A quick DIY project - recovering a tray

I've had this tray on my coffee table for a couple of years now and I absolutely love it. It's the perfect size to hold a vase, my magazines and a few other bits and pieces. I love popping everything into a tray to keep things looking neat and tidy plus it's easily removed if you have to make space when friends come over.

It was starting to look a little tire, worn and scratched and I had been looking around to replace it but couldn't find another tray in the right size that I liked. So I came up with a solution to give the tray a fresh look.  As I was doing the groceries the other day, I saw a roll of marble contact paper in the stationery aisle and I knew that this was the answer and my quick fix.

It was so quick and easy, the whole thing probably took about 10 mins. I measured the size I needed, stuck it down and trimmed around the edges with a stanley knife to keep it neat. There were slight gaps on one side but I just added more contact paper and it all blended in. I used 2 layers of the contact paper to cover up the black chevron pattern.

Once the flowers, magazines and crystals were back on top of the tray it looked as good as new!

Now I have some marble contact paper left over I'm looking for some more things to cover.

I did this to my laptop a while ago and I heard a friend covered a desk and it turned out amazing!

Have you completed any quick DIY projects around the house lately?

How to decorate Easter Sugar Cookies.

Last week I went to a Cookie Decorating workshop at Little Lane Workshops run by Karen of Sweet n Pretty. She does amazing cakes and cookies so I was interested to learn if she had any tips on how to decorate cookies and work with royal icing as I had never tried it before.

Plus I had just bought a whole load of cookie cutters for 20c each so I thought I had better learn how I could use them!

Karen had baked the cookies for us in various Easter shapes and taught us how to mix the icing, the different consistency needed and some tricks to ensure a smooth icing and how to use a piping bag.

She made it look easy and it was great to see someone do it in front of you first and then have a chance to have a go yourself.

Here are a few photos of the night -

While our cookies were drying it was lovely to wander through the workshop space as it also doubles as a store with various clothes, homewares and furniture to browse. Champagne was on offer and it was great to chat to the other ladies doing the workshop.

Once our cookies were ready to go we boxed them up and headed home. I was so happy with how mine turned out! The royal icing really hides shaky hands and wonky lines, I definitely need to practice making my decorating a bit smoother ;) Although the boys were very impressed when I showed them what I had made.

Karen gave us this vanilla sugar cookie recipe to use at home.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2 large eggs

100 grams white sugar

100 grams icing sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

200 greams butter softened in microwave until almost melted

600 grams plain flour

pinch of salt

How to make

Preheat oven to 170 degrees

In an electric mixer beat the eggs, white sugar and icing sugar until light and fluffy. This takes approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Sift the flour add half of it to the egg and sugar mixture and blend until it looks thick and pasty. Add the softened butter and mix thoroughly.

Add the remaining flour - you may need to mix by hand to help form the dough. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out and cutting the cookies.

Roll out the dough to 5mm thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut our shapes and transfer to a tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden - the cookies should be firm to touch. Cool on a wire rack before decorating.

*Note - make sure the dough is evenly rolled out and uniform before cutting the cookies. If there are any bumps in the cookie dough they will show through the icing.

Royal Icing

Ingredients

1 egg white

320g pure icing sugar sifted

Gel colours (optional)

Piping bag with number 2 tip nozzle

Karen has some more classes coming up at Little Lane Workshops including this cool succulent cupcake one!

Have you worked with royal icing before? Any tips on how to steady a shaky hand? ;)

Mother's Day Gift DIY - family photo blocks + inspirational quote cards

With only a couple of weeks until Mother's Day the time has come to start thinking of a wonderful gift for mum!  I've teamed up with Officeworks to bring you 2 fantastic DIY Mother's Day gift ideas using the Kodak Picture Kiosk available in all Officeworks stores.

I loved the idea of creating something personal to go along with the usual chocolates and flowers. Mum is always asking for photos of the boys so I thought this would be the perfect gift for her.

I loved how they turned out so much I'm also going to do some for my mother in law.

These DIY ideas were created by Katrina and I've put my own spin on it to suit my mum and her home. I've followed Katrina's steps and shown you my process below -

What you’ll need:

Photos – pop  photos on a USB stick or you can print pictures straight from your phone using the easy Kodak Picture Kiosks in store. 

Pull up a seat, use the touch screens and within minutes you’ll have your photos.  

I needed 8 photos so it cost me less than $6.40 to have these printed up.

I wanted quite a large size and chose the 6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm)

I chose the square shape as it suited most of my photos thanks to my Instagram addiction!

Blocks of wood – I went to my local hardware store and bought a 32mm thick piece of MDF offcut for $5.00 and asked them to cut it into 8 x 18cm x 18cm blocks. The cutting cost me $10.00.

It was too easy, I didn't have to pick up a tool!

Paint - we had loads of white paint left over from the renovations so I used this.

I painted the blocks of wood white so the colours of the photo would pop.

Decoupage glue - I also had some of this in my craft cupboard (Mod Podge)

Step 1.

I painted my wooden blocks. I gave them 2 coats each.

Step 2

Once the paint on the blocks are dry, paint on a layer of decoupage glue and position your photo in the centre of the block.  The reason I have used this product is because it dries clear and is an all-in-one glue, sealer and finish.

The glue goes on white but dries clear and adds a lovely gloss finish and extra texture to your photo.

Step 3

Let the photos dry for a few hours. Then use the glue again to coat the entire block all over.

I'm so happy with how they turned out.
I love the size and sturdiness of the block, such a great way to display your memories.
They were really quick and simple but I love that they have that personalised touch.

Although if you don't have the time it’s worth noting that alongside photo printing, the Kodak range at Officeworks has a wide selection of personalised items which make perfect gifts, including coffee mugs, calendars and photo canvases.

The next DIY I decided upon was Katrina's inspirational quote cards

My mum loves affirmations and quotes and often texts me one each morning.
So this combination was perfect for her.

All you need to make this Mother's Day gift is your photos, a business card holder and some printed text. It's simple and cost less than $10 to create!

Again I went with the larger size photo (15cm x 15cm) printed from the Kodak Picture Kiosk

What you'll need

Photos - pop them on a USB stick or print straight from your phone. Print them from the Kodak Picture Kiosks in store. Within minutes you'll have our photos.

Scissors

Card stock

Glue - a regular glue stick is fine

Business card display holder 
As my photos were bigger than Katrina's I used a photo frame stand instead.

That's one of the things I love about Officeworks. It has everything you need under the one roof.
You can get everything for these projects here - photos, stationery, etc.

Step 1
I gathered some of my favourite quotes and printed them out on card stock.
I printed them out on my printer at home but if you don't have a printer, pop them on a USB stick and have them printed out at Officeworks while you get your photos printed.

Step 2
Trim your quotes and stick the card stock to the back of your photos

Once you have glued the photo and the quote together, pop them under a few heavy books to ensure they stick together and stay flat while they dry.

Step 3
Pop them on your stand or in your business card holder. They make the perfect addition to the coffee table and you can create a lovely vignette with them.

Now mum can pick out a quote each morning and change the photos around as it suits her.

I know most mum's and grandmothers love a gift with a personal touch and I think this project is great as you can change the quotes to suit the person.

I used recent photos as mum had been asking for new photos of the boys but I loved Katrina's idea of using old photos and bringing back some amazing memories.

It's so good to get all of those photos I take off my phone and on display.
My next project is Photo Books but I'm a few years behind so I've got some work ahead!

What do you think?
Are you tempted to make some for Mother's Day gifts?

I really love how these projects turned out and I will be keeping these up my sleeve for gifts in the future too.

Have you printed out some photos lately or are they all still on your phone and laptop?!

Tutorial Tuesday - DIY Dinosaur Serving Dish

I  loved this dinosaur dish I came across on Three Little Monkeys Studio. I think the Oreo's caught my eye as they and dinosaurs are big favourites around here.

You could also use another animal to suit your theme. Maybe a bunny for Easter?

DIY  DINOSAUR SERVING DISH

Cost of supplies: Free if you raid your kid’s toy box and garage, but none of these items were more than $4 each in stores.

Time: Ready in 2-3 days

Materials

• Hard plastic dinosaur toy (it needs to be sturdy and balanced*).
• Small melamine plate
• Sand paper
• Adhesive (I used Loctite Stik’N Seal)
• Spray paint (my heart belongs to Rustoleum)
• Hand held saw (I used the FatMax Multisaw)
• Parchment paper for lining the plate

Directions

1. Use the handsaw to cut off your dinosaur’s head just above the shoulders. Use steady strokes to keep your cut level. Use the sandpaper to smooth the edges of your cut.
2. Use the sandpaper to lightly sand the surface on the bottom and top of the plate where you will be adhering the dinosaur. No need to sand the entire surface.
3. Apply your adhesive to the body and plate. My adhesive recommends applying to both items you want to glue together, and allow them to set for 5-10 minutes BEFORE adhering. When ready, attach the plate to the body. Touch ups can be done around the glue site with a damp paper towel. Allow to cure for 24 hours.
4. Once the body and plate have dried and cured, prep the dinosaur’s head and attach to the plate. You will need to eyeball it from the side and front before attaching to make sure it is in the right spot. Perform any touch ups and allow to cure for 24 hours.
5. Once completely dried, you can start painting. Spray paint from all angles and underneath. I like to spray one coat at a time every 20 minutes or so to avoid drips and get the best coverage.
6. Once your guy is dry, line with a circle of parchment paper cutting a hole out of the middle for the head and trimming to fit.

Update: Some readers were concerned about food safety and missed my recommendation to use parchment paper so that the food does not come into contact with the painted plate. If you have already have a white plate, it would be preferable to use that of course. I was just repurposing an old princess plate I had on hand, so that is why I painted it. Food safety first!

* My dinosaur wasn’t quite balanced, so I used a small piece of felt pad stuck to the bottom of one foot, and voila!

Isn't this great?!

Who's going to try it?

All text and photos by Three Little Monkeys Studio

Our Weekend

On Saturday night Simon and I decided to check out the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park. It was the last night and was part of Sydney's Good Food Month.

We  had heard it was busy but we had no problems getting food and a seat quickly.

The dumplings were delish!

St Mary's Cathedral across the road always looks beautiful but especially at night.

On Sunday after taking the kids to a party in the morning, it was lovely to have the afternoon just pottering around at home.

I took the chance to pop up to Bunnings and grab some new Hydrangeas for the pots near the front door.

Simon painted up a round table I found at Vinnies months ago. I had been looking for one for about a year.  It had to be just right. 
I didn't take any pics of the table pre paint job but it was just an ordinary old pine table.  Isn't it amazing what white paint can do?

We used a semi gloss enamel on it so it should handle the wear and tear of family dining :) I'm so happy with it. It lends a really fresh feel to the space. I love how the ghost chairs go with everything.
I also got caught up in the early Christmas decorations on display at Domayne. I had to add these ones to my collection. 

How was your Sunday? 

All photos are my own. They were taken on my new iPhone 5s.  I'm loving the new crispness and clarity in my pics.

Fabulous Party Invitation!

How cool is this Party Invitation I saw on Pinterest?
This one is definitely going into the files for our next party :)

Anyone tried this?

A little DIY I am going to try.

When I saw this little project on plain jane styling I thought it was fabulous.

One cupboard, some fabric and a little adhesive and voila!

A gorgeous piece of furniture.

I definately want to try this on a tired old cupboard I have.

Now just to choose the fabric. Decisions , decisions!