Rolled Paper Roses Tutorial

I love these little paper roses so much that I just had to share how to make them with you all.

They are so simple you can even get the kids to make them for you.  They are lovely when used to enhance wrapped gifts or greeting cards.  They can be made using any paper - newspaper, gift wrap, magazine pages - you name it - any type will do the job.

This batch are made using plain old colour print paper and just look how pretty they look.

See the photos below to check how it's done.

Clay Christmas Tree Decoration DIY

Hello everyone,

Clay is a thing that I never had any interest in using for craft projects as I always imagined that it had to be baked and that it was just a whole lot of hard work......until I came across air drying clay - this stuff is great!  It comes ready to use in small or large packs so if you are just doing a few decorations like I was, you don't have to go buying a great big bag full.  I would recommend visiting CottageChicInteriors for great craft supplies from Stamperia.  You will be able to get your moulds and pre-cut decoration papers there including a multitude of other craft supplies.

To make your decorations, you just have to break off a piece of clay that's big enough for the project you have in mind and soften it up in your hands for a while.  When soft enough you just press it into the mould that you want to use (you can get moulds especially for making decorations), scrape off the excess and while still wet, remove it from the mould to dry on a non-porous, flat surface.  At this stage it is important to add a hole for your ribbon/string using an orange stick or something similar.  Folks, this is the correct way to do it, however, I did not do this.  Why?  One, I didn't have a mould and two, I was impatient.  Result = very rustic, rough and ready clay decorations!!

Using moulds means you obtain the correct clay thickness for the decorations you are making, whereby, when you are rolling it out yourself and using a cookie cutter or a glass to shape it (like I did), it can result in a more uneven finish or if it is rolled out too thin it can cause the clay to curl up when drying (like mine did).....lesson learned!

So, they weren't perfect, but I'd come this far so I decided to go ahead and decorate them anyway.  For the decorating I used napkins and découpage paper which I cut to size and stuck on to the dried clay decorations (mine took 48 hrs. to dry out completely).  I darkened the edges to give an aged look and coated them with varnish.  Finally, I fed some ribbon through the holes that I had made earlier for hanging and also added some bows for the final touch......and that's it, easy DIY clay Christmas tree decorations.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Christmas tree decorations, as always, if you have any questions please email me (on the right) or use the comment box below.  I am always glad to help.

Bye for now

Hot Air Balloons - Party Candy Decor

I came across this wonderful craft idea on Facebook and just had to give it a go.  It is fairly simple to make and would be a really lovely way to decorate a table for a child's party.  You can click this link to see how its done  Hot Air Balloons.  Thanks to Sostrene Grene for the great ideas!

Below is my version, which would have been a lot nicer if my two pink balloons hadn't burst and I had to make do with the green one which isn't as pretty.  I've started another one using a yellow balloon which is shown below unfinished to give an idea of what the yellow looks like compared with the green.  Once done, fill with your favourite sweets/candy.

A few tips.
Balloon size is important, if they're too big they won't stay wedged into the straws.  Trial and error for this part.
Thin ribbon is also possible for making the bunting instead of wool - or any thin twine or string.

Thanks for dropping by, hope you enjoyed the video.

Bye for now

How to Cover a Lampshade with Fabric

Covering a lampshade is a simple task that doesn't require any special skills, however, getting the end result right is important as the finished lamp is probably going to be put in a sitting room or dining room or somewhere that it will be on show.  I recently covered the shade from my standard lamp using some pretty vintage style fabric that I came across among the 'bales' that I had in a storage chest that I keep all my fabric in and this is how I went about it:

What is needed

An old shade
Fabric
Dressmaking scissors
Straight pins
Roll of wrapping paper or an old newspaper
Sticky tape (if using newspaper)
Fabric glue (I use Copydex)
A pencil

The first thing that I did was make a pattern for cutting the fabric.  I used a roll of gift wrap as it didn't require sticking sheets of newpaper together to get the correct length but newspaper is fine if you don't have a roll of gift wrap handy.  Lay the roll of paper on the floor and starting with the seam of the shade, gently roll it along the paper while at the same time marking along the outer edge of the shade with a pencil until you reach the seam again.  Do the same thing with the opposite side, while rolling the shade back along the paper.  Add on 2.5cm extra each side and at each end add 1cm to the length for tucking in.  Go ahead at this point and cut out your pattern using the pencil markings that you made and taking the 'hem' allowance into account.  When you have done this, check the size by wrapping it around the shade making any adjustments that you need to.

Lay your fabric face down and using the straight pins, pin your pattern to the fabric using your pencil lines as guides.  When it is pinned all the way down on both sides, use your scissors to cut the fabric using the edges of the pattern as your guide.

Next, lay your cut fabric face down and position the lampshade onto it at the seam.  Glue along the seam of the lampshade and centre the fabric onto it pressing down gently along the seam.  Leave for a few minutes, then put a thin layer of glue along the outside edge of the lampshade and leave it for a minute until it goes tacky and then ease the fabric around until you reach the seam again pressing gently all the way along.  Do this on both sides of the lamp until it looks like this:

Then fold over the fabric for a neat edge (if you want you could iron this down before you start), gluing along the raw edge of the fabric that is already stuck to the shade and press down the neatened edge.  Once this has been left to dry for a few minutes, you can go ahead and place some glue thinly along the inside edge of the lampshade one side at a time pressing the fabric into place firmly.

The end result is as seen above in the first pic.  Hope you enjoyed my tutorial, please contact me using the form on the right hand side of the Home page if you have any questions or you can comment below.  I am always delighted to hear feedback from my readers.

Painting Ceramic Floor Tiles

I have just finished painting my bathroom floor tiles and I thought it would be a good idea to share the 'how to' with my readers as I myself had searched the internet for tips before i started and found lots of information from others who had already successfully done the same thing. There was lots of different methods and products used and all helped to guide me in deciding what way I wanted to do my own.

Tiles After Painting

Firstly, let me explain that my tiles were ceramic, black, matt and uneven - similar looking to slate (see pic below) and always annoyed me as they never looked clean. The first thing I did was clean the tiles with soapy hot water.  When dry, I cleaned thoroughly with white spirit using an old towel and left to dry.  I then used a multi-purpose primer which I applied with a brush as my bathroom floor area is very small.  If you have a big area to cover you would be better using a roller for this job.  I gave it two coats leaving 24 hours between each.  Luckily, I have two bathrooms which meant I could lock off the one I was working in for a couple of weeks.

Tiles Pre-Painting

For painting the floor tiles I used a concrete floor paint in a beige colour.  I did think about using tile paint but I didn't once see any reference anywhere that told me I could use this on floor tiles so I didn't trust it and went with the concrete floor paint.  I gave 3 coats of this paint leaving at least 24 hours between coats.  When I was sure it was dry and hardened off (72 hours later),  I decided to be extra sure and gave it a final coat of Polyurethane Varnish.  All of this I applied with a brush but again, if painting a large area, a roller would be a better choice.  After varnishing, I again kept the bathroom locked off for another 72 hours just to be sure the varnish had been given time to harden off properly before walking on it.  The result is a lovely clean looking bathroom floor.  Happy days!

If you have any questions, remember you can contact me through the comments below or by filling in the form on the home page.