DIY // Advent Calendar

I'm so excited about this festive DIY post, especially since I took the photos for it almost a year ago! So last year myself and David decided we weren't going to do proper Christmas presents, instead we'd make each other an advent calendar filled with tiny goodies so we'd have something little and fun to open each morning on the run up to Christmas. 

Advent calendars are getting quite elaborate; speciality food ones, luxury candles and beauty products. They're also quite expensive and there's a chance you'll end up with a lot of random items that aren't to your taste. Creating an advent calendar means you can make it super personal. I really loved gathering all the bits for David's one and it was a lot of fun to wrap! There's so many ways of creating advent calendars like this, just take a look on Pinterest. I thought I'd share how I made my hanging one along with a free printable of the numbers I designed for it.

You will need:

• 24 tiny gifts (such as sweets, novelty stocking fillers, festive bits and pieces like our wee badges!, stationery, charity shop books, handmade vouchers for breakfast in bed etc... I think we kept ours to around £20)
• Tissue or wrapping paper
• Tape - Christmas washi tape is prettiest! (Try Iced Jems for some cute) ones
• Thick ribbon for hanging
• Mini pegs
• Thinner ribbon/twine
• Number stickers (printable download below or click here) or labels for drawing numbers on

There's not really any instructions for this one! All you need to do is decide what order you want the gifts in, mix it up so the sweets aren't all in a row etc, then wrap them up and make sure to stick the numbers on. Alternating colours of tissue paper with cute patterned tapes makes it look really effective. Next you just need to hang them up, depending on the size and shape of each parcel you might want to use twine and tie them up, a small piece of ribbon or just a peg - take a closer look at the photographs and you'll see what I mean. I had a couple of larger items which were too heavy to suspend so instead hid them and put a 'find me here' note in with the rest of the calendar! The overall effect is fun and mismatching so don't worry about anything being too perfect.

I've seen the hanging ones done with a branch to hold it all together which is really pretty and something I might try this year. Last time I used a thick tartan ribbon with fairy lights to finish off.

If you don't have space to put a hanging advent calendar like this then something like the one David made for me is a lovely alternative. He made his much simpler by filling a pretty basket with the parcels which did add a fun lucky dip element plus the basket was a nice bonus gift! 

Have you ever made an alternative advent calendar? I'd love to see pictures!

Fun Mini Filing Cabinet Makeover

Fun Mini Filing Cabinet Makeover

Lots of you have been asking about the filing cabinet featured in our last blog post and I promised a DIY tutorial so here it is! This is such an easy way of making a plain filing cabinet look fun which is perfect for studios and craft rooms where you want something less officey but still have documents to keep organised.

When I originally thought of giving our mini filing cabinet a makeover I'd thought about using decoupage but while browsing The Works the other day I came across these cute adhesive fabric packs which happened to be the perfect size and cheap too. I bought some hoping they would do the job with less mess and time than decoupage and they did!

You will need:

• A mini filing cabinet - ours was £25 from Ikea
• Adhesive fabrics - 2 packs of 4 pieces - a mixed pack of 4 was £2 in store but £3.99 online from The Works (I'm sure you could also use normal fabric or paper with glue but this is what I used and it was really easy)
• Printed labels for your drawers (or hand written if you like!)
• Scissors & a craft knife
• Screw driver
• Ruler & pen

Super easy DIY instructions:

1. Make sure your drawers are wiped clean from any dust etc so the adhesive fabric will stick smoothly and unscrew the handles.
2. Use your ruler & pen to measure out enough fabric to cover the drawer front and edges with about 1cm extra to tuck over. Cut out the fabric pieces.
3. Start from one side with a little bit peeled from the backing to keep in place and smooth over continuing to peel the backing as you move across to the other side (it's easier than it sounds but I wasn't able to photograph this stage as it involved both hands and David wasn't nearby at the time). Tuck around the edges and trim off any extra fabric.
4. Use a craft knife to make small crosses where the screw holes are and to carefully slit the fabric in the groove where the drawer label will go. This can then be tucked in neatly when you push your drawer label in.
5. Reattach the drawer handle and pop the label in. Step back and admire your pretty drawer then repeat for other drawers with whatever mix of fabrics you like. Don't worry about the order as you can faff about with this once you've finished them all and it's easier to see.

This corner of the studio always looked so plain to me before but now it's one of my favourites! The cute biscuit cushion is from Nikki McWilliams and we painted a secondhand chair with Autentico Rose chalk paint. A lovely lilac charity shop teapot filled with flowers on top of the mini filing cabinet finishes off the fun floral look. If you do decide to give your filing cabinet a makeover I'd love to see the results! 

RockingStitch Sewing Studio

RockingStitch is run by the lovely Barbara who I got to know while we worked on her brand refresh and website last year. I designed a custom pattern for her which you can see in the background of the RockingStitch website, along with custom icons and some promotional design for print. Barbara opened the RockingStitch Sewing Studio in November and I managed to squeeze in a visit when we were back in Aberdeen for Christmas. Sadly not long enough to take part in a class as I'd love to get to know my sewing machine!

The studio is so beautiful, definitely worth popping in for some creative inspiration. Barbara has put so much thought into all the details, just look at the decorations on the Christmas tree! The space is so fresh and inviting with gorgeous homely touches. There's also an adorable selection of haberdashery for sale. Barbara runs a huge range of classes for all levels including dressmaking, classes for kids and classes where you can sew bunting, patchwork blankets, tea cosies, tote bags and more. The studio is located in Bead Pop at 19-21 St Andrews Street behind John Lewis. Bead Pop, owned by the wonderful Alex, is such a cheerful and crafty shop! Together they are hosting a Ladies Love Crafts Day which sounds like a lot of fun. It's on Valentine's day and includes a choice of 2 fabric/bead crafts, glass of prosecco and nibbles, tea and cupcakes and a free goody bag! For more info and for booking head to beadpop.co.uk.

2014: A Big Scary Year

2014 was always going to be the "big year" in the sense I'd be graduating and leaving home. The reason it's now become scarier than originally thought is that before Christmas I left uni (just my honours year, still have a BA in Visual Communication!). There are lots of reasons for this but some of the more important ones are that I wasn't learning what I wanted, and to learn on top of jumping through marking criteria hoops meant no time for experimenting, real client work or Bottled Treasures. Truth be told, I've felt it's been holding me back and that 4th year just isn't right for what I want to do. After making that decision and telling everyone (no one hates me, it's ok) I've spent the last couple of weeks taking a Christmas break to reflect and plan what I want to achieve myself over the next 6 months of what would have been my last semester.

Now for the fun bit! Instead of resolutions this new year I've written down my personal and career aims, quite simply where I want to be in 6 months time when it'll almost be time for me to get ready to move to our wee cottage in Falkland (Fife). I've got some evening classes booked, design jobs lined up, big plans for Bottled Treasures and ideas for more inspiring social media - including this blog. Sunday is going to be blog day and each month I'm aiming to do 4 posts, one each of the following:

- DIY: craft projects, recpies etc

- WIP: previews, sketchbooks, new designs

- Places: day trips, adventures, holidays

- Wish Lists: gifts, purchases, dreams

Here is the first, apologies for the giant introduction; I wasn't sure how else to explain!
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January: Gift List

Since it's January and Christmas is over I can finally share some of the lovely handmade gifts I bought for others, along with a few of the presents I was given.

1. 365 days of Inspiration. David got me this thoughtful little book, perfect for someone leaving art school who needs to stay inspired... 

2. Sarah Coonan Ceramics: My 100% Handmade secret santa sent me the blue tartan heart brooch, I love it and so did my sister, so it was lucky I was bad and opened my present early enough to order Amy a red one as part of her Christmas. 

3. Whimsical Lush Print: For my brother, it's so tricky buying handmade gifts for boys! 

4. Leah Carroll Laser Cut Brooch: My Mum got me this at a craft fair in Dundee. Love the little bow detail!

 5. Notebook & Craft Tool Holder: David's Mum & Dad made me these adorable personalised gifts. The notebook is currently filled with my big 2014 plans.
6. Crafty Giraffe Paper Cut: We ordered these customised cuts for a few people this Christmas. This one was for David's sister Emma (Fairytale Asylum)

7. Doodlestuff Doodleclips: Fun and funky, these hair clips were a wee stocking filler for my Mum. Jilly who makes them (not me, another Jilly - how unusual!) does lots of fab quirky brooches. 

8. Ceramic Houses by HodgePodge Arts: From my Dad to my Mum with a little help from me. 

9. Velvet ribbon candle: From my secret santa, Ashleigh. I can't remember the scent name but it was something floraly and moss - smells so good and fresh and looks perfect on my desk.

DIY Scarf Camera Strap

Original idea & tutorial here: http://www.thehousethatlarsbuilt.com

I didn't really change anything from the above link apart from I cut out the purple leather bits from a charity shop handbag (£1.50) and the metal parts were from Bead Pop (they cost £1 in total). I used the original camera strap to cut the chosen scarf to the right length and chopped off the tassels too. The only tricky bit of making this was getting the sewing machine out of it's box for the first time in over a year! I had to practice on a wee bit of scrap material although sewing the actual strap was more difficult because it was a lot thicker. It didn't turn out too scrappy though!