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My son is a huge fan of the Star Wars universe and has been planning how to spend May the 4th for a few weeks. Over the last few days he’s enjoyed a glass of blue milk, made BB8 pancakes and even encased his Hans Solo figure in jelly. We had grand plans to make a special Star Wars Day cake but unfortunately it didn’t work as planned. We also decorated the house for Star Wars Day. We hung Star Wars figures on a little tree in our living room and put our Star Wars Day wreath up. We wanted…
I love crafting with toys and I also love to make personalised gifts. Today I’m combining the two to make a fun Playmobil snow globe which I think would make a lovely handmade gift. It also makes a fun Christmas ornament. I’ve crafted with Playmobil figures before. The children love Playmobil so I’ve used vintage ones – Playmobil clock, Playmobil jar toppers, and vintage Playmobil figure badge. Playmobil family snow globe decoration supplies: Playmobil figures Plastic snow globe (from Hobbycraft) Fake snow Hot glue gun How to make a Playmobil family snow globe decoration First choose a selection of Playmobil…
A few weeks ago I shared a recent upcycle of a wooden cable reel. We turned it into a fairy house for the children to play with. We actually picked up two cable reels so today I’m going to show you what we did with the other. Cable reels are great and there are so many ways to upcycle them. My children love to use chalk to draw on the patio and walls so I made them a cable reel blackboard – perfect for mark making outside. We used: Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint (Old School Green) Wooden cable reel Smooth pebbles…
As I mentioned the other day I was invited to a fun workshop to celebrate the launch of Furniture Hacks by Hesta Van Overbeek at West Elm, the furniture and accessories store on Tottenham Court Road. How to make a plate clock We sat down at a long table and were able to pick a plate from West Elm for the clock face, our choice of hands as well as a clock mechanism and battery. Then came the fun part. I painted my clock hands orange using nail varnish and marked the centre of my plate with a small dot…
A couple of week ago I treated myself to this gorgeous Cath Kidston skirt in my very favourite print – London buses. I adore this print but sadly the skirt didn’t look so great on. I wanted to keep the skirt so decided to re-fashion it into a cushion. I’m trying to have a London theme for our living room with my vintage London bus blind and vintage London bus collection. How to upcycle a Cath Kidston skirt into a cushion: First I removed the elasticated waist band and unpicked the hem to stretch out the amount of fabric. I…
I was tidying up today and was a little shocked how many Scrabble sets I have. As much as I love the game I also love to craft with the letter tiles so have bought a few sets recently to upcycle. Today I’m going to share how I make Scrabble tile key rings. These are the perfect size to pop in a cracker, or send in the post as a little gift. Equipment needed to make Scrabble tile key rings: Selection of vintage Scrabble tiles Dremel Needle file Mobile phone straps with a lobster clasp How to make Scrabble tile…
I have a really simple project to show you today – how to make a snowflake ornament from wooden clothes pegs. they are super sweet and make great decorations for indoors or outside. How to make a simple clothes peg snowflake ornament: You will need 8 wooden clothes pegs, a glue gun and silver paint. The first step is to remove the metal spring from each clothes peg. When you have done that paint them, I chose silver and gave them two coats as my clothes pegs were a bit tatty. Take the two pieces of a clothes peg and…
I picked up a couple of vintage Scrabble sets at the weekend and thought I would upcycle the tiles and stands into Christmas decorations. They are so simple to make and work out quite cheaply. I’ve signed up for a couple of Christmas swaps so have been making some as gifts too. Today I’m going to share my simple way of upcycling vintage Scrabble tile decorations. Equipment you will need to make vintage Scrabble tile decorations: Vintage Scrabble tiles Vintage Scrabble tile holders (the wooden ones work best) Glue gun How to make vintage Scrabble tile decorations: Lay out your…
A new book recently landed on my doormat which combines my love of upcycling and home-making. Creating the Vintage Look by Ellie Laycock encourages you to discover how to make unusual and unique homeware through 35 gorgeous step-by-step projects. What I’m reading: Creating the Vintage Look Upcycling is about taking something old, vintage, treasured, or possibly even broken and giving it a new lease of life by trying it into something new. It’s a thrifty way of decorating and enhancing your home that avoids waste, but is also stylish, and Ellie Laycock shows you how you can make truly beautiful…