half term tricks

last weeks half term was a busy one with trips to visit family, ten pin bowling and cinema outings, sleep overs and dodging all the rain but I did find a little bit of time for myself :)

like...making thank you origami thingys for lovely friends :)

and finally finishing this blanket...it's a big one, the edges are finished in neon yellow :)

 

and framing some cards :) 

sewing up some new pillows for the shop

 

and finishing up some new patchwork...these are for friends but I am getting on with some which will be for sale very soon :) 

hope you are having a good week x x

Polaroid how to...

here's one of my favourite vintage things...a Polaroid camera, I'm lucky to have two and I wouldn't part with them for anything but I found myself on this dark dreary Sunday afternoon...with some empty boxes and some paint and here's what happened...

if you want to have a go...here's how

you will need..2 x small boxes, one of them needs to be flat like a tablet box
also some masking tape, strong glue, paint, stickers, scissors, a milk bottle top, a mini cotton reel and if you have one a dymo label maker (if not you could just write the label)

 start by opening up the flat box and attaching to the larger box with the masking tape to make a shape like this...

cover the whole thing in masking tape- this holds it together and gives a base for the paint...

 

paint it white and then when dry, paint the black parts on the front, sides and top...then paint the rainbow stripes down the centre front (I painted these and don't mind the wobbly lines but if you prefer neat then maybe you could use marker pens)

 

for the lens and buttons I painted the milk bottle cap and a mini cotton reel black, the green circle is a sticker and the viewer is a square of pixelated origami paper...I used the dymo for the labels. Glue them all on.

you can make your own polaroids too :)

 

 

I think it would be pretty easy to make this with kids...they may need a bit of help with the painting but they could make them in all kinds of shapes and colours and you could whip up a collection of vintage cameras in no time...

I'd love to see if you have a go :)
back to school for us tomorrow so I will be back soon to share what I got up to in the holidays x x

what have I been up to??

some blobs of colour :)

good question!!!

mr and mrs see how to make them here

handmade quilts and blankets

holding it in place with a pop of colour

lego figure storage is a necessity in an 11 year olds room

habitat tommy light is perfect for those late night drawing sessions

handy book shelves :)

love how he loves globes too :)

and love how he still loves this light

playing with hearts

new favourite colours in a new patchwork

 ...the start of this year has seen me flinging lots of paint around, moving lots of furniture and spending a lot of time in B & Q scratching my head...
so rather than another month go by with no blog posts, I thought I would share the stuff I have been getting up to...the boys rooms are now all shiny white and (still) tidy... our #2's room had a mini makeover in the summer when I did this  but I still had to paint the walls and move things around. I made him a new quilt and also bought a large piece of wool fabric and blanket stitched the edges in a blue wool, his bed is so toasty warm now. The larger printers tray was swapped for a smaller one and although I prefer them left unpainted, this one was in bit of a state so it ended up white with a few origami papers on it to hide the really bad bits. 
It feels good to get the house back in some sort of order after the chaos of decorating and to tick off some jobs...there is still more painting to do but that can wait til the Spring. I'm ready to get back in that shed and start making again :)
I have a big pile of lovely fabrics ready to be turned into new patchworks and cushions...I have some new prints ready to be drawn up and sent off to the printers and some new ideas waiting to come to life... 
back soon x x