DIY's I want to Try October

Copper Leaf Garland by Nicest things  //  Floral Pumpkins by Sincerely Sara D  //  Autumnal Floral Crown by Us via Cellardoor Mag  //  Twiggy Letter by the Happy Housie

I Love Autumn, but I don't want everything I make this month to be Halloween themed so I have been on the look out for simple and fun Autumn themed crafty projects to keep me busy. I found some really lovely autumnal ideas that I will be giving a go this weekend. What about you? What autumnal crafts do you fancy trying this season?

Sammy xxx

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Makers Month: Make it: Shibori tie dyed curtains

 

Dyeing fabric is a bit of a new obsession for me and one which if I’m not careful may consume my entire house! I had dyed fabric in school and university but recently had another go with as it was the focus of one of my We Make Collective boxes. If you want to know all about this and what I did with my kit you can read about it here.

 

So when Sammy and H got in touch to see if I’d like to share a DIY on the blog I thought my dyed curtains would be perfect to share as it’s super easy!

What you’ll need: White cotton curtains - or any cotton fabric, Dye - I used indigo dye from the kit but normal fabric dye will work too, Rubber bands/string, Rubber gloves.

 

Step 1 - Dampen your fabric to encourage the fabric to absorb the dye more readily

Step 2 - Mix up your dye as instructed on the packet. I used indigo dye which can be a little trickier to get ready but once you’ve mixed all the ingredients it should have a film on top like this...

Step 3 - Tie up your fabric with your rubber bands or string. You can follow traditional patterns such as pleating or marbling or just make it up as you go along! The basic rule is that wherever you tie on a rubber band it should prevent the dye from reaching the fabric and create a pattern. I chose to pleat my curtains so began by folding them both with the same sized pleat by laying them next to each other as I folded.
 

This was by no means an exact science but again all adds to the charm of the overall effect. Once I had pleated both curtains I attached my rubber bands along the fabric. Mine are blue as I had used them previously.

I wanted to try and get them fairly evenly spaced on both curtains to create a similar effect when dyed.
 

The most important thing is to make sure that you tie the rubber bands or string on tightly as if you leave any room for the dye to get in you wont see any pattern when you take them off.
 

Step 4 - Dye your fabric! You want to immerse the fabric in your dye carefully to avoid spillages and wearing gloves can help to prevent funny coloured fingers! It will probably float on the top so make sure you keep turning it every now and then to achieve an even dye. Again follow your dye instructions for this. If using indigo dye you only need to leave your fabric in the dye for a few minutes and then take it out where it will slowly turn from green to blue as it oxidises.
 

Step 5 - Hang to dry & then display!

I have also used this technique as part of my year long creative project #daphnerosainbloom where I am using a different flower in bloom each month to inspire me to create something and blogging about it here. April's tulips definitely benefited from my new obsession!

I hope you enjoyed the DIY and have lots of fun exploring the world of dyeing! I’d love to see any of your efforts so do be sure to tag me on Instagram if you share. You can find me at @daphnerosaflowers.

Kate, x

Thanks so much to Kate for this fabulous tutorial, don't forget to #livelovemake on Instagram or twitter if you give this a go and tag @daphneroasaflowers too of course!

Now, what can we use for all the Shibori dying we are going to be doing! ha ha
H & Sammy, xxx

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Hayfever Free Fabulous Faux Flowers

Clockwise from top left: Felt Bouquet / Paper Hydrangeas / Pompom Stems / Fabric Florals / Magazine Blooms / Felt Flowers / Polyester Peonies / Story Book Roses / 

I love a good bunch of flowers around the house, it makes the place feel so fresh and happy. I am however lazy... and a little cheap, I just hate that they die so fast. I love my succulents too but sometimes you just need some colour don't you think? Another issue for me is that our H is allergic and my Steve gets hay-fever! I am hoping these amazing crafty creations might just be my salvation. The links above take you to the tutorials to make all of these beautiful faux florals, a good compromise for my house hold, now just to choose which ones to make first. 

H and I are off to see the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the V&A today, We are sooooo excited! Check out our Instagram as we will be posting live all day on our little London day trip. 

Have a lovely weekend

Sammy xxx

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Make it: Fabric Flower Brooch from 'Buttons and Paint'

Today we have a lovely guest DIY from Buttons and Paint blog. We came across their blog one night on Twitter and Sammy realised that the girls live just down the road from us so we got in touch, the rest is history, we have guest posted on their blog with Liberty Print Button Rings and now it's their turn on ours, take it away girls!

Hello, we are Simi and Sian and we share our crafty adventures on our blog, Buttons and Paint! We're really excited to be able to guest post for Sammy and H, and share how to make a Fabric Flower Brooch.

We took inspiration from a great post by Little Livingstone, and chose this type as Gerberas are some of our favourite flowers!

To make these flowers you will need to cut 10 circles from your fabric. Our circles were 2 inches in diameter and we used a jar to trace around, so that each one was the same size. Fold each circle in half and then in half again.

Take your folded circle and sew a couple of stitches to keep it in place. To form the petal shape, sit it on the flat edge and fold down the edges. This is similar to folding down a shirt collar! Then make each section by sewing two petals together at the bottom point.

To create the flower shape, sew the five separate sections together using a long thread.  Pull the thread tight and secure it in place with some stitches on the back.

Don't worry if the middle looks a bit scrappy as the next part will cover a multitude of sins! We decided that our flower would look pretty as a brooch, so we glued a piece of felt and a brooch pin to the back. Then the front was decorated with a button (any excuse to use buttons!!)

And that's all there is to it!

We really enjoyed making this fabric flower and now we've got the hang of it, we'll definitely be making more with different colours and fabrics. We reckon they'd make lovely presents - perhaps for a last minute Mother's Day present? What would you use yours for?

Sian & Simi x

A big thanks to the girls for showing us how to make these adorable brooches! If you want to see more of their blog head over to Buttons and Paint to check it out, you can also find the girls in all the usual places…. Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest 

Friday Favourites: Flowers, Hearts and Bows

{Go Make Me}

This was meant to be a post to tell you all to book up for our Craft club at Norden Farm on the 28th of Feb, but amazingly we have sold out! There are two other workshops that are still available which you can read about in this post.

Now for all of you who missed out on the workshop this time round I have found some websites with great tips for making flowers and bows from fabrics.

{Cherry Street Cottage}

{Simply Homemade}

Have a lovely weekend

Sammy xxx