Find me a flower...

Not only can I find you one, I can make you one that lasts all year! I learnt how to make these gorgeous flowers from my good friend Lisa using old book pages, some fake flower stem wire, double sided tape and black ink. The best thing about these flowers is that they are extremely easy and inexpensive to make, and look gorgeous. I get comments on mine frequently, and have had several requests from friends and family for me to make them some.

Materials: old book pages, stem wire (available from Spotlight or craft stores), double sided tape, black ink

Equipment: scissors, pliers

Step 1: Cut out several fingernail shaped pieces from the book pages. They should be about 3x5-6cm in size. These form the petals of the roses.

Step 2: Scrunch then unscrunch your petals. This adds to the effect once you put ink on the petals, and also makes the petals easier to work with.

Step 3: Cut and place double  sided take on the bases of your petals.

Step 4: You can, if you want, make a loop at one end of the stem wire so your flower doesn't fall off.

Step 5: Take your petals with the double sided tape, and place them one after the other on your stem wire. Make sure they are well stuck down.

Step 6: When you are happy that you have placed enough petals on your flower aka it looks like a rose, you can put a bit of black ink on the tips of the petals, to add a rustic look to them. Grab your ink pad, and gently brush it over the petals, and on the underside of the flower, if you wish.

Step 7: Make several flowers, put in a pretty jar or vase and give to your friend or grandma. I'm sure they would love some undying flowers made specially for them :)

These are some of the flowers that I am making for table centerpieces for a Women in Surgery Luncheon in a few weeks.
 Sorry about the sub optimal photo quality of late. The lighting in my house is not so good, and the garden isn't so pretty to take photos in just now >_<

Hope you are having a smashing Tuesday!

À plus tard! Pip xx

And a little bit of Darth

This past weekend, despite the storms, Lisa, Bec and I indulged in a fabulous Crafterweekend. It was divine! We ventured down south to Lisa's parents house, supped on lots of tea and consumed half our weight in delicious Lindt chocolate (the latter was so hard...).

Lisa worked on decorations for her Athiestmas tree, and Bec became more and more decidedly frustrated with the Cat in the Hat quilt she was making for her new nephew (who, for the record, is adorable!).

I didn't have anything in mind to make on our weekend, but brought all my craft stock anyway. After being inspired by Lucky Jackson's amazing hoop embroideries and her pledge to make one a day for a year (check out her site here, she is seriously amazing!), I decided to copy a few of her pop culture designs.

The first I embroidered was one of my favourites: Darth Vader on a bike ^_^ The first image is Lucky's, and the second is mine. I am really impressed with how it turned out, despite a few flaws. It is not as refined as Lucky's, but I'm pretty chuffed regardless.

I'm not sure whether to colour my Darth as Lucky has, or to cut it out and place on a contrasting background. At the moment, I'm happy having it as it is, next to me as I study!

The second design I started on our weekend, but finished at home was this one: Darth with a balloon. I just love the comparison of one of pop cultures famous villains portrayed in a different and playful light. It makes me happy.

I came up with the idea to do a Star Wars Home Sweet Home embroidery, and the idea of featuring the Death Star came to mind, so here is the finished product. The design is all my own (I'm proud to say ^_^).

Let me know what you think, and if you are an ashamedly huge Star Wars fan too. I'm contemplating joining Vader's 501 Australian Legion, so I better start planning/making a costume!

Hope you have had an awesome weekend too :)

Pip xx 

DIY Monday !

Here is a wonderful DIY that I found on Pinterest for l'épingles à cheveux (hair clips) from My Little Fabric. As I have just had a haircut, I am eager to make some of these adorable accessories and adorn my hair!

À plus tard. Pip x

Elle me dit danse !

Ecoutez ! C'est magnifique !

À plus tard. Pip x 

Le goût de Paris !

Ahhh the taste of Paris! On Saturday whilst perusing through David Jones, I found myself in the book section, as per usual. I came across this amazing cookbook - The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo. However, having not spent much time in the kitchen ever of late (combined with the sardonic comments from my boyfriend), I decided against the purchase (however, it is only $24 on the UK Book Depository, so I may reconsider this buy, away from mocking eyes...).

As it turns out, Rachel has a new cooking series on the BBC, which shares the same name as her cookbook. Check out the first episode:

She cooks her spin on traditional Boeuf Bourguignon, which I am going to attempt over the weekend (fingers crossed!) It looks so yummy! Check it out on the second episode here.

Do you like French cuisine? Ah, to hell - do you like any food? Which types?


À plus tard. Pip x

As time marches on...

My oh my! It is already two thirds of the way into March! How time flies.

I thought I might share with you an adorable DIY I found on one of my favourite blogs, Studs and Pearls. Kirsten is a DIY jewelery/fashion blogger hailing from NYC who also designs jewelery at Limette.

This is a DIY version of the necklace on the left into the one on the right!


The original necklace is from Anthropologie - The Thread-Wrapped Sentiment Necklace. What I love about Kirsten is that she finds gorgeous jewelery and recreates it for one hundreth of the cost! What a thrifty nifty gal!

Click here for Kirsten's necklace tutorial. I will post pictures of my DIY version when it's finished.

À plus tard. Pip x   

Parce-qu'on vient de loin...

Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais j'aime vraiment cette chanson ! Je l'ai entendu l'autre jour, dans la classe, et je l'ai  chanté  tout le temps !

It really is a lovely song (here is an English translation). Do you like listening to songs in foreign languages? Even if you don't know what they (fully) mean?


À plus tard. Pip x