Making beeswax wraps with Jen

Hello! A couple of weeks ago my friend Jeneva and I made beeswax wraps, and it was really fun and easy! Beeswax wraps can be used instead of plastic wrap to keep food fresh and they are reusable and washable in cold water. You shouldn't use them to cover meat though, since you can't wash them in hot water.To make your own beeswax wraps, you'll need:

• beeswax (we brought ours from Riot craft stores)
• jojoba oil (you can get this from chemists)
• cotton fabric
• a cheese grater
• a saucepan
• an oven safe dish
• an airing rack 
• newspaper (to catch drips under the rack)
• pinking shears
• healing mat, rotary cutter, quilting ruler (optional)
• iron 
• oven

We started off by grating the wax; Jeneva ended up grating up about 375 grams of beeswax. Grating the wax makes it melt quicker and more evenly.

While Jeneva was grating the wax, I cut the cotton fabric into squares. First I ironed the fabric and then cut it into squares using my healing mat, quilting ruler, and rotary cutter. Then I used my pinking shears around the edges of each square. I thought that making sure the fabric was cut into squares with straight edges before I used the pinking shears would be easier than drawing out the squares and the pinking them, but you could really do it either way!

We melted the beeswax in a small saucepan over a low heat and then added three teaspoons of jojoba oil per 100 grams of wax; we added a total of 11 teaspoons of jojoba oil. We put all of the fabric squares in an oven safe dish, poured the melted wax over it, then put the dish in the oven for 15 minutes at 100oC. The low heat of the oven keeps the wax liquid to give it time to really soak into the fabric.

Then we pulled each piece of fabric from the dish, and hung it on the airing rack to cool down; because the beeswax stiffens the fabric, we didn't need pegs to keep them on the rack. Some of the fabric had too much wax on it so I would hold the fabric up over the dish and Jeneva would use a butter knife on either side of the fabric to scrape off some of the excess wax.
 

After the fabric was cool, we folded it into little packs and tied them with twine - we think they'll make lovely gifts! We made 28 beeswax wraps altogether, and I'm already using mine!

 

- Lisa xx

Pug plushie

Hello! Oh my gosh, I've been gone from here a while! If you follow me on Instagram then you'd be pretty caught up but I've just finished my post-graduate studies and become qualified to be a librarian! I start my first ever librarian job on January 2nd 2018, but in the meantime I'm hoping to get lots of crafting and skating done ^___^

First up: this adorable little pug plushie! I found this pattern on Cut Out + Keep and thought the cute little puppies could easily be cute little pugs. The pattern is free to download, but there are no instructions included; you will have to get hold of the book "Palm Sized Softies" by Hitomi Takahashi if you need them. However, I didn't find it too difficult to complete the plushie without instructions, so maybe give it a go even if you can't get the book ^____^ I do kinda want to look at the whole book now though, since this pattern is so cute!

I used polar fleece to make my puppy, in tan and black for that pug colouration. To try and make them look more pug-like I also added black rings around the eyes and a black muzzle. For the nose I glued on a tiny piece of black pleather. Black on black is hard to see, but I think the different textures work well together.

This puppy does have a black leather collar on, but I thought they should look a bit more cheery so I also tied on a bright red bow!

I added a short piece of pipe-cleaner in the tail to try and make it curl like some pug tails do, but I don't think the tail itself was long enough as it didn't really work. It does curl upwards, just not in the corkscrew way I was aiming for.

I also think the ears turned out a bit bigger than how the ones in the original pattern picture look, which is odd because I followed the pattern exactly! Still, I think this little pug turned out pretty darn cute! 

What do you think? Pug or not? Cute or not? ~___^

I'm working on a big blanket project (ummm, when am I *not* working on a big blanket project?) but hopefully I'll be back soon with some smaller projects too! I've got something in the works for those who wear helmets (can you guess?) ^____^

- Lisa xx

Blast from the past: No Knit Kitty Hat

I often really like looking at fancy knit stitches but I am so not good at making them. What I am good at though is thrifting! And you too can make a knit hat with absolutely no knitting skills! (Although I do still want to get better at knitting ...)

I made my hat a kitty cat hat, because why not? Mine is a black cat, but yours could be any colour ^___^

 

First step: go to the op-shop and buy yourself a sweater! It doesn't matter if it's an ugly or ill-fitting shape, but choose one that has ribbing around the edges and a nice looking stitch pattern. I used a cardigan, but a sweater is preferable because you get more fabric to work with!
 

If you're using a cardigan, fold it so that the ribbing around the neckline and the hem is matched up. If you're using a sweater, just lay it flat and ensure the ribbing around the front and back of the hem is matched up. Use a hat that you like as a template for your shape; add pins around it, plus a little extra for seam allowance.

Cut out your new hat shape!

Cut out four cat ear shapes.

Match up your cat ear shapes, making sure they are right sides together. Sew around the sides, leaving the bottom open, using blanket stitch or a sewing machine. Turn your cat ears the right way out.
 

Turn the fabric of your hat shape so that the right sides are together. Put the cat ears in the position you want them, making sure they are between the two hat pieces and pointing inwards. Add pins around the edge, leaving the bottom open, and sew together by hand (with a blanket stitch) or using a sewing machine (using a zig-zag stitch) or by using an overlocker.

Use a scrap of felt to make a heart shaped nose and add some whiskers with embroidery floss. Purrrfect!

- Lisa x

Blast from the past: Pavlamington

The third blast from the past - and what a blast this was! I was challenged to make an Australian recipe and so I combined two Australian foods, the Pavlova and the Lamington (that we possible also might have stolen from New Zealand), to make the gourmet monstrosity that is: THE PAVLAMINGTON
 

It's basically a huge meringue covered with cream, strawberries, chocolate syrup, and mini chocolate and strawberry lamingtons. It is extravagant and decadent and also very, very tasty.
 

Also, while chocolate and strawberry are the kind of "traditional" flavours for lamingtons, they can really be any flavour. Imagine pineapple and lime mini lamingtons paired with a cream covered meringue, drizzled with lime juice and chucks of fresh pineapple - yum! 
 

This recipe is kind of an undertaking, so if you're going to make this, be prepared to spend a bit of time on it. Or, you know, you could go to the shops and buy a pavlova base and a packet of lamingtons but that wouldn't nearly be as much fun! Here's what you'll need:

Pavlova Base

• 6 Egg Whites
• 1 1/4 cup Caster Sugar
• 2 tsp Cornflour
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 1 tsp Vinegar 

Mini lamingtons

• 125 g Butter, softened
• 1 cup Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 3 Eggs
• 1 3/4 cups of self raising flour
•  1/2 cup Milk
• 2 cup Desiccated Coconut

Chocolate lamington icing

• 1 cup Icing Sugar
• 15 g Butter, unsalted
•  1/4 cup Boiling Water
• 1/8 cup Cocoa Powder

Strawberry lamington icing

• 1 cup Icing Sugar
• 15 g Butter, unsalted
• 1/4 cup Boiling Water
• 4 tbsp of Strawberry Jelly Crystals

Toppings

• Chocolate Sauce
• Strawberries, chopped
• Extra Desiccated Coconut
• 300 ml Thickened Cream

Let's begin! Preheat your oven to 120oC (248F) and line a baking tray with foil. Grease the foil with a little melted butter, and sprinkle cornflour on it, to prevent the meringue from sticking. Whisk the 6 egg whites until they form soft peaks then start adding the sugar. Add a little bit at a time and keep beating the mixture constantly while you do this, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the cornflour, vanilla, and vinegar and whisk to combine.

Gently spoon the meringue onto the foil lined tray, making it into a flat circle shape. Bake in the oven for about 1.5 hours. It should feel dry when you touch it, and be slightly browned. When it's cooked, leave it to cool completely before you take it off the tray.

While you're waiting for your pavlova base to cool, you can start making the lamingtons. Keep the oven on, but bring it up to 180oC (356F), and line a rectangle cake tin with baking paper. Beat together cubes of softened butter, sugar, and vanilla until it looks fluffy.

Then add the eggs and beat them in well.

 Mix in the flour and milk.

Put the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven for half an hour. If you put a skewer in it, it should come out clean.

Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. This is a kinda massive amount for mini lamingtons, but I wanted to have leftovers for some big ones as well. Feel free to reduce the recipe if you don't think you'll need as much.

While you wait for the lamington to cool, prep the icings. Chocolate and strawberry are the traditional lamington flavours, but I've also seen lemon, raspberry, rose, blueberry, white chocolate, matcha, lime, and Cherry Ripe - so go wild and make whatever ones you'd like!
To make the chocolate icing, mix the icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter, and boiling water in a bowl until you have a smooth consistency. To make the strawberry icing, mix the jelly crystals, butter, and boiling water together until the crystals and butter are dissolved. Then stir in the icing sugar until smooth.

Cut the lamington into small cubes. Using a fork to hold the cube, cover it in icing. Then roll it in desiccated coconut and pop it on a plate to set.
 

Put your pavlova base onto a large plate and beat your thickened cream until it's really, really thick. It's ok if it cracks (like mine!), the cream will cover most errors ~__^
 

Spoon the cream over the pavlova and drizzle with some chocolate sauce.

Add the chopped strawberries, mini lamingtons, more chocolate sauce, and the sprinkle the whole lot with the extra desiccated coconut.

Serve immediately - and make sure you have a lot of friends around to help you eat it all! ~___^

If you ever make a Pavlamington, I'd love to see it! Reading this recipe has made me want to eat it all over again - maybe I'll make another for my birthday ^___^

- Lisa xx

Blast from the past: "Don't give up your daydream" glittery unicorn pegasus sign

Another blast from the past: this glittery unicorn pegasus sign. I have this on top of one of the bookshelves in my bedroom - it's so pretty and sparkly!

You'll need a piece of wood or canvas for this project; I used a 7cm x 38cm piece of plywood because that's what I had in my stash ^___^ The first step is to paint it pink!

 

I have a stencil pack from Typo which includes this unicorn pegasus; if you don't have a stencil you could make one by cutting out the shape with a scalpel from a thin piece of plastic like a transparency sheet. I used an old paintbrush to spread mod podge over the stencil; I did it a bit thick though so I'd recommend trying for a thinner layer.
 

Then you can cover it with glitter! Yay!  Pro tip: shake the excess glitter off onto a piece of paper with a fold through the middle. This makes it a lot easier to return the leftover glitter back to the jar.
 

While you wait for your mod podge to dry, use a ruler and washi tape to make guidelines for your words.
 

Use the washi tape to guide where you place the base of your letters; the ones I used are called "thickers" and are by American Crafts. When I'm using letter stickers, I find writing out the phrase and then counting to determine which letter is in the middle of the line makes placement a little easier.

Carefully remove your stencil when the mod podge is mostly dry but still a little tacky (this will also make it easier to clean off your stencil!). Leave it to dry completely and tap off the excess glitter again. After this, you will probably still have loose glitter around your unicorn. Glitter is almost impossible to get rid of completely, so instead of trying to remove every speck of it, make it a feature! I used my dry paintbrush to brush little flecks of glitter all over my sign. Then you can use spray varnish to seal your sign and leave it to dry.

Most of the signs and canvases in my house just lean against the wall (mostly because I hate drilling holes to hang things!) but you can add a hanger with a couple of nails and a piece of wire.
 

 

 

 

I don't normally go for inspirational or motivational artworks, but I really like this one! Do you have a favourite inspirational quote? And would it be improved with the addition of a glittery unicorn? I think we both know the answer to that one ~___^

- Lisa xx

Lightsaber candle holders

Hello! May the Force be with you! I try to make a Star Wars craft for every International Star Wars Day and this year I made lightsaber candle holders! ^___^

I actually started making these for *last year's* ISWD, but I didn't finish them on time! This year, although I finished them, they are kind of a fail craft so I haven't done a full tutorial.
 

Basically I started off with the coloured candles; they were surprisingly hard to find! I ended up with these mini candles, but they came in lots of different colours! It was hard to limit myself to only buying four packets ~___^
 

I used Sculpey to make the actual holders; I basically made a thick but short sausage and then inserted a skewer and rolling it around on the inside of the clay until it was hollow. Then I added all the little lightsaber details and baked them according to package instructions.
 

After painting and glazing, I inserted the candles but I must have made the holders slightly too snug because three out of four of my holders cracked!  *insert sad trombone noise here*

The only good thing I can say about that is at least they cracked on the backs?

So, that's my fail craft confession! Looks like Master Yoda was wrong - sometimes all you can do is try! ~___^
 

I think all I would need to do to make this project work is to make the holders slightly bigger before baking them, but since it's taken over a year to get them to this stage, that might take some time!

I hope you all have a marvelous International Star Wars Day, and you can check out some successful Star Wars projects through the links below! ^___^

BB-8 amigurumi

Sarlacc cake

 

Darth Vader coffee cup cosy

 

Leia and Han watercolour quote art

 

 

Wicket the Ewok crochet cushion

Princess Leia hoop trio

Bless this Mess Death Star cross stitch (with free pattern!)

Princess Leia crochet and spool knitted bun hat

 

Star Wars finger puppets (with free patterns!)

 

Lightsaber perler bead brooch

 

Leia and Han card

 Han shot first cross stitch

 Perler bead Stormtroopers

AT-AT string art

- Lisa xx