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Raisie Bay

hillarys blinds

Decorating a Cork Board – A Crafting Challenge

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I’m not really a craft person. Yes, I will sit around the table with kids and their glitter, glue and tissue paper for hours, but we are mostly just having fun and creating a mess. When it comes to grown up stuff I tend to shy away, I’d like to be good but I’m not.

I surprised myself back in March by attending a crafting afternoon with Hillarys Blinds and Joe Blogs. I think I was mostly interested in an afternoon of child free fun and adult interaction at first, but I did actually enjoy the crafting too. However, when I was contacted again to see if I wanted to do some crafting for a competition I decided that I’d sit this one out.

Then, I was painting my kitchen and had one of those light bulb ideas. I had a bare wall that I’d always used to display the kids art work and school certificates, but it was badly stained by all the blu-tack. I still wanted to display things so I though a cork board would be a good idea, but cork boards are so boring and office like. That’s when I decided to decorate one with some nice fabric…like the nice fabric that was being offered by Hillarys for their craft competition. They are offering a prize of £1000 to one lucky winner who transforms a piece of fabric from their Roman blinds and curtains collection into an incredible craft creation.

Next step was to rush off my e-mail to say I’d join in and to choose my fabric. Then I bought myself a cork board, I chose one 90cm by 60cm. Finally, I bought some fancy pins.

The fabric I chose is called Rayna Apple. I have just painted my kitchen green and I knew the colours in the fabric would fit in nicely. Also, I love how the fabric has bold blooms on it, I wanted a nice bold pattern to brighten up my wall, and as the wall is near the window it is really like bringing the outdoors in.

So here is my step-by-step guide to decorating a cork board. Remember, I’m a complete amateur so it’s a fairly simple task, but I’m really happy with the result and I hope I can inspire others to find their inner craft person too.

 How to Decorate a Cork Board

I painted my frame white with some emulsion paint.. You could leave it wooden, but I thought it would look nicer with the material

This was quite simple. I put the corkboard on the material and drew around the edge then cut it out. Because I’d cut around the entire board, including the frame, I had enough material to fold over and make neat edges.

Starting at the top I folded a frame width of material over to make a neat edge. I then ironed the fold flat. I also took the opportunity to iron the entire piece of material so it would be neat and flat.

I folded down one edge of the material using the frame as a guide then I ironed down the fold. I then folded and ironed the other three edges. The next step was to put a pin in one corner while I gently pushed the folded edge into the frame. I repeated this around all four sides.

You could glue the fabric into place, but I found it sat quite neatly in the frame so I fixed in place with some pretty pins that I had bought. I put some in the four corners and a few down each side. I will keep these pins in place and used plainer pins for pinning things to my board.

As you can see from these two photos, the corkboard looks very different after it has been decorated.

I couldn’t wait to start pinning up my children’s art work and school certificates. I’m sure my corkboard will get plenty of use.

My lovely creation takes pride of place on my kitchen wall.

I think I may have caught the crafting bug!

This post is my entry into the Hillarys Craft Competition 2015

Getting Crafty with Hillarys Blinds

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Last weekend I spent a lovely relaxing afternoon doing some crafting with Hillarys Blinds, Joe Blogs and The Crafty Hen at the Custard Factory in Birmingham.

I don’t normally have time to do crafts myself, it’s not that I don’t like to but whenever I feel creative I usually get the craft box out with the kids and we have fun together. It was really nice to do something with grown-ups for a change.

Hillarys have taken their craft roadshow on the road and invited bloggers for an afternoon of crafting fun in several venues during February and March.

We were first given a demonstration by Julie from the Crafty Hen

Then we got to choose from the lovely fabrics provided by Hillarys Blinds.
Photo Credit: Joe Blogs
Then it was time to get on with our first project, a lovely notebook cover. While working I chatted along with other bloggers on my table, it was lovely to catch up with Zoe from MamaGeek, Eileen from ET Speaks From Home and Erica from 92three30.
I was really pleased with my notebook cover, it wasn’t very difficult to make.
The second project was a little bird which I found more difficult as it involved a lot more sewing. I’ve never really been very good at sewing. Still, it was nice to sit and stitch and chat and watch my little bird take shape.

I had a really lovely afternoon and would definitely do something like this again. 

Grand Designs Live Show

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I was excited to visit the Grand Designs Live show at the NEC Birmingham. My house is a new build although I didn’t build it myself. Now I’m left with the task of decorating it to my taste and I believed the exhibition would inspire me.

Grand Designs is generally about building your own house though, so it focuses on a lot of the things you may need like windows, doors, skylights, solar panels, hot tubs….yes hot tubs are a necessity if building your own home. Who wouldn’t want one of these?

We did actually spend a lot of our time in the garden area. We have to do something with ours which is rather boring at the moment. Maybe a little something for the kids?

In the background you can just make out some garden pods, I did take photos but they were very popular and I’m not so keen to plaster photos of strangers too often on my blog. They were amazing though, an enclosed cocoon with comfy seats and they turn around too for when you are fed up of the view.

Also in the garden section where a huge selection of water features. Now we could certainly put one of these in our garden.

If I’m honest, I was a little un-inspired by the Interiors section. Although there was some lovely settees there didn’t seem to be too much other furniture. I’d have liked to have seen some bedroom furniture, bookshelves, cupboards and storage ideas. There seemed to be a lack of soft furnishings too with only a few places highlighting cushions and curtains. There was a big technology part which we rushed through, when you are more interested in wallpaper, paint and furniture the technology bit is just extra footwork. I’d love a robotic vacuum cleaner though.

I did love the stand from Hillarys Blinds. I am looking for blinds and curtains and they had a lovely display of what they can offer. It was nice to be able to walk around and have a feel of the fabrics.

Hillarys are now working with Home Interest magazine on an exciting range of fabrics inspired by architecture from around the world.

Another interesting concept was this ‘put together yourself” wallpaper from 1wall. It comes in 64 pieces for you to arrange however you please. It would definitely be a talking piece in your home.

As a self-confessed foodie I left the best to last as I headed over to the Food and Housewares Section of the show. There were all sorts of yummy things to taste including wine which I had to avoid because of driving. I did try a little home-brew cider though! We are big lovers of cheese and loved this stand from the Snowdonia Cheese company. I found it difficult to choose from the lovely flavours available and my purse was a little lighter before leaving. I really should not have visited their website because on searching for local stockists I was directed to a farm shop just 2 miles from home! I feel a cheese addiction coming on.

My advice to anyone attending one of these shows would be;

  • wear comfortable shoes, there is a lot of walking around involved. If you go by car it’s generally a fair walk to the exhibition halls or you can take a free bus. 
  • Take a look at the online guide to who will be there and be choosy about who you visit, unless you want to be there for the whole day. There are some great displays and talks happening around the hall but they will all add extra time to your visit.
  • Check out if there are things to book beforehand that you might like to do, for example a room consultation. They are often fully booked before the event.
  • The restaurant is a little pricey but the food is plentiful. So take your own food if you don’t want to pay £8.95 for a plate of fish and chips.
  • Take lots of money there are always bargains to be had, most stand owners offer greatly reduced prices on their products.
I have to finish with this cow picture, just because I can and I liked him!

Disclaimer: I was given my tickets to this show, my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.