making pretty pink sugar hearts

now, credit where credit's due, i nabbed this off kirstie allsopp's vintage gems.......don't judge me! however i did alter the method slightly so that i didn't have to wait all night for them to finish, and honestly, i might start making these all the time - they're so quick and cute!:

you'll need: chocolate/candy mould tray (about £2.50), white caster sugar, water, food colouring.

time: depends how quick you are/how many you make - but not that long. drying time about two hours ish.

step 1: fill a standard cereal bowl with sugar, add 1 teaspoon of water, mix until totally integrated.
step 2: add one or two drops of your chosen food colouring, mix.
step 3: spoon into the moulds, and press down as hard as you can - try and keep the edges tidy and the backs flat.
step 4: place flat thing (i used a chopping board) on top of the mould, flip, and lift the mould off carefully.
step 5: leave the hearts to dry for like an hour or two - resist the urge to prod them at the beginning, as they will disintegrate.
step 6: enjoy in super decadent tea/make some more in different colours : )

my first commission - minnie and mickey mouse ear headbands

a friend text me with a request (how cool is that?!) two headbands, one minnie and mickey mouse for him and his girlfriend. felt and glittery were my instructions, apparently topshop have made them cool and were sold out. here's what i came up with:

i used: cardboard, two headbands, two sheets of black glittery felt, red polka dot fabric, scissors, and my trusty glue gun.

step 1: draw around a handy little round dish thing (larger than a mug, smaller than a side plate) onto cardboard-box cardboard 4 times.
step 2: cut out.
step 3: place headband on top of one of these circles, draw along the curve of the band, cut, repeat on each circle.
step 4: glue gun these to the hair bands.
step 5: cover with the felt - securing with glue gun.
step 6: make a blow from the fabric and glue gun this to the middle of one of the headbands.
step 7: admire, then swap them for money : )

one year on(ish)! french knot flower embroidery tote with bee applique

it's one year and two days since i first started this blog....i would have written this post two days ago but i've been horribly ill. i've made loads of stuff, too much stuff really, not all of it turns up here, here's one example of an abandoned and unpublished piece which i'm rather fond and proud of:

the plain, recycled cotton totes were down to 50p at work a while back (i think they're back up to a pound now). anyway, i picked one up, drew a large heart in pencil on the inside and, using the heart as a guide, proceeded to try and fill the whole thing with flowers made up of french knots and 'lazy daisy' stitches. it doesn't look like much, but it took up days, literally, days of my life to get this far. as you can see i gave up before it was finished, it's ok though - i tell myself that if completed it would have looked cheesy or childish or something.

i used to dread having to do french knots, but no more! : ) in that respect, at least, i've improved somewhat over the year.

very quick apron : )

if i am going to host a thing with cupcakes and cucumber sandwiches then i simply have to have a pretty apron....here's one i made a couple of nights ago, it took an episode of poirot to make (less than an hour), and it's all hand sewn:

sorry the pic is a bit blurry! it's just two bits of fabric and some ribbon; for the larger piece of fabric it's hip-to-hip plus 50% wide and as long or short as you fancy, the smaller bit is, well, like a hand span smaller all the way around. curve the bottom two edges of each bit, pin, get some embroidery thread and do a big statement running stitch for the hems. then do a running stitch along the top edges and pull so that they gather, to finish sew both to a nice thick ribbon.

now i just have to make cakes and whatnot.

cardboard 'patchwork' top hat

i've been planning (and then postponing) a mad hatter's tea party. such an event obviously merits a hat, here's what i came up with:

it's a very childish attempt - just a cardboard box that's been measured, cut, stapled, gaffa-taped, and then covered in cut-up bits of cutesy papers and pva. it could do with a ribbon and/or a corsage, maybe some feathers as well. it's pretty cool though : ) now all i need is the rest of my outfit.

alice in wonderland mini flamingo croquet set

i'm having a mad hatter's style tea party in a couple of weeks. it's not going to be a huge affair so i don't want to go to over the top...but there will be some little alice in wonderland elements here and there, among them will be this little set:

i have seen some quite impressive adaptations of the queen's croquet set online, and did ponder how to go about making one that could be construed to be both effective and cute, as well as non-committal and incidental for my little gathering. i think i've managed to achieve my goal, just.

to make you'll need:

chunky wooden lollipop sticks
a pencil
white and red paint
a black pen
wool roving in brown and two other colours
felting needle
playing cards
scissors

to make:

first, draw flamingos in various poses on your lollipop sticks with your pencil, paint these pink and once dry outline with your black pen.

next needle felt two smallish balls (slightly larger than the width of the sticks) in brown, to these needle felt two heart shapes in different colours, then add small felted eyes and noses to make your 'hedgehog' balls.

then, take a spare playing card onto which you can sketch a template of an arch which has a slit through each foot (these are to be bent each way so that they can stand up) and cut out once you're happy that the hedgehogs will roll through it. then take six playing cards of your choice (consecutive numbers work well as you'll need to know what order to play in) draw around your template, cut out accordingly and fold the feet so that they all stand up.

finally, arrange your card arches on a table, grab some friends and play croquet : )

subtle gryffindor embroidered loafers

i've had a craving for red shoes lately, funds being low i was rather happy when i saw that primark have done plain loafers in red AND  there were in the sale (primark sale - it's like they're giving stuff away!). so i got out some gold embroidery thread and this is the result:

i was just going to copy the gryffindor crest straight onto each toe, but thought that that would be a bit obvious...i am 23 after all, and as such need to give off some air of grown-up-ness...

anyway, embroidering cheap loafers is really easy, can look effective and is a great way to get a totally unique pair of shoes. as these are fake suede i was able to draw my designs on to them with a standard pencil and go over it with running stitch. simple. well, the closer you get the the end of the toe area, the harder it is to get at the needle from inside the shoe, but apart from that it's all pretty simple : )