If you
have some ‘time expired’ books such as out of date restaurant or travel guides
or have a few charity shop finds why not create some book ends from them. Top
with a child’s toy animal, sprayed with Rustoleum paint.
A few
books (hard back are best) Make 2 piles of books and make sure that both piles
are roughly the same height when on top of one another
Paint
brush
Glue gun
2
Using
PVA and a brush glue the pages together round the three sides of the book.
Obviously the spine is left as it is. Once the edges are dry, Use the glue gun
to stick one book on top of the next.
3
In a
well ventilated space, spray the pile of books you have stuck together, with
the neon paint. Spray the plastic toy
with the metallic paint and leave to dry.
4
Glue the
sprayed animal, to the top one of the sprayed books. Repeat steps 1-4 with the
second book end.
I was lucky enough to find a couple of mid century modern dining chairs
on ebay, but the covers were dull as ditchwater and needed replacing. I found a
great upholstery fabric at https://www.craftysewer.com/
that gives more than a nod to mid century. I loved the colours on the underside
of the fabric so I have used it reverse side up.
You will need
Screw driver
Fabric
Stapler
Scissors
Tape measure
Step 1
Unscrew the seat from the frame.
Step 2
Place seat on fabric, and cut out the fabric including a 4in overlap.
Step 3
Staple on the fabric at each of the 4 corners, as shown in the picture.
Step 4
Fold and turn the edge fabric over each side of the chair and staple
into position. Screw the newly covered seat back onto the chair.
by Juliet Bawden photo by Antonia Attwood Styling assistant Elsa Collier
I have devised a simple heart shaped wreath for Valentines day. This is a one off for the day. If you want the wreath to last longer use fake flowers and leaves, or use a heart shaped florists oasis for the foundation and use fresh leaves and flowers as we have here.
1.You will need
15cm Polystyrene heart from £2.20 from
Hobby Craft
With a plethora of oranges in the shops at the moment, now is the time for this cake. It is made from whole oranges, ground almonds, eggs and sugar and is totally gluten free, no flour or butter in this recipe.
Everyone has a signature dish and this is mine. There are many variations of this recipe, some with fewer and some with more oranges and I even found one with the addition of olive oil. This is my recipe and I have been making it for over thirty years and believed it to be Armenian in origin, but sadly that is not the case. You will find a version of this cake anywhere that oranges are grown, including southern Europe and the middle and near east. It is quite moist and pudding like in texture.
HINTS and TIPS
Because oranges vary so much in size it can be hard to judge the quantities. If the mixture seems too wet before you put it in the oven, stir in more ground almonds.
If the oranges are not organic, change the water after half an hour and bring to the boil again.
I often cook this cake in the evening and if it is not cooked through, after an hour and a half, I turn off the heat and leave it overnight to finish cooking in the oven.
YOU WILL NEED
4 (preferably organic) oranges
6 eggs
250g ground almonds
250g castor sugar
1 teaspoon of backing powder
Flaked almonds
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Spring form loose bottom cake tin 23cm wide
Food processor
Baking parchment
Mixing bowl
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Put the oranges in a saucepan, boil until soft, up to a couple of hours. Throw away the water and leave the oranges to cool. Turn on the oven to 160 degrees. Line the cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Cut the oranges into quarters and remove any pips and the pith from the middle. Put the quarters, including the peel, into the food processor, and blitz into a pulp. Pour the pulp into a bowl and put to one side. (you only need to do this if your food processor is a small one).
3. Break the eggs into the food processor, add the sugar, baking powder and ground almonds and blitz. Once finished, mix with the orange pulp.
4 Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin and put in the oven for one hour. After an hour sprinkle the flaked almonds on top of the cake and put it back in the oven. If after another half an hour the cake is not cooked through, cover the top of the cake with baking parchment and check it regularly.
Hessian, Fringing and all things textural
are still going strong as an interior trend. So I thought I’d buy some fringing
and upcycle an old lampshade. I am very pleased with the result.
You will need
Lamp Shade
Glue gun and glue sticks
Scissors
Roll of Hessian Fringing
1.Wrap the fringed hessian round the base
of the shade and add an extra centimeter and then cut.
2. Stick the first band of fringing to the
bottom of the lamp so the edge of the fringe is parallel to the edge of the
lamp.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 sticking the
fringing so it just touches the row below.
Do this until the lamp is covered in fringing.
4. Pull away the cord that holds the
fringing together on all the rows and then put it on the lamp base.
Today’s make is really an Ikea Hack of a Nornas Bench transforming a rather dull nondescript softwood bench into an on trend vibrant padded seat/coffee table by being creative and painting, dying, and doing some sustainable up-cycling.
Following the makers instructions dye the velvet and leave to dry.
Saw off the edges of the bench so that there is no overhang.
Paint the bench black and leave to dry.
Cut a double layer of wadding the size of the bench top, plus enough to drape over the edges. Cut away the corners and then staple the wadding to the underside of the bench.
Press the velvet before using. Drape the velvet over the bench and leaving enough for a 2cm seam allowance, mark with a pen remove the fabric and then cut away the corners.
To give a neat edges to the corners, turn the corners under and iron on the webbing
Place the velvet over the wadding covered bench and staple the velvet into position on the underside.
To make the cushion. Cut an old duvet up so it is the size of the bench top.
Cut the rug into two pieces, the size of the bench top plus 1 cm all the way round.
Sew the old duvet round its edge to the wrong side of one piece of rug.
With right sides facing sew the piece of rug with the duvet attached to the other piece of rug. Sew round three and a half sides.
Turn the cover through the correct way and then close the opening by over sewing.
Tips. I learnt this trick at art school, when I was stretching frames for printmaking. To get straight edges when stapling, start in the middle of one side and staple to the edge then do it with the other edge and then repeat with the opposite side and then do the other two sides in the same way.
Lampshade kit with 20cm diameter (£8.33 from Dannells)
Old sailing chart or a piece of fabric 645mm x 220mm
Use of a Photo copier
Follow the kit instructions to make the lamp shade. From a practical point of view sailing charts are quite stiff. It is easier to copy the part of the chart that you like onto photo copy paper and use that to construct the shade.
Separate the glass into colours. When filling the carafe be gentle as you are using glass. I placed the dark green glass into the carafe first. I then added the pale green and finally the white glass. I filled up the carafe to the top allowing for the cork to still fit in.
Measure the center point of the cork stopper, and then start cutting away the cork. Keep trying the bottle lamp adapter in the hole, to make sure it fits. When it is a snug fit, put the stopper into the bottle and the adapter into the stopper. Fit the lamp over the top of the base and add a bulb.
