Get Confidence With Using Color Words by Penny Swift & Pictures by Janek Szymanowski © We show you how to get confidence with using color. Color is an enormously powerful medium and a major consideration in modern home decorating. It is also an emotive and intensely personal subject – especially when it comes to […]
Keep Your Keys All Framed Up With a Wire Keys Frame Keep all your keys together and within easy reach on a wire keys frame smart key holder. This one costs almost nothing to make if you have an old picture frame, a scrap of fabric and some bendable wire. The heart-shapes are made from
How to Make Magic Lanterns Easy magic lanterns Easy magic lanterns – you can take a set of plain glass tumblers and turn them into stunning magic lanterns. They’ll sparkle and shine for evening meals during warm summer nights in a tranquil garden. Even if you prefer to eat indoors, you can light the
How to Make Fabric Covered Plates Fabric covered plates, grouped together on a wall, make a magnificent display. They are also a perfect way of giving odd or slightly damaged plates a new lease of life while showing off your favorite scraps of fabric. If you do not have any scraps around the house,
How to Make a Cut Paper Tablecloth A paper tablecloth with straight edges often looks dull. A cut-out border around the edge will instantly make it look more attractive. If the tablecloth is then laid over a slightly larger one in a contrasting color, the cut-out motifs will be highlighted. Choose as heavy a
How to Make a Rose Stenciled Tray Painting a stenciled tray can give it a new lease of life, it also makes an attractive and very useful accessory to display in your kitchen. This stenciled tray is made from wood, but metal trays can be painted and stenciled in the same way, using a
How to Make Double Frilled Cushions Perfect Gathering 1 – Heavy fabric If for your frilled cushions you have chosen fabric that is medium to heavy weight, the long gathering threads may break when they are pulled up. Stitch the gathering rows in short sections and position the rows on either side of any seams.
How to Make A Frilled Cushion Cushions, and a frilled cushion are the most versatile of home furnishings. They are synonymous with comfort, color and style. Wherever they are placed, cushions have an immediate softening impact. Yet by trimming cushions in one of a variety of ways, they can be specially tailored to
How to Make a Cockerel Collage Collect your fabric scraps together, and create a colorful cockerel collage of a farmyard favorite. Our lively rooster, set against a background of bead-strewn millet and blue sky, looks larger than life and ready to crow. His plumage is composed of layers of black velvet and net, with
All About Treasure Trove Display Boxes Treasure Trove Display Boxes Display treasure trove boxes are useful and appealing. If you have a prize collection of trinkets or memorabilia hidden away in the back of a drawer or cupboard, now is just the time to sort it out and set it into a pleasing and
How to Make Buttoned Cushions We just love these buttoned cushions. Buttoning gives gusseted cushions the appearance of over-stuffed luxury, making the cushions look deeper and therefore more comfortable. The buttons, which are usually covered with fabric, can be added to most types of cushions, from simple scatter cushions to deep gusseted chair seats.
How To Make Piped Cushions Easily Piped Cushions are one of the simplest soft furnishings to sew and one of the quickest ways to update an existing scheme – either by introducing a new color or a new style. Piped or frilled, lace-edged or bordered, each finish will give a different character to a
A Few Curtain Making Basics Parts of curtain making basics are curtains, pelmets and valances that transform a room. To be really effective, they need to be planned carefully. Even using curtains on their own gives a variety of different effects, depending on the fullness and length of the curtains, the heading tape used,
Make Your Own Headings For Lace Windows How To Make a Cased Heading For Lace Windows Decide where the rod or fitment is to be hung and then measure the depth of the window from the sill to the top of the rod. Measure the circumference of the rod, add between 1-3cm (3/8 – 1
Hand-crafted Tapestry & Crochet Rugs In front of a Blazing fire or beside a bed, a richly colored, hand-made crochet rugs add an aura of comfort and luxury. It is a welcoming sight in a hallway, where it softens the look of practical flooring or in a small landing or narrow corridor where it
All About Lace Panels Until very recently sheer curtains were chiefly about privacy. They veiled a household from the prying eyes of passers-by, while allowing a diffused light to filter in through the window. To these traditional virtues, another security value can be added: the would-be burglar will find it difficult to survey the
How to Cover Things With Stamps Even though in this modern day with emails, WhatsApp, Twitter etc stamps are a reminder of a slower pace of life. Stamps, new and used can be bought online or from dealers and 2nd hand shops. We show you here how to cover things with stamps. A rich
How to Make Rag Rugs This is how we make rag rugs. It’s hard to imagine that this impressive rug could have been made from fabric scraps, but the pile is simply constructed from narrow strips of fabric hooked through an open-weave canvas. As the name suggests, rags were always used in the past
How to Make Padded Picture Frames Simple padded picture frames are one of the easiest home accessories to make. With a small amount of fabric and scraps of card, you can make up a set in no time at all. They look best made in several sizes, and grouped together in a display on
How To Do Wood Staining We show you here how to do wood staining the easy way. Stained timber is a way of changing the wood’s color without sacrificing the character of the grain and knots. This can be done discreetly using wood tones to improve the natural shade or imitate a more expensive
Hand Painting Things Hand painting things is a wonderful way of adding individual and coordinating touches to your home decorations without spending a great deal of time or money. You don’t have to be very artistic – a playful, naive image casually applied is frequently the most attractive and successful at creating a rustic
How To Make Sponged Flower Pots Applying the paint with a natural sponge to achieve the sponged patterned background that adds to the overall effect and is ideal for hiding any small blemishes if the pot is slightly imperfect in any way. The Sponged effect can look equally dramatic on its own, highlighting the
How To Make Your Own Painted Tulip Napkins Painting motifs on to fabric, then working simple embroidery stitches over them is a pretty way of making your table napkins totally original. Use this tulip motif or choose a favorite flower and paint it on a plain napkin, adding embroidery stitches to highlight or define
How To Stencil – Get Started This is how to stencil the easy way. For your first attempt at stenciling, choose a project that is small and unlikely to cause grief if it doesn’t turn out well, but will be attractive enough to show off if it does; a little tray would be an
How To Decorate With BOLD Color Unless you are naturally daring with colors and willing to try decorating with bold color, it’s tempting to play safe by using white and pale tints as the basis of your home decorations. Such pastel and neutral shades are certainly comfortable to live with but, without some bright
Decorating With Paint Effects Most colorful paint effects, like sponging, dragging, ragging, stippling and color washing, have that marvelous hand-made quality which is ideal for the traditional country look. Their broken color gives a painted surface a unique richness and texture, which you can use to make a place or an object your
Color and Design Understanding color White light is made up of light of different colors. Anyone who has seen a rainbow has seen white light divided into its component colors, the colors of the spectrum. See the color wheel below. The red petals of a rose look red to us because they absorb all wavelengths
A Selection of the Best Batik Books Available Creative Batik This colorful, practical guide explores many different waxing and dyeing techniques, explaining how to create beautiful flowers, trees, birds, animals, landscapes, and abstract designs. Fabric Surface Design Sensational sewing projects demand fabulous fabrics! Fiber artist Cheryl Rezendes shows you how to create an
