Paperback Massacre

Thinking up some autumnal ideas for my brides and came across a great tutorial on you tube on how to make a pumpkin from an old paperback. 

Now, some of my friends will class this as high as murder - cutting up a book in the name of art, 

but the way I see it is, if it's lost its cover or a few pages then it's no use anyway...

What do you think? 

Will there be a paperback massacre this halloween?!! 

Sid the hairy Scrap Slug, (tutorial)

You know how I hate to throw anything away?

Well, I was wondering what to do with the left over fabric from the sweatshirts I cut up the other day to make my cozy collar with...

there were loads of scraps from cutting out all of those circles!

I was left with the pile of scraps and some arms - I came up with this idea - 

he will probably get put away for someone for Christmas.

Meet Sid the hairy Scrap Slug...

Sid

The cat brought a slug in the other day and left it in the kitchen for me.

He was the usual, slimy type that make me shiver, 
not nice and cuddly like Sid the scrap slug.
Sid was born in my fabric cupboard, and there is nothing he enjoys more than a bit of scrap bathing (just lying about in the scraps).
He also enjoys a good game of monopoly and windsurfing at weekends.
If you made my cozy collar, and you too, now have loads of scraps - here's how you can make your own slug...

Cut slits along one of the arms

Thread the scraps through the slits and secure with a stitch or two

The more scraps you add, the hairier your slug will be
You should end up with something like this...

Turn your slug inside out and cut to the size you want him to be, tapering the edge into a tail

I stitched this seam with the sewing machine - but you can also stitch it by hand.

Then turn back to the right side, stuff well with stuffing (or more scraps),
turn his mouth under and stitch to secure.
Add two buttons for eyes and you're done!
If you are making this for a child under 3 you will need to stitch on the eyes instead of buttons to avoid a choking hazard.
Happy slug making!

 

"Go"..."Create!"

Feeling quite sad that next week is my last week with Hartsholme Community Contact Centre in Lincoln...   won't see them again for a while...until the jewellery making sessions in January  :-)

Janet, Pam, Andrea and Caz have shared cups of tea and stories with me over the last couple of weeks and I will miss peering over the rim my teacup, watching their delight at creating their own unique style.

Thought I'd share with you, the fab' Christmas table decorations they made today...

They took their usual  seats, (funny how people nearly always return to the same seat week after week), and  were faced with a mountain(!) of (recycled and new), baubles, ribbons, buttons, beads, foliage, embellshments(!), indulgences(!) etc...   

"Take a plate and have a play" I told them. 

I love the way this group just "dive in" to the  materials - they seem to love them (almost) as much as I do! And time goes soooooo fast! We have a cuppa, put the world to rights and create something beautiful too!!!

Anyway, I showed them an example of one I'd made earlier,(just like Val) and said "Go! Create!" and this is what they came up with... 

Janet

 Pam

 Andrea

Caz

The following session we made these lovely boxes from wallpaper scraps and trim, buttons etc...

... I got the wallpaper from my local Interior Design Shop - they gave me an old sample book.

Looking forward to hearing how the two above were received from Pam and Janet's family and freinds.

Note Book Upcycling!

I've been busy making some notebook covers for a craft fair I am doing on December 3rd at The Methodist Church, High Street, Lincoln. It's on the same day as the Lincoln Christmas Fair - if you've never been, I highly recommend it. If you are able to, take the long walk up Steep Hill, many of the shops and houses sell mulled wine and hot chocolate laced with brandy to make the climb up the cobbled hill more bearable! Hopefully, the beautiful vintage carousel will still be there too.

Anyway... back to the notebooks...

You will need:

• A hardback notebook
• Fabric remnants - (I've covered some in vintage embroidered napkins, tablecloths, curtains, shirts etc. Cotton is probably the easiest to work with as it is not too bulky)
• Pins
• Sewing machine or willing hands!
• Thread
• Scissors
• Rule
• Buttons, card toppers, stickers, jewellery etc to embellish

Take your notebook and lay it flat onto two pieces of fabric. 

Measure a rectangle around the book, allowing for a 1cm seam allowance all the way around and then also add on 5cms for each flap that will fold in to hold the notebook in place.

Save the trimming scraps, either to make a decoration for the front of your notebook holder or for stuffing another project.

Cut the two pieces of fabric, place their right sides together and pin them together.

Using either your sewing machine or hand stitch them together, leaving a gap in the middle, on the bottom edge of about 6cms.  

Turn the fabric right side out and press with an iron. Trim off any excess fabric and use chopsticks or a pencil to push the corners right out to get a nice sharp, crisp corner. Hand stitch the gap together. 

Place the notebook in the centre of the fabric, and fold both flaps in. Make sure that you leave a little space for the book to "breathe", by closing the notebook and checking that the fabric is not too tight.

Pin each flap to secure, and carefully remove the notebook.

Sew the flaps at the top and bottom of the cover. Y0ou can either do this by hand as in the picture below or stitch on the machine around the rectangular shape as close to the edge as possible (the brown ones at the top of this post, are made in this way).

Now comes the fun part! Raid your button tin and hunt out some buttons of similar or contrasting colours to your fabric.

Have a play! Try out some different designs with your buttons/buckles/charms/ribbons/beads etc, until you are happy with the design and stitch or glue in place.

1. Pop the cover over your notebook and you're done!

The possibilities with this project are endless. Experiment with different fabrics: silks, tweeds, shrunken jumpers, sacking etc... etc... Add personalised embellishments such as charms, buttons, badges, etc and create a unique personalised gift for someone.

Christmas on a shoestring!

Since resigning from work, money has been tight... so this year family and friends will be getting more than their usual amount of hand crafted gifts from us!

This year it's Christmas on a shoestring ... and Christmas just wouldn't be the same without Aunties Homemade Choca Vodka ... deliciously wicked and a favourite with young and old...

Chocolate Vodka is soooooooooo easy to make!


You will need

• A half bottle of vodka, (You can use cheap brand vodka for this as it is soooooooooo chocolaty, you wont notice!)
• 5 Mars Bars (Or other chocolate of your choice - as long as it isn't biscuit based, Mint Aero and Bounty make good alternatives),
• a dishwasher (or a saucepan of hot water).

Chop the chocolate bars into small blocks and add to the bottle of vodka, (you will need to remove some of the vodka). Screw the lid back on tightly and put through the hottest cycle on your dishwasher. The heat will melt the chocolate.

If you don't have a dishwasher, then put the chopped chocolate bars onto a plate over a pan of boiling water and melt. Then add to the vodka. Give it a good shake and store in the fridge.
Decorate with your own hand made labels and pretty ribbons for a very personal touch.