ALL AT SEA

 

For the past year the Tiddlers have been OBSESSED by sealife. As you will probably have noticed in previous posts their rooms are little underwater havens, populated by a million fluffy sea creatures, and it would appear that their mission in life is to keep me occupied making all manner of amigurumi fishes etc. to add to the collection.

This is my summer's list of achievements, which the Tiddlers till now were very happy with, but having seen a post by disorderly-twinings, they have discovered I have haven't finished the whole set - shock horror!!!
So guess who's been commissioned to make lobsters.  I just hope they don't spot a pattern for a whale!

SANTA'S CHRISTMAS LANTERN ADVENT CALENDAR BOXES, WITH EDITABLE AND PRINTABLE LETTER FROM SANTA AND 'TASK' INSERTS

  A couple of years ago I made these cute little lanterns as Advent calendars for the Tiddlers and they were so admired by everyone that I decided to put them into a downloadable and editable PDF file.  

 The idea originally had been to hang them up using little pegs, but after the problems of the year before when the calendar was mysteriously empty by the 8th of December, it was decided that the Santa would send his Christmas Elf to deliver them daily instead. So on the 1st of December a letter arrived from Santa introducing Elfred the Christmas Elf.

Inside the lanterns, there was a joke, a gift (usually a sweet) and a task to be performed that day, which if carried out would ensure Elfred would look kindly on them and deliver a lantern overnight for the next day.

   
Now, our Elfred has a wicked sense of humour and hid the lanterns in different places every day, so as you can imagine great fun was had running around in the morning trying to find them!


The lanterns themselves were very quick and easy to make - just as well as I had to make 72, owing to a little cousin getting in on the act!

Requirements for making the Calendar

1. The PDF download - which includes the 24 lantern boxes, a fully editable letter from Santa and 24 editable  'task for today' inserts for the boxes - available below

2. 12 sheets of A4 size good quality photo paper, 240gsm preferably or the heaviest card that will go through your printer for the boxes

3. 2 sheets of A4 card for the inserts

4. 1 sheets of A4 card for the Santa Letter

5. A pair of scissors

6. Double sided sticky tape,

7. And maybe, if you're bold enough, some little pegs to hang them up with.

The 'tasks' inserts can be edited by highlighting and replacing the 'your text here' with the task of the day, and the letter from Santa can be fully edited with all the text being replaced in the same manner or if you prefer just the names where indicated

The pdf file has two boxes per page and instructions for putting them together.  The boxes themselves measure 3.5inches high (excluding the hanger) by 1.75 inches at the widest point and as you can see a individual size Haribo packet of sweets fits inside very nicely.

I hope you have as much fun making them as I did and your Tiddlers aren't outsmarted by your Christmas Elf.

Lantern's Glow Advent Calendar Boxes
Price - £4-00p

HATS OFF TO SPRING

  

 

One of my the things I really have enjoyed doing this spring is making these little boater hat boxes for everyone for Easter.(well, I think it's spring although I could be mistaken . It's still more than a little nippy out there, and even my daffs aren't inclined to bloom - sigh!)


 
They are so easy to make - I used a pattern from Sandra Lounsbury-Foose's book and made a cutting file for my craft robo, so they cut out just like that and all I have to do is stick them together, and voila! beautiful little boxes that take two or three Ferrero Rocher or Lindor chocolates.

I've slightly modified the ribbon for the girls one and also added little name tags to the ribbons which make them look a little more special.

WHITE RABBITS, WHITE RABBITS, WHITE RABBITS!

 

look who I found in my kitchen this morning!

How cute are they!

It's been so bitterly cold and miserable this spring that these are the only bunnies I think we are going to be seeing frolicking around for quite some time, and it was lovely that they came to visit me to bring a bit of springtime cheer to Easter ;0)

FREEBIE BEAUTIFUL BASIC BUTTONS

 Download envelope front with transparent background - click here

Little smartie buttons like the ones I used for the address area on this envelope are sooooo useful. You can use them in all sorts of projects - young or old, male or female - you name it.

Since I made them these little beauties have been a godsend. So I thought I would share and perhaps someone out there would give a sigh of relief that they had found something to fill that little gap, or add a little bling to the corner of a card. I do hope so :0)

download black button - click here

Download blue button - click here

Download gold button - click here

Download green button - click here

Download lilac button - click here

Download pink button - click here

Download red button - click here

Download silver button - click here

Download white button - click here

 Download yellow button - click here





The buttons are on a transparent background so you can resize them if requiredrop them anywhere in a project.

BELLS - IT WAS THE BELLS!

These little crocheted bells are a real joy. I make a little stash of them for moments when I need that little bit of extra magic.  They can be used, I have found, for so many different projects.
I love decorating cakes but unfortunately am not particularly good at the clever paste sculptures that so many 'proper' cake makers seem to achieve, so - improvise!  The bells were just what I needed for Val and Daves cake and really did the trick - success!

I also needed something quickly to finish off these bouquets of flowers and make them look special and once again the bells added that little 'something' that was just what just the job.

CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION!

As it's coming up for Christmas again - at speed! - I thought I would hop over to see what Tracy at  Delightful Doodles has to offer.



This is a wonderful site and she always seems to have just what I need, and what do you know - she  is having a sale and all her downloads are on sale for 2 dollars which is £1-25 in Sterling - a fabulous price when you see what you get!!! ;0)

Christmas Countdown Magic

Her Christmas boxes etc are just perfect for advent calendars etc.

These icicles are from a file I downloaded last year and made up for The Tiddlers.  The icicles were just big enough to take a few sweeties or a little treat. (Not to much - hyperactive kids at 9 o'clock in the morning are not teachers favourites we find!)

We hung them up on Ben's Canvas wardrobe with little pegs and The Tiddlers thought they were magic.

So it's back to Delightful Doodles for some inspiration for this year!

Advent Calendar for The Tiddlers hung up on Bens Fabric Wardrobe

Hope you find the link useful. Nip along and take a look, it's well worth it.

LITTLE ANGELS

Cute Thread Crochet Angel

After a weekend labouring in the garden, trying to reverse the ravages caused through not enough TLC being applied during the early part of the year - doh! - I decided that a little quiet crochet was in order and as Christmas is approaching, and I have promised friends and family little thread crochet angels for their trees etc. I had better crack on.

Sparkly and ready for Christmas

 Last year I made about a dozen angels using different patterns I had aquired, but this one seems to be the best and certainly the most eyecatching.

I bought the basic pattern from Crochet Memories but adjusted it a little as I prefered this helo.  It was quite easy to crochet and shape using a cone of cardboard for the body and some cotton wool covered with cling film held in place by a covered pencil pushed through the armholes, to shape the sleeves. I use a solution of glue and water to stiffen it as described on my crochet page.  It really works well and I was well pleased with the result  :0)

Branching out

Having had a fair bit of success with the bells, I've now started to branch out into other crocheted items.  The fans turned out particularly well and have been requested by friends for bridal good luck gifts.  Again I had a few hours of brain twisting to get the boxes to fit and look professional.  I've had several attempts that looked good but either didn't stay together for very long, (see picture) or didn't stay shut properly, but eventually I hit gold and am so pleased with the final product.

THREAD CROCHET WEDDING BELLS

My most recent passion is for thread crochet ornaments.  Years ago, when we were in Bosham on the south coast, I peeped into a craft gallery and saw some crochet bells and little animals.  They were so beautifully made, that that was it - I had to have a go!  So I looked round for patterns - not a chance - they are like gold dust.  Eventually, I found just what I needed and got cracking.  At the time you could get fabric stiffener called Stiffy from almost any craft shop, which did the job perfectly.  However, you don't seem to be able to buy it over here anymore so, after trying starch, PVA glue and everything else I could think of to stiffen the material and having disasterous results, I gave up making them.

However, last year I discovered that Evostick Wood Glue (blue bottle for outside use) is just the job.  It dries clear and very hard.  Perfect, I was off again. :0)

Crochet Wedding Bell & presentation box

So this is what I made for my friends wedding.  I also had a wonderful time designing a box to put it in.  Oh, the joy of being a crafter, it keeps me quiet for hours!