Autumn Wreath

I was quite taken with the beautiful autumnal colours on a recent walk, and before I knew it I had filled the pram's shopping basket with leaves, twigs and conkers. As all of my craft things are packed away, I decided that I would embrace my inner womble. When I returned home my husband seemed a little bemused by my squirreling little scavenger hunt. I sat and had a little ponder, as to what to make with my finds. I decided to create an Autumn wreath.

Things you will need.
Sticks
Leaves
Needle
Thread

Firstly I wrapped the long sticks, I had collected, around and around in a haphazard manner and poked the end bits in among the other twigs. This took a bit of fiddling about until I was happy with the arrangement.

Things I have learned from this - perhaps use some string to hold this together as every time I moved one of the sticks another fell out. Try not to use sticks with thorns. (Ouch!) Also, if the sticks are not bending easily and snapping then wet these and they should be easier to shape.

Next I surveyed the array of leaves I had collected. I decided that I would form some of the leaves into flowers. Strangely enough the leaves I collected from the ground were a bit dirty, so first I dipped them into water and got rid of the dirt. This also helped make them more pliable when shaping the flowers.

Once I had washed a leaf, I bent it in half and wrapped it round to form the middle of the flower. I then took a needle and thread and put a few stitches in. I then took another leaf and kept adding more and more petals to the flower until it was the size I desired.

I made different sized flowers to be interspersed between the twigs of the wreath. I then positioned the flowers and attached them to the sticks with the thread and left the wreath to dry. The leaves weren't quite as bright orange, but I still love the colour and texture now they are dry. 

I love making objects from things that are literally lying around. What's your favourite autumn crafts?

How to create a glitter champagne bottle...

As I had a Christmas wedding, my day was full to the brim of sparkle. One of my work colleagues is getting married at the weekend, so I thought I would glitter up a bottle of bubbles to make her day more twinkly.

All you need is...

Champagne (or in this case I have used some M&S cava as I prefer the taste and the price!)

Sponge or paint brush 

Craft glue 

Glitter of choice 

This really is super quick and easy. Simply sponge or paint glue on to the bottle and sprinkle on glitter. Having tried both, I found that using a paint brush worked so much better. It is more precise and I managed to get a thicker covering of glue (this is important to get a more professional look).  Make sure that you keep sprinkling the glitter until you cannot see any of the bottle. As you can see in the photo below, where the bottle is partially done, it looks far better when the glitter completely covers the champagne. 

Another top tip, to add some sparkle to your bubbly, is edible glitter in the bottom of your champagne glass. When the champagne is poured, the bubbles makes the glitter swirl about and keeps doing so until you finish your glass. It really is spectacular! This was a crowd pleaser on my big day and I had endless amounts of people enquiring how I created the effect.

How I miss my sparkly day. I wish you could wear your dress everyday!

Let's hope the weather stays nice for a sparkly wedding day in the sunshine. Congratulations!

Customising kitchenware

I thought I would share with you some of the quick customisations I made when I had a spare half an hour last week.

Chalkboard heart mug

This was created using Pebeo black chalkboard paint for Porcelain and Pebeo porcelaine fine marker in anthracite black. I painted a chalkboard heart on the mug, so I can alter what I love each day over my morning brew.

Heart shaped cake plate

I love to make tasty treats to greet my husband on his return from work (we'll see if this is kept up when I return to work!), so I created this little plate for my baked goods. Again using Pebeo porcelaine marker and heart shaped plate £1.49 from B&M. 

Salad dressing jar

I always use some random jar to put my salad dressing concoctions in (I like to experiment with salad dressing), so I thought I would decorated one jar for this specific purpose. This was again using Pebeo porcelaine marker.

Once I had finished doodling, you let them dry for 24 hours then bake in the oven for 1/2 an hour at 150 ° C.

I've been a very busy crafting girl of late. Eventually I will be able to share some of the things I have been working on, but as most of my friends are turning the big 3-0 this year I'm busy organising and making gifts.  I did have a lovely relaxing weekend of doing very little at my sister's in Wales. As usual there was lots of yummy food and great company. She did a sterling job at getting me to eat some green veg - I was surprised how much I enjoyed her fresh summer salad (recipe here).

Hope you have had a lovely relaxing weekend.