This year, more than in the past I’ve gotten more into Halloween, and Halloween decor. Not that Halloween is something I don’t enjoy, but spending more time indoors; means wanting to make the most of the fun! So unlike any before; I’ve found myself getting more into bringing a little Spooky Season into the house.
Here are some fun, creative decorating ideas, you could try if you’d like to do the same!
Continue reading “Halloween Decor – Crafty Ideas – Blogtober 2020”
I thought I’d share something a bit different today, and that’s some handmade Disney cards!
I make cards as and when they’re needed; but rarely do what I did this week, which is make a few at once!
I’ve been working through my stash for ages; only buying what I really need, and this is something that I’ve had in a drawer for AGES! This was originally picked up because I (of course) love all things Disney, but it has since just sat there since, pretty much not getting used!
I found the kit in a drawer; while coming up with a card idea I will need soon, but thought, why not make up the rest too!
Continue reading “On The Desk – Handmade Disney Cards”
Of course face masks are around everywhere at the moment. I’ve had my trusty black and pink Disney mask for a while; (which I made during lockdown). But now the UK is making them mandatory in shops from July 24th; the time has come for me to have more than one available.
I haven’t really been out aside from work; or in outside spaces; so I didn’t need more than one mask. They wash up and dry so quickly once I get home from work!
However if I end up working on two consecutive days; and it isn’t quite dry, I’d potentially be left with a problem; and as this is the first week of that potentially happening, I thought I’d make a couple more.
Continue reading “On The Desk – Handmade Face Masks”
Can’t believe we’re in June! I have been trying to keep busy with cleaning and garden stuff this week; my flowers are growing, so I thought it only fitting that I work on something similar craft-wise too!
This year I picked up a few mini cross stitch kits. For those moments when I’m not as motivated to work on a larger project. This week has been one of those weeks…
Continue reading “On The Desk – Mini Cross-Stitch Flowers”
Quick cotton bunting is great for birthdays and other events; or like me, you can just use it to brighten up a dull space…
Coming up with ways to brighten up a boring, and rather grey corner of the garden without modifying anything (as we rent), can be a bit tricky, but this is a really quick and easy project, that you can do for all sorts of occasions, or, like me, just for fun!
Continue reading “In the Garden – Cotton Bunting”
It is rare for me to do Halloween crafting, at least in any great amount. As much as I love Autumn; I just don’t see much that takes my fancy, though perhaps next year, it will make a change? I say this after I made this fun Halloween black cat cushion cover!
So while I will probably never do a FULL blogtober; as October isn’t really a time I’ve felt much need to blog a great deal about; I hope you enjoy this small crafty project!
Continue reading “Halloween Crafting – Black Cat Cushion”
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
Now that we’re into April, it’s all about getting up to Easter! This is a great excuse for some cute craft projects, and I thought I’d try out some of the different things I could make with my Cricut Maker!
So there’s not long to go, but maybe you’re looking for some last minute gift ideas, here are some quick handmade projects that you can do, with things you can pick up affordably, or may even have around the house!
Pom pom bookmarks – Super easy, and great to use up leftover bits of yarn in your stash! All you need to do is make a pom pom and leave a long tail of yarn to keep between the pages of a book!
Pebble or button art! These are adorable, and so easy to make, and great for something a little more personalised! All you need is a box frame, and either buttons or pebbles, a pen, and a little imagination!
T-shirt cushion cover – A great crafty project for a tee you can no longer wear, or maybe is past it’s best – simply cut into a square slightly larger than your cushion, and cut tabs around all of the edges. Tie together around your cushion of choice and done! 
Personalised/decorated mugs – All you need is a sharpie or ceramic paint, depending on what you can get hold of. You can write, draw or stencil whatever you like onto a plain mug (or plate etc) which you can pick up from most places really affordably! All you need to do after writing or drawing on to the mug is cure in an oven, place in a cold oven, then set it to 180c/350f. Turn the oven off after 30 minutes and let the item cool in the oven. Wait 72 hours before using. Great for kids projects too!
Other quick makes include small knitted or crochet items, photo books, mini scrapbook albums, baked gifts, such as cookies, shortbread, cakes or even festive peppermint creams, all a quick google search away!
For pets:
Christmas catnip toys – I used the baubles from the Jolly Santa stocking panel for this, but you can use any fabrics. All you need to do is sew together and add some wadding, or even cut up pieces of fabric, add catnip, which you can buy in pet shops and some supermarkets and you’re done! A fun toy for your festive feline friend! 
Easy dog toys – You can make toys for dogs really easily – for a fun example, all you need is an old T-shirt, simply wrap a tennis ball (or similar) in the fabric, cut strips and braid together to hold the ball in place! (This one is small because I have cats, and it contains a ball with a bell in it, but works for both!)
You can also find loads of recipes online for handmade treats for dogs and cats online!
These are just a handful of quick ideas, for those last minute extras!
Do you have any go-to quick projects for last minute emergencies?
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This post contains items which I have kindly been gifted * All opinions are my own.
Hoop art, is definitely more popular now than it was a few years ago, and it is a great craft for making a gift, or even decorating at Christmas, there are a lot of Christmas fabric designs which are really good fun, and it is nice to have a different use if you’re not big on sewing, as I wasn’t up til a couple of years ago! Christmas fabric is also a great eco friendly alternative to paper for wrapping! Especially for those harder to wrap gifts!
For this post, I was kindly gifted a sample of this poly/cotton Christmas fabric , and this fab Disney print fabric*, which you will see in a post later this month, from the lovely people at Remnant House Fabric; based in North Yorkshire, Remnant House sell a huge range of sewing fabrics and related items online. The items I was gifted were well packaged and arrived really quickly too!
I adore hoop art – though when it came to preparing for blogmas, I realised that I very rarely saw patterned fabric* as the base, and I thought I would make up a couple of hoops* in different ways, to share here on the blog. 
I’ve been cross-stitching from a young age, and embroidery was something I just never really got into, though it was a relaxing break to come up with something a bit different, and a little less time-consuming. I did each of these hoops of an evening, while watching tv! 
This second hoop*, I wanted to try simply embellishing the fabric, and I really loved the idea of using cross-stitch in a slightly different way, too, so I kept it simple, and continued with the same colour scheme as before. It ties in well with my existing decorations, which include cross-stitch and sewn items. 
Embroidery hoops, like those used in this post, are really affordable, I have several I use for cross-stitch projects, and was kindly gifted two natural wooden embroidery hoops* from Hobbycraft, for Blogmas. These are pretty standard 8 inch hoops which hold up well (and don’t come apart constantly) they can be left plain or decorated if you are leaving your work in the hoops. The great thing is that at £2.70, you don’t feel bad if they are only used for one project!
This post contains items which I have kindly been gifted * All opinions are my own.
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Throughout Blogmas I will be sharing some different ideas for handmade gifts and other items! Today I am sharing this easy quick project that makes a great stocking filler gift!
Cross-stitched bookmarks!
As a cross-stitch project these are quick and easy to make, great for beginners as you really can make them as simple as anything, though you can go the other way if you are more experienced, and choose a more challenging design. 
There are so many ways you can make bookmarks, all you really need is a strip of aida fabric, and some threads in colours of your choice and of course a needle!
Optional extras include tassels, beads, backing fabric or card.
This one, (which I made a couple of years ago, and still use) I made from several pink threads I had, and simply stitched blocks of colour.
I also made this one again but in shades of green and brown with a brown tassel.
Another great idea is to use a mini kit – although these usually come with fabric, you can change up your material and use your own, just measure the width of the design to make sure it will fit. 
Using mini kits is a great way to make a bookmark featuring specific designs, these are available in so many places too! This one is actually a Tatty Teddy mini kit I shared in this post. I added some writing for a bit of fun.
You can also buy bookmark kits in some cases, though designs are sometimes a little more limited, depending on what you want.
This one was a free kit in a magazine years ago, which is another option, it was supposed to be backed onto some patterned card, though I plan on backing this with fabric. 
You can also find loads of designs online, and even make up your own!
Would you consider stitching a gift? Or have you in the past?
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