Wreath Making

I love getting crafty and Christmas always brings out the urge a little bit more so when I heard about Chloe Robinson's Wreath Making workshop at Rose & Grey, I immediately bought a ticket. 

My Valentine's Bouquet from Chloe Robinson

The shop interior is gorgeous, if you haven't made it down yet and you live local to Manchester I definitely recommend you head down. It's a bit out of the way but 100% worth it. And I have always admired Chloe's bouquets at Altrincham market so much so I had to tell the OH any other Valentines bouquet would fail in comparison! 

Rose & Grey Christmas Display 

So on a Wednesday evening, 16 ladies (no men unfortunately - I couldn't drag my OH there even if I'd promised beer and food!) settled down round tables with prosecco and nibbles. 

The first step was to add spruce to the circular oasis and cover as much of the oasis as possible. The key is to stick to one direction with the spruce, trimming the ends to create a spike long enough to in-bed securely in the foam. It gets quite messy with pine needles everywhere and a good set of sacateurs are recommended. 

Next up is the foliage. Chloe had provided everyone with a big bunch of all sorts. I went for everything green and by this point I had accepted my wreath was going to be a bit of a wild beast! I can't really do neat and small. 

The Eucalyptus as always smells divine and filled the room with a festive smell whilst listening to a christmas playlist. I used to hate Christmas songs (anyone who ever worked in retail will know the pain of playing them from September onwards!) but sensibly starting in Decemeber has given me a new found appreication of them - old & new. Ariana Grande is a guilty pleasure at the minute! 

Once the wreaths were completely covered in foliage, it was time to add all the little extras to help make them unique and personal. I decided to avoid the red berries and concentrate on more subtle colours. Thistles are another favourite flower of mine so I add four or five to the wreath and embedded them in amongst the foliage. 

Chloe has also brought a selection of little extras including cinnamon sticks, dried fruits and pine cones. I really want to add them all but the stylist in me decided it would be too much. I could have just kept going, I was having so much fun but the Wreath was already looking pretty wild at this point so i decided to just stick with some dried fruit. 

These were attached simply by threading some fine wire through the fruit and tying it around the foliage. I went for four to five again to try and keep a symmetry running through. 

I loved seeing everyone else's creation, no two wreaths were the same. Had such a lovely evening meeting new people and chatting away whilst relishing the chance to be hands on. It was a bit of a mission carrying the beast back home and the taxi driver was very nervous about having it in his car but both myself and the wreath made it home in one piece! 

I decided against hanging it on my door because a) I want to be able to admire it and smell the beautiful scents at all times and b) I live in studentville and no doubt they would nick it whilst drunk and put it on their heads or something!

After wandering round the house for a couple of days, trying it in various places, we settled on the hallway, hanging it from the banister. This was much to the delight of Bojangles who thought it was purely for his entertainment and spent the rest of the evening trying to unpick the wire which it hangs from (carefully edited out with the help of photoshop)! He did however provide me with some gorgeous Instagram worthy pictures! 

So for anyone wishing to do something like this, there are so many going on from Wreaths to Centrepieces  and everything in between. I went solo - something I wouldn't have dreamed of doing this time last year and yes it is nerve-wracking for the first 10 mins but as soon as you get stuck in, you realise you are with like minded people who all have similar creative interests. If you have creative friends then it's a lovely little activity to do together which doesn't involve a hangover! 

Big thanks to Rose & Grey for hosting and to Chloe Robinson for being an excellent teacher! Can't wait for the next one! 

'Tis The Season

Winter is well and truly here - the temperature has dropped massively, trees are adorning every household and Christmas fever has taken over Instagram.

Here are few little touches to make your home feel cosy and warm over these winter months.  

1. Fairy Lights & Candlelight - All of the Lights

You can never have too many in my opinion. I am currently ordering more as I type! As much as statement pendant lights and chandeliers look impressive and really make a room, the warm soft ambiance of floor lamps, fairy lights and candles are the best for creating a cosy mood. 

My favourites are battery powered copper wire lights that I normally order from eBay. They come in different lengths and are very flexible, meaning you can wrap them around almost anything. I tend to move them about the house to where my mood suits. Current favourite places are in lanterns and jars.

Also I have never been one for Christmas cushions but this H&M deer cushion was too cute to resist and it really helps make the room look cosy, bringing the Christmas cheer. I reckon I can get away with it all year round. 

2. Festive Stars 

These Rose and Grey stars were an absolute must when I visited the showroom in November. They are reasonably priced too. Again a few fairy lights, candles and a gorgeous mug of hot chocolate bring a subtle festive style into the house. 

3. Christmas Quotes

The letter-board is perfect for adding little seasonal updates without breaking the bank. I used the smaller Rose & Grey star with the faux Eucalyptus stems that were bought from Home Sense last year. Nothing beats real Eucalyptus and the smell is divine but I love that I can have these all year round and the only maintenance they need is a bit of dusting every now and then! 

4. Celebrate the Gloom

As much as the dark nights and mornings can play havoc with taking photos, I'm an advocate for embracing the darker light into your photos. Mid afternoon around dusk always seems perfect for me at the minute, with a bit of help from an extractor light this photo of my normally boring kitchen became really atmospheric. I introudced the faux Eucakyptus onto the worktop and it really lifts it!

5. Add a little Christmas Tree

This £10 Christmas Tree from Sainsburys is the perfect addition to the dining table even if I did have to trim it slightly to fit under the lights! It's also good for anyone with a small space to still bring the Christmas cheer into the home without breaking the bank. I dressed this with the battery powered fairy lights (no I am not being sponsored but I most definitely should be! :D) The pot was a bit ugly so I've just wrapped a bit of hessian around it for now, but I want to add some twine and ribbon to make it look a bit prettier when I have the time. 

Another addition to the tree are these gorgeous Worker Bee decorations from Bonsall Mill. They are handmade by my lovely cousin, based in Derbyshire but made with Manchester grit and determination. They are the ultimate tribute to Manchester with the gorgeous little heart addition on the underside, I'm absolutely in love. There are also loads of other animals in the Countryside Christmas collection so go check them out if you are fans of handmade treasures you can keep forever. 

6. And Finally...

Grab a cuppa, a few mince pies and a good interiors mag. Now is the time to take some time off, surround yourself with loved ones and get some good old rest. Christmas used to be a dreaded time as 10 years in retail ruined all the festive ideals for me but now I relish being able to take a couple of days off with the fire blazing and a good old Christmas film.  Go on, you deserve it!

Recapping Autumn

How is it nearly Christmas? These last few months have flown by and I've been so busy I haven't had time to document it! So here's a little recap of new updates to the house and beyond!

Pumpkins invaded our house and the planet.

I absolutely loved having these as ornaments and moving them around the house. The silver one is from Home Sense and will now be coming out every Autumn. I also bought fresh pumpkins from the greengrocers which lasted the whole 2 months. I didn't really want to throw them away! 

I also took inspiration from Theresa Gromski and had a go at spray painting some! 

Some were more successful than others and I underestimated my patience waiting for them to dry. Turns out I have none!

The finished result!

I got out in the fresh Autumn air.

As long as it's not raining, I absolutely love going for Autumnal walks. The colours, atmosphere and mood are just divine. Dunham Massey is a local favourite spot for strolling, drinking hot chocolates and spotting deer. 

I was also lucky enough to be invited on a booze cruise for my friend's 30th which took us along the Manchester ship canal and I got to see the city in a whole new way. 

Unseen Manchester

Even my walks to the train station became photogenic with frosty crisp mornings and low winter sunrises. And we enjoyed a decent firework display at Platt Fields park which we are lucky enough to be within walking distance.

Bonfire night at Platt Fields

Updates To The House

I have been lucky enough to have been gifted a few items this season for which I had lots of fun styling and creating content for.

VonShef allowed me to choose from their new Christmas Cocktail range and it was a no brainer which one to choose. The 7 piece brushed gold cocktail set is absolutely perfect on our sideboard and of course I had to test it out with an espresso martini! Top marks all round!

Another favourite gift was The Squares from Squared One. They will print any of your images on 5mm white plastic boards which make the images really sturdy. This means I can prop them up anywhere around the house, which I have been doing loads of! I chose a few images from our Italy trip to keep the memory alive during the dark winter months!

 

The Monstera on his throne!

And of course no house update is complete without a couple of trips to Ikea. I went in for a cafetiere and came out with a chair, a coffee jug and a monstera plant!! Totally worth it though - the Ekenaset chair was such a bargain. It reminds me of some of the mid century modern designer chairs that are triple the price and it fits perfectly in the man cave. 

The Monstera has been placed into our bedroom and needed some sort of platform to sit on - hence the second trip to Ikea for a stool. I think I'm going to either paint or stain it darker but it will do for now! 

Man cave

Another new item I am obsessed with is this Ikea coffee pot, which is crazy considering I rarely drink coffee! It fits so perfectly with our Fika print though, and looks amazing when styled with Ben's Mums famous pumpkin pie!

And finally...

I decided to make the most of my weeknights!

I feel like this year has flown by and it's probably due to my ever increasing age but I like to think it's because I really do live for the weekend. Apart from exercise, my weeknights consist of eating tea, watching tv and getting into bed as soon as it's socially acceptable! 

So I made a few weeknight plans and it felt so good. Getting up for work wasn't painful, the day went really quickly and I had something to look forward to (I really don't look forward to exercise).

First up was Champagne tasting at The Refuge, Manchester. In collaboration with Pierre-Jouet they had transformed their winter garden into an interactive high-tech garden installation. We had 4 full glasses to taste, including a £68 per glass vintage. It was such a lovely evening with the girls and I can think of much worst way to spend a Tuesday evening!

I was also lucky enough to be invited to a Moodboard Workshop hosted by the lovely Helen Robinson of Stylin In The North and Kirsten Wilson of Hello Day Planner. It was held in the ever gorgeous setting of Rose & Grey Interiors. 

To say I was nervous was a massive understatement. I had never done anything like this solo as I'm generally rubbish at networking and promoting myself but I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. It was honestly one of the best things I've done in a long time. Being with like-minded people was so refreshing and I finally got to meet some lovely people that I chat to regularly on Instagram but had never got to meet. It has opened up a few doors for me which I'm very excited about working in the future and I can't wait to do more. I would urge anyone who is unsure about attending a workshop because of confidence to just go for it. There is nothing bad that can happen when you are surrounded by this lovely Insta community!

And so that sums up Autumn - my favourite time of the year! Looking forward to exploring winter now! :)

Happy Halloween