Prop making - fairy boat

Lately I've been wanting to promote my surreal wedding photography, but I thought to do that I'd need some more examples! I turn to fairy tale type art for inspiration and found this lovely painting (unfortunately I don't know who the artist is) 

Here are some steps I took to making my boat:

I drew out the outline of the bottom of the boat on thin cardboard. I then cut a long stripe for the side the boat and used to masking tape to keep it together

After securing the shape with masking tape, I then covered it in brown parcel tape. I did this to make the boat stronger but to also make the base brown.

Then, using a hot glue gun I stuck on sticks that I had collected on a dog walk. I used fairly straight and thin sticks to I could easily break them to the length I needed.

I made the sail using a thicker stick and glue gun glue to make the spider web net in the middle. I added a few small paper flowers for decoration and my boat was complete!

Here is the final photo!

If you're interested in a shoot with the fairy boat for your wedding, Please don't hesitate to get in contact, at becky.netley@live.co.uk 

Thanks! 

DIY cheap and easy valentine's day gifts

Valentine's day can be an excuse to splash out on your loved one but if you're strapped for cash or simply prefer to make the presents then here are some ideas. Don't do a chandler and get a sock bunny...

1. A valentine's day gift voucher. Make your own by designing a gift voucher for your other half. The voucher could be for a free breakfast in bed, massage or cooking them dinner! (Canva.com is a great site for templates) 

2. Strawberry chocolate hearts! Easy to make, tastes and looks great! 

Tutorial here

3. Print a photo of the two of you and put it in a lovely frame. Decorate the frame yourself if you're feeling crafty.

4. Hand Make a card. Get inspiration from Etsy or Pinterest, personalise it!

5. Create a hamper or bag full of their favourite sweet treats. 

6. Create a yummy valentine's day special breakfast, Click here for a list of recipes 

7. Make a personalised colouring book. Use photos of you and your partner together to create a colouring book of your relationship. You can easily do by following these steps. 

8. 

Chocolate bar card - see here

9. A romantic evening in a box. Things the box could include: a film you both like, popcorn or sweet treats, take away menus, rose petals, wine, chocolates. 

10. Make some paper flowers 

11. Valentine's party poppers 

tutorial here

12. Plant some seeds..

tutorial here

Hope this list gives you some inspiration, and that you all have a wonderful Valentine's day. 

DIY animal toy christmas decorations - Easy!

This year I told myself I would try out some new christmas crafts and write more diy and tutorial blog posts, so here is my first festive tutorial!

I originally brought these plastic toy animals online for a different DIY but I stupidly didn't look at the size and they are way too small for what I intended. But thanks to the wonder of the internet, I got
some inspiration to make them into christmas tree decorations.

All you'll need is:

• toy plastic animals or dinosaurs
• Jewellery eye hook 
• a little bit of superglue
• Nail varnish (colours of your choice!)
• Ribbon or string. 

I brought a pack of 12 wild animal toys of Ebay for £2! 

I added a hook into the animal using a small drill, but the plastic was fairly easy to puncture so I reckon you could do it with some elbow grease and a pin. Before I put the hook in I dipped it into superglue to ensure it would stay. 

I decided I wanted some of the animals gold, so I just used this Barry M nail varnish to coat them. There are loads of different patterns and colours you could try!

You could try two tones...

or glitter or polka dots! 

Once the animals are dry all you need to do it tie string or ribbon through the hook and whey, you're done!

They'll be more christmas DIY tutorials coming soon! 

x

Making earrings with a glue gun!

I simply love making jewellery, and last week I took a trip to my favourite shop, Hobbycraft! Of course I probably spent a little too much, but I did get quite a few pieces for my jewellery making, which I see as an investment! ;)

I watched a few youtube tutorials on how to make charms using a glue gun, it was difficult at first but once you get the hang of it, it's an easy way to make some lovely earrings! 

The glue gun was from Hobbycraft (£5 I think) and the glue sticks were £1 from Tiger (bargain!)
Glue guns are so useful if you're a keen crafter,  and if you can even get different coloured glue sticks! 

For the most recent earrings I've made, I've been using a silicone mould by Gedeo, which I bought from Hobbycraft. It comes with small moulds of hearts, circles and squares, and they're the perfect size for earrings. The larger moulds are great for necklace pendants. 

Once your glue gun is heated up, just squeeze some glue into which ever mould you fancy. Leave it to dry for a few mins and then it should easierly pop out of the mould. Trim around any excess glue and now you're ready to decorate /colour! 

To colour the earrings I use a few coats of nail varnish, and then a clear one to add an extra shine!

Once coloured I use super glue to attach the earring backs to the charm I've made. 

Red rose stud earrings.

Other ideas:

While the glue is still wet in the mould, add a small nail art design, these are some little fruit ones I found. They were from the pound shop but are available online. Make sure you push the fruit down so it's visible through the glue.

  

Here are some sweet little strawberry earrings I made. 

Use glitter to add some sparkle to your earrings! This can be done by using glitter nail varnish or by adding glitter while the glue is still wet.

Use vintage pictures of flowers! Push them into the glue while it's still wet. (Make sure the flowers are the same size/shape!) 
Thanks for checking this tutorial out! Keep up to date with me via my instagram @beckynetleyphotography 

DIY bucket list book

Being a little low on money I decided to make my boyfriends anniversary present. We're always spending time googling what films to watch and where to eat so I made a bucket list type book of all the place we can go and things we can watch. 

The time spent making the book was in the research for films and restaurants and stamping the lettering! 

The book would make a great present for a family member or partner but why not make one for yourself?! 

Ideas for making your own bucket list book:

• Create sections in the book for different things, such as 'places to visit' or 'Foods to try'
• Add a section where you can review or make notes on the thing you've done. I used 5 hearts, and once we've completed something we colour how many hearts we think the experience should get. 
• Use stamps to write or decorate the book. I got most of my rubber stamps from hobbycraft and tiger, super cheap and I've had tonnes of use out of them!
• Add stickers at the back of the book to mark when you've completed something. 
• Leave space for future ideas!
• If you want to travel a lot, add a map to mark off the places you've been! 
• Add easy things to do as well, maybe even just films you've always wanted to see

These are the stickers we'll use to mark what experiences we've done!

Good luck in making your own!

By the way, my boyfriend loved the present and we've already tricked some things off!

Awesome lego inspired crafts

So after candyland, I wanted to make a backdrop or scene suitable for boys (or girls) and Lego sprung to mind. I would love to make a crazy world of lego that I could shrink my clients into.

On my quest to find inspiration I found some great lego inspired crafts and life hacks.

Here are my favs

Lego plant head

USB stick.

customized lego letters by this etsy user: MosaicTreasureBox 

Lego Soap!

tutorial here

Lego + cake = the best thing ever.

Key holder!

Toothbrush holder. 

Lego cable holder!

Lego head jars

There are far too many lego diys to try! I'll be sure to do a tutorial if I try any of these, but for now I must get back to lego shoot ideas!