Pine Cone Wreath + Tutorial

A few weeks ago, I picked up some pine cones on the way home, which I used previously in the display case I bought from a charity shop.

 

Once I took them out of the case, they floated around for a while waiting to be used, until last week, when I made this dual colour pine cone wreath!

This is the first wreath I've ever made! I'm happy with how it turned out! 

The pine cones are partially gold and partially white!

Here is a really simple tutorial.

Time needed: approx 15 minutes (excluding drying time)

You’ll need:

Wreath frame or similar (I used an embroidery hoop)

Brown paper (got mine from a mass of packaging from an online order)

Ribbon

Embroidery thread

Pine cones

Spray paint (2 colours)

Glue or tape

Scissors

1. Spray paint the pine cones. To do mine, I turned them all upside down and sprayed white directly over them (to cover the bottom/sides of the cone) and once it was dry, I turned them over and sprayed gold to cover the top parts of the cone. 

2. Leave to dry!

3.  Wrap the brown paper around your wreath frame and secure with glue or tape.

4. Tie lengths of embroidery thread to the stalk on the top of each pine cone. I was cutting lengths ranging 30 – 50cm (approx).

5. Tie the other ends of the lengths of thread onto the wreath, some in the centre and some on the bottom.

6. Wrap more embroidery thread around the wreath. Cut two lengths of ribbon long enough to wrap halfway around the wreath with around 40-50cm remaining (15cm at the top, the rest at the bottom) Tie the two trailing pieces of ribbon at the top in a knot to make a loop.

7. At the bottom of the wreath, tie the longer two trailing ribbons into a bow.

8. Hang up your wreath and enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed this little tute! Putting this wreath together cost me nothing since it was all stuff I had to hand, either left over from old projects, given to me, or picked up for nothing!

Will be linking up at the usual parties, listed in the side bar!

Lavender Harvest, Lavender Heart

I've been a bit quiet in blogland this week. Though there are a whole bunch of things I want to share with you guys, this week has been super-busy and in the times I've been home, I've just wanted to chill.

Anyway. For all you Americans out there, happy Thanksgiving! :)

And now on with the post :) 

A few weeks ago I harvested some lavender from the front garden! I’ve seen some awesome lavender crafts online so felt spoilt for choice over what to do with it!

Eventually I decided to pick the most obvious choice: lavender pillows!

This is what I came up with:

I decided upon heart shaped lavender pillows, and made use of a mixture of techniques that I wrote about in my fabric heart and scented heart tutorials.

After cutting the lavender, I tied it in a bundle and placed it upside down in a paper bag on the boiler...and forgot about it for three weeks.

Once I remembered again, I spent some time removing the buds from the stalks. This turned out to be quite messy, despite having put newspaper down! 

Since these little pillows are a gift, I wanted to make them look a bit more special than something made with fabric scraps!

I used a combination of dupion silk and some lovely bird motif curtain fabric (I previously used some to make cushions). I thought that an all-blue heart would have looked too plain next to the others, so I appliquéd part of the motif from the cream fabric before sewing the heart.

 

Filling the hearts with lavender was fairly difficult! I ended up cutting a corner from a magazine insert and using it as a tiny scoop!

Filling these with lavender took longer than all the cutting, sewing and appliqué!

Hopefully the lovely lady I made these for will like them! :)

Will be linking up at the parties in the side bar!

Tutorial: Doily Glasses Case

Well, I couldn’t stop at a phone case when it came to doilies.

I made a matching sunglasses case:

Pin It

Again, it was something I needed! My awesome sunnies (hand-me-downs from my Mum) did come with a case, but the lining was breaking up--every time I took the sunglasses out, they were covered in bits of black dust!

The sunglasses case turned out to be much easier to make than the matching phone case, though the method is pretty similar!

Here’s an easy-peasy sunglasses case tutorial.

Time needed: approx 20 mins (excluding glue drying time)

You’ll need:

Old, flat sunglasses case that fits your sunglasses

Pencil

Fabric

Lining

Interfacing

Doily (or doilies)

Fabric glue

1. Draw around the sunglasses case onto the interfacing and cut out leaving 1cm seam allowance. (As with the phone case, I cut two layers of sew-in interfacing to get the desired thickness).

2. Cut a piece of fabric and lining the same size, using the interfacing as a guide. Iron the interfacing to the back of the fabric if using that type.

3. Make a sandwich with the lining, fabric and interfacing, ensuring the fabric is in the middle.

4. Sew around the edge of the sandwich, leaving a few inches gap along one edge.

5. Clip the corners and turn the case the right way around. Fold in the un-sewn edge and sew right along that edge, including around the corners. (I forgot to take a picture of this part, sorry!). This side will be the mouth of the case.

6. Fold the case in half with the edge you just sewed on one end. Pin the other sides and opposite end together and sew. 

7. Glue on a doily and you’re done!

This will probably be my last doily craft for now, until I get my hands on more! 

Will be linking up at all the usual link parties, found in the side bar :)

Photography Challenge Week #17

The theme for the Photography Challenge over at A Step in the Journey this week was someone you love.

Originally I was going to cheat and photograph one of the cats!
But I decided to pester an actual person this time around! And who else fits the category better than my very own Mum?!
Here she is in all her very patient smiley loveliness!

She didn't really want her picture taken! This is what she did when I first waved my camera in her direction:

As you can see, my Mum is lovely and silly! She wanted to hide her face because she feels tired, but I think she looks lovely as always!
Wish I'd had the chance to con her into playing model for me properly (rather than a couple of impromptu photos).

It's getting to that point in the year where my camera wants to use the flash whatever the time of day. This is fine if it's a still life, but not so good for a person or animal!


There are a whole bunch of awesome photographs by others at the link party on A Step in the Journey. And it's not too late to join in! :)

What I Wore... #6

Back at its usual Wednesday spot...I tried a bit harder this week! Unfortunately I still haven't figured out a good place for taking pictures. Boooo.

First up, my favourite outfit of the week.

Tuesday 15th November
Jacket: Second hand
Shirt: H&M
Jumper: Happit
Leggings: Matalan
Boots: New Look

Today I woke up wanting to go for an androgynous/tomboy look! The velvety blazer came from a second hand clothes shop in Brighton (calling it 'retro' might have been pushing it a bit) back when I was at college. I stupidly cut off the buttons from the cuffs and now wish I hadn't, since they got pilfered from the button box for a sock puppet (which probably got binned...gah)
Still, I love the jacket and love that we've got suitable weather for wearing it!

Here come the rest...

10 Tips for How to Save on Shopping (and 3 for free clothes)

It never hurts to budget, or to try to save a little money here and there. In this economic climate, we never know what is just around the corner, and who doesn’t like reading their bank statement to find they have more money at the end of the month than they expected?! 

I can’t say much for saving on utilities and suchlike, since I live with my parents and they make those decisions. But when it comes to shopping, I have much more experience!

Just the other day, Mum and I did a grocery shop in Tesco and managed to cut down our bill by a whole £40 in multi-buy savings and coupons!

So here are 10 tips for how to save money on shopping, followed by a few tips for getting free clothes! These are all pretty obvious, but can be easy to forget when you’re rushing around with other things on your mind!

1. Watch out for offers especially on luxuries and perishables! Offers are a double-edged sword. Basically, it’s only worth taking advantage of them for perishables you know you’ll use before their eat-by date, and non perishables you use frequently.
   e.g. we passed up on the 2-for-1 on bags of baking potatoes (they’d go bad before we ate them all) but we took advantage of the 2-for-1 on toothpaste.
   Offers are there to encourage you to spend more. Don’t do 3-for-2 if you only went in for 1--or none.
   
   
2. Compare Prices. This ties in with offers. In a supermarket, you might assume that the larger pack is better value than the smaller packs. This isn’t always the case, especially when offers are concerned! In the UK, supermarket shelves have the price per unit (or 100g, 1kg etc) printed in small type on the labels. All you have to do is read this and compare with the different sizes to find what gets you the best deal!
   e.g. 800g mayonnaise for £3.69; 400g mayonnaise on offer at 2 for £3--you get the same amount for less by buying two smaller jars (and can use those jars for crafting once they’re empty!) Since mayo doesn’t go off quickly, one jar can be stored whilst the other is enjoyed!
   
   
3. Buy what you need. This is the most obvious one but I am so guilty of buying things I want. I have a wardrobe bursting with clothes to prove it. With clothes shopping, the answer is not to do it unless you have a specific item to buy. But we all love to browse and admire! I try to use a rule when clothes shopping: if it won’t go with at least four items from the wardrobe, don’t buy it.
   When shopping for food, buying what you need relates to the first tip again! Make a list and stick to it.
   
   
4. Judge more expensive goods by the use you’ll get out of them. When it comes to clothing, especially coats and footwear, opt for a classic style rather than a high-fashion option that will be ‘outdated’ next year.
   e.g. A winter coat costs £80. You’ll wear it for the next 5-10 years, which will cost you £8-£16 per year. Assuming winter runs from November to January, that’s just 9p-17p pence per day.
   
   
5. Buying cheap goods isn’t necessarily a ‘false economy’ (some cheap goods are excellent quality!) but is definitely a retail trap! It’s all too easy to buy something because it’s ‘only £1’. But ‘Only £1’ can quickly become ‘only a fiver’ and before you know it, that £20 note you broke into is all gone!
   
   
6. Don’t be led by technology. Again, look at whether you need something, and the monetary repercussions of buying something new.
   e.g. Computers. You cannot completely future-proof your PC. Technology advances fast and eventually, your PC will be outdated. Opt for something that does what you need it to do--don't buy a gaming PC with a loads of memory, a meaty processor and incredible graphics if you only use your computer to check email and write letters.
   
   
7. Get a loyalty card but don’t spend money solely to earn points. Loyalty cards can be a great way of earning yourself a little discount! They’re free to sign up for, all you do is hand your card over at the checkout. Shop as you would normally and watch those points add up! Sometimes loyalty card holders also get extra coupons and offers not available to other shoppers.
   
   
8. Look out for free shipping deals. A number of online (and some high street) retailers offer free shipping with purchases over a certain amount, or for a set period. Leading up to Christmas, this is great if you plan to buy several gifts on one website.
   
   
9. Join mailing lists for places you buy from to hear about the offers first—but don’t spend just because something is a bargain. Similarly to loyalty cards, mailing list recipients sometimes receive discount codes!
   
   
   
   
   
10. Check voucher/discount/deals web sites for...deals and voucher codes!  If you’re looking to buy something online, it’s a good idea to have a quick search on a voucher code site to see if there are any offers that will shave a few pennies or pounds off your purchase!
    Free magazines from shops/supermarkets, including Christmas gift guides, can include vouchers and discount codes. Most of the vouchers in the picture above came from free magazines!

I am doing my Christmas shopping using the above tips. So far I have saved just over £50 thanks to free shipping, money off, coupons, voucher codes and special offers!

Great websites for money savers:

• Hot UK Deals lists vouchers, deals and offers available in the UK
• Voucher Codes (self explanatory)
• Groupon provides daily deals on gifts, house wares, holidays, experiences etc. Includes local and national offers. (UK site | US site)
• Wowcher is pretty much the same as Groupon
• Good To Know has a whole section of their site dedicated to money saving tips and tricks, along with voucher codes.
• Money Saving Expert has excellently researched information on topics ranging from mortgages and broadband to shopping and travel. And voucher codes.

And how would you like clothes for free?

Wouldn’t we all?!

• Have a clothes-swap party with your friends and/or family. It’s a great way to get new things and any unwanted clothes could be donated to charity.
  
  
• Alternatively, wait for a family member to clear out their wardrobe ;) Little sister #1 does this a lot, so I occasionally gain things from her! (My most recent hand-me-down haul comprised of four tops, two of them barely worn!)
  
  
• Customise something that you don’t wear into something you will—if you try to only use things from your craft stash, this means free clothes! There are hundreds of clothes customisation tutorials on the internet; it’s just a case of checking Pinterest or Google to see what you find!

Of course, I’m not suggesting any of us turn into Ebenezer Scrooge or spend all our time cutting out coupons! But I’ve found these to be easy ways of saving some money and I hope you do, too! :)

Various Notes & Some Pictures

Since there are a few little bits and pieces to write about here, I thought I'd stick them all under the same post!

To start off, I had an email today from Amy at A Home, Made, who chose me as one of 14 to receive the Versatile Blogger Award! Thanks Amy! :)
Click the link to check out all the other blogs that Amy nominated!
I've already done the Versatile Blogger Award back in August but these things are always appreciated! :D
Since I'm lazy, here's August's post with some info and bloggers I passed the award on to.


Also popping into my inbox this week have been emails saying that a couple of my posts had been featured!

First off, my Pumpkin & Red Pepper Soup was featured by Mindie over at Bacon Time With The Hungry Hungry Hypo (best blog name ever!)
Then I found out that Mauren at Release Me Create featured my Display Case in her Top 5 Freshest Projects of the Week!

Thank you ladies! :)


I have been neglecting this blog a little recently, in favour of NaNoWriMo, which I wrote about at the end of last month. How is everyone doing with that?
I reached 50,000 words on the 9th, and finished my novel yesterday! Hence I am behind on everything but at least I'm finished. Now I can focus back on crafting and making Christmas presents!


Now here are a couple of pictures that I've been waiting to share!

Roses in one of the village cafes. This place has a true shabby chic feel to it and sells cute cakes!

Here is the ceiling, at the door:

I love it! This branch rests in a vase and is fixed to the wall and ceiling so it doesn't fall. I like that it gives the appearance of nature invading, or drinking tea outside rather than indoors.

And here's the tea :) I wanted to steal their table cloth!