DIY – Upcycling your dresser

October 31, 2018October 31, 2018Leave a comment

Hi Lovelies, If you are interested in upcycling something then this one is for you.

I really wanted a shabby chic dresser so I searched shops, ebay, gumtree etc.. and to be honest I didn’t like them or they were really expensive so I decided to give it a go myself with my husband, heres how it turned out. I got one off ebay. It was pine before, a bit worn out with a broken door.

We cleaned our dresser, sugar soap is great for this.
We then sanded down the top to expose the fresh wood.
Then we gave it a couple of coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint. I have since refreshed it with one more coat.
Then apply a layer of Annie Sloan clear wax. All done!

We could then get on with the best part decorating it 🙂 I got some drawer liners from Home bargains.

The door handles are decoupage and are from Bettys Shabby Chic Boutique, you can order these here.

https://bettysshabbychicboutique.bigcartel.com/product/decoupage-pine-knobs

It is one of my most beloved possessions. I love the fact that it was just pine before and now is something I absolutely love. Hope you give it a go and its something you love forever.

Happy crafting x

The Joys of Autumn – Five things to do and make.

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018Leave a comment

Hi hope you are all enjoying autumn!! I’m loving it this year and have really got into decorating for it.

Its been super fun and one of the best things about it is you can do some of these with children, so if you have children, or nieces and nephews its a great thing to get them involved with, heres what we got up to this year 🙂

1 – Here is my autumn frame I made, this looked perfect in the hallway, all the info on how to do it and where to get your hands on the free autumn print is here, Autumn frame diy!

2 – Autumn leaf Garland.

This is lovely to make with the children, we collected the leaves in the morning and then popped them on some twine, with super cute wooden pegs, it looked lovely and complemented the autumn frame nicely.

3 – Autumn Bowl

This was lovely to make, it is a mixture of pine cones, cinnamon sticks and red berries on a bed of hessian. I soaked the pine cones in pine cone essential oil so it smells AMAZING! You can keep topping up the fragrance over the season.

4 – Autumn candles – These are so sweet, and made the house feel all cosy and nice 🙂 super easy to make, I just collected lots of different shaped leaves and chose the ones I liked. Then I attached them using invisible thread but you could use whatever you like to attach them like hessian or ribbon.

5 – Last but not least, my hydrangeas are drying out and look incredible. The colours are delicious, if you have hydrangeas growing in the garden or nearby its a lovely thing to do.

Happy Autumn everyone 🙂 Hope you get some time to decorate your home for the season, have a great time doing it!

Happy crafting x

Autumn frame diy!

September 19, 2018September 19, 20181 Comment

Hi there! Hope you are having a lovely week!

This week I wanted to make a Autumn frame for my hallway.

I searched around for the perfect frame and I found one I liked in poundland, but you know me I love the shabby chic look so I painted it with some Annie sloan chalk paint and waxed it. It needed around 3 coats and then a thin layer on top.

It looks super cute in the hallway, and is making me look forward to all things autumn.

If you would like to make one, the print I got was free from lollyjaneblog, so this craft was super cheap to make. Here is the link for the print:

https://lollyjane.com/free-autumn-fall-printable/

Happy Autumn everyone!!!

Happy making!

lotsalove x

Christmas Eve Box making!!

September 11, 2018Leave a comment

Hi Everyone, hope you are enjoying the season and looking forward to autumn and the snuggly nights in by the fire.

I have been busy this week working on a Christmas eve box. I have wanted to make one of these for ages and just got around to it. It was so much fun!!!!!

Heres what I used to make it:

Glue gun
Gingerbread men toppers from Hobbycraft
Gold glitter toppers from Hobbycraft.
Chalk paint.
Chalk paint clear wax. (I used Annie sloan but you could use any chalk/furniture paint)
Scrabble letters.
Wax brush.
Paintbrushes.
Box from hobbycraft.

How I made it:

I painted my box with two coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint and let those fully dry.
I waxed the box to seal and protect the wood.

3. I then had fun arranging my letters and stuck them on with the glue gun and arranged my decorations too to see what design I liked the most. Simple.

It was really good fun, and thats how it should be 🙂

Will let you know what we decide to put in ours when its all bought, collected and ready….

Happy crafting everyone x x x

Summer plant pots DIY

June 12, 2018June 26, 2018Leave a comment

Hi, this weeks DIY are summer plant pots perfect for BBQ season 🙂 I came across a tutorial by Debbie Shore and thought I would give it a go. My little girl loved it too so a good one to do with the children.

I’ve got loads more ideas so will probably make loads more. They are super fun to make, and really inexpensive. I got my plant pots from Wilkinsons and the ribbons etc.. from a local haberdashery.

You can literally go wild with these and make them any way you like in any style you like. Mine will be on my BBQ table with napkins and cutlery.

Hope you have fun making them, you can check out Debbie’s video here:

Happy crafting 🙂

Blessing Jar

February 8, 2018February 8, 2018Leave a comment

Hi everyone, hope you are having a super day!

This week I was thinking about thankfulness and positivity and focusing on the good.

I had read a blog by the fabulous Lawrenson about this very subject and her idea of writing down down all the lovely things that happen this year. Whether its an act of kindness, a little unexpected gift, a kind word, a compliment, something that is just lovely and touches you, collecting them all year in your little jar and then enjoying reading them at the end of the year.

This has blessed us this week, my little girl gets involved too and has her own, its great fun thinking of kind things that have happened that day to us both and popping it in the jar 🙂

I hope it inspires you to make one, and I hope we all end up in someone else’s jar, how great would that be!

You can check out the Lawrenson blog here:

https://www.lawrenson.co/blogs/news/hit-refresh-our-guide-to-making-2018-your-best-year-yet-part-1

Happy making

x x x

Teacup flowers

February 6, 2018June 1, 20181 Comment

Hi, hope you are all looking forward to spring! I am so excited for spring, to see the fresh flowers popping up, and the sun shining.

On a very wet day last week after a very soggy school run, wishing for spring, I popped into my local supermarket and bought some flowers, and this gave me an idea to make some teacup mini vases.

They look super cute and were good fun to make and made the day brighter, the cups I found in a charity shop and were so inexpensive. (I love giving abandoned teacups a new life 🙂 and theres always loads in charity shops, yay!). I actually got the idea from one of Kirstie Allsopp’s programmes so thanks Kirstie.

Would highly recommend this lovely little craft!

Hope you give it a go!

Happy crafting!

J x

Beautifully Handmade

Celebrating the joy of all things pretty, crafty and handmade