My Ideas

Mom's Big Book of Things to Make

Mom's Big Book of Things to Make

My Ideas

Squeaky clean dishwasher in a flash

Squeaky clean dishwasher in a flash

My Ideas

Scatter cushions with Swarovski crystals

Scatter cushions with Swarovski crystals

My makeover experience

I recently received a makeover for Ideas magazine. This was my experience.

Pewter art

I like combining different materials.

Handmade Mother's Day cards

I created this set of cards for Mother's Day.

Re-use old plates

Colourful plates

We all have mismatched plates, bowls, saucers and so on lying around the house.

The joy of fabric painting

I have done fabric painting for many years and find it the most relaxing craft of all.

Playing with fabric

Here are a few photos of the wall hangings and quilts that I make.

Bathroom décor

I painted an old frame and in it I placed a photo of my child on the beach.

A tidy way to display earrings

When my daughter Lyndall was at university in Cape Town, she got a great idea from her roommate, Claudia, for keeping earrings tidy and accessible.

Birthday tea

We hosted a 60^th birthday tea party for my mother-in-law and my sister liked the photographs so much she said I should send them in to Ideas.

Display your earrings

I doubt that there's a more loyal Ideas reader in the country than me! Over the years, I have cut out many projects and recipes, intending to tackle them all 'one day'.

My most beautiful necklace

I design beaded jewellery and this is one of the most beautiful pieces I've made.

Memory album

I have made a number of these albums which can be used for photos or scrapbooking.

Cupcake paper liners

I import the loveliest cupcake papers.

Standard lamp

Dried used tea bags and an antique bellows that stopped working years ago have been used to make a standard lamp.

Turning back the clock

My house is filled with discarded items that I recycle and transform into something useful. When I saw this old lampshade, I had to reuse it!

Crosses

We all have a cross to bear - whether it is with love, sadness or joy, it means something special to us.

Doilies and cellphone cover

While I was watching the Proteas cricket match on television during the holidays I made these doilies and a cellphone cover from leftover crochet thread.

Cheerful hats

The hats are multipurpose and each one contains a poncho.

Stunning jewellery

If you want something special, unique and different, look no further...

Wriggly worms 

Let your kitchen waste enhance your garden!

Photo Christmas cards

I printed some photos for a different project and had a few leftovers so I decided to add some buttons and words to them so I could use them as Christmas cards.

Birthday cake

Cake for a six-year-old girl

The child wanted a wedding cake! And then we figured out that what Lea actually meant was a cake with layers on top of each other.

Reader tip

Keep those dish cloths clean

I put my dish cloth into the dishwasher cutlery holder when I do the dishes.

Family Heirloom

Family heirloom

A while ago, I requested a copy of a knitting pattern which had appeared in the April 2007 issue.

Papier-mâché

Jo-mache cats

I made these cats using my own Papier-mâché technique that I call Jo-mache.

Christmas gets revamped

Christmas on the farm

I was so inspired by your stunning Christmas edition that I decided that I was going to come up with a new idea for my Christmas tree. I went out to pick up tumbleweeds in the veld and hey presto!

Team effort

House renovations are hard work

In the August edition of ideas, you invited readers to share their home renovation stories. I would like to share my story with you. In July we decided to do up our back garden and garage - two areas of our house that were used a lot but that were never quite as we wanted them to be. It was a team effort by me, my fiancée, my sister and her fiancée.

Tin cans get a second wind

Candlestick holders from tin cans

I want to share with you some of the candlestick holders that I have made using tin cans. Brown plastic plant pots look better with some decoration, and I also make serviette holders.

My PhotoBook

Normally I simply burn my photos onto a CD and never really get to appreciate them. Ideas inspired me to find a creative way to display my favourite photos. In Microsoft Word, I layered and resized a few photos. I greyscaled all of the photos except one.

From junk to treasure

After reading your article 'Decoupage it' (June 2008), I thought I'd share my story with you. I'm at university now but in my matric year, in 2006, I undertook a decoupage project for my Home Economics class. I took two old chairs and a dilapidated chest, sanded them down and did the odd repair. Then I painted them and used lavender motifs from serviettes to decoupage them. Your article inspired me to start decoupaging again.

Mosaic house number

Deirdré van Zyl-Smit and her husband were transferred to Johannesburg and they bought a new house. She writes, 'when I saw that our new home was number 42, I immediately started working on a mosaic number like the fantastic one I saw in the January issue.'
Deirdré van Zyl-Smit

Crafty idea

Placemat from sheet music

I copied sheet music from the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK) music book onto A3 paper. I coloured the paper with cold tea, crumpled the pages, straightened them out and burnt the edges. Then I took them to be laminated. It's a terrific way to personalise placemats.  

On another occasion, when we found out that my sister was expecting a boy, we invited her and her husband for lunch. I set the table with a white tablecloth and blue pashminas. I bought dummies and used them as serviette rings, and I decorated the glasses with each person's initial as well as a few baby stickers and hearts.

Furniture for kids

Sitting pretty

Here are some pictures of a wooden bench that I made for my children.