WIN A STITCH & STORY KIT

There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of wearing something YOU have made. It's easy to see how knitting has gone through a resurgence lately - it's a super relaxing hobby that is perfect for cold, dark evenings, giving you the perfect excuse to hibernate under a blanket and watch movies, while also feeling pretty productive.

I came across Stitch & Story recently and I was instantly taken (and featured them immediately in my recent Autumn wishlist post). Stitch & Story make super-cute knitting kits that are designed to reflect current fashion trends and lifestyle products AND be super easy to use. Their site is also packed with knitting tutorials, so even total beginners can have a go, and they also run knitting workshops in London.

They're determined to break knitting's reputation as a difficult granny hobby, and it's totally working - all of their kits are cute and wearable (look at this bobble hat!) and they provide everything you need to get started.

Easy Slumber Socks - Dust pink kit

Stitch & Story are just about to launch a brand new knitting kit, Easy Slumber Socks, and I'm delighted that I've got two kits to give away! This kit comes in dust pink and fossil grey, and comes with:

• 2 x 100g Stitch & Story The Chunky Wool (100% merino wool)
• Short pair (25cm) size 8mm bamboo knitting needles
• Easy Slumber Socks pattern
• Sewing needle
• Basic knitting instructions
• Re-useable Kraft bag to store all your knitting gear

Easy Slumber Socks - Fossil grey kit

For your chance to win, just follow the instructions below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway Winners will be picked on Wednesday 30th September and I'll email you to let you know you've won. By entering you also agree for your email address to be passed on to Stitch & Story (which I think means they'll send you cosy photos of wool and the occasional offer). UK entries only please. Thank you!

HOW TO: Make a candy cane garland

Yankee Candle have released two new Christmas ranges this year, and to celebrate this they are soon going to be running a series of Yankee 'How To...' Guides for Christmas, based around the different candle ranges.

As part of this Yankee kindly sent over a couple of DIY guides for me to give it a go (as well as some candles to make my crafting experience suitably festive!), and I thought I'd share a simple guide to making a candy cane star. 

Except.. well, my star didn't quite go to plan. So instead, here's how to make a candy cane garland... (so simple that people who are incapable of gluing things into a star shape can do it). 

To make my garland I used candy canes, brown twine, sellotape and some blue wrapping ribbon.

I started by attempting to glue pairs of candy canes in a heart shape. However, before I started this DIY, I took all the plastic off the candy canes (thinking to myself smugly - why would I check this? OF COURSE the plastic comes off). Um. I don't think the plastic comes off. 

Turns out, superglue will not glue sugar together. Is that obvious? After attempting to glue my canes together, and holding them patiently for AGES feeling completely complexed, I then thought I should check that the superglue worked (....) and GLUED MY FINGERS TOGETHER. Goodness me.

Anyway, it was that point that I gave up on the super cute star that Yankee had suggested I make (you can see what it is meant to look like in this lovely blogger's post!) and instead, sellotaped them into heart shapes, and used blue wrapping ribbon to tie the hearts together. I then tied brown twine to each each so I could hang it up across my window. 

Small jar candles* - £7.99

I'm not going to lie, it wasn't the most relaxing crafting experience I've ever had (especially as I am STILL picking super glue off my fingers), but now my garland is up (and hasn't fallen apart), my christmas tree is sparkling, and my candles are twinkling away, I'm starting to regain my festive spirit.

I was sent two of their Christmas candles: Angel's Wings (a sweet, flowery scent) and Candy Cane Lane (a seriously minty, christmassy scent). At first sniff, I thought Candy Cane Lane would be too minty for me, but my house smells amazing! 

And look! My mongrel of a Christmas decoration actually looks really sweet next to the tree. Hooray for Christmas!

So if that's inspired you (ha! If I can do it, honestly anyone can), then keep an eye out on Yankee Candle's twitter and facebook to see more.

DIY WISHLIST

I have recently become a bit of a Pinterest junkie, and have been pretty obsessed with pinning away in my quest for a super-cute, pastel-coloured life. There's things I want to eat, things I want to wear, things I want to own, ombre things, sweary things, and things to cheer me up on seriously scowly days - it's just the perfect scrapbook (and if you aren't using it and like all those things, get on it!).

But one of the things Pinterest is particularly good for, is keeping track of crafty DIYs that you'd like to try one day. Here's a few of my favourites that I have pinned (which, er, may or may not be part of my Christmas crafting list - so pals, look away now!).

1. Caroline from burkatron has long been one of my favourite bloggers (beautiful nail art & easy DIYs always win me over), and I love how her bunny trinket dish is super cute, but also seriously simple to do.

2. Wrapping up presents is one of my favourite parts of gift-giving, and I love these honeycomb gift toppers. SO CUTE.

3. I'm getting some prints to put up on my bedroom wall, and this glittery wall hanging caught my eye.

4. I like the moon and I like anything with even the smallest hint of mustard, so this moon clock ticks all my boxes.

5. I'm also obsessed with cacti and succulent plants. I won't let myself buy anymore (I really own more plants than a one-bedroom flat can hold), so a cactus pillow might be the answer.

6. Aaaand, look at this hanging planter! I reckon it would be seriously good Christmas present material (you always get extra brownie points if you craft things yourself!).

If you want any more crafty inspiration you can also follow my board. If you've got a Pinterest account please comment with the link too!

Follow Ever So Juliet's board Craftiness on Pinterest.

How to: make a hula hoop

Say hello to my new favourite hobby - hula hooping! I was always RUBBISH at hula hooping as a kid (along with whistling, cartwheels and headstands... what kind of childhood did I have?!) but it recently came back into my life when I met my pal Joshua, who is some sort of hooping master! (Seriously, he goes to hoop camp and everything).

Anyway, before I knew it, I was hooked & had to make one of my own. Here's how you do it.

To make your very own hula hoop you need the following:

• 25mm MDPE pipe
• 25mm pipe connector
• Pipe cutters (or hardcore DIY scissors)
• A kettle
• Tape to wrap your hoop in! I used a mixture of gaffer tape (good for being grippy), electrical tape and glitter tape

It's pretty easy to get the bits and pieces you need to make a hoop, but things like the pipe seem to only come in longish stretches, which means it might be worth teaming up with a pal or two to split costs! That or make yourself a hoop for every day of the week.

Start by measuring the size of your hoop. It should go up to your navel - mine is slightly bigger because I'm a beginner, and a bigger hoop spins more slowly, and is therefore easier to learn with!

Cut it with pipe cutters (and be careful when using scary scissors!) and make sure the ends are neat.

Now you need to heat the ends of the pipe so they are soft enough that the pipe connector will fit in. We soaked it in very hot water for a few minutes, but you can also hold straightners over the end if you can't be bothered to boil the kettle!

Shove the connector in, and make sure the hoop is firmly connected. If it's hard to join it together either heat it for a little longer, or wiggle the hoop up and down  until it slides in. Give yourself a pat on the back for making a hoop!

Now the really fun bit - making it pretty! Tape is good because it adds a bit of weight to the hoop (which slows it down, and makes it a little easier to use), adds grip, and looks lovely. I used white electrical tape to cover the entire hoop, blue glitter tape for a bit of sparkle, and red gaffer tape that has a bit of texture.

Try to be very patient when wrapping your hoop - you want to keep the tape nice and flat, and evenly spaced out if you are making it stripy. It turns out it takes a surprising amount of concentration (and at one point, two pairs of hands) but it's so satisfying when it's done!

Look at my lovely hoop! I've been practising almost every night and I am definitely getting better (when I first started I could barely keep it going round my waist). I'm mainly doing it because it's SO much fun (surprisingly so) and I want to learn loads of tricks, but it's also meant to be great exercise as it really works your core.

Go forth and hula! Let me know if you make one yourself...

How to: make a mini dinosaur planter

What do you get when you combine a cactus and a dinosaur?

A cactusaur! This is a ridiculously easy (and cheap!) DIY to put together, and it's so much fun to do!

Here's how to make your own herd of cactusaurs.

You need:

• hollow plastic dinosaurs*
• spray paint
• mini succulents (mine are from a garden centre)
• a power drill
• scissors/art scalpel 

* Now, plastic dinosaurs might seem like an easy enough thing to buy, but good lord, it is hard to track down a dinosaur that is hollow AND large enough to fit a plant. After trekking to every toy shop/corner store/museum in Edinburgh, I finally found the perfect fellows in Hawkins Bazaar (presumably you can get them online too, but I found it really hard to tell if they were solid plastic or not! Who would have thought dinosaurs were so tricky?!).

Start by CAREFULLY drilling a hole in the back of your dinosaur. I got the fear about doing this part (I was a bit concerned I'd drill my hand off) so roped in a glamorous assistant to help out. On reflection, it wasn't hard, I totally could have done it, and I probably shouldn't have been such a wimp. Ah well!

Anyway, keep the hole small at first, and gradually make it bigger, until you can comfortably fit the plant roots in (but haven't hacked away too much of your dinosaur). Use scissors or a scalpel to neaten up the edges.

Spray paint your dinosaur! I hung them up with very thin wire from a washing line, which made it super easy to cover the whole thing at once. Leave until it's dry to the touch, then carefully touch up any smudges or bits you might have missed. Then leave for a bit longer until it's completely dry (go have a reward cup of tea, or gin, or something).

Now, the sort of fiddly part. Take your succulent and VERY GENTLY start to remove the soil from its roots (you can do this by gently teasing them with your fingers, and shaking the plant). Don't rush this bit - you don't want to damage them.

Start to fill your dinosaur with soil, making sure it gets into all the little spaces (tail, neck, legs, etc). Then make a hollow spot for your plant, put it in, and pack soil around it so it sits firmly in your dinosaur. Using a chopstick or pencil can help press the soil in, and stop you getting spiked by your plants!

Tadaaaa! Aren't they beautiful? Give your new plants a soak in water (succulents need very little water, but will benefit from a bath after getting repotted!) and gaze at them lovingly.

Marquee lights

Over the last few months I have been glued to pinterest, looking for inspiration for filling up the white walls in our new home. Things are slowly coming together (we have the most AMAZING artwork in our kitchen, which I will blog about soon), but I am utterly stuck on some rooms. 

Then this morning this image popped up, pinned by the lovely Zoe from Conversation Pieces (one of the best lifestyle blogs in town).

LOVE.

Look at it! It's brilliant! Slight obsession kicking in, I started my search for marquee lights (imagining them on my bedroom wall, how lovely) and found this beauty. 

Etsy - West Vintage Trading Co 

Perfect, right? Except.. oh. It's $400.

Oh.

Etsy - Vintage Marquee Lights 

This one is $199... ahem.

Ruffled DIY

This one? It's a DIY! Thank goodness for the crafty bloggers of the internet! Ruffled have a slightly complicated but awesome looking version, using poster board.

Geeksugar DIY

& my very favourite - geeksugar just bought metal letters, drilled in some holes & threaded through fairy lights! I reckon I could try this version... I own a drill & if things go HORRIBLY wrong then it would still be under £10, if I just bought a metal letter off ebay.

Hmm - wish me luck! I will report back...

Crafternoons at Cushion & Cake

Cushion & Cake is a cute wee tearoom in Glasgow's West End that sounds right up my street! They serve tea (in vintage teacups), cakes, homemade food AND crafty homewares and goods. So far, so kitsch, so good. I came across them through work, and put them on my list of places to visit when I am next in Glasgow.

All photos from Cushion & Cake's flickr

But today I was nosing about their facebook and noticed this - Crafternoon! On the last Sunday of every month they hold crafty classes on a different theme each month. It's £15 per session, which lets you learn new skills, take your crafted item home and have teatime treats.

Previous months have included...

Cross-stitch Valentine's cards...

& screen-printed tote bags.

It looks ACE - and a visit to Cushion & Cake has been moved from "would be nice in the future" to "must do! pronto!". This month's Crafternoon is themed around Clouds, and you can see how to book here.

p.s. whilst nosing around on their flickr account I noticed this little guy, and couldn't resist including a photo of him too. Hiya little pig!

Pay it forward

A few weeks ago I was reading Kim's blog & saw she was taking part in Pay It Forward - a lovely blogger project where you make crafty things for readers, who then make crafty things for their readers.

I was sent a mini q&a to fill in but had no idea what to expect, so it was a really lovely surprise to open my package last week!

I got...

.. a tote bag with a Harry Potter quote sown on it! This is so cool (and has inspired me to to learn to stitch - I want to make things like this!). I think I'm going to cut up the bag so I can frame this bit of fabric and hang it up in our new library. It'll look lovely.

AND.. a cupcake coaster & a felt macaroon badge! This was pretty much perfectly timed after my last post, and will look really sweet on one of my cardigan's in the summer. Thanks Kim!

Pay It Forward is such a lovely idea - I'll need to wait until we are settled in the new house before I get started on crafting things but watch this space, I'll let you know!

Crafty things to make for the house!

Earlier this year I was all relaxed and confident, knowing that there were MONTHS until we moved into our new house. I thought things like - yeah, I'll just pack a little each week. & - I'll start the clear out now, so that I don't have much rubbish to sort through. And also - I'll do all the furniture DIYs I want in advance, so all my crafty things are ready when we move.

There are now only 36 days before our "date of habitation" and none of these things have happened. Oops.

SO. Here's a reminder, self. Things I'd like to make before we move.

1. Get fancy with some washi tape and a lack table from Ikea (you know, the ones that are £10ish?). Washi tape comes in a million different colours, and this seems like such a quick and simple idea! & everyone likes stripey pastel things, yeah? (Craig probably doesn't. Sorry in advance, Craig).

2. Make colourful cake stands with a little bit of spray paint and glue!  I love cake stands. They are sort of pointless if you aren't hosting endless tea and dinner parties, but I made up a little collection when I was running my cupcake company and have always had a soft spot for them.

3. Turn an old dresser into a kitchen island! My mind is basically going to be blown when I live in a house with an actual, separate kitchen with SPACE (omg) so I'm already getting a bit giddy at the thought of having an island (WHAT HAS MY LIFE BECOME?). Anyway, this is cool - buy an old dresser, attach hooks and the like and paint!

4. Make a suitcase bed for Riley! I've actually already bought a suitcase for this project (for only £5, thanks ebay!) so just need to sort myself out and attach legs.

Motivation - go!