Handmade: Linen Tessuti apron

I'm loving my recent sewing make - a tessuti apron made in a beautiful grey linen. It's the perfect apron to chuck on over my clothes while gardening and doing the housework!

It's an easy straight forward sew and a one size fits all - so a suitable for beginners 

Pattern: tessuti apron pattern which I purchased from Minerva Crafts

Label: Me Made from Kylie and the machine (lots of UK stockists)

Handmade: Lavender Shoe Deodorizer Sachets

I've been making myself busy, while being at home so much lately, with lots of crafty and sewing makes and here's the latest - handmade lavender shoe freshener sachets to keep your shoes (and my OH's cycling shoes) smelling gorgeous and fresh!

 

These shoe sachets are simple and easy to make, with bicarbonate of soda acting as a natural shoe deodorizer and lavender giving a calming aroma.

 You'll need:

• Fabric (scraps will do, or repurpose old clothing)
• Ribbon
• Thread
• Lavender (I used dried Yorkshire lavender from Lavender World UK)
• Bicarbonate of soda

And to make them:

Cut out the 4 pieces of fabric  - 10cm x 17cm (this makes 8cm x 15cm sized sachets which fit perfectly in adult shoes, increase or decrease accordingly to fit your desired size).

Using a sewing machine or handstitch, sew the two sides and bottom with the right sides of the fabric together and using a 1cm seam allowance. 

Turn out the fabric and press.

Cut a piece of ribbon 12cm long, fold in half and place the ends within the sachet on one side and pin in place to hold.

Fill the sachet with a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and lavender - I used about 1/3 bicarb and 2/3 lavender (you might want to mix them together first and pour in)

Stitch along the top to close the sachet.

....and there you have a pair of shoe fresheners, enjoy!

Styling ideas: Dymo label maker

I'm loving using my Dymo label maker around the house at the moment. It's retro feel, simple lettering and colour adds a nice touch to jars and stops me confusing the herbs and the teas!

There's lots more Dymo inspiration on pinterest - check out my 'dymo labelling style' board. As soon as my Neals Yard blue bottles are empty I'll be making these for the bathroom.

Credit

2017 CRAFTING ASPIRATIONS

As I love a good list, here's one capturing my crafty aspirations and goals for 2017!

1. Make a macrame plant holder

2. Build my homemade wardrobe - top of the list is a McCalls M7313 dress, Cleo pinafore/dungaree dress, anything from Sew Over It!, more Sewaholic Rae Skirts, a Cambie dress.....

3. Develop a range of items using free motion sewing - make up bags, bunting, pictures, cards...

4. Create some lino prints

5. Make jewellery using welsh sea glass

6. Design my own fabric

7. Finish all the things I have half done and use kits ready to be made!

and I'd love to eventually set up my own etsy shop selling my makes!

#30DAYSWILD DAYS 14-30

Here's a snapshot of the final days of #30dayswild! From day 14 to day 30. I'll admit I missed a few days out, but did at least write, read or talk about nature for my day job or did extra on other days :-).

#day14 #30dayswild

Making daisy chains in the garden

#day15 #30dayswild

A bit of a cheeky one - on the sofa watching wild stuff on the TV!

#day17 #30dayswild

Watching the night sky

#day18 #30dayswild

Reading the latest Natur Cymru - a quarterly magazine full of interesting articles 

about wildlife in Wales

#day19 #30dayswild

Looking at my Grow Wild native wildflower seed mix samplings coming up in the garden -
can't wait to see what they all are

#day20 #30dayswild

Found this huge jellyfish while exploring St Ives beach

#day21 #30dayswild

Lying down on the sandy beach gazing at the sky making out shapes

 #day25 #30dayswild

A field visit for work allowed me to explore these wonderful species-rich grasslands
 at Berthllwyd Farm, National Trust.

#day26 #30dayswild

Identifying grasses in the garden - Yorkshire Fog, Common Bent & Tor Grass

#day27 #30dayswild

A quick walk exploring Bute Park. This tree was so green!

#day28 #30dayswild

Walking around the grounds of Basildon Park, National Trust site. Lovely patches of 

wildflowers teaming with butterflies and bees

day30 #30dayswild

 Watching mum & 3 very cute cygnets in Cardiff Bay on my lunch break.
The final day of 30dayswild! Thoroughly enjoyed it :-)

 

#

#30dayswild #days 7 - 13 Orchids & meadows galore!

It's been a busy week at work for Wales Biodiversity Week giving me an opportunity to discover lots of new sites across Wales....

#day7 #30dayswild

Borrow a dog for a walk!

 

#day8 #30dayswild

Travelled up to Llandudno, North Wales for work. Walking along Llandudno Pier I noticed hundreds of Jelly fish in the sea. These are the Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) which have 4 distinctive circles. 

 

#day9 #30dayswild

Today I helped organise a Grassland workshop led by the WBP Lowland Grassland & Heathland Ecosystem Group. We focused on grassland at the Great Orme and Creuddyn SSSI - practising using indicators to monitor grassland quality and discussed management options. The photo is of a grassland slope on the Great Orme - a fantastic site which I look forward to exploring further.

 

#day10 #30dayswild

Reading in the garden  - guidance on National Plant Monitoring Scheme ready for a training day in the Brecons tomorrow

 

 

 

#day11 #30dayswild

Attended the National Plant Monitoring Scheme training day in Brecons at Craig Y Nos Country Park. Found a lovely species-rich grassland with orchids to practice on. NPMS is a new habitat based plant monitoring scheme by BSBI, CEH, Plantlife & JNCC. Volunteers survey sites within a selected 1km square recording certain plants. There are different levels of recording so you don't need to be an expert at plant identification allowing you to build your knowledge over the years. 

 

 

 

 

#day12 #30dayswild

Discovering new places - spent today exploring Torfaen on the Torfaen Local Biodiversity Partnerships' away day. Highlights included a newly planted orchard, spotting Bee Orchids in the centre of Cwmbran, discovering Llwyncelyn Local Nature Reserve with Dyers Greenweed, finding southern marsh orchids along a new eco cycle path and much more! 

 

 

 

#day13 #30dayswild

Went on a guided Orchid walk at Howardian Local Nature Reserve by the Friends of the site - saw 5 orchid species & cross's. Stunning meadow with 1000s of Southern Marsh Orchids. The Orchid walk is run yearly and the LNR is definitely worth a visit - found hidden behind David Lloyd Leisure Centre off Newport Road, Cardiff.

#30dayswild #dayfour, five & six

#DayFour #30dayswild

 Found 'The Lackey' moth caterpillar on a metal pillar at St David's hotel 

#june #nature #thewildlifetrusts #wildlife #caterpillar #naturechallenge #cardiffay #randomactsofwildness #enjoywildlife

 #DayFive #30dayswild

 Evening stroll along Penarth Pier on a beautiful clear evening. I'd hoped to explore the beach but it was high tide so we did a seawatch instead - saw cormorants, two shelducks and gulls.

#naturechallenge #thewildlifetrusts #nature #seawatch #penarth #randomactofwildness

#DaySix #30dayswild

Feeding the ducks at the local pond - lots of Mallards

#naturechallenge #thewildlifetrusts #nature  #randomactofwildness

#30dayswild #daythree

#DayThree of #30dayswild

Watching waddling ducks at my local nature reserve, Cardiff Bay wetlands. A family of swans & cygnets were sunbathing under the bright sunshine, along with baby coots, great crested grebes, tufted ducks and cormorants. #30dayswild #daythree #june #nature #thewildlifetrusts #enjoynature #wildlife randomactsofwildness #naturechallenge #cardiffbay #cardiff #cardiffbaylocalnaturereserve #cardiffbaywetlandsreserve #waddling ducks #mallards

See my #30dayswild post day one for more information

#30dayswild #daytwo

#DayTwo of #30dayswild

Started a nature table with flowers from the garden, feather bunting, Welsh sea glass and fossil. I'll fill it with more wild finds during the course of 30dayswild in 

#30dayswild #daytwo #june #nature #thewildlifetrusts #enjoywildlife #wildlife #randomactsofwildness #naturechallenge #naturetable #natureinthehome

See my #30dayswild post day one for more information

#30dayswild

Would you like to do be wild for 30 days? Are you wild at heart? The Wildlife Trusts have launched a month long nature campaign asking you to do a random act of wildness every day throughout June. Although I work in nature conservation, I'm often sat behind the computer so #30dayswild gives me a chance to bring more nature into my everyday life.

Wildness acts can last a minute to hours! When you sign up you'll get emailed a challenge pack full of free ideas and links to events held by your local wildlife trust. It's also Wales Biodiversity Week from 6th to 14th June, giving lots of opportunities to take part in wildlife themed events taking place across Wales from guided nature walks, Go Wild festival, open days, wildlife identification and activities. Check out events taking place here (www.biodiversitywales.org.uk/Wales-Biodiversity-Week).

For my #30dayswild I'm looking forward to....

• Relaxing in my local park
• Taking my lunch outside
• Creating a nature table
• Dangling my feet in wildwater
• Exploring a new local wildlife patch
• Making Wild art & craft
• Do a seawatch
• Recording my wildlife sightings & log at my local record centre
• Brushing up on my plant identification
• Identifying gulls out of my work window 

Sign up to take part here - www.mywildlife.org.uk/30dayswild/

Follow my #30dayswild on twitter (@yorkiestyles), instagram (hollyrebeccayork) and some days here on the blog.

 #DayOne of #30dayswild

Today I signed up to #30dayswild and it's pouring with rain! Took a moment to enjoy nature on my doorstop...literally. Pretty ivy leaves toadflax (cymbalaria muralis) trails along by the frontdoor #30dayswild #dayone #june #nature #thewildlifetrusts #enjoywildlife #wildlife #randomactsofwildness #naturechallenge #ivyleavedtoadflax #cardiff #wales 

Handmade Wardrobe....Margot Pyjamas

Pattern: Margot Pyjamas by Tilly Walnes, from her Love at First Stitch Book

After impulse buying a sewing machine at Ikea, I'm now attempting to hand make some wearable clothes. I often find I have an idea of an item of clothing I want to buy but can't quite find the right fit or colour in the shops. I decided to make a start by following the wonderful Love at First Stitch book by Tilly Walnes - the step by step guides are perfect for a beginner like me and the book comes with full size patterns. This is my first item - the Margot Pyjamas. 

The step-by-step guide made it feel less daunting and was easy to follow. I didn't make any changes to the pattern - I used the size which fitted best to my hips and waist, but allowing for lots of room as I like my pj's nice a baggy. Making them again, I would adjust the pattern to make the legs slimmer. I'm tempted to make a shorts version for the summer and try adding a lace edging.

I used a pretty blue floral cotton fabric, found in an independent haberdashery shop in Haverfordwest. It wasn't that expensive so I brought 3m - allowing myself some extra fabric in case I went wrong! I used ribbon as the drawstring. 

Links: 

Tilly and the Buttons blog - http://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/

Tilly's love at first stitch book - http://shop.tillyandthebuttons.com/products/love-at-first-stitch

Exploring...Alexandra Gardens, Penarth

Wrapped up from the cold, full from breakfast at Ocho Lounge and camera in hand we took a stroll through Alexandra Gardens in Penarth, making our way from the town centre to the seafront.

The edwardian park was opened in the early 1900's and features a war memorial, topiary displays (look out for the two large birds at the town centre entrance), obelisk, ornamental pond and an aviary. Plenty to stop and look at on the uphill return walk!
 

 

Merry Christmas

This year, my first in the flat in Cardiff I decided against the traditional xmas tree and went for lots of decorations centred around the fireplaces. 

Holly branches & Pomander Balls 

(Follow this handy tutorial for pomander balls - Instructables tutorial)

Cones, dried orange slices & cinnamon sticks tied with ribbon

Cute deers!

Love the nordic skier (Tiger)

Merry Christmas everyone!