Sashiko Squares

Dear Chicago House,

I have been dabbling with a needle, white thread and blue fabric .... look at the loveliness that has resulted!

This type of embroidery is called Sashiko and is a form of decorative reinforcement that originates from Japan.I first came across it on Pinterest where there are loads of patterns ...it was all I needed to get going with my own ideas.

I am not sure what I am going to to with these 4" squares yet, but they are very relaxing to make!

Categories: Craft Projects, Crafts Project, decorative accents, Pretty, Sewing

Simple Christmas Decorations for a Dining Room

Dear Chicago House,

What with my hectic trip to England last week, Christmas is really creeping up on me this year. Fortunately Miss Chicago took it upon herself that the Christmas decorations should go up extra early so at least our house is looking festive.

One of my favorite things she did was create these beautifully simple decorations for our dining room chairs.

They are super easy to make.
What you need

• Wide ribbon
• Holiday sprigs - we used pre-made bundles but you could easily use some festive greenery.
• scissors

Cut a piece of ribbon that will go twice around your chair. Tie and knot then create your bow. Snip the ends of the ribbon to create an inverted V. Thread your festive sprigs into the bow and you are done!

This dining room has come a long way from the sorry state it was when we first moved in. You can see it HERE. The most recent update we have made, was to change out the horribly traditional chandelier with some more in keeping with our modern dining table.

Now I need to get going with some festive food to serve up in this room!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XX

Categories: Christmas, Craft Projects, Crafts Project, Decor, decorating, decorative accents, Holiday Projects, teenager, Tutorials

What to do with your Sea Glass Collection

Dear Chicago House,

No trip to the beach is complete unless I come home with something in my pocket, it maybe a shell a beautiful pebble or if I am really lucky a stash of sea glass.
I am betting quite a few of you have a box of sea glass treasure like this from your summer vacation.

It seems a shame to just leave such coveted gems locked away forgotten so here are some crafty ideas of what you can do with your collection.

Frame It

Buy a couple of shadow frames, stick your glass down on some heavy duty card and voila! I created two pictures with different colored tones of glass.

Display It

Fill little glass jars and display on a window ledge where the glass a catch the light.

Get Creative

Use your glass to design a creative mosaic. 

Enjoy!

Love from
Creative in Chicago
XX

Categories: Art, Beachy, Craft Projects, Crafts Project, Decor, decorative accents, Pretty

DIY Decorated Easter Eggs

Dear Chicago House,

You know by now how much I like color and spotting the first colorful peep of a daffodil in the garden this morning was something to celebrate...is Spring finally on it's way?

Just in case the daffodil is a big Spring false alarm here is something colorful you can make for your Easter table.

Painted Easter Eggs

I made these with sharpie markers and they took me all of five minutes, you can't really go wrong, a few squiggles here and blobs of color there and hey-pretso a pretty egg.

Now Miss Chicago teen took a little longer on her egg and used watercolor paints...but take a look at this beautiful Rose Egg

Happy Easter!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XX

P.S. For more Easter Egg decorating ideas check out these posts

Polymer Clay Decorated Easter Eggs

Pattern Dyed Easter Eggs

Categories: Craft Projects, Crafts Project, decorative accents, DIY, Pretty, teenager, Tutorials

Lovely Blue and White

Dear Chicago House,

I have always had a thing about blue and white, the cool crispness that you can achieve with that color combination is unique. But enough of my blabbing...how about lots of pictures of lovely blue and white.

Ahhhhhhh!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XX

Categories: decorative accents, Pretty, Treasure

Getting Creative with Sharpies and Shells

Dear Chicago House,

I have a big box of shells in the garage that have been begging to see the light of day. They were not the loveliest of shells, just plain white and smooth  but with a flick of a Sharpy they are now really quite beautiful.

You don't have to be a spectacular artist to create a set of your own, just select a color and start doodling.

I stuck to just one color for each shell for maximum impact.

and when I switched from blue to pink I changed my random patterns to valentine inspired hearts.

But what to do with them?
If you made a load they would look pretty tumbled into a simple bowl, or how about a simple center piece?

Enjoy!

Love from

Creative in Chicago
XX

Categories: Beachy, Crafts Project, decorative accents, How to, How to's, Pretty, Tutorials

Tutorial: How to Make an Ice Lantern

Dear Chicago House,

There is nothing like bringing in the New Year with a blast of Arctic cold is there? With temperatures colder than my freezer last week I put that frigid air to good use and had a go at making some ice lanterns.

Aren't they fun, whats more they are easy and even better, FREE to make.

How to make an Ice Lantern

You will need

• A pair of containers one bigger than the other. I used a large yogurt pot and a dixie cup
• Tape
• Embellishments, I used slices of orange and some greeny clipped from a garden shrub
• Boiled water that has cooled, using boiled water will result in clearer ice 
• Floating candles

Prepare your embellishments.

• Half fill your larger container with the boiled water, then tape the smaller container into place as shown. 

• Once the smaller container is in place slip your embellishments into the gaps around the edge.

• Top up with water.

• Leave somewhere cold...my garden worked last week but overnight in the freezer would work too.
• To remove containers run under hot water for a minute or so, the containers will slide off.
• Light a candle and plop into the ice vase. The heat from the candle will slowly melt the inside of the vase and you end up with a pool of water. using a floating candle will ensure the flame stays lit!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XX

Categories: decorative accents, Garden, Holiday Projects, How to, How to's, Tutorials

Driftwood Fish Tutorial

Dear Chicago House,

After Sally the Seahorse had her 15 minutes of fame on an episode of "unlivable" on the FYI network a few weeks ago, I was inspired to once again dabble with my stash of lake Michigan driftwood.

This time I have created  a driftwood fish

Well actaully that's incorrect,  I have made a pair a sweet pair of driftwood fish ... let call them Freddie and Felix.

and they are oh-so-easy to make and make a great decorative accent to any beach or coastal themed room.

You will need

• A selection of driftwood...or any sort of sticks really
• Cardboard - I used the cardboard from an old Amazon box
• Hot glue gun

Start by sketching out a general fishy shape on your cardboard. You don't have to be detailed at all for this. Cut out your shape.

Start laying your driftwood on your fishy shape, it helps if the wood slightly overlaps your shape. Once you are happy with how everything is looking fire up your glue gun and stick away.

I added an eye to each of my fish ..it was a old cork I picked up when collecting my driftwood.

Enjoy!

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XX

Categories: Art, Beachy, Craft Projects, Crafts Project, decorative accents, DIY, How to, How to's, Tutorials