Homemade by Hail

Monday 14 December 2015

My First Stocking!

My step-daughter asked for a stocking with her name on it this year. I had already bought an iron on letter A (this first letter of her name) from Cath Kidston, with the view to making something for her, but didn't know what. Perfect - a stocking!

I was going to do this as a step-by-step, but as it being my first stocking, it was very trial and error. I used red and white felt found on the remnants table in C&H - always worth looking there first. Here are a few pics of the process:

I started with a cardboard template. When I make more stocking they will all be the same size.

I drew a line around the template onto the material, but with the template facing the same way. This means that the line on one side of the stocking will show. Like I said - trial and error.

I'm pleased with the result for a first time though, and will definitely make more in the future!

Let me know what you think!

Sunday 6 December 2015

Christmas wreath

Looking around shops for a Christmas wreath this year, I couldn't find one I liked or thought that they were very expensive for what they looked like. So I made my own this year!

I bought a plain fake wreath from B&Q for £4:

My hubby and me then went to a few country lanes, only 5 mins from where we live, and picked some holly, fir and ivy:

I started by adding the fir around the back of the wreath, then I added the holly around the front of the wreath and the ivy closer to the middle. I attached a red bow and some gold sprayed fir cones which, again, we kept from our Christmas wedding last year. I took the fir cones out of the table displays and the bows were decorating the room in various places. I actually used a bow on the mirror above my fireplace as well - very satisfying that the inside and outside decs match! Anyway here is the completed wreath:

This is my first ever attempt at a homemade wreath, so I'd love to hear your opinions!

Here is a wreath that you can buy from Homebase for £12.99 (and the link to buy incase - got to be fair!) and my wreath next to it. Dont mean to be biased, but I much prefer mine!

Saturday 28 November 2015

Christmas Decs 2015

Here are a few pics of my fireplace and Christmas tree this year:

Fireplace - The reindeer were part of my wedding cake last year

Christmas tree - Father Christmas also came from my wedding cake

And here they are together! The canvas behind the tree is a pic of Matt and I seeing our Christmas wedding cake for the first time <3

Here's Cassie enjoying the Christmas fun:

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Monday 9 November 2015

Nursery furniture

It's been a while since my last post. . . but I have good reason. No sanding or painting in the first three months of pregnancy! Now I'm 16 weeks, it's time I got on with some up-cycling projects, and having to furnish a nursery is the perfect excuse.

My first project is the cot! This is the cot that I slept in, as well as my younger sister and brother. My mum and dad got it out the loft for me last weekend. Here it is now:

The cot is blue and a very faded shade of pink. It has a couple of large stickers and six little animals on springs:

So the search for child friendly paint begins! Off with the stickers, and I'm not sure what to do about the little animals. What do you think?

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Monday 14 September 2015

Super space saving DVD storage

I hate clutter!! I would live in a white sterile home if I could ;-) Anyway one of my pet peeves has been our DVD and CD storage shelves. They stood either side of the fireplace in the alcoves, bearing in on the room:

I just think they look so messy. So after a bit of research and trips to the shops, here's what I've come up with:

The DVDs are in DVD envelopes, on which I've written the name of the film, the rating, and whether its a DVD or Blu-Ray. I've put them in alphabetical order, using some simple cardboard labels. I've also separated them into two rows - adult films and children films.

I haven't worried about how it looks too much, as I am storing the box on the coffee table that I have previous up-cycled (and written about on the blog):

No more nasty DVD cases! Hurruh! What do you think? How do you store your DVDs/CDs?

Monday 31 August 2015

DIY mix and match photo frames

The living room has finally had a fresh lick of paint - no more bright red!! We choose an earthy cream colour for the main walls, and will be adding the green to the alcoves either side of the fireplace.

I have also finished the frames! I had a frame draw - a draw full of mismatched boring frames. Here's what they looked like before:

As you can see, a few of the frames had pics in and a few didn't. I used the same green Valspar spray paint that I used for the top of the coffee table and the lanterns. I spray painted them outside on a large piece of cardboard.

I am really pleased with the results! I used picture hanging hooks from B&Q and just tapped them in lightly until I could see that I was happy with the design. I did have to move all the frames up slightly as they came down quite low in the end. Once I was happy with the design, I hammered the hooks in fully. Here's the final result:

You'll notice that there's no pics in them yet - My hubs didn't want personal photos to go up on the blog :-)

And here's the before and after of the living room wall:

With the cream carpet we have ordered, and new white doors on the way as well, the room is starting to look so different! I'm really pleased with the result, what do you think?

Monday 24 August 2015

Hide all your living room electronics - Up-cycled coffee table

I sit on my sofa staring at all the black electronics under the coffee table, gathering dust and generally looking ugly:

As you can see, it's totally uninspiring, as is the red wall (the painter and decorator is here today hurruh!)

The living room and dining room are having a green theme, with only the alcoves of the fireplace being painted green in the living room area. I spray painted the top of the table with green spray paint and made some 'curtains' to hide the bottom section:

Excuse the photos, it was a breezy day. I simply attached net curtain wire inside the table, hemmed the material and attached! The dvd player and Wii can still be easily accessed and the room looks much prettier. Well it will do when it's been painted. . .

Let me know what you think?

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