A Planet made of Trainers!

We haven't had a Tiny Planet (App) creation for a while so here are the planet artworks made from my nephew's trainers!

And here are the original photos so you can play 'match the pic' if you fancy  
 = )

Little Seaside Book

I found photos of this little sewn summer book that I made a few years ago so I thought I'd send them out into the world.

Its all done on cream coloured felt.

Lots of organza, funky fibres (iron-able plastic strands) and charms.

Themes around holiday

Felt pens and cotton labels

Stickers and sequins

Little paper postcards

Charms trapped under organza to look like they're underwater 

Running stitch and cross stitch

and ending up with a very fat little book with a summery feel.

Pimp my Swing Seat

We have had a swing seat for years: the top canopy that shades and shelters it broke years ago and it has rusted in all weathers.

So it was time for some TLC: anti rust metal paint applied after minimal lazy sanding! It then looked like this...

Virtually new! 

It looked gorgeous. When I called the husband out to see, and we sat together admiring the handiwork, I made the mistake of saying,

"I can't believe its lasted this long without the seat fabric going through..."

and then it did and we both ended up folded up like umbrellas, bottoms on the grass and heads and feet sticking out of the top!

Sometimes you wonder whether its time to call it a day - but no!
I mended it with new fabric.

Thoughts on Ofsted

Here's a familiar little ditty seen with a new ending, dedicated to Ofsted

Good luck if you're facing yours!

A Kaleidoscope of Buttons

Did you ever have one of those tubes with mirrors inside and shards of coloured glass or plastic at the end so that you could either turn it or shake it up and make different patterns and arrangements appear in the end?

That is what the APP 'Circular' did with this little line of sparkly buttons I photographed.

The APP works particularly well when there are straight lines involved as the contrast with the bendiness is stronger.

Pointless but enjoyable fun.

Essential Summer Craft Kit

A while ago I told you I always compile an emergency craft kit to take on holiday so I can keep on crafting while away.

 Its great to be stuck in a caravan at times, where there's no cleaning or gardening to do, no work and no internet. There is real freedom to craft.

The downside is knowing what to take when space in the car is at a premium.

So this is my solution: I start thinking of ideas I can do that only require a limited array of stuff, then I try and squeeze as many different things in as I can into a plastic biscuit tin.

Here it is unpacked.

Fabric, buttons, ribbons, toy eyes,, stickers... 

Pens, black card and white card (ATCs), scissors, pipe cleaners, wool, crochet hook, needle and thread.

Felt, stuffing, beads, tape measure

That should do... however I often find things along the way and add to the stash, even in only a week away!!!

Flower Grenades!

Have you ever seen these?

They are flower grenades and they contain some compost and some flower seeds in an unfired clay container shaped like a grenade. Because they are unfired, the clay shell will melt away, and because they are shaped like a grenade, you just want to lob them.

And that is the idea: essentially you can use them in any urban area of deserted land where cheering up is required - you throw it, it breaks, the contents spills out, the clay dissolves in the rain and the seeds grow and flower!

This is our little abandoned patch in our own garden and we threw them in. Not sure if videos work on here... I'll put one on and see. If not then imagine it played and showed you it breaking, then I'll put the pic of the results (oh if only I was tech-savvy!!).

If that one works then I'll post the failed attempt that preceded it = )

Anyway, they are really good present ideas for people (even if they don't have garden as they can 'flower-bomb' someone else's) and the company were lovely!

I will attempt to get husband onto the tech probs when I can!

Finished Little Houses

Here are the finished little houses that I started showing you yesterday.

I said yesterday that the holes in the top (that had held the string to hang them with when they were tiny bird houses) would be perfect for flags or something similar...

Well, the first one had a wooden parrot on a stick, the second and fourth a cocktail stick flag and the third one a plastic cocktail stick with a tiny bell- to make it look like a school house or chapel (with the door-key hung on the wall).

The two flagged houses are both beach themed with shells.

The purple-roofed one looks more exotic and tropical, with a little air of mystery. I painted the roof tiles and then edged them with gold pen for more definition.

And here they are in a row. Made for a very good friend of mine, I can't wait to see who she chooses to move into each one.

From Tiny Bird-houses...

These were in The Range as crafty bird-house replicas (as they are MUCH too small for real birds to be in) so I bought some for my friend for her birthday.

You can see the size from the 50p coin next to them. There were four different sorts so I got one of each. 
I cut the front out of them all with a sharp craft knife: the wood is quite soft.

Now they look like little people/ creature houses, which was my purpose behind them as my friend makes little crocheted creatures, mostly Hambals (see https://www.facebook.com/HambalsAndFriends)

Using small price tag labels with the strings taken out, I made tiles for each roof.

Choosing a slightly different pattern for each one.

The hole in the top is where the string was attached to each bird-house so it could be hung up, but I thought would make an excellent place to put a flag or such-like on each one.

Then they were painted up in different colours.

Tune in next time to see the finished results!