I got given a set of lampshades about 15 years ago that I loved but are now a bit worn and dated. I did clean them and revamp them but as my décor changes (depending on what available at the op shops) I was finding that they don't quite fit with my current decorating direction! (that would be shabby opshop chic!) and when I spotted a piece of fabric that I fell in love with on sale, I just had to recover the lamps and then find accessories to match! I'm not so much of a sewer as a constructor and I tend to feel my way through a project with out too much in the way of exact measuring or cutting to a pattern! Here's what I did... The original lamp where you can see revamp number one with leaf skeletons glued to the inside of the lamp. Its plain when its off but have these lovely leaves when its on. First cut a length of fabric that will fit all the way around your shade a couple of inches too long and with a hem of a centimetre or so top and bottom. So a long re...

When we moved into our "new to us" home a few weeks ago, we discovered the previous residents had left us a couple of windows that weren't entirely whole! While we had the "Great Wall of Boxes" up against them, we didn't realise that the cold night air was sneaking silently in through the holes but as soon as those boxes moved, we discovered that not only are (very attractive) light summer curtains not good at keeping the cold air out, but that the holes in the windows weren't helping either. They look like a stone from the lawn mower type breaks and whilst we can fix them, its just not an overwhelming priority right now as we sort out where everything is to go - and then of course where we put it when we need it! I wondered if I could use the clear packing tape that I had been using on the boxes as its so wide, but I knew that would look a bit uglier than I would like... and then I found an easy solution! Here's what I did... This window...

We have had a few fires recently in the brazier in the back yard. Its lovely to gather with a coffee and sit and chat into the evening with friends and family. Some one collected up some twigs in our new (to us) plastic bucket to get the fire going with. The next morning we found the bucket must have been a little too close to the fire as it had two melt holes in the bottom of it... I wasn't so keen to throw out such a handy bucket and so we had a bit of a think and here's what we did... The bucket with two decent holes in it!    You can see the burn holes. Too big to patch with a blob of silicone this time...     We cut the corner out of an old ice cream container that happens to fit into the corner and covered up both of the holes.   Perfect!    Not the most glamorous look - but its a bucket not a bridal dress!   Generous amounts of silicon go around the outside of the ice cream container ... ...

During winter, it got a bit chilly here in Brisbane (it went under 10 degrees at night a couple of times!! Freeeeeezing!)  and I decided to darn a whole heap of my socks instead of buying new ones. It was quite therapeutic and I enjoyed playing around with different wools and techniques. Socks are so cheap these days but I like the idea of repairing something more than buying something so even my $2 socks "got the treatment"! Here's what I did... Darning mushroom and real wool. In the past I have used what ever wool was floating about the house. Usually acrylic and usually brightly coloured. Im not a knitter, so wool is usually used as a trim or embellishment, hence the bright colours, but for this project I decided that if I used pure real wool and not fake plastic stuff, it might matt or felt together as it gone worn and washed - at least that was my starting theory!   First find your hole to darn. If you can get to it before its a hole - when its ...

Just recently I have had a hole patching frenzy with lots of jeans in this house! It can be very frustrating to rip a hole in those favourite oh-so-comfortable jeans and render them useless. Unless you have no neighbours to be offended the sight of a bit of backside hanging out of your jeans that is! I got quite good at patching those stress tears that happen across the worn seat of your jeans, and sometimes, on the inner thigh. The patch isn't going to stand in for a $200 a seat Gala Charity Night outfit, but will be just fine for casual, garden or around the house wear. Here's what I did...   You can see the stress tear across the seat of the pants. Its not a tear where its been caught on something, just where its worn out, and then you bend over - that's all those jeans could take!   First I pinned them together with long quilting pins as well as I could, so that the two halves of the hole are where they should be.   Then I turned ...