DIY Cocktail Stick Flags

When baking cakes, I like to spruce up each with a little decoration. Whether it be shop bought sugar roses or handmade paper-craft items. Today I had a notion to bake a Banana Cake and eat it with a large mug of coffee. I haven’t baked in ages and I was in a bit of a funk about it. I had lost my baking mojo that I had last year when I started my 52 Weeks of Baking Challenge – which is still incomplete because life got in the way. But making banana loaf/ cake/ cupcakes is incredibly simple, so I thought it would be a good way to ease myself back into baking.

And to mark the official beginning of spring, I thought yellow flags were perfect to finish off my cake.

You will need:

- Scrapbooking card. Or alternatively you could use any colourful card you can get your hands on.
- Cocktail Sticks.
- Scissors.
- Glue. Good old fashioned pritt stick will do!
- Paper trimmer is optional.

What to do:

Take a piece of scrapbooking paper and cut it into a long rectangle. I cut mine 2.5cm x 6cm. Measure it in proportion to your cocktail stick.

Cut out a triangle of your paper. Now you have your flag shape!

Turn your piece of card onto the reverse side. And apply your glue to the opposite end of your cut out triangle. Apply the glue to about 2cm of the card. Place the cocktail stick onto the glued section on the edge. Roll the card with the cocktail stick in it, until there is no glue to be seen.

Do the same to a few flags depending on how many you want to create! I used two patterns, but it would be lovely in a mixture of colours and patterns too.. especially for a handmade birthday party. Or simply to decorate everyday life.

DIY Valentine’s Day Heart Garland

Valentine’s day is upon us and whether you celebrate it or not, it’s always nice to spread some holiday cheer with a little DIY. This loveheart garland is easy to make and takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. It’s made with love and would be perfect to gussy up your romantic meal for Thursday!

You will need:

- Floral card. You could use scrapbooking card stock, old valentine’s cards or anything that is pretty!
- A heart shape cutter. (Or alternatively, you could cut out the hearts free hand)
- String, tapestry thread or sewing thread.
- Darning Needle.
- Sharp Pin.
*Optional* Roses or buttons for either end.

What to do:

Cut out your heart shapes, as many as you like to make the garland as long as you wish. My heart shaped cutter is from X-cuts and was about £6 from a craft store. I recommend using card rather than paper, just to make sure the hearts don’t rip when you pierce them. Pierce two holes in the heart at the top and bottom. I used a cutting mat for this, but you could also use a spongey surface that doesn’t show the pin pricks!

Thread your string or thread through your darning needle and thread through the front of the heart. Then go in the hole at the bottom of the heart and bring your thread out to the front. Leave a gap and then thread your next heart in the same way.

Continue this process, moving the hearts up the string as you add more.

Once you feel you have enough hearts, snip either end of the string.. leaving about a 10cm tail at each end. I added little cream roses to the ends of my garland for extra decoration. But you could add buttons, bells or just leave it plain. You can get little roses from any haberdashery shop for about 5p per flower.

Once you are happy with your garland, choose a beautiful place to display! Happy Valentine’s Day all. x

DIY Christmas Place Setting Inspiration

Carrying on my theme of a Handmade Christmas from year to year has been extremely fun and something that will definitely be a tradition for years to come. This year, I have made gift bags and tags, decorations and also place settings.

A simple DIY which took about 15 minutes in total. Very cute and hugely festive!

You will need:

Cinnamon Sticks
A Christmassy piece of paper (wrapping paper, an old christmas card or scrapbooking paper!)
Tapestry thread or any alternative string you have.
Name tags. I have typewritered mine!
A hole punch.

What to do:

Gather a bundle of cinnamon sticks. I felt 4-5 mixed sizes was a nice amount, that looked abundant but wasn’t too heavy. Bind together your cinnamon sticks with your thread or string. Tightly but leaving enough at either end to secure the tag and make a bow to tie.

Cut your piece of Christmas paper to whichever size you like. Mine was roughly 7cm x 2cm. I then typed up my families names on my typewriter and trimmed them to size. I lined up my Christmas paper and my tags and punched a hole in them. I have a fiskars hole punch, but a regular paper punch would do just nicely!

Attach your two pieces of card (the name card laid on top of the Christmassy card) to your cinnamon stick using the two thread strings you left. Tie them in a small knot and then tie in a bow.

An easy DIY that will spruce up your table for your Christmas feast. For me, the Christmas dinner is the best thing about Christmas. I love how we all come and, to be frank, pig out on delicious food made by my wonderful Mum. Adding handmade table decorations really makes it an even more personal and family filled day.

I hope you loved this DIY as much as I did. And the great thing? The cinnamon sticks will provide a festive scent to your table!x

What I’ve Learnt About Blogging..

When I started blogging, I never thought it could open as many doors as it has. I also didn’t think it would be as enjoyable as it is either! I find blogging a way to connect with my buyers, customers and also my new online friends. It’s a like minded community that I can escape to for a little while each day..Some people look at fashion magazines, I look at blogs.

I don’t have a favourite style of blog. I love lifestyle blogs, the occasional fashion blog, cooking blogs and crafting blogs. Each are unique in their own way and I love reading them every day. You can see a few of my favourites, here.

Here are the little things that I have picked up throughout my blogging experience. I am eager to learn more, write more and share more of my life as I grow up.

Keep on blogging, even if you think no one is listening.
When I first started blogging, I felt like no one was listening. There would be days that I would have 0 stats and it always made me think of giving up. But, holding out and blogging each day pays off. It’s almost two years since I have been blogging and only recently I started to get higher statistics, more comments and ‘likes’. It’s not necessarily for the stats, but it does help when you realise you must be doing something a little right!

Blog what makes you happy.
This is an important one! it’s like giving a speech: you can’t really talk about something that you aren’t passionate about and don’t know the ins and outs of. So blogging is just the same. I love to blog about crafting & baking because I am so passionate about each. However when I try and blog about fashion, I find it a little troublesome and feel I am lost for words. Finding what makes you happy and that you feel comfortable writing about is your goal.

I think that when I put a lot of effort into my post and writing, it transcends to the reader and hey like it more. So I like to really try and make quality content to share.

Take lovely photos.
I truly believe that the addition of quality photos to my blog has been a big help in gaining Messyla lovers. It doesn’t necessarily mean buying a super expensive camera, but just being aware of things like your backgrounds & lighting. Try to use natural lighting and even try and compliment colours. Be aware of your background and foreground: taking a picture of a beautiful cake and having a mop in the background isn’t as good as just the delicious cake..(See here.)
Being aware of these little things can help your photos and the overall look of your blog. As humans, we are automatically drawn to things that are appealing to our eyes.

Keep things simple, clear and clean.
Keeping your text & layout simplistic can really aid the appeal of a blog. I used to have a really busy background and staggered/centered text everywhere..which even made me a little dizzy. So I don’t know how my viewers felt!

Blogging regularly.
When I started to blog everyday or every two days, I felt that I could built up a foundation with my lovely viewers of what to expect. I also felt more engaged with my blog and therefor wanting to produce quality content for each day.

Having a blogger etiquette.
Blogger etiquette is important in building relationships online. Each online blog I follow is written by lovely ladies and gents who share the same love for their writing. Niceness is embraced and it’s nice to be nice. Leaving friendly comments about that post you loved will make the blogger smile but also could lead to a possible friendship and even said blogger finding your blog and loving it to.

I hope you enjoyed this post! These are just things that I have personally picked up through my time blogging. What have you learned? I still have so much more to learn!xx

Creating your own space that evokes who you are!

I vaguely remember a time when I longed to have pretty things. I wanted bed spreads, jewellery, stationary, shoes and everything else that I could greedily cherish in my life. I wanted to echo my personal style and loves in my clothes, bedroom and general ambiance. I love vintage. I love adoring something that has been pre-loved in years Bygone, finding out the history of something that has been in the family for decades or finding little tea stains on the oldest, daintiest cups. What happened in the beginning of these objects lives? Where have they been before they came to me? And what will be the happening of them as they are passed down my family when I grow old and grey.

I wasn’t sure where to start or even what I planned to do. I knew it would be highly impersonal, expensive and childish to just dash out to the shops and pick up every pretty thing and toss it everywhere in my world. So, I knew, that I had to build up my collections. Bit by bit. Little by little. Things that I saw in shops and instantly fell in love with. Teasets belonging to great Gran’s that have been dusty in a cupboard fell into my lap and now adorn my shelves. Now, 4 and a bit years later, I feel I am now at the stage where my personality is evoked in everything I do and how I look.

I couldn’t be happier in my colorful and patterned world. Here are my tips to harvesting your strengths, loves and dreams.

Making a Scrapbook or Mood Board.
If you aren’t sure what your personal fancy is, flip through some magazines like Mollie Makes or Home and Garden and cut out the images you like. Keep collecting and fill your scrapbook or board. Do you see a pattern? Generally you will start to see a pattern of things you have been inspired by.

Start within the family.
The best place to start to find vintage goods is within your family. You might have a 50’s teaset belonging to your great great Aunt that is really special. You could give it a lovely home and a new lease of life. I have dinner services galore that have ran in my family that I am completely head over heels for. Some I have the pleasure of playing with now and others I have the delightful wait to when I am older and have my own family.

Collect. Collect. Collect.
If you like something, buy it. I know that sounds completely lavish and unrealistic. But if you see something so beyond spectacular that you KNOW you will KICK yourself for if you leave it behind. You simply must buy it. Buy it now or regret it later. Within reason. We all know we want this that and the next thing, but I am referring to heart wrenching objects that make our lives complete. Like teapots. Yes?

De-Weed.
Is there a vase in your house, or a picture or a jug that just doesn’t suit you? My suggestion is to perhaps donate it to charity, offer it to a friend or that family member that always liked it. If there is something that makes your atmosphere a little less than perfect, be sure to get rid of it! You want things that you truly love in your life. Not just ‘Like’.

Display, Cherish and Love.

Now is the fabulous part. Relish, marvel and enjoy your life and the pretty things in it. Use your teacups for that boring meeting at work, make special scones and display them for no one but yourself..Enjoy every minute of each day. And the little things that make the big nasty things more bearable.

x

Decorative ways to use a Jam Jar.

I collect a lot of things that are pretty. Pretty bottles from lemonade, tins from tomatoes and jam jars from strawberry jams. I love keeping them for days like today – creative days! Days where my fingers are ready to do something inspiring and extremely adorable.

Let’s talk about recycling. Keeping our jam jars may seem ridiculous buy when we need something pretty for a present or display – we are thankful for our hoarding natures.

A few ideas that I came up with were table centres, adventure pots, gift bags, coffee jars and sweet pots! I initially created all of these ideas and photographed them outside..and they turned out rubbish! So here are some photos that made it.. scarcely.

Adventure Pot:

For this pot, I simply cut out a strip of cardstock at about 2″ x 12″ and wrapped it around the jar. I then cut out a scalloped circle from pretty candy striped paper and then the little label. The adventure pot is for when you go out long walks and find pretty things you want to store for the day.

Sweet Pot:

This pot is my favourite because it is so versatile! It could be used on the living table or even at a wedding. Decorate it with some present ribbon, paper and a cocktail stick sign. Your guests will be fighting for a treat from it’s beautiful centre! This particular design is something I will be making for my Sister’s wedding. The little signs can say “Just Married”, “Paul + Emma”, “Forever + Ever”..etc.

Gift Bags:

This jar has been decorated using a white paper doily and some bakers twine. Fold the doily in half and then (long ways) fold it again. I also made a scalloped square gift tag and added some glittery stars on the lid. Use this as a little gift bag for a special friend!

I hope you liked these little tips and are hopefully inspired to decorate any piece of packaging you may be stocking up..x