May is always such a mix of a month… with the final flourish of spring, some warm and sunny days starting to come through, and a handful of ‘April showers’ still keeping us on our toes. It’s a good month to embrace the changing seasons, and create some lovely late-spring/early-summer projects. With that in mind, here are 5 ideas for a creative May…
1. Decorate some plant-markers. Whether you’re growing herbs on your windowsill or planting a flowerbed in the garden, making your own plant markers is a sweet and practical project to add extra joy. Use wooden lolly sticks, smooth pebbles, or air-dry clay, to create your base; then decorate with paint pens, acrylic paint, or waterproof markers. Make sure you protect them with outdoor varnish/sealant if you want them to stay outside.
2. Upcycle last year’s summer wardrobe. With the sun coming out more often (hopefully!) and spring heading into summer, May is a great month to drag out last year’s summer wardrobe and give it some love. Block print old t-shirts with handmade stamps, add embroidery to a plain dress, turn a skirt or shorts into a simple tote bag. Just have fun upcycling pieces you don’t like anymore, to make them something you’ll love wearing this year.
3. Create tin-can lanterns. Save some empty tin-cans and turn them into pretty lanterns, ready for summer entertaining. Use a nail and hammer to carefully punch little holes in the side* – think florals, stars, or random patterns. Then paint them with joyful colours, or leave them raw for a more rustic look, and add tealights or LED candles for a gorgeous glow. *According to online, filling the cans with water and freezing them, makes it easier to punch holes without denting the metal – just make sure you let the ice thaw and dry the cans before painting them. Let us know if you try this tip and it works!
4. Make a pompom garland. With the weather being somewhat unpredictable in the UK, we can’t rely on always hosting guests outside. Instead, make sure it’s always cheerful and welcoming indoors, by making a colourful pompom garland. Use a pompom maker, homemade cardboard template, or even just your fingers, to form the fluffy poms, then string them together. Why not intertwine some fairy-lights too, for added magic come the evening.
5. Create some late-spring monoprints. Using a gel printing plate (you can buy them online or from many good arts and crafts stores), create some seasonal monoprints. Apply your paint or ink to the gel plate, press some late-spring flowers, leaves, or grasses into the paint and peel away; press a sheet of paper onto the plate, then gently peel it off to “pull” a unique print.
Hopefully one of these 5 ideas for a creative May inspires your creativity and makes you want to do a project this month. And if you give one of the ideas a try, do get in touch to show us your creations (anyone else miss show and tell days from school?!). We would love to share some of your creativity on our Instagram stories.
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