Washi Tape TV Make Over – Home Sweet Home

by | Nov 24, 2014 | Craft, Home Sweet Home Tutorials, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial

So after all of the work I’ve done on our apartment, there are only a few things left that I’m unhappy with. The TV area is definitely one of them. It’s like a back hole of suck.

Before I got to the actually organising and the shelving etc I wanted to do something a bit easier: make over the actual tv.

After:

 

Before:

Even the tv lights look like a sad face XD
So Daiso here has started stocking fabric and washi tape.
I bought a bunch of rolls so I could play around with things.
The fabric tape looked really happy and bright but it wasn’t cut perfectly straight so the patterns didn’t line up and that really bothered me… because I’m a crazy person like that.
NOT LINED UP!
But it was really easy to do, I just stuck it on.
After that I bought some washi tape. It’s basically patterned Japanese masking tape. I liked the design a lot because it wasn’t too busy from far away but it was transparent so I had to do a layer of masking tape to make it opaque.
The masking tape from Daiso was terrible and kept peeling off but I made it work.
This also didn’t really line up perfectly but it was less obviously so I could forgive it slightly.
I still haven’t decided whether I love it or not. I love the idea and that my TV is no longer so black but I think I haven’t found the perfect way to have this. I might do some more experimentation with other styles of tape but I’m going to wait until the rest of the TV area is perfect and then see what looks best.

The hunt continues though, I will have the perfect light bright apartment if it kills me!

Watercolour Style Silk Painting Experiments!

by | Nov 19, 2014 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial

I’ve been experimenting in finding my own silk painting style lately and while I still haven’t really found it yet it’s been fun so far! Today I’ll show you the techniques I used to make the rose painting below. I was aiming for a finish more like watercolour paints but I still haven’t really got it how I imagine in my head yet!

To begin with I outlined the rose and the leaves etc using clear gutta.
I mixed purple and red for each leaf. I wet the section thoroughly and applied a small amount of red.
I then dripped purple in the inner line of the petal so it mixed with the red.
As it dried I added more water to the centre of each petal so that it moved the ink closer to the edges.
Adding a lot of water was key to this technique.
Each drip moves the paint a little bit so more colour needs to be added in as well.
After each petal dried I repeated again using more paint and more water to layer.
I used the same techniques for the leaves and branches.
The leaves were made with green, yellow and blue.
You need to be careful not to overload the fabric with water otherwise it will drip off the back and take your ink with it!
That’s all of the main parts!
Now the background. I added blue, green and yellow gradually for the whole background. When it began to dry I dripped water in.
More and more colours layered together.
I really loved the colours on the left side background while they were still wet but once they dried it seemed quite dull.
It looked much more bottled green and dark when dry 🙁
For the last steps I heat sealed it and washed out the gutta.
The gradients and the techniques are definitely an improvement but I am still not happy with how the colours are drying. I think I need a few really bright blue based pinks and greens for it to be how I picture it in my head!
You can definitely see how the water effects the paint and pushes it around though.
Hope you found the post a little useful and I’ll keep experimenting with my silks!

How To Make A Puppy Mattress – Lottie’s Home Sweet Home

by | Nov 17, 2014 | Craft, Home Sweet Home Tutorials, Miss Lottie Pomeranian, Storage/Utility-Tutorials, Tutorial

Miss Lottie’s new-ish house isn’t nearly as soft and comfy as her old strawberry was 🙁 So I set about making it a bit more awesome by making a little mattress she could sleep on in the bottom. I’ve tried putting blankets and regular pillows in but she just shoves them to the back >_<

Anyway the end result was really cute!

For this tutorial you will need:

  • Fabric
  • Lace
  • Stuffing
  • Needle and thread or a sewing machine
Measure out enough fabric for the pillow and cut two pieces.
Now put the fabric with the good sides together and then place a piece of lace between them along where the seam will be
Stitch along that line making sure you’re going through the edge of the lace as well.
When you open it back out the lace should poke out like this:
Continue all the way around the edge leaving a little gap at the end.
Poke your fingers inside the gap…
And turn the whole thing inside out.
Fill the pillow with stuffing.
And then close up the hole.
Now stitch diagonally through the pillow:
And then diagonally the other way so it forms diamonds.
And that’s it, all done!
So cute! And a perfect fit for her new house.
Of course, that doesn’t stop her from sleeping everywhere else… like on my plate -_-‘
Oh Lottie.

Pastel Leopard Print – Simple Nail Art Tutorial

by | Nov 5, 2014 | Nail-Art-Tutorials, Nails, Tutorial

I’ve done leopard print nail art before but I wanted to do an updated version to show how versatile this print is so here is some cute pink leopard print ^_^

You will need:

  • Light pink base polish
  • White polish or acrylic paint
  • Dark pink polish or acrylic paint
  • Clear top coat
  • Thin brush

Begin by painting the nail light pink and allowing it to dry.

Next paint white splotches all over the nail randomly. You can keep them in a pattern but random tends to look more natural… as natural as pink leopard print can actually look anyway >_>
Once that is dry prepare some dark pink and paint a little splotch as if you were going to paint an outline of the white.
Do this broken outline in either 2 or 3 splotches. Don’t worry if it’s messy, it really doesn’t matter.
Do this broken outline to each of the white splotches. Paint some of the dark pink off the edge too so it looks like the pattern continues.
Once the polish is all completely dry, top coat it with clear polish to finish off the look.
Leopard print really is my favourite pattern! It’s just so simple to do but so effective!
Hope you found it useful and let me know if you give it a try!

 

Maxi Dress Walk Through Tutorial

by | Oct 31, 2014 | Clothing-Tutorials, Craft, Tutorial

Kind of a dress walkthrough rather than a full tutorial today. I made a really basic maxi dress with some of the fabric I bought from Brunswick and thought you guys might like to see the process!

This fabric is so pretty. I love that it looks like rainbow paint spots! It reminds me of watercolours.

To begin with I cut two rectangles for the skirt and a smaller rectangle for the bodice. Helper dog kept all of my fabric straight for me.
I cut the back part of the skirt in half so I could eventually install a zip there and overlocked all of the seams. I stitched the 3 skirt pieces together into a long rectangle with the back seams free to put the zip into later.
I then gathered the top of the skirt section into a ruffle using the function on my sewing machine.
Skirt ruffle!
Huzzah, basic skirt!
Next I made the top. It was a very large rectangle folded in half and overlocked around the sides so it could be turned inside out.
The skirt was lined up with the bottom of the bodice and sewn on.
Getting there but  the bodice section needs to be gathered to make it fit correctly.
I ruffled the back of the bodice where the zip would eventually go and secured it with several lines of stitching.
Then I gathered a line on each side of the bodice and one in the very middle. This allowed it to become more form fitting and interesting. I also installed the zip into the back at this point and added a bottom hem to the skirt.
Lastly I sewed a couple of rectangles into tubes and made straps out of them. Considering I always wear cardigans with dresses like this the top really wasn’t a huge concern as long as it was reasonably fitted.
All done!
Floaty and fun!
This dress is so comfortable and nice to wear, the fabric is silky and beautiful. Next time I go I hope they have some more so I can make a shorter bias cut flippy dress out of it too!
Hope you enjoyed the “sew-through” an I’ll see you guys next time! What have you all been sewing lately? I need some inspiration!

Crochet Needle Case Tutorial

by | Oct 29, 2014 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial

For today’s tutorial let’s make a knitting/crochet needle case! I say this like it’s for your benefit… but really it’s something that I have desperately needed for like 10 years and been too lazy to do.

But look, now my needles are so neat and I won’t lose them anymore!

Unlike before where it was like this:

Not even exaggerating there which is sad.
Ok let’s do it, I’m using a 3.5mm needle and 8ply yarn. Make a foundation chain which is 5cm longer than your longest needle. Chain 2 more and then do a row of single crochet. Chain 2 and do another row of single crochet.
Now we make the netting. Chain 4 and double crochet into the second stitch. Chain 1 then double crochet into the second stitch. Continue this pattern the entire row.
When you reach the end, chain 4 and repeat the pattern again. It will form a nice grid.
Continue until you have a piece which is big enough to hold all of your needles, hooks, etc. To finish it off, do 2 rows of single crochet at the end.
Once you get in the rhythm it’s actually really easy to do.
Just make sure you are matching up the double crochet stitches or else the grid will be lopsided.
Now you just need to fit all of your needles into it!
Just weave them through the holes.
For storage, roll the fabric up until a tube and use a needle to hold it closed.
Much more organised!
Well that’s one of my long term projects finally crossed off my list! I don’t know why I even waited so long, it looks so much better! What are some projects you’ve been putting off?