Bluebells in the Woods

So I haven't blogged for a while... to say the last few months have been hectic is a bit of an understatement! But I am back and I have a new camera so I expect there will be a lot more content on here from now on. 

These are some photos we took on a walk around Randwick Woods on a sunny day about a month ago. I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country. 

DIY Paper Pom Poms

My Mum turned 50 this month and what was originally going to be a very low key gathering at the house, very quickly turned into a huge party when I became involved. I love organising parties and one of the first things I knew I wanted was paper pom poms and a lot of bunting. I had seen these pom poms all over pinterest and a friend of mine told me how easy they were to make so I decided to give it a go myself. They really are so easy and look so effective. There are tons of video tutorials on Youtube about how to make them but I thought i would do my own step by step guide in pictures.

You will need lots of sheets of coloured tissue paper, some thin metal wire, some string and a pair of scissors. I experimented with various amounts of tissue paper and for the large pom poms shown in the picture above I used about 6 sheets of tissue paper. some of the videos recommend you use up to 15 sheets of paper but this gave a much denser effect and I liked how mine looked slightly more floral.

Next you need to line all of your sheets of tissue paper up and start folding them in a concertina. It is important that all of your sheets of tissue paper stay in line because it makes it easier when you come to cut them later on.

One you have finished folding, you need to find the middle point and pull each side out to make a double ended fan. 

Next, take the wire and wrap this around the middle. 

My wire was pre cut and was quite long so I twisted it together and then wrapped it around again to make sure it was extra secure.

After this you will need to attach the string. It is best to do this now because it is quite tricky to tie it on once the pom pom is finished. All I did was thread the piece of string under the wire and tie it in a loop. 

The next step is to cut the edges of your fan to the shape you would like. I went for a scalloped edge because I wanted my pom poms to look like flowers. I have seen some with pointy edges that look equally as good. I found it easier to cut a few layers at a time because my scissors weren't good enough to go through all of the layers at once.

This is what it should look like once you have finished cutting the edges. You need to pull it out so that it looks like a double ended fan again. You can also see how I have tied the strong on a little bit better in this photo.

All that is left to do is start lifting each layer of the tissue paper. You will quickly start to see the shape of the pom pom come together. You need to be quite careful when doing this because the tissue paper can rip quite easily (I had a few casualties!) Luckily it doesn't matter if they aren't perfectly formed because it adds to the quirkiness of them. 

Once you have finished lifting about half of the layers, flip the pom pom over and start lifting the layers on the other side, This creates the sphere effect you are looking for and also makes the pom pom look more even.

Here is a cheesy picture of my holding the finished product!

I hope this post is helpful to anyone who is planning party decorations or just likes a good old DIY.

I have a few more blog posts on the way from the party including a DIY Photobooth and the Birthday Cake so keep your eyes peeled. 

Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

Today's bake was very much spring inspired. It has felt so warm recently and definitely not like winter at all. The daffodils have started blooming two months early and there was some definite frog movement in our pond this afternoon! 

I have always been a huge fan of lemon drizzle cake but it is never a cake I have attempted to make myself. It is traditionally made in a loaf tin and cut into slices however I do enjoy mixing things up a bit when I bake so I decided to try making them cupcake style. 

Ingredients

for the cake:

8oz margarine or butter

8oz caster sugar

4 eggs

8oz flour

zest of 2 lemons

for the drizzle:

5oz caster sugar

juice of one lemon

for the icing:

4 tablespoons icing sugar

enough lemon juice to mix to the consistency you want

lemon zest to decorate

Method

for the cake:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees c/gas mark 5

Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy

Crack in the eggs and beat until the mixture is smooth

Mix in the flour until fully combined

Stir in the lemon zest

Spoon into cake cases and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

for the drizzle:

Mix your caster sugar with the lemon juice and stir until combined

While the cakes are still hot poke small holes all over with a skewer

Spoon some of the drizzle over each of your cakes

for the icing:

Once the cakes are completely cool you can ice them (this step is optional)

Mix your icing sugar with lemon juice until it is a pourable consistency

Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over each cupcake to create the line effect

Sprinkle a little lemon zest on top for decoration

Then all you need to do is grab a cup of tea, put your feet up and enjoy!

How to: DIY Decoupage Storage Unit

I recently went to a little boutique shop where they were selling sets of draws covered in different floral prints and I fell a little bit in love, until I lifted up the price tag and they were selling them for between £30 and £40 depending on the size. Being a student I am constantly in need of storage as I pretty much have to keep my life contained into one small room but I was definitely not willing to pay those sorts of prices.

I knew I could pick up a relatively cheap set of wooden draws from ikea and having done some decoupage before I knew that would be the way to create the look I wanted. So that is exactly what I did. I also took some step-by-step pictures as I was going along for anyone who is interested in trying this out.

Step 1

First you need to start with a set of draws, mine were £17 from ikea (although you can use any piece of furniture you feel needs a revamp). You will also need glue, (I used 'decopatch' it is a PVA glue which also has varnish in so leaves a gloss finish) a paintbrush and the paper. I picked up the paper from my local craft shop for £1 a sheet but you can find it for cheaper online if you are willing to pay for postage. I bought 4 sheets of paper but only ended up using 2 so I have plenty left for another project. 

Step 2

Once you have all of your materials the first thing you need to do is rip the paper into pieces, I found it easier to rip as I was going along so that you can tear off pieces to fill the gaps. I made sure I kept the straight edges of the paper for the edges of the draws so I didn't have to worry about folding it to fit. 

Step 3

You then dip your paintbrush into the glue, put some glue onto the draw, stick the piece of paper down and then put some more glue over the top to varnish it. You keep sticking down different pieces of the ripped paper until the whole of the draw is covered, overlapping the paper until you can't see any of the wood.

Step 4

Next I painted the outside of the unit cream. I just used some paint that was left over in the shed. I only had to do two coats and I didn't have to be particularly neat as the draws cover up the inside anyway.

Step 5

Once the paint has dried and you have finished decoupaging all the draws you can pop them back onto the shelves and it's done. It was so easy and I had a really good time doing it. And the best part is, at the end you get to peel all the dried glue off your hands like you are back at primary school!

Here is a close up of the pattern once it had dried. 

This is such a good technique and you really can do it to anything, my mum decoupaged a letter 'K' and a lamp for me for my uni room last year and I can't wait to move back to Cardiff and start using these draws!