Pineapple and AT-AT string art

Hello! Today I really felt like I needed a break from my crochet project (so. many. trebles!) so I had a look through my idea notebook and found one that said, in shaking just-woke-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night handwriting, "geometric string art AT-AT". There was also a drawing of what I assume to be the aforementioned AT-AT but it looked more like a cow. Good attempt nonetheless, sleeping-Lisa. A for effort.

So anyway I gathered my supplies, and got to crafting! It turned out well, but my desire for hitting things with a hammer wasn't yet sated, so I made another string art; this one a pineapple. I'm still not over the pineapple trend, and it works with the 70s-esque medium of string art oh so well! And I even made a little tutorial and a template for you to make your own ^___^

 

1. You'll need a hammer, upholstery tacks (or some other kind of small nail), string (I used cotton thread), a piece of wood (mine is a chopping board from IKEA), scissors, and a scalpel.

 

2. You'll also need a silhouette. For my AT-AT I used this one, and for my pineapple I made my own. If you'd like to use my pineapple silhouette, you can download it by clicking on the image above ^___^

 

3. Add your tacks around the edges of the silhouette. My pine board was soft enough that I could push in the tacks a little before hammering them in; this adds a little bit of stability and reduces the chance you'll hammer your thumb ~___^

4. Once you've got all your tacks in, you can remove the paper template. Just rip it off! ^___^

 

5. Some of your tacks might have a little bit of paper stuck underneath them. I used a scalpel to cut these little scraps off.

 

 

6. To start off the string wrapping, I did an adjustable slip knot which I tightened around the first tack. I wrapped the string around each tack around the outside of the shape and then started criss-crossing through the middle.

 

7. To finish off, I also used an adjustable slip knot. It can be a bit tricky to get the knot in the right place so that your string is kept tight enough, but it does look very neat once you get it done. ^___^

8. Cut off the tails of your strings, and you're finished! Huzzah!

 

It's still quite cloudy and rainy here, being winter, but I feel like these little bits of art cheer up the place quite nicely ^___^

I'm back at uni again next week which means that craft will, once again, be relegated to the back burner but until then I shall be working on my crochet project. I hope I can finish it in time to show you soon! 

- Lisa xx

Cat, Rabbit, and Bear recycled planters

Cheap crafts are the best, right? I really love it when I see or think of a project and I don't have to make a list of things to buy for it, so when I saw these kitty planters made from plastic bottles, I knew I was going to have to give it a go!

To make these I used three 2-litre soft drink bottles, scissors, chalk-board spray paint, and chalk. I also made templates for the designs using A4 paper and a pen, which I then transferred onto the bottles using a permanent marker.

The templates are very easy to make - just draw a horizontal line across your piece of paper and then add ear shapes! For the cat I drew triangles, for the rabbit I traced around the handles of my scissors, and for the bear I went around the bottom of a jar of nail polish.

 But if you don't want to do that, you don't have to! I've made a copy of the templates I used and uploaded it to Google Drive for you ^___^ Just click on the picture above to go and download the template and, as always, let me know if you have any troubles!

 

Once you've got your templates, sticky tape them to your bottles and trace around them with a marker. Don't worry if you make any mistakes because they will be covered up by the spray paint ^___^ I used scissors to cut the bottles into the right shapes; I did try to use a scalpel but found that I had much better control with the scissors. If you're going to use these for planters, make sure you add some little holes in the base for drainage.

Then give your bottles a coat of chalk-board spray paint, wait for them to dry, prime them with chalk (that's just rubbing chalk all over it, and then wiping it off again), and then you can draw on the faces! Yay! ^___^

 

I love using chalk-board paint, because I adore the old school look it has, and it also makes adding the faces so much less stressful! Oh, it's not perfect? Rub it off and try again! ^___^

 

Chalk-board gives you a lot of possibilites; you could write on labels if you wanted to remember what you'd planted in each one, for example, or add names if you were giving these as gifts.

You could also change up what animals your planters are - the cat could also be a dog, and the bear could also be a mouse ... but I must admit I'm stumped on what else the rabbit could be! ^___^

 

My little bear has a terrible skin condition; poor bear! This is because when I first sprayed the chalk-board paint, a lot of gunk came out! I'd recommend spraying a bit of the paint on a scrap piece of paper or something first, so your animals can be bump-free! ~___^

 

I hope you like him anyway, I still think he's rather cute! ^___^

 

I think these would be perfect for a little kitchen window sill herb garden. What would you use them for?

- Lisa xx

P.S. I'm back to uni on Monday, so I'll be going back to a weekly posting schedule to leave more time for my studies. But you can always follow me on Instagram to see what I'm up to day by day ^___^

Eat, drink, and be scary! Free poster printable

Hello! Today I was going to show you a skirt I made, but the sun was like, totally rude, and set before I had time to take photos. Inconsiderate, sun, very inconsiderate! ~__^ So I guess that'll be for next week, and now I'll show you the cute free poster I made for you! Huzzah!

Halloween is one of my favourite holidays, and I'm excited to start decorating, so I made this poster in three spooky colourways ^__^

I'm thinking some cute coordinating washi tape will make these prints adorable and easy wall art for this month. Yay! If you'd like a copy for yourself, just click on the pictures above to download the .pdfs ^__^

Are you totally excited about Halloween as well? ^__^

- Lisa x

Sweet tooth plushie with free pattern

Hello ... do you have a sweet tooth? No? Would you like one? ^__^

This project has been on my list for quite a while, but last night I finally decided that I couldn't wait any longer and quickly whipped up this little fella with 100% stash items. Huzzah! ^__^

This wide eyed smile is calculated for maximum cuteness level, so I know you'll all want one of your own ~__^

 So I made a pattern for you! Yay! ^__^ Click on the image above to download the .pdf from my Google Drive (and, as always, let me know if you have any problems! ^__^)

To make your own sweet tooth plushie, you'll need;

- white fabric (I used some new jersey that for some unknown reason I had in my craft stash, you could also use cotton, fleece, felt, an old t-shirt ... anything really!). The pattern is sized to print on an A4 page, if you make it that size, you'll need about half a meter of fabric. 

- black and red fabric scraps. You only need a very small amount of fabric to make the face. I used felt because it doesn't fray ^__^ 

- toy stuffing

- white, black, and red threads

- sewing machine. This is probably optional, but I find sewing plushies much easier with a machine, because the seams are much less likely to come undone.

Then all you have to do is cut out two tooth shapes from your white fabric, sew them together (leaving a gap in the seam), turn it inside out, stuff, and then add the face! You could also add the face on first, if you're not forgetful like me ~__^

Yay! I hope you like this little sweetie ^__^ And if you make one for yourself, I'd love to see!

- Lisa xx

Peace out, bitches! Charlie Bradbury inspired hoop

Hello! Guess what? I'm on study break! Yaaayyyyy! ^__^ I actually *do* have to spend the week studying (my tutors this semester are very keen on homework and assignments) but I have had a lovely relaxing weekend. And I have a craft to show you!

This hoop is inspired by Charlie Bradbury from Supernatural (played by the ever-awesome Felicia Day).

 

Charlie is a cosplaying, LARPing, computer hacking genius who regularly makes nerdy references. Seriously, how could you *not* love her?

Charlie's combo of "peace out" and the Vulcan Salute has become one of her most famous quotes, and I simply *had* to make it! ^__^

I used a bright red vintage embroidery hoop and some blue and white polka-dot fabric. I probably *shouldn't* have used white thread, because over the polka-dots, the stitching is a bit hard to see.

I struggle with embroidered text, so I am so, so happy with how this font turned out! Normally I trace the pattern onto my fabric using a transfer pen, but this fabric was too dark for that method. So, I cut out the segment of the pattern with the words, pinned it onto the fabric, and then stitched directly over the printed letters. After I'd stitched the phrase, I ripped and pulled the paper out from between the stitches. It wasn't that hard because the stitching perforates the paper, but next time I would use a thinner paper. I used regular printer paper this time, and I was worried about pulling up the stitches.

I made a little pattern for you to use as well! Click on the image to go to Google Drive, where you can download the .pdf ^__^

 

Now I'm off to work ... and after that I'll be casting on the Foxy KAL that Tanya and I are organising! It starts today, and I am so excited! ^__^ We'd love to have you join us!

Live Long and Prosper!

Lisa x

Third blog birthday and a free cupcake embroidery pattern

Hello! Guess what? I've been blogging at Tea and Craft for three years now! Wow! ^_^ If you've been following me since then; thanks! And I'm sorry for all those awful photos. If you're a new follower; hello, welcome, and thanks! And don't read too far back into the archives, especially if you have an interest in photography. ~_^

I wanted to do something a bit special to mark the occasion, so I've made up a little embroidery pattern for you! Yay!

 You can click on the image above to download the .pdf, as per usual ^_^

If you've ever seen any results of my baking experiments, you will know that these cupcakes are actually fairly realistic looking! Over-flowing, lop-sided, and/or slightly-burnt ... but they still taste pretty good! 

If you stitch this up, I'd love to see it! I haven't tried it out myself yet but I'm thinking they would look really cute with some brightly coloured felt tops and some stitched sprinkle decorations ^_^

Anyway, I hope you like it and here's to another three years of crafting and blogging! 

- Lisa x

Pon-Pon inspired eye ball hair bows and a free printable poster

Hello! How have you been? I have officially finished my first semester of university! Hurrah! The last couple of weeks were intense, with a *lot* of studying, which meant I was listening to a lot of music ^_^ I find songs where I have no idea what the lyrics are are perfect for studying to, so I was listening to SBS PopAsia pretty much constantly. I can even kinda sing along now ... although I'm pretty sure that I am mispronouncing everything and I still have no idea what most songs are about! ^_^

Which brings me to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and her awesome song "PONPONPON". It's so much fun! I love the set design, and the extreme weirdness of it all ^_^

Watching her videos just makes me want to craft, so I whipped up a couple of eye-ball hair bows ^_^

They were very, very easy to make too! Here's how:

1. Follow this tutorial to make a couple of hair bows

2. Cut out four large circles from white felt, two medium circles from coloured felt (these will be the irises so any colour is fine ^_^), and two small circles from black felt

3. Use embroidery thread to sew the black circle onto the coloured circle, and then the coloured circle onto the white circle

4. Cut two circles from cardboard just a tiny bit smaller than the white circles

5. Sandwich the cardboard in between the front of the eyeball and one of the extra white felt circles and stitch together using a blanket stitch - this will give it some extra support and ensure your eyeball doesn't become floppy

6. Sew the eyeballs onto the hair bows

7. Sew on a hair clip to the back of each bow

Then clip then in a make some funny faces ~_^

I also have a printable for you! Click on either of the pictures here to be taken to my Google Drive, where you can download this "Keep Calm and Pon Pon Pon" poster ^_^

The poster is A3 size, so you have the choice of printing it out full size or shrinking it to fit on A4 paper ^_^ I hope you like it! Please let me know if you have any trouble with downloading it from Google Drive!

Next I want to try crafting something inspired by Kyary's "Fashion Monster" song ... any suggestions? ^_^

- Lisa x

Star Wars Valentine Card

Hi! How are you today? I had a great day ^_^ I had nothing planned so I spent my day knitting and reading Ranger's Apprentice - not at the same time, though, I haven't yet mastered that skill ^_^ 

Also, I made this Star Wars Valentine Card! I know there is still quite a while to go before February, but it never hurts to be prepared, right? ^_^

You can download the .pdf file for this card from my Google Drive, or click here to download the same card but with a pop of red on the words ^____^

I've printed some out on white card, which looks really good, but I am planning on getting some coloured card as well to print on which I think will really make the graphic design pop! ^_^

Happy (very advanced!) Valentines Day!

- Lisa x