Fairy Lights

Sometimes a homely feel comes from the most simple things. Whether living at or away from home these simple additions make you feel at ease and relaxed enabling you to cope with what lies ahead.

Moving out and into halls for term time I was faced with a blank canvas that had no charm or homely characteristic. So I sought to make it a warmer place to be.  I decided to invest in several sets of fairy lights as they are pretty and a focal point during the day and at night. The soft light they emit creates a peaceful warm and protective glow creating a more homely feeling.

While you can purchase decorative strings of lights from supermarkets and high street stores in abundance the decorative designs attract a premium price. But as we emerge into the Christmas season fairy lights fill the shelves and we have a much greater variety of choice from fancy and flashing to plain and static. Sometimes with such an array of choice it can be overwhelming and judgements can be clouded as to what it is you want. Or maybe you want something a little more unique than what's available on the mass market.

A simple way to overcome this is to create exactly what you want. I had purchased a really nice string of cream roses but I wanted something that provided a more concentrated light, like a lamp, but less conventional than a lamp.

I created my light using just two basic and relatively cheap components, and here is the method I used:

• I first selected my lights. I chose to use a  string of 24 standard green fairy lights which I sourced from a local 'reduced price' shop for a reasonable price of £3. However you can choose what lights you would like i.e. multi-coloured, white etc. (I would advise you go for mains lights as battery powered lights can be quite expensive if you wish to use them for an extended period of time)
• I then chose a small tumbler for the lights to be placed in. This can be chosen to suit your own individual colour scheme or décor. I chose a light pink glass with a floral and ridged pattern for 50p from a charity shop.
• Once I had the two items I collected all the lights together to form a bundle.
• Using the remaining wire I wrapped it around the bundle leaving 6 cm to the mains plug so it can be plugged in. (This length can be adjusted according to suit wherever you would like to place your light).
• Turn the glass so that the wire to the plug (or battery pack) is concealed.

My Fairy Lights Light

What is so lovely about this light is that it looks appealing during the day and really warming at night. It casts a glow of pretty shadows and light out in to the room creating that homely atmosphere where you can feel safe and relaxed. I think this is such a versatile creation as it takes a short amount of time to create and you can update the lights and glass as your tastes and décor change or even theme it to go with celebrations. What makes it better is that it is something personal and unique to yourself.

Ellie xx

The Heart...

 I think that the heart is more than just a symbol of love. It creates warmth and a sense of ‘completeness’ that can be shared among friends, families and lovers.

Today the heart has a chic presence in home-ware design filling the shelves of high-street and independent stores. But no matter how many I see or purchase I never get bored of them. Last Friday I went with my Mum to the Rockbourne Fair at Salisbury racecourse. Although so early in the festive run up the independent stallholders and crafter's provided an event full of Christmas inspiration from farm foods to decorations. It was inspirational to be around people so enthused by their individual skills and retail items.
Walking around the fair hearts adorned many designs and decorations. The hanging heart decorations are certainly one of my favourite items; you can hang them from door handles, mirrors, curtain rails etc. all year round giving a 'homely' and individual touch to the area you are decorating. Although such an array of the decorations were available from the fair I didn't find anything that I felt was unique to the collection I already have, so filled with the enthusiasm and inspiration provided from the fair's stalls I decided to try and create my own unique heart.

Using a local bead supplier I selected the colour scheme of cream pearls and faceted crystal beads (as they give a beautiful pattern on the wall when they catch the light). Here is the method and materials I used:

• I created the heart shape out of thick crafting wire (from the bead shop) twisting the central points  (the bottom of the heart and where the two arches join at the top) to maintain the shape. (I advise using smooth pliers when creating the shape as not to indent or damage the main wire.)
• Then using thinner more pliable wire I threaded the beads and wrapped them around the main structure. I used 3 sizes of each type of bead (small, medium and large). Between each bead I left between 2mm-5mm of twisted wire. There was no set pattern to the beading I just created what I liked (this way each individual heart will be truly unique).
• Once the beading was complete I tightly wound the wire around the main structure in the centre (about 2mm - using smooth pliers) to hold the beading to the strcture.
• (an optional step - heart dangling central bead: using an end of the wire in the central point where the two arches joined I created a small loop. I then threaded a clear glass heart shaped bead on to a 6 cm piece of pliable wire and secured it using a small knot pulled tightly at the bottom hole. Using the wire through the top of the bead I then created a small loop and wound the remaining wire from the loop around the piece of pliable wire coming from the top of the bead to secure it in place - see diagram below. This loop can now be attached to the loop on the main wire frame. Close the gap using pliers to prevent the bead becoming disconnected)

• I then cut 18 cm of thin cream ribbon and tied it in a simple knot 5 cm either side of the middle of the heart. (I would advise using a small amount of uhu glue on the back to hold the knots in place - use a cocktail stick to do this to avoid the glue dribbling/ becoming stringy and getting on the beads)
• Finally, I tied two small bows in the same colour ribbon (pre-made bows can be purchased from local crafts/fabric shops). I sewed these on to the knots of the ribbon using colour matched thread. (This is quite fiddly so you could attach the bows using uhu)

Please note: if the main heart structure is rolling of bending just place some heavy books on top of it for a couple of hours and it should flatten out.

My Completed heart

In reality I think this looks really effective yet simplistic. Its creation process looks long winded going through it step my step but it is quick and easy to work through. You can create whatever size and whatever colour way suits your needs and would make lovely decorations for you home throughout the year as well as during the festive season.

What I think is special about creating items like this for yourself is the fact that you can be confident in having something utterly unique reflecting your own individuality, and every time you see it or it is noticed by those around you, you will feel a sense of pride in what you have made.

Ellie xx