) It's finally here and we're having a few days off to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday. The weather has been so kind to us and we've been able to spend time outdoors in the garden and have even had a barbecue. Bliss! 

I needed a new hat for summer so got one at the Garden Show on Friday. It's just a cheap one but is exactly the style I have been looking for and replaces the one I got in Italy a couple of years ago. Here's the new hat:

But that's not very crafty, I hear you say! Well, I mixed it up a bit! I had bought the most recent 'Cloth' Magazine swayed mostly by the free swallow trim. (My sewing skills are still in quite early days but the projects inside inspired me too!)

Here's the trim:

I set to work ironing the trim and cutting a length to fit on top of the brown ribbon. After a few shots getting it lined up nicely, I got the glue out. It was just tacky glue so dried quickly and worked well. And ta-dah... Here's my quickly-updated summer hat!

I love it!

Pinned Down!

Happy Friiiiday, everyone! Yes, it deserves all those extra letters in there. It's Friday share time so I thought I'd show a pincushion I have been working on myself from scratch.

I made a template for my wee doll and cut out two pieces of fabric. Before I sewed them wrong sides together, I added in features like a bonnet and waistband as the photos show.

It was a fun project as it really got my brain going and it was genuinely something I needed!

She just needs her wee head hand-stitches once I decide if I want to add a loop for hanging. What do you think?

Card-spiration!

With the beautiful spring weather finally making its long-awaited arrival, it's time to get cracking and crafting! I've been reorganising my craft to-do list to make it easy and accessible and make it work for me. I'll blog about that later but meantime, I had two cards to make and I planned my time thanks to my new system!

The first is a card for a colleague who just had a baby boy. It's a different friend from my previous posts about handmade baby gifts but it sure was a cute coincidence they both had baby boys within a week or so of each other!

The second is an RSVP (as you can see!) to an evening wedding reception. I just wanted to keep it simple.

Both cards feature some lovely craft tape I got in the Pound Shop of all places. I got three rolls for guess how much?! Clue's in the title! ;)

And to the pictures...

Beautiful Things!

We all love to surround ourselves with things that make us happy. For me, it's hubby, dog, family, friends and a great craft stash! My craft stash normally has some sort of Matryoshka element to it and now those cute little Russian dolls are creeping into more rooms in the house! I thought I'd share a photo of our kitchen windowsill which is really wide and perfect for displaying cute stuff. Enjoy!

Oh Baby!

Squee! Yesterday, my lovely husband and I went to see two friends who have just had a beautiful bouncing baby boy. He's three weeks old now and is just perfect in every way! After all the cuddles and fuss, we gave them their gifts including the little mittens I wrote about in the first blogpost of CCC.

What I hadn't shared yet was the bib I handmade for them too, inspired by an idea in Polly Treffry's Freehand Embroidery book. I decided to go nautical so used a red and white background before I appliqued a blue and white boat complete with little flag. They absolutely loved it and it actually matched the wee outfit he had on that day! Yay!

Another thing we did was take lunch. My friend had told me months ago that in her ante-natal class they said if you have visitors then use them! Ask folk to bring in messages if they are coming in the first few weeks/months. It was no surprise, then, when she asked us to take some lunch round for the visit. Happy to help! We made tomato, carrot and basil soup and big, thick door-step sandwiches with homemade egg mayo. We also made a big batch of tuna pasta mayo and left it with then for evening snacking. I was just so happy to be able to help them and they were glad to have minimal fuss guests so it was a big win for both!

Happy crafting, peeps!

Tea for Two!

You might remember my recent post about my lovely mum and dad's 40th anniversary and my idea for a personalised tea cosy for them. Well... It's done! I took some photos before I packaged it up.

I had some issues with the binding on the bottom and had to do it twice. I'm not 100% happy with the final version but hopefully they will love it. I can be very hard on myself sometimes! :)

Time for Tea!

Next month, my lovely parents celebrate 40 years of marriage. Wow! I'm so proud of them and their wonderful, inspirational marriage. But how could I show them? Ah ha... Handmade!

I thought really hard about what to make that they could big share and enjoy and since I was practically raised as a tea Jenny, I thought a tea cosy was perfect. Someone had one made for my hubby and me for our wedding last year and we adore it and use it every day.

So here goes... I didn't have a pattern so drew round our tea cosy and cut out two outer pieces, two lining pieces and two bits of batting. I then did some freehand machine embroidery on a heart shape I cut out (embroider before cutting shape or it won't fit in your hoop!).

This weekend I have to sew it all together. I'm thinking of adding another heart on the back with 'since 1973' embroidered on it. Will post more pics as soon as it's done but here is the progress in the meantime...