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!

Vintage Box

Believe it or not, we are still trying to sort out our attic! There is so much stuff in the loft space it betrays what terrible hoarders we all are. Stacks of books, toys, magazines and more lie in wait for us in the further reaches of the attic.

But over the course of sorting, I am finding some treasures!

Take this lovely box, for example, which either belonged to my Grandma or my great auntie:

Hmmm, I wonder what’s inside?

 Sewing tools! Perfect!

Plenty of needle books, including some handmade. 

 This perplexed me at first. Then I unscrewed the base…

More needles!

As for this gorgeous little box, well! What a cute way to store pins!

 Of course, with all those sharp objects, an assortment of thimbles are needed.

These are just a few--there are a bunch of plastic ones too.

And right in the bottom of the box?

Cottons galore!

Along with all the things above I found four pairs of scissors in varying sizes (fantastic since my sewing box is missing a smaller pair), elastic, pins, embroidery floss and carded threads for repairing clothes and hosiery!

In particular I was pleased to find the reels of cotton, it means I can make more of these:

I was inspired to make this vintage cotton reel necklace after seeing some on amy is the party and thinking 'I can do that!'

Amy actually just shared a tutorial for making them on OnePearl Button! It's really worth checking out!

Anyway, I made this necklace a couple of weeks back before I came into possession of the sewing box above. I was playing around with some beads I bought from Big Bead Boutique in Brighton (my favourite bead shop!) and some old ribbons and things my Nanny gave me (she also gave me the old reel of cotton).

It isn’t the colours I usually wear but I wanted a change--and now I have all those lovely vintage cottons I can make as many as I want!

We’re still clearing out the attic; who knows what other treasures I’ll find...

London Never Sleeps...

Yesterday, my Mum, youngest sister and I went into London. My sister - a beauty consultant - had a training day, but knows nothing of London nor how to get to where she needed to go. My Mum - a wonderfully supportive, awesome, best-mum-in-the-world type - said she would accompany my sister up to our bustling captial, and asked me to go along too, partly to keep her company whilst my sister was training and partly because I know how to get about on the Underground!

It has been almost a year since I last ventured into London!
After dropping my sister off, we headed into the infamous Oxford Street. Believe it or not, I have never been there before! I was utterly astounded by the fact that several of the high street brands have more than one store in the same street!

Nevertheless, I was very impressed by the shops we went into. The staff were all very friendly and helpful and the shops were really tidy, too--a far cry from the shops in my native shopping grounds!

Surprisingly, I didn't buy that much, but I did pop into the relatively new Forever 21! I am so happy that shop has opened here in the UK!

We also nipped along to Covent Garden on the Underground, but it was absolutely packed. However, the Covent Garden Market area reminded me of Spain with its columns and arches and cafes spilling out onto the pavements. Beautiful!

I could ramble on for ages about this tiring but satisfying trip, but here is a summary of things I have learnt:

1. Don't go to London during the holiday season.
2. The Underground is unbearably hot in August!
3. Taxis are not that expensive
4. Garfunkel's at Victoria Station do an amazing all day breakfast
5. LOOK UP! There is so much amazing architecture to be seen, but we tend to miss it because the ground floor is all modern shop-fronts and signage.

How about you guys? Have you been to London? Do you have any tips, or things you have learned in going there?

The picture at the top of this post is the clock above the main entrance of Selfridges. Isn't it stunning!

Partial Room Makeover

Over the past couple of weeks, I've made a few changes to my room!
My desk/dressing table was a mess and more of a place to dump things than to use as intended. There was a pretty big dent in the wall above it from where I took down a TV stand (which subsequently pulled plaster off the wall, eek!)

I don't have any 'before' pictures, but here is how it looks now, after spending a little money, utilising Dad's DIY expertise, and doing some serious tidying!

Here is the wall--after it was repainted at the top, I added a floating shelf and reorganised the pictures that have been prettying up my room for years!

And the desk! The two little Rococo-style drawers were bought from ebay; I use them to house jewellery and makeup!

I made the jewellery board. Here's a better picture, taken before I hung it up and began piling more necklaces on!

I won't write a proper tutorial for this, because there are already a lot in blogland.
However, they are really easy to make, so here is a short explanation:

Basically, I took the glass out of a frame and marked on the backboard where I wanted the knobs and hooks to go. Then I sweet-talked my fabulous Dad into drilling the holes for me!
Next, I glued some wadding to the back board. Once the glue had dried, I stretched some fabric over the board and secured at the back with duck tape. I was going to use glue, but I ran out!
I then used the holes in the backboard as a guide and made holes through the wadding/fabric for the knobs/hooks.
I screwed everything on, and again took advantage of Dad DIY Services (I highly recommend it!) to cut off the excess screw at the back with an angle grinder (a handsaw works too).

I'm pleased with how this display board turned out. Having seen so many of them online, I wondered if I could make something anywhere near as good!
Overall, this display board cost me around £10, the most expensive part being the £7 frame. Excepting the butterfly knob (42p from Habitat), all the other knobs and hooks came from charity shops. Everything else was already in the house, left over from various projects!

Moving on, here are the gorgeous bird hooks I bought for my longer necklaces:

I bought these from BHS for £10 and £6 respectively. I have very little pale pink in my room, but they were the perfect size and style!

They also co-ordinate well with my light fitting:

 

I made this years ago--the petals were in the January sale at BHS (I threaded them onto jewellery wire), whilst the butterflies and humming birds came from The Famous Little Store in Padstow, Cornwall.


On the opposite wall, I changed the poster and put it in a frame:

I wanted to mirror the gold-framed pictures across the room. This frame is the same type as the one I used for my necklace display board, but customised:

 

This is how the frame originally looked (as on the display board)...

...and this is how the poster frame looks.
The customisation was cheap and simple: I glued lace trim around the centre section of the frame and gave it a few coats of gold spray-paint!

And now? Now I'll stop bragging about my room!

Handmade Necklaces

A wise woman (Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous) once said, ‘You can never have enough hats, gloves and shoes.’

The same could be said for rings, earrings and necklaces.

It’s the latter that has been my recent obsession--I can sit down with a head full of ideas and my boxes of recycled and gifted beads and end up with something nice and new to wear around my neck!

Here are a few of my recent creations:

 Hunters Necklace

I made the base of this necklace with a combination of cord and chain (including an old chain bracelet).

The whole inspiration comes from the vintage stag button, which was given to me. Whilst I don’t condone hunting for sport, the theme became ‘hunting in the times of old’, meaning when hunting for food was practically a necessity.

 Heritage Necklace

This is another necklace inspired by something given to me! In this instance the inspiration came from the old coins, which came into my possession with the holes already in them. The oldest (and largest) coin is from 1881!

 Black Beads & Button Necklace

The button is the inspiration for this necklace. I wanted a simpler necklace that would allow the button to become a feature, rather than one charm amidst many.

To avoid making the necklace too plain, I included small orangey beads (from a broken necklace) on the strand of smaller black beads.

 Beads & Bow Necklace

I made this one using ribbon from a chocolate box, a gifted button, and a selection of beads. The inspiration was the colour of the larger beads, which came off a broken necklace.

*A tutorial for how to make this necklace is now up!

 ‘Cameo Collage’ Necklace Knockoff

This necklace was made following a tutorial on Flamingo Toes (one of my favourite crafty places to visit!) It’s a knockoff of a necklace by Anthropologie, which is itself gorgeous, but far beyond my price range.

For this necklace I used a heap of charms that had been accumulating in my supplies! These charms came from my Nanny, an uncle, my mum, stuff from my childhood, old necklaces, random charms bought in Glastonbury and even a couple of cheap card-making charms! I’d been saving them up for something special and when I saw the tutorial on Flamingo Toes, I knew I’d found that something!

Check out the Cameo Collage necklace knockoff tutorial on Flamingo Toes here.

Tutorial: Tassel Necklace

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Tassels are on necklaces everywhere at the moment, particularly on necklaces that will set you back anything between a few pounds and a few thousand pounds!

Normally found on curtain ties, cushions and lampshades, tassels can become a quirky fashion statement (though I advise against running out to buy a pair of curtain tie-backs!)

This tasselled necklace is chic and modern--and can be made for just a few pounds.

Follow this tutorial to find out how to make your own tasselled necklace.

Time needed: 45-60 minutes

You’ll need:

1 skein embroidery floss

16" chain

6 beads (for chain)

1 bell cap (for tassel)

1 bead (for tassel)

Jewellery wire

1 split ring

1 jump ring

6 eye pins

1 clasp

Scrap of card

Pliers (round nose, flat nose, side cutters)

Scissors

1. Cut a rectangle of card and fold in half.  Cut a slot across the card approximately 1 cm from the top. 

2. Starting from the bottom, wind the embroidery floss loosely around the card until you have approximately 3-4 inches left (cut off at the bottom of the card).

3. Wrap the left over piece of floss around the top part of the tassel, through the slot you cut out in step 1, and tie a secure knot at the back.

4. Slide your scissors between the two sides of card at the bottom and carefully cut through the embroidery floss. Slide your tassel off the card.

5. Cut around 4 inches of jewellery wire. Slide partway through the loop at the top of the tassel so approx. 1 inch sticks out on one side of the tassel. Using the pliers, bend the two sides of wire up around the head of the tassel and wrap the shorter end around the longer end.

6. Thread the bell cap onto the wire, over the top of the tassel. Add whichever bead you want on top of the tassel and bend the remaining wire into a loop with the round-nose pliers, cutting off any excess with side-cutters.

7. Attach the tassel to the centre of your chain using a jump ring.

8.  Thread a bead onto an eye pin. Bend the straight piece of wire over round-nose pliers to make a loop and cut away any leftover wire. Repeat for the other five beads.

9. Fix the beads to the chain at equally-spaced intervals of 1.5". To do this, open a chain link using round-nose pliers and thread on the factory-made loop of the eye pin. Close the link using flat-nose pliers. Now open the other loop on the eye pin and attach to the other end of chain, joining it up. Close the loop with round-nose pliers.

10. To finish, attach a clasp and split ring to the ends of the necklace.

Linking up at:

Valentine's Recap

With Valentine’s Day mere hours away, here’s a recap of this year’s Valentine-related posts on Unfortunately Oh!

These ‘hanging hearts’ are a cheap, quick way to finish off Valentine’s décor. All seven of these could easily be made inside a day with time to spare.

Tutorials:

Fabric heart with charm

Scented hanging heart

Beaded heart

Recycled soft drinks can heart

‘Heartcatcher’

Engraved wooden heart

Messy wire hanging heart

This button badge heart picture is a remake of a fantastic picture selling online at £175. The original 'Button Badge Heart Picture' by Brigitte Herod costs far more than I can afford, so I made my own--and explained the process in this handy how-to.

Another heart for hanging on display was this heart-shaped wreath, made using wire, a florist’s decoration, and some ruffled trim. Again, this was posted on Unfortunately Oh!: Ruffled Heart Wreath Tutorial

To all the jewellery lovers out there, this Key To Your Heart necklace tutorial is for you!

And of course, where would we all be without a little shopping?  In ‘Valentine’s Décor’ I looked at what’s on offer at three stylish online shops. Pictured above: Heart bowl and nibble dish set, £33 (includes a bowl, 3 dip dishes & spoons plus a tray) and Gingham heart tea cosy, £30 (various colours).

Whether you're attached or single, I hope you all have a fabulous valentine's day! 

Tutorial: Button Badge Heart Picture

Button Badge Heart Picture by Brigitte Herod

£175 at Rockett St George

(Also check out the Scrabble LOVE YOU Picture, £59)

 Much as I love Brigitte Herrod’s ingenious ‘Button Badge Heart Picture’, I’m far from able to afford the £175 price tag.

So I got out my huge collection of badges and worked out how to make my own for free!

 

 My version; cost: free
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Here’s an easy-to-follow tutorial for how to make a button badge heart picture of your very own.

You can either make a temporary version or a permanent version, depending on whether or not you want to reuse the badges!

Time needed: 1-2 hours

You’ll need:

Large selection of badges (try ebay for job lots)

Paper/card/board for background

Pencil

Blu-tack (for temporary version)

Glue gun (for permanent version)

Frame (optional)

 1. Lightly draw a heart shape onto your background (I used a page from an A3 canvas paper pad). It doesn’t have to be perfect because you’ll adjust the shape as you go. 

2. Decide how you want to set out your badges. Start by setting some around the edge of the heart and then fill up the space inside. 

3. Stick the badges to the background. If using blu-tack, use a decent-sized piece on the pin of each badge. In cases where the badges overlap, stick a bit of blu-tack to the underside rim and affix the badge to the badge(s) it overlaps with. Work in a similar fashion if using a glue gun.

4. Once you’re finished, check all badges are attached securely and frame or display as wished.

Suggestions:

• If making this as a gift, include badges that are personal or hold special memories--a favourite animal, cartoon character or beverage, badges from trips out, etc.
• Experiment with colour and patterns. This could be the background or the badges e.g. outline the heart with all red badges and fill the inside with black and white badges, or glue old newspaper to some board to great a more interesting background.
• If you don’t have enough badges, why not try something else? Buttons, bottle caps, even jam jar lids could make a stunning alternative.