15-minute make: porcelain pen plates

Here’s a simple DIY using just two ingredients… a porcelain pen and a plain white plate. You could try out any design you want, but I really love the simplicity of this graphic pattern. It looks great and there’s no particular drawing skill needed to recreate it – just the kind of crafting I like!

Porcelain Pen Decorated Plates

Fire at home porcelain pen

Basic white plates

1) Read the instructions on your porcelain pen – follow those if they differ from mine!

2) Give the pen a good shake and press the nib of the pen down several times on a sheet of scrap paper to get the ink flowing.

3) Start drawing your design on the plate, starting in the centre and turning the plate as you work to avoid smudging.

4) Leave to air dry for 24 hours then bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 150ºC / Gas Mark 2. Once fired the pen should be dishwasher safe but I’d recommend hand washing your masterpiece to be on the safe side.

{Project and Photography Mormorsglamour}

Have a great weekend everyone. I’m getting behind the wheel for the first time in over 5 years… wish me luck!

15-minute make: twiggy plant markers

Here’s a lemon squeezy little craft project for you to try out over the weekend. Spring is just around the corner so I’ll be adding a few green-fingered ideas over the coming months in celebration (anticipation).

Twig Plant Markers

Twigs about 20cm long and a little thicker than a pencil

Sharp craft knife and cutting mat

Alphabet stamps

Coloured ink pads or acrylic paint

1) Whittle one end of each stick into a point. At the other end, slice away the bark on one side of each twig, exposing about 6cm of the wood beneath.

2) Dab your alphabet stamps into the ink or paint being careful not to load the stamp too heavily. Stamp your chosen plant names onto the bare wood.

3) Leave to dry the pop into the pots. Standard craft ink isn’t waterproof so remove the markers before watering!

{both via Etsy}

15-minute make: pebble photo holder

{Danny Seo / Miki Duisterhof via Country Living}

When I was a child I was a bit of a magpie and my coat pockets were permanently filled with treasures I’d picked up and squirreled away… a grey feather, a scrap of ribbon, a patterned pebble or a shard of sea-smoothed glass. This simple craft idea takes moments and is one way to get part of your collection out on display.

Pebble Photo Holder

Nice smooth pebbles

Paper covered floristry wire

Pliers

1) Take a 20cm length of wire and wrap one end around the pebble. Twist to secure it tightly at the base.

2) Stand the remaining wire upright then twist the other end into a flattened spiral – the easiest way to do this is grip the end of the wire with pliers then wrap the next 3-4cm of wire tightly around them. Press with your fingers to flatten.

3) Pop a postcard, photo or polaroid into the top and voila! Experiment with different sized pebbles and lengths of wire to make a pleasing group.

Have a lovely weekend – wrap up warm!

Possibly the best mug ever

I love Toot as in Foot. Not only does it have one of the best blog names ever, author Jo always makes me laugh with her quirky tales and apparently fathomless vintage knowledge. If you’ve never seen a human jumble sale or you don’t yet know the weird and wonderful tale of Resusci Annie, you need to add this blog to your reading list.

{Jo Waterhouse / Toot as in Foot}

I also think that Jo shares my compulsion to have a stab at new crafts… while I’ve been trying out screenprinting, she’s been playing around on the potters wheel. These wonderfully wobbly mugs are the fruits of her endeavours and they’re all so lovely I hope she won’t mind me sharing them. The one on the bottom right is captioned ‘possibly the worst mug ever’… and it’s absolutely my favourite.

Have you mastered any new skills during 2012 and what would you like to try in 2013?

15-minute make: ribbon star tree decoration

So, here begins a new little mini series I’ll be visiting on Decorator’s Notebook from time to time. I love settling down to a day of solid crafting with only a box of materials, cake and tea for company as much as the next girl. But in reality, we all know that finding the time to be creative is hard. So in this post I’ll be collecting together stylish craft ideas that you can reasonably start and finish in the time it takes to drink a mug of earl grey.

{Crafts & Creativity}

To make this ribbon wrapped star Christmas decoration, simply bend a strip of wire into a basic star shape with a hook at the top, wrap with a length of ribbon and tie the loose ends in a bow. Visit Craft & Creativity blog for step-by-step instructions. Try Jane Means for a beautiful selection of seasonal ribbons or try it with jute string or striped baker’s twine for a more relaxed look. Your local hardware shop is the place to buy thick wire (pick up a pair of pliers at the same time to make it easier to bend into shape).

Let me know if you have a go at this and share a photo via Twitter @DecoratorsNotes or my brand new Facebook page.

Have a lovely weekend!

5 best simple Christmas centrepiece ideas

Decorating the table is one of my favourite Christmas day traditions, and my Mum and I always join forces to get it looking really special. This year I’ve been on the lookout for easy Christmas centrepiece ideas that have something a little bit different about them – here’s a selection of my favourites.

{Better Homes & Gardens}

The great thing about this floating candle centrepiece is that you probably have all the things you need to make it at home already. Simply fill a Kilner jar two-thirds with water, wedge some offcuts of foliage into the bottom (this is a good use for those Christmas tree trimmings), add a handful of cranberries and finish with a floating candle. This would look even lovelier if you made up several different sized jars and dotted them down the centre of a long table, or along the mantlepiece.

{Stylizimo}

Here’s another festive centrepiece that would work very nicely with a natural theme. Take a large shallow dish (this Moroccan metal bowl of mine would be ideal) and fill with compost, three hyacinth bulbs, moss and pinecones. After lunch is over, move it to the coffee table and enjoy the heady scent of hyacinths well into the new year.

{The White Company}

If space is short, you’re better off making the most the space above the table and leaving room for all those serving dishes. Just hang tissue paper decorations and baubles from the ceiling using pretty ribbons. Try Papermash for a good selection of honeycomb decorations in Christmassy colours.

{Nina Holst}

Here’s another easy idea from that clever Nina Holst. Grab a chunky pillar candle, wrap a strip of thick card around the base then attach pinecones using a glue gun. This is another centrepiece that’s going to work better with a collection of candles in different heights. Gather into a group if you have a round table or scatter down the length of a long table.

{Cox & Cox}

You’ll need to plan ahead a bit to bake this cookie Christmas tree, but you’ll end up with a centrepiece with major wow factor… and you can eat it afterwards! Lakeland sells the star shaped cookie cutters you need, along with a step-by-step instruction video and recipe.

Which of these appeals most to you?

Homemade clay Christmas decorations

Last year I made these snowflake decorations from air drying clay – this easy to use material was a revelation to me, so I wanted to share another lovely idea with you.

{via DillyPad}

You can buy DAS air drying clay in art shops or from Amazon. To make these tree decorations you could simply roll out small sausages of clay, lay on a strip of cotton lace trim and go over with a rolling pin to impress the pattern. Make a hole in the top with a darning needle and then lay out to dry.

I’d love to know if you try them…

10 best Christmas wreaths to make and buy

I have to start this one with a confession: I am a Christmas tree voyeur.

One of my greatest festive pleasures is discreetly (ok, not always discreetly) peering into people’s windows as I pass and perving on their Christmas tree decorations. This is also why I love wreaths so much. While the Christmas tree is the coy flirt of the decoration world, tempting our sideways glances, the wreath is the brazen tart, putting it all out there for the whole world to stare and admire!

So without further strange ramblings, I present for you all my Christmas wreath round-up. Five beauties to buy and five more to make yourself. Enjoy!

5 best Christmas wreaths to buy…

{Frosted Faux Ivy wreath, £70, The White Company}

{Felt Ball wreath, £60, The Original Pop Up Shop}

{Lasercut wooden wreath, £20, NOTHS}

{Fresh Herb and Holly wreath, £70, Real Flower Company}

{Bittersweet Vine and Berry wreath, $32.95, Etsy}

5 best Christmas wreaths to make…

{Drinking Straw wreath tutorial}

{DIY Fabric Christmas wreath kit}

{Vintage Paper wreath tutorial}

{Lichen Twig wreath tutorial}

{Felt Ruffle wreath tutorial}

I think my favourite shop-bought wreath is the fun one with the felt balls and my favourite homemade one is the simple lichen twig wreath. I’d love to know which one you like best so leave a quick comment, and check out my Pinterest board for loads more Christmas decorating ideas.

Coffee filter Christmas wreath … a sort of tutorial

Last year I designed a series of Christmas craft projects for a magazine I was working for using up-cycled kitchen supplies like cupcake cases, paper doilies and coffee filters. Today I came across this rustic coffee filter wreath and it reminded me of the fun I had pitching my ideas to my Editor and trying to convince her I hadn’t totally lost the plot!

{all Craftberry Bush}

There are more detailed pictures here but no instructions. However, I think this is pretty much how you’d go about making one yourself…

INSTRUCTIONS (invented by me, results in no way guaranteed!)

1) Take a length of galvanised garden wire (buy it from the likes of Homebase or a garden centre). Bend it into a circle to decide the circumference of the finished wreath, allowing a bit extra so you can twist the ends together to join them at the end.

2) Grab a pack or two of scallop-edged paper coffee filters (buy unbleached brown ones if you can, or if you can only find white ones, dye them with strong coffee and dry them out before you start). Fold each filter loosely into quarters and thread onto the wire near to the folded pointy bit of the triangle. You might find it easier to poke a hole in the paper with a skewer first.

3) Every now and again, thread on a paper leaf cut from sheet music or an old book (use photocopied pages if you’re precious) – this leaf template is similar to the one pictured. Continue threading on the filters and leaves until the wire is almost completely covered then bend the ends around to form a ring and twist together.

4) Tie a length of nice ribbon around the join to disguise it and use for hanging.

5) Fluff out the coffee filters / leaves so they’re nicely spaced and finish off with some spriggy branches and a little bird decoration (this one is cute).

Lovely letterpress: 5 of the best Christmas cards

So, once again, I haven’t got around to making my own Christmas cards. Perhaps if I start in January I might actually manage for 2012! Thankfully there’s still time to get shop-bought ones in the post… here’s a round-up of my favourite letterpress designs this year.

£15 / 12, Thornback & Peel

£2.50, Bobalong

$4.00 Zeichen Press

£3.25, Lollipop Designs

£2.49, Abigail Borg

Which design would you like to drop through your letterbox?