Jewels and Sparkles

Everyone likes something a little pretty for Christmas and when you have a lot of girly friends and not so much money it can be hard to give them all that bit of sparkle. So I have devised a way to give all my friends a little sparkle.

I purchased some silver plated studs and ring blanks from online, and raided my button box and my stash of small semi-precious stones. Then I warmed up my glue gun and got to sticking! They are so easy but everyone loves a handmade gift, well I do especially!

Tigers Eye Studs

Button Rings

Button Studs

Carnelian Studs

What would you make? X

Christmas Cards

Every year I try to make my Christmas cards and this year is no different. I have gone for something simple this year as I have a lot to make.

What you need:
* Black cards and envelopes
* Ink pad (I went for gold)
* Black skinny felt pen
* Red felt pen
* Fingers

What to do:
1. Decide on the placement of the reindeer's and how many you want to do. I chose two in the centre.

2. Then, making sure your card is upside down, ink up your fingers. I used two different fingers to make my reindeer in different sizes.

3. Stamp away! Making sure you press firmly. Then leave for a few minutes to dry.

4. When it is dry start drawing on your antlers, eyes and noses! I went for one red and one black nose. You have got to get Rudolph in there somehow! Then that is it, so straightforward, you could get kids to do them and they would love it! X

Garland

Okay, this doesn't necessarily have to be a Christmas garland, it could be adapted for any need, but mine is for Christmas so it is going in my Christmas week of ideas.

What you need:
* Polymer clay such as Fimo or Primo!
* Cutting devices and/or cookie cutters
* Beads
* Threads or yarns
* Sharpie

What you need to do:
1. Follow the instructions on the polymer clay, with both Fimo or Primo I just warmed up the clay in small pieces, rolled them out and then cut out stars with a small cookie cutter.

2. Lay the pieces out on a piece of foil an using a cocktail stick/knitting needle or something similar poke through some holes big enough for the yarn you are using. Bake your pieces when you are satisfied with them following the instructions on the packet.

3. Then take your thread and your beads and weave your design.

4. Then take your Sharpie and write your message across your shapes (if you want to add a message, they also look really cute without writing). Give it a coat of clear nail varnish or special varnish and dry.

Then you are done! Add it to your tree or some where that needs a little sparkle and shine. You could also make little individual ones for the tree as little decorations.

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This Week...

Yes it's only the beginning of November but I am starting to put together all my things for Christmas. Cards, presents, the trimmings, all with a personal touch. So this week I am going to show you all my plans for makes for friends and family and ideas for bits and pieces that you could do too. I hope it inspires you...

Crochet hand warmers

Now the nights are darker and the wind is up, its time to get knocking up some quick fixes to warm me up. Last night I made these crochet hand warmers. I made them using some really pretty yarn that changed colour as I went along. This means that they will probably go with everything, which is always a good thing!

Here are some pretty pictures of my hand warmers...

Mmmm Warm and Snuggly x

Meditation Cushion

Recently I have been looking into meditation and mindfulness. After a very tough year I am looking into ways to help myself and this seems to be a great way. Now I am not going to tell you all about it, but I do like to be fully prepared when I try new things. So.. I thought I should fashion myself a comfortable cushion to be able to sit and spend a good amount of time on.

I have seen many around but they are so expensive. So I dived into my stash and spent some time working out the maths and got my large fabric scissors out. Excitingly it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I received a new sewing machine, so I got to try that out on this, it was very good!

I used yellows, oranges, blacks and greens and when I had patched together my top I used a pom pom edging between the top and the sides. To make it more comfy and less like a bean bag I used a 1 inch thick wadding under the top and embroidered basic stitches to give it a more ethnic and colourful look. I even found some mirrors to sew on which had a beautiful gold embroidered edge.

I filled the cushion with both cushion filling and bean bag beans to give stability and comfort. It has worked out well even if I say so myself! I think I may make a few more.

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Autumn Notebooks

Autumn is my most favourite time of the year. We can pull all those chunky knits, thick socks, boots and snugly coats out of the wardrobe and start preparing to hibernate over the chilly months. Today I went for a walk with my big scarf on (Yes I know it's warmer today than it has been, but I don't care!) and collected some leaves and acorns and things associated with Autumn.

I have decided that I want to document this coming autumn, keeping my leaves and essentially making an art journal of things that I find. I have many note books in my flat and most are very plain, but I love notebooks that are close-able so I have decided (as I have been banned from buying anymore) that I will adapt some ones that I already have.

You will need:
* Notebooks with firm but not too firm covers (you need to get a needle through there, but not flimsy enough for it to rip easily)
* Needle and Thread
* A button
* String or leather or whatever binding materials you would like.

How to do it:
1. Sew the button onto the notebook, not too close to the edge but wherever you want really.

2. Tie the string around the button into a knot and then wrap it around the notebook and back around the button to fasten.

You are done, simple!

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Bracelets

I like a small make, I think you may have realised that, mostly due to the fact that I love the end result and if its a big make it takes a lot longer to get to that end result. This morning, in half an hour, I put together 3 bracelets. I used some seed beads and some small silver plated beads that I purchased at my local haberdashery (that place should give me some shares soon) and some linen thread which I have used previously.

It is simple really, just put the beads onto the thread with various knots, little charms and patterns along the way. Easy, and you can make them exactly how you want them to be.

Check mine out. I love the greens and the natural colours. :)

Pizza

Sorry that I have been a bit quiet lately, finding time to write up all my goings on is proving quite hard! But I am taking five minutes to tell you all about some amazing Pizzas that I made this week. Even if I do say so myself! Ever since I found out I can't have cows milk, it has upset me that I can't just order a pizza or get a ready made one from the supermarket anymore. But now I have made my own, I know that it is so easy and they taste so much better!

I used a recipe by Paul Hollywood and it uses figs. Now, I had never had figs before so I decided to have a try and oh my I have been missing out! They are now my new favourite thing! Lovely :)

I made the basic base and changed the topping according to the required taste. My man went for parma ham, mozzarella and sweetcorn.

I myself went for Parma ham, figs and goats cheese! A nice oozy melty goats cheese. How lovely :)

Okay they are not perfectly round, but how the heck do they manage that?! This way they look more home made and rustic, which is always good :)

But I am definitely a fig lady now!

Friendship

There is often a certain special someone who shows you great friendship in life and in my eyes they should be rewarded! I love showing people how much they mean to me and if I cannot make something myself I will always find something special for them. This time I purchased a glass Friendship ball. These balls are traditionally used up at the end of a glass blowers shift to use up the glass in the bottom of the furnace and date back to the 12th Century. They are made up of all different coloured glasses and some are absolutely stunning. They look great hanging in a window full of light, or in front of a lamp. Beautiful. This one I purchased was one of the nicest that I have seen.

How do you show someone that they are important to you?

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My Mathilde Blouse

So you may have noticed that recently I have been on a bit of a sewing kick. No? Where have you been? It is amazing what you can do with only a basic sewing machine. People spend hundreds of pounds on them, but mine is only a little Mini one (here).

Anyway, I decided to throw myself in at the deep end and see what I could actually do. So I decided on Tilly's Mathilde Blouse. What does worry me about sewing is that when I go shopping I try things on and it looks awful, so I would hate to spend hours on something only to find it looks terrible on. But this is fabulous, and looking at photos of other people creations it seems to fit all different shapes and sizes, so it's one to recommend.

I picked a lovely red cotton fabric that has a little stretch in it, who doesn't love a bit of stretch, and it has a cute little floral pattern on it. I was worried that the florals would hide the pleats but they don't at all :)

The cuffs were my main worry, I have never done a sleeve before, and these didn't look easy sleeves with all the gathers, but they really were!

My only real issue was that my sewing machine doesn't do buttons. Now really this isn't a big worry as when you think about it you can't do the buttons up when you are wearing it yourself, well I can't anyway, haha. So I just sewed the buttons on holding the top together. My idea is that when I get a sewing machine that does do button holes then I will unpick the buttons and do the holes properly.

So what does my finished garment look like?
Ta Da!!

I am so proud of myself for completing this and loving it! I say thank you to Tilly for creating such an easy to follow pattern, great for all shapes and sizes!

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Patches

I recently purchased some denim dungarees and I have made them my comfy crafting clothes. They are really comfy but not a lot to look at, so I decided they needed an update. I went for some crochet patches. Just teeny tiny versions of granny squares and flowers that I stitched to the front.

To find out how you crochet a granny square, have a little looksie here. But crochet flowers are even more simple!

Here is how you put them together...

Tools you will need:
* Yarn
* Suitable crochet hook for your Yarn

Recipe (UK terms):
1. ch 6 then sl st to the first ch in row

2. dc 16 times into circle, sl st into first dc on row

3. *ch 2, 1tr into next 2 sts, ch 2 sl st into next st. Repeat from * 4 more times. Fasten off and you are done!

I am planning on adding more as time goes on, maybe some fabric patches too. The yarn I used was this really beautiful cream with a little added sparkle. Cute!

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The Year-Round Skirt

I love an item that you can wear all year round. Jeans, t-shirts, layering up in the winter, and down in the summer. This skirt is one of those items! It would look great with a t-shirt or a vest in the summer, in the winter a chunky knit and some boots!

I made this skirt after seeing the pattern on Tilly's website here. It was so easy to make, much easier than the Sorbetto top. I put pockets in mine and made smaller gingham fabric buttons for the front. But as my sewing machine does not have a button hole stitch I was a bit sneaky and I actually used poppers down the front on the inside. I love how Tilly used gingham too, I actually purchased the fabric before I found the pattern! Great minds hey!

I suggest you all should have as many of these skirts in your wardrobe in as many different colours and patterns that you can. It is also a great skirt to fit all shapes and sizes! :)

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Simple Day Out

This morning I woke up after a week off and thought to myself 'I have not stopped'. So my man took me out for the day to give me a rest. We went to a local National Trust property and had a wonder around the house and gardens. Even though this place is only 15 minutes drive from me, I have not been since I was a lot younger and he had never been! It is a lovely place, a huge 15th century house and the gardens are gorgeous! I love history and finding out all about it, this house is a really good example of that; stories of priests being murdered and hiding all over the house, a painter and the gunpowder plot, exciting! Here are some pictures from our visit :)

Thank you Baddesley Clinton, you treated us well! :)

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