Shine on you crazy diamond

The new store is officially launched and it looks great. Last weekend Cardiff's Castle Arcade welcomed Hubbard's Cupboard with a big smile, and in return we introduced our brilliant suppliers, seasoned the party with tasty macaroons from Marmalade Cookery School, and invited everyone to have a go at making beautiful pom-poms with Helen!

As was to be expected, the new store features loads of up-cycling and re-purposing decorative ideas, and today I am going to share one of them with you guys!

How to make a collection of miscellaneous lampshades.

Hubbard's Cupboard hat lampshades.

A web of quirky lampshades is currently shining over our store. Looking up to our ceiling you'll find not only up-cycled vintage lampshades, but also hats and plant pots!

To make your own quirky lampshade you'll need:

- a light bulb fitting cord with ceiling cup;

- a hat or a cute plant pot to serve as lampshade;

- A drill and the correct drill bit for the your lampshade of choice (masonry drill bit is needed for china!);

Instructions:

Drill a hole on your hat/plant pot. The opening should be the size of the opening of the fixture you have bought. Unscrew your fixture, place the lampshade in between and screw is back together. If you are using a hat, make sure that the bulb won't touch any part of the fabric (the high temperature of the electric bulb might set the fabric on fire). We recommend using an upside down ceiling place inside the hat!

Finally you just have to secure the ceiling cup using a drill! Easy :)

DIY Tie Dye

So if you didn’t know we have the most fantastic range of tie dyed tee’s now in store at HC. All of our tee’s have been hand dyed with procion MX dyes, so not only does the color last longer and is more vibrant but each one is unique!

As we know girlies, sometimes the men’s tee isn’t the most flattering for our shape so if you’re really loving the tie dye and want that special hand done piece but struggling with the fit, here’s our tutorial on getting the best cut out of the tee! It’s simple to do and completely changes the look!

1. Take your tee, fold it in half and cut the neck line and bottom if you want to crop it too! Don’t go overboard with the neckline – we suggest cutting a maximum of 3 inches from the original neck!

2. Once you’ve snipped it, give the edges a gentle tug to help the material roll back on itself and make your rolled hem.

3. Then fold back the sleeves a few times and rock it over your new denims or skinny skirt!

For something a little different why not try cutting upward slits into the bottom to create a fringe edge instead of completely chopping off or maybe cut the tee lower in the back? 

♥

xoxo

Easter tutorial - (upcycled garland)

This week I managed to work on some Easter decorations in my spare time. Inspired by these beautiful machine-stitched paper garlands, I've decided to put my scraps box to good use and create our first tutorial!

This embroidered paper garland is quite easy to make and the final result is seriously cute. If you're not that much into Easter, or would rather make a garland that will last you past the holiday, you can use flower or heart shapes instead of eggs.

(Click to enlarge.)

Here's the list of materials you'll need:

- scraps of card;

- scraps of ribbon;

- loose book pages or some kind of sketching paper;

- a drawing pin;

- a needle;

- some colourful embroidery thread;

- two meters of yarn;

- a few mini clothes pegs.

1. Draw a number of egg shapes on your card. The number of shapes will determine the length of your garland.

2. Draw the same number of egg shapes on the sketching paper and put them aside to use later.

3. Cut your egg shapes out of the card, place them over a soft surface (I placed mine over some sheets of felt) and use the drawing pin to trace your intended embroidery pattern. You can decorate your shapes with vertical, horizontal or zigzag lines like I did, or you can try more complex stitches.

4. When your Easter eggs are fully decorated, cut your ribbon into 5cm bits, fold them in half and secure them to the back of the egg using a bit of tape.

5. Cut the egg shapes you set aside in step 2, cover them with glue and place them over the back of the eggs. Wait for the glue to dry.

6. Slide the yarn through the each egg's ribbon loop and secure them using a mini clothes peg.

And your garland is ready to hang!