Christmas Clippings 2014

How did you celebrate? Cx

Thrifty Crafts How To: Make Bowls from Vinyl Records

In thrifty times a perfect craft that reuses old, unused materials can be a great way of 'filling your house for free'. Vinyl records can usually be found amongst family, friends or thrift and second-hand stalls, so why not turn them into a pretty and practical storage container in less than 10 minutes?

To melt a vinyl record into a bowl shape first heat an oven to 100-120 Celsius or 200-250 Faranheit. Then place a small glass mixing bowl (the kind you might make a cake mix in) on top of a baking tray. Put the record on top of the upturned bowl. Heat in the oven for 4-8 minutes, checking regularly. When out of the oven the vinyl should be floppy and fold into a flower shape over the bowl. 

Leave to cool for a minute to allow the bowl the set into shape before releasing the vinyl. Turn it upright and mold it into shape as it sets on the baking tray.

Alternatively, melt a vinyl by pouring boiling water from a kettle over it repeatedly. Be careful of the heat! This usually creates a shallower bowl.

Perfect for chip and dips, crisp bowls, a jewellery container or a catch-all for your front hall junk!

Carpe Diem xx

5 Easy Ways to Do Shabby Chic

Learning a craft (knitting, crochet, etc.), or using the labours of others in your home, can really add that vintage feel and become a fun hobby at the same time! This bear was knitted by one of the ladies at my local hospice.

The best vintage and retro design containers, pots and jars can be free or found in old cupboards. Upcycle them and they become the perfect shabby chic organisers!

Old picture frames and pictures can really add to a room. Why not try reusing an old one and transforming it? It turned the picture in this frame over and used the blank side to create a collage of some of the vintage postcards that I've collected for years.

White is the shabby chic colour (or tint). Why not give old furniture a facelift by painting them white and giving them a distressed 'Les Mis Chic' look?

Fairy lights of all shapes, sizes and colours are the perfect finishing touch to a shabby chic interior, creating cosy decor and the effect of dramatic underlighting.

Carpe Diem xx

Makeup Monday: What's In My Beauty Closet/Room Tour

Here are some snapshots from my room as it is now. Needless to say I have some work to do on my beauty closet and makeup and wardrobe organisation, but bare with me! Having moved out of my uni house, my hair and beauty stuff, clothes and books are now in one place for the first time in three years, and I feel like applying to be on 'I'm A Hoarder: Get Me Out of Here'. I am however a bit of an organisation freak and take tips from YouTuber Alejandra Costello, so this is a welcomed challenge. Watch This Space!

Happy Monday!

Carpe Diem xx