Tips, Tools & Techniques - Crackle Painting

Hello! Here's our regular feature where we share tips, tools & techniques that have caught our eye, things we have Pinned, and things we have tried. These are probably not going to change your life(!) but might make it a bit easier...

I've seen this technique a lot on Pinterest (where else?!) and followed this method described in a fab post by Make the Best of Things

DIY Bug House

While doing a bit of Bank Holiday gardening, I found this bug house that I'd made last year and decided to get it back out into the garden. It had been hidden in a dark, damp corner - but I don't suppose the creepy crawlies minded! 

Tips, Tools & Techniques - DIY Raised Beds

Hello! Here's our regular feature where we share tips, tools & techniques that have caught our eye, things we have Pinned, and things we have tried. These are probably not going to change your life(!) but might make it a bit easier...

Now that Spring has finally sprung (yay!) it's time to prepare for the growing season. During the recent months of non-stop rain, the whole of our allotment site has been completely flooded. The ground is still very wet, so any digging and planting will have to wait, but I have been making raised beds in the meantime!

... and a Mirror Makeover

I have to confess that I have become slightly obsessed with painting and distressing furniture! My latest attempt is a Mirror Makeover!

Obsessions & Distractions - St Patrick's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day for tomorrow!! Here's a round up of some of the great St Patrick's crafts we've seen around....

... and a DIY Painted Chair

Having had a go at painting and distressing my Make Up Storage Box, I thought it was time to try out these techniques on a chair!

... and an Upcycled Make Up Storage Box

This box was originally a charity shop purchase... Although when I bought it I had no idea what I was going to do with it! The box then sat on the side for months, looking at me forlornly, until I finally got round to giving it a makeover!!

... and a Wood Pencil Pot

For Christmas I decided that I would try and make some little homemade presents for family, but as with most ideas I have, I did end up leaving a lot to the last minute! One of the quicker projects was a wooden pencil pot for my Dad, which was designed to match with the Wood Coasters I made for his birthday.

Obsessions & Distractions - Toadstool Crafts

We've gone toadstool crazy this week!

Obsessions & Distractions - Beach Hut Crafts

There's nothing like a good old British Seaside - complete with beach huts of course! Here's a few of our favourite crafts incorporating these much loved icons!

...and Having Fun with Peg Dolls!

Emma from Emma Made recently did a fab guest post for us on Fabric Pompoms for her wedding and we were delighted when she asked us to do one in return! As we had been given a bag of wooden pegs - complete with pipe cleaner arms, from a good friend of ours (Teresa), it gave us the perfect excuse to release our inner child and make some peg dolls!
To read the full post and find out how we made these, please head over to Emma's blog here.

... and some Wood Coasters

Today I thought I would share with you a really quick and easy project - some wood coasters I made for my Dad's birthday...

I started off with a log and sawed it into circles, trying to keep them as even and level as possible! To give the coasters a bit of colour and make them waterproof, I gave each of them two coats of varnish.