DIY Painted Leather Phone Case

I got this white leatherette case free with my new phone (jammy!) and although I do love the little tortoise in the corner, it was a bit boring. I decided to try and jazz it up a bit with some acrylic paint, and I love how it came out! 

You will need: white faux leather phone case (it may work on real leather too), acrylic paint, masking tape. 

1// Tape out a pattern on the case with the masking tape. I chose a simple colour blocking pattern as sometimes I think bold is best. 

2// Start painting in the blocks. I only did one coat on mine (I'm lazy), but a couple of coats might give a more even finish. I personally like that hazy painty style. Make sure you pull the masking tape off while the paint is still wet as this will make the lines look cleaner. 

3// Cover the whole case in paint and wait for it to dry. I haven't put a protective coat on mine and it seems to be holding up well! But if you wanted to protect the pattern some PVA glue should do the trick. 

Happy March everyone! I'm going to be back in the blogging game this month now that I have settled into my work schedule a bit. I've missed this little bit of internet :) 

x Rachel 

Try It Tuesday: Geometric Candles

#TryItTuesday is back! This one has been in the drafts box for ages, and it's one of my favourites so I'm really excited to share it now. These geometric candles are a stroke of genius from Kris Degraeve and the tutorial can be found here on How Did You Make This? The method is based around making your own candle moulds from card stock. 

I absolutely loved following this tutorial! It's not as tricky as it looks, but it is quite time consuming. My main tip is to use good thick card and make sure you seal all tiny holes with PVA glue, otherwise it can get very messy. If all else fails, put a lot of newspaper down and just keep trying; the results are so worth it. Be sure to check out the brilliant original tutorial! 

There were also two other great Try It Tuesday posts today: 

>>>Emily from Trends With Benefits made some gorgeous little hair pins.

>>>Leanne from Knit me a Cake made a lovely felt phone case inspired by my tutorial :) 

x Rachel 

My 2014 Craft To-Do List

1//2//3//4

I have a problem. I made a list like this last year in an attempt to be less sporadic with my crafting and actually get some projects finished. Even though I did make a lot of things and improved some of my skills, I didn't really master anything on my list fully! I've always been a bit restless when it comes to crafting. I want to be good at it all straight away - but that's resulted in me just being a "dabbler" in everything. 

I am determined this year - that's why there are only four projects on my list. Even if I don't finish them all, I want to make sure I've made some good headway. 

1// Screen printing. I got a silkscreen for Christmas (hooray!) and I want to start printing on fabrics and cards. I've done it before at A level, but I think it's time to have another go properly. 

2// Granny Square Blanket. I did actually start this last year and I've got quite a lot of it done, but I'd love to get it finished this year. 

3// Tapestry. My best girls bought me this Emily Peacock tapestry kit for my birthday! I am so in love with it and can't wait to work on it all year. It's quite big so it's a lovely project to keep dipping in and out of. 

4// Painting. This crops up every year but there is always something holding me back. I literally think I have some sort of deep rooted fear of putting colour on paper. I am slowly getting better, but I'd like to keep going. 

These are my favourite kind of to-do lists. What skills would you like to improve this year?

x Rachel 

Organisation Geek: Raskog Cart

I've had a new addition to my life recently that I think needs to be shared. I am in love with my Ikea Raskog cart - meant for the kitchen but I use it to keep my craft supplies in. I totally stole this idea from many other artists/crafters who have done the same thing - look at this collection on Pinterest!

I love that it's on wheels - very convenient - plus the colour is lovely! It's so useful to have everything to hand when I'm working, it's saving me a lot of time rooting around in boxes for bits and bobs. 

Does anybody else have their very own Raskog? Share your love here! 

x Rachel