21 clever jar lighting ideas




 

My first pinnable clipboard graphic....

 

 

I woke up this past Sunday morning and found a very nice surprise in my inbox:

an email from a lovely lady called Alex from hometalk....the largest home and garden knowledge hub on the web...

asking me- ME(?)- to curate a jar lighting clipboard on their Facebook page....

....OMG..(too teenager....???)

Apparently they loved my post about the jar pendant light....

How encouraging.....

...I'm feeling happily smug....

Until I realise: she asked me to do what-now?????

What does she mean "curate" ....and how do I do that???

(Remember: I have not yet been blogging for 3 months....)

I panic, then decide: I'll do it!!!

turns out it really wasn't that complicated to do at all....

in fact I really enjoyed it...and found loads of inspiring  clips while I was at it.....

....and here it is, I hope you like it...





 

21 clever jar lighting ideas





 There are some great projects in this collage: ideas on making jars into beautiful candle lanterns, tutorials on how to make jars into electric lamps and gorgeous chandeliers....

 Click on the link below the picture to go to my clipboard on hometalk.....

....there you will find the links to all the original jar projects featured above....

and while you are there have a look at what else is going on: maybe you can find the inspiration you want for repurposing those pallets you found in a skip....(Marianne...that was for you)....

....or simply discover some great advice on DIY in your home or garden...

Hometalk is like an encyclopaedia of knowledge from enthusiastically creative people...just like us!!

...I would like to thank Alex at hometalk for getting me to curate this Clipboard for them, and for your encouragement....

I feel totally embraced by the hometalk family,

Thank you....

 

 

xxx

June

 

Flower pressing.....

....traditional flower pressing.....

Pressing flowers is a pastime that has been around for centuries.....

There is something very romantic and nostalgic in finding

a forgotten flower from a young lover hidden within the pages of an old bible,

or a four leaf clover pressed in an old diary or journal.....a reminder of a moment in time long since gone...

It is something I used to do with my mum when I was a little girl growing up in Norway....

.....So I decided to carry on this tradition and introduce Little Miss Moo to the art of flower pressing....

 ....Today I will be posting about traditional flower pressing...

.....the old fashioned way of pressing a freshly picked flower in between the pages of a heavy book still works a treat today....But you can also use a flower press, like the one in the picture above...

....they are really easy to make: just two bits of flat wood with holes drilled in each corner for

4 long bolts with wing-nuts for tightening.....In between the two bits of wood, layer squares of cardboard.....

....but if you don't want to make one yourself, they can be bought at places like hobbycraft....

....I was lucky enough to find one in a charity shop for £1....

The principle is the same, just make sure you layer your flowers in a fold of absorbent paper before pressing....

 The most importaint thing to remember when doing flowerpressing, is to use freshly picked flowers...

Prepare your flowers by trimming away any bulky or unnecessary  foliage...

...make sure your flowers are clean and dry....I suggest not to wash them under water, but use the cold setting on a hairdryer to blow away any dirt...

The process of flower pressing removes the moisture in your flowers, so you don't want to add to that...

....next you need to flatten your flowers as best you can....dissect your flowers, by cutting off the stems and leaves, then arrange it all on a bit of absorbent bit of paper before pressing...

Flat flowers, like Daisies, Pansies and Violas are easy to press, but if you want to press thicker flowers, like roses, the petals will need to be pressed individually, then put back together after...

Some flowers, like Hibiscus and Lilies must be pressed on their sides, but If you want your flower to face you, place your flower face down, so the petals wont crease when pressed...

When you have arranged your flowers in a fold of absorbent paper, layer within the cardboard of your flower press/ pages of your book.....

...now you want to apply some pressure...

If you are using a flower press, tighten the wing nuts as much as you can to compress the content within your two bits of wood....

If you are using a book, just add some more books or a heavy item on top....

 

 ....Now all you need is patience....

.....Small flowers take in excess of 2 weeks to fully dry and compress,

....Leaves normally take approx. 3 weeks and thin flowers take 4 weeks...

If you are pressing thicker flowers or waxy leafs expect to leave them in the press for 6 weeks or more.....

....if you are impatient like me, I will show you how to speed up the process using a microwave in my Saturday DIY tutorial....and I will also show you how I framed our pressed posy's....

Please pop by again soon....

xxx

June

Happy monday....

 

....picking a posy for mummy....

 

So,  its Monday again....time to plan a new week....

 

Here in the UK it a bank holiday today, and this week it's half term for British schools....

....this means that little Miss Moo will be home with me this week...

 

...trying to come up with things to do with your children when they are off school, can sometimes be hard.....

 



lovely wild flower posy's....display them in little vases and glasses to make a pretty and casual display...



 

....so this week I'll be posting about what me and our little monster get up to...

...I have a few projects in mind....

 

 

Looks like spring has finally arrived here in Britain now.... 

The temperature is rising and it's nice to finally get some sunshine...

 

Me and Miss Moo went to the park the other day....

....picking posys of wild flowers to bring home...

 

 

I hate spending money on overpriced flowers at the supermarket....

...it is far more enjoyable to spend a few hours outside, searching for wildflowers and picking a posy or two...

And there's something extra beautiful about a posy in a child's hands...they come from the heart..

 

 

 I am also very excited to announce that my Jar swag light DIY tutorial was a big hit at hometalk, the largest home and garden knowledge hub on the web, and they have asked me to curate a pin-able collage of the best jar light projects on their site for their facebook page.....So I will be posting this towards the end of the week....

 

I hope you all have beautiful weather where you are ....get outdoors and pick some flowers....embrace nature!!

You might need them for this weeks project...hint hint!!

 

Have a great week and pop by again soon!!

 

xxx

June

 

 

 

  

IKEA hack: decoupage junior chair

  

Today I wanted to show you how I transformed Little Miss Moo's plain , white plastic junior kitchen chair.......

...I believe children's furniture should be fun as well as functional, so I decided to cover Miss Moo's junior chair with a fun print...

I will show you what I did...

 

I used:

sanding block

printed napkins (tiger tiger)

scissors

PVA glue

Decopatch glossy glue

Decopatch sealing varnish

Plasticote krystal clear spray varnish

After giving the chair a light sanding and wash, I prepared the napkins....

Cut the napkins into small squares....

 

If your napkin comes in several layers, as they often do, peel off the extra layers, so you are left with the printed tissue only...

Mix some PVA glue with a few drops of water.

The next parts of the process needs to be done in sections on the chair....

(unfortunately I somehow managed not to save the pictures I took during the making of this chair, so for the purposes of this tutorial, I have taken some pictures of a quick reconstruction on my kitchen sink....apologies) 

 

  

Paint the PVA mix onto the chair....

....leave to dry until tacky....

Try to make sure you are one step ahead with this before continuing on the next step of the process for each area....

 Using the Decopatch glue gently brush down the pieces of tissue onto the tacky surface...

 

Using the soft brush smooth down the tissue , take care not to overwork the tissue as it will break easily....

...continue adding pieces of tissue in sections, slightly overlapping each other..

 

...until you have covered the entire chair....

 

Then leave to dry...

The next step is to paint a layer of the sealing varnish all over....

 

This will give your chair a nice shiny gloss....

 

Allow to dry again....approx. 2 hours.

When you are sure all the glue have dried, you are ready for the final seal of spray varnish....

Make sure you do this in a well ventilated area......

....let dry fully...(and don't do what I did and leave it outside....in the rain!!! Doh!)

from plain to patterned in one day.....

......an a whole lot funner!!

Little Miss Moo loves her "new" chair.... 

Thanks for looking....

xxx

June

Welcome to Nostalgiecat

HI 

My name is June,

Nostalgiecat is my creative outlet for all the little and large projects I undertake whilst redecorating our Victorian terraced cottage here in Hertfordshire, UK.....making this house our home!!

I am an artist, working mainly in concrete, and stay-at-home mum to "Little Miss Moo" (My little monkey, muse and mini-me), and generally creative girl with a passion for interior design!!

I am originally from Norway, and I guess my style reflects the Scandinavian sensibilities when it comes to interiors ......with a nostalgic penchant for mid-century design!

I came to the UK in 1998 to study, and ended up working in the British film industry for almost a decade making props, creatures and special effects. In fact I met my (very camera shy) husband (known simply as Mr. here on the blog) on the second instalment of the Harry Potter films.

I guess this background has made me very practically minded, and have given me the confidence to tackle just about anything I put my mind to!!

I love making things, repurposing things and upcycling things, and I get a real sense of fulfilment from creating something nice for the home for next to nothing!!

I started Nostalgiecat in March, 2013 to give my self a "kick up the backside" to put all those ideas that had been swimming in my head into action, and to make our ,then newly purchased, house ours!

Since then, both the house and the blog has undergone a quite a transformation....and my sense of style has also evolved with time!!

Nostalgiecat has gone from being a personal craft blog to a more interior and design focused site!

I see Nostalgiecat as an educational reference file of my DIY projects, that the public can refer to for tutorials and "how to's" : From basic home improvements to more creative projects aimed to add more personality to the home!

 My aim is to make creative interior design more accessible and affordable to people!

Money has been tight since I gave up my career to become a mum, and everything I do is on a very tight budget, so one of my design ethos is:

"Make the most of what you've got"

As well as posting tutorials on budget friendly DIY design hacks, I also do posts on how and where to shop the look for less + Advise on how to redecorate and improve your home when money is tight!

Nostalgiecat is still evolving as a blog, but I hope to inspire my readers to embrace some creativity in their interior design and to personalise their homes!!

If I can do it...so can YOU!!

So grab a coffee, stay a while and get lost in my creative world!!

I love to hear from you all...Any questions or comments on my projects, or even if you want to tell me about something awesome you've made for your home.... is all welcome in the comments box below each post!

I also welcome collaborations: Have you got a project you need some help with or would like to work with me on, please just drop me a line at

juneolsen77@gmail.com

This also goes for interior companies and potential sponsors: If you have a product you feel would fit in here at Nostalgiecat, just get in touch....as long as I am happy that your products will be of interest to my readers and it fits in with my blogging schedule, I'd be happy to help...Compensation for promoting your product here at Nostalgiecat is negotiable!

xxx

June

Little miss Moo's big girls room.....

...and a fond farewell to the toddler room...

 

 

It's the end of an era..... Little Miss Moo has finally got her big girls room!this was meant to happen when she turned 4, but for various reasons we never got around to it until last weekend... and in the nick of time...she had way outgrown her toddler room by now, and was starting to get embarrassed to have her friends around, as she's a big girl now.... They grow up so fast...Where does the time go.................?

 

 But before I share her new big girls room with you all, I wanted to repost these images from her toddler room:

 



Little Miss Moo's room was cute, but not saccharine: The walls were painted a light mossy green.... With a lovely bed canopy from IKEA, the cot bed (that has been her bed since birth in all its shapes and forms) was from John Lewis. The (wonky) Steinlen cat prints on the wall was bought in Paris during our honeymoon....

 

 

 

 

I'd mirrored the use of bunting on the canopy in the window dressing....



 

 

.....and the "dottiness" of the fabrics are recurrent in the little lampshade light garland (Tiger tiger) as well as on the fabric covered letters (mamas and papas) on the shelves.....

I love the white rabbit night light!

The shelves are from IKEA, as is the green night light (on the wall) and the crocodile in the bed...

.....Miss Moo thinks he's great for a cuddle(still)!

 

 



 

 

Miss Moo's room is not very big, and it's was a challenge to get it kitted out for her growing needs now she's a big girl...

 

with swopping her cot bed (she was almost the length of it now....)for a big girls bed and finding space for storage + leaving enough space for play.

...we had to loose the chest of drawers she keept her clothes in....

See how I overcome this problem in the follow up post....coming soon!!

 

Miss Moo loves music, Scooby doo and witches at the moment...(I know...what a combo, right??)
But the thing she loves the most, is being "a Hex-girl": some sort of eco Goth girl band rock star alter ego....!?!
She gets dressed up in every necklace, bracelet and hairclip she can find ( watch out mummy's jewellery), apply a heavy handed dose of glitter make up then rock out with her piano or her paper jams electric guitar....

 

 



 

Next month it'll probably be something different....

...so the new big-girls room will have to accommodate for a variety of future interests and fads....

 





 

 

  I just hope she'll never get too big for all her old friends .....

 

   xxx

June

  

Here's wishing you all a great new week.....

Happy Monday!

 

Woke up to another grey Monday morning...but I am not going to let it spoil my mood......had a rough weekend, so decided last night to start afresh and positive this week!

 

 

 

This week I am going to do up little miss moo's kitchen chair for this week's diy project, and I will be telling you all about our plans for her big girls room...

 

Wish you all a great week!

 

 please keep popping by and leave me a message.....makes my day!

 

Xxxjune