Inspiration: DIY Cupcake Topper Ideas

As it’s my birthday tomorrow (and I’ve got cake on the brain), I thought I would celebrate on the blog by sharing some of my favourite DIY cupcake toppers! From pin-wheels to pom-poms to clowns, these four toppers are bound to make your recipient smile, and you get to eat yummy cupcakes too!

For full DIY tutorials, check out these blogs:

1. Better Homes & Gardens, Upcycled Book-Page Pinwheel Cupcake Topper | 2. 6 Bittersweets, DIP Pom Pom Cupcake Topper | 3. Studio DIY, DIY Balloon Cupcake Toppers | 4. Oh Happy Day, DIY Clown Cupcake Topper

Inspiration: DIY Valentine’s Day Papercraft

It’s already officially less than a month until Valentine’s day! Whether you have a significant other or a secret valentine, show them you care with one of these super easy papercraft DIYs.

These simple tutorials are all by Minieco:

1. Boxed Geometric Heart | 2. Dot Matrix Valentine’s Day Cards | 3. Geometric Heart Pop-up Card | 4. Geometric Heart Love Letter

What are you making this Valentine’s day?

Simple Festive Gift Wrap Inspiration

Ready or not, Christmas is ‘a coming, and I’m just about getting excited now, in that panic-stricken ‘haven’t-bought-any-presents‘ kind of a way. But what better way to procrastinate from buying presents, than by exploring gorgeous gift wrap options for said (eventual…) presents!

These nine gift-wrap ideas all caught my eye for their simplicity. I love a bit of natural foliage, and brown paper always manages to look great. My faves are probably No. 2 – the DIY paper straws (so effective, and yet incredibly easy too), and also the wrapping pleats on No. 5.

For full DIYs, visit:

1. DIY Brush Lettered Gift Pouches, Shelley Makes | 2. DIY Paper Straw Gift Wrap Toppers, Fall For DIY | 3. Holiday Gift Tags, Almost Makes Perfect | 4. Pine Twig, Portland General Store | 5. Brown Paper Packages, Kate’s Creative Space | 6. Holiday Wrapping Paper, Go Forth | 7. Christmas Tree Gift Topper, Fellow Fellow | 8. Brown Paper Label Maker, Cherry Blossom | 9. Brown Gift Paper, Deas & Mia

Happy wrapping! Ho Ho Ho!

Christmas Inspiration: DIY Advent Calendars

Can you believe that it’s nearly December? As I write, it is just 26 days until Christmas! I haven’t got round to making a Christmas advent calendar yet, but here’s my DIY inspiration round-up.

It seems I have a thing for boxes dangling from festive branches. All of these designs are stylish and suitable for any grown-up home. From giving 25 mini gift boxes, to writing 25 personalised messages, there is something here for everyone, and all are quick and easy to make.

 For full DIYS, follow these blogs:

1. The Merry Thought, DIY Advent Calendar | 2. Hank and Hunt, Hanging Chalkboard Advent Calendar | 3. Oh Happy Day, Mini Tree Advent Calendar | 4. The Lovely Drawer, DIY Printable Advent Calendar | 5. The Marion House Book, DIY Advent Calendar | 6. Love From Ginger, DIY Forest Advent Calendar

Roll on Monday, and let the Christmas countdown begin!

Inspiration: Creative Business Cards

This year I’ve gone to loads of craft fairs, and I love picking up business cards from cool craft sellers. Since I launched my blog, I’ve wanted to make my own Shelley Makes business cards.

I’ve always been a big fan of branding, so I love the idea of making my cards match the style of my blog. As it’s a craft blog, I also feel that the cards need to be suitable ‘crafty’, so no Vistaprint for me!

Before I got started, I browsed Pinterest to find some unique DIY inspiration. From stamping, sewing, painting and cutting, here are my favourite creative business card tutorials:

What do you think? Do you have a fave? I’d love to hear what you did to make your own business cards, or what you plan to do? Keep an eye out for my business card blog very soon!

For full tutorials, visit these sites:

1. Oh Hello Friend, DIY Business Cards | 2. Andrea Romani, Ecological Business Card | 3. Persia Lou, DIY double-sided custom-shaped business card | 4. Akula Kreative, DIY stamped business card confetti filled coin envelope | 5. Akula Kreative, DIY stamped watercolour business cards | 6. Life of Popeye, DIY Business cards for Hive | 7. At Home in Love, DIY Stamped Business Cards | 8. Francesca Pasini, Textile Business Cards | 9. While The Sun Shines, Watercolour cards

Inspiration: Embroidery Hoop Art

When I was younger, I used to cross-stitch (I vividly remember using a lot of pink thread to sew Mr. Blobby), however I’d always thought of embroidery as being more old-fashioned. Recently, with the craft comeback, ‘old’ crafts like sewing, embroidery and dress-making have seen a revival, with talented craftspeople and artists turning to embroidery hoops as modern day canvases.

I love the following designs for their simplicity and humour – they certainly bring embroidery into the 21st century, and I love how the hoops frame the finished work. When searching for inspiration, I came across Mr X Stitch, the ‘kingpin of contemporary embroidery’, and found a lot of wares on Etsy.

When you’re young, your first introduction to cross-stitch and similar crafts is through patterns, but I love the idea that you can just come up with your own idea, and start sewing it onto a hoop, even creating an abstract embroidery hoop by randomly selecting coloured thread and patterns.

As well as using these as inspiration, you could take inspiration from greetings cards, immortalise funny things your kids have said, or frame personal mottos. These are great for decorating the walls of your own home, or giving as thoughtful gifts to friends and family to brighten their day!

For further information, visit these sites:

1. The Love Whale Embroidery Kit, Studio MME | 2. Little Mountain Range, Powerfulanimals | 3. Geometric Hand Stitched Embroidery Hoop, Powerfulanimals | 4. Beetle Geometric Asymmetrical 4 inch Embroidery, Rehabbed Handmade Vintage | 5. Dinosaur Embroidery Hoop, Stephanie Tillman | 6. Hug 4 inch Hoop Art, Grace Gatley Textiles | 7. Friendship Sloth, Stephanie Tillman | 8. Oh, Hey! 5 inch Embroidery Hoop, Sarah K Benning

DIY Easter Egg Craft Ideas

Easter never used to be a big deal in my house, other than the giving and accepting of chocolate eggs. As I’ve grown up though, I’ve really fallen in love with the decorating side of it – partly due to my boyfriend’s mum, who paints easter eggs every year, and for the last five or so years, has roped me in too! She also decorates the dinner table beautifully, making Easter a real event.

For tutorials, visit these blogs:

1. Egg Candles, Punchbowl | 2. Message in an Egg, Poppytalk | 3. Egg garland, BHG | 4. Gold Leaf Eggs, Sugar and Charm | 5.  DIY Easter Egg Drawings, Make Room for Design | 6. Sharpie Eggs, Mom.me | 7. Roy Lichtenstein Pop Art Painted Eggs, Art Club Blog

Inspiration: DIY Ink Stamps

I hate feeling daunted when I craft something new for the first time, especially when it is something as simple as making a DIY ink stamp – something I’m sure people can make in their sleep. But that is exactly how I felt when tasked with making my own DIY stamp last week.

One way I’ve found of eradicating the ‘fear’ of starting a new craft project from scratch, is to gather together a handful of inspiring how-to’s that help me understand the different tried & tested methods and materials out there. Armed with all of these ideas and instructions, you can’t go wrong!

Here’s my round-up of simple DIY stamp tutorials:

To read the full tutorials, visit:

1. DIY Heart Cork Stamp, Shelley Makes | 2. DIY Stamp Village, Fellow Fellow | 3. Cork Stamps, Design Mom | 4. Eraser Heart Prints, Cotton & Flax

The nicest thing about these tutorials, is that they highlight the fact that there really is no right or wrong way – you can use so many different materials from rubbers, to corks, to foam – either carving stamps from scratch, or upcycling shapes and sticking them on to easy-to-hold implements.

It really couldn’t be simpler – why not start with a basic stamp like I did, and work your way up to more intricate creations? That’s certainly my aim – watch this space! =)

DIY Cake Topper Inspiration

Everybody loves cake, but how about transforming your homemade bake into a craft masterpiece? I’ve pulled together four of my favourite DIY cake toppers – hope this inspires! From birthday cakes to wedding cakes, there’s loads you can do to give your cakes the ‘wow’ factor!

For tutorials, visit these blogs:

1. Balloon Animal Cake Topper, Studio DIY | 2. Paper Cake Topper, Giochi di Carta | 3.Water Balloon Cake Topper, Martha Stewart | 4. Heart Cake Topper, My Name is Yeh

Valentine DIY Inspiration

It’s always nice to spend a bit of time making people feel special, and what better way to show you care than crafting. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, here’s a round-up of my favourite valentine’s crafts from around the web. Many of them are Printables too – bonus!

For tutorials, visit these blogs:

1. Looking Good Valentine, You Are My Fave | 2. Wild About You, Sarah M Style | 3. Date Idea Arrows, Sugar and Cloth | 4. Dreamcatcher, A Subtle Revelry