A DIY project for every other Wednesday : Washi Tape Wanders

HOORAY for making it half way through this week! Welcome to the first of our new posts, "A DIY project for every other Wednesday". Today we’re bringing a pretty and decorative DIY your way. We know washi tape isn’t exactly the new kid on the block in the craft world but we just can’t seem to shake our love for this amazing sticky tape! We hope to inspire you with a few cute ideas so you can see just how easy it is to use this versatile little tape. The list is endless really (and that’s just another reason why we love this stuff!).  You can purchase the ones featured in this post from our Elephantshoe online shoppe.

From sprucing up ordinary tea light candles (a great way to add some romance to the dinner table, bedroom or even bathroom), sticking inspirational pictures to your office wall, giving a boring notebook a makeover, adding a touch of YOU to your phone cover, finishing off a lovely parcel for a dear friend, to decorating some glass jars for bits and bobs. If all of those ideas still don’t inspire you buy a roll and keep it on standby because it’s just pretty to look at too!

Stripes + spots + geometric shapes = LOVE   Make an old book look brand new with your own personalised patterns.

Wrap the tops of plain wooden cutlery to bring in your chosen colours and patterns for your party. 

Display portfolio pieces, photographs and prints. This handy tape sticks to walls and isn't permanent like a hole in your wall. 

Transform plain glass jars and vases with a dash of tape. 

Our Elephantshoe "Happily Ever After Jar"

Last week Thursday we had the privilege of having another one of our DIY projects featured over on theprettyblog. Today I'm sharing it here on our Ellieshoe blog incase you missed it. 

In this year, 2 lovely ladies in my life will be getting married, my brothers fiancé Megan and my close friend Melissa. (How wonderful!) I have the special honour of being a bridesmaid at both of these significant occasions which has had me brainstorming cute and unique ideas to spoil these bride to be's.

Maybe you find you're in a similarly position, perhaps you are the mother of the bride, or you're a guest at a wedding coming up? This free printable is definitely for you.

Our Elephantshoe "Happily Ever After Jar" is a large Consol Jar filled with 15 days of marriage advice cards, 1 for each of the 15 days leading up to the BIG day. The messages are designed to be small reminders to the bride of the real reason behind her wedding day, to help her take her mind off of all the planning, the stresses, the details and have a moment in the day where she can focus on her future marriage and life after the dress. 

What I love most about the jar is you can place extra special spoils in the jar along with the messages like coffee vouchers, spa pampers, earrings and nail polish to personalise your gift. In a way it is like a bridal advent calendar. 

DIRECTIONS : 

1. Download your "Happily Ever After Jar"
2. Print pages 2-7 of the downloaded document onto a white A4 card stock. 
3. Cut out the happiness cards and the labels using a craft knife and ruler or a pair of scissors. 
4. Fold the happiness cards in half, punch through the end of both sides of the folded card with a single hole punch. Thread through twine or ribbon closing the two sides together and make a small bow. 
5. Add additional small special spoils to the jar for the bride to be, e.g. coffee voucher, earrings, nail polish.
6. Place all 15 happiness cards in a large Consol mason jar and screw on the lid. 
7. Using spray glue, apply glue to the back of one of the circular labels and stick this to the top of the jar lid.
8. Punch the name label in the centre of the grey spot and thread through your choice of  twine or ribbon, write the bride to be’s name and attach this label to the neck of the jar.
9. Lastly apply double sided tape to the little handmade label and stick this over the lid and the neck of the glass jar. 

Purchase the TWINE featured here from our Elephantshoe shoppe.

Recycle a jar you already have in your cupboard. Use our blank name tags to address your jar.

Tie your marriage advice cards up like small parcels with twine and pop them into the jar. This way the bride to be won't see all the messages at once,

This jar of happiness will show how much you care and it is simple and easy to put together. I hope that it inspires you to create and be creative.

All the gorgeous photos in this post are taken by Andre from Blackframe Photography. 

Happy Ever After

Love Sam from the Elephantshoe Factory

Consol Give with Glass this Festive Season - Free Printables

What a magical time! We love all the excitement in the air as everyone begins to unwind and get ready for the holidays. At Elephantshoe we started the Christmas season early, {how lucky are we?} when Consol Glass and Humankind Advertising approached us to do the styling and stationery design for this years "Give with Glass campaign". If we could ever dream up the perfect project to be apart of, it would be this, {Thank you Santa for the early pressie!}. To top it off we got to work with our besties - Blackframe photography. Yipppeeeee!  Follow our post below and you may find yourself getting into some easy Christmas projects this December. 

Although we love to spoil our family and friends all year round, the festive season is the perfect opportunity to have a bit of fun with your giving and to create some unique and special gifts using a few DIY ideas. All you need to do is visit the Consol shop to purchase the glass items that we have used below and simply download our free printables from the bottom of this post and follow our guidelines for each project.

WISHFUL WONDER

A stylish way to put Secret Santa into action this year. Ask your friends and family to fill out their wishlist, roll it up as a scroll and pop it into a large glass jar. Once everyones wishes are in the jar it's time for everyone to pick out one scroll each. The scroll will have the name of the person they should buy one gift for and some ideas of what they are hoping for this Christmas.

ORGANIC INSPIRATION

Create a festive atmosphere by placing your favourite flowers and natural elements in glass bottles and jars. 

Rock Roses planted in rich dark soil and placed in these glass jam jars make for a fun and eco-friendly gift or a striking and low-maintenance alternative for table decor. 

We love the idea of placing sweet smelling bath products into these jars instead of wrapping in the more conventional way. Tie one of our Christmas tags on with a dash of twine and give the gift of relaxation.

TIP : Hang single flowers or sticks of cinnamon in small glass bottles from a wooden wreath for a naturally festive decorative element.

TIP :  Keep your tasty treats, (nuts, biltong, nougat) fresh in Consols new Classic Glass Storageware. Ooooooh I wouldn't mind a set of these for Christmas.

Organic Inspiration- download the printables featured above here. {Gift Tags and Labels}

TIMELESS TRADITION

We at Elephantshoe discovered these absolutely amazing and beautiful Solar Jars, {the lights hanging in the first image above} for the first time while working with Consol, and we wish we knew about them before. They are incredible, they use only the suns rays for energy and last up to 6-8 hours. Perfect for Christmas dinner outside. 

TIP: Wrap lace around glass jars and pop a candle in each to create a warm and lovely atmosphere in your home. {This is a great idea for any time of year}.

TIP: For a unique centerpiece, coat a variety of glass bottles in your favourite paint. This is such a versatile idea as you can really choose any colour you like.

PAINTED GLASS JARS

SHOPPING LIST

1. A variety of different shapes and sizes of Consol Glass jars
2. An enamel primer
3. An enamel paint in your choice of colour

METHOD

• STEP 1: Wash out the empty glass jars with a soapy warm water and allow to dry completely.
• STEP 2: Pour a small quantity of enamel primer into each jar and swirl around the bottle in order to coat the inside of the glass. Pour out any excess and allow to dry.
• STEP 3: Pour your choice of colour enamel paint into one jar at a time and once again swirl around until the inside is coated with paint. Pour out the excess.
• STEP 4: Dry these jars upside down on a paper towel.
• STEP 5: Check on these bottles every now and then and wipe the rim of each jar, as excess paint will collect here.

TIP: Make your own Snow Globes with simple ornaments and glass jars. These are a great table gift or decoration.

SNOW GLOBES

SHOPPING LIST

1. Any CONSOL Glass Jar with a screw on lid
2. Small Christmas decorations and trinkets, (N.B - check that they can fit into the jar comfortably)
3. Oil based enamel paint
4. Distilled water
5. Glycerin
6. White glitter flakes
7. Super Glue

METHOD

• STEP 1: You have the option to either paint both your Christmas trinket and the lid of the jar in your choice of enamel paint and wait for them to dry completely. Or if you like their original colour leave them as they are.
• STEP 2: Stick your small Christmas decoration to the inside of the screw on lid with super glue and allow for this to dry.
• STEP 3: Fill your glass jar with distilled water, aprox 2 cm from the top.
• STEP 4: Add a pinch of white glitter flakes to the distilled water, (Just a pinch – not too much).
• STEP 5: Add a dash of Glycerin, (this helps the glitter flakes to fall slowly).
• STEP 6: Screw the lid with the small Christmas decoration attached onto the jar and make sure it is secured tightly.
• STEP 7. Turn the glass jar over and shake gently and watch those flakes fall.

 SWEET SURRENDER

Embrace this season and it's spirit of guilt-free indulgence, as you snack on tasty treats and delectable delights while sharing special moments with friends and family. Add a new dimension to these treats by wrapping them in glass and giving them as gifts. A delicious present with versatile packaging that is sure to last much longer than the snacks that it holds.

We adore these glass cake stands and bell jars - select your favourite style and size from the Consol shop and fill it with mouthwatering, delicious toffee apples or Christmas cake. YUM! Bring on the Christmas feast.

TIP: Fill bell jars with coloured baubles and pine cones and place them around the house for a fun festive decoration.

TIP: Spray paint Mason jars with white spray paint and fill with Candy Canes.

TIP: Fill simple long drinking glasses with your choice of coloured macaroons.

We had a great amount of fun making all of these goodies and we hope you do to. Please send us pictures if you use any of the ideas in this post, it would be lovely to see how you have personalised your gifts this year.

Happy glass shopping!

love Sam 

from the "Elephant factory"

 {DOWNLOAD WISHFUL WONDER PRINTABLES HERE}  - {Festive Wish Label and Wishing Cards} 

 {DOWNLOAD ORGANIC INSPIRATION PRINTABLES HERE}   - {Gift Tags and Labels}

 {DOWNLOAD TIMELESS TRADITION PRINTABLES HERE}  -  {Place Seating tags and Straw Flags}

{DOWNLOAD SWEET SURRENDER PRINTABLES HERE}  -  {Gift Tags and Dessert Table Labels}