Sequin Easter Eggs

This is a mega cheap idea for jazzy Easter decorations, and fun for kids too.

 

 

First attempt at wedding decorations: The 'Js'

With only 15 weeks to go until Jim and I get married, I thought I would put some time, scraps and effort to use and come up with some sort of decoration that can feature at the wedding!

I love the fact that we both have names beginning with "J", and so, with this in mind, I drew and cut four of the letters out of sturdy cardboard along with two ampersand shapes.

I then cut up several old kitchen roll inner tubes into identical lengths to fit between two of each letter/shape to make them 3D.

Once I had securely sellotaped the 3D cardboard shapes in place I set about wrapping them with similarly coloured scraps of a few of Jim's old work shirts......

and this was the result!

Candle decorations

This is a simple little project that can be done while watching telly or even travelling on the bus. All you need is a selection of buttons and beads, some strong by easily malleable craft wire and a candle to jazz up. One thing to remember: Make sure your piece of wire(s) is twice as long as the circumference of the candle as it loses length when you thread the buttons on.

Et voila:

You can decorate anything in this way, from candles, jars,and vases to chair legs, and even human legs.

Valentine's Heart Decoration

 

This is a bit of a cheaty post as I originally made this hanging heart decoration to give to my lovely friend Sally as a Secret Santa Christmas present back in December. However, this time of year sees the rekindling of all heart-shaped things in celebration of Valentine's Day.

Ahh lovely.

So, if you are in need of some inspiration for a simple and effective Valentine's gift that won't break the bank, or just fancy sewing a delightful little decoration regardless of the time of year, then follow the simple steps below!

1. Cut a heart shape out of old newspaper to the size you want. I wouldn't go much smaller than 10cm in height otherwise it might bet a bit fiddly sewing on the letters, but would be absolutely fine if you wanted to leave the hearts plain.

2. Use the heart template to cut out hearts (double the number of finished hearts that you so desire) from your chosen fabric and keep them together in pairs.

3. Using a contracting fabric, or many contrasting fabrics, cut out the letters of the word you want to spell out on your hearts. I used letters printed out from the computer so all my letters were the same font and size.

4. Using blanket stitch, I sewed each letter onto one fabric heart.

5. Now pin one lettered heart to one plain heart and use a basic running stitch to sew all the way around, about 1cm in from the edge. But don't sew right the way round to where you started - you need to leave a gap about 2 inches long to stick the stuffing into to make the hearts 3D. Once they are as fat as you like with stuffing finish off sewing round the heart.

6. Cut a length of ribbon about 15cm long for each heart. Fold the bits of ribbon in half and pin them to the top of the heart inside the two bits of fabric. Attach the pieces of ribbon with a single sturdy cross-stitch running through the ribbon and both bits of fabric.

7. Now thread a piece of string or more ribbon through the ribbon loops you have sewn onto the hearts and voila! A hanging heart decoration to add a bit of country loving to your home, or to give as a Valentine's Day present.

Christmas gingerbread

This is a wonderfully easy and tasty recipe that makes the kitchen smell amazing while the gingerbread is cooking, and looks lovely once decorated, and possibly strung up in garlands around the house. They last well too, so can be packaged or boxed up and given to people as presents or when you have visitors over the Christmas period, and they'll continue to taste good!

To make 16-20 medium to large gingerbread biscuits you will need the following ingredients:

• 350g plain flour
• 75g caster sugar
• 75g dark soft brown sugar
• 100g unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 2 tsps ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• a tiny pinch of salt
• Icing sugar, water, food colouring and sprinkles etc (if you fancy) for the biscuit decoration

Method:

1. Set the oven to 180 degrees C (350 F/gas mark 4) and simply mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl while making sure there are no lumps of dark brown sugar left in the mix.
2. Make a well in the middle and mix in all the remaining ingredients (a bit of olive oil on the measuring spoon stops the golden syrup from sticking), then using your hands form the mixture into a ball of dough.
3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, until it's about 5mm thick.
4. Cut out your biscuits and remember to make holes in the top before they go into the oven if you are planning on hanging the biscuits up as decorations. Place on greased and lined baking trays and cook for 9-10 minutes, checking regularly until they are light golden brown.
5. Let the biscuits cool on the baking trays before turning them onto a wire cooling rack. Check to make sure the holes haven't closed up.
6. When they are completely cool, follow instuctions on the side of your icing sugar box to make icing and pipe onto the biscuits into Christmassy designs!

I went for "Merry Christmas" written on the gingerbread biscuits and strung up on string as a garland.

Alternatively, you can attach string or ribbon to individual biscuits and give them as smaller gifts for friends and family:

Have a SSSSSSSSSSuper Christmas!!

Salt dough Christmas decorations

Salt dough is a miracle. The fact that you can make this dough so easily and then use it to make any shaped and sized creation you like blows my mind.

I rustled up some dough a few days ago, then cut out some simple Christmassy shapes, cooked, painted and varnished them et voila! Some lovely, homely decorations!

To make your own salt dough decorations you will need:

• plain flour
• water
• salt
• mixing bowl
• rolling pin
• baking tray
• greaseproof paper
• a selection of cookie cutters
• skewer/kebab stick
• acrylic paint, poster paint or spray paint
• varnish
• paint brush
• thread (for hanging them)

1. Simply mix 2 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water in a bowl, and then knead on a lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes (this makes it nice and smooth). Let the dough rest on the side for 20 minutes before rolling it out.
2. Roll out the dough to the thickness of a pound coin (or the thickness you require) and cut out the shapes using your chosen selection of cookie cutters, remembering to make a hole at the top of each shape with a skewer before they go into the oven.
3. Place the shapes on a baking try lined with greaseproof paper and cook in an oven no hotter than 80-90 degrees C (200F/Gas Mark ¼) - this cool oven will dry out the decorations rather than actually cook them - for about 3-4 hours. Or they can dry at room temperature, but that takes about 30 hours!

4. I used gold spray paint to colour my decorations after using a normal white emulsion as a base layer. This gave the gold a stronger effect. With adequate drying in between each layer, I then painted letters to spell out festive words on a few decorations in black acrylic paint, in order to make a few little garlands.

5. Last but not least came a layer of everyday varnish to seal the salt dough and make them last longer, threading some thread through the holes, and adorning the christmas tree with them!

Quick and easy bunting

Last night I finally knuckled down and finished off a project I began back in June for two friends' surprise birthday picnic - some good old-fashioned celebratory bunting.

Picnic party time

All you need for a similarly easy (and hopefully much quicker) string of bunting is:

• Lots of different coloured scraps of fabric - I think bunting looks great when all the fabrics are mismatching and contrasting, so have a rifle around to see what you can find for free, rather than going out and buting any material especially
• Scissors
• Triangle template
• String (As long as you'd like the bunting to be)
• Needle, pins and thread or sewing maching

 

1. Back in June I began by cutting a triangle template (23cm down the long sides and 17cm along the short side) from an empty cerial packet, and using it to cut out what felt like hundreds of different coloured fabric triangles. I cut about a centimetre off the two top corners so that when the top side of the fabric was folded over the string, the corners didn't stick out.

2. I loosely tacked the top of each triangle over the string with coloured thread so that I would be able to unpick it once I had sewed it properly with the sewing machine.

Unfortunately I then ran out of time before the picnic that I wanted to use the bunting for, so it was strung up slightly precariously on that windy summer's evening, but managed to do a good job of decorating our picnic area on Clapham Common!

3. So, last night after months of unnessecary procastinating I sat down with my sewing machine and stitched a simple running stitch over the string and top edge of the bunting to hold it all firmly in place, and stop each tirangle sliding along the string, once and for all. Then I unpicked the original coloured tacking stitches and voila...

...cheap and cheerful indoor or outdoor bunting for any occasion!

Making the most of jars...

I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to jars. Once they're empty and washed they make perfect storage for anything from nuts and seeds, to sugar, baking ingredients and cake decorations, and from ribbons to buttons and safety pins.

To liven up kitchen cupboards I like to add circular fabric covers to the lids of jars, which is super easy. All you need is some fabric cut into circles about 2cm bigger than the circumference of the jar lid by drawing round a template (I used a CD) and a small elastic band to secure the fabric onto the lid:

Another idea to spruce up some empty jars is to attach some buttons or beads threaded onto a piece of wire round the rim of the jar. Thread the buttons onto the wire evenly, leaving a little space between each so they lay flat, and fasten the wire securely:

These are perfect for storing robbons, more buttons, knick knacks, pens, paintbrushes - you name it! Alternatively, they can be used a dainty candle holders at a party, either resting on a table, or hooked up with wire, indoors or out, for a subtle, magical, flowery glow.....sorry, got a bit carried away with airy fairy descriptions there!
Enjoy!