More Home Decor - Wrought Iron Bench Make-Over

I bought this wrought iron bench thing cheap on Ebay a while ago, in need of a make-over. I cleaned it up and touched up the black finish, then had a seat cushion cut from foam and bought some cream and mink fabrics (from Dunelm Mill). I made the seat cushion cover, bolster cushions and square throw cushions (except the patterned ones. I already had those).  It looks brand new now. Another Ebay bargain! (And by the way, the table next to it was by best Ebay bargain ever, at just £2!!)

Winter Tote Bag

I like the size and softness of this slouchy winter tote bag I made. The fabric is a lovely textural one from Dunelm Mill, made up of strips of chenille and a silkier black cloth. I made the handles extra long for comfort and there's an inside pocket as well as an outside front pocket.

Paper Patchwork Picture - Bargain Home Decor

Well, it's been a long while, but I'm finally back to blogging. What have I been doing all this time? Well, I have been quite busy. I've done a bit of painting, some card-making, and plenty of home décor and sewing.  My sewing skills have definitely improved (thanks to help from books and online tutorials) so I've progressed from very basic projects to slightly more advanced ones.

I've also made a few more changes in my studio, which now looks like this:

I made the large framed pictures myself, using free samples of wallpaper from a DIY store.

I love the look of patchwork, so I cut the wallpaper samples into 2" squares, and laid out a patchwork design that I liked, using whole squares and half-square triangles.

Working on a large sheet of graph paper as my base layer (to keep the lines straight), I stuck all the paper pieces down, then added some extra detail using small flowers punched from the same papers. I added faux stitching all over (using a gold gel pen).

Finally, I added a border made from more scraps of wallpaper and mounted the whole thing on a large sheet of chocolate brown cardstock. Once framed up, it looks great!