Ingrid the Pom-Pom Jackalope

Hello! I am slowly becoming totally obsessed with pom-poms. I've seen a lot of really cool things made with them, and when I saw this adorable bunny by Martha Stewart I knew I had to give it a go! But, then I thought, yeah, bunnies are cute, but jacklopes are cute *and* mythical! ^__^

So this is Ingrid! ^__^

And here's how I made her ^__^ I have a pom-pom maker that does three sizes, so I made one of each and then cut them down so they were nice and dense. It makes a lot of tiny wool fluff that gets everywhere, but the pom-poms look great so it's totally worth it.

 

I cut out the eyes and nose from black felt, and the ears and antlers from white felt. I added a little bit of glue to the front bottom section of the ears and antlers before I attached them to the head so that I could pinch them in half and give them a bit more shape. Then I added a bit of glue to the bottom of the ears/ antlers, parted the wool on the head, and stuck them in. If you part the wool before you stick them in then the fluffiness of the pom-pom covers up the base of the ears/ antlers. The whiskers are made from tiger tail, which is a jewellery making wire. I dabbed a little bit of glue on the ends and then just poked them in place.

 Then all that was left to do was glue the head, body, and tail together! ^__^ I used Amazing Goop for all my gluing needs, but hot glue would also work well ^__^

I used some of the baby wool I inherited from my Nana Tess to make Ingrid, and it turns out that baby wool is *perfect* for pom-poms because it's so fine so it makes a denser, more fluffy pom-pom. Also, it's really soft and the type I used has a really subtle variation in it so it changes between white, pastel purple, and pastel pink which makes your pom-poms look fancy without any additional effort on your part. Yay! ^__^

Anyway, I hope you like Ingrid, and are ready to see more pom-pom crafts in the future because I think this is going to be my new favourite base craft ... ^__^

- Lisa xx

Doily spider web hoop, pom-pom spider, and a Hipster Wonder Woman cosplay

Hello! I know Halloween is over now (noooooooooooooooooo ; __ ;) but I still have some spooky things to show you! ^__^

I made this super simple cobweb decoration by framing an old doily in an embroidery hoop and glueing on a couple of plastic spiders ^__^

 

It was seriously so easy to do, and I'm really sad that it didn't have a long display period since I ended up decorating so late this year! >__<

 

But, at least I've got a head start on crafting for next year, right? ^__^

 

Here's the one tiny little corner that looked properly Halloween-ey (what's with all the end of year assignments, teachers? I don't have enough time for decorating! ~__^). Most of this is store brought, but I did make the glittery skulls and the washi tape skeletons (which you saw in the last post!).

I did also make the spider in the jar. It was very easy and I think balances on the line between spooky and cute very well ^__^

I used this tutorial to make the spider, although mine is a bit smaller so that it would fit into the jar and I gave it little eyes as well ^__^ After the spider was finished, I threaded a needle and pushed it through his belly, which created the hanging string.

I glued the string to the underside of the jar lid and then, when it was dry, covered the jar top with a scrap of fabric and some baker's twine. Easy peasy! ^__^

Lastly, here's my Halloween costume! ^__^ I decided on hipster Wonder Woman this year because I wanted to wear my glasses (so many people have told me that they look hipster!) and a skirt (because pants and I still aren't friends!).

 

This gorgeous illustration by Elizabeth Beals was the inspiration for most of my costume (you should check out all of her hipster superheroines, they're amazing!)

I made the headband using some gold ribbon and a piece of red leather which I cut into a star shape. My earrings are vintage that I got at an op-shop (and then soaked in antiseptic overnight ~__^), and my necklace is made from polymer clay and painted with acrylics. Unlike Elizabeth's Diana, I wasn't comfortable going out in just a bra so I wore a red corset style top underneath my transparent black top. I found the transparent top at an opshop and was so excited because it's vitually identical to the one in the picture! ^__^ My belt and skirt were also both from the opshop, as were my shoes and bag which I didn't take photos of (they are red high heeled Mary Janes and a red leather envelope bag with a gold chain strap respectively!). I already had the stack of silver bracelets, and the stars on my skirt are made from white felt and are just tacked on. 

Phew! And that's it! ^__^

Did you have a great Halloween? Tell me about it! ^__^

- Lisa xx

Washi taped wooden skeletons

Hello! The stores have started having Halloween decorations in stock, which I think is totally exciting, but some of them are a bit creepy. And not the good kind of creepy! ~__^

I found this wooden skeleton which one is apparently meant to give to children to paint. Would you give that to a child? I mean, look at it ...

 

*shudder*

However, I like things made of wood, and I like skeletons, so I brought three. ^__^ If you have a skeleton, or any kind of wooden shape really, you can use this tutorial to make it a more stylish kind of creepy ~__^

 

 Firstly, give it a coating of white paint. This is just to cover up the outlines, so don't worry if it's not too neat. I used spray-paint, but you could use acrylic if you have that.

Then, grab an assortment of washi tape. The only limits to your colour combinations is how much washi tape you own! ~__^ Your aim here is to create a kind of collage look; rip off small pieces of washi tape and place them haphazardly. Overlap them, lay them in different directions, just make sure you cover all the wood. I also removed the original wire joining the skeleton together to make it easier to apply the washi tape.

Once all your pieces are washi-ed, use a scapel to carefully cut off the excess. This part is very similar to the Monogram Washi Tape Brooches I made a while ago ^__^ Then give everything a coat of mod-podge, replace the wire, and add some baker's twine so that you can hang it up! ^__^

Huzzah! I made three different colour combinations; a modern green and purple, an original Halloween look of orange and black, and a classic red and black ^__^

 

I think I used about 7 different washi tapes for the purple and green one, 14 different washi tapes for the orange and black, and 8 for the red and black. Golly gosh! I don't have an addiction, I swear! ~__^

Obviously you don't need to have as much washi tapes as I do, even using three or four tapes would probably be just fine! 

Nonetheless, they're a great addition to my Halloween decorating! ^__^ (Does anyone get the impression I like skulls? ~__^)

- Lisa xx

Geometric silk skirt from a vintage dress

Ok, so, you know how sometimes you find something in an op-shop and it's just awe-inspiring in its magnificance? Well, that's how I felt when I found this dress.

That pattern! Omg, swoon! However, the over-sized floppy sleeves, the dropped elasticated waist, and the weirdly high and straight neckline made for a dress that was, ummm, decidedly ugly.

 But, hey, it was only $8, so I brought this 100% silk vintage "beauty" home. And promptly shocked all the vintage-lovers in the world when I took a pair of shiny, sharp scissors to her. Honestly, I still feel a little guilty about that. But with a thick bit of elastic and my trusty sewing machine, I've now got an enthusiastically geometric skirt perfect for a night out!

 That helps assuage the guilt somewhat ~__^ All I did to make this was measure from the original hem to the length I wanted my new skirt to be which, in my case, was about 57cm. I overlocked the top to prevent fraying, cut my elastic to size, and sewed it into a circle. I pinned the skirt to the elastic and then just sewed the two pieces together, stretching the elastic as I went. I broke a needle doing that (*wince*) but other than that, it worked out just fine! ^__^ Since I used the original hem, I just left that alone. Yay for shortcuts! ^__^

By the way, posts like this really remind me why I'm not a fashion blogger. I made poor Rebecca take about 30 photos of me in varyingly silly poses to make this post. And in basically every second photo I was either blinking, moving too much, making a stupid face, or doing ol' crazy eyes. Sometimes all at once! ~__^ Tres awkward.

 

 But anyway, what do you think? I hope you like it! ^__^ I'll be back next week with some more Halloween inspired crafts. Yay! I just love this time of year, don't you? ^__^

- Lisa xx

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

Foxy KAL - Complete!

I finished my fox hat - huzzah! Today is the last day of Tanya and my Foxy KAL (yes, I am great with deadlines, thanks for asking! ~__^) and it's been a lot of fun!

I knitted up Tanya's foxy hat pattern twice actually; the first time it was baby sized and was a gift for my new niece, but the photos I took of it were pretty poor and I wanted one for myself, so I grabbed my needles and started another! ^__^

I have a tendency to tension tightly, so I used 6mm needles instead of the 5.5mm ones recommended by Tanya. I've since learnt that I apparently knit in the back loop, which explains why my stitches have more of a basket weave look as well as why everything turns out a tiny bit too small! The more you know, hey? For my next project I will have to try knitting through the front loop, and see what difference it makes ^__^

 

Since my stitches weren't as even as they should have been, the surface knitting for the facial features didn't work as well, which I discovered when I tried to do the nose. I persevered, but I ended up having to go over my stitches a few times to cover up the white yarn underneath and it doesn't look as neat. So I just embroidered the eyes on with two strands of wool, using back stitch (which you all know is my fave! ~__^)

I used stash wool for this project, so I'm not sure of the brands, but the white yarn is 100% wool, and the grey yarn is 100% acrylic. The grey was also slightly thinner than the white yarn which meant that the top of the hat is thinner than the base. This isn't really a problem though, because heads are also kinda shaped that way ~__^

 

I used two strands of each yarn, because they weren't as thick as the yarn Tanya recommended in her pattern, and I didn't want to go and buy more since I'm still trying to stash bust and also because I have *so much yarn*! Really I just justify buying any ever again ever. I do though. But it's not just! ~__^

 

I also added a crochet scallop border because my cast on was pretty dreadful looking, and also because I like to wear my hats on the crown of my hat, which means the brims often have to be a bit lower then others may prefer.

 

I used the same grey yarn that I used for the top of the hat, but I only used one strand and a 4mm hook. I did the scallops by doing five trebles into one of the cast on spaces; then I joined the next three cast on spaces with one stitch, like you would if you were reducing with the double crochet stitch. I'm not sure what that is actually called, probably something like 'double three together'. Let's say it's that, for now. If you know the correct terminology, let me know in the comments! Anyway, I just scalloped and 'double three together'-ed all around the brim and then tied off. I think it really adds a nice touch! ^__^ 

 We had a really great turnout for this KAL - we ended up with 82 group members, which I thought was incredible! ^__^ If you want to check out all the awesome FOs this group made, head over to Ravelry and take a sticky beak ^__^

 

Both the knit and crochet patterns will be available to everyone on Ravelry in the next couple of days, and soon Tanya and I will begin the process of choosing the grand prize winner and also the recipients of some cute little Foxy KAL button badges (which you can spot in the photos above) - it's going to be tough because all of the hats are so good! ^__^

Millions and millions of thanks to Tanya, who was an amazing co-coordinator and who wrote a fantastic pattern! If you don't have it now, you should definitely get it when Tanya releases it on her Ravelry account! ^__^

And also shout outs to everyone who participated! You rock! ^__^

- Lisa xx

Make (craft) love, not war: toy soldier jar toppers

Hello! Did you play with toy soldiers when you were little? I didn't, yet for some reason, I had two big packets of them in my craft room. I collect a lot of weird things because I think I'll do something with them, and in this case I actually did!

I *always* need more craft storage, and I kinda hate throwing away jars (even though I do recycle them ... it's just the latent hoarder in me, I think! ~__^) so I decided to make some jar toppers to pretty up my craft room a little ^__^

 

These were really easy to make too! Here's what you'll need:

- toy soldiers

- clean jars

- thin craft wire

- glue

- spray paint

- thin plastic or cardboard (I diverted some cartons from my recycling bin for this purpose) 

- wire snippers 

- craft scissors

 

Firstly you'll need to cut out some small hearts from the cardboard or plastic. I used four, because I wanted one soldier to have two hearts, just to add in some variety.

 

Then cut a short length of wire and give it a little bit of a twist. Check out the photos below for some close-ups of the wire (it's probably easier than me trying to describe it! ~__^)

Use your glue to attach the heart to one end of the wire, then attach the wire to the end of the soldier's gun.

 

   

Since you've already got your glue out, stick down the soldier onto the jar lid ^__^

 

Then all you need to do is wait for it to dry, and then give everything a coat of spray paint. I *was* going to use cherry red, but I ran out! Oh no! Since I'm still trying to stick to my commitment of not buying new craft supplies, I used white instead. I'm actually glad though, because I think it gives the jar toppers a kind of ceramic look ^__^

Then you can fill them up!

I used my jars to hold some skeins of embroidery thread, my fabric pens and measuring tape, and my sewing machine threads. You could also use this for bathroom or kitchen storage, or even as cute way to corral all that wayward stationery on your desk! (Oh, wait ... is that just me? ~__^)

 

Whatever you think you'd use these for, I hope you like this project! Now, to think of a way to use up the other 1756 soldiers still languishing in my craft room ... ~__^

- Lisa xx