Cosy autumn finds...

I start this post with an apology for the sparse blogging of late, I have excuses at the ready though! Firstly, I was enjoying the weather and basking in the beauty of my little baby boy. Secondly, I have not been in great health. Thirdly, we have been busy with the stressful pursuit of purchasing a house. I hope you have all enjoyed your summer and are now getting ready for the more inclement weather.

The weather appears to be turning, and as I am eagerly awaiting moving, I am currently dreaming of cosy autumnal nights sat in front of the fireplace in my new home. I cannot wait to start baking stodgy puddings, and making hearty soups. With Halloween and Bonfire Night just around the corner, then the build up to Christmas, I could not be more excited! I love this time of year!

1 Hand knit mug warmer from Etsy.

2 Cookie jar from Marks and Spencers.

3. Furry boot slippers from Accessorize. 

4. Booties from Next.

5. Cable knit jumper from Joules.

6. Pyjamas from Next.

7. Earmuffs from Accessorize.

1. Gloves from Accessorize. 

2. Flower earrings from Accessorize.

3. Leaf necklace from Accessorize.

4. Shoes from Monsoon.

5. Bag from Accessorize.

6. Shoes from Accessorize.

7. Dress from Monsoon. 

Since I have done these style boards, I had a quick trip into my local Primark and bought some bargain versions of two of the items.  I bought a cable knit jumper pretty much identical to number 5 and some studded nude ballet flats identical to number 6. The jumper was £12 (unlike the Joules version at £69.95) and the ballet flats were £6. (unlike the Accessorize at £25) I was a happy shopper! 

Hopefully in the coming weeks we will move into our new home and I am looking forward to sharing with you the transformation into a cosy little nest! I won't leave my next visit with you so long next time! 

Housebound Arts & Crafts

We have had an eventful couple of weeks culminating in me having a week's stay in hospital. I am therefore, going to be housebound for the upcoming weeks, so I'm probably going to turn to some arts and crafts to keep me busy.

Twine bottle with paper flowers

I've seen these a few times on pinterest and decided to have a go at making them.

What you need:

Empty wine bottle
Scissors
PVA glue
Super glue
Lace ribbon (I bought mine from ebay - there's lots of choice)
Pearls/crystals (I had some pearls from a broken necklace)
Old book
Twine (I bought mine from Wilko £1.49 for a large ball)

First take labels of your wine bottle and make sure it is thoroughly washed. I put quite a decent blob of superglue to stick the beginning of my twine to the top of the bottle. Then I started to wind the twine around the bottle. I used the PVA glue to stick the twine to the bottle and the twine together so there wasn't any gaps. I didn't glue all the way down the bottle, but just used PVA glue and then superglue at intervals. It holds without it all being glued. 

Whilst your bottle is drying you can make the paper flowers. I used pages from a charity shop book for the paper. (It was in Spanish so I was unlikely to read it.) Remove a couple of pages and draw on three spiral designs and a couple of stalks and leaves. Cut along the line and cut out the stalks and leaves.

Once you have cut them out they should look like this...

You then need to glue along the inner edge of your spiral and stick it together lifting up the outer edge, so it creates a flower shape. Once you have created your flower shape stick a pearl or a jewel in the middle or it looks pretty just as it is. 

I let my bottle and flowers dry overnight. I then added the ribbon to the twine bottle and arranged the flowers and glued with PVA glue. 



This is really an easy project that I think is really effective. Hope this has inspired you to give it a go.