Thursday 27 December 2012

Sew On & Sew Forth art canvas


Ahoy! Did you have a great End of Year Period of Togetherness? I really enjoyed ours! Scott and I spent one entire day eating breakfast food (yum! ^_^) and then the next day seeing Scott's family and playing with our little neice and nephew at his grandma's house. I have learnt many things about building block towers and playing peek-a-book and also that singing Soft Kitty to babies actually makes them happy o_0

And then yesterday I got out my scrapbooking supplies and a 5" canvas and made this!


Yay! I'm really happy with how it turned out ^_^

Here are some close-ups of my favourite parts ...
 

Finally a use for the tiny scissors that come with sewing kits and yet are unable to cut a single thing!
 

I made these tiny spools when I was making things for the craft fair; they are about half the size of the spools I used for the necklaces.
 

This vintage lady is so awesome ^_^
 

I love 3D stickers and washi tape ^_^
 

Here's another vintage lady!

Now, here's a list of some of the things I used (I can't remember where I got everything unfortunately):

Wooden dress form made by Kaisercraft
5" square canvas from Riot
Alphabet stamps from William Topp, Northbridge
Mod Podge (you can't see this but I used it to stick down the papers and also as a varnish) from Spotlight
Thickers (spelling out "Sew On") by Amy Tangerine
Colourful border paper (used on sides and bottom of front) by Amy Tangerine
Vintage ladies paper by Grace Tyler
Pink pattern pieces paper by Crate Paper
Mini spools from Spotlight (stained, aged, and thread added by me)
Baker's Twine from Spotlight
Chip board ampersand (covered in washi tape) from stash
Craft paper from Spotlight
Washi tape from various places that I mostly can't remember - sorry!
Mini scissors from stash

Do you like it? Did you have an awesome holiday season? ^_^

- Lisa x

Thursday 20 December 2012

Ninni Monsters and Mustache Cuff Links


Hey! Today I finished four Ninni Monsters - yay! ^_^


I have another four monsters cut out but I still need to sew on the eyes and such.
 




I think that the best thing about Ninni Monsters is that you only need a small amount of fabric so they're great for using up remenents. Do you have a favourite? I think I like the pink one the best ^_^

I also made these mustache cuff-links. They are a custom order for a friend at work, and I think they turned out really well ^_^
 

I actually made two pairs, but they look exactly the same so you can just pretend that these photos are of two different sets of cuff-links ~_^
 

I've got three more pairs of cuff-link fastenings, so what do you think I should put on those? Maybe I should make some Death Stars ones for Scott?

Have a great weekend!

- Lisa x

Sunday 16 December 2012

Vintage style monogram brooch, hanky tissue case, and Ninni WIPs


Hey! How have you been? I have been lazy. Very, very lazy. Even though I am *finally* getting over this flu thing all I want to do is read and eat cherries. Neither of which are bad things, of course, but I was *meant* to be finishing a pair of gloves for my Nana's Christmas present.

As you've probably guessed, I haven't done that. >_< So, because I'm seeing her (and the rest of my family) tomorrow for the gift exchange, and there is no way I was going to finish the gloves in one day, I made her some other gifts. *Fast* gifts!


First up: a pretty vintage style brooch made entirely with stash components.  I love it when my hoarding tendencies actually come in useful! ~_^

Here's how I made it:

1. I drew a fancy "A" (for "Alma" in this instance) onto a piece of calico, making sure that it was going to be small enough to fit into the ... setting? (I'm not really sure of the proper term. It is meant to be used as a pendant, once a cameo or something similar is attached to the middle of it, but I turned it upside down for this project.)

2. Using tiny stitches and only one strand of DMC, I embroidered the A. 

3. As mentioned before, I used a necklace setting (if anyone knows the proper term, please tell me!) turned upside down; I attached a bead and pearl teardrop where a jump ring would normally be attached. The bead and pearl teardrop are from an old earring. See what I mean about hoarding? ~_^

4. I had some epoxy stickers which I hadn't used before; I stuck one over the embroidery and then trimmed the edges. I was pretty nervous that it would ruin the stitches, but it turned out fine and also magnifies the image somewhat. To give you an idea of how small this is, the epoxy stickers are about 1.5 cm high.

5. Then I used E6000 to glue the embroidery into the setting. This had the added bonus of ensuring my stitches will never come loose ~_^

6. To finish, I used the E6000 again, this time to add a brooch clasp to the back of the setting.

Hurray! One present done!

For the second present, I was inspired by this tutorial, but I wanted to make it smaller to fit those little packs of travel tissues and thus make this more of a "keep in your handbag" kinda gift.


To make this, I used one handkerchief, cut into quarters (cutting it was the scariest part for me, and this isn't even a real vintage hanky, it just looks like one). I used fray-stop on the raw edges, then I just stitched the ends closed. Very easy, but check out the link if you want to see more detailed instructions.


It fits a travel sized pack of tissues perfectly, and is pretty cute too ^_^


I used a piece of baker's twine to make it look a little more fancy; it is a gift after all ^_^ 

Now, with Nana's gifts ready for tomorrow, I can get back to the *other* project I've been procrastinating on ... making Ninni Monsters! ^_^


I hope you had a great weekend! Have you been making any Christmas gifts?

- Lisa x


Thursday 13 December 2012

We have a winner!



Hey folks, just a quick one from me tonight ^_^

I used the generator at random.com to pick a winner for my birthday giveaway and the lucky lady is ...

Helena! 
Yay! ^_^

Congratulations Helena, and thank you to Rebecca and Sara who also left comments ^_^

- Lisa x

Sunday 9 December 2012

Birthday give-away



Hey! This year my birthday date is 12/12/12 - and, like a total nerd, I'm pretty pleased with that! ~_^ I'll be 24 and so I thought, in classic blogger fashion, that I'd do a little give-away ^_^

Here's the pitch:

You chose one of my jewellery pieces from below ...


heart necklace in pink, blue, green, or red


spool necklace in silver, red, orange, purple, pink or yellow


moustache badge in natural wood or black


chalkboard badge with vintage button

granny triangle necklace in purple, green, or grey


moustache earrings in natural wood or black


heart brooch in blue, green, pink, or red

And two card designs ...


clockwise from top left: blessed are the geeks, number, cuckoo clock, crafty birthday, and invisible friend


clockwise from top left: neon skulls, zombie survival skills, high tea, geometric birthday, and crafty friends

And then leave a comment saying what you've picked and then on Thursday (the day after my birthday) I'll announce a winner! Yay! ^_^

 If it's you, I'll message you for your postal address and you might get a special Christmas present (depending on how much my postie likes me this week, I guess) ~_^

Good luck!

- Lisa x

Thursday 6 December 2012

Jammy dodger brooch


Hey! I've still been sick (booooo!) but I did manage to make one thing this week: a jammy dodger brooch ^_^


I used the instructions from Mollie Makes magazine, issue number four, but I didn't use the templates so it's sized a little differently.
 

And I put a badge back on it, so now I have a giant jammy dodger brooch ^_^
 

Anyway, how have you been? Are you working on anything fun?

- Lisa x

Saturday 1 December 2012

Thrift shop embroidery hoop



Hey! So much for a regular posting schedule, huh? Scott and I have both been sick - which totally sucks. We've just been walking around like zombies for the last week, except hunting for frozen things to numb our sore throats instead of brains.

Anyway, we're both on the mend, and I have a finished project to show you! First though, have you heard "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis? Go on, I'll wait while you watch it. Oh, and P.S. - there are lots of swears in this one.

Anyway, I'm kinda a little bit obsessed with it ... so I made this embroidery ^_^


I wanted this to a be really quick project, so instead of embroidering a coat I used one of my Blythe ones. My girls don't wear coats very often but I can easily detach it if I want to in the future.
 

I really do need to find a better way to transfer patterns onto my fabric though; I've just been doing the ol' lightbox and transfer pen method, but I'd like to try a more accurate way ... Do you have any suggestions?


Here's a shot with my hand to show you the scale of this peice - the hoop is 12" which I think makes this the biggest embroidery hoop I've ever done.
 

I got the fabric in a pack so I'm not sure what it's called, but I really like it. The white patterns are of lotus leaves, birds, and swirly clouds. I think this will be a nice addition to my hoop wall (which is yet to actually exist, but hey! ~_^)
 

What do you think? I hope you like it!

Are you ever inspired to craft by songs?

- Lisa x

Thursday 22 November 2012

stuff&things


Hey, so, last post you saw all the things I'd been making for my craft fair; here's what else I have been doing ...  (some of these are from a while ago, so if you follow my Instragram you've probably them - sorry about that!)


I built up our tiny front garden with soil and mulch and then planted three varieties of lavender and a dwarf apple blossom. I basically chose plants that had "hardy" written on them, our front garden is a bit of a danger zone for plants ...

I made a cross-stitch for Rebecca's birthday and finished it only 15 days late! Sorry Bec! >_< 
 

Our workplace has been really getting into Movember! I thought these posters were pretty cool - good design always deserves Instagramming ^_^
 

I crocheted this little Death Star for my friend Heather. It's pretty cute! I'm currently working on another one, just for me ^_^
 

I did a little project in which I used scrapbooking paper and a lot of washi tape (you'll see that soon!)
 

When I went down South to visit my family, I met this cute group of llamas! I couldn't get closer because there was a ditch in the way ... plus I didn't want to get spit on!
 

This is one of the many artworks by high-school Lisa that my parents have hanging up in their house. This one is probably my favourite; it was one of the first paintings I did with oils.
 

I'm *still* working on my Penguin Book blanket! I had some trouble with the lettering, but I think I've got a solution for that now ... hopefully I should finish it soon.
 

My washi tape holder is so pretty! Phillipa gave it to me for my birthday and I dropped it >_< So it's a bit wonky now, but it has a new use ^_^
 

This is the project using washi tape! I made these night and day elephant bookends for my new nephew, Nicolas ^_^
 

 This is my new Bubble Boom Blythe! Isn't she lovely? ^_^


I finally finished unpicking a skirt that I royally messed up, like six months ago. I take a long time to admit my failures sometimes ~_^
 

Like this; this was meant to be a cute little necklace pendant ...

... only it's ENORMOUS! Opps >_< So, now I have a neon pink skull wall pendant.
 

This is a sneak peek of a new project I'm working on - I think it's going to be pretty awesome ^_^ (fingers crossed!)
 

And finally, I made this little brooch from a kit. It's a bit hard to see, but the pattern is of a toadstool. I've got a few more shapes to test out, so I'll be showing those to you soon ^_^

 What have *you* been doing? I'd love to hear from you!

- Lisa x