Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

LIFESTYLE: GETTING THE FLAT READY FOR WHEN BABY ARRIVES


With a baby on the way we are going to be making some changes to our home to make way for the baby and all their things. We live in a two bedroom apartment (top floor, no lift -not ideal during pregnancy haha) We have a living room, kitchen , main bathroom and en-suite. The second bedroom is of a decent size but we have built in ikea wardrobes which will be fine for now, and we will fit a cot in there but we won't fit a bed in there so will need to move house by the time baby is in a proper bed. 

Over the next couple of months we plan to get rid of any old bits and pieces that we don't need so we can optimise the space we have. We are going to do a carboot sale and i'll be selling bits online, we can make a little bit of money and make room for all the baby bits. We have already started planning how we will turn the spare room into a baby room, we will keep the wardrobes as this is where all of our clothes are and we don't really have room for wardrobes, we have bought extra rails and shelving to go in the wardrobe and will be organising it so there will be plenty of room for all the babies clothes and bits. 

In our bedroom we will have a little move around, so we can fit a co-sleeper next to our bed. We will have the baby in our room for the first 6 months. We currently have our bed in the middle of the room so we may have to move this more over towards the window so theres plenty of room.

We have planned to decorate the whole flat over the next few months, baby isn't due till November but if we paint during the summer we can have the windows and balcony doors open to ventilate. Our flat is big and it would take a good few days to get it all painted so we've been looking at getting it done professionally. I'd rather somebody who knows what they are doing come in and do the job. We have been looking for a Birmingham interior painter on Bidvine which is a website where you can search and hire trusted local service professionals. You just search your area and type in whatever service you need and it gives you a list of all the professionals in your area. You can read their reviews from others, see work they have done and how many times they've been hired via the Bidvine site.

We want to give the whole apartment a fresh lick of paint and tidy up. We will give it a good clean before the baby arrives so it's all ready and fresh. There's no really big jobs that need doing, I think once it's been painted it will look brand new and will make a huge difference. The only other job i've been thinking about getting done would be to get our carpets cleaned so I might have a look on Bidvine for someone to come along and do that too!


I know that the next few months are going to fly by as we have alot of organising and planning to do before the baby arrives in November which is why i'm getting started now and plan to have the flat ready throughout the summer incase baby makes an early appearance.  





*Sponsored post

LIFESTYLE: HOW TO REVAMP A ROOM IN SECONDS


Is your home in need of a little TLC and a fresh lick of paint but you just don't have the time or money to do it right now. I have the perfect thing for you! Wall Murals are a quick and easy way to quickly transform a room.

Pixers have a huge selection of designs to choose from and there's something for every room. They also have canvas prints, posters and stickers so they have something for everyone. I have picked out a few of my favourite wall murals to include in this blog post. My absolute favourite has to be the Banana leaf mural above. It completely transforms the room and makes it feel so fresh and bright. I love it!!

You can choose from a selection of sizes to suit your needs so if you'd prefer something smaller that's perfectly fine or if you want to cover a whole wall you can do this aswell. The Vinyl Wall Murals are perfect for any room, they are matte and durable and if you should need any extra protection you can add on a laminate protection so you can clean with a damp cloth, this is perfect for bathrooms, kitchens and even the kids rooms!

I love that there are so many designs to choose from. I think the white tree design is great and would amazing in so many different rooms. It looks cool in a living room space but I think it would be such a good design for an office space or even in the kitchen. It gives a sense of nature and the outdoors being inside which I love. It's white aswell so it will really brighten the room up and it will look clean and fresh.

I just had to include a before and after photo too as you can see below the Wall Vinyl makes such a huge difference to the dark, boring kitchen! It looks fresh and clean and the walls look whiter which is amazing. I really like this Polka Dot design and think it would look so cute in a Nursery and its really cute and pretty.

Would you ever use a Wall Vinyl to freshen up your home and revamp that dark, cold boring room into a new clean, bright and exciting space?  The Vinyls are really affordable and the website is so so easy to use but if you need any help they have a customer service team waiting to help you with your order.







LIFESTYLE: HANDMADE CARDS AND FRAMES



If you have me on instagram you may have noticed i've started to make handmade cards and frames. I actually have a degree in Fine Art and did alot of collage based work so I thought i'd use my creative eye and make some cute handmade cards. I am currently taking orders and if you would like something personalised then get in touch and we can discuss. 

I have made an instagram account for my handmade cards and frames so check that out here 

Here's a few i've already made and I have a few orders which i'll be making through the week. I've also made a few cards which I haven't featured yet as they have been ordered by my friends and family for birthdays etc and I don't want to spoil any surprises

If you'd like to commission a card or frame get in touch my email is amypyt@hotmail.co.uk  






LIFESTYLE: WAYS TO REVAMP YOUR KITCHEN



Here's a few easy and affordable ways that you can revamp your kitchen. 

- Accessories can always brighten up a room or add abit of colour. 
This is a really affordable way to brighten up a room and if your renting and can't really do much to your kitchen this can add a personal touch.

-Buy new doors for your cupboards. If you can't afford to replace your whole kitchen you can buy new doors for the cupboards and this can refresh your whole kitchen.

- You can give your kitchen a fresh and clean look by using plastic acrylic sheets which you can use to give your kitchen a more contemporary look, Simply Plastics  have lots of colours and you can get them cut to whatever size you need. They also have a selection of Acrylic Kitchen Splashbacks again in a range of colours. 

-A lick of paint is a great way to brighten up any room, your kitchen gets grubby from steam and cooking oil etc so just giving it a fresh coat of paint will clean up those walls. We have a feature wall as you can see below, I think this gives a very white contemporary kitchen a bit of character. 

Switch out old for new, replace you old manky chairs for some new ones and give the dinner table a new look. Replace your old tap for a new one or even just replacing your grubby door handles for new ones can make such a difference. 

 Will you be giving your kitchen a revamp, I hope you found my tips helpful! 


* sponsored post

CHRISTMAS: DIY GIFT IDEA


WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 
A FRAME- I like these Ribba ones from Ikea
some card
scrabble letters (i got mine from the works)
confetti or sequins and little decorations  
Glue, I used super glue


1. Get a piece of white card and cut to size, you want this to fit in your frame and this will make your background. The ribba frame from Ikea has one of those card things in so I just used this.

2. Play around with your decorations and card etc and come up with a design that you like. I love the scrabble tiles and think they look really good. You can personalise your frame to say anything. Mine says Jack which is my friends baby and I've made this to hang in his nursery. You could write Mr and Mrs for a recently married couple or you can write someones pets name. You really can personalise this so many different ways. I got my white wooden J off ebay for £1!! Your local craft shop should have lots of cool decorations and inspiration.

3. Once you have decided what your going to do you need to stick it all down. Be carefull if using super glue as I did manage to stick my fingers together. I would recommend using PVA however for heavier items you may need something stronger.

4. Pop it all back into the frame and check it all looks okay!

5. Wrap it up carefully and pop a bow on the top ready to gift to your friend!!








LIFESTYLE: BATHROOM IDEAS

all images from pinterest 

So it's official we've got a moving date and are officially moving out! I'm starting to get really excited about moving in and having our new flat. I can't wait to get our stuff in and to have our very own place. It's so so exciting. As we are renting we can't really do much renovating but moving and decorating is a huge step when getting your own place and its something that takes alot of time, money and planning. 

I've been thinking alot about when we finally buy our own house and have to renovate it, my parents only bought my house about 5 years ago and I remember all the work they had to do and I remember the kitchen and bathroom being so so stressful. I think its good to research and get an idea of things you need to buy and things you need to be prepared for. In our bathroom we had to literally rip everything out and start again, We fitted a brand new suite and had the walls and floors tiled. You wouldn't believe its the same bathroom! I love looking at pinterest and looking at dream bathrooms! I'd love marble walls, you can actually get marble bathroom wall panels which is amazing and then i'd get some really nice clean walls and all white bath suite. I'd love some really big slate tiles for my flooring and then some nice clean white gloss ceiling cladding which would reflect the light and make the room look huge. 
I love looking on Pinterest to get home ideas, sometimes theres some really gorgeous ideas that you can try and recreate yourself. 









*this post is sponsored 

LIFESTYLE: DIY HOW TO MAKE A CANDLE USING OLD CANDLES.


TO MAKE YOUR OWN DIY CANDLE YOU WILL NEED:
- A CONTAINER (POT, GLASS ETC) 
- OLD CANDLES (I'M JUST USING THESE TEALIGHTS) 
-WICKS - YOU CAN GET THESE OFF EBAY
-MICROWAVE SAFE CONTAINER.( use a container that you can throw away) 


 1. BREAK UP YOUR CANDLES OR USE A SPOON TO SCRAPE ANY LEFT OVERS FROM OTHER CONTAINERS.
2. ON A 60 POWER SETTING IN A MIRCROWAVE MELT THE WAX. DO THIS IN 1 MINUTE BURSTS TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE WAX.
3.CONTINUE UNTIL THE WAX HAS MELTED INTO A LIQUID
 4. PLACE THE WICK IN THE CONTAINER AND POUR IN THE WAX, I FOUND LEAVING THE WAX TO COOL WORKED BEST AS THE HOT WAX KEPT MELTING MY WICKS.

 5. I'VE USED THE BAMBOO TO HOLD THE WICK IN PLACE UNTIL THE WAX HAS COOLED ENOUGH.
6. WHEN THE WAX HAS COOLED ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN MOVE THE CANDLE POP IT IN THE FREEZER TO FINISH COOLING.
7. THERE YOU GO A BRAND NEW CANDLE :)




DIY POST: HOW TO MAKE A PILLOW CASE

 MINI SEWING MACHINE - HOBBYCRAFT - £25.00* 


So I know a pillowcase isn't the most difficult thing to make but I needed an excuse to use my new mini sewing machine that I was kindly sent by Hobbycraft. I'm gonna give you guys a few little tips about how to make a pillow case :) 

First of all you will need some material, a pillow and your sewing machine, I would recommend getting some pins aswell. I didn't use any but I think it would be easier and neater. 

Make sure your material is going to fit around your pillow in case it's too small. I used an old skirt that I haven't wore for ages. Then turning your material inside out and pinning the edges will give you an idea of where you need to sew. 

If you don't have a clue how to thread your machine then i'd recommend watching a video on youtube because it made it seem abit easier. 

I sewed up the two edges leaving a small gap to fit my pillow inside, before you pop your pillow in your case make sure you have turned the material back the right way. Then sew up the small hole. You need to be careful here to not make a mess as you may be able to see the thread here. 

Tah Dah you should have a pillow case. If you wanted to fix a zip to your pillow case to make it easier to wash you would do the same as above however just fix your zip to the material. 
I used an old skirt but you can use any material you like, I love that my skirt had a pocket so now my pillow case has a handy pocket.






OUTFIT POST : White Leopard Head Vest

 Top : Persunmall *
Shorts: Vintage Levi's
Floral Crown: DIY 






Sorry the blogs been abit quiet this weekend, something is happening in my life thats huge! It's such a massive change and I'm not really ready for the world to know but you will find out sooner or later. For now my blog posts will probably be affected as i've been trying to spend very little time alone and so I haven't been spending much time blogging. I hope you guys will understand and i'm sure everything should be back to normal soon.

I absolutely love this top that I have been sent from Persunmall they have a massive range of clothing, shoes and accessories. I've teamed it with a pair of denim shorts and a floral crown for a festival kind of look but you could wear this with jeans or a skirt its so versatile.

DIY : Floral Crowns

We have all seen these gorgeous floral crowns from crown and glory or rock n rose so when I spotted the lovely Danielle's tutorial I straight away bought the headbands and roses to make my own and I thought i'd do a post to show my followers how they could save some money by doing some DIY!
The crown and glory and rock n rose crowns retail between £18 - £28 so think about the money you could save by making your own !!
- Wire flowers - these are from hobby craft
- headbands - pack of 5 here from primark £1 

 My roses were attached together so carefully remove anything like this so each flower is singular 

 Then really tightly attach the rose to the head band so its secure. Its best to do this off centre if your using an even number of roses like me or in the centre for an odd number of roses. 
 Just attach it like so.. wrapping the wire around the headband! 
 Do this with the rest of the roses all around the headband
 Tah Dahhh ! 
 You can use different colours of mix and match :) 

 If you already have some wire flowers you can use them. experiment with different types of flowers! And if you have an old headband use it! don't bother buying some you can use a metal, fabric or plastic headband they will all work. I think these make lovely little accessories and would look great at a wedding or party! I'm going to be wearing mine on holiday and also in my outfit posts !!