Sponsored post | Deck the Walls

Gather nature’s decorations to create an eye-catching winter wall hanging with Seasalt Cornwall

Celebrate the magic of winter by gathering seasonal foliage from your garden or local woodland to create this beautiful wall hanging. You can use any greenery, but we love foliage such as bay and thyme which will give your hanging a wonderful scent. If you have any leftover cuttings afterwards, try popping them in fillable baubles for an additional touch of nature on your Christmas tree.

You will need:

A length of dowel or foraged stick
Jute twine
Scissors
Foliage (such as eucalyptus, ivy, thyme and bay)
Pinecones
Cinnamon sticks
Dried orange slices

This project was created by Becki Clark, a multidisciplinary creative designer and author. Her simple thing is nature and watching the seasons change, which in turn inspires her work, books and craft projects. beckiclark.com

Becki wears Wave Curve Jacket; Swan’s Way Shirt; Cabin Socks, all Seasalt Cornwall Deck the walls… Discover Seasalt Cornwall and find more craft ideas at seasaltcornwall.com

DRYING ORANGE SLICES

1 Preheat your oven to 125C/ Fan 105C/Gas ½. Using a knife, slice an orange into 1cm slices.
2 Lay flat on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 2-3 hrs, turning halfway.
3 Once the orange slices are dried and crisp around the edges, remove and leave to cool

Sponsored post | Create your own printed napkins with Seasalt

Take inspiration from nature with eye-catching printed napkins that’ll brighten up the dining table

There’s a nip in the air, so now’s the time to wrap up and plan a cosy get-together with good friends and good food. We’ve teamed up with Seasalt Cornwall and creative designer, Becki Clark, to bring you this printed napkin project, guaranteed to give your gatherings a lovingly homemade touch.

You will need

Fabric

Scissors

Small potato

Knife

Fabric paint

Paintbrush

1 Start by cutting your fabric to size. You could give old clothes a new lease of life – Becki’s used linen from preloved Seasalt garments. Also, think about the finish of your napkins; you may want to hem them, however pinking shears will give a pretty edge, while tearing the fabric will give a more rustic raw look.

2 For this simple pattern, cut your potato in half to create a circular stamp, then cut a thin slice of potato for your stem stamp.

3 Use your paintbrush to apply a thin layer of fabric paint to your thin slice of potato.

4 Begin on the left-hand side of your napkin and print a stem line downwards from the top. Stop and reapply more paint if needed to keep the paint line looking consistent.

5 Apply a thin layer of paint to the potato half and print circular leaf shapes opposite each other on either side of the stem line, finishing with a final circular print at the top of the stem. Repeat this process down the centre and right-hand side of the napkin.

6 Hang your napkins or lay flat to dry.

This project was created by Becki Clark, a multidisciplinary creative designer and author who is based in the New Forest. Her simple thing is nature and watching the seasons change, which in turn inspires her work, books and craft projects. beckiclark.com

Discover Seasalt Cornwall and find more craft ideas at seasaltcornwall.com.

Becki’s Style

  • Try creating a mood board with your chosen fabric, inspiration and colours to help you decide on the final look.

  • I experimented with cream fabric paint before deciding to work with black for the final napkins.

  • Take inspiration from nature. If you spot something that catches your eye whilst out and about, take a photo on your phone for reference. Many botanical motifs can often be broken down into simple shapes that you can recreate in a potato print.

  • Sketch out your print idea and try repeating a single motif in different directions to explore repeat patterns.