DIY Quickie: Co-ord Monster Nail Art
Co-ords are so cool at the moment, patterned suits, matching skirts and tops are all in vogue. So why not go one step further in co-ordination and hook up your nails with your phone case? I saw this Monster iphone 5 case from ASOS and fell in love, especially because silicone phone cases are much better for protecting your phone as they wrap around the front of the phone so protect the screen if you drop it. As I’ve finally had my acrylics put back on after the torn off nail incident, it’d be a total missed opportunity not to make them up to match my new case! I used: Rimmel Salon Pro Nail Polish…
Things To Do With Doilies #2: DIY Jar Labels
I’m constantly on the look out for storage for my craft room, I have a lot of stuff crammed in to a little space but storage isn’t always pretty and as part of my ‘things to do with doilies’ series I found a cute, shabby chic solution. Clear glass jars are great for storage as you can see exactly what you’ve got and they’re pretty cheap. In the past I’ve picked them up from vintage markets for £1 or Ikea have a whole range of sizes starting from a similar price point – I think the jars pictured here were £3 each. You will need: A jar A doily…
DIY Fabric Rose Bouquet – My Hillary’s Country Crafts Competition Entry
Mother’s Day is coming up and there’s no better gift than a handmade gift – particularly for mums (my mum still has drawings I did for her when I was 3)! The timing of this tied in nicely with the Hillary’s Blinds Country Crafts Competition. Hillary’s have come up with a great competition where there’s a £1000 prize up for grabs. Using a 1m square piece of one of their fabrics you have to create an individual project and blog about it. I chose the Patina fabric because I’m a sucker for dogtooth! No Mother’s Day is complete without a bunch of flowers so I thought I’d use my fabric…
Testing Testing 123: Do Crafts Carnival Alphabet Stamps
I’m in the process of making something cute but until I get it finished I thought I’d write a little post about how much I LOVE these stamps from Do Crafts! They’re called Carnival Alphabet stamps and have that amazing old school circus vibe about them which adds something special to even the most mundane of messages. The multi-coloured packaging drew me like a moth to a flame and as soon as they arrived I wanted to try them immediately. In the middle of my other little make. my boyfriend asked me to knock up a birthday card for his dad’s birthday. I used green, blue and purple craft ink…
DIY Handstamped Paper Bunting Birthday Card
It’s happened, the change. No I’m not talking about the menopause, I’m talking about the switch from fashion and gossip magazines to crafting and diy glossies. I’ll let you in to a secret, I love a free gift and this month in Papercraft Inspirations was one of the best free gifts that I’ve ever had from a magazine – the 86 piece stamp set! Not only does it include a whole typewriter-esque alphabet but it also has various bunting stamps, banners, birds and small embellishments. The possibilities for this set are literally endless and the stamps are really good quality – I’ve paid for stamps that don’t print as well…
Handy Hint: Machine Sewing Oilcloth
Machine stitching oilcloth can be tricky as the coated side of the fabric can stick to the metal foot making the stitches uneven. Here’s a quick tip that I learnt from a Martha Stewart tutorial, if you don’t have a plastic/teflon foot (the professional solution!) you can adapt the metal foot by adding a layer of plain old masking tape to the underside. This allows the fabric to slide smoothly under the foot. Nifty eh? It also helps to mask off the plastic areas of the sewing machine under the oilcloth fabric to allow for a smoother glide, you can either do this with strips of masking tape or use…
DIY Bunting from Map Paper
Whether you have some amazing paper that you need to find a use for or have lots of scraps that you can’t bear to through away, bunting is such a cute thing to create and even more so if you can personalise it. We needed something for our market stall to tell people who we are and I found an old atlas that was falling apart in amongst my things and inspiration struck! You will need: Thick paper (I used the pages of an atlas) Scissors Spray adhesive Ribbon Silk pins Sewing machine 1. First thing I did was create a template onto plain paper to the size of the…
DIY Super Simple Valentine’s Day Card
It’s fair to say I’ve been neglecting the blog a bit recently as I’ve been busy preparing for my first ever craft market stall! My friend Nat and I will be at Altrincham market on Sunday 23rd February selling jewellery and handmade gifts so if you’re local come and say hi! Despite the fact that pretty much all of my free time has been taken up with making bits and pieces to try and sell, I couldn’t let Valentine’s Day pass without one more make! It’s the night before I know but, let’s face it, not everyone is organised and sometimes you need a last minute fix that still says…
DIY Despicable Me Minion Cake
This weekend I was enlisted to help my best friend decorate a cake for her 4 year old’s birthday party. At first he wanted a Hot Wheels Transporter cake (a bit ambitious) so he settled for wanting a minion, Despicable Me is great right? Rosie baked the cakes in advance, the minion is made up of 5 stacked cakes baked in 20cm sandwich tins with jam and buttercream in between each. We then dowelled these to keep them steady. The dome of the cake was baked in a pyrex bowl, unfortunately we didn’t have a 20cm hemisphere tin which would have been perfect for the job. Next, we put on…
Valentine’s Day Cupcake Decoration Ideas
Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is the first gift giving occasion of the new year and it’s just around the corner. Homemade gifts always mean that little bit more (unless my boyfriend is reading this, in which case nothing means more than Mulberry!) and if you’re struggling to think of the perfect gift for a partner or a friend, cupcakes are a great way to go. I spent my weekend playing around with various options for creating some Valentine’s cupcake decoration ideas to share with you. 1. Piped Buttercream Roses This one’s lovely and simple, with a closed star nozzle, starting from the centre of the cupcake, pipe…
