DIY copper and macramé hanging planters

I've been wanting to try my hand at making some marcrame hanging planters for a while now, and  I've also been lusting after these hanging copper plant pots since my new-found obsession with plants!

So I thought I'd combine the two and made these ones for my kitchen window!

The macramé is pretty basic, so ANYONE can do this, and you are not going to believe what I made the copper pots from:

That's right!! A Nutella jar!!

The rounded form of the new design nutella jars was perfect for this project, hence: we've been eating nutella until it was coming out of our ears around here recently!

Then I transformed the jars with some copper spray paint:

Having eaten all the nutella (*sick) , I cleaned them out then soaked the labels off in warm water.

Then I prepared them for spray painting:

When spray painting glass, it is best to prep the surface first by cleaning it with Isopropyl alcohol (commonly found in cosmetic brush cleaner, which is what I used).

I figured it would be best to spray the inside of the jars, so that the macramé wouldn't rub off the paint with time, so I covered the outside of the jars with masking tape, before spraying the inside copper.

TIP: It is better to spray several thin layers, letting each layer dry before the next to avoid drip marks!

MAKING THE MACRAMÉ POT CRADLE:

Next, I got some 3mm white cotton cord to make the macramé with.

How much cord you need will depend on how long you want your macramé hangers to be, but I would suggest to aim for no shorter than 1 meter...

So for each macramé pot cradle, you'll need 8 pieces of cord in the same length (minimum 1 meter)..

STEP 1:

Gather them together and tie a knot at one end, leaving a 5 cm tail of cord....this will be the bottom of the macramé pot cradle. 

STEP 2:

Lay your knot on a flat surface, and separate the cord into 4 sections with two strands per section.

STEP 3:

Taking one section of cord at a time, begin to tie the two pieces of rope into a simple Square knot knot, leaving about 3-5 cm above the knot where all eight pieces of rope are tied.

TIP: Don't make your knots too tight at this stage, as you may need to adjust them later!

STEP 4:

Repeat until all the 8 pieces of cord is tied together.

STEP 5:

Take the left piece of cord from one section and match it up with the right piece of cord from the closest section to the left of it. Tie these two pieces of rope together, about an inch above your previous knots. Repeat all around!

You should now have a cross shape in the middle, and the last set of knots you made should form a square shape, like pictured above. 

STEP 6:

Organise your cord to form this shape and align your cords so that you can clearly distinguish each of the four sections.

STEP 7:

For the final round of knots,  take the outermost piece of cord from one section and match it up with the closet piece of cord from the section to the left of it, then tie those two pieces together about 3-5 cm above the previous knots.

When you've finished tying the cords together, the macramé pot cradle should look like this (Above).

STEP 8:

Place the (nutella) pot in the centre and gather up  the cords around...

Now you may find it necessary to adjust the knots a little to make the pot hang nice and straight.

Play around with it until you are happy, tightening the knots as you go...

STEP 9:

Gather up the ends of the cords and simply tie them together, forming a hoop so that you can easily hang them up on you curtain pole:

I love the way these turned out:

Spraying the nutella jars copper makes these planters fit perfectly in with my kitchen décor...

And they are just the perfect size for my Easter cactuses..

To make the 3 hanging planters cost me approximately £4 in cord, and I already had the copper spray paint (approx £6) ....and I don't consider the nutella jars an expense as it is something we eat on a regular basis (however, we may need a break from chocolate spread now...LOL).

So get eating some nutella, and you too can make these!

Hope you are having a good Easter so far!

I will be back with a little Easter related project you can do with the kids very soon...and should you start to feel like you've run out of ideas/activities for the kids during the holidays, please pop back soon , as I will be posting some nice kids activities from the www. next week!

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The One room challenge

(The not so ) Little Miss Moo's room upgrade!

Having had an extended break from any bigger home improvements, I feel like the time has come to tackle those rooms that I did not get around to doing last year!

And as a little kick up my backside, I've decided to join in on the  #ONE ROOM CHALLENGE from the fabulous Calling it home!

So over the next 6 weeks I will be doing a weekly update on how I am getting on with a room update in my home, and I thought this would be a great way to show you all the thought process that goes behind a room design as well as the practicalities of the task in hand and the not so glamorous problems that can arise! I will of course be sharing any tips and tricks, and little projects I undertake on the way!

After having had a little think ,I've decided to makeover Little Miss Moo's room!

It is only just over a year since we last did it, so no hideous before pictures... but the truth is : She's really not that little anymore... 

And although she's only 5 still, she has over the last year grown up so much , and has developed a very strong sense of self and what she likes, that she often expresses through her interest in design and colour (Really...she has an eye for it!)

And when I suggested we'd make over her room again, she was very excited!!

So I think this will be a cool thing for us to do together, and I want her to be part of this process all the way!

...and she so deserves it after the year we've had and everything she's had to put up with!

So in the last few days we've been browsing Pinterest together, and pinning images of kids rooms we (both) liked the look of:

Image source: Eclectic trends

Mia Loves this colour combination , above, with pastels and greys!

And she "wants" one of those origami wall rabbits, below!

Image source:  Chloe Fleury

And she loves the stars on the wall and the "rock'n'roll'ness of the room below:

Image source :La petite mag

She'd also like to keep her blackboard wall.

Image by Riikka Kantinkoski via decor8blog

One thing she desperately needs and wants in her room is a desk to sit and do drawing/homework at.

As her room is very small we'll have to come up with a creative way to fit one in, but she quite liked the look of this one, above.

Image via My Scandinavian home

Another thing Mia is quite keen on, is having her own wall clock, as she's just starting to get to grips with telling the time! And she loved all the funny cushions on the bed and the artwork on the wall in the image above. In fact she says she wants loads of art on her walls...'cause she's "an artist" :)

Image source: kotipalapeli

And she fell for this paint effect on the wall with those colourful pom poms!

See...I told you she knows what she likes!

I can totally see that we are headed for a very creative space, and now that we've pin-pointed what she likes the look of , ie: colours and visuals, Our task before next weeks update on THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE will be to put together some sort of mood board + a little plan of action.

There are some practical elements of the makeover that I need to consider, like storage and the desk space. Mia's room is so little that the layout, with the bed along the wall, is pretty much unchangeable, So I am going to put my thinking cap on and try to come up with a solution!

If you are thinking of doing up a room in your home, I suggest that you use pinterest , like we did, to put together some images of rooms and décor you like...it's a great starting point to any room design and helps you focus on the elements of the interiors that you love....maybe once you have a pinterest board with 20-30 pins, you will start to see the elements that are recurrent: Like colours or styles. Then you'll know to incorporate hose into your room design!

Don't forget to check out how and what the other participants of the One room challenge is doing...You can see them all over at Calling it home!

Do tune back in next week for the second instalment of ONE ROOM CHALLENGE, to see how me and, the NOT so little Miss Mia Moo get on with our mood board for her room transformation...

....and how I plan to tackle the small space storage dilemma!!

Green (and yellow) Easter at Nostalgiecat...

#Urbanjunglebloggers

I really feel like my life has become more enriched and happy since I started filling my house with plants and flowers...

...and I think decorating with greenery for holidays is so classy: Plants are seasonal creatures and therefore lends themselves well as subtle hints to the seasons in your home's décor.

Of course I'm not going to get away with decorating for Easter using only plants...having a 5 year old daughter means eggs, feathers, Easter bunnies and the odd fluffy chick is bound to swamp my house by the end of this week....but I've quite enjoyed slowly adding yellow daffodils and other seasonal greenery to my home over the last week:

My daffodil bulbs has flowered, and adds a little pop of yellow on my mantle...

And the bright yellow of these fresh daff's perfectly compliment my new, huge abstract art in the living room (more on that later ...)

I'm not actually sure what these pretty fresh flowers (above and below) are called, but they're always available at my local florist this time of year....and pop an polystyrene egg covered with brass thumb-tacks next to them....(and a little sneaky chick in the shelves LOL)....

...Or with some little chocolate eggs in a bowl, and hey presto: Easter is here!!

I'm a huge fan of the pastel trend in interiors this spring, and it suits the season so well...

bringing a fresh feel to my décor. And the bright yellow of Easters favourite flowers, the daffs, goes so well with those subtle shades:

And of course the perfect accompaniment to a bunch of daff's are some pussy willows....

And they look great in my DIY egg planter/vase I made last year. (See how here)

And of course this years version of the feathered Easter tree is back on my kitchen table....this time with some pretty and simply decorated blown out duck eggs (tutorial coming soon)...

And I've also made some easy copper+macramé hanging planters to house my Easter cactus' for the kitchen windows...I will show you how I made these in my next DIY post.

And on my kitchen shelf, a bunch of daffs are waiting to bloom next to some potted chives and a little succulent cutling...

And the other morning I got creative with a marker pen and some plain white egg cups: Meet Mr and Mrs Succulent (and their little friend "the chick")....the latest members of our growing green family...

Cute aren't they?? They are so easy to do....would be a great little project to do with the kids over the holidays should boredom kick in!!

I will, as you probably gather, be posting some more creative tutorials and posts throughout Easter, and I am also gathering some kid friendly activities from the www. that I will be posting next week...so should you run out of ideas for the kids over Easter, make sure you pop back for that!

In the meantime : Happy Easter my friends!

Ideal homeshow 2015

  + a Q&A with Julia Kendell

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the Ideal home show, as a VIP guest of Hammonds furniture with the opportunity to meet and interview Julia Kendell , the Interior designer from TV shows such as DIY SOS and 60 minute makeover. Read on to see what she had to say, but first I want to tell you a little about my experience at the Ideal Home show exhibition:

This was my first visit to the ideal home show, and I must say that it surprised me!

There was something for everyone:

The ideal home show is NOT the place for discovering new designers and the latest in interiors....it is however a place that makes interiors and design more accessible to people!

Of course there was lots of beautifully designed furniture, like the sofas, above, and I truly enjoyed the Ideal shopping market bit of the exhibition:

With loads of small stalls displaying a wide array of products, there was a lot of things that had no appeal to me, but in-between there was a few little gem's, like these colourful candlesticks and lampshades, above, and these wire chairs with woven plastic, below:

And I regret not treating myself to one of these cool monochrome mugs:

Or one of these colourful ceramic vases (Not that I haven't got enough vases already! LOL)

But after a little snooping around, I headed to the Ideal Super theatre to see Julia Kendell speak about how to avoid bland interiors, a subject that , if you've been reading Nostalgiecat for a while, you'll know I take particular interest in!

And during her talk it struck me that The Ideal Homeshow is the perfect venue for bringing Interior design to the forefront of peoples thinking: 

Julia talked about how interiors should match the personality of the home-owner and be an expression of who lived there. She further delved into the psychology of styles: 

-How expressive people often decorate with bold colours and big statement pieces creating spaces that have a huge impact, and advised people of this nature to focus a little more on the details of their homes to bring the look more together.

-Amiable people often create homely and welcoming interiors full of memories and keepsakes, but risk being bland and cluttered because of their tendencies to want to be inoffensive. Her advice to Amiable personalities was to improve their homes by thinking more about storage solutions.

-The more analytical person often lives in homes that seem formal and Neat, and Julia urged them to try and loosen up their interiors by adding more energy and texture to inject some personality into their homes!

Julia's last personality group, she called the Drivers, and these people have a tendency to create very functional spaces, often very organised and filled with gadgets and status symbols...her advice to The drivers was to add some more organic elements to their interiors, like plants, to avoid their spaces looking too impersonal.

Of course Julia emphasised that most people are a mixture of these sort of personalities, and that everyone's homes should be what they want it to be (If you love beige and bland, that's fine) but if you give your interiors a little more consideration, stretch your imagination and look at things a bit differently ,there are some easy way's to improve the feeling and emotion of your homes:

She recommended taking the time to plan ahead, using pinterest to create mood boards and building your confidence to use more colour in your interiors. 

Taking inspiration for a new colour palette from a rug or piece of art you love is a great way to start combining colours that will work in your home. This doesn't necessarily mean painting your walls in bright colours, but to lift the colours in a room using accessories and textures, like wool and metallics! It's all in the details!

Julia's talk gave me some food for thought, as I realized that her mission, similar to mine, is to bring the joys of successful interior design and home-improvement to the public..

I was really looking forward to meeting Julia face to face a little later for a short Q&A session.

But first there was a little time to have a look around the show-homes, and THE FUTURE PROOF HOME  by trivsel hus was, design wise, the highlight of the day for me:

Drawing inspiration from Scandinavian style in line with the beautiful clean lines of it's Swedish architecture.

With it's open space floor plan down stairs, it was also bang on trend, filled with carefully curated Scandinavian design pieces, with a slight hint to Mid century modern...

There was a calm and relaxed feel due to its neutral and monochromatic colour palette, supplemented with textures in the form of fur and a mix of timber...

As well as modern design pieces in ceramics and metallics....and like Julia had just advised, they really lifted the space!

It really is all in the details!

Q&A with Julia Kendell

Firstly, I must say: I was very nervous, although I tried not to show it, to be interviewing such a prominent interior designer, and I was lucky to have the help of my Interior designer and blogger friend Claire Garner. Still; this was my first ever "real" interview, and I really was winging it here (LOL), but I think Julia's lovely nature and media experience helped set me at ease, and once we'd sat down surrounded by the beautiful fitted bedroom design from Hammonds, conversation just flowed:

Q:

 As a self taught interior designer, at what point in your career did you feel like you'd made it?

Julia: 

Having had a passion for interior design since I was a child it felt inevitable that it was going to be my profession. But it did take a long time , some steely determination and  a lot of hard work, taking little interior courses here an there to build my confidence, before I felt ready to start my own business at the age of 28. 

Q:

How would you describe your "house style"?

Julia:

My personal style is quite masculine, and I have a penchant for industrial interiors with lots of natural elements, like timber, leather and wool.

I find that my clients approach me because they love my style, but obviously every assignment is tailored to the clients personalities. 

Q:

You are a self-proclaimed advocate for empowering women to DIY and improve their homes, why is this so important to you?

Julia:

There are a lot of single mums, like myself, out there that would benefit from up-skillig to create a more comfortable life and home environment for themselves and their children. Knowing how and what tools to use can help you do this for less. This doesn't just apply to women, but having a happy home that looks beautiful and is functional should be accessible to everyone, not just the rich and famous....and a basic knowledge of DIY makes this more achievable for people with little money! 

If having the right tools for the job is not in your budget, then consider tool-sharing with a group of friends! 

Q:

Do you think Interior design has become more important to the British public over the last 10 years?

Julia:

I think the British' is more aware of the benefits of good interior design than ever. It started with "Changing rooms" and the interest is still growing due to shows like DIY SOS and 60 minute makeover...The success of the ideal homeshow is a testament to the growing popularity of home improvements, having run for over 100 years....People are now doing up their homes for themselves, to their own tastes, as opposed to doing up to sell, which was how it used to be!

Q:

Are there any current Interior trends you would avoid?

Julia:

No, actually, at the moment I am very happy with the trends for interiors: I am really pleased that grays have taken over from beige's as the neutral colour of choice, as grey tones lends themselves very well as a backdrop to almost any colour palette!

The Scandinavian influences are definitely here to stay, as they provide such a relaxed, yet modern feel to interiors. It also makes me very happy to see that quality Mid century modern furniture is no longer headed for the skips, but are now being reused and upcycled! And I have been predicting the raw industrial look for years, and am so pleased that it's now here, as this is also a very accessible and affordable style.

Q:

What would you put into design room 101?

Julia:

Cheap, fluorescent and ugly LED light bulbs!

I will probably think of more things later, but good lighting is so important to a successful interior design, and should be used to highlight the best features of a room, not just kill any ambiance with a glaring overhead light! Creating level lighting can really make a room, and investing in dimmers and pretty light bulbs will help set the atmosphere.

Julia will be back on our telly's this autumn with her new show REBUILD OUR HOME, along with Nicky Campbell on ITV.

It was so lovely to chat to Julia, and I think she made some great points... In hind-sight I could think of a million more things to ask her but all in all, I am happy with the interview! How do you think I did?? What would you ask Julia Kendell if you had a chance to meet her?

And what would YOU put in design room 101??