Showing posts with label crafting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafting. Show all posts

Monday, 9 February 2015

Up-cycling

Up-cycling... who knew?!

About a month ago I bought this beauty for £10...


I was inspired by my favourite app, Pinterest, to up-cycle an old filing cabinet for my new home. After searching through countless blogs and 'how to' videos I decided to take matters into my own hands and give it a go using my own imagination. 

Originally I wanted to paint the whole thing yellow as it's such a happy colour and thought it would look lovely and keep me smiling in my new home. The idea was to then glue floral fabric, which complimented the yellow, to the drawers to give it a shabby chic feel. However, the paint failed, probably because it wasn't paint created for metal! And so my brain started to process new ideas and suddenly I had a thought. 

I bought around 2 metres of floral fabric, a dark colour with bright pinks in the flowers, and some mod-podge (Modified porridge me and a friend call it - which it absolutely isn't by the way!) The mod-podge was the adhesive of choice I used to paste the whole thing and then press fabric on to it. I decided the drawers would have to have a different pattern or colour, otherwise the whole thing would look to stocky! I purchased some more floral material and before I knew it I had a completed, up-cycled filing cabinet... 



I don't think I could be happier with this and I cannot wait to get it into my new home. 


Sunday, 8 June 2014

Happy Places

Today I would like to discuss some happy places as I am currently sat in a new found location I am beginning to consider adding to my list of places that make me happy. I think if you want to learn something about someone it's always a great question to ask; "where are you happiest?"
These locations are in no particular order because it would be too difficult for me to rank. However, the first place I list will have to be my number one just for its sheer beauty and fairytale feel, especiallt at Christmas time. I will attempt to attach pictures I have taken of the locations where possible to try and transport you to each setting, as best I can, with an image along with my (hopefully) descriptive words…

1. Central Park, New York, USA. ♡
In 2007 I visited New York with my Family for Christmas and it really was magical. What made it more so was spending time in Central Park, people watching, taking photographs, watching friends and family ice skate together and being chauffeured in a carriage pulled by a man on a bicycle! I don't know what it is about Central Park but it is my favourite place in the world. Maybe it is because you can find peace on its grounds, even though it is surrounded by such a vast city. Or maybe it is because it is so large you could spend the day getting lost. Whatever it is, I am completely drawn to the place and whilst I am not there it exists in my dreams. 



2. Kensington Roof Gardens, London, UK.
Ever wander around London looking for places to visit that don't charge sky-high prices? Well this was me in March. I decided I needed to get out of town for a few days and so found myself getting lost in our capital city, London. I had read online about some free entry places and thought I would go and explore them. Kensington Roof Gardens was like stumbling across a gold mine when it comes to beautiful places. 150 feet up above the city lies a beautiful garden that grows around the outside of an even taller building. Free of charge you can explore the impressively colourful flowers, the ponds that glisten when the sun is shining and that are occupied by ducks and bright pink flamingos! The views are of course breathtaking and if you feel tired there are garden benches and other seating available in every section of this tranquil setting. If you get a little thirsty or peckish there is even a bar one floor above, "Babylon Bar" which offers a variety of drinks, including cocktails (I recommend the painkiller), snacks and even hot dishes. I give this place a ten out of ten for being a unique and jaw dropping setting, just feet above a busy London. 





3. Little Italy, Haddenham Village, UK. 

If you're like me and love to sit in a coffee house and people watch whilst enjoying a well made beverage then you will love this gorgeous coffee house. A chain of impressive and quirky espresso bars, Little Italy is the perfect place to relax and enjoy peace, love and espresso! Originating as a mobile van which toured to serve the public excellent coffee, it is now a chain of coffee shops with a friendly and welcoming team. Find your nearest shop in the Oxfordshire area: http://www.littleitalyespressobar.com/locations.htm



4. My Car, OB2. 
Driving pointlessly around with the sun shining, the windows down and the music blaring is sheer bliss. Where would I be without my beautiful brum brum? When I found her I found freedom. The freedom to drive wherever and whenever I want. The freedom to leave or arrive at any destination. OB (Olive - After my Nanny, Button - because the car is as cute as a button!), is my second home and provides me with comfort and excitement.



5. My Crafting Den, My House, UK. 
If you are a frequent reader of my blog you will know that I am quite the creative person and have recently taken up crafting. Having scrapbooked for a few years I began using an app on my phone called 'Pinterest' which allowed me to source new ideas for my scrapbook pages. Whilst scrolling I came across some craft ideas which I was desperate to try. After succeeding at this I began having creative thoughts about other crafting bits and bobs I could create. Now, whenever I have a spare hour I am sat in my Crafting Den (The spare room!) and producing more and more quirky and cute crafts. 



6. A Cuddle, anywhere.
My favourite thing has to be a cuddle and of course, as you may already know, some people are just really good at giving cuddles. I am not going to now list all the people I love cuddling because of their awesome hugging skills, but what I will say is I think it is so true that a cuddle releases anxiety, stress and tension and leaves you feeling happier, confident and so much more loved than you thought you were. If you are ever having a bad day, call up a cuddle expert! 

So, that is it for my Happy places today but I can't wait to continue exploring and discovering new locations. 
Where is your happy place? 

Wednesday, 4 June 2014

AmieJ Crafts

As mentioned in my last blog I wanted to provide you with an introduction to my new project AmieJ Crafts, my crafty and fun hobby which keeps my plenty busy. 



It all started when scrapbooking became my new hobby and passion. I would will away hours decorating pictures and pages, storing away my favourite memories creatively within a book. I have made several now, for myself and others. I just love getting crafty with paper, photos and glitter! After using Pinterest to inspire more scrapbooking ideas and layouts I discovered something else; crafting. 

Crafting is the most varied way to have fun and get creative. I love all things cute and sentimental that I decided I would use my new found interest in crafting to create gifts and keepsakes for people. These seem to make a lot of people happy which, in turn, made me very happy. Crafting therefore became my perfect hobby. 



I was creating keepsakes and other gifts alongside designing and printing my own greeting cards. I began to sell my products on local FaceBook sites and my products were becoming quite popular - as popular as they can in a small town anyway! I was then advised to set up an Etsy account to share my creations with people across the globe. This sounded completely overwhelming at first but now I am all set up. My idea was turning into something physical so I decided it needed a name; AmieJ Crafts was born. (I am sure I don't need to explain how AmieJ was formed…) I did debate a quirky name but felt my products didn't need something comic to make them sellable so I went with a more 'does what it says on the tin' approach. 

This is one of my crafts in time for Father's Day - 
A message in a bottle with a twist keepsake.


I feel really proud and excited to have set up this wonderful world of crafting for myself. I wanted to spread my excitement through showing the public my products and they appear to be receiving great feedback and interest. I am so lucky to be able to do something I really enjoy and share it with the world. 

This is a card design inspired by the small pencils they hand out at IKEA! 


Please check back from time to time to see updates on my crafty creations :) 
You can visit my Etsy shop here: AmieJCrafts
Or stop by my FaceBook page: AmieJCraftsFB