Something with feathers...

I love having leftovers from my craft projects and then trying to create something from them.

And this time it was another fascinator!

And this time it is not for me but for my Etsy shop as it was looking a bit sad for itself.

The felt was left over from the mug cosy I made a couple of months ago and the feathers and metal heart were left over from some earrings I took apart to make the fascinator for my daughters naming ceremony...

I then experimented with how I wanted it to look... And then glued it all in place with silicone glue (something I have only recently discovered and now I can't get enough of it!) and then left it to dry.

And this is it!

Now on my etsy page!

When's a jar not a jar?

When it is a vase!

Again, today I have been neck deep in trying to sort out the stuff for my daughters naming ceremony and I had my first panic when sitting discussing the arrangements for the day.

So? Have you decided on the table decoration?
Yes. Giraffe themed tags to go on the tea cups and brown and yellow table gems.
And centre pieces? What about the flowers?

Damn, I thought. I hadn't thought of those!

At this time of year the roads and gardens are filled with daffodils so at least that would make things easier... It was just finding something for them to stand in.

After raiding my garden cupboard I found three jam jars that were all the same and gave them a quick rinse (who knows what kind of insects and bugs had been living in them!)

I then measured a length of giraffe print felt which fitted around the circumference of the jar and cut it to size. I also took a length of giraffe print ribbon (the same as the ones on the name tags!) and stuck that to the felt.

I then stuck the felt to the jar and stuck a fimo giraffe to it.

I can't wait for the ceremony now... A giraffe themed afternoon tea - what more could a 7 month old wish for?!

Rats!

The summer term is always packed with exams and stressing students but the one breath of fresh air is the middle school play which is an adaption of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere called 'London Below' and the set is currently being constructed, script being written and the props are being made...

I sometimes dread when my head of department writes the scripts as you never know what props she is going to come up with. The latest one that she wanted some rats made which can sit on your hand but also not look realistic and look handmade... This is right up my street!

I first made a paper version at my desk to work out how big it needed to be and then took it apart to make a template.

I then found some scraps of felt that I had in my stash of stuff which sits in a basket and cut out a body in the felt and stuck it together.

I cut out two ears and sewed them on and added scraps of red for the inside of the ears.

With a length of red material I rolled it up into a tail - and the fact that it is very creased seemed to help!

I sewed the eyes and added the whiskers...

And voila! A quick rat puppet!

When I make the next ones I hope to do the following:
1) sew down the body to make the seam join stronger
2) use embroidery thread for the eyes to make them stand out a little more
3) stiffen the felt with starch spray to make it more rigid!

Done in a few pips...

As I have said before I love freebies! Especially on the front of magazines.

 This little one was from the magazine Craftseller and was a quick little project that kept my fingers busy while on a train journey from York to Portsmouth.

 The main body of the strawberry was cut out of felt and stuffed with a thin layer of sponge.

The black thread was used for the pips and the ribbon was sewn in between the felt pieces.

 The green stork was cut out and the button was sewn on top. A five minute project and very effective...

I have made a couple of these into broaches for birthday presents and my friends have loved them...

Free as a bird...

As I have said before I am a bit obsessive about craft magazines. I have a few favourites...

Sew magazine
Simply homemade
Mollie makes

They all have their merits. Sew magazine has amazing patterns for the avid sewer. Simply homemade has ideas for every craft under the sun and Mollie makes has interesting crafting articles as well as tutorials. Mollie makes also has very good free gifts every month.

A couple of months back (maybe even six months or more) they had a kit to make a bird keying.

The instructions were easy to follow and the kit had enough of each of the materials that were needed.

The kit took half an hour at the most - a nice thing to do while catching up on the latest episode of my favourite murder mystery!

It now hangs on my shed keys - where I keep the bird food ... Not bad for a free gift!

Monsters included...

After the success of the dice monster it was my turn to try sewing my own monster.

I chose the pillow monster as I had a load of purple furry fabric in my stash which I thought would look good.

Again, the pattern was from 'dastardly delightful monsters' and the pattern was easy to follow.

All I needed (besides the fabric) was some pink felt, some red felt (for the inside of the mouth), a couple of buttons and a zip.

This was the first project in which I had used a zip so it was a new skill to add to my repertoire!

The furry fabric was quite an open weave so had to be all sewn by hand. The stuffing was polystyrene balls... I still had a HUGE bag of them!

I was pleased with the result... And I can't wait to make another one of these!

Gambling with monsters...

During a particularly stressful supermarket shop I found myself going down the book aisle ( a fairly normal occurrence) and saw a couple of sewing kits going cheap and bought them on a whim.

 The first of these books was 'Dastardly delightful monsters' (see link below) and instantly feel in love with the quirky designs and bright colours - something a bit different.

 My husband had a quick flick though and then instantly picked one that he wanted to make. The 'Dizzy Die'. This was probably the most complicated one to make but my husband likes to set himself a challenge!

 Thankfully the book has easy to follow instructions and very clear templates to follow. I would recommend the book for beginners to sewing as most of the designs require felt which doesn't fray and something relatively simple with great looking results!

Not just for Valentines...

One of the very first things I got given when I started crafting was 'Craft' by Kirstie Allsopp. I admire the way that she tackles every craft she tries with an eager enthusiasm.

This cute little project seemed quite a quick little one to do and didn't need more than some felt, a button, a short length of ribbon, some stuffing and some thread.

I tweaked Ms Allsopp's design a little by using polystyrene balls as stuffing (a huge bag of them still lives in my guest room!) I also didn't put a tassel on the bottom as I thought it might look better without it.

I have made a few of these since my first one. They make great gifts for someone you love - or just because you want to remind someone that even if it isn't Valentine's Day you still love them.

These can be found at my etsy shop too!

Batty about felt ...

My dad works as an ecologist and spends a large amount of time handling bats as part of his job.

 The back lash of this is the fact he gets given all things that are bat orientated. So I decided to make him a little felt bat.

 The template was from a hanging decoration I had bought one Halloween and it was traced onto the felt twice. I used a running stitch to stitch the front and back pieces together and stuffed it with polystyrene balls - I have a MASSIVE bag of these so they get used for everything!

 I also found some eyes in my box of everything crafty and stuck them on.

 The finished article is rather sweet and could perhaps be used as a pincushion or a loop could be added as a Halloween decoration...

Just to start... A secret from Loch Ness

I love sewing...

If I could find a way to sew and earn a good living and also get to do my drama teaching and have time to read and spend a bit of time with my family and friends I would.

Unfortunately the boring bits of life get in the way and my ideas box is overflowing with pages torn out of various craft magazines - many of which will lay dormant for many years to come.

When I first bought my sewing machine (with money from my 27th birthday) it was exciting and a moment of epiphany for me. I could create clothes and homewares all by myself. I felt enlightened.

My mother was possibly the most surprised by my revelation as she had always claimed that sewing was not something she did other than the odd button or name tag when I was young. My great grandfather designed and sewed costumes for the Atila girls appreantly. One day I will follow up this fact as it would certainly mean that sewing and being creative is truly in my blood.

My mother gave me a set of patterns that her Nanny had given to her before she died. They are called 'Silver Needles' and were published in the 1970s. The collection includes children's, men's and women's clothes, home sewing projects and a stack of crochet and knitting projects too. If anyone can give me any more information I would be very grateful.

The first project I tried was a felt Loch Ness Monster. As a kid I loved tales of the unexplained and it seemed a quick project that could while away a couple of hours of an evening. As it was made of felt the fabric was not going to fray. I also didn't have any proper stuffing so used polystrene balls instead to stuff him.

Here is the finished result:

I was pleased. So pleased that I put him on sale on etsy www.etsy.com but as to this day no one has bought him so he spends his day in our bedroom on another bookcase! 

If you are interested in buying one please check out my etsy shop... I will custom make one for you as I don't think I could bare to part with the original. If you want the pattern or want me to post it just let me know. 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/justcallmeh?ref=si_shop