Make it: Easy Coasters

A simple DIY today, something I have been meaning to make for ages.  It's that time of year when I am embarking on making gifts for my family and friends in time for Christmas.  I need to get my butt in gear so some quick and easy makes are the answer.  These modern decoupage coasters are a great gift for new homeowners any time of the year but the touch of gold makes them a lovely festive treat, you might even get asked to stay for tea to break them in, 

Make it: Easy Gold Foil Easter Eggs

I am all about making things easy at Easter time, what with Spring cleaning and de-cluttering I want everything to be fresh and minimal. To carry on my grown-up Easter theme this year, I wanted some table centre decorations that were in-keeping with my theme.  I had a bunch of bits and bobs laying around that I had from other projects so I whipped up some of the easiest, classy Easter egg decorations I have ever made.

To make some for yourself you will need: Polystyrene eggs, Temporary tattoos (I used metallic ones I got free with a magazine) White acrylic paint, paint brush, water bowl and sponge, Mod Podge (or PVA glue), an old box or polystyrene (to stand your eggs in to dry), needles or wire to stand your eggs on.

Step 1. Start by popping a needle in the end of your eggs.
Step 2. Holding each egg by the needle, paint the whole egg with white acrylic paint.  You want it to be acrylic so that when you put the tattoo on, the paint doesn't come off.
Step 3. Carefully push the needle into the box or polystyrene for the egg to dry.
Step 4. Paint all the eggs you want to decorate and leave them to dry thoroughly, then add a second coat and again allow to dry.
Step 5. Next cut out the tattoo that you want to apply and grab your water and sponge.
Step 6. Gently push the tattoo in place, then following the instructions on the pack use the sponge to soak the paper on the back of the tattoo.
Step 7. Carefully remove the paper and smooth down any edges or bubbles in the tattoo with the sponge.
Step 8. Dab the excess water away from the area, then coat with a layer of mod podge to seal it in place, set it back on its pin to dry.

Once they are dry you can hang them up with some bakers twine or like me just pop them on a pretty plate in the centre of your Easter table.

Don't they look classy and so grown up. I love how simple they are and so easy to make.  I am making loads to put in a big bowl for when we have family visiting over the Easter weekend. For more Easter DIY ideas head to our Make it page for inspiration.

What Crafts have you been trying your hand at lately?  We always love to hear from you, head over to our Instagram for a chat @liveit.loveit.makeit 

Sammy xxx


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Make it: Metallic Trinket Boxes

Not long ago I spotted these gorgeous trinket boxes on Pinterest and fell in love, until I saw that they were a little out of my price range. So next best thing... DIY! If you were not already metallic-ed out from the festive season then this is the perfect tutorial for you.

You will need: Metallic contact paper, paper mache boxes, scissors and a pencil. 

Step 1. Start by tracing around the lid of the box

Step 2. Then use the box lid on it's side to measure outwards twice to cover the edges inside and out.

Step 3. Cut out the shape and peel off the backing paper, then stick the lid in the centre. 

Step 4. Snip into the corners of the lid alternating straight cuts and angled cuts. 

Step 5. Fold up all the edges then cut again, straight down to the edge of the lid before folding it to the inside of the lid.
Step 6. Measure and cut a long strip of contact paper long enough to wrap around the base of the box and about 4cm wider. Peel the backing paper off and stick it to the box wrapping it around leaving 2cm above and below.
Step 7. On the bottom of the box, cut straight down and flap the edges.
Step 8. Turn the box right side up and cut down to the lip then fold the flaps to the inside. You may find that a little touch of glue helps if any of those edges look like they might peel.

Now you are ready to fill them with all the trinkets you desire, perfect for all your new year organising, they would make very chic desk accessories.  Wouldn't they also make awesome gift boxes? I am so in love with these, even more than the originals that inspired them! I am also a little bit in love with metallic contact paper, I am off to turn everything I can find to gold!

Sammy xxx


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Top 10: Crafting Trends you need to know about in 2015

Talking about trends is always a tricky thing, However there are always some trends each year which you can rely on to be top of the class. These are my Top 10 Crafting trends you need to know about this year. If you are planning new ideas for your makes, blog projects or gifts if you go by these themes they are sure to be a winner.

Tropical - Pineapples were everywhere last year and they are not budging from the top spot this year, joined by their pink pals Flamingos they will once again be everywhere this year. From fashion to homewares be sure to include them in your crafty endeavours.

Blues - four of the ten Pantone colours of 2015 are this cool tone. From minty blue, Lucite green (totally a blue!) to Classic blue, pastel to bright - blue will be the shade of the year despite 'the colour' of the year being the warmer rusty pink Masala.

Origami- or any kind of paper folding, including glue or not, trust me you will see a-lot of folded paper and fabric around this year. This paper star was a free download from the lovely Oh Happy Day.

70's Crafts - Loom weaving and Macramé made a big comeback last year and will be hanging around now that fashion is following suit.

Mixed Metals Silver is making a comeback, Gold and rose gold will still be hanging around but silver is joining the party again. Mixing the three is where the trend wins. Also keep an eye out for metallic foils. A new foiling machine the Minc is on its way from the states and means we will all be able to create those lovely foiled prints we have been seeing all over Pinterest for ourselves

Paint Splatters, dribbles and marbling - Geometric patterns will still be big this year, but we will see looser, softer prints coming through.  Free running painting techniques like watercolour, paint splatters and marbling will be the prints of choice to soften all those geometric edges. Oh and keep a look out for lots hot air balloons, total mini trend alert!

Tassels - Pompom fringe has been on everything over the past few years, it was only a matter of time before the tassel made a comeback too. Think rows of little tassels on everything from cushions to jewellery.

Calligraphy handwriting - I know that one of my goals this year is to brush up my calligraphy skills, and I won't be alone as a new generation are discovering the art of creative handwriting and making it their own. In general 'handwriting' type prints on textiles will be big in 2015.

Dinosaurs, with two Dino films being released this year, Disney's 'The Good Dinosaur' and 'Jurassic World' expect to see a lot of prehistoric themed crafty stuff flying around.  H's Dinosaur hoodie from last year would be a great alternative to all the mass produced merch.

Confetti - because we all love a bit of confetti, brightly coloured paper, sparkles and poppers it's not a party without some!

What are your tips for the top crafty trends this year, What colours are you really in to right now and what materials can you not get enough of ?? What tutorials are you yearning to see from us this year? Let us know in all the usual ways.

Have a lovely weekend
Sammy xx



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Make it: Quick Coin Purse

I thought I would show you a very quick little project today, one which you can make within an hour and use the very same day.  Sound good?  Then let's have a look at how to make this very cute Coin Purse.

You will need: Fabric for the outside (I used two different ones which will be explained later, but you could just have one, entirely up to you), Fabric for the inside, a 4 inch zip, strong fabric glue such as Gutterman HT2, scissors and optional needle and thread.

Firstly pick your fabric for the outside and inside and cut to the size you want your purse.  I had a stash of bits and bobs that I had acquired from the little gifts you get from Craft Magazines and so I decided to use this lovely gold leather look fabric and some turquoise material for my purse.  I recommend always keeping the gift bags even if you don't want to make what is inside as you can always reuse them for something else further down the line.

So, once you have cut your size, making sure you cut it to the length of the zip, you can start to put your purse together.  Now, because my fabric piece was not that large, I added some turquoise material to the edges so that I wouldn't loose any of my gold material to edges.  I decided to glue my purse together as I wanted to use it quickly, but you can of course use a good old needle and thread to put it together.

I glued the fabric to the edges of the gold material so that it joined the edges together and then cut away any excess. I made sure I kept the purse wrong side out to make it easier to work with. Then using more of the turquoise fabric, I covered the inside of the purse (keeping it wrong side out) so that there are no edges showing inside to get my money caught on.  I glued this down spreading the glue thinly over the whole area.

Then, I attached the zip.  As your purse is wrong side out you will need to remember to attach the zip the opposite way, making sure your zipper is facing into your purse and that the edges of your fabric do not go over the teeth of the zip.  It also helps to have the zip in the open position here so that you can turn it through after you have glued both sides to your pouch.

Then you can turn it through and voila!  You are done.  If you need to glue down any edges of the zip you can do this now and I recommend leaving it in the open position for a while, just in case!

That's all you have to do really for a little coin purse.  As I said you can do this with needle and thread, just in the same way.  Make sure you have nice neat stitching would be my only advice, as you will see it on the outside.  You could match your thread or sew in a contrasting colour to make it more interesting.

I thought this was a great project to use up some bits and pieces and also made for a nice and easy make for a spare hour - although it probably wouldn't even take you that long.  I am giving you half an hour to find the fabric you want to use in your stash, as we all know that's half the battle for these projects.

What colour and fabric would you make yours in?  and who would you make it for?  As usual we would love to see if you do have a go at this or any of our projects, send us a photo on Facebook, twitter or tag us on Instagram. Just use the #livelovemake

Now, just to find some coins to go in it!  No mean feat in January!
H


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Make it: Holiday Luggage Tags

Whilst checking out the 'every-things a pound' store the other day I came across these awesome colourful luggage tags and without a second thought I had bought one in every colour... They were £1 each, that is a bargain! I loved them but I knew I couldn't just leave them plain, I needed to spruce them up a little. So I reached for my trusty gold paint and got stuck right in.

You will need: a luggage tag, liquid leaf gold paint and a selection of things to mask off areas - I used washi tape, letter stickers and hole re-enforcers.

For those in the USA, the Martha Stewart gold liquid gilding is brilliant for this, for us UK lovelies this Liquid Leaf is almost exactly the same product.  So for anyone over here lusting after a bit of Martha's gold (like I was), fear not Liquid Leaf is your answer.

I started by taping off a section and popping some hole enforcers onto this one to create a pattern

Then I simply painted over the tag with my gold leaf where I wanted it to be.

For my personalised tag, I used washi tape and letter stickers to mark out my Monogram onto the pink tag.

Once my paint had dried (the Liquid Leaf touch dries pretty fast, but I would leave it a little longer before you use the product to give it time to dry fully) I simply peeled off the stickers using tweezers, to leave my design in relief.

I also had a go at free handing a little message which also looks pretty cool.

So there you have it, a really easy way to identify your luggage at the airport this summer. I am off to paint like 20 more for all the girls coming to Vegas in August for my friends Hen do!

Where are you headed this summer? Are you off via plane, train or Auto-mobile? Steve and I are off for a week, driving to Austria and back via Germany. I can't wait!

Sammy xxx

Just a quick question for you all...
Is there anything you would like to see us D.I.Y. here on Live it. Love it Make it. over the summer? Any tips or tricks in particular you want to know more about??
Let us know in the comments below or as usual on Facebook or Twitter (links below) Thanks xxx

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Live it: Sammy's Christmas Tree 2013

I can't help it, I am a Christmas person, any excuse to put a truck load of sparkly stuff in my home!

I always love posting pictures of my tree, to me it means it's officially Christmas in the Claridge household. 

This year my theme is black, white and gold, I have my white tree from last year, but I limited my colour pallet, re-used a lot of decorations from my collection and added a few new home-made ones too. I made theses sparkly diamonds out of 5 gold pipe cleaners at 10p each, cheap and cheerful. 

I bought some rustic wooden hearts from Hobbycraft and painted them white with a different black pattern on each one, they make a great addition to the tree, and a bargain at around £1.75 each (including ribbon and paint)

The only ornaments I splashed out on this year was these little ceramic owls, they were £3 each from our local Shaw Trust charity shop, so they made me feel good as the money was for charity and how cute are they! The stars are another home-made addition to the tree, I used air drying clay and a cookie cutter. Then painted them white, with gold liquid leaf paint on the edges.

I am so happy with how my tree turned out this year, I love the way it glows in our lounge and I can't wait to put all our family and friends gifts under it on Christmas eve. Here is a quick look at some of the other decorations I have put up too. We have some paper snowflakes in the kitchen, as well as glitter stars over the mirror with a tinsel bauble garland. I made some extra clay stars and strung them up to make a garland over the doors in our lounge, I used some letter stamps to emboss 'wish upon a star' onto the middle, this may be my favourite decoration, I think I may make it a permanent feature.

This Christmas is going to be different for us this year as it will be the first one without my Grandpa who passed away in March. He was such a huge part of our celebrations and we will miss him loads, but I know he will be with us in our memories. He wouldn't have wanted us to be sad and miss him, so we are scheduling lots of games and movies to keep us entertained. In honour of G'pa there may even be some very bad carol singing. 

I hope you enjoyed that little peek at our decorations for this year, I would love to hear about your decorations, If you have posted any pictures, pop a link in the comments so we can head over and take a look. 

Have a magical, festive weekend

Sammy xxx

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