the green gal

Lovely Monday

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There are so many things I love about this photo. I love how the flowers look like they've just been picked from a garden, it makes me feel like Spring and pretty fleurs aren't too far away. I love that the vases are actually tin cans covered in pretty paper – so simple and so effective! And I love that there's a long line of vases running down the table, not just one or two spaced far apart, flowers look even prettier in abundance!

If you want any more ideas for how to make your own flower vases you might want to check out this DIY I wrote a while ago… 

PS Thank you so, so much for your lovely comments on here, twitter and facebook about my home featuring in Style at Home. I'm super smiley that you all like my home and really touched that you took the time to tell me. You're a lovely bunch, you are! xx

Daisy Green magazine

I've written a few times about fab website daisygreenmagazine.co.uk but this time I can tell you they've produced the magazine in print!

The website has been growing from strength to strength for three years so the team decided to take things a step further and produce a 32 page, A5 size magazine to showcase all the website has to offer. And, yep, little ol me has a feature in there too. 

The magazine is being given out at lots of events but you can get your hands on a free copy if you ask the lovely Daisy ladies nicely, find out how here. 

There's a Spring edition already in the making…!

Too beautiful for a wall in my house

find it here

I am totally in awe of this. What an incredible piece of visual wall art to create from the humble vinyl record. Quite possibly recycling at its most beautiful. Just awesome in the proper use of the word. Please, please take a look at Paul Villinski's work here, there are even more incredible pieces to behold…

Tutorial: How to make an envelope

I've been meaning to post a tutorial on how to make a paper envelope for a while but a comment from a twitter friend this week gave me the push I needed! When you've gone to the trouble of making a card for someone special it's so much nicer to present it to them in a handmade envelope too. So, here's how you do it…

1. To make an envelope that will fit an A6, postcard-size card you will need: an A4 or US legal size sheet or a piece of paper measuring 21cmx21cm, ruler, pencil, scissors and double-sided sticky tape.

2. The piece of paper you're going to use needs to be square and measure 21cm each side. With the sheet best side down, the easiest thing to do is fold one corner of an A4 sheet over to the opposite edge and then cut off the excess strip to leave you with the square.

The only drawback is that you'll have a crease showing on your finished envelope.

3. Turn your square so you have a corner pointing down. Measure 9cm up from the bottom corner and mark the point. Measure 7cm in from each side corner and mark these points. You are going to fold the corners in at these points so to make it easier you can draw a line across each mark so you can see exactly where to fold. 

4. Fold the three corners in along your fold lines.

5. With the side flaps folded in, add double-sided sticky tape to their bottom edges so that the bottom flap can stick to them. You only need a thin strip so cut a piece of sticky tape down the middle lengthways before sticking onto the edges. Fold the bottom flap up so it sticks to the side flaps and you now have something that looks a lot more like an envelope. I like to tuck in the little point you have sticking up from the bottom flap but you can cut it off if you'd rather. 

6. On each side edge of your envelope, measure up 11.5cm and make a small mark. Using the ruler to make a sharp crease, fold the top flap over. In creating the top flap you've folded over the top corners of the side flaps and so the envelope looks a little 'unprofessional' with this little bit of excess folded paper. So you can just snip it off to leave clean edges.

7. And there you have it, your finished envelope! You can seal it with regular sticky tape or double-sided tape, or a sticker or glue, or whatever takes your fancy :)

I used a plain sheet of white recycled paper for this tutorial but you can use any paper or thin card you like. How about an old map or a magazine page? The options are endless!

I hope you liked this tutorial and found it useful. I'm very happy for you to share this tutorial but please name this blog as the source and post a link back to this post rather than give the full instructions. 

I plan to make tutorials a bit more of a regular feature so I'd love to hear what you think of this one. And if you want to share pics of envelopes you make do leave links in the comments box so I can take a peek!

Junk for Joy!

Do you remember way back in March I told you about a book I was going to be featured in? Well, it's called Junk for Joy! and it's out now! (There's me below!)

It feels like such a long time ago since I talked to Sian about my little business and remade service, about a year in fact! It is such a fab book and I'm not just saying that because I'm in it. Author Sian Berry gives lots of different ideas to revamp tired old items, from big projects that will take a few hours to quick make-its that give you results in less than an hour. The photographs by Sarah Cuttle are beautiful and as well as little ol' me you can also check out Dave and Debbie Powell from the Bracknell Re-Use Project, Hilary Bruffell from Make It and Mend It and Peter Martin from Junkk. Plus there's a very useful Resources section at the back.

Published by Kyle Books Ltd, you can find it on Amazon here.

Making for fun

I have recently realised that I rarely create something for the sheer fun of it. Making and designing for a living has become so all-consuming that I find that all my creative energy is channelled into work. But last weekend things were different!

The hubbie and I decided it was high time we tackled a few of the jobs around the house that have been on the to do list for far too long. There's still lots more to do but at least we checked a couple of things off the list. As well as painting a new piece of art, making three cushions and stretching a gorgeous piece of fabric over a canvas frame to make a picture, we also updated an old mirror. The mirror above was a rather naff-looking pine mirror but a couple of coats of Farrow & Ball duck egg paint later and it's vastly improved.

Have you made anything purely for the joy of creating recently?

We also discovered a treasure trove of a vintage kitchenalia, furniture and bits and bobs in a nearby town and it's taking all my willpower to not run back there every day to see what's new! When we find homes for more of our new finds I'll share some snaps, promise. In the meantime you could always look at yesterday's post which features a beautiful vintage typewriter I picked up on eBay…

The Challenge is over

In February 2010 I set myself the challenge of not buying any new clothes for a year. I allowed myself to buy secondhand clothes from charity or vintage shops, or make my own (that never happened), you can read my original post here. 

So, a year and a few months on, how did I do? Well, since the official end of challenge on 23 February 2011 I have bought a pair of tights. Yep, that's it. And that was only because I felt I should buy something (why I don't know), plus I fancied wearing plum coloured tights. 

A year of not going in clothes shops and recycling catalogues without opening them seems to have retrained my brain to just not think of clothes shopping. I don't buy the usual women's mags so I don't get tempted from that direction either. 

So, what have I been wearing the past year? I won't bore you with numerous snaps of jumpers and tops and dresses, but I thought I'd show you a couple of nice little outfits I found secondhand, just to show I've not been walking round looking like a slob the whole time:

The dress, belt and cardigan all came from charity shops, the leggings are a few years old, the boots were a brilliant find in a Monsoon sale about seven years ago (not sure how many more times they can be resoled), and I bought the vintage necklace at the Bath handmade and vintage fair I had a stall at last Christmas. The dress was too big and needed taking in but this is now one of my favourite outfits to wear.

This is a piccie from last summer. The belt is from a charity shop and my lovely friend, Kirsty, found the dress in her local charity shop and kindly redonated it to me. A little bit of adjustment to fit and it's a perfect summer frock.

And lastly, a little bit of glamour (I know, I'm trying and failing to pull of the Audrey Hepburn look)! I found this 1950s shift dress in my local vintage clothes store, called Shrewd, and it fits so perfectly I just had to have it. The brooch was found in a charity shop, as were the shoes – I had to have them because they're green and they fit but the heels are a bit scarily high for me. I love this outfit, even if I struggle to walk in the heels!

Thanks for your support and encouragement over the past year, it definitely helped to know that the wider world knew about the challenge I set myself and would hold me to account over it! If you're thinking of doing something similar I say go for it! If, like me, you're not a big new fashion buff you probably won't find it too hard. 

The challenge has really raised my interest in vintage clothing and, knowing I've given a second life to some really lovely clothes that also only cost me a fraction of their original cost, and that I've saved them from possibly being landfilled, has made me smile a lot over the past year. I'm sure I will end up buying the odd item of new clothing but my attitude towards clothes shopping has definitely changed for good.

Ready for my close-up

Yesterday was not an average day at the green gables. I spent the morning tidying and beautifying my garden studio and the afternoon being photographed in it. 

A few months ago I was contacted by Sian Berry, writer and green campaigner, as she was interested in featuring me as a case study in her new book, Junk for Joy. After I got over the shock I agreed, of course. We had a lovely chat all about the creations I make, in particular those made from recycled materials, such as my Remade service where I take treasured pieces of clothing and remake them into new pieces to use or display or give as gifts.

find it here

Junk for Joy is a follow-up to Mend It!, all about helping you to fix an item rather than automatically binning it. Junk for Joy focuses on recycling old into new and I think there are three other people featured as case studies as well as me.

So then I come to yesterday. Sarah Cuttle, the photographer who worked on Mend It!, and her assistant, Issy, arrived to take photos of me (only a few of those, thank goodness) and lots of my handmade products. They were quite taken with my shirt cushions and wildflower paper bunting. 

It is universally agreed that a quite nasty shirt can make a quite lovely cushion cover

They were so lovely and friendly and made me feel at ease in front of the camera, no mean feat I can tell you! It was fascinating to watch them at work on the still life shots, I hope I've picked up a trick or two to improve my own photography skills.

I think until yesterday I didn't really believe it's happening – that I am really going to be featured in a book! For my career to date I've been the writer behind the scenes so to be the subject, all be it a small one among many, feels quite different and v exciting!

Junk for Joy is published by Kyle & Cathie in September and I'm really looking forward to getting loads of ideas and tips from Sian as well as reading about the other featured folk. I'll be sure to tell you all about it as soon as I get my hands on a copy.

A DIY on Daisy Green

The lovely ladies at daisygreenmagazine.co.uk have let me and my meddlesome making loose on their website. Each month I will post a little tutorial, to start off I show you how to make personalised present from an old map.

Go to daisygreenmagzine.co.uk to find out how plus loads more on living a fabulously ethical life.

Cake stands are not just for cake

I've been looking for a way to display/store the jewellery I regularly wear and this weekend I happened across the exact thing…

Yes I know it's a cake stand, but I can't eat cake all the time, can I? But I can display my favourite necklaces, pendants, bracelets, brooches, rings and earrings on a pretty thrifted cake stand. I've no idea if it's vintage, but it looks pretty! And it was a bargain from one of my local charity shops.

And in case you're interested to seeing it in its natural habitat in my bedroom, it lives on top of a chest of drawers, surrounded by a wedding photo, perfume and a pretty glass bottle given to me as a present years ago:

Do you give household objects a new use? I'd love to know, and see pics if you have them!

In other news, on Thursday you can find me at daisygreenmagazine.co.uk with a little tutorial on making a map picture present. It's the first of six monthly articles I'm writing for the brilliantly stylish eco magazine so do check it out if you get a mo.