Tinlights

If there's one thing I love more than cake, it's hoarding. (Himself thinks I'm a hobo in training!) I have bags and bags of tins and glass jars and I have GREAT intentions of doing some crafty things to them! (Thanks to Pinterest!)

Here is a little tutorial I came across; (I don't know what website because I didn't bookmark it, wish I could credit the author :-/ )


Needed:
 1 Hammer (or heavy shoe)
 1 Nail (Not the stick-on ones, one of those masonry ones the boys use!)
 Some cord or an old shoe lace. (Optional)
 1 Tea-light candle


-Take an empty tin (or can) and give it a good scrubbing and peel off all of the labels.(Instead of scrubbing, simply pop it in the dishwasher)
-If you can't get the glue off use a bit of nail varnish remover, I find that helps for most sticky bits.
- When it's all clean, fill the tin with water and pop it in the freezer overnight. (WTF?)
* This is so when you try to hammer your pattern onto the tin, it won't crush or put the tin out of shape.

- If you want, with a Sharpie, you can draw your desired pattern onto the tin. (Please excuse my wonky heart! Hehe)

- Take your hammer and whack the nail so it punctures the tin, continue to finish your pattern.

I know my nails are dirty, it's called manual labour ;-)

- When finished, allow your ice to dissolve and drain in the sink, then pop in your tea-light. Easy peasy and fab, right?

If you want to use these tins as hanging tea-lights simply puncture a hole either side at the top of the tin and thread some rope through.

The allotment..

It looks so bleak at this time of year!

As the weather was atrocious last year and we were over run with snails and slugs, the poor allotment was left to over-grow. I did have some small raised beds planted in the back "secret garden" yet the yield was little to nothing. Lets just say the snails were well fed last year. As it's now coming into April, it's about time to start preparing the ground/beds for planting in May. Some say you are ready to plant in April, but I find the last chance/risk of frost is after the second week of May. The climate has changed so much over the last few years that the sowing and pricking out times have been later and later. 2 years ago I was caught out in May, it actually snowed the first week!! A good way to test if your soil is warm enough for planting is by sticking your elbow in it, if it's somewhat warm you are ready. Another way they used to test the soil in ye olden times was to pull the gruds/knickers down and sit on it but you don't want to frighten the neighbours, right? :)

This week, Himself and Meself got busy! (Dirty minds!) On his day off we armed ourselves with all of the gardening tools and some muscle. The raised beds were all over the place last year and I wasn't very happy with the layout. Behind the raised beds we have another 11ft to the back fence and I was hoping that this year we could put a sitting area in there. We've been using that whole area for mulching/compost so that's going to be a huge job to clear out! (I had planned to lay out the allotment like this next picture because it was so quaint, but as always, any plans I make Himself wants to do the opposite.) It gets great sun in the evening as it faces west so it's a sin not to use it!

I was on Pinterest this week looking for inspiration for the back area, I found this..so simple and it doesn't look like it needs alot of up keep.

 

I love the use of the bamboo, it makes a really relaxing rustling sound in a breeze!

Hokey Pokey

As I live in quite a small home I find myself trawling the interweb looking for ideas and inspiration for compact living and space saving solutions. While poking about this week, I came across this uber amazing video. This furniture is definitely inspired by caravan holidays!

(p.s Lets hope Ikea pick up on some of these designs!!)

M is for..

..Mother. Who left her earthly body on 28th February 2013. I will love and miss her eternally xx

Flaming class!

My love affair with Flamingos started when I was only a wee teenager. I remember sitting watching a David Attenborough documentary with my Dad. It sticks with me because I had PTSD after watching it (drama?) One of the Flamingos was going about his business, grazing in the mud...next thing he knows..he's stuck! The sun had dried out the mud and he was pretty much cemented in. The camera crew just sat there and filmed his demise. I was soooooo upset :( Later that year I bought a 3ft tall wooden Flamingo and named him Roger. He was supposed to come as a pair but I could only afford one..I was heartbroken again. Haha I'm such a sado! Anyway, I adorned my home with Flamingos from then on. Recently, while trying to sort a mood board for my "ROOM OF DOOOOOOOM!!" (The spare room) I found this absolutely class wallpaper from Cole & Sons. I'm not 100% sure of what kind of price range a roll is, I'd take a guess it's around 40euro.

Here's a little collage I made....

• Wallpaper is Cole & Sons
• Paint swatch is Tumbleweed Marble from Colour Trend
• Pictures are from Google image search

My idea for the spare room was to paint the reclaimed old wooden floors and skirting a nice bright glossy white to help reflect some light into the room as it is west facing. I thought the off white, warm tones of the Tumbleweed Marble would warm up the white gloss so it won't have a sterile look. I really think the mink/grey coloured wallpaper would finish off the room. :-)

Any suggestions welcome!

Weddings Day

Later this year I will be bridesmaid at my sisters wedding. Though I'm so happy for her taking the plunge, right now all I can think of is WHAT IF. Yes, the "what ifs" that come with having panic attacks. While trying to use everything I have learned in Mindful meditation to stay relaxed, I have been trying to help Shaz plan her wedding. Let me just say, I don't have patience. Nope, not a bit! After manys a chat about colour schemes, flowers, dresses and all of that fun, I thought she had set her mind on what she wanted. Then.. she changed her mind. Yet again, she picked what she wanted.. yet again, she changed her mind. I know, I know, it's her special day and she wants everything her own way to make it the best day of her life, I'm good with that.. BUT.. get back to me when you have everything picked, set in stone, in fact, send me everything I need on the day and point me in the direction. Haha
Somehow, I feel I should have been a man.

Anyhoodle, here is a little mood board I came up with for the bridesmaids.

The dress is from designer Jim Hjelm and is stocked by Frilly Frocks in Drogheda. The shoes are from Love Label (I've already purchased them, they were 15euros, bargin!) at Littlewoods. The hair-do and bouquet are from boards on Pinterest

Up-cycling

My name is Caroline and I'm a hoarder.

I noticed a trend lately in upcycling, I think it's thanks to Pinterest. As I have an interest in hoarding (It's an interest not a compulsion, right?) I've decided to start painting the old timey/vintage bits and pieces I've picked up over the years. As much as I appreciate the contemporary look interiors, it's not me.. my home was built in the 1860's, it's a very small terrace house, quite pokey. I think up-cycling suits the old-fashioned feel of the house. Recently I went to a vintage furniture painting class, it's a method of using a specialised chalk paint (named so because of the finish) and while I thoroughly enjoyed the class, the paint itself was quite expensive. (Annie Slone chalk paint) After alot of searching on the webs, I finally found a great recipe for homemade chalk paint, it's so simple and you can use left over paint from other projects. The Annie Slone wax is a reasonable price so you could still used the dark wax over this paint to give it the shabby chic look!

Chalk paint recipe;

1/2 cup of Plaster of Paris (cup = American baking cup measure)
1/2 cup of luke warm water
1 1/2 cups of paint


Method;
Use an old tin or plastic container that you are willing to throw away. Mix the warm water and plaster of paris, stirring out all of the lumps. Pour that mixture into the 1 1/2 cups of paint and mix super well. Wait until the mixture has cooled before painting your item.

Valentine..

Normally I wouldn't be one to celebrate the Hallmark holiday known as Valentine's Day. I don't remember if I was always unromantic or it's just because Alan and myself have been together for so long.
At Christmas we hit the 7 year itch and even though we knew how much we loved each other, complacency had crept in. Anyway, we decided to fight hard for each other and managed to get most things sorted in our relationship. (Unfortunately there are still a few wee things we can't change, but that's out of our hands at the moment) It kind of feels since we got back together that we are back at the honeymoon period, which is making the relationship exciting again. So this year, we decided to make the effort and try to be romantic.
I made him a card and bought him some heart shaped chocolates (this makes me cringe, but I'm trying!) and he is taking the day off work so we can get dressed up and go out for dinner.
We don't often get a chance to go to occasions where you have to dress up, as Himself works most weekends, but tomorrow I've decided to make the effort and put on something swanky.

Here is a peak of what I will be wearing;

The dress is the Ruth Contrast Dress from BooHoo.com Although it looks quite clingy and I'm a well rounded woman, the dress compliments the curves. (I wore it to a wedding in July and it was perfect, very classy!) The bag I have for this outfit is similar to this one from the BooHoo website, mine I purchased in a thrift store. The shoes in this picture are also available over at BooHoo, though my own were purchased in Penneys. To jazz this outfit up a bit (it's the rock chick in me!) I have a black leather biker jacket.