Autumn cross stitch charts

The Making Spot is our first stop for cross stitch charts, crochet and knitting patterns.

Our latest Making spot finds are these vegetable and leaf cross stitch charts. A little stitched motif is a fab way of personalising something - simple and so versatile. Allow us to demonstrate with some ideas...

Off the top of our heads, we're thinking:

1. Birthday card for a green-fingered friend (mount on card)

2. Hand-made art for the kitchen (keep in the embroidery hoop, hang on wall)

3. Pretty personalised napkins (find plain napkins, embroider in corner)

See what we mean? Pop over to The Making spot to download the cross stitch charts and get inspired by a whole heap of other crafty projects while you're at it.

Shop love : BEG Bicycles

BEG Bicycles has the prettiest cycling accessories we've ever seen. Fact.

You might have noticed that The Simple Things issue 2 has a bit of a cycling theme. We know looks aren't everything, but we can't help but wonder if an afternoon whizzing through crispy autumn leaves couldn't be improved by one of the gorge bikes or cycling accessories from BEG Bicycles.

This Cambridge-based business has a whole sweetshop's worth of confectionery-coloured bikes, plus classic brown leather saddles, wicker bike baskets and (perhaps our favourite) woollen picnic rugs which can be strapped to your saddle.  Aaaaand...breathe.

We know it's a little early, but we think that this would be the perfect place to pick up some Christmas pressies for our bike loving friends.

Air freshener pouch DIY

This air freshener pouch tutorial from Sincerely, Kinsey is a cute way of making your home smell sweet.

Sincerely, Kinsey is always full of beautiful craft and DIY ideas, and none more so than this air freshener pouch DIY. The little cotton bags with retro stamped labels are surely the loveliest way to keep your rooms sweet-smelling.

We can't wait for festive season, when we can fill our pouches with cinnamon and spice and enjoy the aroma of Christmassyness all over the house!

Pop over to Sincerely, Kinsey for a photo how-to and more crafty inspiration.

Shop love : Rockett St George

We've been crushing on Rockett St George for quite some time now.

They're top of our list for very, very cool tea towels, and just generally excel in hunting down homeware designs with a sense of humour. Superb case in point, this tableware range including a glass milk carton and glass ziplock bag.

Also going straight into the basket are this homemade biscuit stamp (if we're baking, we want some credit) and fab typewriter tea towel. Told you they made cool tea towels!

Check out the Rockett St George online store to pick out your favourites.

Mollie Makes Christmas book - reader offer!

Have you heard? The Simple Things' big sister Mollie Makes has put together their very own Mollie Makes Christmas book!

Mollie Makes Christmas is filled with cute craft projects for the festive period, designed exclusively by regular Mollie Makes contributors especially for you. Whatever your craft of choice, there are ideas to decorate your home or give as gifts, all with the loveliness you'd expect from your fave craft mag!

Mollie Makes Christmas is out on 4th October in the UK, but pre-order now and enter code Mollieloves at the checkout to get your copy for just £7.00 (it's usually £9.99)!

Click here to pre-order your copy now.

Geometric gift box tutorial

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.

Say a simple thank you

Whether its to your mum for looking after the kids for that extra couple of hours, or a friend for making you feel better when everything is going wrong, sometimes everyone needs to say a proper thank you.

We thought this thank you gift idea from You are my Fave was really lovely. Next time you want to show your gratitude, wrap a freshly baked (whether by you or your local baker) loaf of bread in a simple tea towel and tie it with a pretty ribbon. If it's something really big, you could even add a jar of jam.

Get green fingered

Getting into gardening can be a daunting prospect. Etsy seller Sarah Rainwater Design has come up with a fab starter pack for anyone wanting to get a little more green fingered.

Her heirloom seed kit contains six packs of veggie and herb seeds, plus everything you need to grow them on your windowsill. Even better, each of the plant varieties has been chosen because it's mega-easy to grow. We'll be gifting these to all our novice gardener friends, in the hopes that we might be able to convert them!

Personalised toasting forks for Father's Day

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.