DIY Glitter Notebook Set

Hello hello, long time no see! I have been busy with my other life as a set designer recently, and I'm trying to figure out a better way of scheduling my time so I can fit Etsy work and blogging back in more solidly... So to kick off some more regular posting for Autumn, here is a fun little DIY, a super quick glittery stationery fix.

To make this set of glittery notebooks, all you need is some A5 glitter paper (I got mine in a pack from Hobbycraft), some plain paper, a laminator (optional) and a sewing machine. If you don't have a sewing machine you can hand sew these just as easily. 

To start with, I laminated my glitter paper in A5 laminator pouches - just to make a protective layer for the notebooks, and to stop glitter going everywhere when I use them. If you don't mind a bit of glitter spillage in your life, you can skip this step. I then trimmed plain paper to size, 4-6 sheets of A4 is best. 

Once your pages are together, you can just run the centre spine through a sewing machine to bind them together. Start slowly to check the thickness is ok for your needle, and make sure that you change your needle afterwards as it will have been blunted a bit by the paper. Tip: I keep a special needle aside for sewing paper with so I don't ruin my other needles. 

These are so quick, and the results are great - they would make such a cute present for a friend as a little set. 

x Rachel 

Homemade Marquee Signs

I mentioned back in May about a Moulin Rouge themed event that I was designing, and that event has come and gone... I thought I'd share my favourite part today, my handmade marquee signs! I've seen these floating around on Pinterest for ages, so it was great to finally have an excuse to make some of my own. 

For the red "Moulin Rouge" sign, I roughly followed this brilliant tutorial from Oh Happy Day. It worked a treat, and although it was super time consuming, I was really happy with the result. It was perfect for setting the scene at the entrance to the event. 

If you are thinking of making some of your own, make sure you use LED fairy lights (which don't get hot) - anything else will be a fire hazard with all that card and spray paint. I bought mine here and they were perfect. 

I also made a slightly different version for the "Cabaret" sign. It's basically the same method, but without the edges on each letter. I was really pleased with this one actually, because it took a fraction of the time to make and still looked really effective. 

If you'd like to see a bit more of the event, there is a short video here. All I will say is that I was not responsible for those chair covers. Or the balloons. Sometimes you just have to let these things go haha... but if there's one thing I've learned, there is nothing a bit of red velvet draping and plenty of fairy lights paint can't solve. 

How to Make a Mini Folder out of Duct Tape

Any fellow freelancers out there may have a purse similar to mine; over flowing with receipts! I have a filing system for mine, but I don't get around to actually organising them very often, so I've been looking for a mini organiser that I can take with me on the go to keep things a little neater. I also wanted something with different compartments so that I could keep receipts from different jobs separate, but I found it quite difficult to find something in the size I wanted... So I decided to make one! 

Supplies: Gaffa/Duct Tape in a fun colour, clear parcel tape, cereal box card, plastic wallets, washi tape, scissors. 

1// Cut two rectangles out of thin cardboard in whatever size you would like to make your folder. 

2// Cover each piece in gaffa tape (I got my pink roll from Tiger), and leave an excess at one side of a few centimetres. 

3// Join the two pieces with another piece of tape, wrapping around the front and back and forming the "spine" of your folder. Make sure that the two sides will match up when folding before taping it down. 

4// Cut the plastic wallets down to the right size and reseal the edges with washi tape as necessary. 

5// Use clear parcel tape to fix the wallets inside the folder. 

6// Pop your new organisational friend into your bag and feel smug for being so on top of your finances. 

What do you think? I mostly love how cheap this was to make. You could use the same method to make art journals or book sleeves, or photo albums! Hooray for gaffa tape :)

x Rachel 

Recipe Bunting for the Kitchen

I should start this post by saying that I can't take any credit for this idea. This was all Jake. We took our nets down at our kitchen window recently and the room looked really bare, so he came up with the idea of making bunting out of food magazines! It's been on my handmade to-do list ever since. The best thing is that costs next to nothing to make, and really brightens up our colourless rented kitchen. 

Supplies: A food magazine, masking tape, paper, scissors, bakers twine.

1// Make a paper template for the paper flags, folding it in half to make sure it's even. 

2// Fold over a couple of centimetres at the top and snip off the pointy sides (as in the pic above). 

3// Attach the flags to a length of bakers twine with a bit of masking tape. It helps to lay them all out first so you can get the balance of colours right.

4// Fix your new bunting in place with tape - I used pink gaffa tape as it sticks to tile well.  

Excuse our cloudy window, another renting peril. 

I love how colourful food photography is, and I feel like this is a great way to show it off. What do you think? 

x Rachel 

DIY Chunky Bead Necklace

I'm not really sure if this even counts as a DIY post - it's so easy! It's more of a show and tell. A necklace like this is a 15 minute make, all you need is some bright chunky beads, a length of chain and some fastenings. Just thread the beads on to the chain and use pliers to fix a large jump ring on one end of the chain, and a fastening on the other. 

I found these beads in Leeds (that's a fun poem) in the most amazing bead shop introduced to me by the lovely Kate. They were only 60p each! I already had the chain and fastenings, but they are easily picked up cheap from craft shops. So all together this necklace probably cost about £2.50, plus 15mins of labour - not bad at all. 


I've got jewellery making fever at the moment! I have an agate slice that is just calling out for a DIY - so keep an eye out for that soon. 

Happy Sunday :)

x Rachel 

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