Ikea Storage Box Makeover



Hello! Lisa here! (Sarah's assistant for those of you who don't know me!) I'm taking over the blog today to share a super quick and easy DIY with you because lets face it, sometimes you want to make something pretty but don't have a few hours to spare.

We have a bazillion (totally a word right!?) Ikea storage boxes in the office so I decided to give one a makeover and thought I would share the results with you. Both me and Sarah are loving anything gold at the moment so it was only right to give the gold marker pen a shake and give the box the Midas touch!

All you need is:

Ikea "Kassett" storage box(s)
Gold marker pen
Black marker pen
Ruler (optional, I went for messier freehand lines in the end)


1) Colour over all the silver hardware with a gold marker and allow to dry.



2) Using a ruler or freehand, draw on some stripes in black marker pen. Polka dots would also look great! 


Continue drawing stripes around the entire box (or just on the front if you want to be super lazy!) and you're done!


I love how versatile these boxes are to decorate and the gold finishes it off perfectly! I'm thinking something neon needs to happen with one next time...


I hope this might have inspired you to get creative on a box or two! If you have a go at customising one, we'd love to see it! You can tweet a photo to @scaryhurley or post on Instagram using the hashtag #sarahhurley.

Lisa :-)

What I Wore... with Collectif London





Something a little bit different here on my blog today, and the first in a new series (whoop!) so here goes... I've had lots and lots of you asking me about the lovely dress I wore for last weeks Create & Craft shows on Saturday...
I must admit, I'm soooo happy so many of you loved it as much as I did, it had everything I loved in a dress, great attention to detail with pretty cuffs, peter pan collar and velvet bow, gorgeous colours, navy blue and forest green, swoon! a decent length skirt (at 5ft tall I REALLY shouldn't have to buy dresses in the tall section, but often I do just to keep my botty warm and decent! I feel for you taller ladies trying to find a good dress length!) and a fitted top half - being an hourglass shape, if things aren't quite fitted in to my waist I end up looking like I have a maternity smock on!
It also had that cute vintage vibe to it which I just love, I'm a big fan of vintage (as you all probably know by now! lol) and it reminded me of the dress worn by Shirley Temple in 'A Little Princess' one of my favourite films (and books!) of all time - I think it was the white collar and cuffs that did it.

So in answer to your question, you can get hold of the dress (called the Lisa Doll Blackwatch dress) here in the Collectif London store (I have a couple of Collectif dresses now, I just love them!) the even better news is that it's on sale - a bargain not to be missed!

Thank you for dropping by today!
Sarah

p.s. if you drop by tomorrow my blog is being taken over by my lovely assistant Lisa - eeek! I'm totally OK with not being in control...  honest! lol

disclaimer - Collectif are a sponsor of my blog and did send me this dress as they thought I would love it (they were right!!) however as you know, I only ever endorse things I honestly truly love (I definitely would not wear it on live TV if I didn't! lol) and I was a big fan of Collectif and owned Collectif pieces before any sponsorship. I look forward to bringing you another Collectif feature soon! :o) Sarah x

A Few of My Favourite Things... April Kit Reveal

This months kits have now been revealed! Here is a little peek at what the April kits contain...

 and some close ups...
and a couple of close ups...
 
I also filmed a video run through of all the kits in more details, you can view it on my new YouTube channel here, or click below.
A few of you have asked about the videos showing my makes, they will be up very soon! I got a little behind due to a couple of big things that came in but Lisa is in the process of editing them and I'll post details once they are up. There just a couple of kits left here in my shop and subscriptions are open for Mays kit here if you miss them.

Thank you for dropping by today!
Sarah x

Freebie Friday! Watercolour Love Journaling Cards

This weeks Freebie Friday is a set of Watercolour Love Journaling Cards...

This set of 4 3" x 4" journaling cards matches the Watercolour Love mini kit I gave away a few months ago (also available on my website) and are perfect for Project Life, Documented365 or scrapbooking, you can download this weeks freebie over on my website right here

*** I'm going to be a bit cheeky again this week and ask, if you wouldn't mind terribly, in return can I just ask for the teeniest favour??? I've entered the 'Women in Making' competition this year and would love you to vote for me (it's just one click - or two if you have Facebook and Twitter - no form to fill out, nothing to register for and I'd be eternally grateful!) Please just click here to register your vote - thank you, thank you, thank you!! ***

I'd love to see what you make with your journaling cards - leave me your blog links in the comments if you'd like to share :o)

Thank you for dropping by today!
Sarah x

Project Life - Week 5





It's been a little while since I've shared any of my Project Life, I've got a little stuck on this page since my Dad died a few weeks ago and I know I had to post it today just to get it out of the way so I can move on to the next one, otherwise I'll be very very behind in my posting! and I would like to get past it so I can post other weeks and projects that include him. I have blocked out a few of the journaling areas, not something I usually do, and I'll skip over a few of the cards I would usually talk about more, just because it's still very very raw and I'd like to keep those things to myself for now, I hope you understand... So, here is my week 5!
I used a mix of the Project Life Honey core kit, a Crate Paper mini kit and Documented365 cards...
The Day in the Life stamp is from one of my own sets, it was perfect for documenting this day at Create & Craft!
This one is a bit random, I documented a tweet from the week, it amused me a little bit, I wonder if I'll still find it funny in 10 years time!...
The header for this week I made from some paper scraps and a Stampin Up stamp - I'm not sure why the glasses are relevant to the week but I thought it fitted well! 
I loved this pic of Fuzzybutt finishing off my ice lolly, it was so hot that week! The TV stamp I've had for about 10 years (it's an old woodblock one) I liked the area it left for me to journal in the centre - I didn't have a lot to document this week so there are a few random everyday things thrown in - all still very important of course!
This pic is from an app on my iPhone, the view is from my living room window. Here is a close up of the left page...
and the right page...
I'll be back with some more Project Life shares soon to catch up!

Thank you for dropping by today
Sarah x

Freebie Friday! Easter Word Tag Die Cuts

This weeks Freebie Friday is a set of Easter Word Tags Digi Die Cuts! 
This set contains an SVG file containing three word tags to die cut using your Silhouette or other die cutting machines. You can download this weeks freebie over on my flashy new website (whoop!) right here or on box.com here.

*** I'm going to be a bit cheeky again this week and ask, if you wouldn't mind terribly, in return can I just ask for the teeniest favour??? I've entered the 'Women in Making' competition this year and would love you to vote for me (it's just one click - or two if you have Facebook and Twitter - no form to fill out, nothing to register for and I'd be eternally grateful!) I know some of you may have voted last week but the voting system broke last weekend and all votes were lost (boo!) Please just click here to register your vote - thank you, thank you, thank you!! ***

I'd love to see what you make with your die cuts - leave me your blog links in the comments if you'd like to share :o)

Thank you for dropping by today!
Sarah x

p.s. Don't forget my Create & Craft shows this weekend (see my previous post for more info!) 

Create & Craft Easter Shows





I'm super excited to tell you that I've been asked to present some shows for Create & Craft's big easter giveaway this weekend (whoop!) I hope you'll be able to tune in:

Saturday 19th April

1pm & 3pm

Sunday 20th April

1pm

I shared this sneak peek of what I'll be demoing earlier on my Facebook page...
and I shouldn't really! but here is another little one...
I hope you'll be able to tune in, don't forget to send in your emails, I'll be giving away some cards if I can :o)

Thank you for dropping by today!
Sarah x

Make Your Own PomPom Easter Chick!





Today I'm going to show you how to make a cute PomPom Easter Chick. I used to make these when I was a little girl and I still they are super fun to do!


You will need:

2 Sets of PomPom Makers in 2 sizes, one slightly larger than the other
1 Ball of Yellow Wool
Scissors
Tapestry Needle
Piece of Card & a Pen (or the Chick Features download in this post)
Glue (I used Beacon 3 in 1 - it worked the best! available from my website)

These take around 10 minutes to make and are super easy for children as well as fun for adults! If you are doing this activity with children, they may need some help with the cutting and sewing stages as they can be a bit tricky.

To Start, open up one set of your pompom makers and line up, start wrapping the wool around them evenly, one side at a time, each side should be evenly covered and the hold in the middle should be filled (this makes them extra fluffy!)
Once both sides are done, close the PomPom Makers and secure with the little latch. Put your scissor tips into one of the little gaps and slowly cut around the edge, repeat the other side.
Take a length of wool (at least 20-30cms long) poke it into the gap, wrap around the ball and tie in a secure knot.
Take the PomPom Maker off of the ball and fluff out - don't trim the excess wool yet, you'll need this!
Repeat this process with the other size PomPom Maker so you have two PomPoms. Take the excess wool of the larger ball and thread it through a tapestry needle, Poke this through the centre of the smaller ball and stitch the two balls together to secure in place (go through 2-3 times to ensure it's properly secured)

Trim off the excess wool and you have your little chick! All you need to do now is to draw or cut out the feet and features and glue them on.

You could even use lots of different sized PomPoms to make a whole family of them!

You can download the feet and features card here, just click on the picture below and right click and save (or ctrl click and save on a mac)


Thank you for dropping by today!
Sarah x

Landing Your Dream Job - My Tips!





I often talk about things to do with building and running a business (as thats something I know a thing or two about!) but what if you don't want your own business? the headaches, the worries, the responsibility? then you'll probably want to find yourself your dream job, the thing that doesn't feel like work, where you don't get that 'oh no, it's Monday' feeling and where you can be a real part of something and help to build something fantastic. These jobs DO exist and here is my advice for finding (and landing!) yours...

Firstly, you need to decide what it is you want to do, sounds easy, right? well, if you haven't decided yet, start with a big piece of paper and a marker. On the left side of the paper write down everything you love to do, these can be things from jobs you've had previously, hobbies or just general things like organising or taking pictures. On the right side of the paper write everything you really don't like to do, for example you may not like talking on the phone or accounts. Use this list to get a clearer idea of what your dream job would entail and in which industry. Once you've done this you can do some research on the companies within that industry and where you think you would fit.

Once you know the company or companies you would like to work for, take a good look at them, look at their Facebook page, their blog and twitter, establish their tone and get a real feel for the company - can you honestly see yourself fitting in there - maybe they are very corporate and you aren't - really take the time to narrow down exactly where you'd like to be so you can target them better and tailor your email or application (if they have a vacancy available) to them specifically. As an employer nothing disheartens me more than a 'dear sir / madam, I'm good at admin please hire me' type email - firstly, if you are emailing me directly, use my name so I know it's me you want to talk to (not the other 20 people you've cc'ed - another pet hate! this tells me you don't really care where you work) secondly tell me more about why you want to work for me and why your skills fit my company.

When I placed the advert for my assistant last year I had a specific list of things I was looking for including liking dogs and making tea! One of the things that stood out on Lisa's email to me was that she addressed every point on my list with how she would fit that requirement or would be willing to learn it and ended by saying she loved dogs and made a great cup of tea (no-one else had made any reference to either point!!) just from that email I guessed she would be a good fit and she got my sense of humour, she was straight on the short list!

If you are sending an email to introduce yourself or if you've been lucky enough to land an interview - do your research! Look at the company, how could you help them? improve them? help them grow? don't be afraid to share your ideas with them, this could well land you the job! I know people are scared of having their ideas stolen, and I won't lie, it happens! I pitched a magazine around 2 years ago with a series of columns, they loved the idea and asked me to prepare a years outline, I did so and then never heard from them again - yup, they run all of my ideas for the whole year using an in house writer. Of course I was furious and upset but the columns were not written how I would have written them and I have a ton more ideas - I could spare those 12! There are always more ideas but you may not get a second chance.

When I interviewed Lisa (very informally over coffee in Starbucks for about 2 hours!!) the thing that impressed me most was that she had really looked at my business, my blog, my twitter and Facebook, all of the products, she came armed with a ton of suggestions of what I could do to take the company to the next level, to grow into other areas (i.e. the YouTube channel and video tutorials) and how she would take charge of them. Of course I could have made notes and left that interview and done them all myself but it made far more sense to me (and I'm sure to every other business person) to take on someone who was that motivated and dedicated, companies will value the fact that you took that time and recognise that if you came up with those ideas (even if they aren't all suitable) that once you are in the company you'll probably come up with loads more!

Employers, especially small companies like mine, are looking for someone who will love our 'baby' and take care of it as we would - show them that you are that person! Even if you don't get the job this time around, you may well make an impression that will last. I recently got offered a job from a company I worked with a few years ago, back then they had offered me what I thought was my dream job, trained me up and then promptly ditched me a few weeks later when someone they thought was better came along. 3 years on they offered me the job for real this time. I had made an impression and they remembered me even after all this time, while I was flattered, thats no longer my dream and it's for the best that happened at the time (although I was devastated back then!) as I was offered another,  opportunity straight after that I was much more suited to and I'm very happy where I am now.
People will judge you on what you DO not what you SAY you can do, so send off those stamp designs, email that company, make the best samples you can to show to the magazine (I've heard more than one person say they are saving their best ideas or designs for when they land the job - but if you don't do your best ones and prove yourself, you may never get that job!)

Finally, once you have landed the job, don't become complacent, it's like any relationship, that thing you found cute at the beginning becomes annoying, you take it for granted, you stop putting in any effort, but remember, if you don't, someone else will be right behind you ready to make it their dream job - don't work that hard just to lose it! Work hard, be kind, be nice, be helpful, make yourself invaluable, be a real part of the team and you could well have a job for life and a part in something amazing.

Good Luck!! and don't forget, whatever they are...
Thank you for dropping by today!
Sarah x