Sunday 22 June 2014

Getting Crafty | Don't Throw Away Your Empty Jars

Does anyone else spend hours browsing for craft ideas on Pinterest? I always come across ways of decorating jars, from decoupage to painting. Jars are so easy to collect at home so I gave it a go myself! 

After compiling a craft board I decided that I would spray paint some jars and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. All you need is, a can of spray paint, a collection of empty glass jars/bottles, an area and something to cover that area like a dust for the decorating to take place. 

The most tedious bit is getting the labels off of the jars, especially if there is a lot of glue. I found that soaking them in warm soapy water overnight made the labels peel off easily. I then used nail polish remover to get rid of any excess glue and then gave the jars another wash, drying them thoroughly.

When you are spray painting the jars make sure that you have a large area to do this in. I laid out an old dust sheet in the garage and then placed the jars upside down on the sheet. If you have a space outside then this might also be a good area to use. I would also recommend wearing old clothes and some gloves when painting the jars just in case. Then follow the instructions on the can of paint. I'm guessing most are the same but it's always best to check just in case. I made the mistake of holding the can too close to the jar when I first started using the spray paint which meant that the paint went on way too thick and then started to run down the jar. For an even finish try not to hold the can too close and constantly move it from side to side as you work round the jar so that you are evenly distributing the paint. You usually need to do a couple of coats and some instructions suggest that you leave the paint to dry for a certain amount of time and then go back to apply another coat.




I tried to use masking tape but the only effect that worked was the round bottle in the photo above. I found that the paint would end up going on areas that I wanted to keep clear so found it pretty difficult. I think if you want to achieve a stripy effect or something similar then you would need to use paint and a brush in order to stay in the lines and control the paint. 

Have you tried making anything like this at home? How did it turn out?

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Thrift Store Shopping | Video

I love browsing charity shops in the UK and finding interesting pieces of clothing. So I was really excited to go to a big thrift store when I was in the States recently. My family and I chose to go to Red Racks in St Joe, Missouri whose profits go to local veterans. 

We decided to do a $10 challenge where we would try and find a crazy outfit for that price. We all failed the challenge but we did pick up some great things! Instead of telling you about my experience I thought I would take you guys with me and show you all of the fun things I found...


Saturday 7 June 2014

A Weekend By the Sea...

Last weekend I travelled down to Plymouth on the train to visit Ben's family. It was so nice to get out of busy London for a couple of days and enjoy being by the sea. On the first day we explored the countryside, wandered around the shops in town and went out for a delicious meal at a steak and omelette place. Then on the Sunday Ben's mum Helen gave us a guided tour and we went to a beautiful seaside pub for lunch. It was like a mini holiday! 

Ben takes lovely photos on his 35mm film camera and I thought I would share a couple that he took last Saturday evening.

What have you been up to recently?