Crafts for the grown-ups

I'm hoping that eventually I'll get some time to do some more crafting... I pin all these lovely ideas, but I rarely get time to make anything!

I did make some gold spotty Sharpie mugs at Christmas time last year, but they didn't really work out as well as I had hoped. I guess that's the problem with Pinterest... for each beautiful handmade item, there's probably a 'Pinterest fail' to go along with it!

Here are some of the things on Pinterest that have caught my eye...

Handmade Coasters

Glittery Wooden Spoon

Paper Star

Spray painted ceramics

DIY Stencil Cushion

Crafting - Washi Tape Inspiration

I am absolutely loving Washi tape. The first tape that I bought wasn't very adhesive, but I've had better success with the mt brand. There is such a huge selection available and I'm struggling not to buy all of them!! I've been using my tape to display my Violet + Percy word garlands, decorate my FiloFax and make envelopes pretty. It did get me thinking though... what else could the tape be used for? So of course I took to Pinterest to find out!

{Mini Bunting}

How cute are these mini bunting! These would be ideal for party invites or even to decorate a wee dolls house.

{House}

I just love everything about this photograph. The colours, the Washi tape, the star...

{Patterned Wall}

I love the polka dot stickers that you can get, but this is just another way of easily decorating a wall.

{Dipped Legs}

This is a great way to inject some colour and try a new trend without having to fully commit.

{Frame Accent}

Such a good idea to add a pop of colour, and then when your scheme changes you can very easily change the tape!

{Hanging Trees} 

I thought this would make good decorations for any holiday... for example hanging little hearts for Valentine's Day or Easter bunnies

Are you a fan of Washi tape, and what do you use it for?

{Let There be Light}

It's now nearly a year that I've been in my new house and slowly but surely I've been working my way through the DIY and purchasing wee bits here and there, like my new sofa and my desk. The playroom/dining room lights had stopped working, and after weeks with no lights and with the days getting darker - the room really needed a new ceiling and wall light! I've been a customer of LiteCraft at Kinning Park for years. I bought a few chandeliers for my old house from the store, which must have been 6 or 7 years ago now. I also introduced my sister to LiteCraft and she has purchased a heap of lights for her house in Aberdeen; and my dad has also bought lights for his house. The whole family are fans!

So off I went with the littlest in tow to peruse their massive selection. If only I had the budget and the ceiling height for some of the amazing crystal chandeliers! They were gorgeous.

Anyway, I was amazed that Chris remembered us (although my son vomited all over the cafe floor when he was a baby, so perhaps that's why we were remembered!!) and he asked after my sister too - that's what you call good customer service.

Chris left us to it whilst we decided what sort of lights we fancied, and then he also gave me a few suggestions of his own too which was really helpful. There are so many lights in the store, at varying prices, so there were plenty to choose from even thought my budget was tight.

In the end I decided on these beauties and my sister who was visiting for the weekend helped me fit them:

The Gatsby 3 Light Ceiling Light Pendant

Philips Wall Light in Brushed Chrome

I may also have bought a light fitting for my own bedroom...This one was sold as seen - it has a small chip on one of the glass cups, but you can hardly see it and this was reflected in the price.

If you're looking for a new light fitting, then I definitely suggest you check them out.

P.S. This isn't a sponsored post, I have just been very impressed with LiteCraft, the customer service, their lights and their prices that I thought I'd share it here with you.

{35 at 35: use a power drill, check!}

I'm been making progress with my 35 at 35 list... I'm now feeling confident to score off 'Learn how to use a power drill properly and improve my DIY skills'.

I've been doing a lot of DIY in my new house, and my skills have improved dramatically (I think so at least!).

When I first moved in, I put up a hook but ended up with it being squint :-/ Just as well it's in a cupboard!

Since then I've put up mirrors, shelving, more hooks, a Roman blind, a hanging basket in the garden and even a curtain pole. I'm getting better and better.

The curtain pole I fitted (& I made the curtains too!!)

The Roman blind I made and fitted!

I've also put up a load of hooks in my out house/shed (whatever you want to call it!) and have managed to get the place a lot more organised!

Bit of a mess...

Getting better!

My dad gave me a lesson on drilling through ceramic when I was at the old house. I was putting some holes in the bottom of a ceramic pot so that it could be used in the garden for plants, but the same principle would apply for tiles.

You need to choose your drill bit wisely. I remember the first time I tried to drill into a solid brick wall with a standard drill bit, and struggled for ages to figure out what I was doing wrong because I was getting nowhere fast. I swapped my drill bit for a masonry drill bit (thank you B&Q) and in seconds I had managed to make a sizeable hole in the wall!! For tiles, you ideally need a diamond-tipped drill bit.

The most difficult part of drilling to ceramic is to break through the surface. The drill tends to move about the surface rather than bite into the tile and bore through. My dad taught me to put a cross over the tile in the spot to be drilled using masking tape. Once the bit is started, it's just a case of slowly drilling until you make it all the way through.

I've been really enjoying getting handy in my new place ;-)

{New House - Blackboard Wall}

So I have previously talked about my wish to create a blackboard wall in my kitchen, and I've finally gotten around to finishing it!

I'm really pleased with the end result. I was initially disappointed with it's lack of magnetism, but I've managed to get some round magnets from Sainsburys that seem to work. Thank you to Heather (H34TH3RM4C) over on Instagram for the tip!

This is the paint I used which I purchased at HomeBase

First coat done!

I ended up doing 4 coats in total, and I needed two tins of paint at £14.99 each

Mini artist at work!

This is me apparently!!

I invested in a liquid chalk pen and it's amazing!!! Has made a massive difference in comparison to basic chalk that the kids use.

Instructions for the grandparents for the kids dinner!

The magnets from Sainsburys

My liquid chalk pen that I got from eBay

{Home Inspiration - Blackboard Wall}

I'm seriously considering painting a wall in my kitchen with blackboard paint. Vicky - you are to blame for this!!

I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas, and it's really spurring me on to go ahead with it. Some of the walls are beautiful. I'm thinking I could also add some of my Instagram prints to the wall with washi tape.

Here are some of the photos I've pinned:

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{My Happy Place}

My bed is one of the happiest places in my home - I love it.

But aside from my bed, another happy place is my desk. This is where I blog!

In my old house I had a home office. In my new place I don't have a spare room but luckily I do have a landing at the top of the stairs which is big enough for a set of shelving and a small desk (both Ikea).

A while back I posted some ideas for making my space a bit prettier, and this Bank Holiday Weekend I finally had the time to paint my hallway and it spurred me on to get my desk a bit more organised and tidy! Let's hope I can keep it this way!

If you're wondering, the paint is Valspar Rocky Shelter (my sister used this colour in her spare room and I loved it!).

Painting well underway!

Ta da! My new prettier desk space.

{Homes & Interiors}

Homes & interiors is my thing. I'd quite happily forgo clothes & make-up to enable purchases of house-related goodies! Possibly quite tragic, but I'm sure there are others out there like me?

I get excited about paint colours, fabric patterns & soft furnishings. I can't wait to decorate my new house & transform each room. All the furniture from the old house was efficiently placed into the appropriate rooms by the removal men, but it's only now...6 months down the line... that I'm starting to rearrange the rooms & figure out what works best where. 

You'll have seen from earlier posts that the kitchen and bathroom have already had mini-makeovers, using up paint from the old house and a few purchases of mirrors, shelving & storage accessories.

The 'playroom' or dining room has also had some changes recently. I was given some B&Q vouchers from my sister for my birthday with which I bought some more paint. My dad's wife had suggested a better layout of the furniture which I eventually did (thanks Jo!) & it all works much better! 

Next on the list is the living room. My new Marks and Spencer sofa arrived (purchased in the sale & put onto a credit card!) and it's glorious to have something comfortable to sit on. Pure bliss! I've started painting the walls (navy, inspired by my sisters house) and just need to put on the second coat. A wood burning stove & a plush carpet are on my wish list for this room, but funds won't allow it just yet. But I can dream for now & write out my (never ending!) list...

These stoves are beautiful!

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Something I'll need sooner rather than later is a desk chair for my hallway landing office space - at the moment I don't have a chair & have to keep dragging a dining table chair upstairs - I'd love a Ghost chair in either clear or grey:

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I've also been lusting after a new bedside lamp - I'd love something with a bit more impact & have been craving these ones for a while!

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Carpet for my stairs & hallway are also on my list...the current carpet is blue, it's rather grubby and not to my taste at all. But I'm living with it obviously until I can afford something along the lines of these:

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Finally (well for this post anyway!), a bench for the garden... I'd love a bit more in the way of seating so we can have more space to entertain. The warmer weather must surely be on its way and there have been a few sunny days in Glasgow lately!? I'm envisaging garden parties & lots of BBQs :)

For my tree, although I just need a half circle bench! {image source}

I'm also hoping to convert a low concrete wall into a bench, like this one here.

Watch this space for how I get on!