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Taking Time to Live Well
Oh, it's been a bit of a drizzly summer, hasn't it? Luckily, Christine Wisnieski from Design for Mankind is here to save us from the rainy-day blues with her printed umbrella DIY.
You can use whatever colours and shapes you fancy, put personally we're big fans of Christine's day-glo orange / on-trend geometrics combo! After all, if the skies are grey, what's better than a little shocking neon to brighten things up? Check out Design for Mankind to see how she did it!
Sometimes we want a room revamp when are purses are feeling a little empty. Luckily, we've discovered that all that's really needed to turn the plainest cushion into a thing of beauty is a little imagination and few craft supplies. Join us as we round up three of the best crafty cushion customising ideas ...
1. Print it
Grab some fabric paint or a marker and get back in touch with your artistic side. We love this dotty cushion design from Hello Milky on Etsy, which uses neon fabric paint to tap into this summer's trend for all things hi-vis. You don't just have to stick to circles either - those are designer-maker Jess' fun star cushions in our cover pic.
If you have something to get off your chest, use a stencil to scribble out your message, like Wit & Whistle's stencilled cushion tutorial. Take a tip from blogger Amanda and draft out your design in pencil first to avoid any spelling disasters!
2. Get colourful
Adding a pop of colour is a really easy way to inject some life into a neutral design. Made in Oxford has mixed up simple applique and contrast stitching in their adorable elephant cushions.
Alternatively, nip down to your local fabric shop to sift through their cute buttons and trims. And remember, if your cushion is plain you can get away with being a little crazy with your trims! Check out Bentley Bicycles' bright pom pom trim and coconut shell button combo if you don't believe us.
3. Add another dimension
If you want a total revamp, its time to crack out the sewing machine and add a little texture. Pay homage to the blooms in your back yard with a rose cushion from Burlap and Blue or go girlie with Say Yes to Hoboken's oversized bow pillow. We especially love that both bloggers have opted for a neutral fabric and decided to let the shape do all the talking.
The avid DIY-ers at Young House Love are busy filling their home with handmade projects. Our latest favourite is this office shelving DIY.
Using thin, grooved beams, Sherry and John have created a display area which can be switched and shifted around whenever they feel like it. We like to think of it like a giant scrapbook mood-board, perfect for crafty workspaces. Click over to Young House Love to see how they did it.
Reading in the sunshine with a big mug of tea is surely the best way to spend a stolen hour or two. Papercrafter Clara from Bloomize has come up with a sweet little paper heart bookmark tutorial to help her keep her place.
All you need is a square of pretty paper and some nifty fingers. Pop over to the Bloomize blog for a photo how-to, and get folding.
Do any of our readers remember weaving coloured paper into place mats at primary school? Ellinée has given our fave childhood craft project a grown-up twist with their woven basket tutorial, which uses brown paper bags for some rustic appeal.
We'll be following their lead and piling our baskets high with fresh fruit for people to dig into at a picnic lunch. Pop over to Ellinée for a photo guide to creating your own.
The sky is blue, the sun is shining and the schools have broken up. It can only mean one thing - wedding season is upon us once more. We've just fallen for this wedding favour box DIY.
The gurus at HeyLook created a little range of geometric favour boxes for Ruffled, which can be created from the templates provided.
Is it just us, or are regular gift boxes looking terribly old-fashioned all of a sudden? We can't imagine making a whole wedding party's worth, but we think for a special gift these are definitely worth the effort.
Ever since we blogged about furniture upcycling company Out of the Dark last week, we've been noticing loads of cool and creative ideas for renovating old furniture all over the net. Here's a mini round up of our favourites. First to earn a mention is Chi Chi Studio's hand painted chest of drawers. Her delicate bird and branch motif has transformed a boring piece of furniture into an unexpected work of art, and we love that blogger Kristin hasn't just gone down the safe route with a solid colour.
Second up, we have a question for you. Have you ever considered wallpapering anything other than a wall? No, us neither. Beautiful prints, interesting textures and a wonderfully quirky concept put Bryonie Porter's wallpapered furniture firmly on the list.
Finally, because we love a good tutorial, is interiors blog Twice Lovely. The blog is filled with furniture upcycling ideas, but our favourite is this on-trend chevron print chest of drawers DIY, which uses masking tape for a quick and easy stencilling effect.
You may have noticed that another chest of drawers has sneaked its way into this post. This is another of Ann Marie's ideas, and we've included it as proof that transforming an old dresser can be as straightforward as adding a lick of paint and some beautiful new handles. Sometimes, simple really is best.
Are any of our readers budding photographers? We found this fab heart bokeh tutorial which we can't wait try out. For those of you with a confused look on their faces right now, the term bokeh refers to the quality of the areas of a photo which are not in focus.
Rebekah from A Little Bit of Sunshine has a heart bokeh filter to create a background of delicate hearts in her photographs. The best bit of this tutorial is that all you need is some black card and tape, and you can use any shape you want (we're leaning towards stars, if you're interested). Pop over to A Little Bit of Sunshine to find out exactly how to make your own.
Home Sewn Home is making us all nostalgic. Sally Walton has gathered together 20 craft projects that will give our homes a lovely, home-made, vintagey feel.
Tutorials are aimed at beginner to intermediate sewers, but there's also a section of tricks and techniques that make up the basics of sewing. The kind of useful things our our mums tried to teach us as kids before our attention spans were up to it!
Psst ... See those beautiful totes below? They're from Home Sewn Home author Sally Walton's ethical bag company Carry-a-bag, and they're all made from vintage fabrics and printed by hand. Definitely worth a peek!
Okay, confession time. We have a whole pile of 'bag for life' bags tucked at the bottom of our cupboards. We buy them thinking 'what a great idea, I can use this forever'. Next time we go shopping, where's the bag? At home. So we buy a new one. Which isn't planet-friendly at all.
We've decided to take the matter in hand and fashion a new shopping bag that we love so much that there's no way we can forget about it, and this colour block fabric tote from Fellow Fellow (guest posted on Say Yes to Hoboken) will do the trick nicely.
It's not simple, but blogger Claire has provided a really thorough tutorial with so many photos it must be foolproof (right?). The best bit? It's lovely enough to use as a day bag all summer long!
School summer holidays are almost upon us, and unless you're super-organised, you'll be worrying about how you're going to keep your kids entertained for six whole weeks. Crafty blogger Merrilee from mer mag has come to the rescue with her simple-but-totally-genius activity jar idea.
Gather the family together for a massive brainstorm and scribble down your ideas of all the things you'd like to do. Merrilee has split her ideas into things to craft, things to cook and places to go, which means you can match your activity to what the weather outside is doing. Then, when you find your kids twiddling their thumbs (or writing on the walls, ripping each others' hair out...), crack out your activity jars and pick an idea at random.
If you're stuck for ideas, check out Pinterest for inspiration - the simple things' eat and create boards are a fab place to start!
Out of the Dark is a furniture restoration company with a difference. An extension of charity Street Dreams, Out of the Dark works with disadvantaged young people to restore unloved pieces of furniture, teaching valuable practical and business skills along the way.
Now, Out of the Dark is taking the time out to help us make our scruffy old furniture look brand new again, too. If, like us, your sanding / painting / cleaning / varnishing / waxing skills leave something to be desired, and you're about in the Marlow area next Thursday 19th July, drop into their furniture restoration workshop for some DIY tips.
Check out their website and online shop to fund out how you can get involved.
Today, we've got a proper garden project for you to get stuck into. When blogger Annalea from Hope and Honey moved house, she inherited an unruly rose bush along with it. After struggling to find a trellis that was strong enough, the right size and didn't cost the earth, Annalea went about making her own.
Annalea's rose trellis DIY uses cedar framing and mesh fencing, and lets you build a sturdy structure that fits wherever you want it to. Top marks to her for showing some true Simple Things spirit!
Remember the handy cutlery wraps we blogged about a while ago? Well, we've found something else to add to this summer's picnic kit - an all-in-one picnic blanket tote.
The best picnic blanket tutorial around comes from the girls at Craft Buds. It's our favourite because it has a waterproof underside, so we can lay it out on damp ground without getting our trousers wet, and it rolls up into a self-contained tote, so it's easy to stash for the sprint back to the car when the heavens reopen! Perfect for British summertime, we say.
Anyone who’s anyone is dipping things in paint at the moment. From furniture to jewellery to clothing, it seems there is nothing that is safe from this trend. Here’s our round up of the best dip-dyed DIY projects.
First up is Martha Stewart’s dip-dyed baskets, which we think may have been responsible for kicking off the whole craze off. Turns out, woven straw plus bright white matt paint equals summery design heaven - who’d have thought?
Second to make our lust-list is House of Earnest blogger Erin, who’s brought the trend to the kitchen with her dip-dyed wooden utensils. For this how-to, make sure you use non-toxic paint (Erin’s chosen high gloss food safe shellac) and only dip the handle end to minimise chipping.
Last but not least is this dipped wooden bead necklace tutorial from Laura Parke. Okay, technically these are painted, not dipped, but the effect is the same. We’re torn between neon shades (so cool as a contrast to the wood) and summery pastels. We may just have to make two.
The latest DIY project to make our weekend to-do lists is this bench planter that we discovered on the DiggersList blog. It's made from a repurposed ceiling beam, giving it a vintage charm that has been given a dose of modern cool with neon orange rollers.
This would be fab just as a bench, ready to be rolled out for unexpected guests, but we're planning on getting handy with a chisel and turning ours into a planter as well. Check out the DiggersList blog to see how it's done.
Want to see our latest picnic essential? This folding tripod stool, which will help us relax in style when we're worn out from rambling through the countryside. We love the smart tan leather, we love the old-fashioned design and we especially love the fact that we can fold it up and sling it over our shoulders when we're on the move.
Matt from Design*Sponge assures us that it's possible to knock up our own using some study dowel and a few hardware essentials. Pop over to the blog to see how it's done.
Is there no end to things you can do with a Mason jar? We've already expressed our love for Mason jar chandeliers, now we're thinking of going green and upcycling them into a wall planter, à la Not Just a Housewife.
Blogger Stacy had a brainwave in the midst of a peach-canning spree, and knocked up this quirky Mason jar wall planter using leftover jars, some wood and clamps.
If you're worried about drainage (admittedly, it might be a bit of an issue), fill your jars with water, add some pretty flowers and you'll have your very own floral wall display!
Rigging up a makeshift hidey-hole must be some sort of rite of passage.
Everyone we've spoken to has fond childhood memories of fashioning a lopsided tent out of some old sheets, the edge of a sofa or two, and 'camping out' indoors until their parent's had had enough of the mess in their lounge.
ReadyMade has gone one step better and knocked up their very own pup tent, using an old sheet and some wooden rods. If you're feeling up to it, pop over to the ReadyMade blog to find out how they did it. Your kids will love you for it, trust us.
P.S. If you're having problems with the pictureless instuctions, pop over to craft blog cakies where there's a similar A-frame tent how to, with helpful photos to make things a little clearer!
We think dads may be the most difficult people to buy for. Unless yours has a genuine penchant for golf-themed socks or novelty mugs, you’ll be having problems deciding what to buy for Father's Day.
Well, blogger Miranda of One Little Minute’s suggestion is personalised toasting forks, and we have to say we think it’s a great idea.
A little light DIY (of which your father will surely approve – honestly, it’s a win/win situation) and you have a unique gift that’ll add a lovely personal touch to this summer’s BBQs. Pop over to Miranda’s guest post on Design Mom to find out how to make your own.
We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.
