The A to Z Challenge

I've just signed up to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge which means that throughout the month of April, I will *supposedly* be posting once a day, and yes you guessed it - I have to use each letter of the alphabet as my inspiration. In my excitement to sign up, despite reading the directions twice, I forgot to label my blog as a craft blog, oops! It's a shame because I know I already browsed the list specifically for craft blogs so I'm sure many other people will do the same. But never mind...

It is my plan to spend time between now and April giving my blog a big makeover, opening an Etsy shop and generally getting my creative butt (and the rest of my life for that matter) into gear. I'd like to really start sharing my creations with the world, let's hope it's ready!

Well, this was just a quick one to share that exciting news. As promised, I have been making more jewellery and will post about it all just as soon as I have finished sorting and editing my pictures.

Good luck if you have also signed up to the A to Z challenge - I am looking forward to visiting lots of other blogs taking part, so please drop me a comment if you visit me and I will be sure to return the favour!

Dragons or Dinosaurs?

It has been a busy couple of months over the Christmas period, but I have finally found time to do some blogging. As mentioned in my last post, I had lots of fun making gifts for my friends - some of which can finally be revealed!

These dragons (or are they dinosaurs!?) were a surprising delight to make - seeing them develop and gain character was so much fun. The idea came from a craft fair I visited (where I was certain they were dragons). I used wool blend scarves and dressmaking velvet and I also considered putting wings on them to be absolutely sure they were dragons. However, after making the first - I was sure they were dragons! My resolve wavered after making the second and third...perhaps they are dinosaurs after all.   

Still, dinosaurs or dragons, I love them! This one below, the first one I made, is staying in my collection. I wish I could find my inspiration for these on line to share with you but sadly I have been unable to. Keep an eye out for something like them at a craft/gift fair near you! Of course I will not be selling them myself.

I also tried my hand at a little jewellery making this year. My favourite piece is definitely this cat ring - I just wish I had more of the same button so I could make more. Despite searching every craft shop I can find in my local area - no where is selling them. This one was a present so it is gone from my life - but I want one of my own too!

Keep an eye out for my next post which is going to feature even more jewellery! Perhaps I will get back to working with felt sometime soon too....

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Festive fun!!

Well I'm not one who gets hugely excited about Christmas, I have to admit. I guess this is a sign that I am getting older! I'm no Scrooge either though and I especially love making and giving personalised gifts to my wonderful friends and family.

This year will be no exception to that - and I am starting with festive robin decorations. In the UK, the robin is of course a seasonal icon. My appreciation for this sweet little bird has only increased since my time in North America where their 'robin' is quite a different bird altogether - and as a result they are not in any way associated with the holiday season.

I created two hanging decorations. The first one was just for a bit of fun - I wanted to make something cute and I did lots of internet searching for inspiration. I knew I wanted it to be 'plump' and after a number of failed attempts to make a pattern I eventually settled for a simple ball shape. Inspired by these, I produced this tiny, hand-sewn tree decoration. The body is about 1 and a half inches in diameter!

The second is a bit more traditional and my Mum has since added this one to a Christmas wreath she made to hang on the front door. One will also be 'winging' it's way to my Grandparents soon to help decorate their tree.

Since my last post I have become very busy working two jobs and trying to make everything I wanted to get done for Christmas! I can't wait until after the big day, when I can blog about the other presents I have been making...I'm so pleased with them I will even be keeping one for myself. Stay tuned!

Tutorial: Passport Cover

Welcome to my second tutorial, at last! Here I am going to guide you through the making of a passport cover, which you can personalise how ever you choose - the only limit is your imagination...

You will need:

1 piece of felt 29.5cms x 14cms

1 piece of felt 18.5cms x 14cms

Embroidery thread (green in the picture below) and needle*

Things for decoration (in this case I am using some fish beads and the blue thread to sew them on)

* note that you don't have to use embroidery thread. I have chosen this for big, chunky and obvious stitches around the edge of the cover - wool would achieve a similar effect, but any thread can be used providing you are able to sew with it! Finer thread will not give such obvious stitching and if you prefer this you may also want to choose a colour that matches the fabric well.

Step 1

If you are not adding decoration of any sort to the outside of your cover, then please jump to Step 3. If you would like to add decoration, follow these steps as an example.

On the larger of the two pieces of felt, measure and place pins 5.5cms from each end. These indicate where you will later fold the edges over, so your decoration needs to be in the area between. It may also help to place a pin in the middle of the piece of fabric to show where the cover will fold.

Step 2

Add your decoration! Here, I have used the embroidery thread to stitch some seaweed, and I then sewed the fish beads on next to it. If you like the flower decoration on my original passport cover, you can use this pattern from my hairclip tutorial to cut out the pieces.

This picture below shows the back of my work - it doesn't matter if this is messy at this stage because it will be covered by the other piece of felt.

Step 3

Place the smaller piece of felt in the centre of the larger piece (on the reverse side of any decoration). Fold over the edges of the larger piece of felt and pin in place - they should fit snugly around the smaller piece giving an overlap of about 5.5cms on each side. This forms the pockets that will keep you passport safely in place.

Step 4

Cut a length of embroidery thread approximately 90cms long. Attach your thread underneath the flap at the bottom edge of the cover as shown below. It can be secured using a couple of stitches.

Step 5

Stitch the pieces of felt together. You can use an ordinary 'over stitch' for this, but I am a big fan of the 'blanket stitch' which is shown below. As you make a stitch, before pulling it tight, take your needle and thread it back through the loop.

Once you get to the other end, fold the flap out and secure your thread on the inside - this keeps things nice and neat and out of site!

Step 6

Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the top edge of the cover.

You should now have a finished passport cover! I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or need any further help.

Photographic fantasies

It has been a long time since I posted! I am now firmly back in the UK and perhaps the only relief is that I finally have access to all my wonderful craft items that I missed so much during my stay in Canada.

I have managed to make a few items since my return, but my time has mostly been spent having a good clear out of my room, seeing friends and family and applying for jobs.

Today I decided to get the camera out and have a go at improving my photography. Don't get too excited - it's nothing spectacular. All I really did was put things on a sheet of white paper and perhaps adjust them very slightly using photo editing software. I have a long way before I can go professional! Here are my examples:

First up, my rather lovely newly braided pair of headphones, inspired by this pair. The thread I used had a colour gradient so I only needed to use one in order to get the multi-coloured effect, however I have since braided another pair using two different colours and alternating every inch or so. It takes a long time but is worth it!

This one you have seen before, but I keep trying to photograph this little horse in all it's glory because in my (probably biased) opinion it is one of my most beautiful pieces of work. Sadlt the camera really never can do justice to the rich blue and purple colours. The same still applies to this picture - try as I might I can't get those colours like the real thing. But adding a little tint to this picture has certainly brought out the colours a little more.

Finally, this is a passport wallet I threw together one evening, just for fun. I think it's a great candidate for my next, long overdue tutorial so I will try to get round to making another one soon. 

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed the slightly improved photography of this post and I will do my best not to slip back into old habits in the future. Perhaps one day my shots will live up to my photographic fantasies......

Life on hold...

As I write this, I am waiting for an agent of Air Canada Reservations to take my call...they are 'experiencing a higher than usual volume of calls' as they have been the last 3 times I attempted to call them...but at least I'm able to do something productive at the same time. I really hate getting stuck in that situation where you have been on hold for ever, but dare not hang up the phone because 'what if they were about to answer!?'

I suppose you could say that I have left my life in the UK on hold for four months...my friends and family are awaiting my return (at least I hope they are)! I am looking forward to seeing them and finding out what the next chapter of my life has in store. I'm trying to make it sound exciting, because the prospect of prolonged unemployment is terrifying me! Getting a job can be so tough right now...

Enough on that though - 'what have you been making??' I hear you cry! And the answer is - bracelets!

They both have a sort of friendship theme - each has been inspired (albeit indirectly) by two of my closest friends.

Firstly, my best friend (visit her blog Creative Therapy) is getting married in the not too distant (although distant enough) future. I'm going to be a bridesmaid! I'm so excited - and I want to make some beautiful crafty things for her wedding. Looking for inspiration I came across this beautiful felt corsage and although in my opinion I am not sure felt is the best material for a wedding corsage - I decided to make one just for fun.

 Here it is! I wasn't making it with wedding in mind, just as a daily accessory for life. I've worn it a few times now and had some lovely comments.

The next bracelet I made is a replacement for the one below, given to me by another close friend, at least two Christmases ago.

I put it on and didn't take it off until I got my job which required me to remove all jewellery and shower every day - and 11 months later when I finished that job I put it straight back on and didn't take it off until yesterday, because it was about to fall off and I didn't want to lose it! As the picture suggests, it is well worn...

I had seen these nautical bracelets earlier in the summer and flagged them as a project I wanted to try...however even after raiding the spare rope bin of the kayak company I'm working for, I just couldn't find the truly inspiring piece of nautical rope I was hoping for. About 2 or 3 weeks ago though, a short piece attached to the fly of a tent caught my eye. After determining that it's removal would not in any way affect the functioning of the tent (as it was not an original fixture) - I took it and stashed it until last night, when I finally got round to making the bracelet.

The fastening was difficult to make as I couldn't find anything like the anchors used on the originals, so I had to settle for a button! I'm not sure how long my binding will last either - I might need to go over them again.

Still, for now at least I am happy with it as a replacement for my much love and much worn friendship bracelet. I think I might make one of these to give to that special friend!

How about a picture of an awesome white sided dolphin just to finish things off? This was from a whale watching trip last week - which was probably the last time I will get to see the orca and other fantastic marine mammals of this area before I head home.

Another dose of orca

I hope you aren't all fed up with hearing about killer whales (also known as orca in case I haven't already made that clear...)! I had my fourth and final kayak trip of the summer last week and spent 4 blissful days watching out for the whales, who obliged to swim right past the cliffs of our camp several times. We even encountered them in our kayaks - one swam right next to us within a few meters!

I had my first ever attempt at needle felting recently. I ordered a kit from Dandelion Lane Fibre Studio on Etsy and made these cute little whales:

It didn't seem as hard as I thought, and I think that if I could get some more supplies and really get going, it might allow me to make some more complex pieces that I cannot achieve with the sheets of felt. For example animals with intricate markings - especially commissioned pieces where the markings are key to the identity.

So I definitely recommend needle felting - grab yourself a kit and give it a go!