Where do the weeks go?!?!

I have been up and down the country over the last couple of weeks and it's amazing how quickly time flies!
Sorry for my sudden disappearance but I'm back with a vengeance and this week we will carry on with the lighting theme we never quite got round to!

 As always I wanted to start the week off with something simple to get you started, so I went searching the web for more amazing tutorials and came across this one

Button Lampshade - 99crafting

All you need is: 

• a lampshade
• LOADS of buttons 
• a glue gun

Start off on the edge with one of your buttons and then just keep building up the pattern until you have covered as much of the lampshade as you wish.

There are so many options for this idea - you could copy what they have done in this image and just go a bit crazy with colours or you can pick a couple and make more of a patterned effect.

I'm definitely going to give this one a go and I'll love to see any of your attempts as well so let me know if you try it out!

I'll be back xx

Lights, Camera, Action...

I've had fun with the upcycle theme this week so I thought I would merge the last post of this week with next week's theme of Lighting!

Vintage Camera Light

I love vintage cameras, especially the kind you see in the movies used by journalist with the massive flash bulbs. I picked this one up on ebay and it's called a Brownie Hawkeye if you want to make one the same but I'm sure you could use most vintage camera's and get an amazing effect every time.

What you'll need

• Vintage Camera
• light fitting
• wire
• plug
• wire cap (for earth wire if your light fitting is plastic)
• glue gun
• Dremel with a drill piece for cutting plastic
• Protective gear (minimum requirements - goggles and mask)

Step 1 - Dismantle the Flash

Start by separating the flash from the camera and taking it apart, removing any metal pieces from the plastic so it's easier to cut. My flash was easily separated in two by removing a screw but if yours isn't and you want to hide the cable for the light then you will need to cut it in half.

Step 2 - Suit Up

The next part involves drilling plastic so make sure you have on goggles and a mask so you don't inhale any harmful fumes. Also it's very messy so clear anything that you don't want covered in plastic shavings out the way

Step 3 - Drill holes for the light fitting

You'll then need to cut holes in the flash casing so that the light fitting can be inserted. I used my boyfriends dremel - I'm not sure what the drill piece is called but here is a picture of it.

I cut a larger hole in the silver casing until the metal piece of the light fitting could fit through

Then I cut a hole in the bottom of the back part of the flash casing and enlarged the hole on the front at the top as much as I could without touching the edges

I also had to trim down the light fitting as the middle rim made it too large for the flash casing.

By the time you are finished you should have something that looks like the image below

Step 4 - Insert your light fitting

BE CAREFUL WHEN WIRING THE LIGHT! 

This part is very dangerous, if you wire the light incorrectly, then you could electrocute yourself so please Google how to do this before you start.

I took my piece of wire and striped it back as required. I then hooked it up to the light fitting and put a wire cap on the earth wire. 

Note: you only need to connect the earth wire to the fitting if it is metal. My fitting is plastic so I just capped it off - do NOT leave any loose wires hanging without capping them.

I then put the light fitting through the front of the flash casing from the inside and then put the silver lamp shade on the front, making sure that the light fitting is far enough out of the shade that you can still put a bulb in and out of the fitting. Once it's all in place, glue the lamp shade to the flash casing. The holes made for the light fitting are only large enough to allow the fitting to squeeze through so that it stays in place and doesn't wobble around.

I then put the other end of the wire through the hole I made in the bottom of the back part of the casing and then wired up the plug. This is an important step to do before adding the plug, otherwise you won't be able to close up the front and back of the flash casing.

I added some glue to the front edge of the casing and then placed the back piece back on so that everything is intact again.

Taking one of the original screws, I screwed the flash back into the camera so it was all in one piece again

Step 5 - And then there was light

All that is left to do is put a bulb in the lamp and switch it on!

If you would like any more help with doing your own Camera Lamp then please get in contact by commenting on this post or emailing me at craftalavista@gmail.com

I'll be back xx

Blackboard Photo Frame

As promised yesterday, here's my tutorial on how to make your very own Blackboard Photo Frame.

I love blackboards! Maybe it's because I work in technology, but there is just something really satisfying about leaving someone a blackboard message, rather than sending them a text. I'd seen the idea of using a photo / mirror frame with a blackboard in a local pub and couldn't wait to get home to try it out.


Before you can start, you'll need

• A frame which can be any size an shape you want
• a MDF board cut to the size of your frame (some B&Q's etc will cut it for you) 
• blackboard paint (again I got mine from B&Q)
• glue gun
• hammer and nails

Step 1
Paint one side of your MDF with the blackboard paint, giving it a couple of coats and leave to dry

Tip: whilst this is drying - if you also want to change the colour of your frame then it's a good idea to paint them at the same time so your drying time isn't doubled!

Step 2
Put glue round the back of your frame - if there is a grove where the glass would have fitted in, then you can glue this part so that the board sits flush in the frame

Step 3
I was worried about hanging the blackboard as it's something that we would be drawing on all the time so I didn't want it to be wobbly. I ended up holding it up on the wall and my boyfriend hammering a nail into each corner of the MDF (inside the frame). This means it doesn't move at all but if you are worried about putting that many holes in your wall you could screw in picture hooks and string it up like a normal frame but it won't be as sturdy.

Then you are good to go - it's really as simple as that!

Happy Crafting xx

Paper Rose Necklace & Hair Clip

I was at an amazing wedding last week and I wanted a statement piece to go with my dress, as it was quite plain.

I had previously seen lots of tutorials on paper flowers that I was dying to try out and this seemed like a perfect opportunity so I gave it a shot and it transformed into this beautiful necklace and hair clip.

Thankfully it didn't rain, it's definitely a necklace for warmer climates!

Click on the image to see my first tutorial