Pretty Craft Ideas from Living at Home

If you are looking for pretty creative crafty ideas to give your home that special personal charm, then you have to check out the German site, Living at Home. Where every month they share a new DIY project to make - complete with shopping list and step-by-step instructions!

I am loving the mini shelves and have decorated a couple that I hang in my house, but I am loving the ones from Living at Home that are painted in the prettiest pastel blue. Oh! and how adorable are the envelopes, I think they would look great on a pin board full of little treasures!

Have a sweet day!

Craft Feature in 91 magazine

Issue 6 of 91 magazine is out today! an online magazine for the vintage style and craft lover. Featuring Homes, Style, Vintage, Shopping and Crafts.

"91 Magazine was launched in October 2011, and is a quarterly online magazine, published by interiors and lifestyle brand, Patchwork Harmony.

Collated by a range of fantastic creative people, it features news, style tips, shopping ideas, interiors, features on craft and vintage style and proudly supports small businesses, designers and crafts people."

The Spring/Summer 2013 issue is packed full of lots of great content like the Vintage guide to Bath, the beautiful home of photographer and blogger Natasha of Candy Pop, a yummy sounding hazelenut blackberry torte and a fabulous interview with style Queen Selina Lake, to name a few.

So I am delighted to tell you I have a craft feature in this fabulous edition, a DIY tea tray made from an old picture frame I picked up in a charity shop for a couple of pounds...









You can check out the new edition here!

Have a sweet day!

More neon & pastel birdhouses with free print

Last week I showed you three of my Neon & pastel birdhouses and how to make them. After much searching around and not finding a print for the other three houses I decided to design my own. Feel free to download it and use it for your own craft projects like these bird houses, just remember that if you are using it on the bird houses you will need to print it using a laser printer so you can use PVA glue/mod podge on the top, if it is inkjet printed the print will dissapear and smudge when adding PVA glue or mod podge to the top layer!








Have a sweet day!

My handmade acrylic wall shelf boxes

Earlier this week I showed you my inspiration shelf, well since then I have been busy making a bunch of them as great storage for my craft room and more...

I found a great sheet acrylic supplier Sheet Plastics, who can cut your pieces to size and if clear acrylic is not your thing, they also have a host of other colours including a great selection of neons. I attached the acrylic shelf to the wall using the Command™ Picture & Mirror Hanging Strips, which as well as leaving no marks on the wall also enable me to take the shelf on and off the wall as much as I like due to the velcro like technology.

Here's how I did it:

Acrylic box

You will need:

• Tensol 12 50ML ( Tensol 12 is a single component cement which hardens due to solvent evaporation to produce a clear bond in cast/Xt acrylic acrylic Sheet.The product is quickly and easily used direct from the bottle.)
• 3 sheets of 5mm thick acrylic cut to 260mm x 50mm
• 2 sheets of 5mm thick acrylic cut to 55mm x 50mm

• Start by carefully peeling off the protective film
• Add a very thin line of tensol along the top of one of the long edges of the side pieces

• Carefully place in position and hold for a few seconds, leave to dry
• Repeat with the other side piece
• Turn box so it sitting on its end.
• Add a very thin line of tensol along the top edges
• Carefully place end piece in position and hold for a few seconds, leave to dry
• Repeat with other end piece

Have a sweet day!

Winter bird embellished stocking

Last year I started making an embellished Christmas stocking but never got round to lining it! So this morning I finally lined my stocking and hung it up on my banister. Hers's how...

Winter bird embellished stocking Tools and Materials

• White felt
• 100% cotton printed Lining
• Wadding
• Yarn
• Wooden Bird buttons
• Snowflake brads
• Covered button brads
• Sequins
• Seed beads
• Needle
• Sewing thread
• Pom pom trim
• Velvet ribbon

Winter bird embellished stocking, How-to step by step




Start by printing off the stocking pattern at 200% and cut out the pattern piece.


Place pattern piece on felt, using your water soluble pen, trace around outside edges so you have two pieces. Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut out felt pieces. Now, with a damp cloth, blot pen lines until they disappear. Then pin one cut out felt piece to wadding. Carefully cut around stocking.


With your felt stocking and wadding pieces still pinned together, join them together using the snowflake brads. Sew on sequins and beads. Hot glue gun wooden buttons and attach button brads.



Pin the two felt stocking pieces together with the embellishment on the outside. With a needle threaded with coloured yarn whip stitch around outside edges. Hand stitch pom pom trim and ribbons around top of stocking.


Stitch hanging loop to the top of the stocking so that the loop faces downwards.
Place pattern piece on lining, using your water soluble pen, trace around outside edges, flip pattern over and trace a second stocking. Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut out lining pieces. Then pin the lining pieces together with the right side of the fabric on the inside. Stitch around the edges, with a 1cm seam allowance, leaving the top open. Now slip embellished stocking into sewn lining and pin together at top.


Starting at the back of the stocking, stitch the lining to the felt stocking at the top leaving a 5cm gap, so you can turn stocking out. Turn stocking out and hand stitch gap together. Lightly press iron the top so that it sits flat.

Fill with candy and gifts...

I decorated mine with a glittery sprig from Festive

Have a sweet day!

Spray painted hangers

Months ago I spray painted some of my wooden hangers in a bright pink for my cloakroom but never got round to showing you. I loved them so much I decided to spray some more, this time for my guest room, here's how...


Spray painted hangers Tools and Materials

• Wooden hangers
• Masking tape
• Montana gold Spray paint in Crocus
• Montana white Spray paint in soap

Spray painted hangers, How-to step by step


Simply mask off the metal hook, so it doesn't get covered in spray paint. Following the instructions on the spray paint, carefully spray the wooden hanger until you have an even coat of paint and the original colour of the hanger is no longer visible. Leave to dry.

Tips- I prefer to do several light coats so the paint does not drip and I get an even coat.

Here they are with my DIY fabric hangers...




Have a sweet day!

Pom Pom trim boudoir cushions

I was looking for some Moroccan inspired prints in lavender, grey and mint to make some pom pom trim scatter cushions for my guest room when I came across exactly what I was looking for at The Sprit of Christmas fair...


But they were kitchen towels!

I didn't let that stop me and bought three from Roots Living. I then asked my friend who was visiting the show later that week if she could buy on my behalf two more, as I loved them so much! They are the perfect size for making boudoir pillows (30cm x 40cm). Here's how...

Pom Pom trim boudoir cushion Tools and Materials

• Cushion pad - 30 x 40cm
• Kitchen towel
• Pom pom trim
• 3 Buttons
• Sewing Cotton
• Sewing Machine
• Scissors
• Iron and ironing board

Pom Pom trim boudoir cushion, How-to step by step


Using a soft pencil, start by drawing a rectangle in the centre of the tea towel 32cm wide by 42cm. Add 1.5 cm seam allowance around edge extending the lines to the edges of the teatowel


Cut along lines as figure above.



Pin pom pom trim to right side of fabric 1.2 cm in from every edge with the pom poms facing the centre of the rectangle.


Hand stitch pom pom trim in place or tack using a wide stitch on your sewing machine, 1.5cm in from edge.



On one of the back panels, mark the length of the buttonholes with your pencil on the inside of the fabric. Using the button hole foot on your sewing machine stitch three buttonholes.


Put the Back Panels on the Front Panel, with Right Sides facing together. Pin each back piece right side down onto the pillow cover front. The pre hemmed ends will overlap each other in the middle of the pillow. The back panel with the button holes on should be under the other back panel where they overlap.
Sew around the cushion cover (seam allowance is 1.5cm). Before you turn the cushion cover out, cut off the corners above your seam. Open up seams on all sides and press with an iron. Turn the cushion out, sew your buttons in place and then insert your cushion pad. Fasten buttons and voila! a great gift to give or keep.







Have a sweet day!

Mini Shelving

This past weekend I finally got around to decorating my miniature shelf unit. I bought my miniature wooden shelf unit, with 19 compartments, back in January from Panduro Hobby but couldn't make up my mind how to decorate them!?! I eventually decided to paint them white with a pretty print in the background. I plan to hang them in my craft room as a great little place to store some of my favourite trims and sewing bits and bobs.

Mini Shelving
Tools and materials

• Miniature shelf unit
• White paint
• PVA glue
• Pretty paper

Mini Shelving, How-to step by step


Start by painting the entire shelving unit with a couple of coats of white paint and leave to dry. Then, using a variety of printed papers, cut out two pieces of printed paper @ 90mm x 110mm, five pieces of printed paper @ 44mm x 110mm and twelve pieces of paper @ 54mm x 44mm. Then carefully coat the inside of the back of the shelves with a thin coat of PVA glue. Immediately stick the cut pieces of paper to the PVA glue and smooth down with your fingers or glue spatula to remove any air bubbles and leave to dry. Finish by coating the stuck pieces of paper with a thin coat of PVA glue to give them a protective finish.

Sequins, beads and decorative silver birds

Felt flowers, spool dolly, embroidery threads and beads

John James pebbles with beading needles and general sewing needles

Finished and ready to hang on the wall

Have a sweet day!