• 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…

  • 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…

  • Lego - National Trust - vintage

    Monday happy things

    August 17, 2015 - By 

    We’re now halfway through our summer holidays. The days are flying by and we’ve had lots of fun this week. My Monday happy things are: I went to a fun workshop to celebrate the launch of Furniture Hacks by Hesta Van Overbeek at West Elm. Her book is lovely, packed full of ways to upcycle and update your home, and I will be reviewing it here shortly. I made a clock using a plate from West Elm which is one of the projects in the book. My 3 year old went to her first ballet class. She sulked a lot…

  • days out - holidays - vintage

    Monday happy things

    August 10, 2015 - By 

    It’s time for my favourite post of the week, my Monday happy things. We spent the last week at my mum’s which was lovely. The weather was great and we spent every day out exploring the beautiful countryside. We visited Salisbury and had fun looking for the Barons’ Charter sculptures. The Barons’ Charter includes 25 life-sized decorated medieval baron sculptures displayed as an art trail across the city. The trail is open until 6th September and well worth a visit. They will then be auctioned to raise money for The Trussell Trust, the UK’s leading poverty charity. Our favourite sculpture…

  • vintage

    Monday happy things

    June 29, 2015 - By 

    I’m a little late with my list of Monday happy things but, given the gorgeous British Summer weather we’re experiencing today, I’m sure you can forgive me. After an exciting weekend I had a hard job deciding the 5 things which made me happiest over the last week. Top of my list must be my new Orla Kiely shopper from Tesco. The pattern is called Sunset Flower and reminded me of patchwork flowers. I can’t get enough of these tote bags as they’re perfect for shopping and really strong too so last ages. I found this gorgeous 1960s Waddington puzzle…

  • no sew dream catcher - the gingerbread house
    crafts - Mollie Makes crafts - tutorial - vintage

    Jenny Makes Mollie Makes dreamcatcher kit

    June 23, 2015 - By 

    Today I’m going back to my blog roots and I’m going to share the latest Mollie Makes craft kit with you. I’ve subscribed to Mollie Makes from the first issue but pretty embarrassed to say I only ever made a few of the free gifts, I think my favourite was a cute little leather Valentine brooch. In a bid to kick start my creativity I’ve decided to make the cover gift each month and blog about it (you can see a previous attempt here). Jenny Makes Mollie Makes dreamcatcher kit Now I can’t knit or crochet so some months I…

  • vintage

    Monday happy things

    June 22, 2015 - By 

    Happy Monday everyone! We had a lovely relaxing weekend so I’m feeling refreshed and ready for a new week. Over the weekend we celebrated Father’s Day with homemade gifts and  yummy meal out. After the children had gone to bed we shared a bottle of wine from the i heart range. i heart is an exciting new range of great quality, fruit-driven wines in stand-out, innovative and iconic packaging.  The wines are ‘true to varietal’ in style which means if you love Pinot Grigio then you will love i heart Pinot Grigio! There’s a range of miniatures too if you…