DIY Christmas Gift Ideas

How is everyone's Christmas shopping going? I was very organised this year and started buying a few presents back in August. Whenever I saw something I thought would make a good present for someone on my list, I just bought it and put it away in the cupboard. Of course, there are always those people who are hard to buy for, and in the days leading up to Christmas I usually end up picking up some sort of gift set or a box of chocolates. 

If this sounds anything like you, why not make a few gifts yourself this year? A homemade gift is much more thoughtful than the generic box of chocolates, and they're pretty fun to make! Here are some ideas:

This DIY mint and honey lip scrub by A Little Glass Box makes my mouth water, and is so nicely packaged.

Edible goodies are always a good idea! Why not make this brownie mix from Call me Cupcake, or a delicious lemon loaf.

These personalised coffee mugs from A Beautiful Mess are an awesome idea!

I can smell these delicious bamb bombs from Spreading Sunshine already! 

I've always wanted to try making soap, and these orange and tea-tree soaps from Offbeat and Inspired would make this perfect Christmas gift. 

You could also think about making my DIY teacup candles, DIY Christmas muesli, or my cute Shrewsbury Drops. My macarons would also make a great gift and can be packaged up so nicely!

Are you still doing last-minute shopping? The crowds get crazy this time of year!

X
Molly

Home Decor: Collections

I love the feeling of picking up a cute vintage tin or bottle from a thrift store, but sometimes I have trouble finding the right place in my cottage to put it. Sometimes a vintage tin looks out of place among the other, newer things in my house. I think the answer is to make a collection of things and display them together. 

My tips for displaying a collection are:

1. Use items that are similar, but different. A collection of identical items is boring, so make sure the items differ in some way. A variety of shapes and sizes makes for a more appealing display.

2. Have enough, but not too many, items. How many items a display needs depends on what the item is. For tins or bottles, more is more, as long as there is sufficient variety. For something more unique, like globes or vintage cameras, you only need three or four or the collection may start to look boring and overdone. If you do have a large collection of something like vintage cameras, it is best to display them in a systematic way, in a custom-made display case like this:

Or on shelving, using chalkboard paint like this:

3. Choose only items that you like. It may be tempting to buy a whole lot of plain-looking tins just to make up a collection to display your favourite vintage tin, but the collection will just look like one nice tin surrounded by plain tins. Be discerning.

4. Before buying something, picture what it will look like in your home. Do you have a place for it? Are there other things that would look good with it? If you don't know where you are going to put it, it will probably just end up in storage (or in the junk cupboard if you're anything like me!).  

Some well-displayed collections:

Do you collect anything in particular?

X
Molly

Stuff I Luff #11

Need me some Oxfords:

Pretty dresser! I love this French antique style

      Petal cake             Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies 

I'm loving all kinds of hats at the moment, and this whole outfit is so pretty!

I MUST make these DIY doily bowls:

Other things to check out:

• 21 pictures that will restore your faith in humanity
• What marriage means, from the point of view of children
• Some much-needed motivation to workout, by Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky

X

Molly

Winter Wishlist: Monochrome

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

I've never really been a black-and-white kinda girl, but lately I'm lovely the simplicity of black and white. I NEED more stripes in my wardrobe, they go with everything! Its so much easier to pair a black and white piece of clothing with black accessories, than trying to figure out which colour top goes with what, and in what situations its ok to break the rules..

What colour combos are you loving at the moment?

X

Molly

Stuff I Luff #10

1. Love this pretty attic
2. Gotta have some kitty love
3. Love white on white - maybe I'm just missing summer
4. Want to jump in this bed and stay there all winter
5. Recently brought some quinoa so this will come in handy!

6. Yummy tarte au abricot by Donal Skehan

7-8 Lovely rustic country decor 

A must read: Alyssa from All Things Beautiful wrote this thoughtful post about modesty culture.

Enjoy!

X
Molly

Time for a change

I've had long hair since forever and I think its time for a change. I've been saying this for years now, but every time I go to the hairdressers I end up getting just a few inches taken off. I had a fringe a while back and I really liked it, but I have an annoying cow lick so it never really sat right unless I straightened it. 

I'm wanting a major change, and I'm thinking I'll go for a length where the hair sits just on my shoulders, or maybe a little shorter. 

My current hair:

Some hair inspiration: 

How cute does Alexa Chung look? I wish my hair was naturally wavy but I'm thinking I may have to make friends with my hair straightener and create some loose waves.

I'll let you know how it goes! I think I'll get just the length taken off for now, and make a decision later on about whether to bring back the fringe or not!

X
Molly

PS. Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin':

DIY Ideas

I'll be finished with my exams soon so I'm looking for a few DIY projects to do, to liven up our home. Its on my list of 23 before 24, so I've been looking for some ideas on Pinterest. Hopefully I'll be able to get started on some projects of my own very soon!

Here's what I have my eye on so far:

Love this pretty tin, and I love the idea of recycling pallets.

1/2

Since we live in such a small place, I'm always looking out for cute and practical storage solutions.

3/4

How pretty are these fabric covered coathangers, and this lace chandelier?

5/6

Love the idea of making something plain into something pretty using fabric or paper:

7/8

Have you done any DIYs lately? Leave me a link!

X

Molly

Home Decor: Hydrangea Blue

I absolutely love blue and white.. I've been pinning some great finds lately and thought I might start organising my pins into a kind of mood board - who knows, it might become a regular feature! Let me know what you think.

My inspiration today comes from beautiful pastel blue hydrangeas - my favourite flower ever.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7

Source for hydrangea pics: 1/2/3

X

Molly

Stuff I Luff #9

Its been a hectic week for me, with lots of essays to do and soooo much reading, on top of trying to prepare healthy meals and keeping the house tidy. Oh how I wish this was a lazy sunday...

Here's some pretty things that have caught my eye this week (when my eyes should have been focused on journal articles!)...

Love this fabric wall art: Gorgeous dress from Dahlia          Would love to be here...

Love this amazing and easy tutorial from Always Rooney

These chairs are so cute!           Love this cute DIY.

Some goodies from Dreamhome82 on Etsy

How has your week been?

X

Molly

Pretty Wallpaper

1/2/3/4

5/6/7/8

9/10

Lately I've been loving bold wallpaper. I think it looks great in a bathroom or as a feature wall in the living room or bedroom. Love the pretty green wallpaper in the bedroom in pic 9, it looks like such a calm and relaxing room!

Which look do you like best?

X

Molly

Take my hand..

I stumbled across the coolest photography project today - hundreds of photos of a guy being led around the world by his girlfriend.  See the rest of the pictures here.

What do you think?

X

Molly