Archive | January, 2012

Inspiration: Five ways with doilies

11 Jan

I’ve noticed doilies are having a bit of a ‘moment’ right now – they seem to be constantly popping up on blogs and Pinterest boards!

The intricacies of the lace patterns can be so beautiful, and they look great when you group a whole bunch of different-sized ones together. So I’ve gathered a few of my favourite projects from Pinterest and elsewhere – take a look, and add any favourites of your own in the comments!

 

This table runner is absolutely gorgeous – the variety in shapes, sizes and patterns works really well. I’d love to see it underneath some big vases of flowers and chintzy china, My Sarah has a doily table runner tutorial over on her blog if you fancy giving it a go!

 

I found this one over on the wonderful Seeds and Stitches blog – a doily garland! Love the contrast with the wall art behind it too.

 

A variation on the doily garland – would look sweet in a kitchen.

 

Pretty, and so so easy – starch a doily and wrap it round a bowl. then fill with nibbles when you have guests! I wouldn’t use it on top of the doily table runner though – that would be slight overkill!

 

 

I’ve seen this beauty doing the rounds a bit recently – I have a friend who made this and she struggled a bit to keep all the doilies smooth and uncrumpled, so be careful when trying it out at home.

An easy homemade gift idea, plus some interiors inspiration

6 Jan

I know Christmas was blimmin’ ages ago (well, it certainly feels like it, sat at my desk) but I thought I’d share this mega-easy gift I made for a few of my nearest and dearest. It would make a great, cheap birthday pressie as well, if you’ve got any coming up. Sorry for the bad quality photos, by the way – I only had my phone with me!

I put my new embroidery skills to good use and made some personalised drawstring bags, which I filled with fudge and sweets. I deliberately didn’t make them Christmas-themed, and went for bright clashing colours instead, because how annoying is it when someone gives you a Christmas-themed gift? Great, I can’t use it for a whole 11 months!

If you’re not very confident with your sewing skills then don’t worry because drawstring bags are pretty much the easiest thing you could possibly make. These beauties took me under an hour each, including the embroidery. There’s a good selection of tutorials here.

I also spotted some interesting interiors ideas while on my yuletide travels. This first one was found in a cafe in Crouch End, London – a wall decorated in old sheets of music paper. It would look lovely on one section of a room, with the rest of the walls plain – a nice little twist on the current wallpaper trend.

I have quite a selection of vintage crockery at home and sometimes it’s difficult to come up with new, interesting ways to display and make the most of it. My boyfriend’s mum has done this with hers – plant them with bulbs, ready for the spring. I really wanted to take one home with me but wasn’t sure if it would survive the Norwich-Bristol train!

What’s been inspiring you recently?

Happy new year! Some resolutions for 2012

4 Jan

Happy new year everyone! How was your festive period? Mine was filled with roast dinners, smoked salmon, cheese boards, prosecco, mulled cider, country walks, cosy pubs, friends, family and lots of celebrating.

So now it’s all over, and everyone’s finally recovered from New Year’s Eve excesses (I admit, it did take me a few days), it seems everyone in blogland is listing their resolutions for 2012.

Now, I used to be really anti new year resolutions – probably because I never managed to keep them, so just gave up making them. I also don’t like all the resolution-related magazine headlines telling you you’re a MASSIVE FATTY and need to ‘Lose those extra xmas pounds!’ or ‘Tone up that belly!’ By all means be healthier and fitter, but don’t let it turn into a massive exercise in self-loathing.

But this year I’m actually going to give it a go. I’m going to see the new year as an opportunity to kick into place some changes that I wanted to make in my life anyway. So, ladies and gentlemen, my aim for 2012 is (drum roll please)…

To nurture my creativity and expand my intake of culture

Ok, I know that sounds kind of general, not very specific and possibly a bit wanky. But to help me along my way I’ve broken it down into several easier, more bite-sized tasks, which should all help me achieve the overall goal.

  • Read more. Starting with reading a book on the train, rather than dossing around on Twitter on my phone.
  • Improve my photography skills. The boyfriend’s shiny new DSLR should hopefully help with this.
  • Start doing more creative writing. Join a creative writing group, and perhaps even organise that spoken word night that I’ve been thinking about starting for ages.
  • Soak up one piece of culture a week, whether it’s a theatre visit, a trip to a gallery, a spoken word night or simply ordering an arty film to watch on LoveFilm.
  • Improve my dressmaking skills – it would be great to be able to make my fantasy 1950′s fitted-waist-puffy-out-skirt dress by Christmas.
  • Watch less TV. Hopefully once this one is cracked, all of the above should become just that little bit easier.

It sounds like a lot, but when you consider I’ve got an entire year to fit all this into, rather than trying to cram it all into January, it seems a little more achievable, don’t you think? What are your new year resolutions?

‘Do what you love’ poster by Andy J Miller, part of the Advice To Sink In Slowly project

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