Moss Graffiti

Tags

art, grow your own, moss graffiti, moss graffiti recipe, wall

Today’s Thursday Big Up is for moss graffiti. Pinterest brought it to my attention and I love it.  Check out these pictures to get inspiration.  Clicking on the photo will take you through to the website they were found and underneath the pictures is a recipe for you to make your own moss graffiti!If these pictures have inspired you to create a mossy wonder on your wall then fear not as it’s really very easy to get going.  Here’s the recipe -

You need:

• A small handful of moss
• Two cups of buttermilk or yoghurt
• Two cups of beer (or water)
• Half a teaspoon of sugar
• Corn syrup (if in the end you want a thicker consistency)

Instructions:

1. Wash and remove all soil from the moss clumps
2. Break apart moss into manageable pieces
3. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until a paint like consistency is achieved
4. If you want a thicker consistency (to prevent drips when painting on your wall) then add some corn syrup
5. Use a paintbrush to apply the moss mixture to paint out your design
6. Check on your design regularly and mist with water to keep it moist or add more layers of the moss mixture to encourage growth

How very Pinteresting….

Tags

pictures, Pin it, Pinterest, pretty

Hello peeps

So, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and got involved with Pinterest.  Another great way to procrastinate.  Oh, but it’s pretty.  If you’re not up to speed on how Pinterest works then here’s my brief and fairly rubbish explanation.  You have to be invited (or request an invite from Pinterest) to join.  I know, fancy.  Then you set up a profile and download a ‘Pin It’ button for your bookmark bar.  The next time you’re bumbling around the world wide web and you see an image you like (mine usually involve puppies and food) you press the Pin It button and it copies the image (and link) and allows you to pin it to a board on your Pinterest profile.  This allows you to create mood boards, perfect for redecorating a room, planning an event, choosing a wedding dress or your perfect winter coat, or as in my case, having all your favourite internet animal pics in one place.  Here are a few of my favourite Pinterest pics…..

DJ Cat

Tags

cat, DJ, scratching decks

Oh what a treat for a Tuesday Critters post.  Your cat could become a DJ.  Save your sofa from your feline friend’s scratches and purchase these cat scratching decks.  Going to see if I can get some headphones on Claudia so that she really looks the part.  Surely there’s £250 in this from You’ve Been framed….

Kids Company

Tags

corporate volunteering, donate, Kids Company

March is here!  It only feels like a couple of weeks ago that we were all quaffing champagne toasting in the new year.  With the arrival of a new month comes the announcement of the next charity that OYPT will support for the forthcoming month.  Throughout March 10% of all crockery hire fees will be donated to a truly special charity, Kids Company.

Kids Company provides practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children.  They provide a safe, caring, family environment where support is tailored to the needs of each individual.  Their services and support empower children who have experienced enormous challenges to lead positive and fulfilling lives.

If you haven’t heard of their work then do take a minute to peek at their website, it’s full of colour and love.  If you fall for their ethos and energy (you can’t help but really) then perhaps consider getting involved and supporting their work?  There are a number of volunteer opportunities.  You could even get the whole office involved through their corporate volunteering.

Friends and chocolate

Tags

Charles Dickens, chocolate, Friend, Monday, quote

Today’s Monday Quote is from Charles Dickens.

There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.

Do it yourself!

Tags

creating, DIY, Elsie Larson, My Beautiful Mess blog, paperpoms, pom poms, turquoise textiles

Today’s Thursday Big Ups are a homage to DIY.  I love making bits and pieces for my flat.  I find it relaxing and it allows me to get creative (not that I particularly am, but I enjoy having a go!) not to mention it’s economical (unless it messes up and you end up out and buying!) mostly though, I love it because I get that sense of pride of having produced something myself.

My most recent little foray into creativity was more craft than DIY.  A great friend got married and a another got engaged and I wanted to make a card that could be a bit more of a permanent feature.  So made a sign/card, sird?  perhaps not.  Here are a few pictures of the end results and one of Claudia Winklecat ‘helping’ out.

A little out of focus, but these two just got engaged, eek!

Musical backing.

Now, this was quite a wedding.  Notice the presence of the cow.  Awesome.

Why do cats always insist on sitting on paper?

Now to the big ups….

Turquoise Textiles is a blog outlining the DIY activities of the talented creator.  Coming soon is the shop!  You will soon be able to purchase her creations.  Here are a few pictures of Katie’s pieces to whet your appetite.  Find her on Twitter @TurquoiseTexts.

Patchwork draught excluder.

Barista apron.

The next is Paperpoms a business that creates these gorgeous paper poms, in all sizes and colours.  Perfect for decorating your wedding, party or home.  Displayed together the effect is really quite striking.  Find Paperpoms on Twitter @paperpompom

Here’s a sneak peak at their gorgeous website (prices may have changed since this image was taken).

Finally I bring you The Beautiful Mess blog brought to you by Elsie Larson.  She writes this excellent blog to bring you pretty things for you to make and wear.  It is well worth sitting down with a cup of tea and looking through all her projects.  You are guaranteed to find inspiration and decide to make make make. It really is very good.  Here are a few of her creations to get you inspired.  Find Elsie on Twitter @elsiecake

Love this art creation from paint colour samples.

This is by far my favourite, make your own tea bags!  Cannot wait to give these a go.

Hope that this has got you thinking and that you have a productive and creative weekend! xx

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree…..

Tags

Christmas tree

It’s not right is it?

This poor one, trying to make a break for it before the bin men come.

How to Dress a Vintage Table

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Bespoken For, How to Dress a Vintage Table, Jenni Bush

See my ‘How to Dress a Vintage Table’ piece on the fab Bespoken For wedding blog.  Jenni Bush runs Bespoken For and is a jewellery designer and wedding expert, her wedding tiaras are exquisite!

Snuggle up and watch

Tags

black mirror, Downton Abbey, Great Expectations, programmes, TV

This Thursday Big Up is for all the brilliant programmes that I caught over Christmas that are still on iPlayer/4 on Demand.  January is perfect for snuggling up with a throw, the cat and a pot of tea – when you have no money, are detoxing and the weather is rotten.  So if you missed any of these then I definitely recommend a catch up….

Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror has 12 days left on 4 on Demand.  All three episodes were excellent, pretty uncomfortable (in some cases extremely!) and certainly made you think.

The first is The National Anthem.

The second is 15 Million Merits.

The third is The Entire History of You.

For your period drama fix there was of course the fantastic Downton Abbey, with Maggie Smith as ever stealing the show, and the BBC’s wonderful 3 part adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.

Downton Abbey is on ITV Player and has 19 days left.

Great Expectations is on the BBC iPlayer but all three parts FINISH TODAY!  Here are the links for each episode –  Part one, Part 2 and Part 3.

Charity of the Month – Battersea Dogs and Cats Home

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Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, cat, Charity of the month, Macmillan, PEAS

Every month OYPT supports a charity close to our hearts by donating 10% of all hire charges for that month.  November’s month was Macmillan and December’s was PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools).  We’re very pleased to announce that January’s charity is Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Taken from their website – ‘Established in 1860, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home aims never to turn away a dog or cat in need of our help.  We reunite lost dogs and cats with their owners through our Lost Dogs & Cats Line or care for them until new homes can be found, giving them shelter and the highest standards of veterinary care.’

We took our own little visit to Battersea a year and a half ago and left with a gorgeous tabby originally known as Sammy and quickly renamed Claudia Winklecat (celebrity admired by both me and my boyfriend, what I mean is that he fancies her and I have fringe envy).  She was found in a park in south London trying to keep her kittens alive.  Her two kittens (fingers crossed that she only had two) were fostered as they weren’t used to human contact and then went into Battersea to both be successfully rehomed.  Here’s mum keeping tabs on her babies.

Claudia has settled in well and we couldn’t imagine life without her.  It would certainly be cheaper as she has a penchant for thin wires.  We’ve been through countless phone chargers and head phones and even an iPod dock cord and printer cable.  Pretty annoying.  Especially as the Christmas tree lights had to have duct tape wrapped round them to prevent her from destroying them.  Not quite the festive look I was going for.  She is angelic most of the time though.

I feel that our gang needs to get bigger and am trying to convince my boyfriend to allow us to revisit Battersea to get a little playmate for Claudes (either feline or canine!).  Please help us support them by spreading the OYPT love!  Wrack your brains for any celebrations/engagements/hen parties etc that could be sprinkled with a little vintage love!