Cork plant markers

For these handy little herb markers you all need is:

Some unidentified herbs

Corks

Kebab sticks or other skewery instrument

Permanent pen

 

Glittered Converse

I love Converse trainers. I live in them. But my old black pair are getting a little tired, so I decided to give them a new lease of life by attacking them with some slightly watered-down PVA glue, and glitter...

...after removing the laces and covering the rubber sole and toe-cap with sellotape...

When the first layer of glitter and glue was thoroughly dry I did a second layer...

...and when that was dry, I did one final coat of PVA and water mix and left them to dry with the following result...

Jazzy!

Upcycled Ottoman

About a year ago, neighbours of ours over the road were getting rid of the table and mirror below:

I played it fairly safe with the rejuvination of the table, and just went for a neutral white paint look (for the full details click here):

However, as Jim fully knows, and I am beginning to accept a) I am messy and clumsy and nothing in the flat stays plain white for long, and b) I am a crafting project addict and nothing in the flat stays plain white for long!

In the meantime I also became addicted to Pinterest and saw several inspiring pins about how simple and easy it can be to transform a dull, basic coffee table into a lovely, comfortable and interesting ottoman.

I began by measuring the table for the amount of foam I would need to sit neatly on top:

I found a great seller on ebay who provides different thicknesses of foam in the exact dimensions you require. I went for three inches thick, and used a spray mount glue to fix it to the table top:



I then took a trip to the lovely Fabrics Galore on Wandsworth Road and got myself some cheapety-cheap wadding. I went for at least double the area than of the foam so that it would comfortably wrap around the edges and underneath the table:

Using a nifty staple gun (how I lived without one before now I'll never know) I pulled the wadding gently around the foam and stapled it to the underside of the table:

Next came the material. I picked this grey and white striped number up quite cheaply at an antiques stall in East Dulwich thinking I would use it for some cushion covers. But, to be frank, we already have too many cushions, and it was the perfect size for the ottoman - it found its calling! Pulling the material taught, but not too tightly so that the foam and wadding were squashed down, I evenly worked my way from the centre of each side, stapling the material to the underside of the table:

When it came to the corners I found it easier to neatly pin the fabric in place first making sure the folds were crisp, before stapling.

The final detail were some buttons I found on ebay that allow you to cover them in any fabric...

...which I sewed evenly onto the top of the ottoman, using a long needle so that they attached onto the foam to give it a dimpled effect:

Et voila! A super-easy ottoman from a sad, abandoned table!

Stenciled Cushion Cover

Unfortunately I can't take credit for this idea - I saw it on Pinterest and luckily had all the necessary tools and spare plain cushion cover ready to use!

These stencils are amazing. My sisters - Elly and Fizzy - and I had a whole multicoloured set that we used all the time when we were little, which included animals, numbers, modes of transport, shapes - you name it, we could stencil it!

I practised on a piece of scrap wrapping paper the same size as the cushion cover to work out how the quote I wanted to use would fit. Then I used a Sharpie permanent fabric marker to stencil the words onto the cover...

...and coloured in the letters.

And this was the result! I had to google "lilies" several times, as both my Dad and Jim pointed out that it was spelt wrong. It's not, it is L.I.L.I.E.S.

"When you have only two pennies left in the world buy a loaf of bread with one and a bunch of lilies with the other." Chinese proverb.

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.