A Weekend Of Crafting

I was so pleased to find myself with a lazy Saturday this weekend that I couldn't wait to get stuck into crafting with the new patterned gift wrap I'd found in my local White Stuff store earlier in the week. White Stuff is one of my favourite everyday clothing brands, I always appreciate their laid back, approachable styling, and of course all their jolly prints! These wrapping papers use some patterns from their spring collection, and are on a variety of papers which is a nice touch. I bought a very cheerful caravan pattern, birds and watering cans, sheep and vegetables - what a selection! I wanted to use them for crafting rather than wrapping, so I grabbed my bottle of Mod Podge that has been sat unused in a drawer over the winter and got stuck in! 

 Firstly I covered a White Stuff shoe box with the caravan print paper to be used as a 'Holiday Memories' keepsake box, I adore how each of the caravans has a different pattern, great detail! My rather worn VW Camper is also a recent find, it will have to do until I can afford the real deal! I used the video below to get me started as I was unsure how much Mod Podge to use on the paper, the tip about letting the first layer dry slightly before applying your paper is the trick! I did one undercoat and two overcoats and it now feels very sturdy, now I just need to organise my photos!

The next project were two 1970s teak trays that I'd found in a charity shop for a couple of pounds and have been using for my laptop mostly. I was originally going to paint them, I'm now so glad I put off that plan as they look much better now. The aqua in this pattern is my favourite colour of the moment...reflected in my new sketchbook! The second tray was crying out for the jolly springtime sheep, that is my main laptop tray so I'll be enjoying using that on a daily basis! I highly recommend dabbling in some decoupage, these papers aren't on the White Stuff website so pay a visit to a store.

It was so satisfying sat at my desk, listening to Radio 4 and the constant chatter of the birds - pure happy springtime! I couldn't resist including this snap of Mollie enjoying some sneaky sunbathing, I never realised how well she matched the sheepskin rug, great camouflage!  Hope it was a great weekend for you too, thanks for reading!