e d a m d n a H FREE
CRAFT MAGAZINE
HAPPY
create a dream
balcony
new! summer edition 2014
Sew!
space with Luloveshandmade
Simple pillowcases Flower Brooches
Sweet Tooth?
Simple Summer
Craft Ideas
a delicious recipe for Halva
a pretty
PICNIC Memory Keeping with Janna Werner
CROCHET Projects & Patterns
CRAFT ROOM TOUR
& interview
FORMERLY MERRY MAKINGS MAGAZINE WWW.HANDMADEHAPPY.CO.UK
HELLO FRIENDS
My name is Claire, I am the editor of the blog heart handmade uk and I am very happy to welcome you to the Summer edition of Merry Makings magazine. After the success of the first issue of Merry Makings magazine I was so excited to begin work on the Summer edition! We have so many new contributors and fabulous projects in many different disciplines for you to master! The crafts are all relatively easy and are to be enjoyed on a lazy summers day. I hope you enjoy all of the crafts in this little publication and remember to enjoy yourself! Don’t forget to add your projects to the flickr group! With special thanks to Luloveshandmade for providing the beautiful cover image!
Claire xo.
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Contents
SUMMER 2014
31
ON THE COVER 11-13 Create your own dream balcony space 14,17,19,33 & 43 Crochet Projects and Patterns 20, 32 and 52 Memory Keeping 25 - 26 Sew Your Own Pillowcases 30 Summer Halva Recipe 50 Craft Room Tour
6-7 Butterfly Wall 8-9 A Lick Of Paint 10 Grow Your Own Tea Cup Cress 11-13 Create a Balcony Oasis 14-17 Tutti Frutti Crochet Pot Holders 18 Simple Swizzle Sticks 19 Cheaters Crochet Garland 20 A Pretty Summer Mini Album 22-23 Shop Tour 24 Glitter Clothes Pin Packaging 25-26 Sew Your Own Pretty Pillowcases 27-29 The Perfect Summer Picnic 30 Summer Halva Recipe 31 Pretty Little Dream Catchers 32 A Summer Scrapbook Layout 33-35 Crochet Your Own Iphone Cover 36-37 Ice Cream Cup Flower Arrangement 38-39 Painted Plant Pots
40 Decoupage Plant Pots 41 Decorative Mini Easels 42 Learn How To Emboss With Heat 43-45 Crochet Edge Paper Garland 46-47 Wired Flowers 48-49 Fabric & Felt Flower Brooches 50-51 A Craft Room Tour 52 A Pretty Little Mini Album 53-55 Easy Applique Tea Towels 56 Pretty Summer Packages 57 A Photo Frame Makeover 58 Make Your Own Notebooks
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Meet
The Team I’m Lu, 27 years old, I write the colorful blog Luloveshandmade and I’m a student of English. I live in beautiful Potsdam next to Berlin in Germany & my blog is about DIY, sewing, crafts, fashion, delicious food, parties and all the little things which make my everyday life even happier.
Lu .....................................................
I have been working full-time as an environmental engineer for a long time but have always been interested with interior decoration, craft, homemade food and art. In 2011, I decided to write a blog which I called “cafenohut” and started to share my inspirations, crafts, memories, baking adventures, interior ideas and designs. I also have a new Etsy shop which called “deconohut“, where I’m sharing some of my handmade projects which have been made over the years.
Ayda Algin ..................................................... Netherlands-based Marinke Slump (aka Wink) is a crocheter and the girl behind the popular crochet blog, A Creative Being. She’s also a crochet instructor for Tuts+, and she writes for Simply Crochet magazine. She is mostly known for making crochet mandalas, for which the patterns can be found for free on her blog, and for sale in her Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy shops.
Marinke Slump ..................................................... “I’m Magda. I live in a beautiful, artsy city in Poland - Cracow. I run my own photography firm. I love being able to see the world through my camera and showing my point of view to others. This is the best thing ever happened to me and I’m happy to see my dreams come true! Scrapbooking is agreat, great thing for me too. I love making pretty things :) I love touching, discovering and collecting new things :) I’m just a girl, I like pretty stuff! I’m happy that many of my favourite companies has chosen me to be in their ‘Creative Teams’; this is so awesome to be able to inspire others!”Blog
Magda Mizera .....................................................
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Janna Werner, a crafter, designer, (online) instructor, freelance publisher and blogger based in Germany. Her passions include memory keeping, visual journaling, animals and is addicted to Pinterest! Her goal is to share what she loves and inspire others.
Janna Werner ..................................................... Kate is the founder of the Homemakery an online craft boutique providing pretty craft materials with a country inspired vintage twist. After working in London for eight years, she now leads a much quieter life in the Surrey countryside with with her lovely chap, adorable fox terrier, Minnie, and three chickens. Kate loves to sew, crochet, quilt and stitch and is passionate about making pretty things for her home.
Kate May ..................................................... I’m Silvia, 25 years old girl from Como, Italy. I’m a package and graphic lover and the creative blogger behind Ghirlanda di Popcorn. On my blog I like sharing my DIY tutorials, my craft projects and everything about my passion for paper and colours! My dream is a little paper-creative shop full of what I love most: wrapping papers, ribbons and my big shot of course!
Silvia Curti ..................................................... My name is Maartje, 37 years old and living in the Netherlands. I’m a mother of three lovely girls, a woman to a sweet man. I’m an owner of a head full ideas and a silly old suitcase filled with treasures. The content of that silly old suitcase inspires me to make and create. By sharing my love for bright colours, beautiful supplies and handmade stuff i want to make this world a little brighter. Blog|Etsy|Email Maartje Beijer ..................................................... Manuela and Helmut Koch have two beautiful shops on DaWanda, „Sündenherz” and “Bleu et Rose”. Both, Manuela and Helmut, are very creative and enjoy working on old furniture to give each piece a new character. Manuela also loves modern handicrafts.Sündenherz is not only a DaWanda shop, but since January 2014 also a store in Düsseldorf. A beautiful mix of handicrafts, home accessories and shabby chichi, vintage and cottage style furniture.
Manuela Koch .....................................................
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Butterfly wall You Will Need: A4 Vellum Paper Free Butterfly Clip Art Inkjet Printer
3D
the butterfly wings and the base of the wings and leave the body of the butterfly flat so you are able to attach adhesive gum or ‘white tac’ to attach to the wall.
How to: Download the free butterfly clip art available over at www.hearthandmade.co.uk where you see the ‘Handmade Happy Free Downloads’. Print out on A4 vellum printer that is suitable for an inket printer. Use sharp scissors to cut your butterflies out. Bend 7
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Painted Baskets
a lick of chalk paint and some finishing wax completely transformed these pretty little wicker baskets. Allow the wax to dry for a few days if you’ve been liberal with application. 9 11
You will need: Old cups or tiny bowls Some organic soil Cress Seeds Tooth Picks Washi Tape
How to:
Fill your cups with potting soil and sprinkle your compost with lots of cress seeds. Press the seeds into the soil gently. Use the toothpicks & washi tape to create labels. Just wrap the washi tape around the pick and write the name of the plant on the label. Then it only takes a few days for you to see the shoots! Happy Making!
Cress Cups project and images by Lu
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create your own
balconyoasis
with Lu
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What are your favourite things about your balcony?
Because I don’t have a garden and enjoy being outside a lot, my balcony is just the perfect little oasis for me to sit and enjoy the fresh air while still being at home. Each season, it makes me incredibly happy to remove dead plants from last year, take care of those which come out again and to sow and plant new fresh herbs, colourful flowers and delicious organic vegetables. When I was a child, we used to have our own garden and my mother loved garden work and to plant new veggies, trees or herbs and as I grew older, I discovered that I like this, too. Moreover, I love cooking and there’s nothing better than growing own organic herbs at home. Spontaneously cooking pasta with a fresh tomato sauce is best when you simply need to walk onto your own balcony for harvesting home-grown herbs like thyme, basil or oregano for making this delicious Mediterranean dish complete. Apart from enjoying being outside and having fresh herbs and veggies directly in front of my bedroom door, I also enjoy the look of this balcony a lot. During the past few years, I’ve always been super excited about watching my flowers grow, looking at the tomatoes becoming bigger and more red and sowing my own flower seeds. I’ve grown my own sunflowers just from sunflowers seeds. My mother sent me organic strawberry plants and last summer and I grew five varieties of basil, which was awesome! Between everyday life and work, such a lovingly smelling and colourful oasis filled with lots of green, pops of colour and a sun chair in summer is just the perfect place. With all my hand painted flower pots, handmade pillows and tiny decor details, I couldn’t love this balcony more and be more excited about it each year. How long did it take you to create it or did you just keep adding plants and decor until you were happy?
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Luckily, my mother knows well about herbs and veggies and always gives me advice concerning what to sow and plant first and which veggies are easy to take care
of. Each season, we start thinking about the year’s perfect kinds of basil, tomatoes or flowers, she orders some organic plants and fresh soil, I go to the market to buy some flowers for a first start so that the balcony doesn’t look so empty and then I start sowing and planting. This usually takes me a few days (including cleaning, filling flower pots and preparing decor) and then I only need to watch the plants grow, water them and remove some dead leaves from time to time. It’s not much effort and when you love doing it, it’s absolutely worth it. Moreover, if your balcony is only as big as mine, it’s easy to buy lots of pretty and delicious plants on a small budget, even if the veggies are organic. Some plants (like strawberries, peppermint or chives) do not only live for one season, but come back in the next one. So most of my veggies and plants are homegrown, but some are always bought to save some time and energy. :) Do you have an tips on how to make a little balcony space personal?
Making your balcony space ‘your own’ is not too difficult. Simply think about what you like and brings you joy: if you’re more the lazy kind of balcony gardener, simply buy some flowers or plants with veggies and herbs which do not need much care, put them onto your balcony and add some decor elements. If you really enjoy working outside and want to spend more time doing something for your balcony, then it might be great to sow everything yourself, read about the right kind of plants for your home’s climate zone and watch everything grow. For a really personal touch, I painted some flowerpots myself, made tiny bunting with tooth picks and masking tape to put them into the flowers pots and made felt pinwheels to decorate the balcony’s railing. Moreover, you could also sew your own table cloth, pillows or a bunting or make your own wind lights or bird house. To me, all those tiny details - lovingly handmade - add a really personal touch and made the balcony my own.
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TUTTI FRUTTI
Crochet Pot Holders Images and project by Marinke Slump
Boring potholders begone! With these bang-on-trend tutti-frutti beauties, you’ll never look at a plain old potholder in the same way again. This pattern uses US terms and stitches include double crochet (dc), slip stitch (sl st), and chain (ch). Supplies
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Yarn (I used Drops Paris cotton) Crochet hook (4mm) Darning needle for sewing in the ends
Felt Sewing needle Sewing thread (not shown) Scissors
1.
Start with your white yarn. Begin by making a magic circle, and secure with a stitch.
4.
Chain 3, then work 2dc into the next stitch. Work *1dc, inc* around (inc means increase; work 2 stitches into one stitch). Join with a slip stitch to the top chain of your beginning chain 3. Your stitch total is now 36.
2.
3.
Chain 2, work 11dc into the ring;a total of 12 stitches. Cut the yarn, pull through the loop on your hook and close the magic circle by pulling on the bottom yarn tail.Close the circle by threading your yarn tail, and inserting the needle from front to back through the first dc you made, skipping the chain 2. Insert your needle through the back loop of the last dc you made.
Sew in both ends. Grab your orange yarn, and start with a slip knot on your hook. Start by making a dc into your white circle. This way of starting a round is called a standing stitch. We’re going to start all of our new colours like this from now on.Work 2dc into every stitch around. Your stitch total is now 24. Join with a slip stitch in the first dc.
5.
Chain 3, then work 1dc into the next stitch, and 2dc into the stitch after that. Work *2dc, inc* around. Join with a slip stitch. Your stitch total is now 48.
6.
Chain 3, then work 2dc into the next two stitches, and 2dc into the stitch after that. Work *3dc, inc* around. Your stitch total is now 60. Cut the yarn, and join the round like you did with the white circle. Sew in the ends.
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7.
8.
9.
Join your white yarn like you did with the orange yarn. Work *4dc, inc* around. Join with a slip stitch. Your stitch total is now 72. Cut the yarn, and join the round like you did with the white circle. Sew in the ends.
Join your orange yarn like you did before. Work *5dc, inc* around. Join with a slip stitch. Your stitch total is now 84. Cut the yarn, and join the round like you did with the white circle. Sew in the ends.
We’re now going to crochet the wedges by using surface slip stitches. Grab your white yarn, and pull it to the front from the center of your piece. Slip stitch your way up to the second white round. Cut the yarn and sew in the ends. Repeat this 5 more times.
We’re going to sew on a piece of felt, to give our potholder a finished look, and to make it more rugged. Cut out a piece of felt that is the same size as your crochet piece.
Put your crochet piece on top of your felt. Grab some sewing thread and your sewing needle, and attach the felt to the crochet piece using a blanket stitch. Sew in the ends.
In this tutorial, you’ve learned how to crochet a fruit-inspired potholder with a felt back. Change the colours and use some black accent yarn to create the look of seeds for a watermelon potholder, or make another one in yellow, for a lemon potholder!
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simple
swizzle sticks Using glue, stamps and kebab sticks, it is so easyto make these decorative swizzle sticks; perfect for outdoor entertaining. Project and images by Ayda
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cheaters
crochet garland project and images by Claire
You will need: Crochet hook - 3mm One length of embroidery floss or string Crochet embellishments This DIY project could not be easier. Did you know that you could buy crochet flowers and embellishments on stores like eBay and etsy? I purchased a small collection of crochet flowers, in mixed colours, from brands who supply scrapbook embellishments. Unfortunately those embellishments are no longer made but I managed to find some great eBay sellers who sold various crochet shapes, flowers and butterflies. I selected my favourite crochet pieces and I used one long strange of embroidery floss to `string up’ the flowers and cherries. The crochet hook was necessary to get the embroidery floss through the small gaps in the crochet embellishments. 19
Summer mini album Supplies 655268 Sizzix Big Shot machine 657691 Sizzix Bigz Die - Heart, Stem & Leaves 657495 Sizzix On The Edge Die - Butterflight 656938 Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates 658284 Sizzix Textured Impressions - Chevrons & Flourishes patterned paper: Dear Lizzy, Crate Paper, Studio Calico
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rhinestones, doily, twine, crepe paper, petals: Stampin´ Up washi tape: Tim Holtz alpha sticker: American Crafts, Dear Lizzy other: sewing machine, white thread
instruction Oslo travel album I gathered paper scraps in different sizes and arranged them on top of each other. To create a fluffy appearance mix large and small pieces. I only used happy, summerlike colours such as pink, yellow, turquoise. There are many ways of binding a mini album, so why choosing the most difficult binding, when an easy one is as effective?! I love the look of the washi tape binding. The tag was cut with the Movers & Shapers Die - Tag & Bookplates - one of my favourite dies. The butterflies were cut with the On The Edge Die Butterflight, the heart with the Bigz Die - Heart, Stem & Leaves. As you can see, I used the heart die on crepe paper. Love the way it turned out. If you have a closer look at the top and bottom part of the first paper you´ll notice a decent chevron pattern. I used the Textured Impressions - Chevrons & Flourishes embossing folder, but instead of running the paper through the Big Shot machine, I placed the paper in the folder and pressed with my hands.
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Shop Tour
I am so pleased to be able to take a look around the fabulous German store; Sündenherz. It is so beautiful! Manuela has a wonderful store, full of beautiful products! Aren’t we lucky?! Manuela also runs a DaWanda store; Bleu et Rose. The store’s language is German but Manuela is very accomodating at sending packages internationally. 23
You will need:
glitter nail polish wooden clothespin little paper flowers scissors
Cut the stem in order to the rose will placed at the core of clothespin.
To decorate a gift package you need: glitter wooden clothespin printer paper lace ribbon sweet card to download and print (click the word ‘download’ to download file)
Glitter Clothespin Packaging with Silvia
Once the polish is dry you have to make another coat (the fourth) at the point where you want to paste the flower (in the lower half) and paste the rose with care.
Cover the wooden clothespin with your favourite glitter nail polish. I chose this golden glittering nail polish because I think it is perfect with the cream paper rose. You need do at least 3 coats of nail polish.
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Pretty Pillowcases with Kate
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You will need:
2 pieces of cotton fabric measuring 108cm by 50cm (we used fabrics from the Tanya Whelan Sunshine Rose Fabrics) 1m Crochet lace trim 1m Ribbon (we used ribbons by Farbenmix) Cotton thread Pearl Headed Pins Scissors Iron
How to:
Cut your main piece of fabric (we used stripes)
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measuring 108cm x 50cm, iron in half. Using a contrasting fabric cut one piece measuring 25cm by 50cm and sew it to the left hand side of the large piece of fabric. Cut another piece of contrasting fabric measuring 40cm by 50cm and sew to the right hand side of the fabric. Finish your seams using a zig zag stitch. From each seam measure in 22cm and pin. On the shorter piece turn over 1/2cm and iron and turn over again to create a
seam. Sew down the seam. On the opposite piece iron a line at 22cm this will form the pillowcase flap. Then at the end of the of the fabric turn over 1/2cm and iron and then turn over again to create a seam. Sew the seam. If you are adding trims, pin them in place on the fabric join and stitch them down using a straight topstitch. To sew the pillowcase together fold the sewn piece of fabric in half right sides together (excluding the flap). Line up the seams and trims. Fold the flap
back over the end of pillowcase so it covers the end of the pillowcase and the pattern is right side down. Pin around the pillowcase then sew from the fold to the pillowcase opening using a straight stitch. Repeat on the other side then finish the seams using a zig zag stitch. Turn your pillowcase right side out and you are done!
r e m m u S icnic ect
the perf
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e shandmad e v lo u L h wit
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sweet strawberry desserts and fruit kebabs add a deliďż˝ cious sweet touch to any picnic
add watermelon slices to lolly pop sticks and enjoy!
you can keep your bagels together with some pretty bakers twine
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hanging paper pom poms from a tree can be pretty decor
add pretty PAPer pom poms to your picnic basket as a lovely decorative touch
FRESH RASPBERRY LEMONADE WITH SOME FRUIT, ICE AND MINT LEAVES
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Semolina
Halva with ice cream
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups semolina - 100 grams of butter - 1 cup milk - 1 cup water - 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar - 1 handful of pine nuts - 1 tsp vanilla extract - Vanilla ice cream
Method
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Place butter in a heavy-bottomed, wide skillet with a lid and melt over medium heat. Add semolina and pine nuts and stir constantly on medium heat, until the semolina is cooked and golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. (The most important part of the recipe is cooking the semolina until it develops a golden color.) in another container, 1 cup sugar, vanilla, cold milk and add cold water to the mixture, stir until dissolved. When the semolina develops its golden colour, pour liquid mixture over grits, continue stirring until boiling again and let it cook on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring the halva every 5 minutes with a spatula. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, mix. After resting for a while, can serve decorate with cinnamon and a scoop of ice cream on it. Serve warm. - by Ayda
dream catchers
These dream catchers are very simple to make.
You will need:
1 10cm ring (you can buy from alll craft stores in packs of 10) Embroidery floss in different colours 1 Crochet coaster 1 Needle Scissors Thread Mixed beads.
How to:
Wrap thread around the hoop in any colours you
wish. Attach the coaster using clear or white thread to secure in as many of the spaces in the coaster you feel are necessary, tying securely to the hoop. On one; I added ribbons scraps and lengths of embroidery floss and on another I used all floss. Get creative. You can attach lace or beads or even decorative buttons. I used a little embroidery floss and created a loop at the top for hanging. Et voila!
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summer scrapbook layout Supply List
with Janna
patterned paper (Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, Crate Paper) tag (Dear Lizzy for American Crafts) chipboard sticker (Dear Lizzy for American Crafts) white Cardstock (Bazzill) clothespin (Crate Paper) stamp (Amy Tangerine for American Crafts) stencil (Simon Says Stamp) sewing machine white thread glue scissors double sided adhesive modeling paste scraper (plastic card) ticket watercolours brush
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Crochet iPhone cover with Manuela
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1.
You will need: 15g cotton yarn Needle size 3,0 Crochet continuously in rounds Single crochet = SC Chain Stitch
2.
3.
Step 2: Mark your first SC stitch with a plastic stitch marker (so you know when you are beginning a new layer as you are crocheting in continuous rows) and crochet SC stitches in your chain.
Step 3: Continue for 33 rows.
Step 1: Chain 30
1.
You will need: Cotton Catania Needle size 2.5 Tapestry Needle Step 1: Chain 15
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2.
Step 2: Round 1: In each single chain, create 3 SC stitches. This equals 45 Single crochet stitches inside the 15 chain. (It will look rather like a spiral) The spiral! Roll up and stitch the ends together.
3.
1.
You will need: Cotton Needle Size 2.5 Single Crochet = SC Half Double Crochet = HDC Double Crochet = DC
2.
3.
Round 1: in each chain; 1SC, 1HDC, 2DC, 1HDC, 1SC Repeat down the other side of the chain; 1SC, 1HDC, 2DC, 1HDC, 1,SC
Use the tapestry needle to stitch the leaves and rose together. Stitch your rose onto the iphone cozy and use the tapestry needle to sew the ends of your iphone cozy together.
Step 1: Chain 7 stitches
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I love flowers in every season but during spring and summer flowers can give, with their colours, the right atmosphere to every room. Ranunculus and Gerber daisies are my favourite in this period especially if they are pink and white, so romantic and girly. I like having some flowers on my creative desk and I usually use some jar to collect them but summer is also the season of ice cream and outdoor dining so I decided to share with you a super cute DIY to arrange your favourite flowers in an ice cream cup.
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I choose this one because of the polka dots, so lovely...and who does not love polka dots?! You need: paper ice cream cup a floral foam water bowl cutter flowers wire
How to: Take a floral foam and dip it in a bowl of water until it goes to the bottom. Now you are ready to cut the foam in the form of the ice cream cup (if you prefer cylindrical floral foam are also available in store). Cut the flowers stem in the desired length. Strengthen the flowers stem with a piece of wire. Decorate the foam with your flowers.
ice cream cup
Flower Arrangement with Silvia
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Painted Plant Pots with Ayda
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You will need 1. Plain white mug or vase 2. Porcelaine paint (or acrylic) 3. Paint brush 4. Washi tape (or masking or blue painters tape) Make sure that your porcelain should be clean Choose your pattern
Place your pattern on the porcelain with washi tape. Apply paint to inside edges. Leave to dry Make sure its dry and remove the washi tapes.. You can use them as vase for flowers or as a penholder at the same time, it can also be a great gift for loved ones..
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decoupage
plant pot This diy project is so simple. You will need: 1 Terracotta Plant Pot 1 Tester pot of white chalk paint 1 Floral napkin Scissors Brush to use with decoupage glue Decoupage glue (with Varnish; brands like Mod Podge or Decopatch) Paint your plant pot and leave to dry. Cut your flower patterns out of your napkins Cover your plant pot with glue in areas where the napkins will placed. Use the top layer of the 3 ply napkin only. Add your cut out piece to the pot and press gently. Once the glue has all dried, add another layer of decoupage glue. Suitable for indoor use only.
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decorative mini easels You will need: Tiny canvases - art supply store Paint Decoupage Glue Sharp scissors A floral napkin (I used a greengate napkin) Paint brush (you can use with glue) How to: First, I used Martha Stewart, High Gloss paint in sea glass. I put two coats onto the little wooden easel. I cut out a flower from the napkin. Piut a layer of glue onto the canvas and gently lay the (top layer of the napkin only) onto the canvas. Add another layer of decoupage glue to act as a varnish. et voila! 41
Learn About Heat Embossing with Magda
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To start playing with hot embossing you will need four things: embossing powder, watermark ink, stamps and embossing heat tool. It’s very simple and you don’t need any special skills to do it! Simply cover/mark your stamp with watermark ink on a white piece of cardstock. Then put your stamped card on a bigger cardstock and cover the reflection of the ink with powder. Then you should throw the powder from the smaller card - you will stay with the stamp covered by powder. Now, put the rest of the powder to the jar. Last thing you should do is to heat the card with the stamp with your heat tool. After a minute you will see how your powder stamp changes into embossed. Have fun!
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Crochet paper garland
with Maartje
1 You will need: Postcards 3” circle paper punch Pencil Needle Thin (embroidery) cotton yarn for crochet needle 1,5/-2 Crochet needle 1,5 or 1,75 White cotton thread Scissors
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4. Mix and match your paper circles with different colours of thin cotton yarn, for example; mercerized embroidery cotton (available in my etsy shop). Choose five different paper circles which look pretty together to make your garland. Take a long piece of
2 How to: 1. Collect all kinds of pretty vintage and new postcards and images, as long as it’s made of cardboard. 2. Take a 3” circle paper punch and cut lots of circles. For short garlands like these you can make 5 of these. 3. Mark little points at the back of
5 yarn and make a blanket stitch all around the circle. 5. Crochet into the blanket stitch around the circle . 6.To create such a pretty edge you can make the following stitches “1 single crochet-3 double crochet-1 single crochet” and repeat “ “
3 the paper circle all around the edge every 0,35” and 0,20” off the edge. Make little holes at the points with a needle, make sure you pin from the front to the back of the paper circle.
6 7.Attach your finished circles to thread using glue, staples or thread through the top and bottom of the crochet. Hang around your home!
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Wire Flowers with Ayda
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You will need: Various fabrics Fabric bond (applique glue) Fine florists wire Button Thread Scissors Ribbons Flower template (download here) How to: Choose your various patterned fabrics, cut out the number of flowers and leaves needed as indicated on the
templates in your chosen fabric. Choose two big same dimension flower petals, this will be bottom layer of flower. Apply the fabric bond (applique glue) all over the fabric flower petals and then put a fine wire (as you see image) between the fabric petals. Repeat the same process for the leaves. Do not need to put fine wire between smaller flower petals. Just enough to fix two flower petals with glue. Wait for a while for dry flower petals
and leaves. Now it’s time to bring together all flower petals and leaves. You use for the centers can be pretty much anything from loose beads to lonely buttons or even a small earring. For this project I used buttons. You can make many different size fabric flowers and use them in your many projects. Top of the your packages, as a napkin ring, wedding table settings, decoration of chairs, as wall decoration... ext...
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Fabric Flower Brooches
You will need:: Clover Kanzashi Flower Maker Large Fabric scraps (we used fabrics from Tilda) Felts Selection of Buttons Brooch Pins Scissors, Needle, Thread Instructions Thread a needle with some cotton thread and tie a knot. Fold your fabric in half right sides out and clip on the Kanzashi Flower Maker, cut around the template. Take the needle and thread and follow the numbered guidelines on the flower maker. Unclip the flower maker and gently pull the thread until the fabric tightens and forms a petal. Using the same needle and thread repeat four more times. Once you have five petals in total push the petals together, pulling the thread tightly to form a flower. Sew the last petal to the first petal securing the flower. Using the finished flower as a guide cut out five felt petals and sew them together at
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the base of each petal. Cut out a felt circle and attach the brooch pin using the needle and thread. Layer the fabric flower, felt flower and felt circle and stitch the three layers securely together to form your brooch.
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Janna’s Craft Room Tour
Have you always been ‘crafty’? I always liked paper and drawing. I could spend hours in the stationery section of shops, looking at pens and paper. I used to craft a lot when I was a child, with paper, clay, felt and other things. But I haven´t been crafty when I was a teenager, I started again 4 years ago, creating cards, ATCs, then scrapbooking pages and mini albums and gift wrappings. What are your favourite types crafts other than scrapbook layouts? I adore beautiful gift wrappings, so crxeating them is definitely a passion of mine. I also like sewing, but I am very much talent free in that! Are you handy about the house and making your own home decor? I can definitely improve! I like doing home decor myself, but sometimes I have too many ideas at the same time and don´t know where to start. I started a journal to jot down my ideas. Tell us about your craft space? Do you call it your craft room or studio? I call it workspace as I am crafting, filming videos and doing computer work in
there. Usually I´d say “my room“ when I am talking to friends though. What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring? I have to admit, my first intention is to make it practical. I am spending a lot of time in there, therefore I do not want too many distractions - no TV, no cosy armchair.. the walls are painted white. But I hung up a few of the paintings I created and a framed scrapbooking page of our dog. The room is very light and so is the furniture, I need a light and friendly place to be able to focus. How do you keep organized? That is a good question… Usually it ain´t organized at all. I need to see things in order to use them, so I have a lot of plastic boxes and most of the things stand on tables. I try to group the boxes, like stickers + alphabet stickers in one corner, sewing stuff in another. I also divided the workspace - I have a computer area, a craft table and a workbench for the messier things. How important is storage for you and do you think you have enough? Can you ever have enough storage?! I don´t :-) No, I really don´t have enough and am planning
to buy a new chest of drawers. I am an organized person, I need structure and space, so storage is very important to me. Any tips & tricks for organising supplies? Actually, what works best for me is to have my own system - it needs to be logicial for the one who works in the room. Either sort things by color, name or usage. Maybe you are like me and need things to be out to work with them, then it might help to buy nice boxes which can be put on the table. You need to feel comfortable in the room, especially when you spend a lot of time in it. Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display? I do have a scrapbooking page of our dog on the wall, as well as a few paintings I created. I also have a few things on the shelves that I received from friends, like a hand sewn Tilda doll and a stitched pictured. I constantly need to change my room, move the furniture and try out different settings :-) Where do you look for inspiration? When starting a new project, I sit down and think about what I want
to express - do I want to create a girly wrapping, for example, do I want it to be light and fluffy… I automatically have an image in my head. I rarely go on the internet to see what I can create because I am afraid the found project would influence my work too much. When I am browsing just for fun, Pinterest is, of course, my number one place to go. I also love magazines, especially those about living and DIY. Do you love the room? Or are you all too aware of its shortcomings? Well, all in all I really like the room. It is light and big, but it ain´t one of those super fancy and styled rooms. It is my work place and most of the days it is filled with oxen, paper on the ground and a big mess on the tables. What’s your favourite thing about your studio? The two windows as they let so much light into the room. How big is your work space? Good question, I don´t know. Approx. 4 x 5m. If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it completely perfect? Right now, I would´t change a thing!.
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Summer Mini Album
supplies: November 2013 kit from Citrus Twist Kits
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applique
tea towels 53
You will need: Plain white fabric Piece of patterned fabrics Fusible webbing Sharp scissors A pencil An iron A piece of paper for shape How to: Approximately 14” x 20” size plain white fabric or you can use whatever you want as a tea towel. Place your patterned fabric scraps on the adhesive portion of the fusible webbing. Make sure your iron is on the “cotton / linen” setting and set it so that there is plenty of steam and iron them slowly. One side of the webbing is a very thin web of heat sensitive glue, the other side is a paper that can be drawn on easily – it is
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transparent enough to see through and trace your hexagon pattern pieces with a pencil or pen. Carefully cut the shapes out around the lines and peel off the paper backing. After you remove the paper, there will be a very thin layer of heat sensitive glue remaining on the fabric. Place your hexagon shapes on the tea towel (layout completely up to you) and iron them again. If you want you can sew edges of hexagon shapes with the sewing machine or use it as it is.
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Pretty Summer Packages
with Silvia
I absolutely love wrapping gifts with care and attention but that doeasn’t mean you need overspend. I want to share some special packages wrapped starting from simple printer paper. Wrap your gifts with a low cost white paper and add some nice and pretty detail such as little paper flowers, glittering hearts, white lace ribbon and some sweet cards. Your simple packeges will immediatly become special and cute! Complete them with some beautiful colored striped ribbons that immediately recalls summer and that’s it! 56
a lick of panit Using a range of Martha Stewart paint, removing the plastic from the frames and inserting some Project Life cards from the Dear Lizzy and Maggie Holmes range. I then attached some ephemera from Dear Lizza using foam pads and used hot glue to attach a range of buttons. A very simple and effective craft as you can see from the before image.
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Handmade Fabric Covered
notebooks with Ayda
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You will need: 1. Cute Patterned Fabric 2. Paper (graph, lined or plain 3. Cardboard 4. Multi purpose glue, glue dots and double sided tape 5. Thin rope or yarn 6. Buttons 7. Brush 8. Scissors How to: 1- Trim pages to the size of your choosing (remember they will be folded in half) Add as many or as few pages as you wish. 2- Cut a cardboard to size (slightly larger than pages) to create a cover. 3- Decide how big your piece of fabric should be.
You can do this by folding the side of the fabric inside the cover for about an inch. 4- Apply glue or tape to the inside of the patterned fabric or on the outside of your cover. Fold the fabric around the cover like you see on pictures. 5- Wait for a while til dry your fabric covered cover. 6- Fold and stitch through the center of pages to bind them together and attach the spine. 7- I attached a button, sewing it trough the cover, I used a long thread so you can use the end to wrap around the notebook and attach it to the button. These notebooks make great gifts and are perfect for carrying in your purse during your summer vacations.
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