How To Decoupage A London Themed Chair

A recent Vine post of mine showing how I decorated a chair has been getting a lot of love (and 150,000 views) so here's a more detailed description of how I did it. Decoupage is essentially one of the easiest craft techniques there is. A wee bit time consuming, but the results are always epic, especially when you go for large-scale projects like furniture.

You will need:

A piece or furniture (I used a red chair that I bought in a charity shop for £4)

Wrapping paper of your choice with motifs of (this one is City Pop-Outs London, designed by Matt Ponting from Doodling Around (around 4 sheets)
Can of spray mount and newspaper
Pot of Modge Podge (available from craft shops) or clear varnish
Brush, scissors, plastic gloves

Get going!

Cut out the motifs, in this case London buildings and landmarks. For the best result don't leave space around them, cut out each piece, up to the edges of each line. This is this time consuming part, I did the cutting out while watching several movies. 

Once done, marvel at the pretty pieces.

Lay out the newspaper and place the cut out pieces facing downwards. Spray the back with spray mount (glue in a can) then smooth each on to the piece of furniture.

The trick to decoupage is not being too perfectionist, don't make too many plans, just stick each piece down at different angles, as haphazardly as you like. 

Be prepared for lots of overlapping, your fave motifs may get covered up but fear not, you can always stick another one on top. It's important to ensure every end is glued down. 

Once you're happy with the design (you can go for full coverage but I left some gaps of red, as I liked the colour of the chair) either paint over the whole chair with clear varnish or a couple of layers of Modge Podge, depending on what you can get hold of. 

And Viola! 

The finished chair was displayed on Doodling Around's stand at PULSE a gift trade fair last month. It also got lots of attention, but alas it wasn't for sale. 

It's the ultimate London chair!

I did however help out on the stand, giving away some free sheets and encouraged people to have a go at DIYing it themselves.

I love decoupaged furniture. It's a way to quickly transform things, either with just a few pieces, for some detail, or try going to town with full coverage. You can buy special 'decoupage paper' but from experience any paper goes - wrapping paper, comic books, magazines all work perfectly, just avoid anything too thick.

Happy cutting & sticking!

Learning how to make a rag rug with The Amazings

Being a craftaholic I've had the pleasures and pain of trying and testing out many crafts over the years, but one I've been eager to master for a while is the art of rag-rug making. It's the ultimate textile recycling craft, is affordable, as creative as you want to make it, and doesn't require owning unwieldy equipment like a sewing machine.

Over the summer I was given the opportunity to learn this  skill under the guidance of Jenni Stuart-Anderson a master rugger based in Herefordshire with over 25 years experience in the craft. I travelled down to her quaint cottage with a film crew from The Amazings to film an instructional video about how to make a rag-rug, which you can  watch online now....but more on that later!

Some of Jenni's beautiful designs

The Amazings? 

Their passion is enabling elders to share their skills i.e all those incredible retired people who know lots of incredible things; making sure they are not forgotten about, giving them a platform in which to showcase what they do, and know. 

The method has changed over the last couple of years (read up on the story here), but in their current incarnation they film on-line tutorials led by these talented over 50s which anyone around the world can watch and learn from, for a small fee, some of which goes directly to that awesome elder who stars in it. 

I was invited to collaborate withe The Amazings to help make one of these tutorials. It started with meeting rag rugger extraordinaire Jenni in London at The Amazings offices to get to know a bit about each other. Two weeks later I headed over to Jenni's home to film the class, and of course learn how to make a rag-rug.

It was a glorious sunny couple of days so we filmed in her garden. 

The motif I chose to make was based on the eye of a peacock feather and all the fabrics I used to make it were from my exisiting fabric scrap. I also used ribbons and yarn.

Rugs can be made from any materials apart from towels as these fray - but cottons, fleece, jumpers, bedsheets are all ideal.

Jenni showed me two techniques which require different tools, progging where you use fabric cut into equal size strips and hooking where you loop a continous strip of fabric into the hessian backing.

Our online masterclass Make A Colourful & Cosy Rag Rug is available to buy to watch now. It costs £20 and lasts 73 minutes. It's split into 11 bite-size chapters to make learning the craft easier. Once you've paid up you're enrolled forever - so you have a resource you can keep going back to and watch at your leisure. Take it from me, rag rugging is an incredible craft but even I have forgotten the technique a couple of times, so watching the video back has been very useful now I'm making another rug as a housewarming gift.

Jenni with her rugs at the Knitting & Stitch Show earlier this month

Just think about where else £20 could go, it's far cheaper than any class you could physically go to and what's more, this is a craft that has very little expenses. You can buy the tools direct from Jenni (or other craft stockists) and then all you need is some hessian (a tote shopper or coffee sack is good), old clothes/fabrics and a pair of scissors.  

My finished peacock rug

And if rag-rugging doesn't appeal there are loads more online tutorials you can buy instead like machine embroidery, needle-felting and quilting. 

ALL classes (including mine) have a free trailer you can view before buying so check them out too!)

Happy rugging xx

David Bowie Ziggi Stardust Earrings

What with all the love going around for David Bowie today, new song, new album...oh and his birthday, I had to draw your attention to the fact there are instructions for how to make your own Ziggi Stardust earrings in my book. 

You can just about see the glittery lightening bolt across his face! Amazing eh?

The project is designed by Ruth Crean who runs a fantastic website and company called Nice Day Designs, which is where I first came across her work.

I know what you're thinking, but how can you own this fine pair of jewels?

Well you're going to have to buy '101Things To Do With Glitter' turn to page 60 and follow the instructions! Enjoy xxx

Tutorial: Bling Craft - Mirror makeover

I've so far blinged up my MAC computer screen, digital camera, mobile phone, iron and sewing machine...and on Wednesday night it was the turn of my make-up mirror. I recently realised that my beauty regime is being let down simply because my mirror is soooo boring:

Here's the evidence - a plain metal/bronze colour. It's one of those mirrors where you look normal on one side, then can flip it over to get a close up so you can apply details.

This kind of blingtastic makeover can happen to anything you own at home - a vase, tissue box, drawer, door knob, mug rack...whatever you think could do with some sparkle.

You will need:

• Acrylic gemstones (cheap, plastic coloured stones in assorted shades)....if you can afford it you could use Swarovski crystals for an exquisite million dollar looking design but I'm guessing 99% of my readers won't have that kind of money and you certainly need quite a few for complete coverage
• Glue gun & glue sticks
• Soft cloth

First of all use the cloth to wipe all over the item you want to pimp.

Don't worry about planning the design, just concentrate on positioning the largest stones first. Apply hot glue to the surface then place the gem on top. It will hold immediately, you won't be able to lift it off. Once all the big stones are in place, fill in every gap with smaller stones, then any remaining gaps with tiny ones, so every gap shimmers.

The main thing to remember is that glue guns dry quickly so you can't expect to glue the entire surface, it's easiest to glue each stone one at a time. Be patient - this project took me 2 hours but I was watching TV at the same time - Bling Crafting is good to do whilst you're watching a movie!

Voila!

I chose not to bling the bottom edge as a) this makes it easier to lift it and place down and b) I was running low on gems and didn't want them to look sparse, this concept is about cramming in as much as possible!

Here's a bird's eye angle, as well as the base and neck I customised the top of the mirror.

But I didn't do the bottom rim as the mirror still needs to move freely. It will dry immediately but you will need to do a little tidying up.

Fancy having a go? Here's 5 tips for Blinging Bliss:
1) Glue guns leave stringy lines of glue. Ignore these as you work, you can pull them off afterwards - if you leave them as they are, you will end up with a spider web type layer on top.
2) I recommend a glue gun despite the stringy finish because they are easy to use, fix fast and will hold the gems - some other strong glues can let you down also because it may take you a couple of hours to complete, you don't want to be using a super glue with a strong odour.
3) Should you spray on a layer of protective glue to make it last even longer? This is not necessary unless your item will spend long periods outside like if it's a garden pot or is something you will travel with. Adhesive sprays can leave a dulling effect so if you do use one, when it's dry, give the surface a quick cloth polish up.
4) Where to get gemstones - I get mine from Creative Beadcraft - I've been using them for many years - they are a jewellery making specialist and you will find that most jewellery stores sell acrylic beads in packs. You may also find them in a general art and craft supply shops, possibly stocked in the children's section or check out Ebay or one of my other fave online stockists Josy Rose.
5) Though stones alone give a wonderful finish, if I was to do this again I would use some white pearly beads in amongst them to add a sophisticated twist - it will also tone it down if you feel it's too much colour overload - or stick to a palette of about three colours.
Happy Blinging!

Tutorial: How to make a Mexican Chilli Bangle

Too hot to handle!

For me, chilli's are the most iconic motif of Mexican & Latino culture. Not just because they feature in the cuisine (one of my fave holiday memories is eating fresh mango sprinkled with chilli powder on the street markets of Mexico) but because they have so much personality. I love their graphic shape, the bold, bright colours they come in, and the way they embody fire and passion. I designed this chilli bangle project to celebrate Crafty Chica's National Craft Month celebrating 30 days of Latino inspired crafts. Here's my contribution - check out her blog for more HOT inspiration from other designers who love Latino flavoured crafts, every day this March.
To make a chilli bangle, you will need:

Shopping list

Sheet of red neoprene (craft foam)

Red glitter

Green glitter

PVA/white craft glue

Paintbrush

Plain paper

Pencil

Scissors

End roll of sticky tape

Yarn

Strong glue or glue gun

Sticky situation

1. Start off by making Glitter Foam. Paint a layer of PVA glue over the whole of your foam sheet, ensuring every bit is covered and that it's even and not too lumpy. Lift it up and place it on a clean paper surface.

Shake it!

2.  Pour red glitter over the glue, shake it off and pour the glitter that falls off, back into the jar. When dry, you can use glitter foam in any number of craft projects not just to make sparkling chillis!

That's a wrap

3. While the glitter foam is drying, prepare you bangle. Use the card roll that is left over from sticky tape as the bangle base, or a plain wooden or plastic bangle if you have one. Cut off a long piece of yarn, tie it to the bangle and then wrap it around until you reach the end. Tie another knot and feed the end into the bangle so it's hidden and secure.

4. Draw a chili shape onto paper to create a template and cut it out. Lay it on the back of your foam and draw around it several times, enough to cover the bangle. Then cut them out.

Chillis to go

5. Paint the tops of each chilli with PVA glue, then pour on green gitter to ensure each chilli has a green stalk.

6. When completely dry, glue the glittered chillis along the bangle using a strong glue. 

Hot stuff

See more Latin crafts on Crafty Chica's blog.  I guarantee you will get hooked!

Spice girl

Now then...who fancies a burrito??

Valentines Day spa craft tutorial: How to make soaps

Soapmaking is a cheap, quick, satisfying craft that is a great gift idea - not just for Valentines, but also for thank you gestures  and house-warming presents. The best thing is that complete novices, any one new to making or lacking in confidence with crafting will get results they'll be proud of within minutes and you don't need much to get started.

You will need: 

*Melt & pour soap base OR any glycerin soap as it melts in the same way

(The soap base in available in craft stores or search online)

*Silicone mould (ones for baking are fine)

*Microwave, microwavable bowl & fork

(Alternatively, melt the soap in a pan on your cooker)

*Knife

*Optional - food colouring

*Things to suspend (like dried flowers, glitter, ornaments etc)

*Scent
*Clingfilm

1. Chop up the base into small pieces and measure out how much you will need in each compartment of the mould. You will need to add double the quantity of how far it fills up, because it will reduce in size when melted.

2. Heat the base in the microwave for 15 seconds, then stir. Keep melting for 15 second intervals until it's completely liquidised. 

3. The base solidifies very quickly. So get ready to put it into the mould as soon as possible. If you are using food colouring add it now. It will lower the temperature of the base making it solidify. If that happens, place it back in the microwave. If you're using glitter, stir it in as well. Now is also the time to add a few drops of scent like a diluted essential oil (they are often too strong on their own.) You can leave the soaps fragrance free but I think they are more fun to use (and more impressive if you are giving them as a gift), if they are scented.

4. Setting takes up to a couple of hours so leave them in a cool place. Then pop them out like ice cubes.

My designs:

1. Hundreds & thousands - I placed plastic initial beads at the bottom of the mould then sprinkled cake decorations on top. 

2. Plain blue soap - I coloured this soap by blending blue food colouring into the melted soap base.

3. Plastic beads - I suspended plastic beads in the mould - as it gets used, the beads fall out and you'll end up with enough to make a bracelet!

4. Sequins - I suspended silver star confetti in the base.

5. Red glitter - I mixed glitter and red food colouring into the melted base.

6. Rose buds - First I poured melted clear base into the mould then placed small rose buds directly on the top surface.

Because the soap base is transparent you can see everything that's suspended in it. The top surface of the rose soap shows off the petals, but when you turn it over, you see the lovely buds underneath.

For more soap making ideas this book will fill you with inspiration. Brimming with colourful photos I've used it in spa crafting workshops before and everyone is amazed by it - the instructions are clear and accessible.

Have fun making your own soaps but be warned: buying a shop bought soap is not the same once you're discovered how easy it is to make your own 'bespoke' ones in a matter of minutes at home!
NB: Tightly wrap cling film around each of your soaps to preserve them.