Ruffles! I got me some ruffles!

Hey all,

Ruffles, ruffles and more ruffles! Just saying the word makes me smile!

They are everywhere at the moment and I finally got bitten by the ruffle bug! I’m so pleased I did, because now I want ruffles everywhere, and I’m going to gradually reclaim at least some of my house from the boys!

I wanted to start off with something relatively small, and stumbled upon a lovely ruffled laundry bag at Layla Grayce, I know mine is no where near as cute looking, but for a gal who’s never ruffled before I think I did pretty well.

I used a bog standard cotton tote, with the kids going mad I couldn’t get many photos, but I can talk you through it.

1.        I removed the handles

2.       Unpicked the side seams

3.       I chose 4 fabrics for my ruffles, and cut these into strips long enough for the ruffles

4.      Made the ruffles

5.      I stitched the ruffles to the front of the bag

6.      Stitched 2 loops of organza ribbon on to the back to hang it up

7.       Stitched the sides back together to make the bag shape again

8.      I then cut 2 slits in the front of  the bag, hidden under the second ruffle, threaded a piece of ribbon through each and stitched the end to the back of the bag,

9.      Tie the ribbon into a bow to keep the laundry bag closed

So, now I have a super cute laundry bag, and want to ruffle up something else, anyone else loving the ruffle effect?

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Waffles, I need some help!

Hi all,

Oh my, what a crazy few days!

We’ve had my mum and niece, Maddie, to stay this week; two crazy hyper 23 month old boys and a crazy hyper 10 year old girl….. needless to say my house looks a tip and my ears are still ringing from al the noise, but the best thing is Maddie totally knackered the boys out and they are sleeping like babies, yay for nieces!

But onto the incredibly important matter I need your help with. My wonderful mum brought me a waffle maker! I’m so excited, because I love all things waffle, from bed sheets to edible ones and everything in between, but I don’t have any recipes!!!

 Please help a girl out if you can and let me know of any fab recipes for waffles, I’ve done searches on Google but am always a bit sketchy about them!

Hi,

Today I’m joining in with Hoooo Are You? Hosted by Leslie at Night Owl Crafting, what a fab idea to get to know other bloggers!

Here are the questions for the week;

Where do you usually have your thermostat set at in the winter?

Kinda low, my medication at the moment has me having hot flushes all the time, this winter it was so bad I was outside in a skirt, vest and flip flops! It’s easier for the boys to wrap up warm than for me to cool down sometimes!

2. What room do you tend to put off cleaning until last?

There’s two; the down stairs loo, it’s for the boys and I just refuse to clean ‘their room’ (big boys I should add), and the little boys play room, it’s a war I shall never win!

3. Do you like to clean with music on or off?

On please! Any chance to dance and sing, especially when the Hoover can drown out my singing!!

4. When do you take time to blog?

When the boys, life and broadband allow, I don’t have a schedule or anything.

5. How much time do you spend looking at other blogs a week?

I have no idea, it probably looks like a lot more if someone was checking, I often go to a  blog to read / see something then get up to do something around the house but leave the blog page open, which can make it seem as though I just stay on one post for ages! Sorry if this mess’s up anyone’s analytics

4 seasons in one day

Hi all,

The weather this week is really getting to me; it feels like winter is coming back! I know it’s not as bad as some of you have it, hope you get warmer weather soon!

But it has inspired me to make an effort in some weather themed decor for the home; you know those days when it feels like your getting 4 seasons in one day? Well that’s how today felt, so it’s only right that I did something to reflect the 4 seasons!

I apologise now for the photos!

I used two techniques to stamp tree images on to a 12 x 12 piece of scrap booking paper, spring and autumn were done using embossing powder and a heat gun, to get the autumn colour tree I mixed orange and brown powder together.

Summer and winter were stamped with regular coloured ink pads.

I used colours that to me represent the seasons;

·        Spring – yellow

·        Summer – pink

·        Autumn – orangey brown

·        Winter – silver

This cost nothing and took hardly any time at all to complete, but adds a personal touch to the home décor.

Has the funky weather inspired anyone else to make something for the home?

A week of two halves

Hi all,

 First off, woohoo and oh my goshness, I have over 100 followers! Seriously, who’d have thunk it? Not me, I’m so chuffed that anyone, let alone over 100 amazingly talented, sweet bloggy peeps would be interested in anything I have to say! So a huge thanks you to every one of you, you really have made my day!

Secondly, I’m having a week from hell so I may just be rambling nonsense, I shall give you just a smidge of the poopiness that is my week:

·        I lost my job

·        Washing machine knackered

·        Oven is also knackered

·        I got paint all over kitchen floor

·        Our telephone wires are messed up and need replacing

·        The gas man said our boiler was not safe to use, and slapped a warning sticker on it!!

·        Glued my leg to the newspaper

·        Then glued myself to the sofa

·        Ethan got a yellow pen and coloured in his face, a sofa, curtain, widow blinds and a wall

·        Two projects I’ve been working on are funked up

·        Our toaster caught fire

·        All 3 tires on the boy’s buggy have blown!!

So that’s my week so far in a nutshell, hopefully from here things can only get better, can’t they??!

Anyone else having an iffy week?

At least I still have my darling boys to cheer me up!

Newbies!

Hi all,

Debbie is having another newbie party over at her fab blog, there’s a few rules for joining, which are explained clearly on her blog, go check it out and introduce yourself to some new friends.

Have a great day!



Personalised, twine wrapped picture frame

Who hasn’t got these picture frames from Ikea??

That’s what I thought; I’m sure everybody who enters through those revolving doors has picked up at least one packet with the intention of ‘making them their own’.

I’m going through a twine phase at the moment, anything that stays still long enough is likely to be wrapped in the stuff, including these frames.

I should say I did this differently the first time but the corners didn’t work out right, so I unwrapped it all and started again. (make sure you remove the inserts before starting)

 I found it easier to wrap the short ends first; dab a spot of hot glue on the back and wrap the twine round, using more hot glue as needed.

Once one end is done, cut the twine and wrap the other end.

Then you can wrap the two longer ends in twine, it ends up looking something like this

I’ve been trying to use up some of my craft stash, and I thought these would make the perfect addition to the frame.

Spelling out ‘Ahren’ I looped some bakers twine round each letter and using even more hot glue attached the letters to the frame.

It’s at this point I realise I have lost the inserts for the frame, can’t find the picture I  wanted to use and start flapping around like a headless chicken!

Calm was restored by locating all the above and putting it together, and having this little beauty to put on your mantle,

I know it’s not a well taken photo, but I just love his eyes in it, it really shows of the amazing blueness of them!

Ballard Inspired

Morning all,

I finally took a peek at the online catalogues for Ballard Designs and Pottery Barn; there are so many amazing projects inspired by these stores are all over blog land I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about!

Oh my goshness!

Ahmazing doesn’t even describe what it’s like for a first timer! Do you remember your first time seeing the catalogues? I could squeal with delight at all the possibilities.

I was inspired by Ballard to knock together these little storage pots.

They started off as Christmas themed pots, but using my craft knife I was able to remove the decorations (saving these for Christmas).

Next I got a ball of jute and my glue gun and began sticking the jute around the pot, I found it easiest to start at a corner on the bottom of the pot and kept winding the jute round until it was covered.

I wanted to stencil one for each of my boys, so I printed off their initials, got Spencer to cut them out for me, and attached them to the jute with sticky tabs.

Using black acrylic paint I dabbed a paint brush on the jute until the stencil was filled.

After the paint was dry I removed the stencil, they were looking good but not quite there.

Raiding my sewing baskets I found white and blue ric rac, which I attached round the top and bottom of each pot with my glue gun.

Now I have my very own Ballard inspired pots!

Anyone else attempting their first store inspired project?