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

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 

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. 

Hope you enjoy this cool take on my glitter play dough!

Happy creating!

Caity x

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

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

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!!!

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

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.

Firstly, I painted a canvas for the background colour. 

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

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 

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

Wrapping Paper Art II

Artwork:

Apologies for the late post this week - we've had some technical issues with Blogger.

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.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

X Caity  

‘It’s a dry spring this year’ Pencil Tracing on Plywood

Artwork:

Well here at our place, we are still waiting for rain! My painting (of the same title) from some weeks ago obviously had no effect in the moisture department!

So this week, I felt like creating a simple and plain artwork, in response to this very dry weather. And I called it “It’s a dry spring this year.” 

This design was EXTREMELY simple. Firstly I whitewashed a plywood panel. I’m sure there’s a correct way to mix the whitewash, but I just decided to add water to some white paint I had. Couldn't be bothered fiddling around with anything else!

Once the wash was dry, I got out a saucepan lid to trace around. I used a saucepan lid because it’s easiest (and quickest) to have a handle on the thing you’re tracing around. Then you won’t smudge the pencil and you can move the lid quickly (as opposed to using a plate, for example).

Then I simply picked up my pencil and started tracing! 

I completed my ‘spring’ design by adding the title of the picture down the bottom. 

I like this artwork, it looks quite funky in my house. Let’s hope it helps to break the drought soon…

Enjoy your creating if you decide to try this project out!

Emma