keeping crafty during winter

Creative Cats

I have joined an awesome group who gather together once a month around yummy treats in front of a warm fire and do crafts. It might sound geeky to some but its flippin amazing to say the least. We all share knowledge and make some pretty sweet stuff. Since then, I found that there are not enough hours in the day to make stuff. We all motivate each other to start and finnish projects and we also have 'show off and tell' where we all show off what weve been up to since we last saw each other.

TAG!

Tags for kiddies clothes.

Happy Birthday Robyn

Today is my dear friend Robyns birthday. (ignore the date of the post. its actually Thursday 31st) I decided to make a cushion with a map of New Zealand on it so she can take it back home to Scotland with her. Its made out of a New Zealand made woollen blanket also so its extra special.
I put little x's in all the places that Robyn has travelled to and included extra thread and a needle so she could keep adding to it.

See below post for the lesson.

Cushion Making.

So these cushions are really simple and you can get really creative with them. Im sure alot of you would have made cushions at school so you can just apply what you already know.

Ingredients: I used an old woollen blanket but you can use what ever fabric you like for the base of the cushion. Some felt. I chose white but you can get what ever colour you like. Some Buttons for decoration and a print out of New Zealand.

So first of all, you may want to make a wee sketch of what you want on your cushion. For mine ive chosen the map of New Zealand and printed it out to use as a stencil. you can do the same with any picture you want.

Once youve printed or drawn your stencil you can cut it out and apply it to your felt with pins and then cut them out. (ignore the heart in all the following photos, I decided not to use it in the end)

Then we need to cut out 2 squares in the fabric that weve chosen for the main part of the cushion.

For my measurements I decided to cut mine 40cm x 40cm

Once youve cut out your squares, lay the felt cut outs onto one of them and pin them in place.

Once youve done that you can start hand stitching. (You can machine stitch it if you like but i recon hand stitching gives it more character and makes it look more home made.) Put on some good music or some telly to watch/listen while you do this. It can pass the time quicker.

Once you have finnished hand stitching add in what ever items you have chosen to decorate it with e.g buttons, ribbons or even more felt layers.

Once youre happy with it. Put the two good sides of your cushion quares and pin them in place.

After pinning it together. You can sew all around the edges with your sewing machine leaving a little gap (12cm) so you can turn it back the right way round.

Turn your cushion the right way out and stuff it with some cushion filler. Once it has been filled get a needle and thread and hand stitch the gap up. (you can get real crafty if you like and put a zip in the back instead so you can put a premade cushion insert inside instead).

Voila! youre done!

Character Cushions

Inspired by the camera bag i made a few weeks ago I decided to make some pillows to add some character to our plain couches. A gaming controller for my partner and a camera for myself.

They are made from an old woollen blanket and felt. Really simple to make. Keep tuned to learn how in the next few weeks.

Birthday Bean Bag

It was my partners birthday. I made him a bean bag because he's always wanted one.
Its shaped like a hot water bottle and has a red X on it so you know where to put your bum. You can lie out on it or sit in it like a chair.

Camera baggy

I've recently crossed into the world of digital SLR cameras which has freed up how often i use my Canon G10. So since its not being used so often i have given this to my partner.

To help him keep it safe, i made him a wee camera bag. I got this amazing idea from photojojo (Such an awesome site for camera lovers. Please check it out) My partner had preferences as to how the bag opened and requested straps so that he could wear it.
Heres the end result.

DIY Chalkboards

I wanted a few Chalkboards for around the house to write scribbles on. since it was a rainy day i decided to get crafty.

I love photography and decided that i liked the idea of having a blackboard within a frame so i could hang it on the wall amongst my framed pictures. I also wanted to make it a bit of a cheap project so off I went on a bit of a bargain hunt.

I scored these two second hand frames from Trash Palace for $10.

Next, it was off to Bunnings for some paint supplies. I bought a 250ml Pot of Chalkboard Paint in black for $12.02 (It is also available in green if you prefer), A test pot of paint (Dulux lyttleton 1/4) for $5.00 and a paint brush for $2.98. The Chalk i got later from Kirks for $1.99

The frames were quite dusty so i gave them a bit of a wash with some warm soapy water and a cloth to prep them for painting. I then took the picture out so i could paint over it without painting the frame.

It was time to get painting... Luckily the pictures i painted over were smooth. If you decide to paint over a painting that has texture like an oil painting or a rough canvas you might like to either flip the board over or find/buy a new piece of board to fit.

I applied two coats of Black Chalkboard paint. (when making your own you might need to read the instructions on how many coats are required)

While the boards were drying i decided to paint one of the frames with the test pot of paint i mentioned earlier. I decided to paint only one of the frames as i liked the character of the other and decided to leave it as it was. (when making your own you might like to add your own personal flair and paint it a nice bright colour or even multiple colours.)

Once the frames and the boards were dry it was time to put the two together.

Time to hang them up...

All up this cost me $32 for two decent sized chalkboards which isnt bad and im still left with alot of left over paint for future projects.