Introducing: Little Foal Shabby Chic Wedding Decor

 

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen that I recently attended a good friend's wedding, where I made a lot of the decorations. It was a beautiful, laid back wedding without sit down tables and we created a beautiful romantic vibe by situating tables around the room full of candles and flowers and vintage props and signs. A lot of people were surprised I would spend so much time and effort on something like this for a friend. There were literally dozens of hours spent cutting out triangles for bunting, ironing, gluing, measuring, cleaning and collecting jars and there was quite a bit of money spent on lace and doilies and all the pretty bits that brought the jars and bunting together so beautifully. Now, the truth comes out!

Before she even got engaged, the bride, who is a wedding photographer, knowing that I enjoy making things with my hands, pitched a business idea to me. She said there is a gap in the market for wedding decor that is shabby chic and low budget and offers the option of hiring bunting, so that the bride and groom aren't stuck with a heap of stuff they will never use again after that one day. At first, I declined. I said I was too busy, I wouldn't know where to start and I've never made such massive amounts of products before. Eventually, after her engagement, and a promise that she would help me build a network, I agreed. I'd make the decorations for her wedding, and hire them out afterwards, building on my stock over time. 

 Her wedding came together beautifully, with the two of us collaborating to style it with a mix of the decorations I'd made and she owned or collected in the lead up to the wedding. Many of the guests complimented us both on our efforts and my confidence was boosted! Now, one month later, I am finally launching Little Foal Shabby Chic Wedding Decor. Right now I'm offering burlap and lace bunting to hire (approx. 52 metres), decorated burlap and lace jars to hire (approx. 50) and a blue vintage suitcase to hire, a Singer sewing machine to hire, Mr & Mrs bunting to hire, CARDS bunting to hire (suggested use with suitcase for card box) and custom made bunting and jars to bride and groom's specifications. My delivery area is from Yamba to Broadbeach and west to Casino on the Far North Coast of NSW and the Gold Coast, QLD.

I'm really excited about this new venture, and hope to have hire prices in albums on the facebook page by the end of the week, in time for Evans Head's Beef Meets Reef event this Sunday, where I will have a market stall. I'm also hoping to eventually have some bunting in stock to sell, including the Mr & Mrs bunting, and to expand into other vintage and handmade props.

 

 

Quick and Easy DIY Gifts for a Baby Boy

Recently, a wonderful bloggy friend of mine, Trudie, had a beautiful baby boy. I was so excited for her (naturally, as I amt he cluckiest duck in existence) and resolved that I should make a little care package for her entire family to celebrate the new arrival. Knowing that Trudie is a bit of a thrifty, vintage-loving, hippy mumma, I knew she would appreciate something handmade or second-hand for her little one and herself,  and I was all too happy to oblige, since my budget is somewhat limited lately.

I included an op shopped skirt for Mumma, a cute little onesie I found at Best 'n' Less for baby, and some colouring books for her other two children - Cars for Cohen and Disney Princesses for Sarah to keep them occupied while mum is busy with baby. I also made these cute little singlets for baby Fraser, and I just had to share them with you all, as they were so easy and Trudie seemed to really love them. Over summer I imagine Fraser will get a lot of wear out of them, as it is a little too hot here for little ones right now!

All three singlets were refashioned with bits and pieces I already had in my sewing box, so this made the gifts really cheap for me to make. The dinosaur and whale are just scraps of fabric which I adhered with two step Heat'n'Bond iron-on adhesive. First you iron the fabric to the adhesive, then you trace your template on the back of the Heat'n'Bond and cut around it. Peel off the paper backing, and iron it to the singlet and you're done! There are tons of cute templates on the internet to choose from, as well! The spout and eye on the whale were embroidered on, and I would recommend you make sure your Heat'n'Bond is the sewing-friendy one. I found out the hard way (a bent needle and a pricked thumb) that mine wasn't.

The caterpillar was a little more time consuming to make, but since I had Criminal Minds episodes to catch up on, it felt like nothing at all! I simply chose some vintage buttons out of my huge stash to use in co-ordinating colours and a similar size and sewed them on the singlet, overlapping slightly in a zig-zaggy caterpillar pattern. The smiley novelty button I found in my stash was the perfect touch to this design, don't you think? The antennae are optional, and I embroidered them on.

I really love giving handmade gifts and love personalising singlets and onesies for new arrivals! When I finsished the singlets, I bundled them together with the rest of the presents for Trudie's family and wrapped them in a vintage tea towel which I picked up at an op shop with Trudie in mind a while ago. It's not really my style, but I knew it was hers and just had to get it for her! The whole package was finished off with some retro looking ribbon, and handed over with a handmade card when I visited Trudie last week. I hope that this post has shown you how easy it really is to make a thoughtful, customised baby gift and inspired you to give these simple ideas a go!

DIY: Harry Potter Sharpie Mug

I will be the first to admit that I am jumping on the sharpie mug bandwagon a little late, but I swear I have good reason for it! You see, while Pinterest almost imploded with sharpie mug DIY tutorials over christmas, it was about 40 degrees C here in Australia, so you can imagine how un-excited I was about hot chocolate at the time! Even now, as I type this in Autumn, it is still about 27 degrees. Nowhere near cold enough for hot chocolate!

Nonetheless, sick of the sticky humidity we are experiencing in Australia right now, I am dreaming of cool winter days snuggled up on the lounge with a good book or a movie, mug of delicious, warm, milky libation in hand. Cue Pinterest and this little project!

If you know me at all, or have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I am a HUGE Harry Potter fanatic! So of course, when I thought of doing a movie-themed sharpie mug, that was the natural choice of subject!

Now, if you have been living under a rock (don't worry, I can frequently be found under rocks) here is how you do this:  write/draw whatever you want on your mug, then bake at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes so that the sharpie design won't wash off.

I decided to incorporate a few things from different Harry Potter books/movies into my mug:

Deathly Hallows symbol

My next tattoo favourite quote ever

And my favourite part of the mug:

The Grim! (and a little lightening bolt on the handle)

This project was super quick, easy and fun to do and I'm stoked with the results. I might have to whack on a Harry Potter movie this afternoon when it cools down, and whip up some hot chocolate to enjoy in my new mug! What would you draw on your mug if you gave this project a go? Or have you done it already?

DIY Coaster Tutorial

I don't know about you, but I hate the look of water rings on wooden surfaces! It is so disappointing to come across a nice table with little, dark rings mottling the surface! After spending a week refashioning my dining table, the last thing I wanted was for people to plonk their drinks down on it and create water rings, so I set about making my own pretty, blue and white coasters for my dining table to protect that pretty, wooden surface!

I also made these cute vintage bicycle ones for my non-existent coffee table (hopefully we will find one soon!)






















To make your own pretty coasters, you will need:

Blank Wooden Coasters 

(Mine were from Kaisercraft and were less that $1 each)

Scrap booking Paper 

Mod Podge 

Foam Brush

Spray Sealer

(highly recommended)

Exacto Knife/Rotary Cutter

Cutting mat

Pencil

Scissors

Here's the how to:

1. Turn your scrap booking paper upside down and trace the outline of the coasters onto it.

2. Cut around the outlines with scissors, making sure to cut outside the line! This is important so you don't end up with wood showing on the top side of your coasters. You can trim off overhang later with your exacto knife.

3. Mod Podge your scrap book paper cut-outs to your coasters, using a wide, foam brush. Let it thoroughly dry.

4.  Turn your coasters upside down on your cutting mat and trim off any overhang using an exacto knife or rotary cutter.

5. Give your coasters a few coats of Mod Podge to seal them, letting each coat dry before applying the next, and making sure to seal around the edges. I gave mine about 5 coats, but I was probably being excessive.

6. To eliminate tackiness, spray your coasters with a light coat of acrylic sealer once Mod Podge is dry, and they're ready for you to enjoy!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. You don't have to use the spray sealer if you don't want to, but I would highly recommend it. I haven't gotten my hands on any yet, and my coasters are constantly stuck together when I stack them! I used matte finish Mod Podge for my coasters, and some people have told me that the shiny finish is less tacky, but I'm not entirely sure whether this is true.

Happy crafting!

Bleach-Dyed T-Shirt Tutorial

A while ago I stumbled upon a tutorial for this on A Beautiful Mess. Naturally, I loved it and decided to give it a go. Here is my take on bleach dying, with a Harry Potter nerd twist. 

You Will Need:

A dark coloured shirt or singlet (mine is a men's singlet from Kmart)

Bleach

A thin, synthetic paintbrush

Chalk or fabric marker

Cardboard

How To:

Lay your shirt out on a flat workspace, preferably outside (for ventilation reasons) and insert the piece of cardboard between the layers of the shirt to prevent the bleach from going through. Thick cardboard works best.

Draw, using a fabric marker or chalk, your desired design. I chose the Deathly hallows symbol from Harry Potter, but you could draw or write anything you like. I recommend that you keep it simple though, and try to keep things centred and even. 

Now, dip your paintbrush into the bleach, and begin tracing over your design. You will need to refill your brush every few centimetres, and will need to be nice and heavy with the bleach so that it sinks in nice and even. Go slow, there is no rush, and you should start to see your design appear before your eyes!

Leave your shirt in the sun for about 10-15 minutes if you used regular bleach, or one hour if you used fabric safe bleach for it to process and lighten. Rinse your shirt out and hang it up to dry. Your design will lighten a little once it has dried.  The shade your design turns out will depend on the dye in your shirt and various other conditions. It could end up brown, or could end up stark white. Mine turned out tan and I love it. 

*Hermione Granger hair in photoshoot is optional

Finished Project (A Reveal of Epic DIY Proportions)

Remember this old, pine table I scored from the Salvos for $65?

Well, Ta-Da! I gave it a new life!

Don't you just love it? It's hard to believe it's even the same table!

When I first took on this project, I had no idea just how massive it was. Ever look at things on pinterest and think, yep, I can do that! Ever see a before and after shot on a blog where your eyes just light up and you think "Oh my God - that woman is a magical unicorn-genie-fairy. She just snapped her fingers, and look what happened!". Well, here is news for you - you can do that, but it takes a lot of work. I spent every spare minute I had for a week elbow deep in sandpaper, sanding dust and paint to get this table ready before I moved, and all the blood, sweat and tears has really paid off! I definitely couldn't have done this without help from my whole family and I am incredibly proud to be sitting at this gorgeous french-style country chic table right now, typing this post.

DIY is hard work, but it's incredibly rewarding. This was my first big project and my first piece of furniture I have done up. I gave the tired, old, slightly broken and incredibly orange table a new life in a new home, and that makes me smiley on the inside :)

Date Jar DIY

This a project I did quite a while ago to combat Jake's constant nagging on the weekends of "what can we do?" I'd seen it on pinterest a fair bit, was bored one day, went to the craft store and gave it a go! I don't know why I never shared this, because it definitely works - even if we sometimes put the sticks back 3475975367 times until we find something we actually feel like doing.

All I did for this easy DIY is decorate the jar with pretty felt letter stickers and ribbon, paint half my sticks pink and wait for them to dry, then trawl the intenet for date ideas (50 in total) to write on the sticks.

It's super easy, it works and I like the way the jar looks on the shelf. What more could you want?

Heart bookmark tutorial & The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The other day I had writing all up my arm, scrawled on my leg and on about five different scraps of paper. "I need a diary" I thought, and so off I popped to the Newsagency to buy one. The only one they had left. An ugly blue office-like one. So I covered it in pretty fabric and called it a day until I can find somewhere which hasn't sold out of Frankie Magazine diaries!

Then I made this cute heart bookmark to match:

How To:

You Will Need:

A small piece of felt

A piece of pretty fabric

Heat N Bond and an iron

A needle and thread or sewing machine

First, cut out a felt heart, a square of pretty fabric slightly larger than the felt heart and a strip of felt slightly smaller than the width of your heart.

Stitch the strip of felt to the back of the heart like so...

Then iron the fabric to the heat n bond, trace and cut out a heart.

Iron that to your felt heart, covering the stitching, trim off any felt peeking around the edges and you're done!

How cute does it look peeking over the edge of my book?

I made this cute pom pom one today too - tutorial found here. Theres is much fluffier and rounder than mine, but I like my little scruffball :) Matches the cover of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower much better than my cutesy heart bookmark, don't you think? I'm aaalllll about aestetics lately :)

By the way, the verdict is still out on whether or not I love The Perks of Being a Wallflower in book form as much as I loved the movie. The movie is simply uh-mazing! If you haven't seen it, see it! It is so beautiful and sad and weird and funny and ohmygosh - I cried and smiled at the same time! The book is written in letter form, which I think is why I am halfway through and not completely "into it" yet, if you know what I mean. It also doesn't have the flashbacks of the movie, which is weird, cos they would make much more sense written than they did on the screen. Also, I love Emma Watson! I envy her, I want to be her best friend and I want to be her all at the same time! She is so classy, so beautiful, so chic! If I ever met her I think I'd either cry or scare her off by hugging her so tight she couldn't breathe and then getting dragged away by her bodyguards or something. I just love her and what a huge part of my life she is (what with the Harry Potter series and all) without her even knowing! She has been my role model since I was about 12, and what a great role model for a teenager has she been!

Before I get too carried away, here is the trailer for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I beg you to watch it, it will just leave you breathless!

DIY Rustic Jewellery Hanger

So, I have been seeing these around  pinterest a lot lately...

Via

 

 

Via

 

 

 

...and with needing good display ideas for The Corner Store, I decided to give it a go!

You will need:

• Large wooden frame
• Chicken wire (I used 5mm bird cage wire, available from the hardware store)
• Sandpaper
• Spray primer (or cheap white spray paint)
• Your choice of colour spray paint
• Staple gun
• Pliers
• Sexy male helper *optional but highly recommended*

 

How to:

1. Remove the middle of the frame (glass, backing and picture if any) and sand back any varnish or paint.

2. Wipe your frame over with a clean, dry cloth to remove dust from sanding. Give it a coat of spray primer (or white paint) and leave to dry for one hour.

3. Once dry, paint your frame with the colour spray paint you chose (I did mine sky blue), then leave it to dry (again) for one hour.

4. Give your frame another coat of paint if needed, letting it dry once again, then use some soft-ish sandpaper to lightly rub back paint for a rustic or shabby chic look. How much you sand it back, or whether you do at all, is entirely up to you.

5. Once you have reached the desired effect with your frame, turn it over and place your chicken wire over the back. Put a brick on one side to stop it rolling up if you have to and hold the other over the edge of your frame, using it as a guide to cut chicken wire to fit the back. I'm too unco to hold the wire flat and cut it at the same time, so this is where having a sexy male helper comes in handy. I used this one:

 

6. Use the staple gun to attach the chicken wire to the back of your frame. Trim off excess wire and use pliers to bend back sharp bits and then you are done!

I know its not the easiest or quickest DIY project (or the safest either, for that matter. I cut myself on a piece of glass and stabbed myself numerous times with sharp wire) but I think it is well worth it! I love my frames. I'm going to donate one to the shop, keep one to use as a message/inspiration board in my sewing room/office and I may sell the rest (if anyone wants them!).

Ahh - bright, rustic DIY goodness!