The Great Interior Design Challenge.

 

The Great Interior Design Challenge- an elegant combination of Changing Rooms meets Great British Bakeoff, with a bit of British Sewing Bee thrown in for good measure. What could be better?

I don't want to frighten you but the last episode of Changing Rooms aired almost 10 years ago, so a brand new interior programme was well overdue! And this show really delivered- wetting the appetites of aspiring designers (myself included!) and demonstrating that anyone can have a gorgeous home, with a little bit of knowhow.

I found the show such an inspiration and so motivating. I purchased the book straight away and it is wonderful- bursting with beautiful photography, simple projects and nifty tips for styling and decorating your home.
If you see me around, I will most probably have my head buried in this book.

P.s. I also had a little delivery of some new washi tape this week- it didn't take long before it went to good use!

Love List :: February

 

A. This adorable print by Amy Blackwell

B. This stunning driftwood wall hanger- will be giving this one a go

 C. Donna Wilson's new range, love this little guy!

D. This rug. OMG.

E. DIY Polaroid frames- great valentines pressie

 

 

Well, I can't quite believe we are in February already! January seemed to fly past and I'm a little sad to see it go.

But I'm excited for a new month and a new Love List- I'm pretty chuffed with this one.

All wrapped up.

This year, I really wanted to go all out with my Christmas wrapping. I'd had it planned in my head since September and knew exactly how I wanted my pressies to look.

Well, I'm pretty pleased with how they've turned out- brown paper is an absolute dream to wrap with (and super cheap!) and this was my first ever go with washi tape (yes, I'm hooked!) I also used the chalk pen we bought for the wedding and some old ribbon we had lying around.
As sad as this sounds, I cannot wait to plan ahead for next year!

DIY :: Coloured leg table

We aren't really sure where this little table appeared from but I do know that it's pretty darn cute!
We've just painted the hallway Absolute White so the table looked a tad out of place (& plus, it was a bit grubby!) so thought I would give it a bit of a revamp.

First, I took it outside & gave it a good sanding (It was at this point I realised that the table was made of 3 different types of wood & the edges are a veneer & not real wood!)

Then to begin painting...
Ok, I probably should have primed it & used a proper furniture paint... but we had so much paint leftover from doing the walls, I just used that & it worked absolutely fine (but I promise I'll but the proper stuff next time!)

To paint the legs, I used masking tape to get a nice clean edge. Remember, to let the paint dry fully before peeling it off!

Tada! A brand new table. I don't think I will varnish it, I quite like the matte look.

 



Shop Love:: Paper Sushi

I don't think I ever showed you these...
I may not have designed the wedding invitations but I did make our 'Save The Date' cards!
They were brilliantly quick to make (it took twice as long to address the envelopes than it did to actually make the cards!)
We bought this gorgeous stamp from the 'Paper Sushi' etsy shop; it's definitely worth a peek.

Kerry & Steve Cake Topper!

I scoured the internet looking for a cute topper for our wedding cake. Then I thought... why don't I just make it myself!

So I ordered this cheeky couple from a great ebay shop and got my paint on!

& here they are, a mini Kerry & Steve!

(I think they're nearly done, just need a quick varnish & I need to do my hair, as I dont know how I'm having it yet!)

Monday make- Simple cushion cover

Good morning! It may be a rather dreary Monday but I thought I would start the week by showing you this nice & easy make & this little cushion cover is just that!

You'll need:
- a reasonably sturdy fabric, nothing too flimsy like a chiffon
- cushion pad
- measuring tape
- scissors
- pins

First, measure your cushion pad.
Then cut out your fabric. You want the cushion pad to be nice and snug in the fabric so don't add any seam allowance onto the width, just keep the same measurement.

However the length is a different story...

You want enough fabric to wrap around the cushion, with a decent amount of overlap so the opening doesn't gape. The exact amount is difficult to say but I estimated that I added on another third to a quarter onto the measurement.

This was the second simple cushion cover I've made so I thought I'd be a might more adventurous by adding a little something extra.

It was very easy to do this too; I just simple created a template for the letters, cut out the fabric & used a zig-zag stitch to attach it.

The great thing about this cover, is that you can keep it really simple by using a pretty fabric or add some personality. It really is a blank canvas!