Page 10 - Mother & Baby - UK (March 2020)

ise transforming a whopping great piece
Pentland
Where do I start?
Feelingthepinch?It’stimetogetcrafty,says
M&BcolumnistLOUISEPENTLAND
oes Christmas feel like a
distant memory of lost
bedtime routines and
Doverflowing bins, or do
you feel like it was just yesterday
and you’re baffled we’re on the
approach to spring? I think I’m a
bit of both – time is weird when
you’re a parent, isn’t it? I often
find myself quoting, ‘the days are
long but the years are short’ – that
certainly feels true this month.
In the past, I’ve found this time
dark so early, and we’re all trying
to be a lot more frugal (although
a Chinese takeaway once the kids
are in bed is an essential, right?!)
but, brace yourselves, I’ve found
something that makes me really
happy, and hopefully it will you too.
My new obsession is upcycling and
hacks, and it’s so much easier than
you think! The idea is that you take
something old or basic and jazz it up
or turn it into something really pretty.
I used to think this was just for those
with real artistic
flair (which I lack),
and costs lots of
money, but it
doesn’t – yay!
Start small.
You probably
don’t want
to begin by
of furniture that you might ruin.
Instead, I’ve been watching videos on
women who have transformed their
home décor with smaller things
Poundland, Ikea or charity shops.
they’ve upcycled or hacked from
Plus, if you’re anything like me, you’ll
have all sorts floating around the
garage that can be cleaned up,
painted or added to, to make
something amazing! Have a look for
Insta for inspiration. I find great
videos, or search the hashtags on
things searching #IkeaHack,
#CountryLuxe (I like that style of
décor, but search for what you love),
#ThriftFlip or #PoundlandHack.
So far I have painted Pearlie’s little
Ikea book rack pink with an old tester
pot of paint – it looks so cute with all
her board books in – and I found
some beautiful crystal-esque glasses
in a charity shop and turned them
into candle holders, and I’m going
to spend some time with Darcy this
weekend adding jute and hessian
to a few hampers that I saved over
Christmas, to make pretty storage for
her bedroom. If you have children old
enough to involve in the process, it
makes each item all the more special.
It brings me such satisfaction
to make beautiful things for the
children’s room or to just upgrade
my house a little bit, without costing
a fortune. Plus, you have the added
bonus of feeling smug that you’ve
been a bit crafty!
Soon we’ll have daffodils and
lighter days but, until then, I’ll be
cosying up with the children, showing
them that you can make your space
beautiful with a smidge of creativity
(even if it was pinched from Insta!).