DIY Copper Hanging Planters

9 NOVEMBER 2014

I love plants. They can bring a room to life, making them feel so much more homely. After moving in to our new house, I didn't really feel at home until our very first plant - a peace lily donated by my lovely mum - was nestled safely on our dining room table. It sounds silly, but that little bit of fresh green brings a smile to my face whenever I see it.

I've had this idea in my head for ages, but bringing it together has taken me a little longer than I thought it would. Those of you who know me will know about my obsession with copper. Well, guess what? This little project hasn't escaped that obsession.

I was desperate to find copper bowls to hang some little succulents in for our living room, but after hours of fruitless internet searching, I had to come up with something else to satisfy my want for copper. I found these stainless steel hemisphere snack bowls on a trip to Ikea (what can't you find in that place?!) I sprayed them with Rust-Oleum metallic spray paint to create a mock copper effect - not bad as a substitute to the real thing! If you want to find out how I made the woven hangers for these little planters, scroll down to the method below...

METHOD:

For each hanger you want to make cut 4 lengths of twine approximately 1.5 metres long. Knot together a small hoop roughly an inch in diameter to support planter and form the base of your woven hangers. 

To weave the hangers, double over each 1.5 metre length of twine, looping 4 of these lengths around each central hoop. This should leave 8 strands of twine, in 4 pairs, coming off each central hoop as shown below.

Take one strand in each hand from two neighbouring pairs, and tie a standard knot roughly 10cm from the central hoop. Do this 4 times to use up all 8 strands. Repeat this process twice more and trim the edges to complete the hangers. 

Choose a plant for each of your planters. Gather all four loops together around one of your planters and hang somewhere pretty. I chose to hang mine on my bookshelves to bring some green to my living room, but you can hang the anywhere as long as it provides the right conditions for your chosen plant. 

POLPO

26 OCTOBER 2014

I've been feeling a little uninspired lately, particularly in the kitchen. I have a few good recipes in my arsenal, but still always seem to be eating the same things. I think we're all a bit guilty of that sometimes - after a long day at work, the last thing you feel like doing is cooking something extravagant from scratch. The problem is, it ends up getting boring, especially when you're trying to keep things relatively healthy as well. 

When I fancy trying a new recipe, my first port of call is usually the internet. As good as online recipes can be, I fancied buying myself a recipe book that I can keep and refer to to time and time again. So, I perused the listings on Amazon and Polpo came up.

Not only did its exposed spine and unusual typographical style stand out to me as unique, but this book received excellent reviews from the public and focuses on my favourite cuisine: Italian, or Venetian to be precise. Polpo follows the journey of restaurant owner and chef, Russell Norman, as he explores the recipes that have inspired him during his travels to travels to the beautiful city of Venice. 

So far we have only tried a couple of recipes, but they have both been amazing and I can't wait to try more. The recipes are easy to follow and are beautifully written with a friendly, humourous commentary. Immaculately styled, this book is a true pleasure to read, and looks great on my bookshelf too! 

DIY DECO JEWELLERY HANGER

8 FEBRUARY 2014

I'm so sorry for the long, long silence! I wish I could say I've been doing something exciting, but unfortunately the truth is that the unavoidable call of grown-up life has been consuming all my time. Now I've got a Saturday to myself, it's about time I indulged in a little me time.

This post is about something I've been meaning to do since Christmas but, for one reason or another, I've just not got round to it. So, last weekend, amidst the whirlwind of house-hunting and budget planning, I managed to find half an hour to put this beauty together...

The idea came from my frustration at how my necklaces always seem to tangle themselves up, no matter how carefully I store them. Perusing Zara Home for Christmas inspiration I came across these beautiful deco drawer pulls, et voila!, an idea was born.

With a little help from my Dad, I drilled 4 holes equal distances apart on a piece of wood about 12 inches long and 1 inch deep (the threads of the pulls were longer than this so needed sawing off to match the depth of the wood). I painted the wood with white paint and, once dry, sanded the edges slightly to give a bit of a shabby chic effect.

I then screwed the drawer pulls into the pre-drilled holes and secured to the wall with no-nails - simple and stylish!

LOVE | Hannah

HEAVEN SCENT

22 JANUARY 2014

I don't know about you, but after Christmas and with the new year looming, I felt like I needed a clear out. Having purged my room of clutter it looked homely for the first time in years, but there was something missing: a homely fragrance.

I toyed with the idea of buying something from John Lewis or The White Company - those stores always smell so beautiful - but after shopping around I felt I couldn't justify the price of these top-of-the-range diffusers. A single diffuser was priced at anywhere between £15 and £20 without refills or spare reeds. So, I decided to make my own...

I purchased a Stoneglow diffuser refill in the delicately yummy fragrance of White Tea and Wisteria for £12 from John Lewis and some spare diffuser reeds (you can 20 of these from Sainsbury's for a £1 or so). I poured my fragrance into a bottle from Lakeland which cost me £1.99 and finished with a cut-off of white ribbon tied in a bow. Simple and easy. Despite the initial investment, this homemade diffuser will last me many months longer than a ready-made version costing the same amount, and I get the satisfaction of having made it myself!

LOVE | Hannah

THE HUMBLE CORK

5 JANUARY 2014

Looking through my Bloglovin feed this week, I was pleased to see plenty of new-year-inspired posts, but the post that caught my eye was one from craft and design blog, A Beautiful Mess. The idea involves collecting corks from bottles of wine shared over special moments. The result is a keepsake jar full of corks, each inscribed with the memory it helped to make. Not only is this beautifully sentimental, but looks fabulously stylish too.

Naturally, I couldn't wait to start a wine cork memory jar myself. So, I took the cork from a bottle of wine we shared when toasting in the new year and placed in inside a jar we bought from a brewery just off route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona. I'm looking forward to seeing how my jar develops over the next few years as I share lots of happy wine-filled memories with my family and friends!

LOVE | Hannah

GINGERBREAD RECIPE

19 DECEMBER

So, the gingerbread house I made went down pretty well. So well in fact that I want to share the recipe with you so you can all enjoy some homemade treats this Christmas! I've written the recipe on my recipes page which you can see here. Let me know if you try it and how you get on. Happy baking!

LOVE | Hannah

THE GREAT WALL OF VAGINA

18 NOVEMBER 2013

No, I haven't made a spelling mistake, I really did mean to say 'vagina'. I love meaningful art, especially feminist art, and The Great Wall of Vagina by British artist Jamie McCartney is just that. The 400 plaster casts of vulvas were individually taken from women from a variety of different backgrounds, including women aged 18 to 76 years old, pre and post natal women, mothers, daughters and transgendered men. 

The aim of this 10 panel piece is to demystify the vagina, challenging the image of the 'perfection' portrayed through erotic art and pornography that leads women to undervalue themselves and have a distorted body image. More recently, such a body image has caused women to turn to extreme and dangerous labiaplasty surgery to achieve 'normality'. McCartney's piece illustrates the variety of nature and shows that when it comes to vaginas, there is no 'normal'. Each woman is unique, and unique is beautiful. 

You can find out more about The Great Wall of Vagina here, where you can also view all 10 panels and see just how beautifully varied we really are.     

LOVE | Hannah

MY FIRST SALE

8 NOVEMBER 2013

A little while ago I started an Etsy shop for Chantilly Press to sell off some off some of things I've crafted over the last few months. There's only so many paper flowers one house can take! Last week, I made my first sale! Here's the white and green rose that I handcrafted for the lovely Carol in Middlesex...

 To see what's on offer in my Etsy shop, ChantillyPress, follow this link: 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ChantillyPress

LOVE | Hannah

SUITCASES

3 NOVEMBER 2013

I've been rooting through my old photos this afternoon, and came across these little gems. I found a couple of vintage suitcases on eBay and saw an opportunity to flex my up-cycling muscles. I love a little design project, and so took to lining them with a gorgeous paisley print fabric. These are perfect for using as storage or as a quirky side-table in a bedroom or living room. Cute.

LOVE | Hannah