Crafty days
This year I have decided to devote time to what this blog was created for – crafts! I have been rather neglectful of that, getting side-tracked by all sorts of other things. Not unworthy, but not what the blog was created for 
.
It took being non-weight bearing to get me back to my love of crafting, specifically crochet. Having to keep my foot above hip level, meant I couldn’t sit in my craft room with all my supplies around me. So crochet it was, and since Christmas was here, thst’s what I concentrated on. I thougt I’d continue on in holiday fashion and do Valentines, then Easter, etc. Once again, I got side-tracked! By so many gorgeous patterns! I decided to crochet for my nieces new baby girl first. Especially as she has been ill in her first 2 months of life, poor little mite! So I’m making her a gorgeous dress and bootees. I hope her mum likes crocheted clothes, I didn’t ask, as she’d be polite anyway.
I am loving the creative process of crochet again!
Peg Reindeer Tutorial
PEG REINDEER
3 Wooden Pegs
Red bead
Googly eyes
Red and green felt scraps
Bell
Small piece of fluffy wool or pompom for tail
Paper ribbon for antlers
Black paint or pen
Remove springs from pegs.
Glue two pegs together to make body and legs, turn other peg around and glue to form head and antlers.
Glue on googly eyes and nose
Attach bell with thread or string, and use string to make a loop to hang from tree
Glue on large and small red and green ovals for saddle
Glue on tail
Cut 2 pieces of paper ribbon and curl to make antlers. Glue in place
Colour hooves and antlers
- My Handmade Christmas: (craftcrazygran.wordpress.com)
- Snowman Tutorial: (craftcrazygran.wordpress.com)
- Angelic Choir Tutorial: (craftcrazygran.wordpress.com)
Angelic Choir Tutorial
ANGELIC CHOIR
Marga this little Negro Angel is for you
Bead or polystyrene ball for head
Light and dark flesh coloured stocking
Red and green felt or other fabric for dress
Net or feathers for wings
Wool for hair
Bead eyes
Paper for songbooks
White felt for gloved hands
Polyester stuffing
PATTERN
Cut out dress and sleeves.
Insert bead or ball in flesh coloured stocking, tie off and cut a ‘neck’.
Insert into neck of dress and close back.
Sew or glue back and arm seams.
Sew or glue wings to back of the sleeves,
then sew or glue sleeves at shoulder height and slightly around sides of dress.
Sew or glue gloves into place and sew or glue song book onto one or both hands.
Wrap wool around two fingers, and tie in the middle.
Cut opposite the tie.
Put glue on the back and sides of the head, and glue wool ‘wig’ in place,
ensure the strands are equally spread. Trim
Stuff dress lightly with polyester stuffing to give shape.
Attach a loop to top of head to hang from tree.
Related articles
- My Christmas Crafts: Snowman Tutorial (craftcrazygran.wordpress.com)
- My Handmade Christmas: (craftcrazygran.wordpress.com)
My Christmas Crafts: Snowman Tutorial
SNOWMAN
Cut a saucer sized piece of white net – body
Cut a Coffee cup rim sized piece of net – head
Sew small running stitches into the edge of the net and leave a tail to close.
Take a large piece of polyester stuffing, form into a ball,
place into middle of net and gather top together and knot thread to hold.
Repeat with the head.
Sew the two balls together tightly.
Pinch a piece of net and stuffing down the side and sew a line of stitches to represent arms.
Take 2 or 3 long threads of red, green and white wool, tie a knot at one end,
and plait the strands together to make a long scarf for your snowman.
Tie the other end in a knot.
Glue or sew on bead eyes, and orange coloured nose and smiling mouth.
Wrap and tie on the scarf. You can add a hat if you like.
Make a loop of thread at the top of his head to hang him from the tree,
or insert an opened paper clip into the top of his head to hang from.
Related articles
- My Handmade Christmas (craftcrazygran.wordpress.com)
- Christmas Craft: Mr. Polar Bear (craftitbakeit.wordpress.com)
- Crafty Christmas Projects for Upcycling Old Sweaters (craftingagreenworld.com)
My Handmade Christmas
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- Angelic Choir fabric
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- Christmas Tree Balls fabric
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- Snowman Trio fabric
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- Tree Decorations Crochet
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- Bell plastic canvas
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- Star plastic canvas
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- Christmas Tree plastic canvas
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- Ringading bells
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- Christmas Tree wooden cut-out
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- Santa’s Reindeer wooden cut-outs
Well, as most of you know,
I have been laid-up for 8 weeks, with my broken ankle;
non-weight-bearing and elevated above heart and hip.
It has been the perfect opportunity to get creative.
That is, once the depression and “poor-me” wore off!
These are some of the things I decided to do.
The Grandies especially enjoyed them
and the Christmas Tree looked great.
I crocheted my niece a bobbly scarf,
taught Whitney to bake spicy biscuits and fudge,
and decoupage herself a salt box
to hold her handmade lavender bath salts.
Creative, productive and thoroughly enjoyable!
BTW I hope to do some tutorials on these and other crafts this year! Lol
Related articles
- A Handmade Christmas? Is it even possible? (swellsewing.wordpress.com)
- Paper Christmas (greenandalive.wordpress.com)
- handmade with love (nutsfortreasure.wordpress.com)
Scrapbooking: My Passion!
I swore I wouldn’t begin yet another hobby!
But when Grandie #1 made an appearance!
Well you have to showcase the most beautiful Baby in the World!
When #2 came along!
Well the most brilliant, gorgeous, funny, clever, children have to be documented!
Besides, it incorporates all my other crafts,
so it isn’t really new;
it just requires lots of supplies
masses of room
a new camera
a photo quality printer
*sigh*
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- World’s most beautiful baby
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- Birth day
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- 3-D Rabbit
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- 3-D Rabbit
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- 4 Generations
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- Baptism
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- Day of Birth page 1
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- Day of Birth page2
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- Boy in a Box
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- Father Christmas and I
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- Finding my Feet
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- liddle tootsies
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- Lots of Photos
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- Mini-Album
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- Mini-Album 1
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- Detail
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- Who loves ya
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- yes, ribbon on a Boy Page
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- and more
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- hearts too
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- Ouch
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- bandages
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- swabs, plaster, bandages
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- band-aids
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- Fingers and Toes
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- Itty Bitty little things!
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- Boulders Beach: The Penguin Hide-out
Sewing Ragbooks
Sewing for little boys means thinking out-of-the-box.
So, I came up with making them Ragbooks.
These are like my Playmats,
Tactile, Auditory and with hidden surprises!
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- Ragbook
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- Fun “Pages”
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- Pull Tigger’s tail!
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- Henny Penny with a silky wing that flaps open
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- Eggs and chicks under mum’s crinkly wing
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- Woolly Lamb
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- Squeaker-tummy Bear
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- Phinn the Fish
Sewing Softies
Softies: Handmade quirky, qute and quddly soft toys for qute widdle babas!
I have sewn lots of softies for the Grandies.
Here are a few.
Most of these were part of the Playmats I made.
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- Pigglie
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- Penguin
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- Pookie
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- Mobile Toys Bear
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- gogga
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- Giraffe
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- Farm Lamb
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- Farm Ducka
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- Farm Duckie
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- Farm Cow
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- Farm Chicken
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- Ducko
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- Duckling
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- Ducka
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- Clowny
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- Clown
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- Chick
One day (!) I’ll get some patterns up!
Link:
Special Memories of Mom
I love to Scrapbook.
I devoted a page each to my Dad and my Mom
My Dad was easy, I knew him as a person.
He died when I was 20 years old.
His page title is
My Knight in Shining Armour.
My mothers‘ page title is
Special Memories.
Page 1 was easy.
Page 2 not so much.
Choosing photos wasn’t so hard. I only have a few anyway,
so it was “the best of” that made the cut.
Writing down the memories was the problem.
Mom died just before my 10th birthday, 43 years ago
I only have little snippets of memory, here and there.
The memories I do have, are feelings and impressions,
not actual events or times we shared.
I used quotes that fit those feelings and impressions
Happy Mothers Day Mom
I love you
Gift Box for a Lady
Here’s a Gift Box for Mothers Day
Click on the link below for PDF
I hope you like it!
Ringed Mini-album
These Mini-Albums are very easy to make.
They make wonderful gifts for Moms, Moms-in-law and Grandmothers. Give them on Mothers’ Day, Birthday, Christmas, or just to say you love her!You can have wonderful bonding time together if you choose some photos, quotes, Biblical verses or “Things Mom taught me” together.
Or you can do it alone, and surprise her with a completed,visual and inspirational memento of love.
You will need:
2 sturdy card squares or rectangles for the covers
2 Rings for binding the Album together
Coloured or patterned cardstock for the pages
Embellishments like ribbon, lace, flowers, hearts, beads, embroidery thread, glitter, crystals or whatever you’d like to make your Album special
Letters or write and cut out your own
Double sided tape –the “sellotape” kind
Foam tape – sticky both sides
Glue stick
Paper Punch
Instructions:
- Decide the size of your photos and cut out a piece of paper to those dimensions to keep checking it fits your design. I’ve used small photos 3’x4’.
- Trim your card at least 2’ larger than your photo size. Punch holes in one side for the rings to go through.
- Trim your chosen pages to fit, I like mine to be slightly smaller than the covers.
- Leave space at the right side of each page before you decorate, for the holes and rings. Choose which will go back to back and punch the holes before you begin. Make sure the holes line up together.
- Embellish your pages with Tags, labels, ribbon, lace any way you like. Ensuring that there is some way of securing your photos to the page. For example if you use a length of ribbon across the page, ensure you secure only the ends, so your photo may slide in underneath.
- Your photos will stand out more if you mat them with a contrasting or tonal colour. You can double or triple mat them if you like. Just be sure that they fit the page if angled!
- Make photo corners from ribbon, lace, paper, flowers, etc.
- Glue back to back pages together
- Decorate both sides of your covers
- Assemble your Album, ensuring the holes are all lined up and secure with the rings.
- Tie ribbon bows around the rings
See examples of Album Pages for inspiration.
Papercraft: Mini-Albums
Here in South Africa, Mothers’ Day is coming up in May.
I think these Mini-Albums make great combination Mothers Day Cards and gifts for Moms, Moms-in-law and Grannies too.
The two of you can have meaningful bonding time choosing photos, pictures, words or quotes that are special to the two of you.
Or you can present a completed Album to her,
letting her know how special she is to you.
I hope you enjoy them.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Related articles
- 5 Easy Last-Minute Gift Ideas For a Great Mother’s Day (bellasugar.com)
- Mothers Day Famous Quotes (rosefarmblog.wordpress.com)
- FabSugarTV: 6 Great Gifts For Mother’s Day! (fabsugar.com)
Amigurumi
These are Amigurumi I made using Free Patterns available on the net.
- My very first Amigurumi
I got this Free Pattern here:http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/Toy/Sweet-Pup-Crochet-Pattern/5845
This is Skye
2. My 2nd Amigurumi
Shaun the Sheep – I do not have the link to this one, and can’t remember the Free site, so no link to it – Created by Christa Chung, 2012
3. My 3rd Amigurumi
Timmy the Lamb from Shaun the Sheep – I got this Pattern here:
http://www.craftpassion.com/2011/07/amigurumi-baby-sheep-timmy.html . I couldn’t master the loop stitch so I did my own body with a special wool.
4. My 4th Amigurumi
Elliefant – I got the Pattern here:
http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/babys-elephant
- Amigurumi (craftcrazygran.wordpress.com)
Mosaic
Mosaic is a relatively new interest, but I’ve dabbled in time gone by. I’ve done a few mirror frames, but can’t get the photo’s right to post!
Here’s my Easter Cross
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- I used straight beads for the centre with large round decor beads as an accent. I used seed beads as a colour accent between the safety glass and tiles.
Cards
card
[kahrd] noun
- usually a rectangular piece of stiff paper, thin pasteboard, or plastic for various uses, as to write information on or printed as a means of identifying the holder: a 3″ × 5″ file card; a membership card.
- Also called greeting card. a piece of paper or thin cardboard, usually folded, printed with a message of holiday greeting, congratulations, or other sentiment, often with an illustration or decorations, for mailing to a person on an appropriate occasion.
What Scrapbooker doesn’t make Cards? It’s wonderfully fulfilling and creative, and uses up scraps that are too small to use on a page, but too big to throw away! Besides, cards today are hugely expensive! They’re also great fun to make!
Painting on Fabric
The others make great placemats or cushions.
Decoupage
Wooden Trays
decoupage (ˌdeɪkuːˈpɑːʒ) n.
- the art or process of decorating a surface with shapes or illustrations cut from paper, card, etc
- anything produced by this technique
C20: from French, from découper to cut out, from de- + couper to cut]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
I have been Decoupaging for about 10 years. I started on wooden objects and moved on to Fabric, Glass, Enamel, Metal, all kinds of surfaces! In fact, if it stayed still, I wanted to decoupage it! They make wonderful gifts, decor items and are lovely to make.
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- Wooden Storage Box with Lid
Candlewicking
Candlewicking is a type of embroidery done on 100-percent cotton unbleached muslin, which has not been preshrunk.
The candlewicking fabric is washed after stitching; the shrinking of the muslin will not only hold the knots, but it also will give the puckered look of traditional candlewicking.
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| Cushion |
