All posts filed under: Let’s make stuff

How to make pom pom elves

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As you know, I love a pom pom or three. I am using pom poms as my advent calendar, making a pom pom a day and hanging it on. This idea soon turned into pom pom elves! This is how the elves are looking so far, with a few snowballs thrown in. Want to make your very own elf or pack of elves? They can adorn your tree or hang anywhere you want. I have been making the elves in different sizes and the hats turn out as big or long as the fabric allows and I decide. So, grab a pom pom maker (I use cut out circles for mine), some yarn, some felt, embroidery thread and a nice big needle and off we go. Make a nice pom pom using some fab yarn. Leave a nice long length for hanging your cute elf up. Cut out a triangle of felt with the bottom edge long enough to go around your pom pom, make it as tall or short as you want. With some …

My Instagram shots as cards

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I have ordered teeny tiny cards and stickers from Prinstagram in the past,  so when they said they made proper cards for sending in the mail,  old school,  with a stamp and writing,   I needed some!  You can print a different Instagram picture (from your account) on each, so I decided to make a mix of regular cards and Christmas cards. You just choose from your Instagram stash,  which is a dilemma in itself.  Which to use?! I printed a few of Bodhi on his skateboard so that he has birthday thank-you cards.   Yes, I make my kids send out thank  you cards for presents received, and it helps if the card has one of your own photos on it I think. The cards arrived today and they are fab!  If you are expecting a Christmas or  a thank you card from me, you may need to prise it await from me, I like all of the cards so much! Do you send real cards made from paper with a stamp?  Or do you …

To infinity (scarf) and beyond!

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I have a scarf problem as you know and I do love to wear them as much as I can. Autumn is ideal scarf weather and lots of ways to wear scarves is a must. Infinity scarves are super easy to wear, but most of my scarves are the old fashioned flat variety. So I tried knotting the ends of one of my big scarves and ta-dah, I could wear it another way. I wrapped it twice around my neck and it works like a dream. This works best on big scarves made from fine fabric, so don’t go knotting up your woolly thick knit scarf! I am off to find more scarves to transform with a couple of knots.   Happy sunny Sunday!

Let’s make Flavoured Salt

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  Last weekend I was listening to ‘The Splendid Table’ on NPR and they mentioned Lemongrass salt, like it was something we should all whip up along with a myriad of other salts as soon as you can imagine them and their uses. This got me thinking.   I have lemongrass in the garden.   I love to grow it, but never really know what to do with it except smell it every time I walk by.  It would be great to have lemongrass to use all year round too. So, I had a go!  I cut a handful of lemongrass stalks and took off the outer layer, chopped them super small, as tiny as my knife could chop.  Then I mixed 2 tablespoons of rock salt with 1 tablespoon of chopped lemongrass and bashed it about in the pestle and mortar until the salt had broken down into teeny bits and the smell of the herb was all about. I gave it a good mix and tipped the salt into an airtight jar. I …

Free motion machine embroidery

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This week is ‘Selfish Sewing’ week thanks to Made with Moxie and Imagine Gnats and I promised myself I would embrace it.  One hour a day at the machine, not much to ask of myself, especially as I want to make more fabric lovelies like scarves and bags. Today’s project was my very first go at machine embroidery.  Presser foot off the machine and feeder teeth gone.   Just me and a sewing needle. I did a quick sketch of a tea cup and found instructions in my sewing machine’s manual.  The fabric went into my embroidery hoop and off I went. All of my sewing experience and knowledge was to be ignored and my sewing mind had to expand to welcome this new and strange technique. Drawing with my machine needle became easier as I practiced and practiced.  It is super weird to be able to move the fabric so freely, forwards, backwards, around corners with no stopping and starting to keep the fabric where I need it. My trust was in the embroidery hoop …

Spirograph and new library book

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I have had my Spirograph since at least nineteen seventy something.  Now we like to pull it out every so often to make some cool and usually surprising patterns. Today I thought I would make some notecards using my old faithful Spirograph. I recently bought some coloured biro pens which work great to make the colourful patterns. While I was getting the Spirograph pieces out I found the pretty lady who needs Spirograph hair, I do remember that I could never make her hair because I loved the face so much that I didn’t want to use it and  run the risk of ruining it.  So she still has no seventies hair. I have been struggling to find a book to read lately, I started ‘Sisterland’ by Curtis Sittenfeld, but I didn’t finish it before I had to return it to the library and then I started ‘The Truth’ by Michael Palin which I didn’t like, so now I am going to start this one tonight, I hope I like it!  If I don’t like …

Whatcha doin’?

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We have been experimenting and spraying beads gold and watching lots of ‘Wild Kratts’ this week as my smallest has been sick. I have been keeping up with the A Beautiful Mess 30 day self portrait challenge on Instagram, it has been a tricky one, I mean not much changes from day to day! It does force creativity though, so I have enjoyed that so far. I am at day 23, nearly done. This experiment came from the new ‘Martha Stewart’s Favorite Crafts for Kids’ book. I was lucky enough to get a copy at the New York Alt summit and I have to say it is chock full of great crafts and experiments. Lots of ‘what a great idea, why didn’t I think of that’ ideas. For this one, you just fill a jar with clear water. In a separate bowl mix one tablespoon of vegetable oil with drops of food coloring (we didn’t have red, which I bet looks cool). Mix up the oil and colour and pour onto the water. It just …

Sun prints revisited

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We are getting into the sun prints this summer. Might as well put the scorching sun to good use! The prints we made last week have been made into new pictures with the help of me, some markers and my eight year old son! As we finished drawing on the original prints, Bodhi told me he had already put some more items out to ‘print’! What projects have you got up your sleeve for the summer holidays?

Sun prints

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I read about sun prints in a post by Jeanette at Artchoo I think, I honestly can’t remember where I saw the idea, but I am sure it is not my own!  Anyway, go see Artchoo, it is chock full of kids art projects and ideas! We used construction paper and random objects and put them in full sun for the afternoon. After a few hours (about 5), the magic was revealed!  I think there is more we can do with these ‘prints’.  Watch this space (mainly because I haven’t done anything with them yet!). I made a heart with buttons which moved slightly during the process and gave a double exposure effect.  I love the scissors, the blue paper was very successful.   Construction paper fades out so quickly I am sure this would work well in less sun and less time. I see more sun print experiments in our summer break.  What are you up to?  Making lots of art and having a great time I hope!  

More fabulous finds and Hanger B Eatery

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I can’t wait to hang these on a pendant or two when I get home to my jewelry equipment, they even have natural holes. I have also collected some more smooth shell shapes and pebbles which I am hoping to drill and make jewels from. We found these empty oyster shells attached to rocks at the local beach. They are like little ready made display items or little ornaments. Yesterday Bodhi wanted to bring back a big sea star which was a bit whiffy to say the least. After a lot of huffing and puffing he was persuaded to leave it and I said I would find him a more desirable sea star, expecting to make a trip to the gift shop which sells dried out sea critters. Little did I know that today I would find this teeny tiny fella washed up and dried out with some seaweed. We ate at Hanger B Eatery today and they had this fab weather station! My favorite is ‘tornado = no stone’! Hanger B at Chatham airport …