Craft Book

The seasons are definitely turning, there's a chill in the air this morning that I've not really noticed yet. Autumn's been flying by this year, and there was definitely christmas music playing when I was in M&S on the weekend! Yikes! Mind you, I do love the festive season so once all the birthdays are been and gone in our house (November's a busy time!) I'm happy to look ahead to December and start thinking about christmas shopping.  I try to take time to think about what to buy for people - make a list and then go looking online & out and about for what I want to buy, rather than hot foot it to the shops in a buying frenzy. And, as always, I think I'd like to get crafty this year but it doesn't always happen. For my birthday I got this fab crafty DIY book so I'd love to be able to give some homemade presents this year, fingers crossed I manage it this year!

It's a lovely book by Ana Alicia, who runs her own jewellery & accessories business. I can't wait to give these projects a go, I particularly like the cork pin boards, which would also make good coasters if made with smaller cork mats. I'd definitely recommend this book for your christmas list! x

Caroline Z Hurley Textiles

I think I love printed textiles just as much as I love paper prints (I've always got my eye on a print I'd like for my home) and so I was delighted to discover these wonderful table runners and tea towels by Caroline Z Hurley last week.  Hand printed in her studio in Brooklyn, these simple geometric designs are block printed onto linen and have great little finishing touches like neon stitching - it's all in the detail right!? I think the red neon triangles runner would be a great alternative look for a christmas table!

Falling Confetti Tea Towels in Grey and Turquiose

I bought some black fabric paint recently in a bid to give block printing a go but I've yet to get stuck in. Now I've come across these I'm feeling newly inspired.  As much as I would like to purchase these for my home, sometimes my budget can't always stretch to meet my wishlist!

(Also on my wish list are these napkins from A Sunny Afternoon :) )

An Exciting Project!

I seem to be collecting projects at the moment... I don't know if I've been spurred on by the success of my recent Ikea stool makeover, or if it's that there seems to be absolutely nothing of interest on the TV this summer (is anyone watching that new Kirsty Allsopp programme Fill Your House For Free? I'm normally a fan of most shows like this, anything property related generally, but this programme actually makes me cringe... I seem to find myself tuning in to see if Kirsty can get any more patronising than she was the week before!). Either way, I'm finding myself up for new challenges and last night, thanks to Ebay, I have purchased myself a very exciting new project indeed. I've been looking for a wooden armchair in need of some TLC for a while, and often keep a check on Ebay to see what's around.  Most listings are usually overpriced or from too far away to make it worthwhile so it's taken a while to find what I'm looking for.  But yesterday I spotted this beauty starting at 99p and available from a village that's a 10 minute drive from here! Perfect... It might not look like much from the photos, but I can already visualise it reupholstered and looking great in our bedroom, with a cushion or two thrown in for good measure of course!

My first thought is Skinny LaMinx for fabric as I love her patterns so much... I had been considering her Orla design for curtains for our lounge, but seeing as it's been 5 months and we're still no closer to getting on with that, I might be tempted to go with this on the chair instead.  Or her Bowls design is fab too, it has a lovely Scandinavian look to it and would look great against the wooden arms once they've been given some attention. I'd definitely choose it in Graphite grey. 

Here are some images that have been inspiring me so far... 

Orla fabric in Graphite

Orla fabric in Solid, Lemon

More Skinny LaMinx fabrics...

Bowls fabric in Graphite, Persimmon, and Lemon Slice

Images via Skinny LaMinx

Stool Makeover

Summer is a great time to take on some projects around the house and we've certainly got our fair share of things to do! In particular we really need to finish off our kitchen, the main part is done but the utility and back door area are still littered with bits of wood and tools.  All in good time I guess! A little project that did seem quick and easily achievable though was making over our little Ikea stool we bought for the kids to use around the kitchen.  In bare wood it was too boring and getting easily marked with sticky fingers, so I decided it was a good opportunity to inject a bit of colour into our kitchen.  I love how it turned out, the bright yellow is so sunny and really pops out against the white units. It was hot work as, of course, I chose one of the hottest weekends of the year to get painting but I think it was worth it in the end! :)