Some other things I liked recently

My 'office' aka spare bedroom is a pigsty, I always have in my mind how it should look, calm and organised and somewhere I would love to work, kinda like these pics above. (Sorry, I coudnt find the link to where I found these, if its yours let me know!)

I'd fill the office with lovely things like these lovely handpainted stones (again, sorry lost the link to these, my imgfave is playing up - if they are yours let me know as I would love to credit you) and this cute postcard ceramic tray, and i would be a very content lady!

I'd have a load of neat storage like this via Designsponge

With a reclaimed wooden wall like this one via Designsponge

And some all year round garlands like these

And this guy would be an obligatory addition to my new office!

In my new imaginary office I would be wearing a load of cool clothes (not my bobbly jumpers and falling to pieces handmade wares) like this t-shirt which I am pretty much loving via Print Pattern

I would team the t-shirt with these hand-drawn cute and colourful beasts from MerylMuchesMacaroni on Etsy. Coming to think of it, I have some fabric markers, maybe its time to break'em out, although Im sure the results would not be as hot as these lovely lookers!

Green with envy

Ohhh for my own house where I can go mental with colour, knock down walls, build new ones, and even have a lime green roll top bath.....Maybe one day, but for now I have to settle for my rented accommodation and just look at other peoples beautiful abodes which make me green with envy, like this lovely revamped bathroom featured on DesignSponge. I love the fabric in the window of the cabinet in the 2nd picture. A bold looking bathroom but I love it.

Love this ...

I absolutely love this jacket and the whole outfit, I must look at this image at least once a day hmming and ahhing about whether to purchase this lovely bit of leather from Clyde 129766 on Etsy (update: they have taken out of their Etsy shop, either that or its all sold - GUTTED!!)! I love the jeans too, I'm on the hunt for skinny slouch jeans but they are always either too skinny (NOT flattering on my footballers legs) or too baggy so I end up looking like a small boy! Anyone got any suggestions where to pick up some jeans or jackets similar to these bad boys, let me in on their whereabouts!

Upcoming workshops for the festive season

Christmas Presents workshop taking place at Jam Jar Beads, Sheffield on Saturday 11 December from 11am til 4pm. You will have the chance to make a pair of natty armwarmers, an applique t-cozie or cushion, a fabric beaded necklace and a cute birdie (or other animal of your choice!) mobile. Costs £25 and materials, nibbles and hot drinks are included. For more info or to book a place please email me at craftyworkshops@yahoo.co.uk or pop in to Jam Jar Beads on Leopold Street in Sheffield.

Clothing Customisation workshop taking place at Jam Jar Beads, Sheffield on Sunday 21st November from 11am til 2pm. Bring along your old clothes and revamp them using fabric, buttons, ribbons and beads to create lovely wearable new pieces that your wardrobe will be proud of. Costs £15 and materials, nibbles and hot drinks are included. For more info or to book a place please email me at craftyworkshops@yahoo.co.uk or pop in to Jam Jar Beads on Leopold Street in Sheffield.

Mums (and/or Dads!) and Kids Christmas Decoration workshop taking place at Jam Jar Beads on Saturday 27th November from 11am til 2pm. You will have the chance to make fabric wreaths, bunting, cards and lots of other decorations too to adorn your home this Christmas. Costs £15 and materials, nibbles and hot drinks are included. For more info or to book a place please email me at craftyworkshops@yahoo.co.uk or pop in to Jam Jar Beads on Leopold Street in Sheffield.

Happy Handmade Halloween

link

link

link

With Halloween just a couple of weeks away, I thought I would get you into the spookeeeee mood with a few halloween images! Check out the toffee apples in the post below too - a great idea for a halloween party.

Winter Workshops

I'm finally getting myself organised and have some dates for winter workshops I will be running in the city centre at Jam Jar Beads:

Sun 21 Nov - Customise your clothing workshop (11am - 2pm)

Sat 27 Nov - Cute Christmas Wreath and Decoration workshop (11am - 2pm)

Sat 11 Dec - Handmade Christmas Presents Workshop (11am - 4pm)

I am in the process of getting the posters organised, along with details and prices finalised etc but if you are interested in attending any of these workshops or need more info in the meantime, please email me at craftyworkshops@yahoo.co.uk

Hub Interior Design

I recently had a lovely email from Camilla Forti who has recently launched a website called HUB, an Interior Design online boutique which promotes and sells homewares by British designer makers. HUB stands for Handmade, Unique and Beautiful, and when you check out her website, you will see that her handpicked items are just that. I am in love with the dutch house cabinets and the red jug is just stunning.

Bedroom on a budget

We've been in our current house for about 6 months and although we are getting there decorating-wise, we still have a lot to do. The bedroom is one room which hasnt had much TLC since we moved in and so with that in mind, I am putting together a 'bedroom on a budget' post to inspire you if you are planning a low-cost makeover for your little nest too.

The DIY bed

There are numerous versions of the excellent pallet bed on the internet but here are a couple of my favourites:

link

link

If pallets are not your thing, there are plenty of other ways to make yourself a bed from scratch, two bookcases on their side, side by side with a mattress on top gives you not only an instant bed, but also storage space underneath. Alternatively, why not build a scaffolding 4-poster, like this one:

link

The DIY headboard

There are so many ways to create your own headboard for a fraction fo the cost of buying one, here are just a few:

link

link

link

link

link

Also, you could use fabric/scarves hung down from a curtain pole, paint your own frame on your wall, use pallets again, painted trellis, DIY large artwork, window panes, shutters...the list is endless.

Under-bed storage

link

Or what about dis-used drawers with castors attached to the bottom - the front of the drawers could be painted to match the bedroom color-scheme.

The DIY bedside table

How about a stack of suitcases, a stack of books, an old vintage chair, a little step-ladder, an old food-crate...here are some more

link

link

link

DIY Bedside light ideas

link

link

link

(you can stiffen lace by using starch - link)

link

I love this idea, I'm a huge fan of globes but I don't know if I could dismantle one of these bad boys, maybe only if one of them was damaged, them this would be a fab project.

Rug ideas

link

link

link

link

link

If these aren't your style you can paint existing rugs, make rag rugs from old t-shirts, printed cardboard shapes, felt pom-pom rugs, macrame rope rugs,

curtain/blind ideas

I recently made a pair of lovely no-sew curtains using just hemming tape and muslin fabric (and an iron of course!)

link

link

link

link

There is no end to the type of fabric you can use for curtains - sari material, flour sacks, vintage hankies, vintage bedding, tea-towels, or you could make ribbon curtains using ribbons, of course, and anything else you can think of attached to threads hanging down - spool bobbins, fabric circles and more. Or paper like this:

link

OK, so I have to be up early tomorrow so I'm signing off for today - there is plenty more to come on the bedroom front, so I'll be back with more later this week.