My Working Space

Have you wondered about my crafting space?
Well, if you have I'll tell you a little.
My bedroom is not just a bedroom - it is also my home office, crafting space, relaxing spot and library!
The top of my bookshelves holds DVD boxes full of stamps, ink pads, dies and a variety of other crafting paraphernalia. My desk is flanked by 2 sets of plastic drawers plus another set of plastic drawers on the other side of the room, holding embellishments, paper punches, adhesives, brads, eyelets, scrapbooking papers, ribbons, lace, templates, cardstock, beads and chalks.

That's all good, neat and tidy, but when I get crafting things start getting pulled out, and things get piled up on every available space - generally my bed!
This is what happened when I got crafting recently:

What you can't see from this photo is what my desk looked like, but I can assure you there were crafting things all over that too (I just don't want to give away the project I was working on)!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the school holidays I have had a bit of time to work on some sewing projects - I have actually halved my list!

• Darts in pants so that they fitted properly
• Mending
• Putting pockets into shorts that didn't have any
• Making a rag bag

The most interesting is the rag bag. I used the legs of a pair of jeans that had worn out in other areas. I cut them off, sewed them together in a tube, sewed up one end of the tube and made a casing for a draw string by opening a small section of the hem on the other end.

To make the string, I started off by finger knitting some wool, but I found it was not thick enough and likely to break. So I used the initial finger knitting and finger knitted that again to make it stronger. It was then too short, but I had more wool and tried again.

So that I got the right length, I started doing the single finger knitting, then before finishing it off, I started the double up. It worked really well because I could do more single finger knitting to make it longer until I had the right length.

It's a good feeling to finally get some things done.

Cardmaking Experiments

A card I made today.

I used embossing powder and my heat gun for the first time. It didn't quite work how I planned - the ink dried too fast.
I also made the window blinds - I stamped the window on the paper I wanted to use then cut out the bits I needed. The bottom edge was done with decorative scissors and I hand drew stitch marks at the bottom. The blind pull at the bottom is a pearl.

(This post has been scheduled for a later date so that the person receiving it doesn't have a sneak peek.)

Birthday Cards

I've had a busy afternoon and evening of card making, and here are the results:

This one combines decoupage layers with washi tape.

I tried a new technique with this one, by using blow pens.

Both are for female cousins.

This one is for one of my male cousins.
Normally when I make a card, I just put things together and see how it works out, but for this one I actually roughly sketched it first. The tent and fishing rod are stickers that I purchased so long ago that the adhesive on the back had lost it's stick, so I had to use my own. I cut around the top of each wave on the paper (very fiddly) for the wave effect. The sky was done using chalk and a dauber.

(This post will only appear after their birthdays, as I don't want them to have a sneak peek.)

Secret Projects Revealed!!

Earlier this year I mentioned that I was working on some secret projects! The time has now come for them to be revealed.
2 new babies joined our family recently, and as is my tradition I did cross stitches for each one to welcome them to the family.

The pictures below have been slightly edited. I stitched their names on each one, but for privacy, I can't reveal them here.

Each of these are from the Playtime Nursery book by Ginny Fraser. There have been a couple of alterations to the patterns so that they worked for the babies I made them for.

Bows with a Bow Maker

I recently got a free bow maker (not quite like this one) with a card making magazine. This video has given me a few ideas of what I could try!

Or you could try this (no bow maker), but it looks a bit awkward.

A "Little" Bit of Crochet

For years I've wanted to do really fine crochet and make a doily. Since I learned how to crochet using a DVD I've thought about it more, but with so many other crafts that I do and projects on the go, it's just one more thing that's been put on the back-burner. I've also been seeing crochet embellishments for cards and realised that I could make them myself.

I had a little time on my hands over the last couple of days, and a book out of the library - "100 Snowflakes to Crochet".

So, I found some crochet cotton and used one of my smallest hooks (actually a cro-tat hook).
The first one I did in about an hour. The second took a bit longer, but it was more complicated.
And here they are ...

The one on the left was first. It's about the size of a 10 cent coin. The one on the left, I think looks more like a ships wheel than a snowflake! It's just a little smaller than a 50 cent coin. It was hard to get the loops right. I wasn't sure which side of the chain to put the hook through so that it sat right. I think I may use these on cards as embellishments.

So that's what I've been up to lately, plus some more work on my crochet rug! It's slow going these days with it getting so large, but I'm closer to the end than the beginning. A few more rounds of blue, then I'll do maroon edging!

Baby Shower Card

So a friend of mine is having a baby, and today was her baby shower.
This is the card I made!

Cards, Cards, Cards and a Few Other Things

I know, I know! I haven't posted about projects for a while, but I had some mail go missing and couldn't post about the cards I made until I knew they had arrived!
So here we go - a couple are actually Christmas cards. Mail to Africa went missing, and only just arrived - 5 months later!



This one was fun. The tree is actually a wallpaper cut out. The lights and decorations glitter glue and rhinestone stickers.












This one I made for a friend for her wedding. The heart paper I made myself by sticking punched hearts on white paper. I scanned it into my computer and can now print more whenever I like!

My brother's birthday card! The domino paper was from a craft magazine. The dominos stuck on were actually out of a Christmas cracker. There weren't enough for a game of dominos, but they made a nice embellishment. My brother loved it!

A friend of mine was starting a new job and moving to the other side of the city, so this was an encouragement card. The hand is a novelty paperclip!

A notepad for my Mum! She needed a new one, and while we had all my card making things out I whipped this up. The cover is embossed cardstock, and the hedgehog a sticker.
We had a card making party for my birthday - it lasted 2 days! I pulled out most of what I have, spread it out on and around the dinning table. I can't show you most of the cards we made because they haven't been sent yet, but we had a lot of fun!

A couple of engagement cards. You might recognise the black and white border on the second one! It was part of my Op Shop haul a little while ago. Yes, the heart paper is the one I made and featured in the wedding card I mentioned earlier.








So there you have it! Just a few of the projects I've made this year (and one last year). Stay tuned, there's sure to be more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the cooler weather I've also started working on my crochet rug again. It's big enough to keep my legs warm as I keep making it!

And then there's a cross stitch project I'm working on. No sneak peaks. It's a surprise gift!

How To and A Brilliant Idea

Finally someone telling me how to use these stamp and die sets!!

And the answer to a question I've had for a while - what to use to hold a die in place that is easily removed at the end and doesn't cost a fortune.