Why?

Do you ever have the urge to make something that serves no purpose and has no reasoning behind it other than ‘just because’?

My banana basque was one of these mad ideas

as was a teeny tiny mouse with it’s house – (Mr D&D couldn’t quite figure out why I was printing cheese wallpaper for that one, my answer ‘just because’!)

here’s another photo of the mouse so you can see just how tiny he is:

Well today I’ve been working on another of my ‘just because’ projects.  Did you think I was going to show you yet?  Nope, sorry, it’s not quite ready for showing, but be assured it’s the maddest one yet!

Something to look forward to

Sally

xxx

Minion, mini-Minion and mini-mini-Minion

I was spending a lovely few minutes browsing on Etsy and what should jump out of the page shouting “Pick me….pick me!” but this crochet pattern for a Minion.  The pattern is for two different Minions, but this one was my favourite.

I must admit to making a few changes to the pattern, simply because I didn’t have the exact colours required and I didn’t have any toy eyes so I crocheted the first row of the eye with black wool instead.  Not quite as cute, but acceptable.

Once I’d finished, my mind begun whirring and I wondered how easy it would be to make a mini-minion:

And then, just because I could, I made a mini-mini-minion!

The tiny one doesn’t have arms and legs so is more of a jelly bean shaped minion, but I though he was cute anyway. 

Sally

xxx

Crafty Creatives

So far I haven’t shared any of my makes from February’s Crafty Creatives Box, so without further ado, here are a couple of the makes.  The first is a design that features on their blog, and as I had a friend’s birthday to craft for I decided to make it:



The candles are straws from the box and the green stripey tape was also in the box.  I only had to add a stamp, some string for the candle wicks and a card.  It was lovely and quick to make and made a really effective card.

The kit inside the box was a spotty clay heart.  I’ve never tried crafting with polymer clay, and was really excited about trying this kit. My kit had pink and blue clay and these are the pendants I created from the instructions:



I made the blue one first and then mixed the colours to make the purple one.  There was plenty of clay in the kit, so I gave the rest to Daisy to play with.  This is what she came up with:



She made two pendants and then with the last of the clay she made some clay beads which she is planning on turning into a bracelet. 

This box is far and away my favourite so far, I loved the kit and there was nothing in the box I won't use.  

Sally
xxx

A New Friend & Artist Trading Cards

At the beginning of the year I saw a blog post on Whipstitch asking if anyone would like email sewing buddies.  I signed up, and using a very scientific calculation (favourite colour - Red & number - 7) I was matched with Ginger who lives in North Carolina. 

Our first challenge was to create and exchange an Artist Trading Card.  I must confess I had to look this one up as I’d not heard of them before, but once I’d found out a bit about them, I set to making one.

This is the ATC that Ginger sent to me:



How lovely is that flower.  I’ve been reliably informed it’s a Kanzashi flower, another new technique for me to have a look at.

Here is the back of the ATC:



Ginger also sent me a gift of Fat Quarter of fabric, in a lovely bluey colour, which I've used as the background for the photo.  Such a pretty piece of fabric and it'll be perfect for several projects I have brewing in the back of my mind.

Just in case you are interested, here is my take on the ATC:



I stamped onto some white fabric, and used free motion embroidery, buttons and fancy machine stitches to hold all of the fabric together.  I wanted the card to reflect the two countries we lived in, so I chose red, white and blue fabric.

It was a really fun challenge, and a good way to get to know our sewing buddies. Thanks again for the card Ginger, it's now propped up on a shelf in my sewing room.

Sally
xxx

Simply Homemade issue 27

Slightly later than I’d intended to show this, but here are my ballet themed items in this month’s issue of Simply Homemade

A ballet bag, some crochet legwarmers, a bun cover and a tutu.

How pretty!  If you have a girl who loves dancing then these patterns are just perfect.

Sally

xxx

How To Make A Felt Owl with Template

As promised, here is the template for making the felt owl:



Print it out on an A4 sheet and cut out the template pieces.  It’s fairly easy to put together, but I’ve added a few instructions in case you need them.

You will need felt in whatever colours you feel like.  We used 1 colour for the front and back pieces, and then scraps of other bright coloured felt for the rest of the owl pieces.  You will also need some embroidery thread, stuffing and 2 large buttons.

1. cut out the pieces of felt from whatever colour of felt you’d like

2. Use 2 strands of embroidery thread to sew the belly shape onto the owl

3. Sew the beak on the front of the owl

4. Take your buttons and sew them on either side of the beak

5. Take the two body pieces and place them together. Pin the ears and wings in place, between the two body layers.

6. Sew around the edge of the owl, which secures the wings and ears.  We used a running stitch, but you could use a blanket stitch if you prefer.  Leave a small hole in the edge so you can stuff the owl.

7. Pop some stuffing inside the owl, and then finish sewing around the edge.


Here is a photo of the owl my daughter made, so you can get an idea of what it should look like:

Hope you like the owls.  If you make any I’d love to see them.
Sally
xxx

A whole gang of Owls

This last week has been half term for the schools in this area, and so with time on our hands, we invited some friends over for a craft session.

A huge pile of felt,

some thread,

and a whole lot of concentration later

Our group of owls (and one monster) are created

The girls (and the mums) all had a great time, I’ve never known them so quiet! Roll on the Easter holidays when we can do it again. 

If anyone is interested in making their own owl, I’ll try to put up a quick tutorial and the template tomorrow.

Sally

xxx