The C-word is no longer taboo. Craft is hip again, and as well as being a therapeutic pastime, you really can create some dazzling one-offs for your home without a PhD in interior design

Excerpted from House Proud by Danielle Proud, priced £16.99, published by Bloomsbury.

Personalising your home is no different to piecing together an outfit that suits you, and can fit into any schedule. So try these inspired craft ideas by Danielle Proud, pioneer of the new craft movement, to add a funky individual touch to your home.

Retro apron
Shop-bought aprons tend to be huge 'one size fits all' sheet-like things - domestic togas, usually with idiotic slogans about the chef's inclinations emblazoned across the front. Making your own apron is a must for any modern homemaker who finds cooking a perfect Hollandaise as important as looking saucy. More...

Recycling bag
This recycling bag is so quick to make that you should tag it onto the end of another sewing project, like the ironing board cover. It'll be as chic and frivolous as the fabric you choose. More importantly, it's genuinely useful - it'll turn the unsightly avalanche of carrier bags under the sink into a fountain of loveliness. More...

Ironing board cover
Ironing boards take up a lot of space and, for that reason alone, they should be top of your 'in need of transformation' hit list. With a little imagination and a metre and a half of decent fabric you can change one of these bleakly utilitarian and functional beasts into a fashion statement that looks better out of the closet than in it. More...

Wallpapered screen
After years of hanging around in unfashionable circles (geddit?), wallpaper has undergone a renaissance that shows no signs of abating. But for the commitment phobes among us, it's a little too permanent, especially if you think that steam-stripping is a type of spa treatment. So try making a screen instead. More...

Upholstered drop-in seat
The word 'upholstery' conjures up images of Women's Institute meetings and evening classes in draughty strip-lit sixth-form colleges. But, in reality, upholstery is the quickest way to revamp boring old furniture, making it as hip as the new material you choose. A drop-in seat can be done by a novice in a couple of hours. More...

Wooden Vogue placemats
You can buy cheap placemats practically anywhere, but mostly they're plastic horrors the size of a ground sheet that bring to mind dining in the Little Chef circa 1985. Check out these cheeky chopping-board mats and you'll see in an instant why you need to make your own. The mats last for ever, don't require any technical skill or sewing. More...

Vintage scarf cushions
Sumptuous new cushions update a room instantly and are a great way to add a flash of colour or pattern. Make them yourself and you have the perfect use for those old scarves that you haven't looked at in years. Vintage-scarf cushions are an easy way to landing a seriously chic designer punch in your living room More...

Photo treatments
The key to creating great photo art is knowing that there are some techniques that you can do in a lo-fi Blue Peter kind of way and others that are best left to the professionals (in this case, assume the role of art director). Start by building confidence in your pictures - print off a stack of photographs that you like. More...

Shark doorstop
This tongue-in-cheek doorstop is guranteed to amuse your friends and confuse your cat. You'll need to make this outside or in a well-ventilated garage. And ideally the temperature should be 20-25°C, so grab a fan heater to keep your work warm. More...


Mosaic table
One look at Gaudi's extraordinary mosaic sculptures in Park Guell, Barcelona, or a stumble across a 1930s tiled courtyard in the Californian or Mexican desert, and you'll want to know how to mosaic. It's a timeless craft that you can make as modern or as traditional as the materials and patterns that you choose. More...