The Painted Hive

Linen Grain Sack Pillow Giveaway!

October 23, 2010 171 Comments

As a way of saying THANK YOU to all my more-awesome-than-rhubarb-pie readers (trust me, that’s a big compliment – I really, really, really love rhubarb pie) I’m giving away this gorgeous grain sack inspired pillow cover!

Hand-crafted from 100% natural linen it has a simple envelope back and is adorned with subtle hand-painted charcoal stripes. It fits a 40cm/16inch insert.

To be in the running to win simply leave a comment on this post – easy peasy!

Giveaway is now closed.

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Giveaways

Make Your Own Throw Rug

October 15, 2010 54 Comments

I gave up my search for a beautiful natural linen throw blanket a while back now. It wasn’t because I couldn’t find one for a reasonable price mind you, it was cause I couldn’t find one at ALL (though if I had I’m sure it would have cost a pretty penny anyways).

From the get-go I wanted to include a linen throw in my bedroom make-over. Though, what does one do when said desired item seems only to live in one’s own mind?

Well, one makes said item themselves (and no doubt saves some cashola in the process).

Step one; find some gorgeous linen you can’t resist rubbing on your cheek with a price tag that doesn’t make you sigh in resignation.

I searched high and low until one day, whilst not even looking, I stumbled upon some in Spotlight.

Even though no-one else in the store seemed too interested in my linen, I must admit that when I first spied the bolt I looked around kinda nervously, made sure the coast was clear then casually moseyed on over, so as not to attract attention, before greedily snatching it up before anyone else could.

A little crazy, huh?

Step two; buy some snug backing so your throw will feel and look all nice and cozy. I was lucky enough to pick up some beautiful cashmere on clearance for $8 a meter.

Step three; cut your linen and backing to the size you want then sew them, right sides together, like a giant cushion cover leaving a small pocket so you can turn it in the right way.

Step four; Carefully hand-stitch the pocket up (or, if you’re lazy and impatient like me, just cheat and use iron-bond hemming tape) then run a stitch line around the whole blanket one or two inches in from the edge to give a nice professional-like finish.

There was enough remaining linen to make a cushion for my bed too. I decided to paint some subtle grainsack inspired stripes on it.

I applied some charcoal craft paint with an almost dry brush to create a slightly faded effect.

Now I can’t wait to actually get this linen goodness on the bed (as opposed to the guest room floor where it’s currently patiently waiting alongside all my other bedroom stuff!).

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Filed Under: Craft, DIY, How To, Master Bedroom, Soft Furnishings Tagged With: Sewing, Tutorials

Easy Budget Wall Art

October 11, 2010 37 Comments

Hey guys.
Just popping in for a quick one today to share this budget wall art idea using inexpensive frames and gift wrap.

(Kmart picture frames and Cavallini gift wrap maps).

I know, I know, nothing earth shattering though affordable and effective.

(In case you’re extra observant and are wondering why South America is next to Russia in one of the pics I kinda mis-measured then had to improvise with cut-and-paste. When they’re all up on the wall I’m sure no-one will even notice. If I’m feeling super motivated one day I might even be bothered fixing it – probably not though).

If you happen to live anywhere near where that arrow is pointing you can buy this map gift wrap (along with a whole heap of other awesome stuff) from Zetta Florence.

If you don’t happen to live anywhere near where the arrow is pointing, you can also order on-line from Zetta Florence or check out the Cavallini website for stockists (and their whole range of other gorgeousness).

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Filed Under: Craft, Master Bedroom, Wall Decor Tagged With: Maps

Bamboo Faux Window Valance

October 8, 2010 49 Comments

Remember how I was planning to use all these….

….to dress up the one (yes, just one) window in my bedroom?

Well, it’s all finally up and I’m really happy with how it turned out….eventually. Sure, there may have been one or two ‘measure once, drill twice’ incidents and about three hours spent trying to work out how that darn bamboo blind was actually gonna stay up there and look half decent though it all came together in the end.

First up was the roller blind which I mounted on the window frame…

As I’ve mentioned previously, we needed a blackout treatment and nothing really beats these guys for effectiveness and affordability. Shame about the looks though.

Enter solution one; el-cheapo IKEA curtains…

I love the simplicity of white hidden tab-top drapes on a narrow black rod. I hung these as near the ceiling as possible to give the illusion of height and they work really well to conceal the roller blind’s ugly plastic capping and cord whilst giving the room a gentle softness

Now, I could very well have left my window treatment at that. Because of where the roller blind is mounted it blends in pretty seamlessly, however, I had a vision (and how hard could it be to make a bamboo blind that’s supposed to be attached to a window frame into a valancey thingo that hangs off a pole? Well, not hard at all after three hours of exhausting the 101 best possible ways to do it!).

I’ll spare you all the trials and tribulations and just say that in the end I decided to cut the blind straight down the middle horizontally. I then removed the string and eyelets from the lower section and re-tied the binding thread (which sounds time-consuming though was relatively quick and easy) so I had a plain piece of woven matchstick bamboo.

I know it may seem crazy cutting up a completely perfect blind though I had no intention of actually ever using it as a blind. I did initially check out the garden section of the hardware store for some type of bamboo screening I could use instead though couldn’t find what I wanted – plus screening is way more expensive than a blind anyway.

I draped and wrapped my piece of bamboo around a cheap black curtain rod, playing around with a few different looks until I found one I liked (my blind is pretty evenly weighted though if you try this and find yours keeps slipping use some strong tape or pliable wire to keep it in place). Next, I simply hung it up on some brackets to conceal the roller blind.