Pincushion Frame

May 13, 2020 makeireLeave a comment

I used to have a little sewing box where I had a pincushion, scissors etc to hand when needed. Time took its toll and I ended up with a drawer of bits and bobs including the pins and needles.

Growing a bit tired of searching for pins, I decided that I needed a pincushion that also holds a scissor etc that looks pretty enough to sit next to the couch in the living room.

As we are still in lockdown (Covid19 for future readers), I had a look through my stash of odd things and found a really pretty photo frame that I must have either bought ages ago or was given as a present (memory is blank on this one). My fabric stash could be the envy of every haberdashery shop so I had no problems putting this frame together. It didn’t even take 30 minutes…. and I think the result looks pretty good.

Lines are not straight (was the first time I used a decorative stitch) but that makes it unique. A little tip, I added the button and butterfly after I already assembled the frame – attach anything you like to add before securing it together. The stuffing was wadding I had leftover from a quilt I made and it worked a treat. No money spent (apart from purchasing everything in the past but that doesn’t count, does it?), assembled quickly and ended up with a pretty frame that looks great in the living room (matches the colour theme in my case).

Enjoy xx

The frame came from Dunnes Stores, the fabric was a special buy from Aldi (part of a fat quarter pack and absolutely no idea where I got the button and butterfly from (a big jar on the shelf).

Paper Flowers

April 1, 2020 makeireLeave a comment

I always look for craft ideas for Miss Sophie and Little Miss Holly – I think they both will love these paper flowers. They are perfect for little hands (they might need help with the cutting and definitely with the pricking of the paper) as they can let their imagination run wild again.

I have used paint testers from the DIY store but you can use watercolours or even markers. You don’t have to be particularly careful to mix the colours as you might get some great effects by painting over already applies colours.

With these flowers, there is no right or wrong – just enjoy making them. They are useful to spruce up some boring plain gift bags or string them up as a garland. Making them bigger will create some stunning decoration for your next party… all materials are widely available. Instead of buttons, you could use any embellishment.

Enjoy

Elke

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Kids Craft · Uncategorized

Hand Puppets

March 30, 2020 makeireLeave a comment

It has been a few weeks now that Miss Sophie and Little Miss Holly have been over to ours due to the Coronavirus. Both love my craft room and always have great ideas on what to do next. So, the last time they came, we started making hand puppets. It entertained both for hours and it was great to see how they are not afraid of using colours, gems and anything glittery – the more the better.

These puppets are easy to make, inexpensive and super fun and best of all, you don’t really need sewing experience as most decorations can be glued on. You only need to sew the two halves together. All materials are widely available and I found the template for the puppet online. Print it out in the size you want and of you go.

I asked Miss Sophie to come up with a play and next time we are able to have them over again, she and her sister will play it for us.

Enjoy

Elke

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Crafts · easter

Decorating Easter Eggs

March 28, 2020March 28, 2020 makeireLeave a comment

With the whole country in lockdown, time is more than available. Thank god for a fully stocked craft room. As Easter is nearing, I had a look through my stash and found a box of plastic eggs I bought last year from Vibes & Scribes (I think they were €5) and beautiful paper napkins with rose motives, perfect for decoupage (I can’t draw to save my life).

I had a few paint testers from Woodies in pretty pink and light green as well as some little red gem hearts. I painted a few but left others white – both worked fine. I think they look beautiful either way.

Enjoy the video and happy crafting.

Happy Easter my lovelies

Elke

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Crafts

Easter with Sequins

March 22, 2020 makeireLeave a comment

Spring is in the air and the first daffodils are showing their beautiful yellow heads. Don’t you just love how everything comes to life? With Easter only two weeks away and us being locked away due to the terrible Coronavirus, I thought I use the time to create some nice decorations.

I didn’t buy anything for it as I had everything already at home but you will find everything you need in Vibes & Scribes here in Cork as well as Mr Price and The Range. I am not sure where I got the paper strip booklet as I had it for years. It had a lovely shimmer to it which worked perfectly with the sequins and beads. For the pins, you need to make sure that they are long enough to go through the layers and into the styrofoam egg and needs a head that is bigger than the bead opening to hold everything together.

Happy Easter my lovelies.

Elke

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Crafts · DIY

Seashell Wreath

June 15, 2019 makeire

My lovely friend Agnes went to the beach a few weeks ago (when the weather was still lovely) and collected loads of seashells. Being the awesome friend she is, she brought me a bag full of them – some still attached to both halves.

Saying I was excited is an understatement. I am in the process of creating a little oasis in the back of the house for myself (with lots of help from my amazing husband) and was looking to add a little DIY to the fence above my little herb bed.

A seashell wreath was just the perfect idea. I got the styrofoam ring from Vibes & Scribes for €1.75 – everything else I had already at home. I have a nice selection of paint samples (when Little Miss Sophie comes over, we do a lot of painting), old jewellery that I was thinking of throwing out and some beads from other projects and broken jewellery. And who hasn’t got a glue gun at home?

I love the result and it looks great on the fence (I just need to hang it a bit higher as my bunting is too high). Here is a little video of the project. Enjoy xx

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Crafts

DIY Birthday Cards

January 5, 2019 makeireLeave a comment

This year, I am trying to send birthday cards to friends rather than just sending texts. Modern technology has let us become quite impersonal with messages on Facebook and text messages.

I have four birthdays coming up next week and thought, why not make cards – I still have a lot of cardstock and stamps at home, so it didn’t cost me anything other than the stamps to post them.

This is a very simple design but can be customized to all colours. I am using butterflies as a motive but you can use flowers etc. if you don’t have a butterfly punch.

Inserts for the cards are also easy to make if you have a printer – the internet offers loads of sayings and as long as you don’t sell your creations but use them for personal use, you can use them.

Enjoy

Christmas

Crochet Snowflakes Christmas

December 19, 2018 makeireLeave a comment

I was looking into creating a gift for a lovely friend of mine. She is a very talented crafter herself, so I needed to come up with something she hadn’t done herself already.

Thanks God for Pinterest – I am actually addicted to it and keep collecting ideas for later. One of these ideas was crocheted snowflakes – just loved how filigree they were lookings. I had some mini baubles and a piece from an old artificial Christmas tree laying around so the idea of creating a decorative hanging was in my head.

I crocheted five different snowflakes I found on Pinterest (unfortunately, I am not creative enough to come up with my own designs) and needed to stiffen them. For that I purchased a bottle of fabric stiffener – I had never used it and wasn’t sure how it will turn out. The first batch of snowflakes turned out nice but I stretched them on a wooden board I had with nails I had in my ‘toolbox’. That wasn’t such a good idea as the timber stained the snowflakes where they touched the board after being sprayed with the stiffener and the nails left dirty marks on the tips. So the first batch wasn’t usual for what I had planned.

So, off I went crocheting five new snowflakes (the beauty of them is that each only has rows between 3-6 rows so you can do them quickly in an afternoon). This time I used a cork board covered in plastic and sewing pins. I pinned the snowflakes tight enough to keep them off the surface (just in case) and sprayed again with the stiffener. Left them to dry overnight and the result was stunning.

I hung the snowflakes on white yarn I used to crochet them on the piece of old Christmas tree and added mini pearl baubles to the mix. I love the look and getting ready to crochet more snowflakes for my own window – just use hooks with suction on your window and hang the snowflakes in different heights and hey presto, you have a stunning window decoration.

I used white as I had lovely cotton yarn in my collection of wool but you can use any colour really. I recommend using cotton yarn rather than wool to give you clean edges.

What I learnt:

Fabric Stiffener is quite wet so make sure you dab off the excess. PVA glue thinned with a bit of water does the same trick.
Leave the snowflakes at least overnight to ensure that they have dried properly
Pin opposite sites to ensure an even stretch
Using a spray – make sure you are not near anything as it sprays wide. My phone looked a bit funny after being misted.

Christmas

Christmas Glitter Ornaments

December 14, 2018December 14, 2018 makeireLeave a comment

Christmas is such a magical time and I love to go to the big department stores like Brown Thomas and Harrods in London. The imagination that goes into the decorations of these trees is simply stunning and I am always jealous when I see how luxurious the trees are.

As I don’t have the budget to buy the larger ornaments, I am always looking for ideas on how to add that vavavoom feel to my own tree.

This year, I came across masks in Mr Price – a great source for craft material – for just €1 each and couldn’t resist buying a few. The shop also has bulk paint and glitter and styrofoam baubles – basically anything I needed for my glitter extravaganza.

The tinsel yarn (that’s what it’s called) I found in Aldi at one of their craft special buys. It came in a pack of four balls (didn’t even need one for five baubles). I crocheted strings of chains to make the yarn a bit bulkier (I am known to have not much patience) and fill the baubles better. PVA glue is a universal glue, also called wood glue. You can buy it in craft shops or DIY stores.

I think my Christmas tree looks quite stunning this year and could stand in Harrods on its own.

Enjoy xxx

Disclaimer: I am not connected with Mr Price or Aldi and have paid for all my material. This is not a sponsored post.

DIY

Jewellery Frame

November 20, 2018November 20, 2018 makeireLeave a comment

I am not a jewellery person but you might be forgiven to display some disbelief. I was looking for a certain pair of earrings the other night (one of these rare nights when I was able to persuade Mr Make! to come to a function with me) and opened my little box of treasures. Everything was tangled up and it took me ages to find the matching earrings.

Being fed up with something is the best motivation to change things. And the fact that I remembered that I had some old (and I mean old) frames lying around. I went to an auction once (since then I am not allowed to attend any auctions anymore as I don’t seem to have any self-control) where I saw the old frames offered as a lot and I thought €50 is a bargain (husband didn’t think so).

But said husband comes in quite handy sometimes as his van and shed can be a treasure throve. He happened to have chickenwire and all I needed was a bit of patience.

This is my first jewellery frame and I have learned a lot from it (in case I get another notion). First, I would have added all frills before I attached the chickenwire – makes life so much easier.

Anyways, here is te result (and I noticed that I have much more jewellery than I thought I had (and a lot has already been sorted out and brought to the charity shop). It is all costume jewellery and things I found at craft markets etc.

When I took the frame and turned it around (I haven’t touched the box of frames since I bought it) and found this amazing label – I made sure that I didn’t take it off when I cleaned the frame. I tried to do a quick research into the business but came up empty – might do it more seriously later.

I could have painted the frame but I love wood as it is (saying that, some upcycle I have seen were awesome) and I wanted to preserve the details on the frame. They were quite loose in some places and completely missing in others. I carefully glued the pieces back into their rightful place and cleaned carefully. I haven’t waxed it yet but it’s in the planning.

Next, I stapled the chickenwire to the back of the frame – and here is the mistake, I should have added the wire last after I added the rod for the bracelets and the cotton lace for the stud earrings (also, I will be adding a second rod in a few days for the rings).

I am not showing you the back of the frame with my sorrow attempt to staple – I have an electric stapler but for some reason it decided not to cooperate and the staples were half hanging out so I had to hammer them down.

Next I attached the cotton lace on top of the frame (again, I should have started with the rod). After I attached the rod (with two srew-in hooks), I didn’t have enough space on the top, so I attached a second ribbon of cotton lace.

Now it was just a matter of sorting through my assortment of jewellery (and I should really stop calling it jewellery as it has no financial value whatsoever).

Enjoy xx