Easy DIYs: Ombré bunting necklace

A bunting necklace is a perfect last-minute gift for your Mum this Mother’s Day. The project is easy and doesn’t take too much time. As long as you have what you need, you could probably whip it up in an evening.

What you’ll need:

Sample paint cards (in any colours you choose)

Thick black or white thread

Jump rings

Pliers

Scissors

Scrap paper

A pin

To make:

1. Cut out a triangle shaped template using your scrap paper. Use this to cut equal triangle shapes from each of the paint colours.

Paint cards make perfect ombré necklaces and are easy to find

2. Lay your triangles out as you wish. Take the pin and make a small hole in the two top corners of each triangle (be very careful when you do this – I found it easier to lay the triangles flat on a piece of paper while doing this).

It’s a good idea to work out where you want your triangles to sit before attaching the jump rings

3. Open the jump rings with your pliers and attach one through the left hole of the first triangle and the right hole of the last triangle.

4. Attach the jump rings to the other triangle corners, making sure that each ring goes in front to back and connects two of the triangles.

5. Once they’ve all been connected, measure the thread against your neck. Cut out two equal pieces that will attach to the jump rings at the end and tie up behind your neck.

6. Tie each thread to the end jump rings and tie to your neck. Ideally, you’ll need to tie a tight enough knot that the necklace doesn’t fall off, but loose enough so that you’ll be able to undo it.

There are plenty of variations on this necklace. You could pick up a few different coloured paint cards and make a colourful necklace, or cut different squares and attach jump rings vertically, like below.

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More easy DIYs can be found here.

 

Last minute Mother’s Day shopping: Llandeilo

The town of Llandeilo, in South West Wales, can be typically described as a present buyer’s dream. With a range of unique shops, visitors can always find a special gift for a loved one. And what better excuse to visit than this Mother’s Day. With Sunday fast approaching, I thought I’d take a little walk around the area and show you the best places to buy presents in the town. If you are local to the area, or know the town, then let me know. I’d love to know which shops you love.

Coffor Bach

Coffor Bach, literally meaning small chest, is a lovely shop with a huge selection of gifts for all Mums. It’s full of beautiful things to fill your home with and would make an excellent first stop in the town. If you’re looking for something particularly Welsh, then this shop will stock it. There’s a range of traditional Welsh blankets for something really special (I’d buy them all if I could), or, for those of you who don’t want to spend that much, there are also notebooks made from reclaimed blankets. This shop is also where I first discovered Sophie Allport and it’s worth a visit just to buy one of her mugs.

Cuckoo’s Nest

Cuckoo’s Nest, or Nyth y Gwcw, is a cute shop specialising in work from Welsh designers. There’s a wide range of cards and gifts available and the Welsh mugs on sale would make perfect additions to anyone’s kitchen. The shop doesn’t only sell cards and mugs though, but jewellery and children’s toys too. One of the designers featured is Buddug, a Welsh artist hailing from Snowdonia. Her teapot necklace is one I’ve had my eye on for a while.

Peppercorn

I can’t imagine shopping in Llandeilo without thinking of Peppercorn. A staple fixture in the town, anyone with an interest in baking or cooking will love it there. The shop, which has been going since 1987, has a large selection of mugs and plates, recipe books and even baking supplies, so if you have a Mum who loves baking, then you’ll find the perfect present here. If you’re feeling extra flush, then there’s also a few kitchenaids for sale. Peppercorn even sells wrapping paper, gift bags and cards, so there’s really no need to go anywhere else.

Mari Thomas Jewellery

Mari Thomas Jewellery is a relatively new addition to the town, having only been in Llandeilo since September 2012. Jewellery designer Mari makes her beautiful pieces in the Llandeilo studio, so they’re as local as possible. The shop not only sells Mari’s work, but also the best of Welsh and international designer jewellers and artists and there’s also an online shop if you can’t get to the shop itself. The designer also makes jewellery to order, so if you’d like something extra special, treat your Mum this Mother’s Day with a piece from Mari Thomas Jewellery.

The Spring Knitting and Stitching Show

Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit The Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia, London. Over 200 companies were exhibiting and selling their wares at the show and there was also a number of dressmaking workshops and other classes on. Sadly, I didn’t have a lot of time there and I had to be quite selective with the stalls I visited, but I managed to see quite a bit considering my late arrival. Obviously, one of the first stalls I visited was the By Hand London one, where they were selling all their patterns, including their new Flora dress pattern and I got to have a nice chat with Victoria.

The By Hand London girls were promoting their new Flora pattern at the show

I also visited the Toft Alpaca Shop, a DIY knitwear company with a lovely range of wools and jersey yarn. I first discovered the brand last year when I researched them for Prima and they’ve certainly become one of my firm favourites. Although I mainly focused on seeing my favourite brands, I did discover a few new names, including Katie Essam, a mixed media textile artist who works mainly in embroidery. I loved her stuff and, when I’ve got a bit of money, I’ll definitely invest in one of her pieces.

I did have a lot of fun at the show and I came away with many crafty ideas as well as some supplies. My favourite purchase was some green fabric which will hopefully be used for some trousers shortly.

The Toft Alpaca stall was selling a range of beautiful yarns

Katie Essam’s work is a mix of embroidery and other mediums