Christmas Julekugler

As featured on the Decor8 blog this is a fab video showing Rie Elise Larsen making really inexpensive but effective Christmas decorations called Julekugler. All you need is some patterned paper(you could use wrapping paper), striped twine and small beads. I fancy making these at the weekend!

Decorative Christmas Bags

I saw this image on Pinterest and loved the effect of the opaque print on plastic bags.

For the last few Christmas's I have made dark chocolate truffles for friends and family and popped them into clear cellophane bags with a nice red ribbon. This year I'm going to take it a step further into festiveness, so on Saturday i bought a pretty lace heart stamp and some Stazon opaque ink in cotton white, which can be stamped on glass, plastic, vinyl, metal, leather, paper, porcelain.... well pretty much anything really. I'll post about the results after the weekend.

DIY Paint Swatch Chandelier

This is a fantastic project for those of you who have recently decorated and have loads of paint swatches lying around, or if you haven't simply go to your local DIY shop and grab some in your favourite colours.  This DIY Paint Swatch Chandelier idea is from the Hey Gorgeous blog edited by Rhi in Western Michigan, she's a wedding and editorial shoot stylist and her blog is now on my list of faves for pretty inspirational images. All you need are paint swatches, a scalloped edged hole punch, some clear or white thread, tape, a small wire lampshade frame and a colour coordinated bow. This simple decoration would make a lovely addition to a little girls bedroom.

All Images from Hey Gorgeous

Peony Fabulous Faux Flowers

Now if you are anything like me you love having fresh flowers in the house, especially at this time of year, but it can add up. One way of cutting the cost is by using faux flowers from Peony. They have wonderfully realistic stems of everything from Anemones to Sweet Peas. Now they're not cheap but if you add up how much you spend of flowers each year, they soon seem that much more of a good buy.

My favourite arrangement is this fantastic Anemone posy.

This mix of Scabious, Sweet Peas and Bluebells is also very pretty and amazingly realistic. They seem to have got that just picked look down to a tee.

I'm also a big fan of Orchids, but for some reason always seem to manage to kill them. Problem solved with these single stem and potted versions.

The vivid colours of these Sweet Peas remind me of my Grandma's garden, she was a big fan of growing these wonderfully meadow like flowers.

These blousey Pink Peonies are also gorgeous.

All Images from Peony

Fantastic Paper Lantern

If you're after a fun project or need to make some colour co-ordinated decorations for a party check out these Paper Lanterns on the Martha Stewart website. Basically all you need is a basic paper lantern, the kind you might buy from Ikea, (your local pound shop might sell them too) tissue paper circles and double sided tape. Personally I can't stand paper lanterns, they remind me of my student digs, but these look so pretty and delicate and because you attach the frame to a light bulb they look even better when they glow!

(Images from Martha Stewart)

If you're after another project this Tissue Paper Pom-Pom is also fantastic, It just makes me want to decorate for a little girls birthday party!

Step 1: Stack eight 20 by 30 inch sheets of tissue paper. Make 1 1/2 inch wide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

Step 2: Fold an 18 inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over the centre of the folded tissue, twist. With Scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes. 

Step 3: Separate layers, pulling away from centre one at a time

Step 4: Bend wire into a loop to fit around napkin, and twist end around loop to secure.

(Images from Martha Stewart)

Masking Tape Decorations from How about Orange

If you fancy a easy project to jazz up any plain ceramics or glassware you have lying around check out this recent post from How about Orange. As you can see Jessica's favourite colour is orange, she has used masking tape strips to make her ceramics just that little bit more exciting. She even suggests colour co-ordinating your belongings to party decorations but if you get bored or fancy a change just peel them off. What a great idea, this lady is a bloomin' Genius!

You can buy Japanese masking tape like this on Amazon, Papermash, Present and Correct, and PrettyTape on Etsy. 

(Images from How about Orange)

Paper Spring Wreath

If your in the mood for a project this spring and want to brighten up the mood of your household with a fun decoration then look no further than Alisa Burke's Butcher Paper Spring Wreath. You can find detailed instructions on each step at her blog.

(image from Alisa Burke)

What Royal Wedding?

I don't know whether you've all noticed but their is a lot of talk about a royal wedding. Well after searching the Internet for inspiration I came across these very patriotic decorations on Design Editor. We are visiting friends that weekend in Wells, Somerset and a couple of days ago suggested we have a very British afternoon tea party in their garden. Included in the free download are party invitation, Royal Flags, treat toppers, drinks wraps, crowns and coordinating papers. These printables will go down a treat.

Images from Design Editor)

DIY Bunting from 'How about Orange'

My favourite paper craft resource Jessica Jones at 'How about Orange' has been using her Silhouette machine to great effect again on this tutorial for DIY Bunting. This super cute bunting could be used at parties or even just to cheer up a friend, everyone needs a little pep talk now and again and the sweet messages on this decoration should do the job. There is a downloadable pdf which you can either print and cut out by hand, or open in Adobe Illustrator and use the plug-in for your silhouette machine.

(Images from How about Orange)

Canapé Flags from Talking Tables

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend? Had loads of fun yesterday at Twickenham watching the England v Scotland 6 nations match. It was my first taste of a live match and even though it wasn't the most exciting of games it was great to be there and soak up the atmosphere, there was even a fox on the pitch who was very entertaining. On Saturday I was pottering around town and popped into Paperchase, I love just looking around especially if I'm in need of some inspiration. I spotted these very pretty canapé flags by Talking Tables and just had to buy them, I thought I could put them in the cupcakes my friend is making for my birthday party on Saturday.

I started to look into other products they did and found these food flags with some shaped like lovely teacups. A fantastic flat packed cake stand in vintage colours and patterns as well as Chintzy bunting. All of these products would be perfect for holding a very English tea party.

(All images from Talking Tables)

Laser Cut Bunting

This lovely laser cut bunting is available from The Hummingbird Card Company, based in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. The company began in 2007 as the creation of two friends, Sally-Ann and Suzi, who met whilst working in the fashion industry. They produce wonderfully delicate laser-cut greetings cards and wedding stationery made completely in the UK, using beautiful textured papers produced in the Lake District. This bunting is a a new line available at the end of March, just in time for when their new website launches. It comes in packs of 6 flags with a 2m length of Ivory ribbon. It would make a great decoration at weddings.

(All images from The Hummingbird Card Company)

Mel Stringer Printables

I was reading one of my daily inspiration blogs PaperCrave this morning and came across these brilliant printable templates for paper cameras by Brisbane based artist Mel Stringer. I love anything you can make out of paper, having always had a fascination with making origami birds. You can purchase the templates for $4 each from her Etsy shop here, where you will sent the pdf for all colour options. I particularly like the Vintage Box Cameras (Last photo). These templates would make a great project for you and your kids, or even if you've just got an afternoon with nothing better to do, not that they come up very often!.

(Images from Etsy)

Inspiring Photos

These wonderful photographs are by Graphic Designer/Shop Owner debee(art). I found them featured on the Decor8 blog but if you go to her Flickr pages she has so many more inspiring shots.  So if you're looking for inspiration for pretty spring colours or styling techniques, look no further. Her photos are also featured on her blog and her Etsy shop where you can but haberdashery and scrap booking items.

(Images from debee(art))