Thrifty Thursday - Upcycled Suitcases

Last week, I did a post about Upcycled Furniture Ideas for kids, if you didnt see it you can find it here.
One of the ideas was a dollshouse made from a suitcase and it got me thinking about upcycling (again!) and suitcases.  Now I'm no stranger to an upcycled suitcase, having upcycled one for our wedding, as a cards case.  Super easy to make and handy too.  I still read the cards from time to time, brings back so many memories!

So it got me thinking, what else could you make from an old suitcase?  Well there's quite a lot of ideas but I thought I would show you some of the quirkiest ones (and the cutest of course)

For something around the house............

Bedside Table, Pet Bed, Breakfast Tray, Welcome Sign, Side Table

Some fun storage ideas...........

Dress Up Box, Craft Storage, Fabric covered cases, Dollshouse

I love the Dress Up Box idea......Lily is getting to that age where I could see us dressing up most days in something magical, one does look pretty good in a tiara you know.  The Portable Dollshouse is a treasure of an idea too. Below is a better close up, you can find the tutorial on how to make it over at Pretty Prudent. My brain really hurts with all these ideas... does anyone else have this problem??  What are some other ideas you have seen upcycling suitcases?

For more ideas and their sources head to my Pinterest board Upcycled Suitcases

My Inspiration Monday - boozle & popcorn

My Inspiration Monday is a series of blog posts about fellow bloggers, crafters and small business owners who all in their own special way exude cuteness!  This series is about where their inspiration comes from and why they do what they do.

Introducing ...........

If you are looking for something a little special and a little bit cute (of course) for your littlies this Xmas then check out these cuties from boozle & popcorn. I had a wee chat with Megan who is the force behind boozle & popcorn, about what inspires her, and how that cute name came about.

How did boozle and popcorn come about?

Boozle and popcorn has been a work and progress for a good few years, lots of ideas and sketches and looking at fabrics but not a lot of time to create.  After purchasing my first sewing machine about 18 months ago, and my little ones in a pretty good afternoon sleep routine, I decided to get cracking and put some of these ideas to the test. I began with making creations for friends and family with little ones. With their encouragement and comments ‘how cute, gorgeous and different’ my creations were, I thought why not give it a go making some to sell.  So I guess it was inspiration from my little ones who helped me with my ideas and the things I wanted to create as well as family and friend who supported me and still do.

Where did the name come from?

boozle and popcorn are my kiddies nicknames. Austin is boozle and Poppy is popcorn. It just stuck and I love that I can use a name that is unique and related to my children.

How long has b&p been running?

Officially just over a year. I launched b&p on facebook September 2012 and launched my website about 4 months ago. 

The best thing / favourite thing about what I do?

I love what I do…I find sewing / creating therapeutic to be honest. I love that I can do it all in my own time and my own pace. It keeps me sane (most of the time) but I love that I have something that is truly mine and I love that there are others out there that love what I create too. boozle and popcorn is my other baby (so to speak) I have watched it start and grow into something bigger than what it was. So watch this space…

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Head to the boozle & popcorn website and tell me in the comments below what your fave cutie is (it's pretty tough, there are so many!)

For an extra entry head to the boozle & popcorn facebook page, roam around, and click like while you are there.

- one comment per person

- you must live in New Zealand

- giveaway closes on Sunday 1st December

IMPORTANT 

- make sure there is some way for me to contact you! Leave an email, or have your name clickable to a profile or something.  If there is no way for me to reach you then I'll have to draw another entry!! This has happened previously, so I wouldn't like to do this and disappoint someone!

The website is www.boozleandpopcorn.com  and on facebook www.facebook/boozleandpopcorn

To contact Megan you can email her at : 

boozleandpopcorn@live.com

Thrifty Thursday - 7 Upcycled Furniture ideas for Kids

I see cool play kitchens and dollhouses in stores and think how cool would that be for Lily?  And then think no too expensive, I don't have enough soul to sell to the devil to pay for that.  But then I travel the world of Pinterest and Craftgawker and see upcycled versions and then think hmmm trademe anyone?  And then before you know it there's a whole treasure trove of ideas and a few trade me auctions on the go to get the right bookshelf or cabinet to create something pretty special.  If you are looking for a Xmas gift idea for a little someone I think one of these would be just the thing to get that "oh wow! i'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself" squeal on Xmas morning (and that's just the parents! because let's face it, we all have a little kid in us somewhere.)

Bookcase Dollhouse

From this.....

To this!

You can find the tutorial here at the Land of Nod

Suitcase Dollhouse

From this.....

To this!

Check out the tutorial here at mypoppet

Play Kitchen

From this.....

To this!

You can find all the details here at vintagesongbird

Hardware Store

From this.....

to this!

Read all about how Harry's Hardware came about here at Kates Creative Space

Puppet Theatre

From this.....

to this!

How to make your own puppet theatre here at twice lovely

Lego table

 From this.....

to this!

Recreate this here at Meet the Dubiens

Workbench

From this.....

to this!

Check out all the details here at diy network

For more ideas and inspirations check out my Pinterest board - Upcycled Furniture

Tutes Cute Tuesday - 5 Cute Xmas Decorations to get you inspired!

If you're like me and need a gentle push into thinking about *whispers* Xmas, then these super cute Xmas decorations will be sure to get you into the mood.  Great for using up fabric scraps, ribbon and wool these easy peasy decorations are bound to add a bit of Xmas cuteness around your house this year.

How to make a Christmas Angel Fairy Decoration

Felt Holly Decoration Tutorial

Beribboned Xmas Tree Tutorial

Pom Pom Garland

and if you would like a simple tutorial on how to make mini pom poms....

How to make mini pom poms

How to make a Gingerbread Man Ornament

Please share any cute Xmas decorations you have made or a link to a tutorial - always nice to share the love!
For more ideas and inspiration to get you in the jolly mood check out my Xmas Pinterest Board.


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Too Cute Tuesday - 29 Easy Peasy Birthday Cakes

You can get so carried away with creating the most complicated birthday cake (thanks Pinterest!) however if you take a step back, have a look at some simpler options they can have just the same effect as a really complicated one! Simple can really be the best.
I found these super cute cakes when searching for something else (always happens). I've tried to only choose ones that are realistic and simple can be whipped up in an hour, because let's face it, who has more time than that to whip up not only the wow factor for your birthday party but the highlight of your loved ones birthday?

For all sources and for more inspiration head to my Pinterest board - Easy Peasy Birthday Cakes

Tips & Tutes Cute Tuesday - Upcycling Kids Clothes

I ended up doing a spot of spring cleaning around here and one of my tasks was to sort out the last two years worth of Lily's clothes.  Two large overstuffed plastic bins so it was probably more like 3 bins!  A kid can collect a lot of clothes and it was easy to keep adding to the bins, but it was finally time to tackle them as storage is at a bit of a premium around here.
Some of the clothes ended up straight in the rag bin (why did I keep stained clothes?!), some ended up re-gifted and then there were those that I wanted to keep as they held so many memories - what to do with those ones?  I wrote an article a while back on creating Baby Clothes Momentos for babybites and am going to make a quilt for Lily's big girls bed out of her special clothes that hold the most memories, so look out for posts on that project next year.
Some of Lily's clothes however still fitted her but were a bit short in length so some remodelling is needed.
I did a bit of a search and came across these cool tips and tutorials on upcycling kids clothes - some are so simple I wonder why I didn't think of it (the correct answer is I'm not much of a sew-er so it doesn't come naturally to think up these kind if things!)

Disney from over at Ruffles And Stuff has come up these super cute and easy fixes to kids clothing to  make it last that extra distance - and seeing as it's Summer, you could see if any of last years clothes might just work this year with a tweak or two.

Part 1 here is on Tops

Part 2  here is on Bottoms

Anne from over at BBGAL has a cute tutorial to make a hat and mitten set from a kids sweatshirt ( a bit early to be thinking about Winter but it was so easy and cute I had to mention it)

And then I found another hat tutorial over at Make it & Love it and this super cute turn a dress into a romper tutorial.

For more ideas and inspiration check out my upcycled kids and baby clothing Pinterest board.