Day 39 - DIY skeletal cut-out T shirt

Happy Halloween! I'm gearing up to host a spooky party tomorrow evening, hence the decorations. Today it was time to think of a costume to go with my Sugar Skull make-up plan. I was going to just wear black and keep it simple, before Pinterest inspired me to play with the skeletal theme. I found an old white T shirt which I turned inside out and drew on in felt pen. I used my mannequin to help discern where bones lived and the Man picked at details until he was satisfied it was reasonably correct. A bit of snipping and then the difficult job of finding something to wear underneath. As it was a giant T shirt I used safety pins to bring in the sides a little and give it a bit more shape
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Day 38 - Pumpkin Part two

My pumpkin is complete, now all I need to do is wait for night to fall so I can display it in all it's glory. I went for a battery powered light rather than the old candle as the design needed a harsh light to stand out. So my genius plan is a multi LED torch implanted into the back of the pumpkin. It was a challenge doing an image this intricate, but I love challenges, especially when I achieve what I set out to do.

Day 37 - Pumpkin, part one

I have a very ambitious plan for my pumpkin, I have transferred my design and carved the moon, but more than that is not going to happen tonight, so here it is in it's first stages...

Day 36 - Halloween Sugar skull heads

It's been pretty nice painting this afternoon, I'm not feeling one hundred percent so this was something I could get on with on the sofa, in my pajamas and pretend I don't have to go to work later. These are polystyrene heads I purchased for my market stall a few years ago, I've used watercolour tubes to paint and a biro for smaller detail. It's actually a nice surface to work on, you can use your hands to blend and if you go wrong you can just rub it out with a bit of wet tissue!
Anyway, a little bit of practice for my costume and some freaky additions to my Halloween decor.

Day 35 - DIY easy Halloween bat decal

So this is yesterdays blog as it was one of those busy days of work and visitings, and actually I made most of the bats a few days ago. Though I had fun this morning arranging them coming out of the chimney and up the wall. I think it needs more...many more!
Black sugar paper, scissors and bluetac, I had a google image page open with lots of bat silhouette shapes and worked on folded paper to get mostly symmetrical bats. I think mixing up the sizes and shapes makes for a more realistic cloud of bats (or colony, or camp!)

Day 34 - Cartoon street of paper houses

Today I made a row of paper houses from basic shapes cut from envelopes. I added a cartoon effect on GIMP and this is the outcome. I like the array of different buildings and the combination of colours and enjoyed the process too. These images are the very first stages of a personal present for my nieces and nephews... More on that later, but for now perhaps you could give me some suggestions for street names and maybe even house names. :)

Day 33 - DIY hybrid top

I planned to make a skirt today, something nice and warm for winter, but I couldn't find the right fabric in my studio, or at least enough of the right fabric. So instead I took a frilly blouse and an old halter neck and made a smart hybrid. It's always a challenge matching a jersey fabric with cotton or something without stretch. There is a bit of a tug around the back but I think I managed to add enough room by pulling the jersey to full stretch as I stitched.
Please excuse the selfie...

Day 32 - DIY halloween nails

I love dressing up, making costumes and painting faces, I hope I never get too old for that. For Halloween, or rather for All Hallows we are throwing a little party. I'm sure there will be a number of festive posts over the next week as I prepare. First up, dark stripey nails, I used a deep red for the base and a very thin brush to paint the black stripes. All you really need for this is a steady hand and patience. I think stripes is a good place to start, I think I'll try adding a spiderweb next week...

Day 31 - DIY paper lampshade

Prompted by the need for a light bulb change I decided the lampshade needed upgrading. I made this from four sheets of music score, 16 strips of yellow card, pva glue, a needle and embroidery thread. I began by strengthening the edges of my music sheet and then added a cross of card for extra structure and a little detail. I marked holes along the two longer sides of each sheet and pierced them with an awl.

Sew the sheets together using blanket stitch or a simple lacing stitch like mine. Add a thread two each of the top corners and draw together, tie around light fitting and your done. I drew the lower threads together and attached a silk decoration I've had bumbling around for years. It has a very warm glow, took about an hour and is far better than the ikea globe we have throughout the rest of the house.

Day 30 -homemade body scrub

I have avoided making any natural beauty treatments myself as my skin is a bit sensitive when it comes to washing, but this was very rejuvenating. My skin feels softer and smoother and there was no itching, no dryness and no need for moisturising. It was also super easy to make. For the exfoliant you can use sugar or salt, something with a fine grain, I went for soft dark sugar, mix it 2 parts sugar/salt to 1 part oil, (I chose almond oil but you can use coconut oil, or even extra virgin olive oil.) That's the basic recipe, but if you want a scent you can add some essential oils or like me lemon zest and fresh mint.
Rub into the skin in circular motions before your bath or shower, be a bit more gentle on softer areas. And remember to clean the bath of residual oil when your done.

Day 29 - homemade recipe book

My old recipe book has been around a while and is a bit tatty, making a new one has been on the list for a while now. I used an old book cover that had lost most of its pages and structure. I used card to strengthen the spine and covered the whole thing in black card. The cover is fabric, something me and Genie bought years ago and didn't have the guts to cut into it, and therefore never used. For the inside I decided to go for Recipe Cards rather than pages so I re-used a box that holds a good wedge of blank postcards from my stock. I also included a post-it book and pen so I can make notes or shopping lists, and there are a few regular recipes chalked on the inside cover for quick reference.

Day 28 - Tasty flapjack

The easiest of all the treats, and pretty cheap too which is always a bonus. We made a giant amount to store for winter, the internet tells me flapjack freezes well. Anyway this is a pretty bog standard recipe with a few additions, namely peanut butter, hazelnuts and dried fruit.

Day 27 - DIY sewing case

I like to have everything I need handy when I'm sewing, mostly I find I can't be bothered to find pins if I'm in the middle of something, or baste something if I don't have needle and thread to hand. So my brief was to make something to contain all the essentials, I wanted it small and simple and I also wanted a pin cushion in there for good measure. This fabric is one of the small remnants I have left from the wedding bunting this year and I'm really pleased that it has become something I will keep for a while. I used felt for all the pockets and details as it holds its weave even after being stabbed a thousand times, that and it doesn't need hemming so making slips and pockets is very forgiving and easy!

Please comment below if you would like instructions.

Day 26 - eat that Hansel and Gretel

A very strange thing happened...my jeans which I planned to show for yesterdays blog were put into a blue dye on Wednesday evening, when I went back to them a few hours later the water had gone clear, and when I rinsed them they washed out clear straight away. I left them to dry in the hopes that perhaps the change was very subtle, but no, not even the white labels on the inside have been tinted! I am baffled! So other than stitching all my darts on the machine in a contrasting turquoise thread I have not done enough to them to write another blog about them. So instead, I played with my food...

Day 25 - DIY Money box

Well my trousers are still wet so the alterations I made today are still not visible, we'll wait and see what tomorrow brings in that regard. For today I have jumped on a previous failed day and retried the Money Box plan. This was much easier than paper macheing a balloon into a piggy. This is a Pringles tube, I coloured the whole thing with a metallic silver marker, then used watercolour tube paints in blue and white and let it resist the shiny surface where it wanted to create a starry effect. I then cut some cool pictures from old calendars and glued them on. I used a Stanley knife to cut a coin slot in the lid.
When it is dry I plan to cover it in sticky back plastic, and seal the lid so that there's something between me and my savings...

Day 24 - Alternative to hemming

I have a problem with long trousers, or perhaps just the short legs. Either way it's a nightmare finding trousers that don't trail. So today my mission was to hem these large trousers, but I didn't feel like just taking a few inches off the bottom and having knee shapes around my shins, so instead I have done a sort of ribbed technique using darts which adds some interesting detail as well as hiking them up an appropriate amount. As it turns out I'm so short I had to hem them a bit anyway but not quite as much.
This project will continue until tomorrow, and hopefully they will look spectacular. I'll also include the original photo as they are pretty different already. Sadly my computer is having a moment so I'm not sure how long until I'll be blogging properly and editing my photos etc... SAD FACE!

Day 23 - DIY Scoodie

It may have a stupid name but the scoodie - hooded scarf is a great invention, and pretty easy to make. Though not if you do it the way I do, which is entirely backwards. This probably would have been one of those projects I'd have started, got frustrated with and left for six months, but instead I did a bit of unpicking and altering and got what I wanted. It even has pockets and a pixie point in lieu of ears or horns!

If you want to make one start with a hood that already fits you well, measure the width at the top, and the height from the base of the neck to the peak, cut a rectangle that is the same height but twice the width, (remember to add an inch or so for stitching.) Fold it in half widthways and stitch one short side. Try it on to make sure it's the right depth and length. Once you are satisfied do the same again for your lining, (I chose faux fur which is lovely and soft, but I didn't have enough for the scarf which is where my difficulties lay...)For the scarf cut two rectangles the length and width you desire, sew one to each end of the bottom of your hood, do the same again for the lining. Put the lining face to face with your fabric, matching up all the seams and sew all the way round leaving an opening to turn it in the right way. Top stitch your opening closed and your done! (Though there is a probably some ironing to be done.)
Hopefully that makes sense.

Day 22 - DIY draft excluder

Winter is coming...it will soon be time for heating to go on, but for now layers, tea and draft excluder's will suffice. Not sure how much of a difference it will make but we'll find out as winter progresses.
It's very basic, I'm intrigued to see how the real cat interacts with it.

Day 21 - Graph paper doodling

A House of Stairs inspired doodle on graph paper, I had a lot of fun drawing squares and stairs.

Day 20 - marshmallow crispies

Not many people got to taste this recipe, as they didn't exist for very long. The secret to marshmallow crispies is peanut butter! And also buttering the pan, spoon and everything that may touch melted marshmallow, its sticky!
Super easy to do, and pretty cheap just melt marshmallows, mix with rice crispies, set in the fridge, melt chocolate, mix with peanut butter pour over the crispy mix and set in the fridge.

Day 19 - Patchwork skirt

Over the years I have collected an array of cartoon kitsch fabrics, from Thunderbirds and Hulk to Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Rabbit. They are pretty much the only fabric I have kept after my mega clean out this year. So I've got a lot of ideas to come up with, today it's a patchwork edged skirt. I used an old pair of trousers for the skirt, cutting the legs off and opening the crotch, I made triangles from the legs and stitched them on overlapping to the still intact waistband (with pockets!). It's a bit squiffy but I like the overall shape. For the patchwork I assembled my patches and stitched them into a long strip, which I fed through hair straighteners while folding in the seams. Basically making a really thick bias binding without getting the iron out. Another pinterest find! So here is a skirt for me to wear out dancing this evening. :)

Day 18 - Easy drawstring pouch

I tried to put the pieces back in that annoying piece of card, but it gets tedious after a while, especially when the game is so addictive. Sometimes we would spend ages putting them away in their own individual slots only to dump them all on the table half an hour later for another game! So I made a little drawstring pouch to keep all the pieces in. This was just a rectangle of fabric, I stitched a fold at the top, with enough space to thread a ribbon through, then I folded it in half, (with the loop at the top) and stitched it all up, turned it inside out and used my little hole punch to make holes to pull the ribbon through. (best way to do this is by attaching the end of the ribbon to a safety pin and threading the pin. I added a button and now all my game pieces have a place to live, with very little effort. Half hour now saves me half an hour after every game! BTW this is the BEST game in the world, called 7 Wonders, it has one a dozen awards, its fantastic.

Day 17 - Home baking, the Midnight Sponge

I call it the Midnight Sponge, because it is a Victoria Sponge recipe with a few minor alterations, and not really a gateau. The recipe is pretty basic,
225g sugar
225g Soft butter/marge - cream together until white and super fluffy,
1 tbsp Vanilla Essence,
4 eggs, added bit by bit into the mix.
225g Flour - I substituted about 50g Cocoa Powder and used a tbsp of baking powder instead of self-raising. Add a little milk towards the end to loosen the mixture, divide the mixture into two tins and bake for 20-25 mins at around 180 C.

For the jam I simmered up some fresh blackberries in water and lemon juice, and added in some sugar after about 15 minutes, after it had boiled away for about half hour I let it cool, and after about 3 hours it was a nice jammy consistency. Perfect for cake spreading. It's a bit of a beastly cake, and there is still some left but it went down well and was super light and fluffy. Oh and I chucked some chocolate chips in to one of the halves for something extra, but it isn't necessary.
Tip - wait for the cake to cool properly before you assemble, otherwise the cream will turn to liquid and fall flat.

Day 16 - Making a new cushion

The chair I reupholstered yesterday was missing a back cushion, surprisingly the slip took such little time I actually made this yesterday too. I used an old lumpy cushion from the sofa downstairs (which is similarly gross and is begging for the same treatment.) which I stuffed into an old pillow case and stitched shut to stop all the feathers escaping and try and give it some new shape. This done I then lay out pieces for my outer slip, (this one is removable for washing again.) I used a whole piece for the back and made the front up out of three rectangles (mostly because my leftover fabric was just a little bit too small.) I wanted to incorporate this patch, which had once lived proudly on one of The Man's t-shirts but had accidentally ended up in my scrap fabric bag, and, well...used for scrap. As you can imagine, this upset him a bit so I've kept hold of it for about two years with the intention of doing something with it! Well, today is the day. As the surface of the patch is printed it's a bit tacky and my machine was having difficulty feeding it through, so I made a small fabric frame to sandwich it, and actually the result is better than I could have hoped for. 

There are no zips or buttons on this pillow, the back has a longer section which tucks in and keeps the cushion in nice and firmly. 

There it is then, about 3 hours work, no ironing, no zips or buttons, no great skill just a bit of determination. (It's so much easier making clothes for something that doesn't breath, move or have annoying protruding parts!) 

Day 15 - DIY re-upholstery

Before

For the Man's birthday tomorrow and as another step towards completing the look of our room I took the challenge of transforming his lumpy, unsightly downright nasty chair into something a little more sophisticated. This is what I started with...

I decided that I would make a washable slip, rather than pull the existing fabric off and tack new stuff on. I lay the fabric over the chair to cut, (I am not one for pattern making and this way was pretty simple.) The seat, front and back are all made from a single piece with separate rectangles for the seat sides and two more shapes for the back sides. Then came lots of sewing, a little bit of unpicking and some head scratching, et voila!
It just slips over, holds the cushion nicely in place and looks sooo much better. Tomorrows blog will be along later today, and will complete this cosy chair.

After

Day 14 - Decaying room

Some awesome photography cropped up on my Newsfeed last night which inspired todays chaotic creation. I used a photograph of my lovely new room and played with different textures, burning and smudging techniques using GIMP and this is what happened. My room if left to decay...

Day 13 - Tiny craft storage solution

I acquired these drawers years ago, they have always been nearly useful but mostly overflowing and disorganized. The solution is knowing whats in each drawer without having to pull them all open. I have tried a few different ideas over the years, from sticky labels (which fall off) to hot gluing beads, (which also fall off!)
So today I used lengths of wire through the handles. I must admit part of the problem was the overflowing part, and that has been combated by a sever downsizing and refinement of my crafty bits. This tower now holds all my beads and buttons and even my miniature charms and trinkets for my Steampunk Art Dolls and Mini drawer sets.

One tiny step in sorting out the studio, which is one of my big aims for this year.

Day 12 - DIY Fishtail braid

I am amazed at how easy this was, I would have made a tutorial but I may as well just send you to the video I watched. Taz was my model which is good as she is going to be needing some elegant hairstyle choices for her wedding and now I have the basics down I can figure something special out for her.
Totally going to be sporting a casual fishtail braid at work tomorrow. :)

Day 11 - DIY lace insert

As far as Day 8's pink balloon goes, I think it's safe to call it a fail. I popped the balloon too early and the whole thing sort of collapsed. I will go back to this idea (it was meant to be a piggy bank) as I do really want to start saving some money. But not today, instead I took a plain long sleeved top and some lace and made an insert. I like the result but think I have more to add to make it more comfortable, and more me...I particularly want to do something to the sleeves and perhaps the neckline. So watch this space...

Day 10 - Button bling

So Day 8 is still drying, but here is a little sneak preview perhaps you can guess what it is I am making with a balloon and paper mache. But for today I have made a simple button bracelet from some of the nicer shale buttons in my stash. I made it with someone in mind so it will probably be a gift.

Day 9 - Jenga sculpture

I am still working on the pink balloon, it is looking a bit more finished, but I am not happy enough to blog it again so here is a manor house made of Jenga blocks. Luckily I have two sets so I could get pretty creative on the architecture.