How to lino print your own patterned fabric for sewing projects

August 24, 2020.Reading time 10 minutes.

Planning a sewing project to make your own soft furnishings? Fancy upcycling a t-shirt with a design of your own? It’s easy to create a pretty pattern with lino printing and here’s how to do it yourself…

New interiors trend – How to make a statement with your ceilings

October 14, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

What do your ceilings look like? My guess is that they’re painted white, possibly textured and definitely without wallpaper, right? Well the latest interiors trend that I’ve spotted all over Pinterest is decorated ceilings. This under-utilised space above your head can now be adorned with images, patterns and effects. So, read on to find out some ways to incorporate this trend into your own home…

3 low-cost fashion trends to borrow from your grandparents

October 11, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

Autumn’s here and the new season fashion has hit the shops. If you’re bewildered by the selection, I hear you! I had a quick whizz around the stores and have concluded that A/W18 fashion can be grouped into a few textures/patterns so here’s how to get the look for less this year…

How to add colour & pattern to your floors (the easy way!)

July 2, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

What’s the quickest and easiest way to update your floors with a splash of colour or a sprinkling of fun pattern? Why, vinyl of course! Things have come a long way since those stick-backed vinyl tiles of your childhood and there are plenty more options in terms of design than ever before. So don’t dismiss this thrifty way of decorating your floors and read on to find out why I’m planning on using vinyl in my home…

5 Tips for choosing the right sewing machine for beginners

October 9, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

Last century, sewing was a skill that many people wanted to master. Sewing meant freedom of choice and the ability to be able to create your own textiles such as clothing, curtains, bedding, and other items for the home. Sewing was also a way to make money and earn extra funds to help put food […]

Getting started on my guest room makeover

September 7, 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

Well, it’s been a while since I shared some snaps of my home renovation so I thought it was about time I posted some more horrid ‘before’ pics and gorgeous ‘after’ photos. I actually decided to dial-down my DIY efforts during August, for fear of missing out on summer altogether! Nonetheless, I really wanted to […]

Learning a new skill in 2017 – Knitting

January 17, 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

While many people make resolutions at the start of a new year, I prefer to focus on the new things I want to achieve over the coming month. And in particular this includes new skills. In fact, there’s two occasions during the year that I tend to take up new activities and it happens to coincide with the academic […]

Homemade upcycled gifts – How to make a memory bear using baby clothes

December 23, 2016.Reading time 8 minutes.

What do you get for your niece and nephew when you’re the coolest aunt in the world? Why, handmade teddy bears, of course! It’s a project that has been six months in the making and now the bears are finally wrapped up and flying across the sea to reach the little ones in Ireland in […]

DIY project – My ceramic tile design

June 20, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

I mentioned in my blog post earlier this week that I’ve been out in my caravan now that the summer is here and I’ve crafting non-stop. I made little Red Ted and posted my sewing project on Wednesday and today I’m sharing some snaps of my recent attempt at tile painting.I heard about the Topps Tiles Henley […]

DIY sewing project – My little red ted

June 17, 2015.Reading time 9 minutes.

This week I’ve been crafting away in my caravan and have enjoyed a couple of happy afternoons of cutting, sewing and painting (more on that project soon!). Today’s post is all about the latest addition to my soft-toy family; a cute little teddy bear named Red. There’s something about summer that makes me want to be creative. […]

Tuesday Shoesday ~ My vintage weekend at the steam railway

October 14, 2014.Reading time 6 minutes.

Back at the end of September I travelled to a fabulous 1940s event at the North Norfolk Steam Railway and really enjoyed the whole weekend. Not only did I get lots of opportunities to dance, (check out last week’s Tuesday Shoesday blog post about my new hobby) but I also enjoyed stepping back in time – […]

Sewing tips to make a vintage dress fit

August 30, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

I am forever spotting gorgeous vintages dresses when I go for my weekly rummage in the charity shops but I am often put off from investing in an outfit because it is far too big for me. Last week, I tried on this vintage shirt dress from Oxfam, which was around 3 sizes too big […]

Cassiefairy ~ the fashion designer?! Creating my own t-shirt collection…

June 30, 2014.Reading time 5 minutes.

I’ve been rather excited this week because a little secret work project is finally coming to fruition and I’ve been bursting to share it with you! I’ve had to keep it on the down-low for a while but now it’s in progress I am free to tell you all about it! I was recently asked to design […]

My little vintage caravan project ~ I’ve found the perfect shop!

June 21, 2014.Reading time 2 minutes.

It’s called The Caravan Trail and you can imagine how excited I was when I first stumbled upon the website after spotting a link on Twitter last week. It’s a website full of gorgeous homewares, with beautifully decorated crockery, pretty teapots and picnic items. And most importantly, there are caravan patterns everywhere! I ogled the ‘Festival’ […]

Tuesday Shoesday ~ Tropical palm prints

June 3, 2014.Reading time 2 minutes.

This week I watched a video on You Tube about the Aloha Summer collection from Dorothy Perkins and have been inspired to write a Tuesday Shoesday blog post all about this tropical trend. It’s a very ‘holiday’ look with bright colours – lots of summery yellow and blues – and plenty of floral prints. But […]

My new floral top & an update on my stretch fabric project

March 29, 2014.Reading time 6 minutes.

During the week I shared a blog post about my new sewing project and how I was working with stretch fabrics for the first time. I wanted to share my progress with you and let you know how I got on – so here goes! As you know, I spent a lot of time getting […]

Sew It Yourself ~ I did!

November 16, 2013.Reading time 7 minutes.

Earlier this week I mentioned that I was having a go at making my own dress. I’d got the fabric ready, chosen the dress style, cut out the pattern and was ready to make the first cut. Just like so many others around the world, I was making my first step into Sew It Yourself […]

Thrifty fashion – S.I.Y (sew it yourself)

November 10, 2013.Reading time 4 minutes.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that we have gone back in time to our grandmother’s era, when shops didn’t sell off-the-peg clothes, and make-do-and-mend was a way of life rather than a quaint Pinterest board. But no, this trend is happening right now in the 21st century and tons of people are choosing to S.I.Y (sew it yourself). It’s […]

Thrifty fashion – an emerald dress

October 16, 2013.Reading time 4 minutes.

We all know that emerald is Pantone’s colour of the year for 2013 (here’s my blog post about it from January) and although we are 3/4 of the way through the year, this doesn’t mean that the colour is any less on trend. In fact, it’s really coming into its own for the festive season […]

My little vintage caravan – DIY patchwork walls

September 5, 2013.Reading time 7 minutes.

I’ve decided to go for a little ‘design feature’ on one of the walls of my little caravan. I want to wallpaper one wall to create a feature wall, so I went to the DIY store and picked up some samples of pretty wallpapers in shades of pink, yellow and blue, to coordinate with my previously […]

April PinAddicts Challenge – Linky is Open!

April 8, 2013.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I had such good fun making my craft projects for the PinAddicts Challenge last month, and I am so pleased to see them included in the blog post for March (above) along with so many other fantastic PinAddict creations! I can’t wait to get stuck into April’s challenge – I think a few baking projects will have […]

Get crafty in your local charity shop – here’s what I made…

March 3, 2013.Reading time 6 minutes.

You may remember that I wrote a blog post last week about this vintage pattern by Simplicity that I found whilst rummaging in my local charity shop. I wanted to make myself a this skirt but didn’t know where to start with buying fabric – everything I’d found online was a bit pricey and rooting through the big […]

Inspirations for a retro living room – more garish vintage storage!

March 2, 2013.Reading time 5 minutes.

You may remember this blog post that I wrote when I found my first record box from the vintage vinyl fair at Southwold last year. I have never loved a record box, or any storage for that matter, “at first sight” but this time it was different. Because it was orange. And floral. And tastefully garish. […]

Vintage patterns and unconventional sizing!

February 20, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

I recently picked up this vintage Simplicity sewing pattern from a charity shop and I am going to have a go at making this skirt for myself. The sizing is unusual, because it is the old-fashioned “Miss” sizes which is somewhere between child and adult. Luckily I have a very good old sewing book that explains […]

Getting Crafty for Christmas

October 18, 2012.Reading time 2 minutes.

This week I treated myself to a book that I’ve had my eye on for a while called Crafting Christmas Gifts. I know it’s a little early to be thinking about Christmas, and usually I wait until after bonfire night before starting to get excited about the big day, but this year I’m going to […]