Clove, Bead and Ribbon Oranges

These are fun to make. When I made some clove oranges last Christmas, I studded one or two rather sparsely, and left some oranges to go hard without studding them.

These work very well if you pin coloured ribbon around the oranges however you like, or not if you prefer, then stud the hard oranges with beads threaded on pins. If the holes in your beads are too large, you can first thread tiny beads or sequins on to the pins before threading on the larger beads. Sometimes rows of tiny beads can be effective, too. This is fun to do and can be a bit kitsch, but less so if you use plain matching beads in one colour. I have made quite a good plain white one from pearl beads. I have a bowlful of these in my boudoir, and the smell of spice and orange is quite pleasant as I walk past.

Kitchen Floor

Before I had my new kitchen put in, my old kitchen floor was concrete. Painted bright blue, the paint kept wearing off in patches.

I covered a few of the patches with flowers painted in acrylic, then it occurred to me to paint around the furniture, then quite carried away, I painted the entire floor. Each time a bit wore out I simply repainted with more flowers - usually different from the originals. Of course, this had to stop, and stop it did when my new kitchen was put in.

Decorating Bangles

This is similar to the mirror idea, but much more time consuming.

Using a plain (preferably brass) bangle, I slowly covered it (about an inch at a time, letting it dry overnight)with recycled necklace beads (those above were either coral or real and fake turquoise, but on others I have used broken 9ct gold scraps which looks very effective stuck on gold glitter Tulip fabric paint).

The main thing is to have or acquire a large selection of beads, brooches, buttons, broken earrings - costume or real, in advance.

You need to experiment with which Tulip paint looks best with the colours you are using. You do not need to cover the bangles with Tulip paint first. Just use it fairly generously sticking things on. If things fall off it probably means they are too heavy, but most things will stick if you keep them propped upright until dry.

I have used old necklaces, bits of jewellery, even old necklace clasps and cufflink pieces with effect.

Last (I Promise!) Decorated Mirrors

I had to include this one as it is my favourite mirror.

Made in the same way as the red one (I have made blue, yellow and green art deco style mirrors) this mirror takes things a bit further in that I have made more use of small beads and 'pearls' and used them to make wider, abstract flowing shapes between the CD pieces, as well as larger designs. I have made similar ones using mirrored beads with CDs for my more minimalist friends, though these mirrors can never really be minimalist.

More Decorated Mirrors

Someone gave me a bag of old CDs from some record company. I cut these into rough mosaic shapes and recycled them as mirrors. CDs are thinner and lighter than glass mirror, reasonably unbreakable, and have a multicoloured sheen when moved, kind of AB.

This time I bought some very cheap mirrors from IKEA. I purchased large flat coloured plastic 'stones' and lots of tiny beads from a bead shop. I used plain black Tulip fabric paint to stick the pieces of CD on. The CDs can be cut using strong scissors but this is hard work - sometimes they just crumble - varies from CD to CD. When I had lots of pieces I put them into piles according to size and shape, then started sticking them on. Occasionally I would make large stones into 'flowers', then, if there were wide gaps, put some more Tulip paint in these, then drop teaspoons of beads over, occasionally pressing in. Leave flat to dry, shake the spare beads off, and continue until the mirror is finished. The edges can be painted with black acrylic paint to match. Also the inside edges next to the mirror surface, spare paint can be carefully scraped off the glass.

These have rather an Art Deco look. Another way of recycling!

Decorating Mirrors

This was my first experiment.

I bought a cheap plain mirror and covered the surface in Tulip fabric paint in silver. When dry, bit by bit, letting the mirror dry for a day or so, I stuck odds and ends:antique broken brooches, buttons, plastic beads etc. on it until the whole surface was more or less covered. Again, using a thick blob of Tulip fabric paint.

I was quite surprised that the items remained firmly stuck. This was fun to do and a way of recycling these odds and ends.