• creating a craft space for kids
    homestyle - interiors - upcycling - vintage

    Vintage sewing table makeover

    September 7, 2015 - By 

    I had no idea what to call this post. Over the Bank Holiday weekend I finally had some time to update a vintage wooden sewing table I bought earlier this year. I found it in a charity shop, complete with dodgy 1970’s orange nylon quilted lining. I ripped out the cushioned lining and it’s been waiting for attention ever since. Vintage sewing table makeover I’ve been updating my daughter’s bedroom. She said she no longer wanted her dolls so we’ve cleared out all the beautiful dolls beds I’ve picked up and re-painted, her dolls, dolls clothes and feeding chairs, baths…

  • DIY Miffy stool
    crafts - Handmade gifts - homestyle - interiors - upcycling - vintage

    DIY Miffy stool

    September 3, 2015 - By 

    A while ago I bought a cute vintage wooden 3 legged stool. I painted it with some Annie Sloan paint, didn’t like it and packed it away on the loft. My 3 year old is starting a new nursery later this month so we’re trying to make a fuss of her and give her bedroom an inexpensive makeover. DIY Miffy stool Guess what I made my un-loved vintage 3 legged stool into? A fantastically cool Miffy stool and my daughter loves it. At 3 years old her bedroom is rocking the pink look so I have made a subtle stool in…

  • swaps - upcycling

    Monday happy things

    August 31, 2015 - By 

    Happy Bank Holiday Monday everyone. My son goes back to school this week so we have been making the most of the holidays. My Monday happy things this week are: Tomorrow we are taking part in a fun Bob the Builder Twitter frenzy from 6.30am until 7.45am. Bob the Builder has been given his biggest re-vamp in the show’s history with a modern look and feel and the new CGI-animated series is launching on Channel 5’s Milkshake from tomorrow (1st September 2015) at 7.20am. Follow the #Bobthebuilderon5 to join in the fun and for your chance to win some fab…

  • 14 ways to upcycle a Monopoly game
    Crafts for adults - Handmade gifts - Recycled crafts - upcycling - vintage

    14 ways to upcycle a Monopoly game

    August 30, 2015 - By 

    Growing up I loved to play board games with my family. My favourite was Monopoly and I’ve picked up a couple of vintage  sets on recent charity shopping trips. Did you know that the game is named after the economic concept of monopoly—the domination of a market by a single entity? Yep, it’s not just a fun board game, it actually reinforces the idea that wealth creation is a good thing. You may not believe in the ideas behind Monopoly but I’m hoping my children will enjoy playing it one day. I think it’s a useful way to learn about…

  • making miffy mail
    Kids crafts - tutorial - upcycling

    Making Miffy mail!

    August 27, 2015 - By 

    The school holidays have given us lot of lovely time to craft and experiment. We’ve gone through lots of supplies and organised our craft supplies several times in a bid to keep tidy (not easy with two children who love to craft!). Yesterday we finally got the chance to try some products we were sent from Faber Castell – the Faber-Castell Connector Paint Box and the Clic & Go Water Pot. Making Miffy mail! We’ve never experimented with watercolour paint before but I came up with a fun activity to keep my children busy. We made our own Miffy mail…

  • hand stamped plant markers - the gingerbread house
    Crafts for adults - garden crafts - tutorial - upcycling

    Hand stamped plant markers

    July 7, 2015 - By 

    I have a small addiction to San Pellegrino sparkling fruit drinks, especially in the Summer months. The only problem with this is our recycling bin is full of empty cans. I’ve been looking for ways to recycle them and made some hand stamped plant markers for the garden. I don’t have the greenest fingers but this is a great craft for the garden which anyone can do. Time to make: 30 minutes You will need: Empty drinks can Dremmel Tin snips Metal alphabet stamps Centre punch Hammer How to make hand stamped plant markers: I used a Dremmel to cut…

  • DIY shopkins soap
    Handmade gifts - Kids crafts - tutorial - upcycling

    DIY Shopkins soap dispenser

    June 28, 2015 - By 

    I have a sweet kids craft to share today. Both my children love Shopkins, the cute little characters from the supermarket. They are so excited about the launch of Season 3 Shopkins next month, I am too since I found there was a gingerbread house character. Inevitably my children have ended up with a few duplicates which they’ve let me craft with. So far we’ve made a Shopkins necklace, key ring and brooch. Since my daughter was toilet trained a few weeks ago I have been trying to come up with ways to encourage her to wash her hands. I…

  • Scrabble tile coaster for Father's Day
    Crafts for adults - Father's Day - Handmade gifts

    Scrabble tile Father’s Day coaster

    June 13, 2015 - By 

    We celebrate Father’s Day with handmade gifts in our house. We’ve already been busy with decorating candles and drawing pictures. I thought I would try something a little more grown up with my stash of Scrabble tiles. Vintage Scrabble tiles 2mm cork sheet UHU POR glue Swann Morton scalpel How to make a Scrabble tile Father’s Day coaster We kept our Scrabble tile coaster simple with the words ‘I love you Dad’. We arranged the Scrabble tiles, using blanks to make each line the same length. We placed the tiles on a sheet of cork (purchased from eBay) and glued…

  • ways to upcycle Shopkins - the gingerbread house
    kawaii - Kids crafts - tutorial - upcycling

    How to upcycle Shopkins

    May 30, 2015 - By 

    Have you heard of Shopkins? They are cute, collectable characters from your favourite shops and my 5 year old is obsessed with them. Every Friday he loves to go to our local toy shop and buy a Shopkins basket with his pocket money and add a couple more Shopkins to his collection. They are quite sweet little toys, all different products you would expect to find at the supermarket, and you can collect the different categories and buy playsets for them. They are very kawaii with their happy little faces and remind me of the cute characters I have stitched…