Crafting a Cushion: Hillarys Blinds Country Crafts Competition

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today is a very special blog - I'm unveiling my entry for the Country Crafts blogger competition run by the lovely people at Hillary's Blinds.

As you may know, I love a good sew (hey, a rhyme!), and as I've been so stressed with uni work, when I saw that Hillary's were running a competition to turn one of their new country retreat fabrics into something fab, I jumped at the chance for a little creative project. Plus, prize money of £1,000 is certainly nothing to be scoffed at!

Naturally I know there are all manner of incredible craft bloggers out there whilst I'm still very much an amateur Annie, but after scouring Pinterest for inspiration, I fell in love with the idea of 'conversation cushions.' I'm going to be moving house soon and will have my own home office, so really wanted to make something that would bring a bit of whimsy to my new space, plus greet visitors! Here were some images of inspo:

I then had an agonising decision between the four beautiful Hillary's fabrics on offer. I very nearly plumped for Bird Parade Teal, but we all know I'm a sucker for colour so Calluna Amethest became the obvious choice. The fabric was lovely and thick to work with, as you would expect curtain material to be, and really provided a solid base for embroidery and applique. As I love a bit of upcycling, the Amethyst also perfectly matched an old t-shirt of my boyfriend's which I used for the back of the cushion. 

And here is my final cushion! In hindsight I wish I'd used embroidery thread on the 'hello' to make it a little bolder, but considering I did the whole thing by hand, I'm pretty pleased with the result and still have loads of fabric left to experiment with. If you're interested in making your own 'hello' cushion, you can follow my step by step below. Sewing by machine is obviously quicker, but if you're after something fun to do in the evenings whilst watching telly, I couldn't recommend hand sewing more - it's so relaxing.

What do you think of my cushion? Wish me luck in the competition! Check out more info here - http://www.hillarys.co.uk/inspiration/the-hub/2014/country-craft-competition/

Snap-happy with Stickygram

Another homeware related post! Not too long ago I was contacted my the lovely people at Stickygram who offered me a trial of their products. Having heard of stickygram from a few friends, I was firmly on board to sample their instagram magnets.

I don't know anyone my age who isn't a little bit in love with Instagram. Cute filters, a dinky interface and the perfect excuse to upload pictures of your dinner and pretend that everyone else cares... whats not to love?

When Stickygram offered me the chance to turn any 9 of my favourite Instagram shots into mini magnets, I decided to box clever. What do I really want to look at on my fridge? After racking my brains, I decided on the two most important things in my life at the moment: my friends, and music. Fast forward through some agonising decisions, a very speedy postal delivery and I had these babies in my hands.

Pretty snazzy eh? A collection of some of my favourite records (see which ones you can guess!) and my best friends, my fridge freezer is going to be looking a whole lot happier. I can't fault stickygrams super quick delivery or the quality of these magnets. They feel strong despite being only sheet magnets, and the print repro-quality is great. With prices starting at just £10, i'm contemplating buying more - how great would these look covering a whole side of a filing cabinet? If magnets aren't your thing, stickygram also offer customised phone and ipad cases for you to adorn with your favourite images, the perfect way to stand out from everyone else.

Have you tried Stickygram before?

Home Sweet Home: Duvet Days with ASDA

Hi everyone! I've been pretty excited recently because it's that time of year again to start house searching.

Throughout my years at uni I've lived in three different homes. First year it was halls, which lacked personality (and space) but did have the one redeeming factor of having my new uni bestfriend just next door - result! Second year it was a huge house with two of my coursemates, a friend of ours and my not-at-the-time-but-is-now boyfriend. That house was amazing, except for the teeny tiny problem of a mouse infestation. Not ideal. Finally, the one we're in now, is a cosy little number where I live with three boys. It's a great little home, but as we're all graduating, it's time to go our separate ways.

Which leaves me in need of a new space. Boyfy and I were pretty adamant that we wanted to live together, but we thought it'd be fun to go full circle and bring in my bezzie mate from first year to join the party. Here's to many bake offs, girly nights in and excessive wine consumption.

With all of this fun change in mind, it's not only time to start looking for the ideal property, but to start thinking about how to kit the place out. having lived with mostly boys for the past two years, I'm looking forward to having a partner in crime for some girly decor. As I'm planning on working mostly from home upon graduation, we're trying to find a place that is big enough for me to have a spare room office.

If I'm not that lucky, the bedroom will end up being where the magic happens (the freelance kind, not anything else!) That means one thing and one thing only - adorable bedding is in order. Having been sporting the same polka dot covers for the past two years, they're starting to look a little shabby, without the chic. Upon my blogging travels I noticed that quite a few people are mentioning ASDA as to go-to place for home furnishings, and boy, they are not wrong. I've always championed the supermarkets clothing line George, and it seems that they have brought their bedding up to trend to match. 

Here's my top pick of their current bedding range, starting at just £10 for a single and £12 for a double. Please, i'm going to need help to stop me buying them all...

Peach Gingam

Cute Florals

Sewing Ladies (I absolutely love this one!)

Minty Birds

Nautical Stripes

Have you been buying anything for your home recently?

Dunelm Doin' It Right!

Afternoon friends! How are we all? Life at Jenessa's crib has got pretty hectic once more as my housemates and I prepare to move into our new house. I couldn't be more excited! For a year the five of us have lived in this 5 bedroom, 4 floor, 3 bathroom house and many fun times have been had, but it's time to move on. With housemate Beth off to London on placement and the sheer size of the place making cleaning a never ending task (not to mention our little mousey problem), I can't wait to downsize. Our new house is far more homely, four bedrooms, one bathroom with an open plan kitchen and living room, plus a conservatory, dining room and A GARDEN! I'm so glad to be staying in Huddersfield over summer - I'm planning on pitching my tent in the garden and watching all the festival coverage on the telly through the conservatory.

But to get back to the point. Kev and I have taken responsibility for packing everything up, which required more than a few boxes from work. We bought some awesome flexi tubs from B&Q in pink and purple that we figured would be useful for laundry once we'd lugged our stuff in them over to the new place. We also went on an EPIC SEARCH for laundry bags - you know, those massive checkered ones you get for next to nothing? We couldn't find them anywhere. We went to B&M Bargains, Argos, Poundstretcher...everywhere. Before checking in Dunelm Mill.

Now Dunelm didn't have any either, despite the help of their very nice customer assistant. However, I have been a long time fan of Dunelm's homeware, and the second I got in the shop, I forgot all about practial moving-friendly storage and started thinking PRETTY. I haven't been in the shop in ages but wow have they gone summer crazy. It would take forever to reiterate everything I spotted and loved so here is a short little guide for you - 

(from left to right in rows)

• Storage Trunk: £14.99-£34.99 depending on size
• Tweed cushion £12.99
• Festive home cushion £19.99
• Felt fox cushion £12.99
• Chinese teapot £9.59
• Set of drawers £35.99
• Birdcage photo frame £12.99
• Candles £4.99 for three
• Cake tins £7.99
• Suitcase £9.99 for 16’’
• Lamp £15.99
• Oven glove £4.49
• Owls mug £2.49
• Duck Egg duvet £16.99

So many pastels! I particularly like the floral trunk (instant storage for my sewing stuff) and the suitcase, which would be pretty handy for short trips to London, which will hopefully become a regular thing in September, when I have to start interviewing people for my case study. The cushions are great inspiration for some new patterns I want to try out, cushions are so easy to make that I really want to challenge myself in terms of embroidery. I love the cake tins too - I have full delusions of moving into this new house and suddenly becoming housewife extra-ordinare... we'll see! 

What do you think of Dunelm's summery items?