Sunday afternoon crafts from Friday night's bottles

You have spend Friday night polishing off that bottle of booze with your best mates, on Saturday you couldn't even face the mess you have left in the kitchen  but wait...before you start throwing away those empty bottles on Sunday, thing about what fabulous things your could make from them!

Booze Bottle Lamp

My mate Corrine has always had a sense of style that's inspired me since we started uni together - from her Marlin Monroe picture in her dorm room in first year to the very cool new black and white theme which has started to transform her livingroom. She was the one who showed me the wonders of a Gin & Tonic so after a fun night in the flat I kept the bottle and hatched a plan to make her a present (don't get too excited Cozza, it all goes horribly wrong)

Step 1
I started by soaking the bottle in hot water until the labels fell off. This also helped to clean out the bottle.

It's up to you whether you want to do this part as you might prefer the look of your bottle with the label still on. Leave your bottle to dry upside down as you down want to mix electricals with water. and when dry you will be ready to start.

You will need:

• 1 empty bottle 
• wire
• plug
• light fitting
• wire cap (for earth wire if your light fitting is plastic)
• drill piece for ceramics (must be a larger diameter than your wire)
• glue gun
• protective gear (minimum requirements - goggles and mask)

Step 2

Get suited up and put your goggles on! You are going to drill glass so make sure you are safe!

Step 3

Lie your bottle down on it's front. If you think you might struggle to hold and drill it then ask someone to help you out.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU DO THIS - otherwise this might happen :(

Sorry Corrine, I really did want to make you a present but it wasn't to be this time - we will just need to drink another bottle YAY silver lining and all that

Step 3.5

Get another bottle

Step 4
Do a happy dance when you manage to drill a hole in the bottle without breaking it

Step 5
Feed your cable through the hole and up through the opening on your bottle

Step 6

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.

Step 7
When the light fitting is in place, put a bit of glue round the top of the bottle to keep it in place...again be very careful not to get any hot glue on the wires or metal connectors in your fitting!

Step 8
Put your lampshade on and screw the white plastic bit of the fitting back on to keep it in place. Then put your light bulb in and turn it on!!!

I tried it with a few different shades before I settled on one but I thought they all looked nice.

The final result works really well with in our livingroom (is it bad that it makes me kinda happy the Gin bottle broke tehe)

Oh - and if you don't want to make your own, then please feel free to send us some booze and I'd be quite happy to make you one with the empty after I've drank our way through it!

I'll be back xx

Upcycle with a little help from my friends

This weeks upcycling theme has had me searching high an low, all over the web for some inventive tutorials for you guys. As I was searching a massive grin came across my face every time I found a tutorial that reminded me of one of my loved ones so I'm going to share my favourites with you!

First one is for my awesome sister Kerry. She loves her cats (as do I) so as soon as I saw this tutorial, I started looking into parts so I could make one for her. Once I track some cute suitcases down, you can expect one of these in your house Ker!

Cazza - I can just see pop pop in one of these as well  :)

Cat Bed - Mother Earth Living

My brothers are mad about their record players! They have vinyls everywhere and are always ready for an open mic night, singing their blues songs and playing guitar. I thought this would be a great table for a record player and crazy simple to make as well so even they can do it!

Record Table - Kt Bing via cut out and keep

Loopy Lorna is the name of a lovely little tea room in Edinburgh but it's also the name of my fab mate from Uni. Whenever we find a a new fruit tea we like, we bring it round to the others house and when she moved out of her last flat she offered me a few teapots for my crafting cupboard, knowing that I'd find something to do with them. Well Lorna - your new house with its amazing garden and your teapots inspired me and I went searching for a bird feeder. 

Lorna has a mini wildlife park in her garden which is a means for fun stories every time we meet (especially those mental bunnies) so here is an idea for your garden which made me smile

Bird Feeder - Intimate Weddings

Last year my gladiator of a mate Tatum, cycled all the way from London to Paris! I know - how impressive is she!!!! When I lived in London we were always working on some new crafty idea for our houses and this one made me think of you hun. I'm sure your lovely fiance won't mind you borrowing one of his wheels...

Bicycle Wheel Clock - Upcycle that

When I think of my friend Lucy, two words spring to mind - Dinosaurs & Baking. Could this tutorial be any more perfect!

Dinosaur Serving Dish - Three Little Monkeys Studio

Every year for my boyfriends birthday and Christmas his eyes light up as he knows his Jack Daniels stock will be replenished and before you know it the empty bottles start piling up as we all help him drink it through the festive periods. I will definitely be making this soap dispenser for my kitchen - it's quirky and a great way to recycle those empties...guess what you are all getting for Christmas next year :)

Soap Dispenser - Curly Birds

Since I was a wee nipper, my best mate Louise has always been there for me so I was over the moon when last year I could repay the favour and be her bridesmaid.

Louise planned her wedding to a T and it all paid off as it truly was a fabulous event! Her mum was like a crafting superhero and worked tirelessly to make her little girls day memorable and one of my favourite memories was the wedding breakfast. I remember walking into the room and being wowed by the amount of effort she had gone to and how beautiful the table looked. I especially loved the tissue pom poms she made and these coffee filter ones reminded me of them

coffee filter flowers - a subtle revelry 

Fireman Neil is my geek mate. Be it music, computer games or the new Game of Thrones season - he's round on our couch in a flash to geek out and unwind after a hard days work, so when I saw this picture I thought of you...

Skyrim Picture - Insomnia Studios

An NHS trolley upcycled with vintage magazines - this could only be for my brain box bestie who has worked up and down the country to help keep improving the health care we all receive. I can just imagine Catriona and her gorgeous girls baking on top of this.

NHS Trolley - Handmade & Vintage

You know that friend who is always there ready with a glass of wine when you have had a horrible day, well mine loooooves giraffes! This is an awesome tutorial for an awesome friend and I can't wait to keep collecting those corks with you Corinne.

Cork Sculpture Giraffe - Lil Blue Boo

Last but far from least a tutorial that reminds me of my best friend in the world - my mum!

When I was little my mum was always making things for or with me and I owe my crafting skills to all the encouragement she has given me over the years. From letting me paint my own mural on our playroom wall to cutting up her own wedding dress so I could play dress up with my friends, my mum had an endless supply of ideas and activities which meant life was never a dull place. 

I remember one of my primary school friends was leaving for OZ and was having a woolly jumper party. Everyone turned up in their best jumper but I stood out from the crowd in my brand new dress - made from one of my mums jumpers. This one reminded me of you mum, love you a million times over xxxx

Jumper Dress - Make it Love it

I've had the lovely walk down memory lane as I was looking through these tutorials and I hope you have enjoyed a little insight into my life and the amazing people I have around me. Of course, I couldn't mention everyone I love, but don't worry - I'll be blogging about you one day, you can count on that!

My plan was to inspire you with the people who inspire me - so get searching on the web for tutorials that remind you of your loved ones and make them something really special this year.

I'll be back xxx