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Upcycled Wire Lampshade
Following on from the oriental lamp upcycling post, here’s part 2: the upcycled wire lampshade. For this I used: An old circular lampshade (I got mine for a couple of pounds at a charity shop) Fencing wire Wire cutters Floristry wire Spray paint (I used copper) Sticks from the garden First I removed the material from the lampshade, leaving the wire frame. I washed the frame with warm water and a scouring pad to get rid of any glue. Then I measured how tall I wanted the lampshade to be and cut the wire to size. Watch out with cutting the wire, I cut my fingers several times on the…
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Upcycled lamp
Kitsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer containing precious metal, celebrating the full life of the piece and making something beautiful out of something broken. This was my inspiration for this upcycled lamp. As you can see, it is an old lamp base made out of an oriental style vase and had a lot of areas where the paint had chipped away. I used gold leaf to fill in these gaps before painting over with a clear varnish (I actually used nail varnish here!). I think it looks a lot better and means I can keep it in our guest bedroom rather than throwing it away!…
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Upcycle – Welsh Dresser
I found this dark wood dresser in a charity shop a few years ago and loved the half circle designs and pane glass windows, plus it had great storage cupboards for toys and games. It was crying out for a bold colour to upcycle this welsh dresser. So I grabbed a can of peacock coloured paint that was suitable for wood and got painting. I like to see the original colour of the piece so focused on the drawers, cupboards and back of the piece while keeping the shelves original. To pick out the details, I used a drybrush technique on the patterns to make them stand out more. What…
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Bedside table upcycle
An upcycled bedside table
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Rope Rainbow Hair Clip Storage
After seeing a hair clip rainbow from the fantastic Nerdy Knits, I wanted to have a go at making something for my little one’s growing collection of hair clips and hair bands. After a lengthy discussion involving mermaids and unicorns, we landed on a rainbow hair clip storage solution. You will need: Macrame rope (I used 10mm thick) Wool in your choice of colours Ribbon for hanging Fabric Button Needle and thread Hot glue gun (or use the needle and thread to attach) I used the same method to make the rainbow as in my Rope Rainbow post, except I used three lengths and cut the rope long so there…
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Fabric Paint Meeple Curtains
Another lockdown, another lockdown project! This time, I wanted to brighten up our games room by zshushing up some plain curtains with brightly coloured meeples. Read on to find out how I created these fabric paint meeple curtains with a homemade stamp. You will need: craft foam cardboard pva glue scissors or scalpel to cut out the foam masking tape fabric paint paint brush or roller to spread the paint curtains / material To create the stamp, I (full disclosure – my husband did this bit as he’s a lot better with the scalpel than I am!) cut a large meeple shape out of the craft foam and then stuck…
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Upcycled fabric Christmas tree wall hanging
I have a quilted wall hanging that I made a couple of years ago and I love it, but it’s autumnal so I always feel I have to put it away at Christmas. This year I decided to make it reversible so that back is now an upcycled Christmas tree wall hanging and I can have it up in my house for longer! This was also a great scrap buster for green material! First, I edged the wall hanging with red material from an old pair of curtains. This formed a nice 4 inch border frame for the picture. Next I arranged a selection of green fabrics into a pattern.…
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Easy upcycled face mask using a pair of leggings
I was so impressed when my daughter made this easy upcycled face mask from a pair of leggings that I wanted to share it with all of you! This pattern will fit a small adult’s face (the elastic is a little tight on me!) or a child. Firstly, take a pair of child’s leggings, ideally ones that have been outgrown or are never worn. Cut off the legs so you have about 22cm of fabric. Pin a 2cm hem each side. Sew the hems. You can use running stitch or backstitch or whip stitch if you don’t want the stitches to show. Make sure you leave a good sized channel…
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Autumn Wreath
An autumn wreath made with leaves and conkers
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Pallet den
A wooden den, made from upcycling pallets
