DIY Magnetic Pen Holder for the Fridge

After spending countless hours searching for pens around the house when I need to jot down notes in the kitchen, I finally sat down and made my own magnetic pen holder for the fridge!

And you know what...it was SO EASY!

The only thing you might not have on hand is the magnets, but apart from those (they are sort of the main element for this DIY though) you probably have everything else lying around at home.

I found these strong little round magnets at a hobby shop a few years ago, and used them for making my own button magnets for Christmas presents a while ago. I always keep some of them around because they are incredibly useful for all sorts of fun DIY crafts.

If you do end up making one of these yourself, I'd love to see it! Share a photo over on Facebook or Instagram and tag me in it (@CGScreative) so I can see.

---

DIY Magnetic Pen Holder for the Fridge

What you need:

• small box (I used an old medicine box that was long enough to hold a pen)
• super glue
• strong magnets (I used 3 little ones)
• various bits of fabric tape/washi tape
• scissors
• lace/ribbon to decorate

Directions:

1. Cut the end off of your box. Make sure to keen the other end intact, otherwise you're going to loose your pens!

2. Wrap your box in washi tape (or fabric tape or whatever fabric you have on hand). I used a sticky backed fabric tape to cover most of the box as my washi tape wasn't thick enough to cover the writing. Once the first layer of fabric tape was done, I used a pretty floral washi tape to complete my box.

Don't worry about going all the way around the box with your tape. I didn't want to waste washi tape on the back as it's never going to be seen and will face the fridge anyway.

4. Using super glue, place glue on the centre of your magnets, and then place the magnets on the back of your box.

Be careful not to stick your fingers together (I've done this plenty of times...not fun!).

5. The fun part...decorating! I used a piece of white lace to make a pretty bow and tied it around my box.

You can really go crazy with this, using string, pegs, washi tape and all sorts of other fun elements.

And voila!

No more searching your home for pens when you need to write your shopping list!

These pen holders also make great gifts too!

If you do try this easy & fun DIY, share a photo on Instagram or Facebook...I'd love to see what you create. 

Happy crafting!

x

DIY Hanging Photo Display using Square prints from Sticky9 & a GIVEAWAY!!!

Welcome to the next instalment in my #DIYDaysInKorea series. These posts are about making beautiful things for your home, whether that home is in South Korea, South Africa, or any where else in the world. This post follows on from the Gold Animal Fridge Magnets and these jars are what I used to store the Fig jam I blogged about last year.

If you are based here in Korea and would like to join one of my DIY days (click here to see what went on at the previous get togethers we've had) you can pop on over to the Facebook group for more information.  It's a wonderful place to meet new friends and spend an afternoon.

I hope you enjoy this series and that you leave feeling inspired.

x

---

DIY Hanging Photo Display Using Square Prints from Sticky9

I recently ordered a pack of square prints from Stick9 made up from my Instagram photographs (Stick9 offers a whole bunch of products that are made up from your Instagram photographs...if you use my code FRIEND2JNT you'll get 15% off your first order!) and had been brainstorming uses for them for weeks. When the world map we had stuck up above our TV fell down one day, I decided that their square prints would fill the space perfectly. 

Farmboy and I live in South Korea in an apartment rented out to us by the Education Office, so we are unable to go about knocking new holes or nails into the walls. I made use of the existing nails (hence the very non-conforming shape that ensued this DIY) when I strung up my photographs.

This DIY is super easy, quick and completely customizeable! You can hang your photographs in any shape or form you wish! The options are endless and only limited by the number of nails you have available!

You Will Need

• plain wooden pegs (I bought these at my local CNA stationery store here in Korea for W500 for a pack of 5)
• newspaper/kitchen towel
• gold spray paint (I bought this at my local DC mart, you can also find spray paint at Daiso but their colour options are limited)
• string/wool (I had planned to use wool, but soon realised it wouldn't show up very well against my white wall)

Step 1

Order your Sticky9 prints by clicking here. Free delivery worldwide! My prints arrived in South Korea about 10 days after I placed my order.

Step 2

Cover your workspace with kitchen towel or newspaper to protect your floor. You can see clearly that I missed this step in my last DIY by the evidence in the below photograph...oops!

Step 3

Fold over the paper towel before you place your pegs to allow for even coating. Spray your wooden pegs with the gold spray paint, ensuring you keep an even distance with your spray paint to make sure the paint dries evenly. 

Step 4

Get hanging! There really is no exact science behind this, and as you can see, it doesn't really matter if you ignore all the rules of shapes and symmetry and go wild. 

Step 5

Snap a pic of your hanging photo's & and share them with me on the CityGirlSearching Facebook page so I can see them!

And now for the fun part! I have teamed up with Sticky9 and have 2 sets of square prints to giveaway to two lucky winners! All you have to do to enter follow the steps in the widget below.

The two winners will be chosen on Friday 27th November and will be notified via my Facebook page (click here).

Good Luck!

CityGirlSearching & Sticky9 Giveaway!

DIY How to make a gold animal ring holder

Are you tired of loosing your rings, putting them down somewhere only to forget where or even worse putting them on the hand basin and watching them get bumped down the drain? Then this DIY is for you! These gold animals are the same ones I made in my last DIY where I made these cute >>> Gold Animal Glass Jars.

It's amazing just how much one can achieve when armed with a can of gold spay paint, am I right or am I right?

What you Need

Gold Animal figure (click here for the DIY)

-think about what kind of of animal you'd like, one with a long tail or neck works well to hold rings

a small bowl/plate

superglue

Directions

Simply apply a drop of superglue to each foot of your chosen animal and gently place onto your bowl.plate of choice. Make sure to leave it to dry completely before placing anything on it.

I hope you enjoyed this DIY! I have a few more things planned with my can of gold pray paint so make sure to stay tuned for more DIY posts.

DIY How to Make Gold Animal Glass Jars

Welcome to the next instalment in my #DIYDaysInKorea series. These posts are about making beautiful things for your home, whether that home is in South Korea, South Africa, or any where else in the world. This post follows on from the Gold Animal Fridge Magnets and these jars are what I used to store the Fig jam I blogged about last year.

If you are based here in Korea and would like to join one of my DIY days (click here to see what went on at the previous get togethers we've had) you can pop on over to the Facebook group for more information.  It's a wonderful place to meet new friends and spend an afternoon.

I hope you enjoy this series and that you leave feeling inspired.

x

---

DIY Gold Animal Glass Jars

You Will Need

-plastic animals (I found these at my local Daiso here in Korea)

-can of spray paint (I found this gold one at my local DC Mart)

-glue

-your choice of glass jars/bottles

Directions

Spray your animals with the spray paint. Make sure to place some newspaper down or use a piece of cardboard to prevent your work surface from being covered in paint.

Make sure to hold your can of paint at an equal distance from the animals while spraying to ensure the are covered in an even layer of spray paint. This also stops the pint from dripping. 

Once your animals are dry, you can start gluing them onto the lid of your jars. Try not to use too much glue when sticking them down so the glue doesn't run and form puddles around the animal.

Leave to dry and repeat! Now you have beautiful jars to store all kinds of things in your home. Use your jars to store nuts and seeds, bugger jars and bottles for storing makeup and nail polishes, or use them to store home made jams like this Fig Jam. The options are endless!

I'd love to see your jars if you make them, please share your creations with me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the following hashtag #citygirlsearching.

Happy DIYing!

DIY How to make Fig Jam

Even though this jam is not banting friendly (if you haven't heard of the Banting diet make sure to read this post) but because it's fig season here in Korea, one has to improvise. Storm and I decided not to experiment with Xylitol just yet and made it with good old fashioned sugar. This recipe is incredibly easy to follow and will have your home smelling festive in no time at all. And of course, the jam itself tastes heavenly too.

What you need

Saucepan

Figs (we had about 8 figs)

1/4 cup brown sugar (adjust for the amount of figs...more sugar for more figs)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

a small piece of ginger, finely chopped

Directions

Quarter your figs. Add the figs to a pan and simmer on low heat while adding the sugar and ginger. Keep stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. You can use a hand held blender to puree your jam, but it's not really necessary. 

When the sugar has completely dissolved add the cinnamon. Keep stirring on a low heat, making sure not to let the mixture burn.

Once everything has dissolved remove from the heat and allow to cool. 

Place in sterilised glass jars. There is an actual method to sterilizing glass jars properly, but we were on a tight schedule and so just soaked the jars in boiling water before use.

Best kept in the fridge and served with cheese!

You can store your jam in these cute gold animal glass jars (DIY coming to the blog soon) or in any glass jar you may have at home.

DIY Gold Animal Fridge Magnets #DiyDaysinKorea

Welcome to the next instalment in my #DIYDaysInKorea series. These posts are about making beautiful things for your home (whether that home is in South Korea or South Africa, or any where else in the world).

If you are based here in Korea and would like to join one of my DIY days (we are having our second meetup this weekend...click here to see what went on at the last we had in June) you can pop on over to the Facebook group for more information.  It's a wonderful place to meet new friends and spend an afternoon.

I hope you enjoy this series and that you leave feeling inspired.

x

---

DIY Gold Animal Fridge Magnets

What you need

-plastic animals (I found these at my local Daiso here in Korea)

-can of spray paint (I found this gold one at my local DC Mart)

-saw/sharp knife to cut your animals in half

-heavy duty magnets (I found these small round ones at a local stationery store here in Korea)

-super glue

-drill to bore holes in the plastic (we bought our drill online through Gmarket...click here for the link))

Directions

Using your saw or sharp knife, cut your animals in half. Try to keep cutting as straight as possible to ensure your magnet will be flush against the fridge when you're done.

Use a drill bit that is the same or a similar size to your magents. This is where I would suggest round magnets as then inserting the magnets is much easier if the hole is the same shape.

Then spray paint your animals in your desired colour. I found gold spray paint the the local DC Mart here in my small town in Korea. Leave to dry overnight.

Finally super glue your magnets into the back of your animals and leave to dry.

Here are some photographs of my magnets on the fridge. They are the perfect thing for holding up snail mail packges from friends (like this one from Nadia) and of course my favourite free monthly printable calendar from HappinessIs.

DIY Painted Vase and How to Arrange your own Flowers #DIYDaysInKorea

Welcome to the next instalment in my #DIYDaysInKorea series. These #DIYDaysInKorea posts are about making beautiful things for your home (whether that home is in South Korea or South Africa, or any where else in the world).

If you are based here in Korea and would like to join one of my DIY days (we had our first official meet up a few weeks ago and it was such fun...click here to see what went on) you can pop on over to the Facebook group for more information. 

I hope you enjoy this series and that you leave feeling inspired.

x

---

DIY Painted Vase & Flower Arrangement

Myself and my very talented friend Storm, who moonlights as a stylist & florist, had some time on our hands and found this pretty cheap glass vase at our local Daiso here in Korea. Storm straight away had an idea to repurpose it with a lick of paint, and off we went on a scavenger hunt for flowers around our neighbourhood. 

Today Storm is going to show you how to arrange your own flowers in such a way that they look beautiful, artsy and, expensive.

What You Need

glass vase or something you can turn into a vase such as a glass, bowl etc (does not need to be expensive or fancy) 

spray paint

flowers, bought or foraged from the garden or sidewalk

Directions

Easy peasy lay some newspaper down and spray the outside of the vase (I would omit spraying the inside as it was in fact unnecessary) wait to dry and get creative. 

Place sticky tape in a grid formation to help give the flowers shape and volume. It also gives the foliage more structure and keeps the flowers in place. 

Get creative with your flowers and make an arrangement from the heart. You can't go wrong with flowers, start with your foliage (the green leaves and other bits of non blooming elements) then your focal flowers (the big ones) at the base and go from there.

And there you have it, your own beautiful floral creation, without the price tag of a fancy florist.

If you create your own arrangement, please tag me in your photograph (twitter: @roxyhutton Instagram: @roxyhutton Facebook @CityGirlSearching) I'd love to see what you create.

Happy DIYing and flower arranging!

Gradient Nail Art Tutorial

My Korean friend Heejoung (who was my model for the spring flower crown photoshoot Storm and I did a few months ago, click here to see the beautiful photographs) came over for tea yesterday and ended up helping me with my first ever gradient manicure. 

This is a super easy to do manicure. It can be adapted in so many ways but works best with 3 colours in varying shades. You need a dark colour, a medium shade and a light shade (but these are not rules set in stone, try mixing it up with any colour combination for a fun alternative to the original gradient nail).

You need 

3 nail polish colours

base coat

top coat

sponge (I first tried with a regular makeup sponge, wich failed miserably. So make sure to use the 'spongey spongey' kind of sponge, if that makes sense. I ended up having to cut my kitchen scourer sponge up to use the end with more 'holes').

Directions

Start with a coat or two of your favourite base coat. This protects your nails from the chemicals inside all nail polish, and prevents your nails from discolouration.  I would suggest painting one coat of a white polish after your base coat as it would make a better 'base' for this kind of manicure.  But it's up to you, I didn't and wish that I had done so as it would have made my colours pop a bit more, especially my lightest shade which ended up looking a little bland.

Then paint your nail polish onto the tip of your sponge. Work quickly so as not to let the polish dry too quickly on the sponge itself. 

Place the sponge on your nail, first applying pressure to the top of your nail closest to your cuticle and then move the pressure to the middle and finally to the end of your nail keeping the sponge in contact with your nail the entire time. You are making a kind of backwards 'C' motion with the sponge. You can also use a side to side motion for the first coat (as pictured above). Once you have you first coat, dab the nail with the sponge to apply more colour. The more you dab, the more natural the gradient look will be. Repeat on all your nails, finishing off with a couple of coats of your top coat to seal in the polish and protect your nails from chipping

Your sponge will make the manicure look textured and not as smooth as a regular manicure. But this can be changed by using a smoother sponge. 

Next you've got a bit of cleaning up to do:

Use an earbud dipped in nail polish remover to clean up your cuticles. You can also apply a lotion or vaseline to your cuticles before painting as this makes the clean up process very easy. I forgot to do this and had quite a job removing all the edges. This is a very messy manicure and does require quite a bit of work to make it look perfect. But the hard work is definitely worth it, don't you think?

Next I'm going to try a pastel combination, what colours do you think would work best?

If you try this yourself, share your work on my Facebook page (@citygirlsearching) or on Instagram (@roxyhutton) I'd love to see what combination you choose.

How to make a Flower Crown #DIYDaysInKorea

Myself and my very talented friend Storm, who moonlights as a stylist & florist in her spare time, created this flower crown for a styled photo shoot we did a few weeks ago. We got together one day to brainstorm ideas for fun and creative activities we could do without spending lots of money and so we have started a #DIYDaysInKorea series (we even started a 'hashtag' so you can follow along too!).

If you are based here in Korea and would like to join one of our DIY days (we will be having our first official one on a Saturday in a few weeks time) you can pop on over to the Facebook group for more information. 

These #DIYDaysInKorea posts are about making beautiful things for your home (whether that home is in South Korea or South Africa, or any where else in the world). We hope you enjoy this series and that you leave feeling inspired.

x

How to make a flower Crown #DIYDAYSINKOREA 

Step 1

Get your tools, foliage and flowers together.

You will need a pair of scissors, florist wire, your flowers of choice and of course a cup of tea. 

Forage, pick, buy or pinch a few flowers and foliage for your crown. The crown will need need sturdy foliage to give it structure, as well as comfort for the wearer and to add a green element to it too. We used Boxwood as it is plentiful on the Korean sidewalks. Other foliage that can be used is willow or olive branch as they have flexible stems that twist easily

Step two

To create the base of your crown you need to use sturdy foliage. We used Boxwood, but willow or olive branch works well too.

Start by gathering a few stems of your foliage (you can use a combination of greens if you’d like) and wrap your florist wire around the base. Continue to add in stems of foliage wrapping the wire around each piece to make sure it is secure. Once it is long enough, join the two ends and secure with wire.

Step 3

Next is to add your flowers. For the flowers we chose to use a mixture of silk and fresh flowers. We found that using a selection of bold flowers, such as peonies and roses mixed with a few whimsical flowers such as jasmine or honeysuckle worked well. Make sure the flowers you choose are hardy so that they don’t wilt too quickly while you are working with them.

To add the flowers cut off the stem at the base of the flower. Pierce florist wire through the center of  the flower and make a hook. This make is easier to attach the flower and position them in an appealing arrangement. 

Secure the flower to the base by wrapping the wire around the foliage.

Step 4

Lastly enjoy your floral crown! To make your pretty floral crown last a bit longer you can spritz the fresh flowers with water; however the fresh flowers won’t last out of water for longer than a day or two.

One of my favourite photographs from the styled shoot...click here to see more.

How to make a macramé plant hanger #diydaysinkorea

Today's post is the first in a new DIY series #DIYDaysInKorea that my friend Storm and I are starting. Storm did all the styling for our Flower Crown Shoot a few weeks ago and is one very creative lady. I am so happy to have someone to get crafty with.

These posts are going to be about making beautiful things for your home (whether that home is in South Korea or South Africa, or any where else in the world). We hope you enjoy this series and that you leave feeling inspired.

x

How to make a macramé plant hanger #diydaysinkorea

What you need:

pot plant

string/rope/hessian string/twine

scissors

tape

Directions

Measure your wall space and decide how long you want your plant hanger to be. Take into consideration how big your pot plant is.

For this macramé hanger, we used 21m of twine (7 x 2.5m for the structure of the hanger + 1 x 3.5m for the wrapping)

Measure out 7 pieces of string of 2.5m and measure the 8th piece of string longer, at 3.5m

Fold all the strings in half except your extra-long piece. Secure with tape to make a small loop.

To make your macrame loop

Use the longest piece of string to make a knot around the other 7 pieces of string (see pictures below). Continue making knots in this way until you complete the hanging loop.

To secure the hanging loop, make a knot. Take the outer right string across the front, then take the outer left string in front of the right piece and then take it behind all the other pieces to the right hand side (see pictures below) and put it through the gap and tighten. Repeat this by alternating the next outer string (so taking the left in front this time, and the right behind). Repeat 6 times.

To create the mid section using Josephine knots

Divide your strings into 4 sections, each section should have 4 pieces (16 in total). Secure 3 of the sections with tape. Using the fourth section, measure down 35cm and mark with tape (this is where your Josephine knot will start). Divide this section into 2 parts, make sure the strings are kept flush to ensure your finished knot is flat.

Start with two cords on the left and make a loop, then take the the right cords and place them over the loop. Securing with your left hand, take the right cords and place them under the bottom left cords and up and over them again.Then thread them through the loop (as in the pictures below).

Make sure all your strings are flat and tighten to your marked off tape. Repeat with the remaining 4 sections.

To make the basket:

Split the 4 sections in half and join two cords from each section next to each other to create a new group. Tie a simple knot in these cords and continue for each new group. Make sure when making the groups they are the correct cords to ensure your basket doesn't get tangled. 

Measure down 5cm to create new groups with simple knots again as before.

Measure another 7 cm and gather all the strings together and tie into one large knot.

Neaten off the hanging ends to make a tassel. Place your pot in the middle of the basket. Hang up and enjoy.

{DIY} Washi Tape your computer cord

I'm feeling rather inspired with my latest washi tape collection, and after reading this lovely post by Design Love Fest I thought I'd try something similar with the power supply part of my computer cable. 

View fullsize

The white parts of the MAC cables look really spiffy, but being white in colour they aren't very practical. The washi tape should keep the power house clean now.

It was really easy, and took literally 3 minutes to do. Let me know if you try something similar, or better yet, upload a picture to the blog Facebook page  to share with all my readers. 

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.

x