... and a Handmade Flower Press

Now that all the lovely Spring flowers are (finally!) out in bloom, I felt the urge to press them to use in future projects. I had been using a VERY makeshift version of layers of tissue paper and cardboard underneath a heavy book. Although this does the job, it certainly isn't pretty so it was time to make a new one!

When I was younger, I remember having a wooden flower press so thought I would attempt to replicate that. For this I used some plywood offcuts, cut them to size (16cm x 16cm), drilled holes in each corner of the top and bottom pieces and sandpapered any rough edges. For the fastenings, I used 4" threaded bolts, wingnuts and washers - all from the local DIY store.

The wood looked a bit too 'rustic'(!), so to decorate I tried a bit of decoupage with tissue paper and some homemade Modge Podge (water and PVA glue in a 50/50 mix). As the tissue paper was quite thin, I ended up with three layers of the green tissue paper.

Seeing as I had already had some pressed flowers, I thought it would be good use these to decorate as well. Again I used my homemade Modge Podge and finished with a layer of white tissue paper on the top.

The back of each piece of wood was not a pretty sight, so I glued on a piece of felt to give a nicer finish.

The inside of the press is made up of layers of lining paper and cardboard sheets. Traditionally blotting paper is used, but I didn't have any to hand and the lining paper seems work fine.

Once all the pieces are assembled, you have a finished flower press!!

I can't wait to start collecting all sorts of flowers... I feel a Pinterest board on pressed flower projects coming up!!

... and a couple of Lamp Revamps!

Hello! Today we have a very quick and easy project, but VERY effective. Revamping Lamps!

You know how we all have lamps that we have a) had for so long they are in need of some loving, b) bought because they were cheap and could have upcycling potential or c) inherited when merging property with not so tasteful boyfriends?!! My lamps are both from the c) category although to be fair to Dunc, they were just a bit boring rather than ugly and horrendous!

... and a Paint Swatch Canvas

Hello all, it's guest post time! Today's post is by our good friend Deb...

Do you remember Deb who made the Sweet Wrapper Canvas? Well this time she's gone bigger and created this HUGE Paint Swatch wall art!

Tips, Tools & Techniques - Milk Bottle Scoop!!

Hello! Its time for our new post on Tips, Tools & Techniques (as the title suggests!). We hope to share things that have caught our eye, things we have Pinned, and things we have tried. These are probably not going to change your life(!) but might make it a bit easier...

Here's a quick and easy way to reuse your plastic bottles!

Take a used plastic milk bottle (this one is 2 litres), remove labels, wash and dry....

... and Thread Sketching a Notebook Cover

I have been obsessed with the idea of sketching with my sewing machine for AGES. Problem is my teensy machine is pretty basic and everything I had read about called for free motion stitching with a special foot, and the ability to drop the feed dogs. None of which I can do!!

... and some Button Jewellery!

We love buttons. Have we mentioned this before?! We have a HUGE stash including some lovely vintage ones donated from older friends and family who had collected them for years - long before we got into crafting. After pinning many, many projects on Pinterest, we decided it was time to get on with it and we spent an evening making jewellery.

... and a Record Stand

As a self confessed hoarder I can never resist picking up things 'just incase' and during a visit to a local car boot sale last year, I decided that I just had to have some old vinyl records!! When I found them again recently (gathering dust  carefully stored away), I thought it was about time I put them to good use and decided to turn them into a record stand!

I had originally planned to keep the records flat, but then I saw this great post by A Law Students Journey and changed my mind! If you fancy making your own, here's what you'll need....