babies are more trouble than you thought… hah.

I was motivated to work on hairbands this week! Mainly because a certain little girl managed to break my 20 odd year old hairband to pieces. No more plastic pieces for her!

So, because I can, I got to work on a couple of new ones. On metal frames. Pretty happy with the results.

Except the model wasn’t quite cooperative. *sigh* cue memory on first line of the post. More proper shots of the hairband when I can get a better model or at least this one in a GOOD mood.

Spent the weekend tinkering around with Swarovski crystals. Some experimental and some for a custom order. All I can say, boy, do the folks behind Swarovski really know what they are doing! A lot of dazzle for something still friendly on the pocket. Shimmer, shine, dazzle your way through dreary days.

My current hot faves are these simple studs. Simple, elegant pieces that are great for everyday wear. They are pocket-friendly and great as stocking stuffers, best friends’ gifts and / or wedding entourages. These round studs are currently available in the above colours but are customisable in just about every shade imaginable. Great fun!

Aren’t these the sweetest stars? *swoons*

Now available in store.

The teeniest heart we have in stock!

It’s an overcast weather kind of Valentine’s. Terrible for photoshoot so I’d just leave it as that. A sneak peek into the latest offering we have been meaning to share. A dainty, teeny tiny heart strung on a delicate rope chain. Perfect for layering, suitable for personalisation, great for everyday wear. A barely there kind of piece that you don’t want to remove.

Anyhow, enough of jewelry. Since I can’t offer it today, I’ve ruffled hearts to share instead. Those on my twitter and instagram (sparklethots) feed would have seen the ruffled hearts from last week. I finally got the elusive last piece to complete the project. A shadowbox styled photoframe. I got this as a nesting set of 4 at Typo (Singapore seems to only have the turquoise and brown wood versions). Anyone know where else to get these sort of frames, tell me.

A pretty easy craft, you’d need approximately 1 hour to complete. Less if you work fast and don’t try to multi-task (*sheepish*).

You’d need :-

1. cloth remmants
2. heart shaped template
3. scissors
4. needle and thread (doesn’t matter what colour, cannot be seen)
5. shadowbox frame

What to do :-

1. cut out your heart base, doesn’t need to be perfect
2. cut the cloth remmants into approximately 2cm squares (again doesn’t need to be accurate)
3. pinch the square at the middle, and sew it onto the heart (I like to start at the centre tip)
4. sew as many or as few as you like, the more you sew the denser the heart
5. occasionally pause to ‘ruffle’ the sewn squares to see how it is coming along
6. trim the heart to shape (if it goes ‘off’)
7. fit it into the shadowbox

Re the shadowbox… while the stock picture of the Eiffel tower is pretty and all, it just doesn’t go with the heart. I lined the frame with some pretty scrapbook paper instead. Scarilege maybe but so much nicer!

Some tips to note :-

Keep an inch around the heart and frame. It works much better this way. Any fabric can be used, I used tee-shirt scraps.

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