Ideas

• terena@ideasfactory.co.za• instagram.com/terenaleroux I'm probably putting the cart before the horse, but I feel there’s something I must say in this letter and not wait until the next one. Next time I will say a great deal, but for now I just want

'About six years ago, we went to a childhood ‘A friend’s farm for Sunday lunch. It was late in the afternoon, we were sitting at a table under the trees, our host had just brought a pitcher of lemonade for us to drink and the kids were riding horses

DIFFICULTY: reasonably easy TIME: half a day YOU WILL NEED: ♥ wooden bedside cabinet (or other furniture piece you wish to decorate) ♥ paper design ♥ A1 sheets white paper ♥ modge podge ♥ sandpaper (optional) ♥ craft brush ♥ craft knife and cutting m

DIFFICULTY: medium TIME: 2-3 days ♥ diagrams on page overleaf ♥ plywood (we used birch plywood) – 500mm x 330mm x 3.5mm thick (parts 1 & 3) ♥ jelutong (or any other light wood) – 250mm x 330mm x 40mm thick ♥ countersunk brass wood screws, 3mm x 12mm

Couscous is quick to prepare and you can change up the flavours according to what ingredients you have in your fridge. We’ve used snow peas and strawberries, but you could use cubed cucumber, garden peas, sweet peppers, baby corn or cherry tomatoes a

Makes: 1 x 23cm flan Serves: 12 Preparation time: 1 hour plus cooling time (make it the day before you need it) Oven temperature: 180o C Custard: ♥ 750ml full cream milk ♥ 1 vanilla pod (or use 5ml vanilla extract; see step 3) ♥ 5 large egg yolks plu

DIFFICULTY: easy TIME: 22 hours ♥ 2,2m x 2,2m fabric ♥ embroidery design ♥ tracing method of choice ♥ Coton Perle (we used the colour 094) or embroidery thread ♥ sewing thread (optional) ♥ embroidery needle ♥ embroidery hoop ♥ sharp scissors 1 Fold y

Doodling can help you focus, especially during long business or office meetings. As you create the repetitive marks, your brain slows down, and you stimulate your self-control mechanism which in turn helps you to pay better attention – which then hel

I came across some words by George Bernard Shaw that justify my over-the-top chandelier. ‘If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you might as well let it dance.’ An exuberant chandelier with blue, red and green pieces of glass, brimming with o

We first discovered Fébé and Mishka on Instagram, where as @febe_and_mishka_in_wonderland they even put Alice to shame. Because in and around their house and garden in Onrus near Hermanus, they style their magical scenes, dress up for the occasion, a

DIFFICULTY: intermediate TIME: one week Small (medium, large) ♥ 3 balls (50g each) Kismet Raeesah 100% pure cotton in colour 58 (main colour) ♥ 1 ball (50g) Kismet Raeesah 100% pure cotton each in colours 33 and 66 ♥ 1 ball (50g) Elle Premier Cotton

DIFFICULTY: intermediate TIME: 3–4 days Medium (more or less 56cm all round) ♥ 2 balls (50g each) Vinnis Nikkim crochet cotton in Natural ♥ 1 ball (50g) Vinnis Nikkim crochet cotton each in Sunshine, Orange and Avocado ♥ 3,75mm crochet hook tapestry

DIFFICULTY: intermediate (and patience needed) TIME: for the cushion, about 4 days Finished project is approximately 45cm x 42cm. ♥ quilting fabric in 5 different shades, or more if you prefer ♥ rotary cutter and rotary cutting mat ♥ Prym Fabric Glue

12,7cm × 13,3cm ♥ embroidery design on page 107 ♥ 25cm x 25cm 28-count antique white Jobelan by Wichelt (stitched over 2 threads) with stitch count 71 wide × 75 high ♥ 2 pieces of foam core board ♥ embroidery thread ♥ embroidery needle ♥ embroidery h

11,4 x 11,4cm ♥ embroidery design on page 106 ♥ 20cm x 20cm 32-count Cobblestone Belfast Linen by Zweigart (stitched over 2 threads) with stitch count 63 wide x 63 high ♥ 2 matching pieces of felt or wool fabric each measuring 14cm square ♥ embroider

Summer lies deep and dense around our ankles, I can still smell sunscreen in the air and sweet watermelon … but it’s January, February is around the corner, the new year is here. Just as the early summer sun tears us from a blissful night’s slumber i

Every Christmas Eve, for as long as Leonie Dyamond can remember, Santa rowed across the Sedgefield lagoon in a small boat to get to their beach house. To this day, it is one of her best memories. The old man with the black bag and red suit rowing ove

‘I put my arms in to my jersy and my mom’s hands came out the sleeves,’ wrote the put my arms into my jersey and my mom’s hands came late Dr Cecile Cilliers in one of her columns. That image stayed with me for years. The skin on our hands gives away

‘Go in the direction of relief’ has been a guideline for living I have always found enormously helpful. I’m fairly sure, though not certain, that I can attribute it to Abraham Hicks, and a talk I listened to over a decade ago. I’m entirely sure that