Hand painted gingham gift wrapping

I'm constantly inspired by all the girls in my life - friends, mum, sisters and when I was working, desk buddies. So it was inevitable that the arrival of my new niece was going to spark an idea or two. Such a tiny kitten needed some special gift wrapping and as I haven't posted a gift wrapping DIY for a while I thought I'd share what I created for her. This wrapping works for girls of all ages and across most gifting scenarios - from birthdays to bridal showers. Baby stuff can get a little too cute for my liking so I kept it down to earth with this hand painted check and toughened it up with a contrasting black ribbon.  Here's how I did it...

Step 1. Using watered down acrylic paint, paint a rough check onto plain paper. I LOVE this drawing paper roll from Ikea (I've used it here and here). To get this coral colour I mixed vermillion and white from a really cheap box of acrylic paints but most art and craft shops sell specific colours. I mixed the colours on a plate and added a few drops of water to give it a painterly effect. It doesn't have to be perfect just roughly straight lines

Step 2. Whilst the paint is drying make the tag. I used a standard brown luggage tag and a selection of faux flowers and leaves. I've have my flowers for ages but if you're looking to buy I'd recommend Wilko, Ebay or try Pound Shops and random hardware shops - the more fake the better. I arranged them on opposite corners, keeping the top corner fuller than the bottom and fixed using a hot glue gun. I then wrote my nieces name on the tag using a paint brush pen (not sure thats the official term!).

Step 3. To finish, wrap the presents and layer (if you are wrapping more than one). Then using a thick ribbon tie a simple knot and cut off any extra length fixing the tag into the knot as you go. My original plan was to use a black and white gingham ribbon but it turns out I don't have any (!) so I used this gorgeous back and cream stripe (I think its from Jo Malone packaging). The main point is that you use something strong, like a stripe or gingham, to contrast against the prettiness of the paper and the tag. 

I'm so happy with how this turned out, I'd be delighted with anything wrapped up like this! Just incase you're wondering what I bought - I couldn't resist these trousers and this dress. Happy making! x 

The cut flower patch in bloom

One of my highlights for the year has to be my cut flower patch at my Mum and Dads allotment. I spent a lot of time last winter reading about how to set up a patch so when March arrived I hurriedly planted seeds and waited for them to grow. I have to admit that after planting I didn't return for a few months and relied on my mum to keep it watered for me. Much to my delight, in early June the plot had bloomed into a riot of colour from cornflowers, sweet peas and poppies. 

I have a two cut flower beds at home and despite only a mile between the two (home and allotment) different flowers have flourished. On the allotment, cornflowers and sweet peas have ruled, at home ammi, cosmos, poppies and stocks are looking magnificent. As a beginner I have a rule where I plant only what I can afford to loose so bought super cheap seed mixes from Aldi and Lidl. They have been brilliant, I used one pack of sweet peas which cost 45p(!!!) and have had so many flowers, I wish I could have got to the plot more often to pick more blooms. 

I still feel like I have so much to learn to get a continuous cycle of different flowers but I'm more than happy with my first year and am already planning what to plant ready for spring next year. If you're thinking of starting a patch then my beginners tip would be to ignore the seed packet and over plant, the more the merrier!

Decluttering

I know this might be a strange time of year to post but I've been on a quiet mission since last April to rid my home of clutter. With renovations *almost* done (I've sorted new old doors this week) I have a clearer picture of what I've needed to keep and what's needed to go. There's been no fancy or gimmicky method just a mix of boredom from tidying up the same things, common sense, and that classic William Morris quote - " Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Some rooms had to be sorted as builders were arriving, other rooms were used as dumping areas for bits that didn't have a home and other areas were just accumulations of stuff that you become blind to, today I thought I'd share some of the ways I've got things under control...

Set a deadline -  the rooms in the roof had become dumping grounds for anything that we didn't want to deal with when we moved in or be bothered to find a place for. Over two and a bit years a lot of stuff accumulated so we went in hard and cleared 90%, most went to the tip (mainly cardboard boxes and magazines), some to charity and the rest I sold at a bootsale. Having a deadline really got us moving and ever since I try and set myself deadlines to get a room complete. 

Tackle small area's at at time - with my time limited sometimes a full room sort out isn't possible so I'll focus on one area at a time - that could be a bookcase, drawer or most recently dressing table. I'll chuck anything that should have been binned, sometimes I'll move items to a new area and anything that I don't love anymore I take to the charity shop. Doing a small amount on a regular basis makes a massive impact. 

Bootsale Box - after the initial clear out I kept a bootsale box for anything that I didn't need or love anymore. Having one place where I could keep everything I wanted to sell rather than having piles in every room made not only organising a bootsale much less time consuming but cleared the "not sure piles' from each room. Last year I made over £100 and this year around £40 which I put towards items for the house that I loved and really wanted - this made me feel much less guilty about selling presents etc. 

Do I love it, Do I need it? - my life has changed dramatically since we started our renovations and some items that were once useful are no longer so. Where I can I have reused, repurposed and recycled but where that doesn't work I have sold or given away. I always ask "do I love it, do I need it" if not then it's time to go. 

Baskets - since dealing with all the main areas of clutter I've been trying to keep it at bay. For this I use baskets, I have them everywhere. For affordable baskets I have some of these from Homebase, they are ideal for toys and also having near a staircase where I chuck anything downstairs that needs to go upstairs (and vice versa) its saves endless trips up and down stairs as I take everything in one go. I love these baskets from Olli Ella, I have a few on top of my wardrobe where I keep out of season bits, I like having a few the same so it looks orderly. I also have Moroccan baskets which remind me of holidays where I keep project piles and also nappies (not in the same basket), I just discovered this great website that makes me want to buy even more!! 

My house is by no means tidy or minimalist but having a good sort out has definitely cut down tidying up time and making me feel a little more prepared for the arrival for baby number two! 

Have a great weekend. xx 

DIY - Colourful tassel earrings

I always take way more photos than I need for each post, especially when I'm being commissioned. This out take was for my latest colourful tassel earring tutorial for Lisa Comfort, I just love how dreamy the colours are. For the full tutorial and in focus photos, you can find the full post here - it's a good one. Happy making. x 

Inspired,July

If there's a colour palette to sum up how I create, live and even dress its this one. These beauties were picked from my garden and just make me so happy and so inspired. In a jar they sit proudly on the shelf beside my bed, the gorgeous colours definitely influenced a project I was working on last weekend and I even started to wear these colours too. Have a fantastic month, I hope these images give you as much joy as they do me (I've put links to the tutorials and flowers at the bottom of the post). xx 

DIY Salvage Shelf Tutorial 

Mauve Poppy 

Yellow Rose 

Lavatera (Mallow Tree) 

Under the shade of a tree - summer table setting

Typically just as I get myself together to write a summer table setting post the sun disappears! Never mind, my garden is scorched and grateful for the rain. A few weekends ago we hosted a Fathers Day\Birthday barbecue. Never one to miss an opportunity, I put this simple summer table together. We moved our dining table outside (it's splits in two so isn't too heavy) and then added one of my favourite stripe tablecloths, jars of garden flowers and a few worn serving spoons. Once plates, dishes and people get added the table fills up quickly and provides a perfect backdrop for a relaxed summer lunch.

Soft, feminine and natural is definitely my style, I love finding worn treasures in charity shops and on my travels. Nothing here is new and I love it even more for having a story. When treasure hunting there are always things I look out for, like pink tablecloths or vintage cutlery, when I see anything in this category I immediately snap it up. The only downside is you have to be patient so I've had a look online and found some alternatives, using sheets or fabric is a cheaper alternative to buying a tablecloth and I've found a few great pieces here, here and here.

Filling mismatched vases with flowers is fairly classic now - my jar collection is getting out of hand but I like to have options! One of my favourite vases is this one from Rose and Grey it's perfect for keeping flowers arranged but still natural, I use it all the time especially if I'm giving a bunch to my mum as it helps the flowers travel and I know I'll get it back. They have a great selection of bud vases so perhaps buy a few if you're just starting a collection. If you need some flower arranging inspiration I've been reading Flourish by Willow Crossley and Flowers Everyday by Florence Kennedy before bed, both have only encouraged me to add more flowers to any celebration.

I can't believe at the beginning of the year this part of the garden was almost unusable now it's a perfect spot for summer entertaining.

DIY - extremely easy bunting

I had to share this extremely easy bunting I made a few weekends ago. I've been updating my garden this year and whilst I wait for the plants to grow I wanted to add a splash of colour to a shady corner. I realise bunting is nothing new but sometimes (especially in summer) it's just what you need to make a space feel a little more fancy. We hosted a Fathers Day/Birthday barbecue at the weekend and it was the perfect accessory for a simple summer table. 

I used fabric from old swatch books but any thick upholstery fabric would work just as well. 

Step 1. Cut triangles of fabric 15cm wide at the top and 17cm long - use pinking shears so there is no need to hem. 

Step 2. Take a long piece of ribbon (I've been challenging myself to use up what I have, so used a roll of grosgrain I had in my stash) and then stitch onto the ribbon with a wide zig zag stitch on the sewing machine. I spaced these approximately 10cm apart. 

As a little extra detail I used a contrasting thread, but you don't have too. 

Once all the pieces were cut out I couldn't believe how quick it was to run this up, I always presumed that bunting takes ages to put together. If you want to see how it looks in my garden pop over to my garden instagram account @Lottsinthegarden. Happy making and happy weekend. xx