Pirate themed teapot and mug set and a Hermione Granger brooch

Hello! Gosh, it feels like I've been gone a long time! There has been a virus going around here and between that and work, I haven't had much time for craft or blogging ; _ ; But, it's the weekend now and I have a crafternoon today so I am pretty excited about doing some crochet and sewing!

Anyway, here is some of the craft (and thifting!) that I haven't shared with you yet! ^_^

I used my porcelain pens to give this plain teapot and mug set a bit more interest ^_^ It's now pirate and tea themed! The teapot features a teacup skull and cross-spoon-bones ~_^

This mug shows a tropical island where a chest of precious tea might be found! 

The other mug has a little mermaid ... who appears to be swimming through a group of teabags. Honestly, my brain is very strange sometimes!

And this is the back of the set! ^_^ This was a super easy craft as all I did was paint and then bake. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out though ^_^

This second craft is even easier! I used some of the fabric I had designed on Spoonflower to make a little Hermione brooch ^_^ I simply cut out Hermione and a felt backing to match, sewed around them right-sides together, turned right way out and stuffed, then sewed up the rest and added a badge backing. She's pretty cute, huh? ^_^ I'm going to wear her to work on Monday!

The book and pillowcase are results of my last thifting trip. Isn't that mustard paisley fabric awesome? I don't know what I'm going to make out of it, but I'm looking forward to finding the perfect project ^_^ The green blanket is not finished yet, but it's getting there! I am really excited about this project and I'll be sharing the pattern with when it's done ^_^

Next up, the rest of the Month of Craft Photos challenge!

- Lisa x

An upcycled spice rack, Jawa plushie, and Death Star biscuits

Hey! I have had *such* a busy week! 

The fundraiser that I was organising for work finally happened yesterday; it was International Star Wars Day and so, of course, the fundraiser was Star Wars themed. We had two teams, Jedi and Sith, competing in activities to raise points and donations. I haven't counted all the donations properly yet, but from our inital calculations, I think we raised about $500! Yes! We're going to donate it all to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, which is a super great cause so I'm glad we're able to help out by dressing up, having afternoon teas, and challenging people to impromtu battles ~_^ The Jedi team won and the Sith team spent the entire day stealing things from people and then losing quite spectacularly. Seems apt!

Anyway, here's some other stuff I've been doing ...

I finished re-doing this spice rack that I ... found. On the curb. Yep, I'm all class, all the time. ~_^

It was in pretty dodgy condition, but after some sanding, painting, distressing, fixing (the bottom shelf was separated from the main body), and hanging-ability-adding (gosh, I have a great command of the English language!) I think it turned out quite well. I used blackboard paint and just used chalk to write on the text. I may upgrade to paint one day ... but this way I can easily change it should I wish to in the future. It's hard to see in the photos, but the rack has had some light sanding done after painting, which gives it a subtle vintage look.

You can see here that the middle holdy bit (oh, again with the words and the speaking ...) is broken, which is probably why it was chucked out in the first place. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. I was thinking attaching some kind of container to hold cinnamon sticks or something, with the same kind of technique as this ... but I'm really not sure yet. If you've got any suggestions I'd love to hear them! Also, I think I'm going to have to spruce up the little jars that hold the spices and herbs now ... maybe little blackboard labels for them also? What do you think? ^_^

I took some better (read: not using my phone) photos of the Jawa plushie I made for Scott; aren't the glowing eyes cool? ^_^

I used this tutorial and I highly recommend it! This was my first time sewing with conductive thread and it was a lot of fun ^_^ I want to do some more electrical sewing soon!

I couldn't find any brown jersey for the Jawa's cloak, so I used brown felt instead. I think it turned out well though! Also, this project is from my Pinterest board which means I have earned this badge that I just now made ...

Yes! Giving awards to oneself is totally a normal and awesome thing to do ~_^

Now, this is not something I did, but something I recieved. Bec found these *amazing* jars at an op-shop and she brought them for me! Squee! ^_^

I love them so much! I have a jar in my craft room which is just like these, but the bottom is brown and the flowers are yellow. I wonder if there are more colourways in these awesome vintage jar sets? That would be so cool ^_^ This set is also destined for my craft room, but I'm not sure what I will store in them yet ...

And lastly, I made Death Star biscuits for International Star Wars Day ^_^ I used the vanilla, cinnamon, and golden syrup biscuit recipe that I posted a couple of posts ago and some black writing icing. They turned out pretty well, I think. Next time, I think I will use a chocolate biscuit recipe though, to fit in more with the Death Star's colours. Or, can one purchase grey food colouring? That would be great for these!

And that's it for me today! I'll see you again soon ^_^

- Lisa x

The photo challenge continues!

Hey! How has your weekend been? Mine has gone really fast, which I think is because I had to work on Saturday - boo! >_< Anyway, here's more pictures for the month of craft photos challenge, plus what I've been up to lately.

Day 8: Most challenging FO. This was really hard to choose! I eventually picked Penelope because while I would re-make most of my projects, I would never make another giant squid plushie. Penelope is bigger than me (not tricky for most people as I'm only 5"3', but impressive for a soft toy) and took a lot of manoeuvring on the sewing machine to complete. I love her though ^_^

Day 9: Shadow. There are lots of shadows around here, but not so many pretty ones. I like the shadows my two-tier cake display makes though, plus the stand itself is very pretty ^_^

Day 10: A crafty gift. This owl gauge for knitting needles was a one of those free gifts from the front of a magazine. Still counts, right? ^_^ It's a lovely mint green, which is one of my favourite colours at the moment.

In other news, I cut my fringe, found this lovely vintage-looking shirt dress, and got up the courage to take and post a photo of myself not wearing make-up. Maybe next I'll be able to post a photo of myself that doesn't stop at the torso - ha ha! ^_^

And I spent this morning baking biscuits for a little tea party this afternoon. This copper cookie cutter is so sweet! The biscuits are my own recipe, and I'm really pleased that they turned out well ^_^

Here's the recipe for you:

Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Golden Syrup Biscuits

185g of softened butter

3/4 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 teaspoons of golden syrup

3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 cups of flour

1. Heat the oven to 180oC and line flat trays with baking paper.

2. Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until pale and creamy.

3. Add the golden syrup, cinnamon, and olive oil and continue to beat until well combined.

4. Sift the flour into the bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

5. Turn out the dough onto your counter (I put a sheet of baking paper over mine first) and knead until soft and not crumbly. If your dough seems a little too crumbly, return it to the bowl, add a bit more olive oil, and knead to combine.

6. Roll out with a rolling pin, cut into shapes, and transfer to baking trays.

7. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Once cooked, let the biscuits cool slightly on the trays before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely; this is especially important if you're using large, delicate shapes like the teapot above.

9. Eat one to check that they're ok to serve to friends ~_^

I hope your weekend is super awesome and if you make some biscuits from this recipe, I'd love to know if you liked them ^_^

- Lisa x

More of the photo challenge ^_^

Hi! How has your week been? I have been pretty busy, but I've still been taking the photos for the Month of Craft Photos Challenge. Yay! ^_^

This is Day 4: Inspiration. On Monday I finished reading another Phryne Fisher book, scored a free CD, and made a badge in my lunch break. It was a great day and made me really want to craft! But I will have to wait until my days off work ... ^_^ Miss Fisher has been inspiring me with all the wonderful descriptions of '30s Melbourne life and clothing. I don't think anything Phryne wears would suit my decidedly non-flapperish figure, but I'm enjoying it anyway! If you're in Australia, I can also highly recommend the ABC TV series based on the books. Music is always inspiring, and having a couple of minutes to whip together a badge design was super fun. I think sometimes over thinking is the worst thing to do when crafting ^_^

Day 5: Craft Envy. I cheated a little bit with this picture - I took it before the challenge started! Opps! I tried to re-take it, but the image disappeared into the ether so I stuck with this one instead. I'm envious of this card catalogue for two reasons; 1. I wish I could make furniture! I hope that one day I can have a garden shed to fill with wood and power tools, and then maybe I can learn to build things that aren't from IKEA ~_^ and 2. I really want a card catalogue! I think it would be perfect craft room storage ^_^

Day 6: My feet! I got these awesome mustard coloured socks and I love them ^_^ They have delicate little cables and are super comfortable. It's starting to get cooler here so hopefully I will get a lot of wear out of them ^_^

Day 7: Traditional. Is there anything more traditional than cross-stitch? (Probably, but go with me here) This pattern is not in anyway subversive, and I'm doing it properly with no knots and consistent stitching so even the back looks pretty swell. But, I did have to undo six rows because I made a mistake in row five >_< The lavender thread is very difficult to see when stitching as well, but that may be more due to my needing new glasses than anything else! Anyway, hopefully I should finish it this weekend ^_^

What have you been up to lately? Next up to photograph is my most challenging finished project. Gosh! I have no idea what I'm going to do. What do you think yours would be?

- Lisa x

Photo challenge!

Hey folks! Today Bec, Jane, and I had a craft day which was heaps of fun ^_^ I only made two granny squares though (slacker!) so I thought I would share with you my progress into the month of craft photos challenge, inspired by Robbie's wonderful photos for the same.

Here is the challenge list

I recently got a new photo app for my phone; I really wanted to get Instagram but it won't work on my cheap phone ; _ ; so I got Lightbox instead. I still really want to get Instagram (maybe on my next phone ...) but I thought I'd embrace the underdog and have some fun experimenting with all the different filters while completing this challenge. I've only done three so far!

This is my work-in-progress; a Crochet Today pattern (May/June 2010 for those that want to know) which is a re-print of a pattern from the 50s. My motifs are a bit smaller than the pattern advises (I'm using a thinner yarn, smaller hook, and have a quite tight tension) so I'll be making a few more than recommended. I've made four motifs so far, a bit of which you can see in the top corner. The motifs are joined as one does the final row which is an interesting method that I haven't done before.

This is my favourite drink ^_^ Bubble Tea! (I'm obsessed!). I used the fish-eye filter on this one which I think suits it quite well. This flavour was watermelon with green apple jelly and you can see that I had already drunk quite a bit before snapping this photo ~_^ You can also see a corner of my pirate skirt in the top corner ^_^

And this is something new - Octavia, my new Thumpy Thump (what a name, right?) Blythe Doll. She's very pretty and has awesome purple hair ^_^ The background is also new; it's a vintage tablecloth, but it's new to me! It has a lovely cross-stitched border.

How was your weekend? Want to join me in this photo challenge? ^_^

- Lisa x

Crochet peas and carrots, plus Spoonflower fabric napkins

Hi, how has your long weekend been? Mine is almost over, and I didn't do quite as much craft as I planned to. But, I slept and cleaned more than I planned to, so I guess it all evens out ^_^

I crossed another thing off my giant craft list - yay! I crocheted a pea pod and a carrot using the pattern in the fifth issue of Mollie Makes. The photo above was taken using one of pages of Mollie Makes as a background ... don't you just love that font and the tiny little flowers? ^_^

Esther the rabbit was happy to participate in a little photo shoot ~_^

 

I like how the pattern turned out some pretty life-sized vegetables! I have no idea what I'm going to do with them now though ...

 

I also *finally* finished making napkins from some of my designed fabric, printed by Spoonflower. I made twelve napkins, they have a plain white fabric backing and are finished with a rolled hem.  

I'm not really sure how to take exciting photos of napkins though, sorry!

What did you do this weekend? Any tips for how I could add interest to my photos? Or actually take good photos? ~_^

- Lisa x

Goulia Yelps - Makeover edition

Hey! Do you remember that ages ago I brought a Ghoulia Yelps Monster High doll? Well, anyway I did, and she looked like this:

Not very zombie-like.

So, I sanded off her makeup, gave her a repaint, and made her a new outfit and now ...

... she's zombiefied ~_^

 

 

"BRAINSSS!"

 

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

- Lisa x