29/06/2015

Crochet mandala | A quick win

You know how sometimes you just need a nice quick project? Recently anything I’ve made has taken over a month (in snatched evenings and weekends) and let’s not even mention the top I started sewing a year and a half ago… 

So after finishing my Wool and the Gang scarf I decided it was time for a quick win, which happily coincided with last month’s Mollie Makes landing on my doorstep (a subscription was the best present ever).  Inside was the pattern for this cute crochet mandala. Ta dah! 

It took just a few evenings to finish and gave me the chance to try out some colour combinations for a cushion I’m planning. I’m really happy with it, I originally planned to use it as a pot holder but it’s too darn pretty to let it get messy in the kitchen, so for now it’s sitting on our sideboard under either a candle or my ikea lamp. 

Next time you need a little crafting pick me up try a quick win.



P.S. Don’t forget to enter my GIVEAWAY to win a gorgeous Lucy Alice Designs bird necklace, Claireabellemakes 'be happy/hell yeah'scrabble postcards and a knitted owl phone case! 



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21/06/2015

GIVEAWAY | Win a Lucy Alice necklace and Claireabellemakes postcards!

Edit 10/07 - the giveaway is now closed, a huge thank you to all who entered! I will be contacting the winner shortly.
So it’s the summer solstice, I’ve just finished a very stressful week at work and the sun is shining - I think these are all pretty good reasons to launch floral and feather’s first giveaway! But the best reason of all is the chance to say a massive THANK YOU to all of you who have read, viewed, liked or commented on this little corner of the internet. You're awesome. 

Here's what you could win
A bird on a branch necklace by Lucy Alice Designs. The pendant is handmade using recycled wood offcuts and hangs on a delicate sterling silver chain. Lucy makes a whole range of gorgeous jewellery and prints inspired by British wildlife from her studio in Kent.

A set of positivity postcards from the wonderful Claireabellemakes featuring ‘Be Happy’ and ‘Hell Yeah’ in scrabble letters. Send them to friends, use as wall art or keep by your desk for a kick of motivation when you need it. Claire’s shop houses even more scrabble prints, wall art and brooches as well as jewellery perfect for bike lovers.

A knitted owl phone holder, handknitted by yours truly (phone not included!). It will fit most smartphones and is made from Sirdar Simply Recycled wool (which is 51% recycled and super soft) with two buttons for his big owl eyes. 






How to enter
You must follow floral and feather via one of the following:
Google friend connect
Bloglovin'
Twitter


For extra entries
Tweet the following or similar ‘I've just entered @floralfeather giveaway to win a necklace, scrabble postcards and phone case! http://ow.ly/OB13w #giveaway’
Follow floral and feather on Instagram 
Follow floral and feather on Pinterest
Simply leave a comment below telling me which of the above you have completed and include your profile name so I can check. Each of the above will gain you one entry so if you do all six, you will get six entries! 
The competition is open until midnight on Thursday 9 July and is open internationally.

Good luck!



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13/06/2015

Pretty pastels at Pashley Manor

Just look at that pretty pastel house covered in climbing roses. Hello, dream home! It's not just the house either, the glorious gardens (complete with swimming pool) are also extremely covetable. As they're open to the public, we were able to spend the second May bank holiday exploring these wonderful gardens in Sussex.

Clearly I was having a pink and purple day as despite the gardens being wonderfully colourful I seem to have stuck with these hues when taking photographs. I was also busy gathering inspiration for our own garden, which we are starting to turn our attention to now the weather is getting warmer. I'm determined to fit at least one climbing rose on the back of the house now!

Anyway, back to the gardens at Pashley Manor, they're beautifully kept with lots of formal areas, a vegetable garden and swimming pool. There's also a lake which leads to a woodland and you can go for a longer walk across the estate. We stopped for lunch at the tea room, where you can sit overlooking the lake and underneath a giant wisteria covering the back of the house. Considering it was a bank holiday Monday the place still felt nice and quiet, making for a lovely relaxed day out. 








p.s. It's actually their rose week this weekend (13 and 14 June) so if you're planning a visit for yourself, now is the time!  




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07/06/2015

Knitting a summer scarf with Wool and the Gang

Long have I been a fan of Wool and the Gang, they are big believers in sustainable and ethical fashion, design fashionable contemporary knits and let's face it, generally make knitting even cooler than it already is. Just check out #shareyourknits if you don't believe me.

So having the chance to be part of 'the gang' (anyone can join, they're nice like that) by knitting one of their Solange Scarves* was obviously something I jumped at. The lightweight wool and loose stitches make it a great summer cover up, perfect for summer evenings when the temperatures start to cool... mine has been out twice this weekend already.

The pattern kit comes with all you need - knitting needs, wool, pattern booklet and even a needle for sewing in the ends. Although all of the stitches - mock fisherman's rib, holey stitch and double wrap stitch - were new to me, the booklet explains how to do each one and they have some really helpful videos on their website. 

It knitted up quite quickly and I'm quite a slow knitter - I think the loose stitches helped! The wool was so nice to work with, called shiny happy cotton it's 100% Peruvian pima cotton made in Peru. It is super soft, didn't split at all and the 'spearmint' colour is pretty lovely.



Don't panic if you're not a knitter you can buy readymade versions of all of their kits, pre-made by their own knitters/gang members. Cool, huh?

*item sent for the purpose of a review.




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02/06/2015

DIY: upcycle an old t-shirt into wall art

This easy DIY can be done in just 20 minutes and is a great way to recycle your (or as in this case, your boyfriend’s) favourite logo shirts, turning them into framed wall art. 


You will need:
An old t-shirt (ironed)
Picture frame and mount (or card)
Scissors
Sellotape
Pencil


Lay your t-shirt out flat and place your mount on top of the logo. If your frame didn't come with a mount just cut a piece of card to fit the frame, the hole in the middle isn't necessary. Draw lines a couple of centimetres away from the edge of the mount at each corner. 


Cut out the logo following the lines you marked out, it doesn't need to be too neat. 


Turn the logo over so your mount or card is on the back of the logo. Start to sellotape the t-shirt to the card by folding over the edges. Keep pulling the material tight so you don't get any wrinkles. Be sure to check the front regularly to make sure the logo is in the right place and not distorted.



Then just pop into your frame, step back and admire your super DIY skills (see what I did there?).


The boyfriend immediately hung it on his office wall, so it's a definite hit. You don't have to stick with comic style t-shirts, band t-shirts, or any with brilliant quotes on them would look great too! 


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