vintage plate revival

As you might recall I’m into plates with animals on them at the moment. I kind off collect them, but they’re hard to find! So I made my own cat plate. Today I’m showing you something similar, this time two vintage plates get a whole new style!

I adore vintage plates, especially the ones with flowers on the edges, too pretty. Not to mention the gold lining that often occurs as well! I just love them. Sadly they rarely come in dinner sets, some plates broken through the years. They’re often sold alone or in pairs. I know a lot of people want matching dinner sets, but I’m not that picky! Mix and max is just as good, and much more personal. So when I found these two plates in the thrift store I had to get them (plates like these cost almost nothing at all). Then I thought I had to give them a make over to make them more interesting.

I thought a good long while about what i could paint on them to match the flowers. Then I thought of it! Bees! They like flowers, could be counted in the ‘animal’ category and they are super cute!

This is what you’ll need

• vintage flower plates
• gold sharpie (or any other water-resistant sharpie you might prefer)
• rubbing alcohol (to clean the plate)
• an oven

First of all, find you plates. Any flower plate will do, choose the ones you find the prettiest. In any thrift store you will find loads, I promise! They do not have to match, as mine do though.

Use the rubbing alcohol to clean your plate, finger prints and oil from you hands could disturb the sharpie pen from staying put. Just wipe it off a bit. Then take you pen and try it on a piece of paper first. This is important if you using the gold kind, they tend to ‘flow’ a bit more then the usual black sharpie pen. I found it much easier to paint the actual plate after making some sketches.

Start making you design! I had three bees on one and two on the other, but if you want you could try to make them symmetrical. When your pleased with the design and the bees are enjoying the florals it’s time to bake the plates. Set the oven to 175 degrees celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake them for half an hour. Let them cool. And your done! Easy, right?

Bee safe! (Yeah pun intended) xo Pella

diy asos knock off embroidered flower dress

In my first entry I wrote about one of my biggest passions, dresses! I can’t get enough of them! I wouldn’t say I have too many, because you can’t really have too many dresses, but I have a few. Most of my dresses are vintage finds or thrifted. I’m not the kind of girl who go for design pieces, I couldn’t afford it and I believe you can dress great without spending too much money! This is where this tutorial get’s in the picture. If you haven’t read my first entry about the dress off my dreams from asos, do it here.

So I was in an impossible position, the dress I had my eyes on was way to pricey and when it came on sale it still was too much for my student budget to bare. And then it got sold out. What do you do? You do it yourself! It was a little tricky but I would like to think that my version, all though MUCH cheaper, is just as good as the one from asos.

Since my dress was too white for my taste I used tea to dye it a more antique white shade. Here is a tutorial for that. But let’s skip to how I turned my plain dress into a wonder of flower power! It was more work than I expected, but I had some fantastic assistance from my mother who is way more handy with a needle and thread then I’ll ever be!

This is what you’ll need for this project

• a simple dress to your liking
• lots of iron on flowers
• lots of sew on flowers
• needles and thread
• an iron

The flowers I bought I bought on ebay, here, here and here. If I were to buy all the flowers in a craft or sewing store I could just as well’ve bought the original asos dress, they’re that expensive, so i recommend shopping from ebay for this purpose. I think I had about 150 flowers all in all, but some are large and some are tiny, buy as many as you think you’ll need and want. Personally I think more is more (always)!

I started by putting the dress on and trying to figure out where the flowers would be most flattering and look the best together. Since I wanted my dress to be symmetrical, like the asos dress, I put needles in the fabric (while wearing it) to know where I should put the flowers later on. I lay the dress out and started needling the flowers on.

I wanted the lining to be eye-catching so I chose to place the larger flowers there. I saved matching ones for the back.

Only my larger flowers were the iron on kind so they were the only ones I fit into the symmetrical pattern. The small ones had to wait! When I was satisfied with flowers placements I started ironing them on. Remember to take the needle away before placing the iron on the flowers and be very careful with the heat if you dress i lace, like mine.

Ones the flowers are stuck, it can take a while for the glue to set so just keep ironing, it’s time for the tiny flowers. If it was one thing I loved with the asos dress it was that they had sewn flowers on top of each other, so I sewed many of my smaller ones on top of the larger flowers. It takes a good while to sew on all the smaller ones, but don’t give up because the more flowers the more amazing your dress will look.

Before I sewed the smallest flowers on it looked like this!

And this is the finished product, of some weird reason I haven’t got any pictures with me actually wearing it. Next time I throw this beauty on I promise to snap I few pics!

 

This is how the back turned out, a little bit more bare like I wanted it. My favorite part, except the neckline, is the flowers on the bottom of the dress, the ones that went on the actual skirt. Such a special little detail.

When I wore this I got so many compliments from my friends and I bet you would to if you made your own version!

DIY piñata, party idea

Hi guys! remember the post about my mini pinatas? There I mentioned that I along with the small pinatas also made a really large pinata for my birthday and yes pinatas are for adults as well if you ask me. This is how it turned out and I can say that I was very pleased with the outcome of it all!

As I said about the mini pinatas, it’s important to start this craft at least one week before the actual pinata is needed. It takes rather long for the papier maché glue to dry.

This is what you’ll need:

• one large balloon (mine was gigantic)
• newspapers
• papier maché  glue
• a big bowl
• glue sticks (for the decorating of the pinata)
• silk paper
• string
• candy (most important part of course)

For this craft I had some boyfriend assistant, mostly because the balloon was so big it’s hard to handle it alone but also because it’s fun to do something crafty together. He help me blow the balloon (yes, I find them scary and always think they will blow up in my face…) to gigantic size!

Although a bit scary, one can’t deny that balloons are very pretty! When the balloon was ready we placed it in a bowl, so it would stay still (mot of the time) when we put the paper and glue on. Choose a bowl you’re not all to fond of, it could get ruined or miss colored from all the glue. Also prepare with paper under the balloon, you don’t want to stain your working space. The glue washes away really easy with water though, but one can’t be too sure.

I used store-bought papier maché glue, I recommend it very much, it get’s much sturdier than the one you can make yourself. But if you want to try that I mentioned a recipe in this post . Mix you glue together and let it set for a while (the kind I used said ten minuets), while you wait you shred the papers.

Now it’s time to start covering up the balloon! We used sponges to put on the glue and then lay some of the paper on and smooth it out.

You do one layer at the time, so switch the balloon over when one half is covered! I did two layers at one time and them put it to dry for a day or two just to repeat it. Make sure you leave the top of the balloon (the knot) bare, this is where you get the balloon out later when the pinata is dry. All in all I had eight layers on mine. It’s important that you turn it over while it’s drying, or else the part in the bowl won’t dry but stay moist instead. So turn it around once a day if possible.

Make sure you keep the glue, cover it with some plastic, you’ll be needing it after filling the pinata.

While it was drying my cat guarded it.

Skipping forward to when the pinata is dry you should fill it up. First though you have to remove the balloon, cut it at the knot and then pull it out. Cut the existing hole bigger, so the candy will fit!

What I initially wanted to fill mine with was miniature booze bottles, but I hadn’t any luck in finding any and of course my fallback was candy. Since all of my guests grew up in the nineties I choose to put in ring pops, I used to love them when I was little (eatable jewelry is the best).

Put all the goodies in there and use needle and string to make to holes and tie the string through to hang the pinata in later. Then take the papier maché glue and some more paper and cover up the hole. The pinata will probably need one more day to dry before being decorated. When it came to the decor I choose three colors of silk paper, orange, pink and hot pink to create a cute ombre effect.

For glue I had glue sticks, I needed three so stock up! Glue sticks are better than liquid paper glue, it’s easier to work with in this case. Start glueing them on at the bottom so the fringe will be pointing down.

I love how it really looks like a gigantic version of the mini pinatas I made as placement cards for the party.

Have a good time smashing up your pinata beauty!

lime mojito jello shots (vegan)

I made these little bad boys for my birthday party, I served them with the welcome drinks (which I sadly did not get on picture, they disappeared too fast!). These are simple jello shots but served in a really cute way. Truth be told I only made these because I like the way of serving them in the lime slices, but they tasted better than expected. Not sure I am over thrilled by the jello texture though!

They are easy to make and I love things you can make ahead! I made these the evening before the party, but you could make them two-three days earlier, at least, just keep them in the refrigerator.

You’ll need 

• 12 limes
• Dr Oetkers Vege-Gel
• Food Coloring
• Mojito essence
• White rum
• Water

You could easily leave the rum out and just use more water, then you’ll have cute kid-friendly treats with fresh lime taste! Would probably be a total hit!

Look I evan managed to match my knife withe the limes, yay!

If you’d like you could make these with jello mixture and just follow the instructions on the package but I’m not a big fan of gelatin so I use the vegetarian substitute.

First of all you have to handle the hard part and that is hollowing the limes. For this I used a melon baller and a small sharp knife. I used the knife to try to cut loose as much as possible and them i scraped the rest out with the melon baller. Remember to not cut the limes in to wedges yet, that’s for when they are filled and the jello has set!

The inside of the limes will probably not look perfect, just as long as they are hollow it will be fine.

It’s time for the jello to be mixed. I mixed mine according to the package of my vege-gel. I boiled one and a half cup of water and added one sachet of vege-gel mix. Then I whisked it and let i cool a bit before adding the mojito essence (just a tablespoon or two). All of this will have to be done quite quick so the mix will be smooth. The last thing I added was the white rum, half a cup.

I placed my lime shells in a plastic container, so that they will not tip over, and start pouring the jello into the shells. Put them in the refrigerator for at least three hours and then they can be cut into the cute wedges. Each lime makes for four wedges when finished.

So there it was, a great make ahead party treat for grown up!

easy to make, cat plate

I’m a sucker for anything with animals on it, we’re talking clothes, furniture (especially lamps!), iphone covers and over all nick nacks, but fondest might be plates. I collect them, I love to mix and match different plates al long as they are close to size! But since I fall in love with different plates in mostly every thrift shop I ever step in to I have to set up boundaries. The number one rule for my Odd Plate Collection is this: It hat to be an animal on it. And that is definitely harder to find then you think! I have a small collection already but I had not yet found a good cat plate. Since that was a big fall out in the collection it had to be fixed quickly. I decided to make my own.

 

This is the best craft for when you want to make a personal gift or only want to be creative for a hour or so. A really good one-afternoon-craft really. I bought a plain white plate at a thrift shop, they cost almost nothing, and I already had some porcelain paint and brushes at hand. Porcelain paint can be bought at any craft shop, it’s not that expensive, especially if you only pick one color as I have done in this example. They also last long and most of the paints can also be used on glass.

What you do is that you paint on your cat face, I choose to just make the nose, eyes, whiskers and ears. It’s easy and is a good thing to make with kids, inexpensive and rewarding. A good thing with porcelain painting is that you can just take some damp paper and wipe away any mistakes if your not satisfied with the outcome of one of the ears or something like that.

When you’re done with the painting you follow the instructions for the porcelain paint. It’s mostly baking the plate for half an hour and then letting it cool before use. I’ve already used mine three times, it’s my new favorite plate. I just might have to make a matching dog or something!

 

DIY mini piñatas

Hi! Since my birthday’s coming up next week, and I’m throwing my birthday party this very weekend, I’ve been swamped with DIY projects! This project took a week to complete but look at the result!

 These little mini pinatas will be the placing arrangement for the party so except from being all cute and colorful they actually have a purpose! And inside (for the guest that dares breaking theirs, which really is the point!) is a small candy favor each! Fun! Can also add that this could easily be done for kinds, but I don’t mind making these for my adult friends, who doesn’t like colorful things and candy, right?

This is how you make them! It’s not tricky at all, it just takes time to let the papier maché to dry, I therefore recommend you starting a week, or at least five days, before they are going to be needed.

You’ll need 

• balloons
• newspapers papers, shredded
• papier maché glue
  
• drinking cups
• glue (for the decoration)
• silk papers (also for decoration)
• string
• cardboard tags
• candy!

I choose to use normal size balloons but decided to keep them on the smaller side so they later on can fit on a plate!

I made twelve balloons, one for each guest and one for myself (it’s my party so I totally need one too). When i was finished with the balloons I mixed my glue, I choose store-bought since it won’t dry as fast in the bowl and can be used days later. I did this because I’m also making a LARGE pinata for my party, tutorial will be coming later! But if you only need the glue for this one project you could mix it yourself with 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of water and 1 tbsp salt, boil it on low heat in a thick pot.

I place the balloons in these cups so they will be easier to work with. Then I start layering on the shredded newspapers and the glue. I did not let the balloons dry between each layer, but you could for shorter drying time! I smacked four layers on there right away and let them dry for a couple of days instead, I’m not known for my patience really. Also don’t forget to leave the little knot on the balloon visible and uncovered, you’ll be taking out the balloon in that end later.

When you put the papier maché on the balloons will start to feel very unsteady but that’s what’s suppose to happen. Just keep them in the cups and turn them around once a day so every part of the balloon can air dry.

Let’s fast forward to when they are dry! They feel very solid and you can easily cut the balloon out now, be careful so you don’t get it stuck inside, although if that happens it’s not a disaster. Once the balloon is out it’s time for putting in the candy, in mine I had to cut a bigger hole, but it’s glued together again afterwards so it doesn’t matter.

Now it’s time to fill them! I choose to just put in a few pieces, mostly because I’m also having the large pinata but also because it’s right before dinner and I want my guests to be able to enjoy the food. When you have filled them with your candy of choice you take the glue out again (I stored mine in the kitchen with just some plastic over, it stays moist for about a week). Here I put a little piece of string in before glueing them together again.This is for me to hang the cardboard tag in for later, it’s how I turn these little things into placing cards. Let them dry in the cups again, just like before and when dry it’s time to decorate them.

I am not a fan of crepe paper so I choose silk paper instead. I got hold of some really nice colors, orange is my favorite and the one with the small dots of course. I suggest you fold the papers so you easily can cut out small strings with fringe. This is a bit time-consuming if you don’t fold the papers before cutting! I made a really big pile with all the colors I was going to use (all of them). And then i glued them on starting at the bottom, the part without the string sticking out. It doesn’t really matter what kind of glue you use, pick what you have home already. I had simple glue sticks which works really well with the thin silk paper.

This is how they turned out! I am rally pleased, and I sure they will be a hit at the party. It’s also a rather nice craft, it’s so rewarding to see the outcome. The mini pinatas are adorable and could be used in so many ways. I am already thinking about this as a gift wrap idea. And you could make them like eggs for easter. The variations are endless. I am sure you’ll have a blast making them!

how to dye that dear dress

I am really excited about dying clothing. I am not at all into really really white things, mostly because I always get them dirty or stained. Now if the color is a light cream that never shows as easily!

To find cream-colored clothes can be tricky! So here is a tutorial for dying them in a really cheap and easy way at home. I’m talking about tea dying! This makes me want to dye everything i own! Before you go all crazy and start dying everything (like me) it’s important to know that tea dying may not get all even. The shade may vary throughout the piece of clothing you’ve chosen. It also becomes lighter after every wash, this doesn’t mean it will all go away though.

I am dying the dress I mentioned in my previous post. As you can see in the pic it is very white and in all pretty simple. 

What you’ll need is this,

a piece of white clothing, preferable made from cotton (it’s also important that you washed it previously since a new piece of clothing could contain toxins and such)

a bunch of tea bags 

a big pot

and a dryer

I am using 10 bags, equally many of earl grey and rooibos. I have this feeling that if half of the tea bags are black tea and half are red maybe the result will be more ‘burnt rose’ than just ‘cream’.

I boiled water in my favorite pot and added the tea, then I took is of the stove and let the tea steep for about fifteen minutes, so it’s not to hot for your fabric. I cut the strings of the bags, their tags are often made of colored paper which could end up interfering with the result.

Before I soaked the dress in it I chose to remove the tea bags. If they lay in water to long you risk them breaking and the clothing you’re coloring becoming all messy. When I soaked the dress it immediately turned to a gorgeous shade of light tea, which sadly was pretty hard to catch on camera. It also smelled really nice in the whole kitchen. This is such a nice way of dying, no weird artificial smells and no worrying about staining yourself or your home!

After soaking the piece of clothing I recommend putting on the lid and then setting a timer! I set mine on a hour. I rather color my dress too little than to harsh because it’s easier to re-dye it than to make this undone. But if you’re looking for a deeper color or a more tan like shade you could just soak it over night.

When you’re through with waiting you just rinse the tea out in the sink. Here the dress get’s a lighter color, which is exactly what’s suppose to happen. If it get’s to light to your liking, just soak it again for a longer time. When the water your rinsing it with isn’t so dark anymore your ready to put the dress in the dryer and tumble it dry. This is important since the heat is what makes the color permanent!

I am in love with the result, it’s just how I wanted it. Not at all too dark and the color came out surprisingly even! I can’t say I am disappointed with anything and can’t recommend this enough! It was very easy and not at all messy. Also, now my dress smells really lovely, like the best cup of tea ever. If you don’t enjoy the smell I recommend you put it in the washer after drying it so that the color still stays put!

Hope this was helpful! Now go craft!

dearest dresses

This is my first entry and it’s about two of my favorite things, first of all, it’s about a dress! I love dresses, they are the perfect piece of clothing in my opinion. In my collection i estimate having at least two hundred little creations, all loved and most of them thrifted or altered to my liking. The second thing that this entry is about how easy crafting can be. It’s not always time-consuming and you don’t always need lots of equipment. I’ll show you!

I’ve had my eye on this one dress on Asos, it was way to expensive and in my opinion also a bit to short. When it came on sale it still was to pricy for me but i couldn’t get it off my mind! I usually go for cheaper clothes, most of the time I shop in thrift shops but oh how I wish I had bought this. I love the combination of the white simple lace being all dolled up from the  3D effect flowers.

Since I can’t obtain this dress I will make an attempt at it myself. I am terrible at the sewing and usually break something when I use the machine so I found myself a white cheap lace dress in a retail store. It’s actually still available and on sale. It fits really nicely and is a bit longer then the one in the picture.

The only problem is that the dress is really white. I prefer colors on the more creamy side of the scale. Therefor my first tutorial will be on how to dye the dress. I’m not very into chemicals and buying expensive dyes in the craft shops so I will be showing the simple, cheap and organic version. The second step will be sewing on lots and lots of flowers.

Florals forever. Pella