here be pirates!!!

For my day job i am a childminder.

Some of the kids i mind are in the same year as my son,

their topic this half term has been pirates and

one of the girls asked if we could have a pirates day :)

Why not i thought!

for their snack i made them orange jelly pirate ships

when we got home from school

the children drew this fantastic pirate map

mermaids - treasure map - footprints

you can click on the photo's to see more details

they also did a pirate colouring sheet that i printed off from the internet

then they made compasses

we used cheese spread trinangles boxes

and used a paper fastener/brad to make a moving pointer.

I'd also gathered up kitchen & wrapping paper tubes to make moving telescopes

the tutorial said it was suitable for 6yrs+ but to be honest it was too hard

so i was in charge of telescopes!

yummy!

Today the children went on a short trip to a tiny local beach/cove

i went along to help, some of the children dressed up as pirates, some of the TA's did too

here is my son all ready for his adventure!

At the beach the children had a picture treasure hunt,

next they made natural sculptures,

my son made a lovely pirate boat but unfortunately my camera doesn't show this!

For some reason whatever setting i choose it cannot cope with sun and sand!

Finally the children hunted for the lost pirates treasure

and found a treasure chest full of chocolate!

great fun!!!

"arrrrrrrr Jim Lad!"

OMG!!!

http://donnadowney.typepad.com/simply_me/circle-bunch-flower-tutorial.html

i changed it a little by adding another "normal" yo-yo

made with the same size circle as the flowers petals to cover the whole

and added a shanked button to the center of that.

it's going on to this project but i can see me making these for hair grips too :)

i've also got my flower loom out

loving this zingy lime green wool

i think my mojo might be back!

Tackling Button Mountain

My crafty mo-jo has yet again failed me

i believe this has a lot to do with the mountain of buttons on my desk

i have decided to tackle the problem before i experience a button landslide

in an effort to re-ignite my crafting

i have been carding up a set of buttons a day

and adding them to my Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94917397/wooden-floral-button-trio

*sold*

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94677073/lucky-buttons?ref=v1_other_2

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94620771/jubilee-fancy-button-set?ref=v1_other_2

http://www.etsy.com/listing/91879238/10-x-filligree-mirror-backed-vintage

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94223991/fancy-filligree-mirror-backed-buttons

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94224187/blue-bunny-buttons

http://www.etsy.com/listing/34900890/cute-and-kitschy-childrens-buttons-and

if you are after any particular buttons please ask

i bet i can find them!!!

gratuitous button shots!

phwoar!

look at these beauties
i'm guessing they are victorian

or maybe edwardian

these may be more modern

but they are very fancy

these are gorgeous

three different sizes of mirror backed filligree fancies

but these are definately my favourites

the "money shot"!!!!!

*******

unfortunately these puppies were not

so well recieved

insufficient bubble wrap

led to inevitable breakages

i did get a refund

but i felt so sad that these beautiful glass buttons

that had lasted for about 80 yrs

got broken on the short trip

across the U.K.

:'(

so if you buy buttons from me and wonder why

i use so much packaging

this is why!!!

lot's of matryoshka pincushions

i think these are going to be my big seller in

2012

this was the first pincushion i made this year

because i have shops on Etsy and on Folksy

i often list the same item in both shops

this time it backfired and i sold the item twice!

So i had to make this one to order

and fast as it was to be a birthday gift :)

whilst i had all the gear out i decided

to make a few new dolly pincushions

i have such a collection of russian dolls

that it's hard to choose who gets an upgrade!

i tried out some different doll styles this time

i love this happy polka dot lady :)

and here's a little one

great for sewing on the go

i have one like this but even smaller

great for a holiday project

available in my Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/listing/91206082/mini-matryoshka-pincushion

this is my favourite of the new dollies

very vibrant colours - i'm guessing she is from the 60's or 70's

loving the orange!

i made her pincushion with a vintage orange floral pillowcase fabric

very funky!

"we all carry scars from our pasts"

i love the little scars the vintage dolls have

i think it adds to their charm

I was lucky enough to get the last photo featured

in the Craftzine blog

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2012/01/craft_flickr_pool_weekly_round_168.html

and she sold already

and is on her way to her new home

in europe :)

Crafting in 2011

*crafting in 2011*

it was a funny old year for me craftwise

i just really lost my way

and had little enthusiasm for making things

i really loved this bag i made as part of the Tim Burton swap

i really struggled to get going on this swap

but in the end i loved what i made

i still have no idea if the recipient liked what i sent

at last contact, before the american summer break

the parcel had arrived but had not been opened

i am still yet to receive my swap parcel . . . . .

i made these for the Crafter...oo button swap

i must make some more . . . .

nom nom nom :)

i had a spark of inspiration in September

when i made a handful of these pendants

and finally in November my crafty sparkle came back

just in time for the festive season!

which led to me making kitschy wreathes and baubles covered in glitter!

in 2012 i'm hoping to carry on with the dolly dress making

that i started in 2011

i find the handstitching very relaxing and something i can pick up

whilst the kids are happy playing and put down quickly when all hell breaks loose!!!

hope all my readers have a very happy and crafty 2012

x x xxx x x

vintage map pendant tutorial.

: vintage map pendant tutorial :

materials:

one memory frame

http://www.craftydevilspapercraft.co.uk/crafts/5168-inkessentials-memory-frames-1-1234-x-1-1234.aspkessentials-memory-frames-1-1234-x-1-1234.asp

a pair of glass inserts
http://www.craftydevilspapercraft.co.uk/crafts/1684-inkssentials-memory-glass.asp684-inkssentials-memory-glass.asp

dry transfer lettering
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rubdown-Lettering-A5-Helvetica-Black/dp/B0027J3TPU/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1315598975&sr=8-13down-Lettering-A5-Helvetica-Black/dp/B0027J3TPU/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1315598975&sr=8-13


vintage map - the map i used was a vintage cloth backed map, if using plain paper
you may need to reinforce the paper before stitching on it.

vintage lace - if using modern lace you could age it by tea dying it.

needle and thread

instructions:

step one: using one of the glass slides as a guide choose
an interesting section of map and cut out using a sharp knife.

step two: choose some lace and sew to map section - i used a ruby red cotton
and added cross-stitches to the inside edge.


step three: using dry transfer lettering add a message

{excuse the rubbish photo - it was night time!}

step four: i then added a stitched heart

step five: sandwich collage between glass slides and insert into frame

step six: choose lace,ribbon,cord or chain for your pendant
or alternatively attach a ribbon and pin to wear it like a medal.

optional step:
i really liked seeing the back of the stitching so i didn't hide this part but you could cover the back of your work or add an extra message.

notes: make sure your collage is not getting too thick - it needs to fit between the glass sides and into the memory frame!

*******

This tutorial was previously published in

Issue One of the Crafter...oo Magazine

it is still available to buy here

http://www.crafteroo.co.uk/smf/index.php

as is the new and exciting Issue Two for just £1.50