A creative couple of days...

Have really been bitten by the creative bug now.

Have got some time off work and have decided to cram in as much crafty stuff as possible.. this will either make going back to the day job easier or unbearable.. yet to work that one out..

So instead of a sleep in on Saturday I woke up bright and ridiculously early... much to the OH's horror.. and started making a mess in his eyes.. but was glad it was keeping me distracted from the washing up he hadn't done from the night before....

So the first thing I made was a fabric flower.  I got the idea from Leanne from Luvleescrappin . She shared a lovely vid blog on how to make flowers, but I wanted to incorporate a bit of Girlybunches crochet in there somewhere.

Using some old fabric I had (cotton drill) I hand dyed it using glimmer mist (for those of you who are interested I used Starfish (pink), Meadows Green (green), Purple Pansy (purple) and a hint of Tattered Rose (clear pink glittery glimmery sheen), cut six wiggly circles and attached to a felt backing.  I also hand dyed a crocher flower I made and affixed this as well.  Finished off with a jewel brad!

Not bad for a first attempt at such things... I think anyway...

The next thing I wanted to do was to make another vid for my YouTube channel - www.youtube.com - Girlybunches I've made a few vids on how to get started with crochet, but wanted to do a start to finish vid of myself crocheting a doily.  So with the help of iMovie and Garage Band I made a quirky bit of film and also with the help of The Husband we made some music to go with the vid.  You have to be careful of music on YouTube, as its all copyrighted etc... and I didn't want to loop the music for 8 mins!!! That would drive even the most patient of souls nuts!...

So here is what we came up with.. please subscribe to my channel for other vids that I have in the pipe line....

After all that.. I decided that I would have a cup of tea and a sit down for the rest of the day.

Today, however, I woke up with further creative crafty gusto!

I got from Ebay the other day a CD that contains 2800 vintage labels... and indeed it did.. and for £1.00 it was silly not to really. I really really love, and always have done old crate labels.. I just adore them.  Such great artwork in them... and this CD was packed with them...  if you're interested the seller is.. CD/DVD IMAGE'S they are currently doing 4 CD's for the price of 3.. hurry!

Using the images I am going to decorate things around the home.. and my first project was a Mingles tin left over from crimbo....I'm rather pleased with it.

From this...

 To this...

Thats if for now.. off to go and plan what to make tomorrow.. aside from a mess that is!.. ttfn xxx

More than just a doily!

Lately I have been feeling more and more 'restricted' in my crafting work.. I LOVE to make things. I can't tell you how much I do, apart from most of the time I feel like I could burst with ideas that I never get a chance to even get down on paper let alone make!

Work is very busy and I'm very grateful to have a job.. but sometimes I just want to make make MAKE!...

So, I took a couple of days off and now I'm waiting for the Gas 'person' to arrive to fix the boiler so I have no choice but to have a play!.. such a shame!!

I've been having a look at lots of lovely blogs lately and of course YouTube.. what a mine field of lovely info people are happy to share with everyone.. just so fascinating. I love seeing people making lots of lovely things.. so wonderful.  One lady has caught my eye in particular a Super Lovely LADY!! Leanne from Canada.  She has the most wonderful channel on YouTube and I highly recommend you check out her channel. She shares so much good stuff.. and often shows the fabulous way she makes things in mesmerising start to finish speeded up films. Also love her Haul videos showing the great things you can get over the pond at sickeningly low prices compared to Blighty!... (reminds me of holidays in the US when I was a kid)... Please please plesae go and check out Leanne's channel YouTube - Luvleescrappin - make sure you have a cup of tea and a biscuit to hand before you do as you will be there a while! :)

(I have however found since, that Dunelm Mill do stock quiet a lot of nice bits and bobs at reasonable prices.. check out their website.. Dunelm Mill - Arts and Crafts)

♥

So... This long weekend I have been making! YES!! feels so good to just make things....

I've wanted for a while to apply my crochet to a 3D item... and just love the paper mache boxes you can get.. I found these boxes in Hobby Craft.. 89p for the box.. I think is a rather good price.

This box is one of the smallest they do.. I also got a heart shaped one which I am yet to do anything with.. so watch this space.  The box above measures 7.5cm x 7.5cm x 4cm (old skool - 3"x3"x1.5") Just the right size for special little trinkets.. lovely. I painted the box using some acrylic paint and to be honest I wasn't very happy with the finish, it felt sticky.. even after leaving it to dry for a week...!!! I sanded it back and added another layer.. but still felt sticky! umm not what I want! so.. I decided to try some emulsion paint.. I went to Homebase and got some sample pots, much cheaper and you can get a Matt finish paint. This is what I went for .. and at £1.50.. not bad.. have painted three boxes so far with this.. so happy with that..

I was much happier with the finish, however this time it did leave a 'chalky' feel to the box!!! So I decided to give it a coat of Mod Podge... bingo!! perfect.. a slight sheen to make it feel durable... but not tacky!! 

and this is the finished (painted) result...

I love the colour and now to make some lacy crochet to go on it..... I played around a lot with different styles, and this is what I made to go on my trinket box.

 

Now for the tricky part of sticking it on the box!

and here is the finished box..

Purple Trinket / Keepsake Box with Crochet Lace

Now available to purchase in my Folksy shop.

♥