Perler bead sushi magnets and a felt pug hoop

Hello! I know I said you probably wouldn't hear from me this week but, well, I guess I lied! I caught up with a couple of my friends to exchange early Christmas gifts, so I figured I could tell you about the presents I crafted for them now ^___^

For Philip I made these cute little sushi magnets! ^___^ I used a cross stitch pattern from weelittlestitches for these, but made them from perler beads instead of fabric and thread.

I wasn't going to put faces on these, but they really looked like they needed something so ... googly eyes to the rescue! I think it gives them a really funny expression ^___^
 

I used E6000 to attach the eyes and the magnets and they look good enough to eat ~___^ (Only, you know. Don't).

 

Using a pattern from Urban Threads, I made this felt pug hoop for Phillipa. I think it turned out really cute! Instead of stitching all of the lines, I cut out shapes from felt and stitched them down. I feel like this is a great way to add colour without having to spend an eternity doing fill stitches.

 

Everything is stitched down with running stitch, and the roses are 3D which I thought looked really cool ^___^

I feel like the roses could have done with a few more petals, but I didn't want to make them *too* bulky.

 

I think this pug's silly little face is my favourite part ^___^ The paws are attached with only one stitch so they can be lifted up; I did the same with the tail. I'm not sure why, but having movable parts to an embroidery hoop is so appealing to me. I added some little hearts to the banner because I wasn't sure about the phrase that the pattern suggested ("True Love") but also didn't want to leave it blank.

 

This photo shows the most accurate colour of the background fabric; it is definitely purple even though it looks blue in most of the pictures I took! The back is finished off with blue felt and the same technique I always use. Boring, yes, but also neat which is what I was going for.

Now, I must continue crafting as I have, once again, left my dad's gift until the last minute. Fingers crossed I get it done!

Best wishes to everyone for whichever holiday you celebrate! I hope you have a lovely one ^___^

- Lisa xx

"I have loved the stars too fondly" calligraphy style artwork

Hello! I decided to try something a bit different for this latest craft - painting! I'll be perfectly honest with you though, painting is really not one of my greater skills, especially for fine lines. So, of course, this project is almost entirely text. Mmmm, logic ~___^

I made this for Pip for her house-warming; I found it tough to make something for a house I'd never seen before, but hopefully this will fit in ok with the rest of her decor! I based this project on a quote that Phillipa likes, commonly attributed to Galileo but actually by Sarah Williams (the more you know!). I started with a small chopping board from IKEA; I actually have a few left because they came in a four pack, but I brought them so long ago that I don't think IKEA sells them anymore. Which is a pity, because they are the perfect size for little artworks ^___^

 

I slapped on blue, purple, and black paint in different combinations to attempt to recreate the look of the night sky. I think it worked pretty well, and also it was fun to do ~___^ Then I traced the shape of the board onto a piece of A4 paper and started planning out the quote. I carefully wrote it out onto the board with a lead pencil and then went over everything with silver paint. I used a brush, but I was wishing that I had a paint pen by the first letter!

 

I made a few mistakes, and had to try washing off the paint, which left some patches lighter than others, and my brush control is really lacking. All that said, I am pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I also added some pretty little stars which were, thankfully, very easy to do. I also went over the stars with glow-in-the-dark paint so they give off a subtle glow which I found quite cute.

 

Painting is still something I definitely need to work on, but it was fun to do something different, and it worked up a lot faster than embroidery (which was the other medium I was considering for this project!) ^___^ Any artists out there? I'd love any tips you have for me!

- Lisa xx

Crafterweekend!

Hey, hey! I'm back! ^_^ I recently took six days off work and headed down south for a crafterweekend with Bec and Pip. It was really great! Aside from just not being at work (which I think everyone will agree is nice), we had great fun visiting markets, op-shopping, eating epic breakfasts, chatting a lot, and crafting a bit. I don't think I took a single photo the whole time (because I'm just that clever) but I did a bit of a photo shoot today with my creations and goodies so I can show them to you ^_^

First up: Mocha angels. Yup, they're a bit weird. I made them because I decided to start making tree decorations for the end of the year, and after brainstorming a few themes Scott and I decided on the broad category of "things we like". Scott really likes Mocha. Like, a lot. I'm not really sure how to convey just how much he likes this drink. I think he would have it for every meal if he could, and I'm not convinced that he didn't do just that while I was away.

Anyway, I think they are rather sweet ^_^ I made a template for a regular milk carton then scanned it into Photoshop (all I had access to over the crafterweekend) and added the front colours. Then I printed it out, put it together, and added wings cut from glittery silver card stock and a halo from a silver pipe cleaner.

 

With these expressions I feel like they should be constantly singing arias ~_^

Next: results from my op-shopping expedition. Isn't this little tablecloth cute? It's black gingham with purple and white embroidery and I think it will look great on my coffee table ^_^ 

I also found this sweet little cot blanket. The yarn is so soft and the colours are lovely and vibrant ^_^ This one's going to be saved for the distant future when Scott and I might have kids ...

 

I found this gorgeous teapot at the markets. Isn't it lovely? I am so darn pleased because although I have a stack of vintage cups, saucers, plates, bowls, and jugs, this is my first vintage teapot!

All my vintage china is mismatched, but I try to keep it to a broad theme of flowers and/ or gold trim. This teapot fits both! Yay! ^_^ I am going to have to have a tea party very soon!

Also from the markets; a headband featuring measuring tape ribbon, an awesome pen that looks like a giant pencil, and a plate of Italian biscotti (not shown because we ate them all!).

Going back to the crafting, I finally finished my last computer key cushion! This has been in my WIP box for a really long time! But now that the embroidery is done on this one, I can stuff it and add it to my day bed ^_^

 I also made some ridicuously simple earrings. All I did for these was put charms onto earring hooks. But they are really cute so I thought I'd show you anyway ^_^

 

If I wear one cup and saucer earring and one scissor earring, I can have a tea and craft earring set ~_^

 

These shrinky-dink Harry Potter characters are a little bit of a craft fail. They were meant to be ornaments for my tree but I didn't do the maths and they came out much too small. That's ok though! I'm going to add some badge backs to them and have a collection of wizarding pins ^_^

I've only made Harry, Dumbledore, Draco, and Voldemort so far because Ron's head snapped off (0_0) and I didn't have a brown permanent marker to colour in Hermione's/Neville's/Hagrid's hair. I'll do some more later and share with you the results ^_^

I also made a whole heap of wool and crochet hook baubles. They are really hard to photograph! This was the best image I had after taking about 20 photos >_< Still, you can see the basic guist of them, and I'm sure they'll look good on the tree.

And, lastly, this is what I've been doing yesterday and today! ^_^ I read Bitterblue yesterday and totally loved it - I love it when sequels just make your favourite worlds more awesome and the characters even more fleshed-out. I finished Cursed today and thought it held up really well; I can't wait for the next book! And this afternoon (after I force myself to do some housework ~_^) I'm going to get stuck in to The Invaders. I'm sure it will be great - John Flanagan is a great author. ^_^

What are you up to this weekend?

- Lisa x

Softie Making Marathon!

Yesterday Pip, Bec, and I had a craft day. A *whole* day of craft. Well, no, that's a lie. We also spent two hours on breakfast ~_^ It was epic, but I didn't take any photos. You will just have to imagine bacon, sausages, hash browns, eggs, mushrooms, fresh juice, tortillas, and toast on a tiny table and the three of us going "nom nom nom". Paint that picture in your mind.

We also made softies. Pip's was a tiny, complicated elephant, which isn't finished yet, so no photos. But soon! Hopefully she will post them on her blog. We shall see.

We made these softies to donate to Softies for Mirabel - you should make a softie too! It is for a very good cause!

Anyway, I made a another jackalope! This one kinda reminds me of ravers, because she has so. much. neon. I love her ^_^

I used a bit of IKEA that I had leftover from covering a massive canvas. The bunny pattern doesn't use a whole lot of fabric, so I had heaps leftover.

Her ears are not stuffed, so they are nice and floppy, and her antlers just have polyfill in them. The first jackalope I made had pipe-cleaners in his antlers, but seeing as this new jackalope is for little kids, I thought forgoing the metal, fluffy sticks was probably a good idea. 

 

Group shot! Here you can see my jackalope, Bec's dinosaur, Bec's plaid Ninni monster, and my blue and red Ninnis. There will probably more about Bec's dinosaur over on her blog.

 

This photo is a little blurry, so sorry about that. I forgot to bring my camera, so we used my phone. I have a smartphone now! I am so excited by it! It runs on Android, and I really want to learn how to make apps. I have actually downloaded the program, but for some reason I couldn't get the emulator to run, and so I had to buy a SD card, and now I have one, but I haven't tried again yet. I will! As soon as this house is clean. <cowers in fear at the giant piles of dishes and laundry>

Anyway - back on topic!

Here are my Ninni Monsters! I love them soooo much! I am going to keep the red one for myself ^_^ That's still two softies for Mirabel though! 

I want to make more of these cute little monsters, so perhaps I will organise a Ninni monster crafternoon for next year. That would be fun!

I hope you have a great day!

See you later ^_^

- Lisa x