Monday, 10 November 2014

Shabby chic wooden heart GIVEAWAY - from Earths Deco.


 photo woodenhearts.png


I bring crafty good news! I have FIVE of these gorgeous shabby chic hearts to giveaway to five of my readers this week, courtesy of Earths Deco - a lovely cottage business who craft Home ware and Jewellery using mainly natural materials.  If you'd like one of these gorgeous trinkets to shabby-chic-up your Christmas tree, all you have to do to enter is:


1. Leave a comment below, telling me what you'd like from Santa this year.
2. Follow A Handmade Cottage AND Earth deco's page on Facebook! 


The competition ends at midnight on monday 17th November. Good luck, and don't forget there's 5 chances to win ;-) 

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Thursday, 6 November 2014

NEW VIDEO: Making gifts from pressed flowers and autumn leaves


Hello all! Well I've been a busy bee filming this week, and I have several new videos on their way to you. The first, is about pressing flowers and leaves. The projects mentioned in this video are already on the blog, so forgive me for repeating myself. Only many of my youtube subscribers don't follow the blog, so I thought I'd make an autumn video and inspire you all into making some quick and easy pressed flower christmas gifts!  PS. Apologies for Ralphy's absence, he was away on business.




In this short video I show you ... 


1. How to press flowers 
2. Some simple yet beautiful gifts that can be made with pressed flowers
3. How to make an autumn leaf garland using pressed autumn leaves in 5 minutes.
To see the full tutorial on each of these projects simply click the links below.



JM x


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Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Autumn leaf candle lanterns


With so many beautiful coloured leaves scattered around our feet it seems a shame not to put them to good use. Aside from the autumn leaf garland I made earlier in the month, I also like to decorate the fireplace with autumn leaf candle lanterns. They make wonderful centerpieces ... give a lovely warm glow on dark autumn evenings and in true AHC fashion, they're super simple and quick to make.




All you need ...

Autumn leaves (fresh or pressed)
Brown twine / string
Jam jar
Sticky pads
Wire and pliers (optional)
Small pine cone or berries (optional)

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Friday, 31 October 2014

How to have a REAL Halloween + Ghost stories by candlelight


I love having a spooky night on Halloween. By that I don't mean dressing up,  or cosying up with a horror film. I mean a real old-fashioned spooky night; the way our ancestors did - with a candle and a ghost story. Sounds tame by today's standards right? yet this simple pastime can be far more terrifying than a mere film, because it involves the most terrifying tool of all ... our own imaginations. Back in the day families would gather around the fire to hear the same stories told and re-told year after year ... and it wasn't just because the story captured their imaginations, it was the crackle of a fire making them jump ..... the noises of the house ..... the shadows from the candlelight dancing on the wall catching their eye. So if you dare, read on for a few tips on setting the scene, as well as some skin-crawling ghost stories for you to print out and read ... scared yet??

The scariest, most terrifying thing that I fear? my imagination - Stephen King 



Ghost stories by candlelight


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Wednesday, 29 October 2014

My month in pictures + An autumn story + October


An autumn story



Well hello my little autumn lovelies. Today I'd like to introduce a new feature to the blog!  Life can get a bit overwhelming sometimes, and I have to remind myself to slow down and take stock. So I thought a nice way to do this is a look back over the month.  There may be some projects you missed, so I've included links should you want to make any of them.
Here is my October - an autumn story :-) 

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Tuesday, 28 October 2014

Wedding ideas magazine feature


 Earlier in the year Wedding Ideas Magazine had approached our Wedding Photographer Binky Nixon to ask we'd be interested in having our wedding featured in their magazine. During the making of our wedding I had referred to Wedding Ideas magazine for inspiration, so we were more than happy to pay it forward to other couples knee deep in planning. It's an 8-page spread containing Binky's gorgeous photographs and our story; how we made things, where we bought things and our advice for other couples. If you're getting married or know any couples that are, I'd highly recommend it.


Wedding ideas magazine feature

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Friday, 24 October 2014

The magic of mushrooms - real and otherwise





There is something so lovely about about wild mushrooms. Aside from the fact little fairy families live under them, they possess a magical aura I think. There are many things I love about Autumn - and spotting little mushrooms growing in the undergrowth is one of them.  



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Wednesday, 22 October 2014

The Alexandra Palace knitting & stitching show 2014


ribbons and lace from Namolio


On the 9th October I took the coach with my crafty pals to the knitting and stitching show at Alexandra Palace. This is the third time I've attended the event, and I have to say - it never gets tiring. Every year I am filled to the brim with ideas and inspiration and I leave with bags full of crafty goodies - even though I promise hubby not too (!)  I'd love to introduce you to some of the wonderful artists and makers from the event, and share some of my favourite moments from the day.

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Tuesday, 14 October 2014

A handmade christmas with Laura Ashley


So last week I attended the Laura Ashley bloggers Handmade Christmas fair, which was held in Homemade London - a fab little craft shop in the West End. I didn't quite know what to expect from such an event. I'm not a fan of office parties and I avoid networking at all costs, but when Ms Ashley invited me to her bloggers Christmas evening, I knew it was going to be a fun, crafty affair ... and I was keen to meet other crafty bloggers.



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Thursday, 9 October 2014

AHC magazine feature + handmade beauty gifts




Morning poppets ... I'm off the the Ally Pally knit and stitch show this morning! I'll tell you all about it soon, but before I go I just wanted to tell you, that this week A Handmade Cottage was featured in 'Make your own gifts' magazine! Remember when I gave you a sneak peak of my lavender and rose bath salts? well I made a 'Lavender and Rose beauty trio' for the magazine - which included Lavender & Rose bath salts, a moisturising Oatmeal body soother and an anti-aging Lavender & Rose facial cleanser ...
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