Been a while I know. A full month in fact. Since we last ‘met’, we celebrated CNY, I started on yet another photo a day competition (the instagram one! pretty awesome stuff) and of course, we have been busy crafting new items. The shop has taken on a dreamy mood with pearls and Swarovski bling. Quite the impression I have of Sparkle Thots.

But besides that, we have gotten our hands busy too. The son is down with fever so we crafted. Paper roses, ruffled hearts. Very ‘Valentine’. And for those who are interested, hopefully the pictures help. Pretty simple. Just time-consuming. The perfect thing to keep the kids at bay. Hah.

** What you’d need :- any 6 petaled flower, craft white glue, floral tape (the sticky green ones), chopsticks or dowels

• Step 1 : Cut or punch out at least 3 flowers for each flower. (I used 5. Basically the more you use, the fuller the flower will be)
• Step 2 : Fold each flower in half (3 times) so that you get each petal nicely sectioned out
• Step 3 : Cut a split in 1, a petal out of another and 2 petals out of the last (for my 5 piece I did 2, 2 and 1). Keep the cut outs aside
• Step 4 : Glue the flowers together
• Step 5 : Notch the points off the smaller ‘blooms’. Nestle them, one in each other, glue in place
• Step 6 : Curl the petals to form the bud, notch the tips and glue in place
• Step 7 : Skewer the chopstick through the centre of the blooms and tap down with floral tape

Hope it makes sense. If not, ask away!

Till next time… (hopefully sooner than last!)

** for a limited time, packages are shipping out either in a lovely maroon red pouch or tied with a reddish pink bow. Sweet

Edit to add :- here’s how they look bunched together! A cost free upcycled project. Use old magazines, newspapers (unwanted books) or papers for the flowers. ‘Vase’ is an old reed diffuser that’s emptied out.

see the how to at dottie angel

It’d make a sweet rainy day activity for the kids. Simple enough for them to do. With adult supervision of course! Enjoy the upcoming weekend.

❤ simply bloom photography

If you have cake decorating skills that are like my kids’, cake bunting is probably the easiest and nicest way to personalise your cake without destroying it. A simple idea, you can either purchase the bunting or make it yourself. And to get you inspired, here are some images of real cakes.

If you’re buying, perhaps the most famous Etsy seller is Kiki La Rue. Right now though, she’s put her shop on vacay (she’s on maternity leave).

❤ project wedding

❤ kikilaru

❤ seen via luna and chloe weddings

❤ my sweet and saucy

❤ callaloo soup

❤ carli’s clan

❤ jamiemancilla

❤ jamosiesweet

DIY Sugar Hearts

Yes, I have an unhealthy obsession with hearts. You can make the rest of the sugar shapes if you wish. I’m homing in on the hearts. Easy peasy DIY. A fun time-waster activity for the weekend. Make a whole jar and dress up your morning coffees with these sugar hearts and perhaps, just perhaps, Mondays won’t look so blue after all.

Happy weekend!

Seen via WIP Blog, I think I should get the kids to make some. You know, keep them occupied and stuff like that.

❤ pottery barn

Living in the city and fancy too much concrete all around? These lil jars of greenery might do the trick. Self contained, they are little bits of the outdoors brought indoors. And if you feel up to it, you might fancy making one of these yourself. Or just buy them. Do note that there are restrictions on buying these into and out of your country… because, they are live plants after all.

❤ pottery barn

❤ erin ever after

❤ a lovely place card idea from martha stewart

❤ martha stewart

❤ (sold) WhiltsieBridgeCS

❤ doodlebirdie

❤ via grayson by county home

❤ life rearranged

❤ rio mcthorne

Easier than you think! I first saw this idea on Ambrosia Girl (who adapted the idea from How About Orange) and thought these made a fun and easy craft. So whilst printing photos the other day, I threw together a collage of selected shots on polaroid frames and got to work.

So from this …

to this … (I cut up the magnet and upcycled it)

to these (trust me, the magnets are glued on at back)

A quick and easy job! If you want to involve the kids, swap the xacto knife for a pair of scissors. Or get them to select the images. I think these make lovely gifts for Christmas (amongst other occasions).

❤ country living

Well, life kind of snug up on me. I was nursing a very bad throat when I returned from my holiday. I totally lost my voice. Not a peep. The kids were happy I’m sure. As it came back, I tried to manage them. It never quite got the chance to recover. It’s still somewhat there but much much better. And hey, look, tomorrow’s Good Friday?! Perhaps these DIY crafts will come in handy for next year. On the positive note, you’d have an entire year to prepare. Or, hmm, perhaps some afternoon activity to entertain the kids this long weekend!

Have fun!

ps: don’t those bunny ears look adorable?!

❤ martha stewart

❤ by Craig & Whitney with tutorial via Modern Parents Messy Kids

❤ retro mama

❤ stylizimo blog (these would look amazing at a wedding too!)

❤ Auntie Lolo Crafts

❤ kiki creates

❤ martha stewart

Happy Easter

Father’s Day is tomorrow. Have you got anything planned?

Nothing? Well, maybe you could fold a couple of napkins or (money) notes. Keep the kids occupied and spruce up the table a little.

Tutorial and image from How About Orange.

Perfect timing. Lace dyed eggs for Easter.

I actually managed to watch the episode these eggs were featured in. I remember sitting there in amazement and thinking it would be wonderful if I could get them done. With the Easter season approaching, I googled for the how-to and was pleased to find it still archived on Martha Stewart.

However, it does seem like a ‘hit and run’ with this craft. There are quite a few negative comments about how the results are nothing like these while others have gotten the same amazing results. So, use with caution.

Instructions and image from Martha Stewart.

I, probably will have to keep the craft aside for another weekend. Jayden’s down with a fever. All weekend activities planned have been thrown out of the window. I hate the viral bug!