If the key fits...

Unfortunately this week our house was broken into so a change in locks was necessary. With this brought a new house key but it also left me pondering about what to do with the old key. Leave it in a drawer to get lost forever or is there something more interesting I could do with it?

So off I popped to Pinterest and what an awesome collection of craft project ideas I found including an amazing organisation...

First up and the most common idea is to turn old keys into necklaces, earrings or badges. You just need some old bits and bobs and some glue and a chain to string through the hole in the key. It's super easy but looks very cool.

The pictures above are from the lovely ladies at The Green Divas who take you through making your own jewellery here too so you can never get lost! 

Another popular idea was making windchimes. There are many different styles and types - a few of which are on my Pinterest board. I think it's probably best to let your imagination go wild and work with the materials you have at home to make a really unique piece (and save on cost!) but if you are looking for direction you can find the tutorial for the windchime shown in the picture on the awesome Urban Threads blog.

I love this idea from Wendy on Sierra of turning old keys into a key rack as it completes the life cycle of a key perfectly and as we know from The Lion King the circle of life moves us all!! The tutorial is great and can be found in slideshow form here.

The final project is called The Giving Keys. These are repurposed keys with inspirational words carved into them. They are given to a person when it's felt they most need it and the person keeps it until they meet someone else they think needs that word in their lives. It's a beautiful project and it exists to employ those transitioning out of homelessness so it's for a great cause also. I urge you to get involved if you can. 

Don't count your chickens....

This weeks Tiddlybits carries on with the tradition of using things from around your house. This time it's egg cartons. I eat a LOT of eggs so now it's about time I stopped adding to the giant human waste pile and get creative with my egg cartons. Below are all the projects that are inspiring me, particularly the mirror, and as always you can find more great ideas on the Pinterest Board.

This is so beautiful and expensive looking that I still can't believe it's made from egg cartons. I found the tutorial on Better Homes and Gardens craft page. You could play around with different colours and if you don't have a mirror, you could use it around your picture frames.

I love this idea for an egg cup from Red Ted Art which is such a funny little idea for reusing your egg cartons. Might even think about making a duck one for your duck eggs!

This is a great gift idea of a herb garden in a box from Randi of Swoon. Easy to do and a gift that someone could have and use for years after you give it to them. I also love how she's packaged the gift. Who would have thought an egg carton could look so pretty?

I love these fairy light covers and that they completely don't look like they are made from an egg carton. Great idea for a gift too! The tutorial is not in english but the photos are pretty self explanatory. 

I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration and get the brain cogs turning. As usual please send me pics of any projects you try via tiddlybobs@gmail.com or twitter @Tiddlybobs and I'll feature them on the blog.

This Old Thing Inspires

So exciting evening! I finally got to catch up on Dawn O'Porters new programme 'This Old Thing: The Vintage Clothes Show" on Channel 4. I love this woman for so many reasons but particularly for all the photos of the fabulous outfits she posts on her instagram which give me a daily dose of clothes envy! 

I never get the chance to buy clothes as I'm usually broke but I adore clothes. I love looking at them, feeling them, imagining the looks I could put together etc. but unfortunately this adoration very rarely gets to leave my imagination. As soon as I enter a clothes shop Miss Imagination seems to go "Oh no! You're on your own here. Call me when you're done" leaving me alone in the middle of a shop with hundreds of items and no idea what to do with them and how to put them together, There is no point in looking at the mannequin for inspiration as my body has about forty more curves than it and all in the oddest places you can think of! So, instead, I revert back to my old tradition of a) buying a dress which can be worn on its own so don't have to worry about matching or b) something coloured that I can team that with one of many black items in my wardrobe! I then end up very quickly hating what I've bought as I'm frustrated by myself and the fact that I'm not wearing on the outside what I feel on the inside!

So in steps Dawn's new show to save the day! It really addressed all the worries I had about vintage/second hand shopping - the not worrying if you don't find anything, what to do if something doesn't quite fit and great ideas on how to put outfits together for all body types! I also loved the up cycling of old clothes into something new. Feeling inspired I decided to put what I had seen to practice straight away. 

I recently acquired this stunning top from my Nanny (a.k.a my grandmother to all you non-Irish folk!) but wanted to do something more exciting with it than put it with my usual black especially as  it's Summer and the weather is boiling!! So I had a rummage around my wardrobe and found and old blue skirt - perfect! One thing that the stylists (Dawn?) on the show did was they accessorised really well so I also added a brown belt (which was a very good life choice I feel) and VOILA! A new bright summery outfit was born!

I also did some sixties hair with bright lipstick and dark eyes just to give it more of a stylish feel! 

And I LOVE it!!! I will definitely be wearing this look out and about! 

Thanks for the inspiration Dawn and team!!

NOTE: I know this post doesn't technically count as a blog post about crafts but hopefully it will inspire you to create something new out of your old clothes or just wear them with something different! Here's the link to Dawn's scrapbooking page for more inspiration!