So much has changed in the last 6 months. Not much writing. A new job. New hobbies and getting running back. I love this space for how it taught me to come up with creative ideas and share them with the world. It helped me to see the world for the colourful, fun, little things that are looking to be found. It even taught me that I could write consistently for over two years and find joy in that.

This space makes a good archive for a lot of cool stuff that I found that was worth sharing, many ideas of my own and some very fun tutorials both big and small. For now, I think that is what it will be. An archive for people to search if they’d like to.

If you’ve read SFAHH over the years, I just want to say a big thank you for being part of it. I don’t know if this is the end for good, but for now, I think I’m all shared-out. Maybe I’ll be back if my life becomes home focused again.

Thank you for reading.

happy birthday little blog, you helped me make it from 27 to 30 and I’ll always be beyond grateful for that. x

The post Three appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to go to the launch of Spotlight’s National Craft Month. Not only was it a fun day of trying out some crafts and learning about what Spotlight has to offer us crafty folk, but it was also a chance to see the a project they’d asked me to be part of! Before the event, they asked some crafty bloggers if they’d decorate a paper mache deer head in their favourite style or material. I chose to paint mine and make it colourful, and I wanted to share how you can make one too!

What you’ll need:

• Paper Mache Deer Head This is a Shamrock brand one that Spotlight sent me
• Coloured Paint I used Chalk Paint because I already had it in my studio (not from Spotlight) but any acrylic paint would also work. Be sure to adjust drying time, depending on the paint you choose. I used Orange, Green, Yellow, Red and White
• Thin Washi Tape 5mm width is best and I used all of one roll and a small part of the second roll. I got them off ebay.
• Paint Brushes 1 wider one for the white paint and 4 thin brushes (1 for each of your other colours)
• Mixing Tray if you need to mix your paints, mine is from Spotlight – purchased last year
• Protective surface so you don’t mark your table, I used butchers paper from ikea, stuck down with washi tape

How to:

1. First you’ll need to lay down your protective surface and get everything ready to start painting. Then take your wide brush and add white paint to it and start painting over your deer head until all the brown colour of the brown paper is hidden. Don’t forget to do the back of the deer’s antlers and ears.
2. Leave to dry completely, before moving on to the next step. Some paints, like chalk paint, will dry faster than others, but  for the next step to work, don’t skip this step.
3. Once it’s dry, it’s time to make a pattern with the washi tape across the deer head. Start at the back and tape each piece across the front, making sure that it’s stuck firmly – with no bubbles, and wrap it around to the back. I started at the bottom and worked my way up, leaving some big gaps and some small. With the antlers I tried to use one continuous piece where I could and that made a really interesting pattern. I started at the back of the base of each antler and worked my way up and back down again.
4. Use as much tape as you need. I added a few pieces of the second tape where the gaps felt too large.
5. Now it’s time to mix your paint colours if you need to. I wanted a SFAHH style pink and I only had red, so I mixed the red with some white until I got the perfect raspberry shade.
6. This next step is easiest if you have one small paint brush for each colour and you switch colours as you paint so you don’t have to guess which colour will go where and end up with a bunch of the same colour next to each other. I started at the bottom of the deer head and tried to make it so that the same colour was never repeated in the next gap. Paint right to the edges of the tape and even over them a little bit to ensure that you’ve filled the gap with colour. Even the tiny gaps got a different colour. I also painted the back side of the ears and the antlers so the colours follow around.
7. Leave to dry completely. Once it’s completely dry, carefully peel off the washi tape. I found that last on, first off was the easiest, as if you try to pull too many pieces off at once you could damage the design. As you remove the tape, your design will start to emerge.
8. Once you’ve finished removing the tape, admire your handy work and hang your deer head up!

Thoughts on the project:

This is really fun to make and makes for a great rainy day activity. The more tape you add, the more little gaps you have to paint, so that’s something to keep in mind when thinking about how much time you want to put into the project, or the ages of the people who you might want to try this with. Because I used chalk paint, you can see the brush strokes, but this will be different if you choose a different paint type. I’m so happy with how it turned out, I’m hoping to hang it on the wall when Spotlight have finished with it.

National Craft Month:

Spotlight’s National Craft Month runs for the month of April and they have some awesome events and online giveaways planned, if you want to participate. The two in-store events are Fabric Fiesta on April 2 and Crafty Party on April 23! More info on these events and NCM is available at their website.

Would you like to try decorating a deer head?

If you do try this, I’d love to see a photo or hear about how it went! Tweet me your pics at: @danniellecresp or instagram me at: @dannielle with the hashtag: #styleforahappyhome

Disclaimer: Spotlight invited me to the launch of National Craft Month and I received the Shamrock Deer Head to decorate in celebration of this. I was reimbursed for my time in creating this post. All opinions are my own and all other materials used were my own. Working with the right brands helps to keep this blog running and as always, I only share what I think will also be great for you. xD

The post Mini Makeover: Make Your Own Colourful Deer Head appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

If you’ve been reading this blog for even a little while, you’ll know that I’m drawn to colourful things. They make me and my home happier and I love when they are functional too. Recently, the lovely folks at Everten (an Aussie kitchenware online store) contacted me and asked if I’d like to review something for my kitchen and I was curious to see what they had available.

I took a good look through their website and almost instantly noticed that they stock Joseph Joseph, a kitchen brand that’s a colour lovers dream, I was 98% sure I wanted to pick something from that brand. Everten have lots of great brands to choose from and I was really impressed with how easy the site is to navigate. (The former web designer in me really notices these things!) After checking out the whole site, I did end up back at the Joseph Joseph section, and in the end I chose a Joseph Joseph Index Large Chopping Board Set to try out.

I’ve been spending more time in my kitchen, as it’s one of my aims for the year, and I noticed that the chopping boards needed to be washed a lot because there are only two. Food safety is really important to me, so when I spotted the chopping board set that includes one board for red meat, one for cooked foods, one for fish and one for veggies – I thought it would be a great help. They come in a cool case which matches all the stainless steel small appliances that we have.

I’ve been testing them out and I love that they are easy to spot the right one by both colour and symbol. They also have juice catchers on the red meat board and the veggie one, which is really handy. I don’t prepare fish so the blue board will be for chicken in our house, but it’s cool that it has a grip line in the middle so that it doesn’t slip and slide as you’re trying to cut the food up. Some of the boards have a slight bend that I noticed the first time I used them, but I haven’t noticed it since.

The cooked foods board is the most used in our home and I’ve found the grooves to be good for catching crumbs but not so deep that it would change the shape of the bread when making sandwiches. I’m quite picky when it comes to these little things, so I notice. I was also surprised at how easy they are to clean and that you don’t leave and knife marks in the board even when cutting things repeatedly.

They’ve each got grippy corners on both sides and the backs of each board are flat in case you need that second side. The chopping boards have fitted into our kitchen really easily and will be getting plenty of use. I love that they look good on the bench too!

Do you use a chopping board set? What works for you?

Disclaimer: This post is a review for Everten of the Joseph Joseph Index Large Chopping Board Set. All opinions are my own. I received this chopping board set in return for an honest review. Working with the right brands helps to keep this blog running and as always, I only share what I think you will also love. xD

The post Mini Makeover: Cool Chopping Board Set appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

Last April I did a big kitchen cupboard makeover which made a big difference, but I was using a slanted document file for my baking pans. At first it was ok, but the big ones didn’t fit and over time it really started to annoy me (way more than it probably should)!

I really didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money on finding a solution, but after doing a few hours of online research I realised that here in Australia, there aren’t many options to choose from – especially not if you want one you can adjust to fit your baking pans. After going with the slanted document file and feeling unhappy with it, I knew that compromising on something for the sake of price, would annoy me really quickly.

In the end, the only one I could find that met what I wanted: adjustable, fits lots of pans, sturdy, was the Youcopia StoreMore Bakeware Rack. It was $29.95 from Howards Storage World (here is the direct link), and I could not be happier with it. It fits my large loaf pans, my thin pans and even my plastic lids for my cake storage containers and nothing leans like it’s going to fall out!

It was really simple to put together and it’s genuinely adjustable (not like those ones where they’re only adjustable the first time you use them)! I love that I can grab out a pan without them all falling out and that there’s plenty of room for them. I’m even considering buying a second one for my stoneware, that I purchased last year.

This isn’t sponsored, I just loved the simplicity of it, and sometimes it’s the simple things that make a big difference.

How do you store your baking pans? Do you have a cool storage gadget that made things easier at home?

Note: This post isn’t sponsored, I just love the product and like to share. xD

The post Mini Makeover: Ace Baking Pan Storage Solution appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

What I’ve realised is that having good quality stuff that’s in good working condition makes me feel happier. I struggle a bit with the consumerist part, but I just need to let that go. I don’t buy for the sake of buying and I’m pretty picky with my purchases and I take so long to decide that I’m usually really happy with what I bring home.

Money has been tight over the last year or so, and my list of things to replace has been growing. I complied a “to buy” list for the items that I want to invest in, and with the combination of me starting a new job and the post-Christmas/Summer Clearance sales, I was able to get some of those things ticked off my list and happily into my home – and at a great price! Here are 3 of the big items on my list:

New Towels.

Late last year I won a voucher for AURA Home and there was so much to choose from that I couldn’t decide, but when their summer sale started I decided to have another look and I realised that what I really wanted was a double set of matching towels. Their stuff is fantastic quality, so it really came down to colour choice. I chose the Charcoal triangle pattern with the neon lime accents.

I went with the Bath Towel Set (which included two hand towels, two bath towels and a bath mat) and two Bath Sheets. I’m so glad I picked them, and I’m thinking of saving to get another bath towel set in future. It was a voucher well spent and I’m so happy with my choice. You can find them here.

Having new towels means that I can clean out my linen cupboard of all the old, worn out towels and not worry that we don’t have enough. I kept a couple of old ones for future hair dying mishaps (or accidental flooding mop ups), but most are now gone. Woo!

Kenwood Chef.

I have always made cakes with my mum’s old Kenwood Chef. It’s around 40 years old and has been a workhorse in our home, but in the last year, the motor has been struggling and it doesn’t have any splash guards so can make a crazy mess when you first start mixing. After a lot of research about which machine to buy (and even a pro/con list about other brands) and looking at the summer clearance prices, I decided to go with the Kenwood Chef Sense.

This year one of my goals is to learn to cook a bigger range of food and to enjoy cooking more. Having the right tools is helping me with that already. I got mine from my work (I work in a Department Store) and I love it! It’s really just an updated version of what I had before and I hope that it will last as long as mum’s did.

Quilt Cover Set.

My quilt cover (doona/duvet cover) set had seen better days, and didn’t really go with my style anymore, so I’ve been on the look out for something that would not only suit my style, but also go well with my patterned sheets and even my bedroom wall colour. I spent hours trawling through online stores looking for one that was “me”. I was starting to think that I’d never find one, when I decided to have a quick look at the Adairs Kids section on their site, and voila! I found the perfect one for me!

All the sets in the Adairs Kids section go up to queen size, so it’s perfect for colour-loving kids-at-heart like me! The fruity cover not only matches my colourful style, but it also goes with my patterned sheets and my wall colour! Winning! It’s 250 thread count cotton and I love it so much! You can find it here. (It’s an even better price now than what I got it for).

I’ll be sharing more finds and buys from my big “to buy” list as I get them.

Have you got any great deals for your home lately?

The post Great Summer Sale Finds appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

1. Party Invitation Printable This has been updated for ringing in 2016 and is super fun (and free!)! Find it here
2. “Party In A Glass” Parfaits These are a cool idea and could be made without the booze if you’re a non drinker. Find it here
3. Clock Balloon DIY This is a great tutorial for helium balloons for NYE! Find it here
4. Holiday Eggnog Shooters These look so sweet and could be great for a NYE party! Find it here
5. Confetti Party Favours Great for guests to take home or for them to throw at midnight! Find it here
6. Kisses Printables Got your hands on some Hershey’s Kisses? These are awesome printables to go with them! Find them here

What’s your favourite thing to have at a New Year’s Eve party?

The post Ace New Year’s Eve Party Ideas appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

The Food Table

I forgot to get a shot of the whole table and of the awesome watermelon ice bucket – which worked like a treat, but here’s some close ups of it and the cake. From top left:

The Pineapple water dispenser is from Target Australia and held 5 litres of Solo soft drink. The table runner (which looked so great) DIY can be found here. Each table had two bamboo sticks with a decoration on them. I blew up fruity coloured balloons and designed and made that sign using Photoshop and my Scan N Cut for this table!

On the table next to the fruity cups from Ikea (not pictured) was a make your own fruit kebab section. The green punnet bowls are from Ikea and here’s how to make the pineapple labels. I also made and decorated sugar cookies using a Nigella recipe and my letter cookie cutters. I decorated them so they matched the fruit shaped cookies I made that you can see in the last shot. These are all on Ikea paper plates. Next on the table were pineapple donuts that I picked up fresh from my local community supermarket and I also made fairy bread and used my fruit cookie cutters (that I bought from Lark) to make the fruit shapes.

I also added Wonka Runts and Starburst Party Mix and Fruit Mix to a punnet bowl each for mixed fruit lollies (candy). In the pineapple and strawberry bowls that I made here, I had Cheezels, Original Chips and Salt and Vinegar all with the labels. I blutacked on the labels that didn’t have sticks. We also had Victoria Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd filling and icing sugar on the top. I also made the cake topper with my Scan N Cut and Photoshop.

For the party favours I made more cookies and also included a pineapple shaped cookie each. They didn’t make the table display as I ran out of cookie dough! (Rookie error! There’s a photo of them here!) I also made little watermelon name tags that I designed in photoshop and cut with my Scan N Cut. I left one pip uncovered so I could add the string!

I was so happy with how it turned out!

The Party Table

The party table turned out so great! It was a small crowd for party day, but it worked out well. We had the party food from the table as well as pizza and garlic bread that I ordered once my guests had arrived. Here are the details:

I got the chairs for a bargain from Officeworks and they were perfect! The tablecloth is from this DIY here. The round watermelon plates are from Lark, and I turned the icecream cups into fruity themed lolly (candy) bowls by designing them in photoshop and again cutting them with my Scan N Cut (it got a real work out for this party!!). I made pineapple and strawberry cup designs and glued them to the outside of the cups. See the before and after photo here. I love how they turned out!

The table also had these DIY coasters, 4 coloured sundae plastic cups filled with starburst fruit chews, Ikea raspberry napkins and these ace Sunnylife baskets that I bought at Trade Secret – they were the perfect size for the garlic bread! The decoration at the back was fruit repeats that I designed and made with the Scan N Cut. There was a watermelon, a lemon, a strawberry, a lime, an apple, a pear, an orange and a pineapple on each! I attached them at the top and the bottom so they wouldn’t fly all over the place! I also had helium balloons tied to each chair as a last minute addition, as well as giant 3 and 0 balloons (not pictured) just off to the side.

The Craft Table

It couldn’t really be my party without a crafty activity and to stick with the theme I went a little crazy and made each guest a calico tote bag and also made fruit stamps! Here’s how it was organised:

I had an old sheet over the table that was fine for getting paint on and I had 4 colours of screen printing paint that I bought at Spotlight. Each paint bottle had a brush to go with it and there were lots of stamps to choose from. I traced and cut the foam shapes and PVA glued them to cork board I already had, that I cut to size. I had some giant fruit I had designed and made as the decoration behind this table and it looked great! My guests had fun chatting and painting their own bag to keep! It was such a great idea!

Thoughts on the day

I did go a little overboard on decorations and DIYs for the party, but it was such a lovely day that I’m glad I went to the effort that I wanted to. It was so lovely to celebrate this milestone with some great friends and to test out my party design ideas! It’s now one week until my actual birthday and I’m excited to see how my 30s turn out!

Note: Most photos were taken by Emily, with a few taken by me. 

Do you do theme parties?

The post My Tutti Fruity 30 Party appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

1. Christmas Jelly Slice This is a fun no bake option for your Christmas Dessert! Find it here
2. Ice Cream Pudding This is so decadent but it would look amazing as your Christmas dessert! Find it here
3. Gingerbread Christmas Trees Perfect for the gingerbread lovers on your Christmas dessert table! Find it here
4. Homemade Pettermint Patties These look so sweet, especially with the candy canes added! Find it here
5. Christmas Tree Meringues These are adorable and would be so fun for Christmas Day! Find it here
6. Candy Cane Peppermint and White Chocolate Swirl Cake If you like to go all out for Christmas, then this cake would be amazing to share on Christmas Day! Find it here

What’s your favourite dessert for Christmas?

Need more Christmas Inspiration? I’ve rounded up my Christmas ideas into one handy category, which includes ideas from this year and years past. Find it here.

The post Awesome Desserts to Make for Christmas Day appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

A few weeks back I was at a Bloggers Brunch and I came across the Kambrook table. The first thing that caught my eye was their new iron. That’s seems a little weird, even for me, but the fact that it doesn’t require you to spend time playing with temperature settings intrigued me. Ironing isn’t always the most fun task, but having something that makes it easier and quicker to get the job done was worth having a look at.

After chatting with the lovely ladies at the Kambrook table I was able to take one home to test out. I’ve often found myself frustrated with irons as I seem to spend forever trying to get the heat setting just right and I end up ironing my craft projects for much longer than I’d like. I have always wanted one where the wrinkles start to come out as soon as you start ironing and one that doesn’t add more wrinkles as you go.

The FabriGuard surprised me when it did just that. As it’s one temperature, you simply set the steam level to the fabric type (the handy instruction manual tells you what level for which fabric and even shows the label code to match it to), and with water in it you can start ironing as soon as the red light switches off – which isn’t long at all. Weirdly, I was enjoying testing it out so much that I started ironing things I wouldn’t usually, like pillow slips, because it was so fast and easy to use.

The one thing I need to remember before plugging it in, is to add the water as it needs to be filled with the soleplate on a flat surface. It’s not too tricky and the water doesn’t seem to spill when using the water cup that comes with it. I’ve used it on different fabrics and I’ve found that it lives up to it’s “no burn” statement. I’ve even used it with baking paper when heat sealing screen printing fabric.

I also love the colours they use on it. I know that shouldn’t really matter as it’s an iron, but the gold, white and grey look great – which is always a bonus. Ironing isn’t my favourite task, but having this iron means that I don’t put it off so long and I know that I’m going to get it done faster than before. Win!

The Kambrook FabriGuard Iron is $99.95 RRP and Kambrook have offered me on to give away to one of you lucky readers!

Giveaway Details:

Leave a comment below to enter the random draw to win a Kambrook FabriGuard Iron

• Open from 8 December to 15 December 2015 at 8pm AEST for Australian Residents only
• Prize will be drawn at 8:05pm AEST 15 December 2015 winner will be emailed
• You must enter a valid email address in the email section below and be contactable if you win and be willing to have your details passed on to Kambrook so they can organise prize delivery
• If the winner doesn’t reply by 2pm 18 December 2015 the prize will be redrawn
• One Kambrook FabriGuard Iron to the value of $99.95 is the prize
• Winner will be drawn using random number generator – this is a game of chance

GIVEAWAY CLOSED – WINNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED – THANKS FOR ENTERING!

Disclaimer: This post is a review for Kambrook of the FabriGuard Iron. All opinions are my own. I received this iron in return for an honest review. Working with the right brands helps to keep this blog running and as always, I only share what I think you will also love. xD

The post Kambrook FabriGuard One Temperature Iron Review (Giveaway – Closed) appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.

1. Fridge Magnets Great for kids and kids at heart! Find them here
2. 5 Pack of Notebooks Perfect for anyone who loves to write or journal! Find them here
3. Shoe Wings These are great fun and so easy to add to any laced shoes! Find them here
4. Pencil Case Perfect as an early back to school gift or for the pencils that stay home! Find it here
5. Donut Erasers Great for anyone who collects cute erasers! Find them here
6. Insulated Travel Mug Great for bigger kids and those who love Jonathan Adler! Find it here

What’s on your list for stocking stuffers? Have you found some great ones this year?

Need more Christmas Inspiration? I’ve rounded up my Christmas ideas into one handy category, which includes ideas from this year and years past. Find it here.

The post 2015 Christmas Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers appeared first on Style for a Happy Home.