Craft

It’s my favourite time of year. Everything is covered in cob web and there’s so much spooky stuff on the TV.

As the 31st isn’t too far away I decided to post a quick DIY for you: a papier-mache pumpkin bowl. It’s cool because trick and treaters have to reach into the pumpkin’s mouth to get their treat

Here’s what you’ll need:

Clockwise from the top left:

1. A blown up balloon – you’ll probably be able to blow yours up bigger. I have a weird fear of balloons popping in my face
2. torn up tissue paper in black
3. torn up newspaper
4. Orange paint
5. PVA glue
6. a paintbrush
7. a scalpel
8. a black marker pen

Step One – first layer of black tissue paper

Water down a big blob of your PVA glue in a container and start painting on the black tissue paper over the balloon. I did two layers and had to wait for the first one to dry. Use a hair dryer if you’re in a rush

Step Two – layer up with newspaper

Once your layers of black tissue paper are dry, begin painting on the newspaper with the glue. Again use the hairdryer if you’re getting impatient. I did three layers of this and then waited until it was dry.

Step Three – pop the balloon and use the orange paint

Once dry, I stuck a needle through the newspaper and popped the balloon. I then painted the newspaper structure in an orange. And again the trusty hairdryer can help speed this up. I had to do two coats until I could no longer see the newspaper.

Step Four – draw the face

Draw a large open mouth shape at the bottom broader end of the balloon shape. I also drew and coloured in two eye shapes and a triangle nose to create the face.

Step Five – cut out the mouth

Use a scalpal to cut out the mouth of the pumpkin. You might need some scissors to get the jagged edges looking crisper.

Step Six – Put some sweets or chocolate inside the pumpkin

Here’s the result of mine below:

I’ve filed up my pumpkin with Cadbury’s Goo Heads but any type of sweet or chocolate will fit. And it’s reusable and refillable.

Have you made anything for Halloween? Link me in the comments.

 

I’ve received a gorgeous piece of jewellery through the post recently which I’ve not stopped wearing since it arrived.

I want to introduce you to a beautiful collection from Sacet, who consciously source exclusive and ethical jewellery. This bracelet is from their new Vermeil collection complete with a shimmery diamond.

The bracelet is 18k rose gold on sterling silver sat on a fine chain. The highlight for me really is the ‘barely there’ diamond, which you can just about spot on the twisted hoop.

As I’m not a massive jewellery wearer, I really loved the dressed down style of this bracelet. The designer, Andrea, is known for creating intricate and unique designs. And her range for Sacet was essentially a challenge to come up with a capsule range that it sophisticated and for the “new millennial”. I’m not entirely sure what or who a “new millennial” is but the design is definitely sophisticated and unassuming – exactly the type of jewellery I like.

Aside from the product, every person involved in the process from the miners to the setters and the craftspeople themselves is paid fairly. Not only are Sacet dedicated to ethically sourcing their materials, but each piece is hand finished in a workshop by an artisan. This is something that I can appreciate after my visit to The Goldsmithy in Stony Stratford. Jewellery as a craft is much more complicated than stringing a few beads together.

Given the quality, the bracelet is also a reasonable price at just under £50. This is totally worth it for something so simple that I can accessorise with almost every outfit.

Last week I attended an MKBloggers workshop and talk at The Goldsmithy in the quaint market town of Stony Stratford. Tucked away from the main shopping street down a cobbled alleyway, you wouldn’t even know that this incredible place is there.

As soon as I stepped into the workshop, I was greeted by flames, tools and a warm welcome. With my background in fine art and sculpture, I felt at home and a little pang for my blissful years back in the Middlesex University workshop.

Before the day I was expecting to have created a simple piece of jewellery from beads, premolded charms and a chain but instead I came away with much more.

First of all I learnt what the REAL difference is between a jewellery making and goldsmiths – it’s a big difference by the way and something I had never really given a thought. Goldsmiths deal with the molding and shaping of materials and have the skills to create some truly bespoke and long wearing items. Goldsmithing is a lot more physical and requires a great deal of training to become a master. And this is something the Goldsmithy team has in bucket loads.

They’re a family run business by father-son duo Glen and Paul Chapman. Glen’s experience was honed from his earlier years training at Cartier and he is now passing the skills down the family line to his son, Paul, who is three years into his 5 year apprenticeship, but already exudes talent and is clearly passionate about what they do.

After an introduction from Glen about the history of the business, we got to work on the jewellery.

We watched Paul melt down metal, shape the metal into a band and we were even lucky enough to help him grind, buff and polish the ring all within a mater of hours. To say he made it look easy would probably do his skills a disservice, but being able to make a stunning piece of jewellery in a morning was truly impressive to me.

The workshop has all of the right tools to help you create jewellery. We helped Paul to shape the metal using some form of “bending machine” (I can’t remember the correct term) which took a lot of muscle power.

Once you have the basic shape of the ring, it needs to be finished to a high standard for a client.

 

I had a go at adding a hammered style to one of the rings as well as grinding down the sides to improve the smoothness.

Once the lines and grooves had been hand smoothed and filed, we were then shown how the ring is polished in the machine to give a shiny finish.

This type of service is actually offered as a workshop for people to come in and make their own jewellery. Couples can come in and create their own bespoke wedding rings as well for a personal touch. This isn’t something I’d considered but I will be now!

And during all of our (Paul’s) hard work, we were treated to a delicious brunch from Cameron’s Kitchen, also in Stony Stratford, The quiche and sweet potato gratins topped with avocado and feta were my favourite.

And to top the day off, we also went home with some goodies from Peel Juice Bar, Hello Stationary, Pasha Turkish Bar & Grill, Beauty Box by Alyson, Revolucion De Cuba, Cameron’s Kitchen, Giraffe World Kitchen, Beeswax Wraps, Popaball, Rocky Road Treats and Maaya – thanks very much guys!

This was definitely one of the better ways I’ve spent a Saturday morning. Special thanks to Sophie at Sophie’s Suitcase and Brand Mission for organising the event. And of course, Paul and Glen for imparting their knowledge.

Kitchen renovations are a great way to update your home, but a lot of the material used goes to waste when it could be repurposed into something else. Wooden worktops, in particular, have many great uses due to their sturdiness and width, and you can easily find ways to turn them into something else in your home. Alternatively, buying a wooden worktop is a great way to save money on many household furniture items using clever hacks to turn them into stylish pieces. Here are three clever uses for a wooden worktop you can embrace for your home.

A desk/dressing table

Using a wooden worktop is an easy way to set yourself up with an affordable and stylish desk that is made from high-quality work and lacks the expensive price tag an actual desk would come with if bought from a furniture store. If you’re working with an existing worktop you may need to cut it to size, or alternatively you can order a new worktop in the finish of your choice from suppliers such as George Hill Timber who will deliver your worktop in your preferred size.  Your worktop may already have your desired finish, or you can sand and varnish until you get the look you’re happy with. Adding legs to your new desktop is easy and can be picked up easily from a various hardware stores. Whether you choose metal or wooden legs, make sure they are attached securely. É voila! You’ve got your own stylish and sturdy desk at a fraction of the price of a designer item.

A coffee table

Wooden coffee tables create a warm and cosy atmosphere in your home that makes them a popular furniture item to buy. Good quality wooden coffee tables however come with a hefty price tag. There is a lot of great inspiration for DIY wooden coffee tables online that you can recreate easily using your wooden worktop. As worktops tend to be long and narrow, you may need to cut yours in half and attach the two sides. Add the finishing touches that suit your tastes such as glass panels or coloured accents to create a truly unique piece that will outshine any shop-bought coffee table.

Shelves

Having shelves around the home gives you the opportunity to make the most of your available storage and get creative with styling them yourself. Trimming your kitchen counters to make multiple shelves can save you money and give you some more flexibility than if you were to buy shelves from a store. Sand them, paint them – do whatever you want to them to give them a fresh new look and attach them with brackets or invisible brackets for a taste of clean living.

Turning old or unwanted wooden worktops into something new is a great way to use less waste around your home. There are other things you can do with waste that are good for the environment and will save you money, making you and your home feel good. Get creative with your wooden worktop and see what new treasures you can build for your home.

If you have some rather bland looking storage, I’ve put together a real simple D.I.Y Ikea hack.

I’ve used the Ikea Mopp drawers as it’s easy to put your own stamp on them. Plus, they’re made from real wood so are of a better quality.

In order to complete the luxe makeover you’ll need:

• Rust-Olem Furniture Finishing Wax Dark
• Ikea MOPP  set of drawers
• An old rag
• Paintbrush
• masking tape
• White paint
• two different coloured paints of your choice – I’ve used copper and a mint green colour

Here’s what the drawers looked like originally:

Not bad – but it’s crying out for a chic overhaul.

I’ve used some Rust Oleum varnish to stain the wood a darker colour. Although dark wood has lost favour in recent times due to the more minimal “white” trend. I actually quite like adding in pieces of darker wood here and there as part of my interior style. Here’s how you can achieve the look:

Step One: Apply the Rust-Oleum Varnish

I’ve used an old rag to apply the Rust-Oleum Finishing Furniture Wax Dark in small circular motions. This should ensure optimum coverage without any smearing or signs of application. Make sure you leave this to dry overnight.

Step Two: Masking Tape Stripes

You’ll need to apply masking tape to ensure the lines are straight. Then I painted a white undercoat to make the colours more vivid.

You’ll need to do this twice or just the once if you only want to apply one coloured stripe. Of course you don’t need to add the stripes to the bottom draws, you could do them across the top or middle. It’s up to you.

Step Three: Apply the Colours

Use a smaller brushh to apply your colours over the dried white emulsion. I chose mint green and copper colours as this combination are my favourite right now.

For the second copper colour I found that I had to do two coats so bear this in mind.

Step Four: Peel off the Masking Tape

Carefully peel off the masking tape and see if there are any areas you need to touch up or have bled under the tape edge. You can always go over bleeds using a smaller brush and the varnish.

And here’s the finished article.

  

In all, this took half an hour (obviously without the over night drying time) but this is such a simple way to give your storage a stylish new look.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.