The first subscription kit from Craft Stash inspired me to make things outside my comfort zone…
More of my makes with the October kit on this short video
craft
Use what you have wreath
A huge donation of crafty stuff set me up for months of playtime so I decided to use some of the flowers in a decor wreath
I cut a disc of cardboard from the recycling bin and wrapped it with wool before hot gluing flowers around. To keep balance I visualised the wreath as a clock face positioning flowers roughly at the hours but clustering them in odd numbers.
I kept going until the wreath felt full then gifted it to the lady who gave me the wool stash in the first place. Happy 90th!
Transparent gift bags
Use what you have for quick make bags…
I have a roll of book covering plastic doing nothing in my stash, so cut rectangles from it and headed to the sewing machine
I folded copy paper (yes I also have a lot of coloured copy paper to use up) over the short ends and stitched it in place with a long zig zag.
The covered ends were folded together and the open sides zig zagged together to make a bag. I even boxed the bottom of the bigger one shown but am not sure it was worth the effort.
Two tips: use an old blunt needle as the plastic will ruin a new needle and long stitch lengths will minimise problems with the plastic slipping.
Mind your head, dangler
A low newel post is a peril for taller visitors to our home so I tend to dangle seasonal ‘creations from it to avoid bumps. This month’s version uses one of my less used die sets.
The pirate ship die alone is 4 inches square (about 10.5 cm) so works well as part of a dangler.
Each element from the set was cut from card two or three times and stuck together to give it some stability and to sandwich in the thread hanger. I tried to use most of this fun Docrafts die set but couldn’t quite work the palm tree, desert island or octopus into this version. Next time maybe.
Halloween treats
Mini Daim bars simply wrapped in black card with bat wings from my scan n cut and googly eyes glued on.
Thanks to ‘Mixed Up Craft’ for the inspiration. Beyond her idea, I only created bat ‘ears’ by scoring a pillow box flap at the head end.
The lost art of the pillow box
With all these wonderful papercraft tools it can be easy to overlook the basic pillow box for those little (in size, not necessarily value) gifts.
Rescue a humble empty loo roll or paper towel tube from recycling, flatten it lightly and cover it with your choice of lightweight paper- wet glue is fine if it doesn’t soak your chosen paper. (Some people sterilise their tubes in the microwave before crafting with them)
Take a round object, such as the tape roll shown here. Lay it so you can score an arc from side to side of the tube on each ‘side’ of the flattened tube and at each end, four scores in all.
Gently push each scored arc towards the middle to create the pillow effect.
Decorate and maybe add a tag to finish.
IKEA fabric pens
I love a trip to IKEA when there is time to browse. This time I found the Loppstarr pen set which helped boost the set of lavender bags I am making.
The tips are designed for colouring rather than outlining but for simple sketches work fine.
Rope coil baskets
Surprisingly easy to learn this technique, but it does take quite a while at the sewing machine
Cotton washing line rope is coiled, pinned and then secured with a zig zag stitch. The coil grows as big as you choose then to create bowl sides you lift the coil as you zig zag.
For this set I wrapped scraps of fabric around the rope at random intervals.
Ideal for kitchen keys, bread or fruit bowls…might try some place mats and coasters next time
Sleep masks
This is a simple pattern to make for yourself and a quick, simple sew too.
Sketch a mask shape on paper, cut it out and hold it over your eyes to check the overall size. Best to make it slightly too big than too small and to have a flattish top and a more marked indent at the bottom where it sits on the bridge of your nose.
Fold the shape in half and trim to make it symmetrical.
Pin your paper on to two pieces of cotton (or fabric suitable to rest on your eyelids) and cut around leaving a 1/2” seam allowance, then pin the paper on some felt (or batting) and cut around that more tightly so your fabric outers are bigger than the felt
Stack the fabric with the two outsides facing and then put the felt on top, I stuck my felt in place lightly with a few dabs of fabric glue
Cut a piece of elastic that is long enough to go round the back of your head from outside eye socket to other outside eye socket. Place the elastic with about an inch sticking out over each side of the fabric stack and pin each end (this is enough to make the elastic stretch without being too tight).
Sew around the mask leaving a gap for turning (I left mine at the flat top), if your elastic is thin it might be worth sewing and reversing at each edge as you go over it.
Turn fabric out and poke out any caught seams before top stitching all the way round- this closes your turning gap and further strengthens the elastic fastening
I decorated mine with exaggerated eyelashes using a pearl pen (don’t think it is waterproof but twas a quick finish)
Paper tassels
A quick, fun embellishment for wrapping and home decor wreaths …
Cut an A4 sheet into three long strips. Stack the strips and cut a deep fringe all along one long edge (much quicker than cutting each fringe separately.
Stick a strip of red liner or strong double sided tape along the unfringed long end
Cut twine or thread to chosen length, loop it and stick the raw ends across the tape at one end of the strip
Roll the strip tightly starting from the end with the loop, so the loop is encased in the roll.
Fluff the tassel up when finished!
janecrafts 