It's a Creative World

Tooth Fairy time!

The time has come for the tooth fairy to start visiting our house again. Rosa (that's her name) has collected Emma's first tooth and will return it to me when she has removed the magic,so I need somewhere to store these little treasure!! Enter an old Altoids tin that has lurked in my stash for some time.

 I wanted a magical little place so have filled the tin with pva beads and a delicate little blossom.

Once it has dried it gives me a lovely sparly base to store the teeth!

.

I've decorated the lid with buttons and various embellishmentsand a little stamping.

Now I have a lovely little trinket box for Emma to open one day and marvel at how tiny her little teeth were, although I;m going to be doing it myself  until then!

Hope the sun is shining for you,

 

Lau xx

JUBILEE

 

Hello, Eleanor here, and I'm here with my everlasting paper chain, ready to party. We will be enjoying Jubilee celebrations up here in the Scottish Highlands with a fun day at the Loch, and I wanted to make something from fabric, yes fabric, now there's a surprise!

Do you remember I made red white and blue bunting a few years ago:

and also trimmed a skirt with mini bunting:

Well, time for something different, so I made a red white and blue paper chain. Except I made it from material, so that I can bring it out again and again. 

I started with strips of fabric, ideal for using scraps - at the time when the Queen was crowned there was much make do and mend still going on, rationing was still in place and everything was used and re-used.

I folded each strip down the length, and stitched all the way around.

For speed you could just stitch the one long raw edged side. Fraying is good, in fact, fraying is desirable, so if you like the well worn shabby look, pop each strip in the washer and dryer when you've finished them.

Next I tried out the buttonhole foot on my sewing machine, and was very pleased with the result. 

(but ideas for non buttoned strips follow below)

Finally I sewed on a button,

buttoned up my chain,

and stored it safely in a cloth bag, waiting for its outing this coming weekend.

Think it would take too long? No problem, try one of these alternatives:

1. Sew on light plastic poppers

2. Or velcro dots

3. Or a loop and a button

4. Or ribbon at both ends to tie together

or even

5. Simply stitch each strip to itself to close the circle as you add it to the long length (not a choice for me, as I want to be able to switch out the blue for green and use my everlasting FABRIC paper chain at Christmas time).

As it is the Diamond Jubilee, I've made 60 strips! 

And unlike 'PAPER' paper chains, if a playful puss cat pulls it down,

it's not spoilt, you can simply hang it back up. 

That Mango is such a funny boy, I lay down with him for a while and we looked up at my chain (which admittedly looks tiny strung on that enormous tree, but it will be hung round my front door, and is more than long enough for that!)

Think it's too much effort? Take this short cut, and you'll make 60 in one hour:

However you are spending this long weekend, have a wonderful time.

I made the fabric page below for a round robin a few years ago.

Cheerio

x

 

 

 

 

A Lovely Surprise...

Hello! It's Leanne again, or Leanie as most of you know me.

I wanted to talk about those times when inspiration strikes, but we don't think it might be appropriate - you know the times, don't you?  Sometimes you'll want to create a layout for a moment that hasn't happened yet, for many reasons - it might be the perfect motto for an upcoming family event, or the fact you've just bought papers to match a 12mth size dress for your 6 week old... And you feel so inspired to create something right then, even though the photos aren't going to exist for a while!

I had such a moment over 3 years ago - and it's finally come to fruition, and I really wanted to share:

I attended a breast cancer fundraiser crop, which I now help run - many of you will have heard about Pink Booby on UKS and beyond! - where we had to bring a 12x12 layout kit.  Literally a couple of sheets of paper, a piece of card, a few blooms, brads, buttons, blingy bits and ribbon.  Everyone's kits then got swapped around in secret, and I ended up with one that I was dreading using the second I opened the packet.  Don't get me wrong, everything was good quality, but nothing that I was into at the time!

Eventually, after adding some stash of my own, pushing things around, and letting my train of thought wander (believe me, the tracks are a maze!) I went from wondering what I would do to frantically working.  I believe I was able to cut right in and stamp onto the main piece without fear, because it wasn't my stash, and that gave me freedom.  I started to create a page for something I knew I would get around to, rather than for right now.  My table partner was bemused, but went along with my scheme.

I realised I could ink everything to tone it down, which then gave me vintage, and reminded me of my grandmother.  Then I got thinking of all the wonderful stories she and my grandfather had shared of their life over the years, some of which were hilarious - and they'd known eachother since they were 4, so there were quite a few, I can tell you! I wanted to create an envelope page to collect them all in. I bought some gorgeous journaling cards, fitted the pocket around them, and planned on taking the cards next time I visited so we could talk and Grandma could help write a story on each one (Grandpa was no longer with us by then). Here it is, in it's anticipatory glory:

Of course I never got around to it, the cards stayed in the layout, in the back of my album, where it was forgotten.  Fast forward 3 years and we were having to move Grandma to a home for 24hr care after several severe falls, operations, strokes, and vascular dementia.  It was so hard going through her house, clearing it out as if she was gone.  But then I found these in her bedside table, in a little brown paper bag:

Pages and pages of love.  Letters, some long , some short, poems, cards, clippings... all from Grandpa, professing his love for her, referring to incidents I'd hear about many times before.  We cried our loss, laughed with them, smiled over the innocence of it all back then.  Priceless, utterly priceless, because I thought I'd lost half of them with Grandpa in 2006, and the rest when Grandma became ill.  

They did make our task a little easier that day and, when we were done, I took them home, knowing that I had the perfect spot to keep them safe. They're not acid free, but I don't care.  I'll remake that layout a hundred times if I need to - the important thing is that the letters will last, and the love will endure.

The (near) finished article.  I still haven't found the perfect picture of them both for the front yet, but I know I will when I go through the boxes and albums of photographs we found that day.

So when the inspiration strikes, take it, use it - Because you never know when you'll need that page, that cardigan, that necklace, that canvas... You won't jinx things, you won't be foolish - you'll simply be prepared, and that's a rare gift for a crafter, right?

Thank you so much for reading, and I'd love it if you would leave a comment if you have done this - and links to your work, whether finished or not, please? I know I'm not alone in this!

Leanne x

www.beautifulimpressions.co.uk

www.craftaholicleanie.co.uk

A Crafty Phone case

I bought a white phone case for my IPhone & quickly stamped a Birdcage onto it with Permanent ink , I used Archive Ink & heat set it. I will post on here how long this image lasts at a later date. I've added a little bit of colour using permanent marker pens & 2 Buttons glued with Glossy Accents which worked quite well. I might also be daring & add text next & even try embossing on another cover ! :)

This was an experiment & took all of 10 mins but I love the results & hope you do, It was not difficult but a little scary when I had to stamp onto the case incase I smudged it seeing I had not ever stamped on this kind of fake leather before....but don't be scared, it was easy. :) I have also bought a Clear case so going to try & attempt a scrapbook layout but my phone is a little rounded so this might not look so good. If you have an Iphone 4 the case is completely flat & will work much better I would think. Remember it will have to be flat but you could stick a button or two to the outside of the clear case !

Jayne xxx

 

playing with texture

Hi there, its Alix here!

Today i thought i'd share a little bit of recycling with you.  I made this mini canvas a couple of years ago {it was published in craft stamper so i'm not allowed to show you the original} but i was bored with it...so i've turned the canvas over...and created a little gift for my new baby niece on the back!  No expense spared, eh? ;0)

Essentially its an experient with texture and playing around with different mediums so i really enjoyed creating this.  The wooden part of the frame is covered with spackle and had lots of odd buttons pressed into it while it was wet.  I didn't try to smooth the spackle down at all...i was going for the snow effect that we used to do on Christmas cakes with icing and a fork.  When it was completely dry {the next day} i swiped a Prima chalk inkpad all over the peaks and the buttons and then used Blonde Moments UTEE to give the pearlescent green/gold colour and shine.

The centre of the canvas was left natural for contrast and i embossed some mismatched letters in more Blonde Moments UTEE, this time in pink.  They were glued in the recess and then covered liberally with Glossy Accents.  This helps hold them in place, but also formed a really cool effect when it dried...the letters almost look like they've been shrink wrapped!  **happy day**

So there you have it, today's offering of inspiration...i hope it takes you somewhere interesting :0)

ttfn, 

alix

Crafter's Birthday Cake

Hi Lynne here.

I have just celebrated a birthday and I wanted to share with you the cake my friend Yaz made for me.  It is absolutely beautiful and I was so touched that she took the time to make it for me.  Her 7 year old daughter helped with the decorating.

We are both scrapbookers, so Yaz took photos at each stage.

Some icing she bought coloured and some she coloured herself

shaping the buttons

adding the holes

first buttons on the cake

The finished cake after sharing:)

I've been truly spoilt this year, thanks to all my wonderful family and friends.

So if you're looking for cake ideas for a crafty friend try this.  You needn't cover the whole cake, you could do the top or a cluster of button flowers.

 

Make the most of your bonus day, I certainly will.

 

Lynne x

Paper flowers

Today we are re-visiting a post from 4 years ago; it's as relevant and fun today as it was then!

Rebecca Sower is one of my all time heros when it comes to creative genius!! She has an eye for design and her scrapbook pages are awesome.  Scrapbooking lifes little MOMENTS, is a well read book in my house!

These paper flowers are inspired by Rebecca.....

All you need to make them are a few circles of patterned paper (great way to use up scraps!), some buttons, craft wire and florist wire.

Oh and some wire cutters and craft pliers come in handy too :)

You can see Rebeccas tutorial on making the little wire bits here!

I crumpled and inked my paper circles, then layered them before making a hole in the centre with a thick needle.
Thread the wire through the hole and wind it around the florist wire (or kebab stick) stems.
A twist in the stem makes the 'leaf'.

They are so simple to make, and the best bit is they last forever :)

haPPy tueSDAy!!
Caz
xx

Book Tree

Hello Kerry here with a tree made from an old book. 

I've been noticing these sort of trees all over blogland and wanted to try and have a go.  I found a really easy tutorial from Readers Digest (click the link for the tutorial).  Apparently these have been going for a very long time but I've not seen them before this year.

Not being a reader of their magazine I decided to have a go with an old book.  I'm saying old but I only bought it last year for the grand sum of 99p from Amazon before anybody gasps at me recycling a very old valuable book. 

I started by removing the covers and then made the first folds

After a few folds it looked like this

and then after 200+ pages it looked like this.  I have no idea how many pages a Readers Digest magazine has so this might have been a little too many but it worked.

I stuck the first and last pages together and then got to work with my most festive mists.

 

Left it to dry and then decorated it with some tinsel on the top, some fringing from my ribbon box and some buttons. 

I can see me making one of these for each season especially as my local library has a mountain of old books at dirt cheap prices which would be ideal.

Have a lovely Christmas everybody.

Using Novelty Yarns At Christmas

Hi there Kerry here

How many of us knitters have some novelty yarn in our stash that we will probably never use?

I know I certainly have.

I turned mine into some reasonably easy Christmas tree decorations.

It doesn't matter what size yarn you use. You might want to go down a size needle from the one recommended for the yarn so the knitted piece is denser and you are less likely to see the stuffing. So you will need a little bit of stuffing or tights or old bits of fabric to stuff your decoration.

The pattern is as follows working from the tip downwards:

You have a choice of leaving a long enough loop to hang it with or crocheting a chain. If you are crocheting a chain then chain 30 and slip stitich back into the first chain to make the loop. Transfer the loop onto your knitting needle and then knit as follows:

Row 1 - knit into the front and back of the stitch (abbreviated to kfb)

R2 and all even rows up to and including row 26 - purl

R3 - kfb on each stitch

R5 - knit

R7 - kfb each stitch

R9 - knit

R11 - (kfb k1) to end

R13 - knit

R15 - as row 11 (18sts)

R17 - knit

R19 - as row 11 (27sts)

R21 - knit

R23 - (kfb k1) to last stitch k1 (40 sts)

R25 - knit

R27, 28 and 29 - knit - this provides a garter ridge for the base of the tree

R30 - (p2tog p3) x 8 (32sts)

R31, 33 and 35 - knit

R32 - (p2tog p2) x8 (24 sts)

R34 - (p2tog p1) x 8 (16sts)

R36 - p2tog x 8

Cast off

You have the option of sewing on beads or buttons at this point or leaving it plain.  On the yellow ones I added buttons to the top to make a star.  I just added a few beads on the pastel eyelash ones and on the dark green ones I added lots of gold seed beads.

Turn it inside out making sure your loop is on the inside and start sewing the seam until you reach the garter ridge you made at row 28. At this point turn it the right way round and stuff it. Then stitch the bottom seam adding more stuffing, if it needs it, as you go.

 

 

 

 

 

Crocheted Brooch

Hello everybody - Kerry here with my very first post on here so please be gentle with me.

My project is an easy crocheted brooch. 

Terms are the US version of crochet because despite being English I learnt using the US terms.

You will need a few scraps of leftover yarn. The thickness is totally up to you.  I used chunky which I believe is called bulky in other countries. It gave me a brooch of approximately 3 inches in diameter. You could use thinner yarns doubled.

I used a 6mm crochet hook.

Directions:

Using the magic circle method (explained here) chain 3 and then do 10 double crochet (explained here) into the circle. Join with a slip stitch into the top of the chain 3.

It should look like this:

Chain 3 and then do 4 lots of double crochet into each double crochet from the previous round. Slip into the top of the chain 3. Weave in your ends and your crochet part of this is done. The 4 lots of double crochet makes it slightly ruffled. If you prefer it to be flatter then simply substitute the 4 double crochet for 3 double crochet.

It now looks like this (yes I was naughty and took the picture before I got rid of the ends):

Now comes the fun part. Grab some buttons and beads and let your creativity loose.  I used just ordinary sewing thread doubled for attaching the embellishments as some of the items I used were too small to fit yarn through. Invisible thread would be great for this part.

Sew a pin to the back and you are done.

There are numerous other ways of using this project. It would be great to dress up a bag, for fastening a scarf, as a hair accessory or on your papercrafting projects.

Thanks for taking the time to read my first ever post.

Kerry x