Hello!
It's been such a long time with no posts from either of us! We've both been very busy making things and having fun though! How have you all been?
I (Emma) have some very exciting news! We have recently begun a new venture in Walcha, NSW. It's a shop + studio called Walcha Handmade Community Co-operative
Check us out! Tell us what you think! Lots of new ideas here!!
X Emma
thom haus handmade
INSPIRING AND ORIGINAL PROJECTS FOR YOU TO TRY AT HOME
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Monday, 11 November 2013
A little message from Caity and Emma!
The time has come for us to say goodbye to you for now. Boo hoo! We are
very sad about it. However, we have absolutely LOVED doing our projects and
writing about them on our little blog. Thank you to ALL OF YOU for liking our
projects, for the comments and emails, and for telling us that our projects
have helped inspire you into creative action in your home.
Caity still plans to post a project or two from time to time… and I
(Emma!) plan to get involved with volunteering at our lovely local craft shop,
and also to make lots of nice things to sell in there!
The other good thing is that there are HEAPS of projects already here
on the blog – plenty to get you started when you next get bitten by the
creative bug! If you are ever wanting a ‘quick flick’ through our projects,
then check out our flickr link for a good overview of them all.
So it’s bye bye from us for the moment, thank you again, and good luck
with your future projects! XX Caity and Emma
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Sparkly Space Glitter Play Dough
Creative Ideas:
Thom has been learning about space at preschool lately and wanted to try and make some more space games for home.
So we decided to make some space play dough based on the really easy glitter play dough we made last year.
I've included the recipe here again for you. The only changes I've made this time was to add 3 tablespoons of glitter and
Thom has been learning about space at preschool lately and wanted to try and make some more space games for home.
So we decided to make some space play dough based on the really easy glitter play dough we made last year.
I've included the recipe here again for you. The only changes I've made this time was to add 3 tablespoons of glitter and
What you need:
- 1/2 cup of salt (the basic supermarket kind)
- 1 cup plain white flour
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar (find this in the cooking aisle)
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon oil (sunflower or vegetable is fine)
- black food colouring
- fine glitter
- Air-tight containers for storage
Steps:
1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a pot.
2. Add all wet ingredients to the dry ingredients including food colour to your desired colour (1-2 drops is usually plenty).
3. Cook on a medium heat on the stove for 3-5 mins, stirring constantly. Mixture might look a bit lumpy for a while and then suddenly come together to a thick (almost) play dough consistency.
4. Remove the pot from the stove and add your glitter (use however much you like). I used 3 tablespoons for a single batch of play dough. Mix well.
5. Once glitter is combined you can scrape the play dough into a container. The container needs to be air-tight.
1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a pot.
2. Add all wet ingredients to the dry ingredients including food colour to your desired colour (1-2 drops is usually plenty).
3. Cook on a medium heat on the stove for 3-5 mins, stirring constantly. Mixture might look a bit lumpy for a while and then suddenly come together to a thick (almost) play dough consistency.
4. Remove the pot from the stove and add your glitter (use however much you like). I used 3 tablespoons for a single batch of play dough. Mix well.
5. Once glitter is combined you can scrape the play dough into a container. The container needs to be air-tight.
Hope you enjoy this cool take on my glitter play dough!
Happy creating!
Caity x
Monday, 4 November 2013
Budget Red and Blue Kitchen Makeover
Home Decorating:
This is the little kitchen in our guest cottage. This makeover was definitely budget - basically as cheap as they come!
These before photos show just how LOVELY the kitchen was before I started
fixing it up.
This is a basic list of what I did to this room to make it look heaps
better!
- Huge amounts of cleaning
- Huge amounts of no-gapping
- Painted all the walls and ceiling
- I painted the floor the same way that I did for the other rooms in this house
- Our builder very kindly gave us some leftover tiles he had to do the splashback and we also did the top of the bench with leftover floor tiles. I also added a ‘H’ and a ‘C’ above the appropriate taps
- I took off all the doors of the top cupboards, to open the room up a bit
- I took out the ill-fitting drawers and instead sewed a curtain to go in the middle of the bottom cupboards
- I changed the handles of all the cupboards
- I added a shelf above the stove to break up that wall a bit
- I added a little cabinet that I’d bought from the Salvos for $15 at the end of the benches.
- And then I decorated the room with lots of things that I already had! I was especially pleased to be able to use all my lovely blue and white things in this room. They look so good next to the red
It’s a very functional little kitchen and is certainly a MAJOR
improvement on what it originally looked like!
Hope you are enjoying any makeovers that you’re doing at your place!
Emma
Monday, 28 October 2013
Painted Watering Can
Craft:
Since June this year, I've been spending a huge amount of time with my
watering can(s), trying to keep my vegetable garden and pot plants alive.
It
occurred to me this week that I am the ‘bringer’ of emergency supplies to my
vegies and pot plants - they wait patiently for me to give them water every
day. So I thought it might be nice to decorate my watering can to suit.
Yes,
you start to think all sorts of strange thoughts when you’re in a drought!
This project was very simple, and hardly took any time at all.
Firstly I used a side plate and traced it onto baking paper, to get the
right size for my circle.
For my cross, I just got a ruler and drew onto the baking paper, and made every line 4cm long – very
easy.
Then I cut both the shapes out with scissors.
I traced around the shapes directly onto the watering can, just using a
pencil. However, I did have to go over the pencil lines a couple of times to
get enough of a line to see.
Then I simply painted it!
I used Aquanamel in white for the background,
and a sample tube of paint that I had in my cupboard for the cross. I had to do
a couple of coats of both colours. The paint dried very quickly between coats
on the metal, so this made the process very easy.
And that was it! I've been enjoying using my ‘new’ watering can, and it
looks so funky now that I don’t even mind if I just leave it lying around on
the verandah instead of putting it away when I've finished.
Happy painting, and enjoy your week!
Emma
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Simple Bead and Leather Necklace
Creative Ideas:
October is almost over, Christmas is only 9 weeks away and for the first time in years I haven’t even started my Christmas list!!!
October is almost over, Christmas is only 9 weeks away and for the first time in years I haven’t even started my Christmas list!!!
So I thought I'd better get started this week
with something nice and simple. A great
little bead necklace. You only need two 2 things to make this necklace and
will take about 10 minutes.
You will need:
·
1.5m thin leather
·
8 beads
First cut the leather thread into 2 equal
lengths
Next thread 3 beads onto one length of
leather and 5 beads onto the other length.
Hold the two lengths together and tie a
knot on each end just next to the beads. You might find it a little easier to tape one end together
while you do the other end.
Repeat on the other side.
Tie small knot at the end of each length of leather and you are finished.
Hope you enjoy this simple project.
Enjoy your weekend!
Caity x
Monday, 21 October 2013
Crossed Cotton Canvas
Artwork:
This was a very quick and easy DIY artwork project that I came up with
this weekend. The technique used is very similar to my Packing Tape Canvas.
I then chose a
contrasting colour of cotton – I had lots of this leftover from a previous Christmas project.
Then I stuck one end of the cotton down with sticky tape, on the back
of the canvas.
And I started wrapping!
I finished off one way, then stuck the end down
on the back again with sticky tape. Then I started again with my cotton,
wrapping it in the other direction.
This is what the back of your canvas should look like when you have
finished.
And that was it!
Give this project a go – it’s SO easy and it’ll look fantastic in your
house!
Emma
Thursday, 17 October 2013
A Simple Budget Bathroom Makeover for Under $1500
Home Decorating:
After 3 and half years of living in my 1963 bathroom, I've
finally been able to kiss goodbye to my lovely pink bath, basin and toilet!
My original plans for the bathroom were for a complete rip
out and redo, but as circumstances changed I needed to pare back my plans and
look at what I could do on a minimal budget but having the greatest impact.
I myself can’t hardly hammer a nail in the wall, but luckily
my darling partner is a genius at all things building and came to my rescue,
along with his parents!!
Being built in 1963 my bathroom is clad with asbestos. So to
keep the costs to the minimum we decided to keep the existing tiles and paint
them with tile paint ($79).
Most significantly, missing from the bathroom was any form of
storage. So the pink basin had to go. We replaced it with a simple white vanity
from Bunnings ($399) and a large mirror ($40).
For the floor to save some money, and time, we retiled over
the top of the existing mosaic tiles. They were lovely, and it was a hard
decision, but I wanted to try and achieve a calm feel for the bathroom so we
chose a basic 30cm x 30cm porcelain
floor ($2.95 each – total cost $188.10).
We also replaced all the fittings ($137) along with a new
shower curtain and rod ($24) and new towel rails ($9).
The toilet was also replaced with a new white one ($97).
Finally, all the walls were painted Dulux Lexicon Quarter ($105 – but this was
under coat and bathroom paint in 4ltrs as I will be using it in the kitchen as
well).
I hung a basic modern print on the wall above the bath (see
my post from last week) and the total cost of the renovation came in at
under $1500 which includes all the extras I needed including paint brushes,
grouting, silicone, drop sheets etc.
I'm so happy with the feel of my new bathroom, I have no idea
why it took me so long to do it! I can't wait to tackle
the kitchen next!
I hope this inspires you to see what a big difference you
can make on a small budget!!
X Caity
Monday, 14 October 2013
Garbage Bag Roll + Fabric Necklace
Craft:
I decided that I was sick and tired of all my jewellery this week! I Just couldn't find anything to wear, and I wanted something ‘new’ and colourful and
bright… and nice and CHUNKY.
So I decided that the heavy-duty cardboard roll that I pulled out of my
garbage bag packet would be the perfect base for a new necklace! Isn't it amazing what housework can lead to. (!)
This was a very quick and simple project. Firstly, I chopped up my garbage bag roll into little sections using a serrated knife.
I ended up with
11 little rolls in total.
Then I chose my material and cut it up into strips to fit the little
rolls.
I sprayed lots of spray glue onto the fabric strip. Sorry about the orientation of this photo, it's Blogger, not me!
And then I simply rolled up the cardboard onto the sticky fabric, and
set them aside to dry.
Then I chose another type of material and cut a long, skinny strip to
use as the tied bit of the necklace. I attached a large safety pin to the top
of the material for quick and easy threading.
And that was it!! Now I need to actually GO OUT somewhere so that I can
wear my new necklace.
I hope that you give this project a try – you’ll be surprised at how
funky this necklace can look!
You might also be interested to check out my other projects relating to making low-cost jewellery.
Have a great week and make sure you try and fit something creative in!
Emma
Saturday, 12 October 2013
Wrapping Paper Art II
Artwork:
I’m trying to finish off my bathroom at the moment, and I hope to be able to show you my progress next week! So this week (in an effort to get everything
done for the bathroom) I finished off some simple art for the bathroom wall.
This is another version of my original Wrapping Paper Art and I just love how simple this is... not to mention what an impact it can make.
This art cost me less than $2 in total as I only had to buy
the wrapping paper and I already had a spare frame.
I simply cut the paper to size and taped it down inside the
matt.
It’s the easiest art you will ever do and its so cheap to
change whenever you tire of it.
X Caity
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