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

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

A granny square rope rug, a Royal Guard cross stitch, granny squares, and crochet WIPs

Hey! I'm back! I still haven't found my camera, but Scott dug out his old one which, luckily, still works! ^_^ 

So, here's what I've been working on ...

The cotton rope granny square rug - it's finished! Yay!

 

I ended up using over 200 meters of rope ... and I probably could have brought a rug for about the same price and less effort. *But* I love how it turned out and I enjoyed making it, so I think that's worth the cost ^_^

 

I finished this cute little cross-stitch - I'm going to give this to Scott's grandma for Mothers' Day. I'm glad it's finally finished!

 

I've also been making granny squares ... so far I've made 54 squares towards the Death Star blanket! Only 418 to go ... >_<

 

Nikita was happy to model for me ... photos of granny squares can be lovely, but when they're this monochrome, it's a little boring. She livens it up a bit! ^_^

 

I haven't done much on this granny ripple rug so far, but it's getting there! I really like the colours ^_^

 

I'm still not sure if I'm doing the edges right; I'm following the pattern but they look like they're increasing still. I might do a swatch in some scrap wool to practice a bit more.

 

I've also been making a cover for my little ottoman. I need to buy more wool though (what a pity!) as I have already used up the two balls of wool I had in those colours.

 

Still, it looks pretty, doesn't it? ^_^

 

 

That's all for the crafting today *but* I will say - go and watch the Hunger Games! It was *such* a great movie; relatively true to the books, great casting choices, and amazing set design. (Yes, set design is important to me ~_^)

I hope you had a fantastic day today! Tell me, are you working on anything at the moment? I'd love to know! ^_^

- Lisa x

Mini leather book necklace

On Saturday I had the pleasure of the company of Ms. Pip - we had a Crafternoon and we made some *cute* mini book necklaces.

I wore mine today and was very pleased by the amount of positive comments - seems the people approve of little red books.  Ooo, don't tell the government! ~_^

See you later!

Lisa x