Summer shoes

Summer is here and it's about time to put the big sensible boots away in the cupboard and dig out the pretty little ballet pumps. I'm a bit of a cheap skate when it comes to pumps, as I wear them out so quickly and I think it's nice to have them in many colours or patterns.

There's lots of different ways to recycle last years pumps or add some extra flair to an inexpensive pair. I bought two pairs from Primark for £3 or £4 each and only used materials I already had in the house to customise them.

Adding buttons can create a great beachwear or shabby chic look. Just make sure that they either sewn or glued on securely.

Brooches, earrings etc can look great. Just make sure you have two the same or similar.

Bows and flowers are on a lot of shoes at the moment. You can recreate these with spare ribbon. A larger bow adds a more expensive feel to your shoes.

Lace. I love lace on most things, but this gold lace lining is perfect to add a bit of glam.

You can buy already made sequinned panels to add to your shoes. This one was actually off a £2 Primark headband. Just remember to buy two. 

I think I'll buying some more Primarni bargains and customising them. 

Seating Pads

Seating pads are something I see everywhere at this time of year. Everyone is getting ready for summer (or the 2 days in Glasgow that resemble summer) and all the shops are full of outdoor dining tables, chairs and fluorescent plastic plates. Seating pads are handy in that you can put them on any chair to make it much nicer to sit on and then take them inside before it rains. Looking around the shops they do range in price from anything from £1 to £15 and more.

I'm not lucky enough at the moment to have a garden but my kitchen could do with some brightening up and comfier seats. I didn't want to spend too much on doing this so decided to make my own.

Instead of buying new material I went to the pound shop and bought some pretty looking tea towels.

I then cut them down to large squares, turned them front to front and stitched around the outside. Really just like every other cushion I've ever made. I left a hole in one side where I could stuff it. I still had wadding left from another project so used that before stitching up the hole.

To add some detail and make the usual cushion pad shape I stitched a button into the middle, stitching all the way through the cushion to give a more defined shape.

I then attached some ribbon onto one side of the cushion to use as ties.

I'm quite proud of my little cushion pad and will have to get on and make 3 more so all the seats match.
You could use any old or recycled material, buttons and ribbon for this and they don't have to match in every detail, in fact it will probably look better if they don't. If you want more in depth details then just let me know.

Paint it up!

Last Friday I went to Paint It Up at The Life Craft. I took a friend from work and together we painted up a storm. This was the last ever Paint It Up they were going to host and I definitely took advantage of that and painted  more than I have before.

It always starts with good artistic intentions and gets more creative as the drink starts flowing. I'm sure if I had spent more time and effort and wasn't necking back wine at the time then my pottery might have been a little better; but so what it's all part of the fun.

This was the first mug I painted. My mum loves butterflies and thought it would make a great gift for her. It does look like a child painted it, but the effort is there.

This is one I painted for my flatmate who loves buttons.

I definitely started to get too creative with this one. I was in two minds the whole night whether to just start again, but it actually turned out slightly better than I thought.

I tend to like things that are useful as well as pretty, which is why I painted so many mugs as I have way too many empty money boxes. I decided to mix it up a bit and paint a cupcake shaped dish. At a different Paint It Up night I painted a cupcake shaped trinket box, which I currently use a sugar bowl so I thought this might make a lovely addition to my kitchen.

There's still about a week left of The Life Craft being open so it definitely worth heading along to pick up a bargain or paint something pretty.

Colette Ginger skirt pattern

One of the blogs I follow is Cushion and Cake. It's a little crafty tearoom down on Old Dumbarton Road. I haven't been to it yet, really just out of not finding the time but it is on my to do list.

A few weeks ago they were blogging about an easy to sew skirt pattern. I've been recently looking at dress/skirt patterns on Ebay and looking for one to try. It's been a long time since I've worked off a pattern and it would be interesting to give it a go again. So on their blog's recommendation and enthusiasm I decided to purchase the Colette Ginger 1016 pattern.

The pattern has three different versions, version 1 with a pointed waistband, version 2 with a curved waistband and version 3 which has a straight waistband and is cut on the bias, making it great for stripes.

I don't exactly which one I'm going to start with or whether it will work out or be a sewing disaster but I have picked some material. It's a beautiful flowery ditsy print from Remnant Kings costing £5.99/m. There were both cheaper and more expensive materials that appealed to me but I decided on this one. 

I'm actually really looking forward to seeing how it turns out and hopefully giving my skirt it's spring debut.

The Colette patterns are available on their website, but this one was sold out so I bought mine for about the same price from a seller on Ebay.

Now just to get sewing...

Miso Funky cross stitch kit

I've seen this brand around a few times at craft fairs and finally gave in to buying something. Miso Funky  'design and make cross stitch samplers with a modern twist.' They certainly do with vast amounts of cross stitch phrases like 'what would Nigella do?', 'weak tea, weak mind' and 'make tea not war.'

They have them in a variety of homewares and accessories including badges, frames and earrings. What I like the most is that you can buy the kit to make the cross stitch yourself or buy the ready made product.

I decided to buy the kit to make two coasters or magnets, one saying 'I <3 tea', the other saying 'I <3 gin.' Both phrases are definitely true. 

The pack comes with more than enough thread to make the finished product (even with mistakes), aida fabric, a needle, plastic coaster cases, magnets and a fantastic set of easy-to-follow instructions that includes a chart to show exactly where each stitch goes. 

Until getting this I hadn't done cross stitch to a pattern in quite a long time. I found it really easy to understand and follow, which means it would make a great gift even for those who have never done cross stitch before. All in all I was pleased with the end product and it made me want to definitely do a lot more cross stitch.

In the end though I decided that they were much too pretty to be sitting under a cup so decided  to use them as magnets.

The kit I bought cost £15 and can be found here. All kits come with free UK postage and can be sent internationally as well.

If you get a chance you might see Miso Funky at the next craft fairs you visit or just check out their website where they have a huge selection of products and crafts.

Vintage and Craft Fairs

Glasgow is such an amazingly interesting city that is full of artists, collectors, designers and independents.  One of the great ways to see this is in the sheer volume of craft and vintage fairs dotted around the city. Going to these fairs is a fantastic way to support the independent businesses in your area, no matter where it is. Vintage and craft fairs are dotted throughout the country just waiting to be discovered by you.

The main thing I love about vintage is that every bag, every dress and every necklace all have a story, all have a past. You're not just buying a dress. You're buying a dress someone got engaged in, a bracelet they received as a gift so many years ago, shoes that have walked the streets of Paris. They may have also walked the streets of East Kilbride, but it doesn't matter they've lived a life and deserve to be loved.

Craft fairs are also close to my heart in that every piece that is available is painstakingly created by hand and is one of a kind. Something so precious makes a much better gift than buying off the shelf in Tesco. No vintage or craft fair is ever the same and is always quirky and different; something you don't always find on the high street.

Go visit them when you can, you won't be sorry.

Here are some of my favourites:


Gin in Teacups
Normally at Chambre 69 and organised by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
The next one is on Saturday 5th May between 12 and 5.30pm

Afternoon Twee
Normally at Tusk and organised by Indy Traders
The next one is on Sunday 29th April between 12 and 5.30pm

Little Birds Market
Normally at Sloans Bar and Restaurant
The next one is on Sunday 13th May

Sloans Market
Also at Sloans Bar and Restaurant
The next one is on Saturday and Sunday 28th/29th April

Makers Market
Normally at Hillhead Library
The next one is on Saturday 28th April

Granny Would Be Proud
Normally at Hillhead Bookclub
The next one is on 29th April

Say No To Plastic
Normally at the Oran Mor

Glue Factory Bazaar
At the Glue Factory
The next one is Saturday 28th April

Linzertorte

I don't know about you, but I love watching the Hairy Bikers new show Bakeation. They are essentially living the dream buy travelling across Europe and eating, drinking and baking all that there is to offer. I promise you if you're not hungry at the start of the program you'll be raiding the fridge by the end.

Last weeks episode was in Austria where they ate Sachertorte, yodelled and generally made me starving with envy. One thing they did bake was a Linzertorte. It is essentially a yummy looking giant jam tart with a cinnamon flavour to the pastry. Nom. I had to attempt to make it.

It was a simple recipe to follow and all the ingredients are affordable and easy to get hold of. I only made one mistake with mine and that was that I didn't leave enough pastry for the criss-cross pattern on the top. It doesn't look perfect but it does taste amazing and at least I know for next time.

You can find the recipe just here and the most recent episodes of the Hairy Bikers Bakeation are still on BBC iplayer and are definitely worth a watch.