Upholstery Skirt

The other day I finished working with some of the beautiful fabrics I bought recently (some of which I used to make cushion covers)

This time around, the fruit of my labour was a long skirt:

Though I'm very much a jeans wearer, I have a penchant for long skirts! This one was very simple to make--I sewed bands of fabric together and then cut the pattern from that. The skirt fastens with a zip, which I got for free when my grandmother had a turn-out.
So this skirt cost me around £3.50 to make, excluding the thread!

Merry Christmas

Don't Panic: Last-Minute Gifts You Can Make

T'was the night before Christmas,

And all through the house...

Panic set in! You haven't a present for Aunty Nora!

It's not quite the night before Christmas yet, but with a week until the big day, a fair few of us could be engaging panic mode: forgotten presents, relatives difficult to buy for…this time of year can become a nightmare! 

Unfortunately Oh! brings you some suggestions for handmade gifts and stocking fillers that can be whipped up in anything between half an hour and a day.

Handmade Book tutorial

A handmade book makes a great gift, but can also make a nice scrapbook of memories. In college I made three of these as part of my photography course, to display final-piece prints.

Like most of the tutorials that will appear on this blog, a handmade book is really quite easy to make!

Time needed: 30 minutes (approx) to make blank book, plus decorating/filling time.

You need:

Paper or thin card to form the pages of the book

Thicker card for the cover*

Fabric to cover your book

Scissors

Multi-purpose glue

Paper glue e.g. pritt stick

Needle & thread

Pencil

Ruler

* In this tutorial I used card from an old packaging

Washer Bracelet tutorial

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This bracelet made of washers and cord is an ideal stocking-filler for a guy (or a tomboy!) but the concept can also be adapted.
Here's a how-to!

Time needed: 15-30 minutes

You need:

Assortment of washers

Leather cord*

Tape measure

* I used vinyl cord because I had some lying around!

In this tutorial, I used 2m cord + 11 washers, which made a 7.5" bracelet

"Charming Bracelet" tutorial

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This charming bracelet is so easy to make--but do it right and it looks far more expensive than something homemade!
Here's a simple tutorial.

Time needed: 30 minutes (approx)

You need:

Bracelet made of fairly big chain

Ribbon (90cm/35.5" ribbon for a 16cm/6.5" bracelet)

Charms

Beads

Head pins

Jump rings

Jewellery-making pliers

A Classique Bauble

A gift-with-purchase from Debenhams. I think this is very cute and stylish--a Christmas tree bauble, inside which is a miniature of Jean Paul Gaultier's fragrance, Classique Femme. 

I absolutely love the design of Gaultier's perfume bottles! For me, the design of the bottle is a major attraction. When shopping for fragrance, I'm more likely to try a perfume in-store if it has a pretty bottle than a plain bottle.

Attractive packaging doesn't necessarily denote a nice fragrance, but it looks much better on the dressing table! 

Looking at my perfume collection, most of it comprises of pretty bottles! 

Full-Size L-R: Yves Rocher - Babinours, Vivienne Westwood - Boudoir, Rochas - alchemie, Gaultier - Summer fragrance, Anna Sui - Sui Love, Anna Sui - Sui Dreams

Miniatures L-R: Givenchy - Organza, Nina Ricci - L'Air du Temps, Gaultier - Fragile, Gaultier - Classique (Parfum & Eau de Parfum), Givenchy - Amarige

Continuing on the subject of perfume, Patrick Suskind's book, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is brilliant, as is the film adaptation.