Love this 55: Ikea zipped storage boxes

Remember our new wardrobes?  Last October we had floor to ceiling wardrobes fitted and the interior was designed around our needs by Bluefield Wardrobes. At the planning session we talked through what worked in our old wardrobes, what didn't and what we hoped for with the new wardrobes. The outside of our wardrobes look like this:

And the inside like this:

Initially we thought there wasn't enough room, but as we started unpacking our clothes it became clear that we had plenty of storage.  I was keen to get some storage boxes for the top shelf as neither of us can reach it without a stool, so anything stored up there without organisation could be lost up there forever!  And it's the ideal place to store our summer clothes in winter, and winter clothes in summer. 

These Garnityr zipped storage boxes from Ikea are ideal. At £10 each they're provide cost effective storage too, and I can fit five of these on the top shelf. Each zipped box measures 44cm x 55cm x 19cm and they're part of a wider range of storage solutions. 

As with the wardrobe space, I've shared these with MOH. I have two for summer clothes...

And maybe I have another two for... sssshh! ...handbags. 

Leaving MOH with one, which he seems to be struggling to fill!

But either way, they really complete our wardrobe storage in a practical and effective way. 

Black & White photo: Park bench

On New Year's Day if we're home we always go for a walk to Greenwich Park. It's always a busy day in the park with many people having the same idea either to blow the cobwebs from the previous evening's festivities away or to tire the kids out on their new bikes. This year was no different and we headed through the flower garden and towards the duck pond. 

We spent longer than we planned to watching the duck's antics and in particular one small web-footed bird who was walking precariously along the top of a small fence. It looked like he might jump, but wasn't too sure about it. As we gave up watching him, of course he jumped and landed successfully in the water and typically I missed the shot.

But as I turned to walk away I spotted this:

How lucky was I? And how beautiful is the decaying hydrangea flower head on the park bench. I couldn't have planned it better myself...

Making our Christmas cards

This year I said I'd make my own Christmas cards. It's something I aspire to every year... but somehow every year the last posting date hurtles towards me more quickly than the previous year and the inevitable happens... I run out of time. Every year! This year though it was different, I'm not sure if it was the ridiculously early trips to buy supplies (in the year, not in the day), or the public proclamations (the first one was in August, I think) that did it, but this year I actually did it.  Of course having more time helped, but typically despite having plans and supplies I didn't start until late November!

It all started on Pinterest, like so many of my crafting aspirations do. I'd seen some delightful little paper trees on gift tags made from a semi-circle, folded simply. How hard can that be I thought - well, once I'd found something round and suitably sized for my cards, it wasn't actually that hard. Phew! Infact the hardest thing was working out if I had a book I'd be ready to sacrifice for this project or if I should pop along to the local charity shop and buy one.  

Then I found one of those books that I'd struggled to get into, had read but didn't really get what all the hype was about but I'd kept at the back of my bookshelf and knew it'd just be perfect for this project. I was pretty certain there'd be no rude bits ready to emblazon themselves across the front of my Christmas cards too, so that was a bonus!  It did feel odd tearing the cover off a book and pulling out its pages, but for me and this book it was the right thing to do!

I was pretty sure this ribbon would come in handy, and well every tree needs a star right. So after a trial run, I set up production - trees, ribbons, stars, washi tape for the trunk and glue at the ready.  

And I was rather happy with them. But after twenty or so I fancied a change so I reverted to an old favourite. Triangles as trees, again with washi tape for trunks and this time a miniature stamped star. 

Once again I was looking for another design idea after making another twenty or so cards of the double tree design. This time I used the same template but chopped through the shape to give it this stacked patchwork look. I'm glad I thought to cut several layers of paper at once, otherwise I think there wouldn't have been so many of this design!

I was really pleased with how each of the designs turned out - yes, they're quite simple, but for me that's what appeals most about them. Yes, they look handmade too - but that's because they were, I hope you agree that adds to their charm. 

I also made some simple gift tags too - I'd bought plain luggage tags and simply stuck some of the leftover paper in strips diagonally across the tag. I dislike throwing paper scraps away and this was a great way of using them and creating some unique gift tags at the same time. 

So once I started I was on a roll and throughly enjoyed making these cards and tags. Now I just need to convince myself to start a bit earlier next year!