There couldn’t be a better time to fill your desks, shelves and drawers with cute stationery. January means January sales, new styles and a fresh start to begin a new notebook or journal.
Here’s a few of my favourite stationers with beautiful pens, pads and post-its and more!
Martha Brook – Beautiful quality paper products and they offer a personalised service too.
I recently celebrated my sons 2nd birthday, so it was the perfect opportunity to get creative. I wanted to attempt making a 3D number to use for a photo with him, and to decorate the food table.
If you fancy having a go yourself, all you’ll need is a large cardboard box, sellotape, spray paint, pencil and scissors.
I begun by drawing the number on a piece of cardboard, and cut it out.
Then choose which side you want the 3D edges to be, I wanted to fill the number with balloons so built the edges up on the front. I cut long rectangles out of the cardboard and used sellotape to attach around the edge. I stuck tape both sides to ensure it held.
I spray painted the whole thing…
Then found small metallic coloured balloons and wedged them all inside. It’s fair to say it’s pretty fragile, but perfect for a photo opportunity or decoration!
Every year these handmade pallet Christmas trees get to come out and say hello!
I had a pretty unrealistic dream one year that I wanted to fill my garden with lots of them and make some sort of magical wonderland! Storage was a little bit of an issue! So I stopped at three.
These are super simple to make, probably one of the easiest pallet upcycling projects out there.
You’ll need an old pallet which you can get anywhere FOR FREE. Never pay for a pallet! All my pallet projects have been upcycled for free, either by searching on gumtree/facebook marketplace or seeing them at the side of building sites.
Once you have your pallet check which side is the most attractive, then also decide which way up it’s going to be – again choosing the most attractive bit to keep as the base!
Then draw a triangle on your pallet, making sure the bar that holds each of the planks of wood, is going vertically through the middle.
Then saw either by hand or with a jigsaw all the down the lines, and that’s pretty much it! Say hello to your new pallet Christmas trees!
We dressed ours with solar powered fairy lights so they twinkle in our porch in the evening.
Here’s all three pallets off to help decorate a Christmas themed wedding one year!
October for me means pumpkin decorating! And not the scary spooky kind!
Why not create a pumpkin floral display and turn your 🎃 into a vase!
Here’s our easy to follow tutorial…
First you’ll need a pumpkin! We bought three from our local supermarket.
Next, find a plastic pot smaller than the pumpkin you’re using. I used an empty yoghurt pot! There’s probably something perfectly suitable in your plastic recycling bin.
Draw around the diameter of your pot on top of your pumpkin
Dig out the middle of your pumpkin, be careful not to go out of the edges of where you’ve drawn
Optional – Paint or decorate your your pumpkin a colour of your choice, I went for copper paint!
Once dry, pop your pot in your pumpkin and you’ve got yourself a makeshift vase.
Hope you loved this pumpkin decorating idea! If you make one I’d love to have a peek! Tag us on facebook or instagram with @idohandmadeuk or send us an email
Happy October everyone!
If you’re a plant lover, have you seen our hanging garden craft kit? – check it out here.
Here’s a lovely moving house gift idea I made recently for a family who moved to St. Louis in the States, last month.
This gift idea is ideal for people moving somewhere new. It’s a year of day out ideas to help them get to know their new local neighbourhood.
I scoured the internet for fun and quirky things to do for the family, trying not to find things that cost too much. I kept in mind the seasons and the weather it’ll likely be. Finding an unusual ice-cream parlour to go to in January probably wouldn’t be that fun!
I also checked out event sites, to see if there were any one-off festivals or events going on that might not be on the usual ‘things to do in St Louis’ type websites.
When you start googling there really are so many ideas that makes me bet there’s so many unfound gems in my own neighbourhood!
I typed the ideas into text boxes on a word document, giving all the info they’d need to find out more online, and cut out the different cards.
I decorated 12 envelopes adding the month of the year to each one.
Fill the envelopes and tie with string adding a handwritten tag. Hopefully this will give the family a year of fun memories to start making together in their new home town.
I’ve made this gift a few times for a few friends, it works for lots of occasions. A year of date night ideas for the first year of marriage, a year of things to do with a newborn baby.
Do you know someone who would love something handmade like this? Why not give it a go too.
This is a thoughtful handmade gift idea for a new mum or expecting mama. Perfect if you’re wondering what to get someone.
Inspired from a gift I received when I was pregnant, I wanted to write little letters to my bump of all the things I was thinking and dreaming for him. My pregnancy was a little miracle at a time filled with many unsettling circumstances. This little babe was one of the only things that kept us going mentally as a family and I wanted to express this in a letter to explain how perfectly timed his life was and how blessed we are to have him.
Gushy stuff over! I therefore wrote several letters – things I’d love him to try, things I hope for him, important things about life. I put them in different labelled envelopes.
Fast-forward to last month, I wanted to send a few of my pregnant friends a ‘thinking of you’ present. Pregnant during lockdown sounds incredibly tough, you’re desperate for things to keep you busy but want to do things that don’t require too much physical movement! So I personalised some envelopes for them to be able to write a similar thing for their bundle
I wrote five envelopes and labelled them with different topics and decorated the edge of each envelope with some metallic washi tape.
Then I tied them up with string and added a tag to look a little more gift-like! I used the phrase ‘Letters to the one who made me a mum’
And there you have it, a thoughtful gift idea for new mum and mamas-to-be out there.
We’ve introduced a crochet kit which could make the perfect gift for the crochet lovers out there.
This fun crochet kit comes with everything you need to have a relaxing evening, creating a trio of colourful handmade wash cloths.
This easy crocheting project comes with all the supplies to crochet three 16cm square dish cloths or flannels.
Sure to brighten up any home, the kit is suitable for anyone who has learnt the basics of crochet and able to read a super simple pattern. Newbies to crochet will particularly love this kit, helping improve their skills and create something useful for the home.
Choose two of the five colourful 8 ply cotton yarns, all made from 100% soft and natural fibre.
This beautifully presented kit comes in a recyclable, letterbox friendly packaging, wrapped in tissue paper, tied with string and personalised with a message of your choice making it a great option for birthday or ‘thinking of you’ presents.
If crocheting is not their thing, check out our range of crafty kits which also make thoughtful gifts for your creative friends and family.
You can never enough useful storage bags. Well we’re helping the cause making the world become a little more organised with our useful storage bag decorating kits.
People have been getting creative at home with these super therapeutic block printing kits.
These kits come with a cotton bag of your choice, brightly coloured fabric paints and fair trade block print stamps. You create your own signature design using the stamps, leaving you with a beautifully original storage bag.
I’ve loved seeing people’s designs, and how they’re using these bags at home. I thought I’d share a little collection to inspire you how you could use yours.
Lydia uses her drawstring bag as a laundry bag to wash her work uniform in
Fiona uses her zipped bag for all her crafty nik naks!
Charlene uses her accessory bag for lotions and potions in her handbag Ella is using her drawstring bag to keep her dolls accessories safe
Hayley keeps her tote bag in her handbag to save plastic bags from being used
Lisa uses her drawstring bag to organise her clothes when travelling
Fran has upgraded her bag for life with this foldable tote bag
Rose is using her accessory bag for her crochet hooks
Hayley uses her zipped accessory bag for makeup
Libby is using her drawstring bag for her notebooks and pens
If you fancy decorating a drawstring bag, a tote bag, a zipped bag or a baby vest, all with your own completely unique design. Click here to find out more.
Escape the chaos for just a few minutes with a doodle a day.
For the last month I’ve been trying out a new habit before I go to bed. I doodle the highlights from the last 24 hours in a notebook.
No fancy equipment, I just use a standard biro and notebook. I saw this idea on the lovely @libbypagewrites’s instagram and imagined it could be a nice way to switch off.
So I’ve been trying it out just before bedtime, which is when I usually endlessly scroll through my phone at completely trivial content.
The problem I thought I would have is that I cannot draw to save my life. I’m creative, but drawing does not come naturally to me.
But to begin with I sorta thought, who cares, this is an alternative to journalling, this is for me, so why does it matter?
Then after a few days, I started to get into it more and wanted my doodles to look a bit more creatively illustrated shall we say! So one night I googled ‘how to draw a baby’ as my attempts of drawing my 1 year old were pretty poor! And google instantly displays step by step instructions. You can do this for pretty much anything.
My drawing is definitely still questionable, but who cares!
Most of all, it’s been nice having this output to think about the day, what I loved, what I could do tomorrow that could make it better. It also calms me down and distracts me from any worries or anxiety that might have sneakily crept its way into my mind.
Here’s a few of my musings… now don’t laugh!
Of course doodling a day isn’t going to transform your mind into a positive haven of tranquillity over night, but if your go to is reaching for your phone at night time, this activity is much more life giving. Fancy giving it a go too?
If you have a celebration coming up and you’d like to decorate, check out this simple ‘how to make a streamer backdrop’ tutorial to create your own impressive display.
All you need:
Crepe paper streamers
String
Scissors
Gold metallic ribbon (optional)
I have seen so many of these stunning streamer backdrops all over pinterest, these brightly coloured backdrops can add a wow factor to any venue. So with my son’s 1st birthday during lockdown, I wanted to try make it special, not that he will remember it! I had a go at making my own.
Getting started
I went for a green jungle, turquoise and gold sorta’ colour theme. If you’re designing your own, choose colours that might be in the room, or on other decorations e.g. balloons, banners, bunting, table cloths, straws etc.
I bought crepe paper streamers from this ebay store. This particular UK based seller has lots of colours. When purchasing yours, I’d recommend choosing 3 or 4 colours.
Making Your Backdrop
Choose the width and height you’d like to make, e.g. if it’s going behind a table, measure the width of the table.
The string is what you’re going to tie your streamers to. Cut your string double your desired width, so you have enough to secure your backdrop to wherever it’s going.
I used our washing line to make our backdrop, and then re-positioned it when it was made. For yours decide where it’s going to go, and either make it there, or you could make it on a wall that has nails already in a wall holding up photos, or a curtain pole.
Tying your streamers
Once you’ve decided the height of your backdrop, take your first coloured streamer and cut it double your chosen length.Take the midway point of your cut streamer in one hand, and thread this over your string and bring the two tails through the loop. The official knot term is called a Lark Head Knot. See below an image taken from google.
This is the knot you’re going to do for each streamer.
Check you’re happy with the length of your first streamer, and if so start cutting more crepe streamers of the same length.
We tied ours in colour order, but feel free to add yours in any order you wish.
It also sometimes looks nice with them all different heights. You can always trim it at the end, if you’d prefer a neat line.
Finally, add a few gold ribbon strings randomly along your backdrop, and score them so they spiral. I think it personally adds a fun finish to the backdrop.
There you have it! A great DIY decoration idea perfect for baby showers, weddings, parties galore.
I secured mine to our freestanding copper arch which we hire out for weddings and events. I also added a DIY balloon arch, which is a story for another day 🙂
If you have a go at making your own I’d love to see, tag or share your pictures with us.
There are so many things you can decorate and personalise with block print stamps.
Block printing has been around for thousands of years, and is still providing so much joy for creatives today.
We provide block printing kits for people to create signature pattens onto tote and drawstring bags. These individually carved wooden block print stamps have been fair trade sourced from a family in Delhi
These stamps can be used to decorate so many more things than a fabric bag. If you’ve bought a kit, or have block print stamps at home, check out all the other things you could create with a bit of imagination.
Note – these are ideas I’ve found on Pinterest, they are all direct Pinterest pins which I have no affiliation with.
1. Handmade birthday cards
2. Hand stamped gift tags
3. Handprinted wrapping paper
4. Tea-towels
5. Lampshades
6. Imprinting soap patterns
7. Personalising clothes
8. Scarves
9. Notebook covers
10. Canvas for your home
There you have 10 things you can decorate with block print stamps.
If you would like to have a go at block printing yourself, check out our kits which can be delivered to your door or make thoughtful gifts for friends.
If you’re new to scrapbooking, here’s our simple guide on how to make a lockdown scrapbook, great to do with or without kids.
It’s currently May 2020 when writing this, 8 weeks into lockdown, and there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Shops are talking of re-opening, services potentially starting up again and workers are encouraged to go back to work. It’s definitely been a bizarre couple of months. But amongst the anxiety and sadness, there have been some moments I’m so grateful for, that I don’t want to forget. Spending time together, trying out new recipes, exploring alternative ways to keep busy.
If you’ve felt anyway similar, have you considered writing those memories down or printing those memorable photos out that just sit on our phones?
A lockdown memory book could be something we look at in the future reminding us of the things and feelings we felt. This period is something that will be marked in history books. It would be great to be able to show future generations how it impacted us, the lessons we learned and the important things we shouldn’t take for granted.
Got kids in your family? This is a great activity to do together as a family filling it with all the things you got up to during lockdown.
What is a scrapbook?
A scrapbook is a grander version of a photo album. The great thing about a scrapbook is that it’s a great way to remember moments as you can include more than just photos.
Scrapbooks are a collage version of a photo album. You fill them with photos, your thoughts, memories, feelings plus any physical documentation you wanna cherish, e.g receipts or tickets, or a leaflet or something the kids made.
There are some really talented scrapbookers out there that theme each page around the photo on the page. So if there’s a photo of someone at beach for example, they would create waves out of tissue paper for a border, or add seaside pictures and stickers, plus the plastic spoon they ate their icecream sundae with. That kinda thing.
Don’t worry though, your lockdown memory book can be as creative or as simple as you like!
Free scrapbook kit for you!
I’ve created a free printable scrapbook kit to help get you started. I designed this with kids in mind. But scrapbooking is something all ages can really enjoy. As well as the kit, you’ll also receive inspiration each month plus free tutorials of other projects to try, don’t worry you can unsubscribe any time if you just want the freebie.
Notebook or scrapbook – Hobbycraft sell scrapbooks from £4, with beautiful front covers (the 8×8’’ size is great for this project)
Glue-stick
Scissors
Photos printed
The scrapbook kit PDF printed
Side note – To print your photos either print on your printer at home or get them delivered to your door. I have always used the Freeprints App to print my photos. You get 45 free prints every month, and you just pay for p&p. Here’s a link where we both get 5 additional free prints a month. Use this link or enter the promo code ‘backerman2’ at sign up.
How to make your scrapbook
1.Cut
Once you’ve got everything in front of you, cut out anything from the free kit you would like to use in your scrapbook. You’ll see text boxes are there to go next to photos, banners are there to be used for tops of pages, and colourful tape which you could use to look like its sticking down the photos.
2. Anything else to add?
Do you have other things around the house that you want to include that reminds you of this time? It could be artwork your kids made during lockdown, a receipt from the day you queued 2 hours at Tescos, a clean serviette with the Nandos logo, from when they delivered to your door, or a sheet of clean toilet roll to remind you how precious this was!
If you have any magazines or newspapers around the home you could include words and pictures that relate to each page you’re working on. The top headlines that we’ve been reading. Anything to remind you, years to come of what these days are like and how you feel right now.
3. Organise
Plan out your scrapbook before sticking anything down. Put your photos into some sort of order. It could be in date order or themed into subjects like foods you ate during lockdown, games you played, new things you tried etc.
4. Start sticking
You can create your scrapbook how you wish, I tend to stick my photo first and build around it. I include a little bit of writing next to most of my photos. So feel free to do the same using the text boxes available, or leave space next to your photo to write straight onto the page.
5. Add to it and fill in
Glue down any additional bits to your pages, magazine clippings, newspaper headlines. If you have any stickers around the home add them in. Or doodles you want to fill pages with.
Then next to your photos write a little bit about each one, what you’re feeling, your favourite thing about the photo, what you will always remember, something someone said, that kind of thing.
There you have it, a great memory book. You can apply this technique for any memories you want to cherish. Holidays, summary of the year, things you’ve learned.
Organise your cupboards using beautifully labeled kitchen storage containers.
I’ve saved so many pictures to my pinterest board of beautifully organised kitchen cupboards and labelled jars and bottles. I love the pictures where all the jars are the same style and all the labels are co-ordinated.
I thought it’s about time I have a go myself, and why not use this period of ‘down time’ at home to do so.
Which kitchen storage containers to use
After browsing the web, I actually found it quite hard to find the ones I wanted. But I settled for a pack of six from Amazon, which I’m glad I did as they’re great.
This pack comes with three sized containers, two of each size. Each one has an air-tight seal which keeps everything fresh, and are slightly square shaped. This means they won’t waste too much precious space on the shelf which I was worried round jars would do.
I bought 12 kitchen storage containers in total, so I went through the cupboards to see what 12 ingredients I could transfer.
Having a mixture of sized jars was definitely useful as some foods didn’t require such a large container.
Before filling them up though, I made a note of what would go in each one to be sure I had enough jars. Now the fun part – filling them up!
Labelling the containers
The great thing about this pack of kitchen storage containers, was that it included chalk label stickers and a chalk marker pen. So I wrote out all the names I needed and added a dotted border.
I left the chalk labels to dry for about 15 minutes before sticking them on, as they looked like they would smudge if I touched them.
When sticking the labels onto the storage containers, I stood them all next to each other so that the stickers were all the same height.
And there they are! These jars now stand proudly on the shelf. I now have slightly more organised cupboards with labelled kitchen storage containers. I’m now contemplating buying more containers for all the other things in my cupboards!
At the beginning of the year we hosted ‘How To Make A Vision Board’ Workshops helping people get intentional about the year ahead.
Writing this at the beginning of lockdown 2020, the sessions took place just over 10 weeks ago and in that time, the world has dramatically changed. I don’t think any of us imagined the year would go like this.
I knew had to do something to help focus on the things I can control and try and be mindful about letting go of the things I can’t.
So I thought about the concept of vision boards, why can’t the same practice work for seasons as well as years. Surely you can make a positive plan for any season in life. New school years, moving homes, transitioning jobs etc.
So here’s your ‘How To’ guide on how to make a vision board for any season of life.
How to make a vision board
Choose your vision board style
Choose a style that you’ll enjoy making, a list, collage, Pinterest board, illustrations. This one I did in the style of a big doodled brainstorm on an A2 piece of paper.
2. Decide the areas you wanna focus on
On a scrap bit of paper, write down the main areas of your life that you would love to focus on or improve. If you’re struggling to think, we’ve created this handy guide to help you think of potential areas and ideas to go on your board. For me I chose:
Friendships
Marriage
Reuben (my son)
The home
Faith
Community
Education
Health
3. Dream up the best for each one
Go through each area, still on your separate piece of paper, write down ideas that you’d love to try, learn, do, feel. Think of things that might bring you joy.
Think about your situation right now, how could you use your position or opportunity for the better? For example, as I’m writing in lockdown you might be one of the ones stuck at home, cut off from your normal routine. Are there things you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time? Are there things on your To Do list that just never get ticked off? What could this ‘time out’ offer you? A bigger appreciation for the simple things?
If useful, I’ll give you one of my own examples, under my child ‘Reuben’ I thought of all the things I could do will make the time with my 11 month old more special. Some things on my list:
Make things for him to play with
Create a fun photoshoot with him
Try new recipes for him to eat
Teach him a new word each week
Find an online baby group to stream into
Google sensory toy ideas from household objects
Find alternative educational tv shows
If you’re stuck for inspiration, I’d highly recommend checking out Pinterest and do a search for each area. E.g. ‘home improvement ideas’ or ‘fun activities to do with kids’ or ‘ways to have fun at home’. There really is so many resources out there that could inspire you on things you’d love to do.
Another example of thinking outside the box, you could be in a dead end job you don’t enjoy and are bored stiff. Are there moments of the day where you could explore other industries or roles? Are there people in your job, that you don’t know yet that could help you? Is anyone in job roles that you would love to be one day that you could shadow or learn from. Try and think out the box, and dream up new opportunities, building your roadmap on how to get there.
4. Prettify the vision
Once you’ve created your list, you can either leave it as it is, or turn it in into a beautiful illustration.
If you have magazines or newspapers at home, tear out images/words/colours that represent the things you’ve made on the list. E.g You want to start writing letters to your friends, find pictures of a postbox or envelopes, or a stamp.
If like me during lockdown you have no magazines or newspapers, turn your list into a colourful poster. If you’ve got kids, this could be an activity you could do together as a family. Write the areas of your life out in big, then write your ideas around them in different colours and font styles. You could doodle illustrations that match what you’d like to achieve. For example If you wanna use this time to learn French – you could draw a little French flag.
Et voila!
There you have it, an intentional plan, bringing you purpose and highlighting the things that could bring you more joy.
It’s only been a few days since making mine, but it’s already made a difference to me mentally. Knowing I have a rough plan for the next few months is comforting and if on a day, the only task I manage to complete is ‘defrost the freezer’ I weirdly still feel a sense of accomplishment!
If this has inspired you or encouraged you to make something similar I’d love to know. Drop me an email or a message me in the comments below.
Did you have a big party planned during this isolation period? A birthday? A family celebration? Please still recognise the day! It certainly won’t be as you imagined but you could still make some fun memories. It’s our 7th birthday next week, so here’s 7 ways to celebrate special occasions while stuck at home…
1. Create a virtual party with your nearest and dearest. Zoom video conferencing is WONDERFUL for large groups. You could still send out invites in the post to make it feel special. Set the date and time, include a BYOB reminder and have a few drinks and catch up with your pals.
2. Why not organise a dinner date on video with your loved ones. Everyone prepare a fancy meal at home and light a candle for a bit of atmosphere. Plan to eat and meet at a certain time and have dinner together on WhatsApp or Facetime.
3. And if you wanna play some party games, do it virtually. Headsup (charades style app), download a pub quiz, or play 2 truths and a lie. Read my lips (microphone off and guess what they say) is a goodie! Or a drawing challenge (describe something for people to draw and they have to guess what it is), and you can’t go wrong with a few rounds of Would You Rather.
4. If there’s a birthday in your household, decorate with the things you have around your home. You could make this a fun activity if you’ve got kids. Paper chains out of magazines, hand painted signs or why not dig those fairy lights out from your Christmas decor box. You could even have a clothes sort out and turn any old tshirts into bunting flags with scissors and a stapler!
5. Treat the birthday girl/boy and organise all your meals to be fun and a little less normal. Breakfast eggs fried in metal cookie cutter shapes, chocolate spread painted words on toast. Lunch could be sandwiches cut into heart shapes. Dinners could be arranged into a face with a fruit platter rainbow for dessert. Be creative and make your meals that little bit different.
6. Download free printables to create a few personalised touches around the home. Some of our favourite printables out there…
7. Finally host a ‘make it’ competition on video chat. Watermelon carving, flower arranging, lego robot building, baby grow decorating, T-shirt embroidering, cake decorating, canvas painting. Everyone make it together while on video chat, then present your creations and vote for the best one!
Hopefully an idea or two to help you make the most of a pooey situation.
To celebrate our 7th birthday we’ve made a beautiful printable for you to make and use at home, either for celebrations, as gifts, or decorations for the home.
All you’ll need: string, a hole punch and some scissors.
Print out this floral bunting by clicking on the link below.
You’ll find the first few pages are the letters ‘happy birthday’. If you would like to create your own personalised message, I’ve designed the whole alphabet, so print out the letters you need for whatever phrase you would like to create.
Print onto paper or thin card, then cut out the flags.
Hole punch or use scissors to make teeny holes in the top corners.
Thread the flags along the string (in the right order) and there you have it.
To add some va va voom, before making holes, you could mount these flags onto different coloured card or paper.
Use the bunting for a wall, along the edge of a table or along a curtain pole. Keep somewhere safe and flat, and reuse again and again!
Credit: I used a stunning photo taken by Georgia de Lotz to create this bunting. Thank you Georgia! 🙂
Your Free Bunting
As well as receiving free printable bunting, you will also receive monthly free DIY tutorials, creative inspiration and ideas to get crafty at home. If you do not want to receive this monthly dose of creative inspiration, click ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of the email.
The best gifts are handmade and this one’s an easy one for anyone to make.
You’ll need a plain mug which you can pick up from most homeware shops, a few coloured sharpie pens and a packet of alphabet stickers, both can be purchased from Hobbycraft or a general Craft Store.
If you’re gifting this for someone, you could personalise this by using the first letter of their name. Choose your letter or letters and stick them on the mug. Then with your sharpie pens, draw hundreds of tiny dots around the letter. For added effect, use a few colours and gradually fade and make the dots more spaced out the further you get away from the sticker.
Once you’re happy, peel off the sticker from the mug and you’re left with an outline of the letter.
There you have it, fill it with treats, their favourite teabags or a packet of biscuits and you’ve got a beautiful hand personalised gift.
A quick note, these dots won’t survive in the dishwasher, so handwash them only 🙂
Looking for an anniversary gift idea? This creative make could be the one.
I created this fancy number to give to the husband as my 2nd wedding anniversary gift. I secretly knew I would appreciate this much more than he would, I also knew my hallway would look that lil’ bit cuter coz of it too! The husband of course is blissfully unaware of my crafty tactics!
Traditionally, 2nd anniversary is cotton, so I wanted to incorporate cotton fabric in there some how and came up with this…
I bought an ikea box frame (£3.50 in white or black), and got 2 spoons personalised by ‘Washed Up Wood’, they can engrave anything you like onto a spoon! Covered the backing of the frame with fabric and held it in place using super glue on the back of the board.
I tied the spoons together using coloured string and then tied this string around the board and made a knot at the back. It held in place naturally due to the tightness of the knot at the back, so no need for glue here.
I attached a flower to cover the knot on the front of the spoons and placed this into the box frame.
Do you like decorating your home with handmade goodies? This is a creative make for any wine loving enthusiasts.
I had one of those decisions to make last week; to finish some of the crafty projects I’ve already begun or make that list longer and start a new one… I chose the latter. It’s just too exciting to start something new.
I kept all the corks from our wedding day and they have been sitting on a shelf waiting for me to pick them up and begin this project, poor things. I knew one day I would want to construct the first letter of our family name, and that day had arrived and I had my glue gun at the ready!
I got the letter ‘A’ cut out of MDF by a timber shop. You can order letters online too pretty cheap and you can choose from loadsa fonts. Then you get glue gun happy! Start covering the wood in glue and sticking each cork down. Most corks have a pattern on one end, I chose to have these facing out and I’m super pleased with the outcome.
My house is slowly becoming a haven of handmade delights! My poor husband!
Do you always forget people’s birthdays? This might help you in your home to always remember people’s birthdays.
I saw this idea over on pinterest and wanted to give it a go. Now this perfect solution proudly hangs in my hallway!
I went to a local timber shop to get some MDF cut with the measurements I gave. I asked for a long rectangle (35x10cm) and lots of round discs about the size of a 10 pence piece. I asked for each one to have 2 little holes at the top and bottom.
I then painted the rectangular shaped piece of wood in a cream Dulux wall paint and painted the discs with nail varnish.
I then found some patterned paper I could use to cut out the letters for ‘Birthdays’ with. The more vintage style the better! I roughly drew the size o the letters I’d need first, beginning with the H in the middle and built the word out, to ensure there was enough space.
I also used one little alphabet sticker for each month and stuck them evenly along the bottom. I bought mini gold hooks (from B&Q) and twisted them into the edge of the wood.
I also bought some flexible wire from B&Q and used wire cutters and made loads of ‘s’ shaped hooks with it. I tried to find already made ‘s’ hooks but couldn’t find the size I wanted available in the UK.
Once all this was done, I was ready to add my chummy’s names using a sharpie marker pen and numbers for the dates.
Now I have no excuse, I will always remember people’s birthdays from now on!
