Green Gardens - A Window for Spring

...This has become something of a 'window displays' blog, hasn't it?

Here is the latest display that I created for Humanity at Heart, a small charity based in Sussex. This time the theme was 'spring gardens', and the spring weather came along just at the right time for it!

Some of the flowers from our plants section bloomed at the perfect time for the window display. Spring has truly sprung!
I made the little flowers that can be seen amongst the daffodils, using the sleeves of an old jumper, disposable chopsticks and ribbon leftover from other projects.

Tutorial: Chicken and the Egg Necklace

Ages ago, I found some cute chick motifs when clearing out a cupboard. I put them aside in the hope of thinking of a use for them.

Today, I made this ‘Chicken and the Egg’ necklace:

Here’s a quick tutorial on how to make one for yourself!

Time needed: 30~60 minutes

You’ll need:

Chick motif

Egg-shaped bead or similar (I used a stone)

Beads

1 m ribbon (approx)

Bead-stringing wire

Jewellery wire

Crimps

Needle & thread

1 split ring

Pliers (flat nose, round nose and side cutters)

1. First off, wrap your ‘egg’ with wire (see my agate necklace tutorial). Start by making the bails for the top and bottom of the egg...

2. ...then wrap it. At the back, I bent the end of the wire underneath itself so it won’t catch on anything.

 

  

3. Cut a piece of wire longer than you want the beaded section to be:

 (height of motif x2) + (length of beaded section) + 1~2 inches

Attach the split ring to the end of the bead-stringing wire with two crimps, spacing the crimps out. The distance between the bottom crimp and the top of the split ring should be slightly smaller than the height of your chick motif. 

4. Thread on your beads. I went for a mixture of modern wooden beads, old green beads, plus a couple of gold ones to balance out the yellow of the chick.

5. Use a crimp to fix the other end of the bead-stringing wire to the bottom of your wire-wrapped ‘egg’.  Cut off any excess wire. 

6. Thread your ribbon through the split ring...

7. ...and the top bail of the ‘egg’, leaving enough ribbon in between to slip your head through.

8. Tie the ends of the ribbon together in a bow.

9. Sew your motif onto the exposed section of bead-stringing wire and the split ring. 

 And you’re done!

Linking up at:

Tutorial: Painted Glass

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Customised glass is a unique and original gift for a friend or family member; it’s also great to add a more personal touch to your home!

Read on to find out how to paint glass yourself to create your very own, one-of-a-kind customised wine glass! This project would be great for Mother's Day.

Time needed: 45 minutes (dependent on design; excludes drying times)

You’ll need:

A glass

Contour paste

Glass paints

Paintbrushes

Paper and pen/pencil

Kitchen towel

Water

Newspaper

Note: Contour paste and glass paint can be a little fiddly at first--if you can, try to practice on a spare piece of glass (e.g. empty jar)

 

1. Wash and dry your glass and put down newspaper to protect your work surface.

2. Cut a piece of paper that fits inside your glass and draw out your design. I chose a simple flower design. Try not to put in too much detail, since it will be harder to define with the contour paste. 

3. Slip the paper inside the glass, design facing outwards. Use contour paste to trace over the pattern onto the glass. Leave to dry thoroughly. 

4. Paint in your design with glass paint and allow to dry. (Use kitchen towel to wipe excess paint from your brush and rinse in water in between colours; try to start with the lightest colour!)

5. Pick out any other details you might wish to add. This glass has a nice stem reminiscent of a Roman column, so I decided to pick it out with a vibrant green.

Leave overnight to ensure the paint is entirely dry.

Glass care: Wash with warm soapy water. Do not put in the dishwasher!

Cleaning your brushes: Glass paint can be difficult to wash off brushes--water doesn’t have much of an effect! I cleaned off mine by washing them in brush cleaner to remove the paint, then in warm soapy water to remove the brush cleaner. A small amount of conditioner smoothed through the bristles helps to keep the brush in good condition.