Beware Zombies sign

Braiiinnnsss

Ahem, I mean, hi! ~_^

I'm still making things for Halloween, and here's my latest project - a faux-aged warning sign. You never can be too careful around these dangerous suburbs!

Here's how I made it ...

I started with a pristine piece of wood ... and a not so pristine table. We use this old, mostly broken table for spraypainting, resin-work, and various other messy crafts.

I used my jigsaw to cut the wood roughly in half and then cut the edges so they were jagged and rustic looking. This isn't shown in the photo, but I clamped the wood to saw horses to prevent it moving, wore safety glasses, and followed all the safety instructions - this thing could cut you pretty bad so be careful if you're going to give this a go!

 

 As you can see, I didn't make it too neat! I didn't both sanding as I want this sign to look really old and weathered. I also beat up the wood a bit with my hammer, to make it less smooth and perfect.

 

Then I added a wood stain and then (after it had dried) a black wash made from acyclic paint. The picture above shows pretty much the exact wrong way to apply wood stain/ paint wash. If you do it this way, you'll end up with variations in shade and you'll be able to see the drips and splashes when it's dry. And that's exactly what I wanted ^_^

 

P.S. To make a black paint wash: add a little bit of water to an old jar, dip your paintbrush in black paint, and then mix the paint into the water like you would if you were cleaning your brush. Easy! ^_^

After the wood stain and the wash had dried, it was dark and so I didn't take any more in-progress photos. You can use your imagination for the next part ~_^ 

I loaded up my brush with red paint and painted on the letters, making sure the paint was really globbed on. The look I was going for was "OMG ZOMBIES ARE COMING" so the paint is definitely not even ~_^

 

When the letters were dry, I added another wash of black paint and then added a few splatters of a less diluted mix.

I used my staple gun to add some thin rope to hold the two peices together and also to create a hanging string. And that's it! I can't wait to put this out at Halloween with my next project ... it involves garden ornaments and more zombies ~_^

What do you think? Do you like it? I hope you do!

- Lisa x

Button heart hoop

Hey! Yesterday I made this cute little hoop for the Harry Potter Craft-a-long Transfiguration project, and today I took a ridiculous amount of photos of it ~_^

The fabric that I used is from Spotlight, but I'm not sure what it's called; I brought it in a flat fats bundle.

 

I raided my button stash for lots of white and clear buttons, and I also added some pink to make it look a bit more interesting and also tie it in more to the fabric.

 

My favourite buttons are probably the interestingly shaped ones; the hearts, flowers, and kinda asterisk shaped buttons  ^_^

 

When I was arranging the buttons, I found that pins were a good way to keep them in place but also great because I could move everything around really easily.

 

To make this hoop, I drew a heart on my fabric with chalk, then added buttons around the edges before filling in the centre.

I hope you like it! I'm planning on doing some heavy duty crafting today; I'm getting out the power tools! ~_^

Have a great day!

- Lisa x

Starry, starry night

Hey! How was your weekend? Mine seems to have gone so fast, but I guess they always do ^_^ I did a lot of cleaning, a lot of sleeping, and I redecorated a bit to get into the (very early) Halloween spirit ~_^ And I even did a bit of crafting - yay!

I made this constellation embroidery for the Astronomy challenge in the Harry Potter Craft-a-long. It was a really quick and easy project, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. When I was planning this project, I knew I wanted to use dark blue fabric and silver thread, but I wasn't sure how to do the stars ...

 

  

Sometimes when I can't think of a solution to a problem, I think about just before I go to sleep and then when I wake up my subconscious has thought of a solution for me. Yeah, I'm weird. Also, sometimes it backfires. Like, one time I was wanted to dream about a solution for some crafting problems but then Scott asked me a question ("What was the name of Sean Connery's character in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?") and so when I woke up all I could think was "Allan Quatermain!" ^_^

Anyway, when I woke up this morning, my subconscious had helpfully provided the solution to how to make the stars in this embroidered contellation: glow-in-the-dark perler beads. Yes!!

 

I think it turned out really well, and I was really pleased to finally use some of these perler beads - I knew they'd come in handy some day ~_^

The embroidery also looks really cool in the dark, but I couldn't get a good photo of the glowing, so you'll just have to imagine that!

And, for those wondering, I chose the constellation Sagittarius. I was really into astrology in my teens (hey, we all have our guilty secrets ~_^) and I still think the constellation is really pretty looking ^_^

What do you think? Do you have a favourite constellation?

- Lisa x

Bubble, bubble

This week has been one of those in which all you want to do when you get home from work is eat junk food and cocoon yourself into a doona. But it *did* end up getting slightly better. Kinda. In some regards. 

Anyway, enough of my whining, let's get on to the crafts! ^_^

As it's getting close to the end of September, I've been getting into the Halloween spirit (ha ha! ~_^). This headband is cute enough to be worn at work and I can't wait to wear it on Halloween!

 

It was super easy to make; I just cut some bats from black felt, covered them with glitter mod-podge, and then (when they were dry) hot glued them onto a headband.

 

The mod-podge made the felt slightly stiffer, which prevents the bats from being too floppy. And they look very pretty and sparkly ^_^

Continuing with the bat theme, I made this wreath for our door.

 

I wrapped a styrofoam wreath base in grey wool - which took ages! I used a GIANT ball of wool from my Nana Tess and I used the entire thing! So if you're planning on doing this yourself, buy more wool then you think you'll need. I was so suprised at how much yarn it took to cover this thing.

 

Then I just hotglued on more felt bats. It's pretty basic looking, but I really like it ^_^

 

Next, glitter time!

 

 

I brought three cheap plastic skulls, covered them in modpodge, and then covered them in *glitter*! If you haven't done this before, here are two tips: 

 

1. Don't mix the glitter into the modpdge - it seriously reduces the sparkle.

2. Use a shoebox (or steal the box from your husband's new Warhammer models) to contain the excess glitter - you'll be pouring a lot of glitter over whatever you're covering but you can return the excess to the jar at the end (by using a funnel) and having a box with corners makes pouring a lot easier.

 

I love how they turned out, but the silver and purple ones look so much better than the black - I think because the black glitter is not as fine.

Anyway, that's it for today - I'm hoping to get a couple more projects done this coming week so fingers crossed for productivity! ~_^

- Lisa x

"Free hugs" cactus embroidery hoop

Hello! I just have one project to show you today as I have been spending too much time procrastisurfing and playing video games. *Such* an adult! ~_^

This hoop is for my Herbology class in the Harry Potter craftalong. I pinned a picture ages ago and thought that I would do my own version for this challenge.

I really like how it turned out, and I'm really pleased with my embroidery handwriting as I always find text the hardest thing to embroider well ^_^

 

I'm also loving bright green with polka dots at the moment! Do you ever transfer inspiration from crafts to outfits? I totally do! And I have a polka dot blazer that I think would look even cooler with a cactus brooch on it ...

But, first - housework! >_<

- Lisa x

"A clove a day keeps the vampires away" and "you are my sunshine" embroidery hoops

Hey! I'm back! ^_^ Work's been getting in the way of crafting again - boo! But I have managed to finish two embroidery projects for the Harry Potter Craft-a-long ^_^

This one is for Defense Against the Dark Arts; the challenge was to make something to which could help defeat a Dark Creature - I chose Vampires, obviously ^_^

 

I'm not totally happy with the text; I wanted it to be a bit rustic and angular but ... ehhh ... I don't know. I'm not unhappy enough to re-do it though ~_^

 

And this is for Flying Class; something inspired by the sky. I brought both of these patterns from Urban Threads - omg, I brought SO MANY patterns from them o_0 Their patterns are so fab though, and really well priced (I'm not being paid to say this, I swear!)

 

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

I hope you had a great weekend!

- Lisa x

Crocheted Blythe hat and a tiny refurbished drawer set

Hi folks! My weekend isn't quite here yet as I'm working both today and tomorrow but as the Harry Potter Craft-a-long finishes today I thought I would bend my posting schedule and share the photos of my final two projects ^_^

For the Reducio challenge I had to make something small, so I made this little hat for my Blythe doll Tarquin.

I made it without a pattern, and I think it turned out pretty well!

I kinda want to make a full sized version for myself now ~_^

I used some vintage yarn from my Nana Tess so I'm not sure what it actually is, but I'd put my money on acrylic. I really love the colour though!

The other project is for Detention with Snape; the challenge being to finish off a WIP. I started altering this wooden drawer set ages ago but had only got as far as the first coat of wood stain. But now it's finished – yay!

I used black acrylic paint to age the wood; I did some coats just as a light wash, others as undiluted paint, and several more in between of varying strengths.

The labels are vintage book pages from one of the book safes I made; I just cut them to size and slipped them into the label holders.

I think I'm going to use this for craft room storage – it's the perfect size for haberdashery.

And that's it! The Craft-a-long is finished! I'm going to do the next semester (which starts in a couple of days) as well; I had a lot of fun and I'm really impressed with how many crafts I ended up creating ^_^

Do you think you'll join me for the autumn semester? (Even though it's spring over here?)

- Lisa x

Crocheted Slytherin uniform coffee cup cosy

Hi all! Just a quick one from me today, I finished another project for the Craft-a-long and I just thought I would show you ^_^

This is for the Sorting Hat Challenge, to indicate which House I'll be in for the next Craft-a-long. As you can see, I'm going to stick with Slytherin!

This is a cuff for my take-away coffee cup (although I only use it for tea) to keep my hands from burning. I crocheted in the round to make it, and then added the collar, tie, and "S" mark. In case you can't tell (and I wouldn't blame you), it's meant to be a Hogwarts uniform as worn by Slytherin House. I'm not totally happy with it though as I think it looks a bit odd; but I'm not sure how to fix it up. What do you think?

I've got two more challenges to complete for the Craft-a-long, and it finishes on Friday! Do you think I will make it?

- Lisa x

Art canvas and a silk scarf

Hey folks! Today I have a day off work (yay!) because I have to work on Sunday (not so yay) and I have a couple of completed projects - hopefully I'll have enough time after cleaning the entire house (>_<) to finish off some more things to show you!

This is my first attempt at a kinda scrap-booky, art canvas-y kinda thing. Mmmm, descriptive!

I made it for the Harry Potter Craft-a-long, it's for Defence Against the Dark Arts and so it's meant to represent one's greatest fear. It's quite pretty for something based on that though!

 

My greatest fear is wasting my life, or putting things off too long, and then realising one day that I'm an old lady and I haven't accomplished all that I set out to do. Ha ha, I guess it makes sense that I'm in Slytherin now, doesn't it? ~_^

To make this I covered a five inch square canvas with scrapbooking paper (it's quite subtle, but it's lined up like old school paper), covered it with mod-podge and then just started layering elements on it. The clock is a wooden cut-out that I got at Spotlight, and the gears are cardboard cut-outs from Riot. I dug through my old scrapbooking supplies (I was really in to it in high school) for the metal brads that I used to spell out "time". The scrabble letters that spell out "flies" are paper from the same pack as the base paper; the wings are also from that same paper pack and they are covered in iridescent medium that I got from Riot. I thought it would dry clearer than it did, but I still think it looks good. The stamps I brought from Pigeonhole and the twine is from my kitchen drawer ~_^ I really don't remember where I got all the washi tape and the tag with the lock was made using more scrapbooking paper. I inked around the edges of some of the elements and also the canvas using regular black ink. All in all, I quite like how it turned out and I'm thinking of doing a series of these canvases. I definitely want to do a sewing/ crafting themed one (either "make do and mend" or "a stitch in time") and I'd like to do a writing one as well, but I can't really think of a saying to go with it, except for "write on". If you can think of a good phrase, I'd love to hear it! ^_^

The other thing that I've been working on is more fabric designs via Spoonflower. The picture above shows some gorgeous cotton silk that I ordered to make a birthday present for my grandma with. I used Trove to find the digatised copy of the West Australian from the day my Nana Alma was born, back in 1927, and then I used Illustrator to make a design using selected clippings. The quality of the raw images wasn't great (this is probably largely because I just downloaded them as jpegs, rather than ordering pdf copies) so I mainly used advertisements rather than articles. Plus, most of the articles were pretty depressing! I especially included an advertisement from Boans, which was a department store that no longer exists, as Nana worked for them when she lived in the city as a young lady. I also found the actual birth annoucement for Nana (which was pretty awesome!) so I included that in the design as well.

I'm going to spend some time hemming this by hand as I didn't make the border really big and I'm a bit terrified of putting this through the overlocker >_< The completed item will be a silk scarf ^_^

I've made some other designs as well, which you can check out at my Spoonflower store ^_^

I hope you're having a great day!

- Lisa x

Ampersand string art, tiny macrame owl, Firebolt poster, and Golden Snitch ornaments

Hi everyone! I'm still not 100% over being sick, but I'm finally back ^_^ And I have some things to show you!

I finally tried doing string art! I really enjoyed it; it was a nice relaxing project perfect for doing in front of the TV. I used an old chopping board that I had been using for wood-burning practise - I just turned it over and spray painted it using metallic charcoal. Then I used upholstery tacks to create the outline of the ampersand.

 

I originally tried filling it using embroidery thread, but I didn't have enough so I swapped over to using 8 ply red yarn. This project was 100% stash as well - yay for not buying new things! ^_^

 

I also gave Macrame a go - it was a lot harder than I expected! I used 2 ply cotton thread in purple and an old silver bracelet to make this owl. 

I'm not totally happy with how it turned out, but it's still pretty cute and I'm glad I tried out this technique ^_^

 

I used Adobe Illustrator to tidy up a sketch I did and make this poster for the Firebolt broomstick. It was a lot of fun doing this, I really enjoyed vectorising my hand lettering.

 

I printed it out and gave it a bit of a crumple to make it look a bit more "found" rather than "just printed". 

 

And, finally, here are the photos I promised of my snitch ornaments!

 

I spray painted ping-pong balls gold for the bodies, spray painted white feathers silver for the wings, and then joined them together with hot glue.

 

I can't wait to hang them up on my Christmas tree! ^_^

All of these projects were for the Harry Potter craft-a-long Quidditch challenge. Slytherin House was loosing miserably, but these projects constitute an 80 point increase, which means we're now level with Gryffindor. Go Snakes!

Anyway, how have you been? Did you miss me? ~_^

- Lisa x