DIY: Autumn is coming!
I’m back again with more DIY projects for you! I’m so pleased with how they all turned out and they range in difficulty, so a little something for everyone.
I have a YouTube video up as well which you can watch HERE
Autumn is in the air.
I’m so excited for the new season, its my favourite. Who’s with me? It’s time to snuggle down and get cosy together.
I feel like most people LOVE Summer and have deep withdrawals when it’s over, well thats me with Autumn. I mean there really isn’t much to dislike; crisp mornings, cooler breeze, changing leaves and my favourite seasonal holiday. Let me know your favourite things about the new season!
Here’s the 3 DIY’s for you to help warm up your home…
Hammered metal tin candle
So I was inspired by the industrial look of the metal candles at Le Labo. I’ve linked them if you haven’t checked them out before but when I travelled to LA last year, I had the pleasure of visiting the store. They are basically a really luxurious fragrance store and their scents are AMAZING but unfortunately for me, it was a little out my price range at the time. I tasked myself to re-create a candle that smelt like crisp autumn air in the style of the Le Labo candle.
You will need;
- A small metal bucket (you can also use a tin can or a can that holds treacle)
- Soya wax for candles (or paraffin but soya is more natural)
- Essential oils (fragrance oil if you use paraffin)
- a wick that fits your vessel size
- Hammer
Start by grabbing your candle tin, if you’re using the small bucket like me then remove the handle from the top. Grab your hammer and start tapping down forcefully but slow around the tin. You want to warp the shape but without damaging the integrity of the seals.
Grab your wax and melt over a bain-marie set up. For anyone thats not familiar with this method, it’s a saucepan with water in (1/4 filled) thats heated and the bowl with the wax will sit on top of the saucepan. Please bare in mind the bowl that you melt the wax in does have to be heatproof and take care with this project as it can get hot. You’ll want to melt as much wax as will fit your candle. My mini bucket is linked if you’re using the same one and it took about 475g (around 6 cup measures) once thats all melted to a liquid, you can add in your essential oils. For my scent I used; 20 drops of Sandalwood, 10 drops of Ylang Ylang, 10 drops of Bergamot, 5 drops of Eucalyptus and 5 drops of Cinnamon. Obviously, you don’t have to copy this, it’s 100% customisable but you want to aim for about 50-60 drops total.
Once you’ve got all the oil and wax together you’re ready to start assembling. Grab the wick and dip it in the wax, place it inside the tin in the centre and hold in place for a few seconds to give it a chance to adhere. Have something on hand to hold the wick in place when you pour. I just used 2 skewers either side of it but you can also use a lolly stick or a piece of tape with a hole in the centre. Then just pour your wax in, you want to do this fairly quickly so you can give it a gentle tap on a hard surface to release any air bubbles.
Then just leave it to set! It’s so hard not to check on it but you do want to try and leave this for 24 hours to avoid the wax mis-shaping. Once it’s all set, trim the wick down to about 1/4 inch and you’re ready to light it for that hygge home!
Letter pressed pie plate
Thanksgiving (although not celebrated where I am) is a beautiful time for home decor. I wanted to create something that nodded to the holiday that I could use here in the UK during Autumn. Theres one thing that I like to indulge in during the colder months and thats PIE. Apple, pumpkin, pecan, they’re all great! I find inspiration in organic pottery, it seems to hold a charm that perfectly formed plates do not. I also love a simple colour palette so I’ve combined the two.
You will need;
- Air dry clay
- Cling film or tin foil
- An existing side plate
- Rolling pin
- Letter stamps
- Acrylic paint
- Dishwasher safe mod podge
Have your existing side plate at hand and get a bundle of air dry clay. This does get messy so be sure to protect your surfaces! Put down some cling film or tin foil and start rolling out your clay into a rough circle shape. If you can, you want to try and mimic the general thickness of a plate as well. Clay can get harder to work with when it’s thinner but trust me, it does work and it’s worth it! Once you’ve rolled out your clay, place it on top of your plate. You can go ahead and cut around the shape if there’s any excess. You can smooth out any blemishes with water and along the edges but don’t worry if it looks rustic, thats the vibe we’re going for.
Then you can stamp your letters in, if you wanted to do this step. I had mine say ‘sweet as pumpkin pie’ but choose anything you’d like! Unfortunately, whats next is a long wait for the clay to dry. Mine took just under 72 hours fully so I would advice to leave it for around the 3 day mark to cure slowly.
Once the clay is dry you can paint it however you’d like, I have some tips on how I did mine in my YouTube video. Once thats all done then put a couple of coats of mod podge on both the top and the bottom. You can enjoy a slice of warm pie on your new plate!
Faux leather woven cushion
Woven fabric is HUGE at the moment, not just across homeware. I keep seeing the amazing Bottega Veneta bags and wondered how it would look turned into an item of decor. Well that’s just what was done! It was the hardest project out of the trio just for how fiddly it is but it’s so worth it! Best part is, this cushion is made from a plain cotton shopping bag, so it require very minimal sewing skills. This can be made with softer fabrics as well but I opted for faux leather to match the directors chairs I re-upholstered earlier this year, you can see them here.
You will need;
- Fabric of your choice
- Plain cotton tote bag
- Scissors & rotary cutter (optional)
- Hot glue gun & glue
- Cushion inner or stuffing
- Embroidery thread
I prepped the tote bag first which just required to cut the handles in half. I have a cushion from IKEA that is tied at the bottom and it’s such an easy way to create a throw cushion! Measure up the width and length of your tote bag and add some additional for allowance, just incase. I cut the material into 19 individual strips measuring 43 cm in length and 4 cm in width, using the rotary cutter makes life easier here. You can place these on your bag and start assembling the pattern. If you’ve done any weaving before it’s exactly the same but with larger materials. You go under, over, under and so on and the next strip will be alternate to that.
Now that you have your woven sheet, pop a small amount of hot glue under any of the loose edges on the outside. This just prevents it coming apart when its moved. It dries pretty fast and after that you can flip the whole project over.
I attached the woven material by lining up the edges (trim any excess if necessary) and using a whip stitch around the outside using the embroidery thread. On the 2 sides and the top you’ll be going through entire bag and the woven piece and the stitch will go around the edging of the cushion case. At the bottom you’ll just go through one section of the bag to keep the opening…well, open. You can opt to use a machine if it’s easier for you, you can fabric glue it if sewing isn’t your thing at all. If you’re using leather it will be hard to tuck in the excess, hence why I trimmed it off, if you’re using a thinner material you can do either.
All that’s left to do is stuff the cushion with the inner or the stuffing and place it in your room of choice!
I hope you enjoyed these DIY projects! As always if you give any of them a go, tag me on social media, I’d love to check them out! My links are in the footer if you wanted to give my accounts a follow or just have a look around.
I hope you have a lovely week and i’ll see you next time!