Little Bear

Today I finished my little bear with a hand-stitched nose, a ribbon bow and a couple of tiny charms. I bought the pretty fabric at a craft show I attended earlier this year... it's actually three different pieces of fabric made by the same company who produces the Tilda series of stamps.

Halfway There!

This is the little bear pattern I drafted yesterday, as you can see, he's now sewn up, stuffed and jointed. He just needs a few more features to finish him off properly.

Draw-Cut-Sew

I really enjoy drafting my own patterns... I'm always fascinated by what sort of character I'll end up with once the pieces are all joined together. In that sense, sewing is a lot like drawing for me, I'm never really sure exactly what the end result is going to be, but I'm always eager to find out!

For anyone who is interested in making their own teddy bears I thoroughly recommend this book. It's very easy to follow and contains lots of information about drafting patterns, making clothing and adding character to your creations.

I drafted a pattern for a 25cm bear.

Three cut out and ready to sew.

JayDee (free pattern)

Aside from card making, I also love working with felt, and one of my favourite activities is hand stitching cute little animals and tiny toys. This little guy, named JayDee, is made from craft felt and stands only 6" high. It really didn't take too long to cut him out and stitch him up... definitely achievable in an afternoon!

If you're interested, I've included my hand-drawn pattern at the bottom of this post.

All the pieces, cut out and ready to stitch and stuff.

Some assembly still required.

The arms and legs are attached with buttons and unwaxed dental floss. 

 Feel free to make one of your own.

Upcycled Pin Cusions

Last year, as I trawled the Pinterest boards, I came across lots of wonderful examples of "up-cycled" crafts. For those who haven't heard the term before, "up-cycling" means taking an item that would otherwise be thrown away and turning it into something of higher value. Although I'm not sure these pincushions are of a higher monetary value, I do think they look prettier than when I started.

I used fabric, ribbons, trims, beads and embroidery cotton to transform unwanted egg cups and little jugs into pretty pin cushions. I've also seen these done with children's toy cards, baby shoes and garden items!

More Snowman Poop

Following the huge success of my first batch of snowman "poop" - my nephews being my biggest (and only) fans - I decided to go for a different variety. These are mini marshmallows from the baking section of the grocery store. I created the bag label in my drawing program and stapled it to the top of a clear cellophane packet. Another fabulous idea from Pinterest!

Snowman Cups

These cups didn't turn out quite as I expected, but they're still cute and quirky and would make a fun gift for a teacher or coach. I filled them with marshmallows and wrapped them in clear cellophane, complete with a white bow.

Pencil Toppers

Aren't these cute?! I found this idea on Pinterest (isn't that where all good ideas come from??), but added a few touches of my own, including tiny seed beads for eyes. The "carrot noses" are toothpicks that I coloured with orange marker and cut short. If you're wondering what the white balls are, they are actually styrofoam. I discovered completely by accident that you get a kind of golf ball effect if you heat them carefully with a heat gun! Who knew?

Snowman Bunting

These little fellas were all hand cut and hand stitched to created about 8 feet of bunting. I gave them rosy red cheeks by applying a few shades of pink with my copic markers.

Snowman "Poop"

Another idea from Pinterest... novelty snowman "poop". Now who wouldn't appreciate this little gift in their Christmas stocking? Well, perhaps the squeamish among us or those who don't care for peppermint would find it hard to appreciate, but I'm sure everyone else would get a kick out of it!

If you're wondering, the little poem inside the cover reads:

Heard you've been naughty

So here's the scoop -

All you get for Christmas

Is Snowman Poop

Let It Snow

For many years I've been intending to experiment with cutting felt or fabric with metal dies, and I'm happy to report that I have finally achieved my goal! These snowflakes are made from white felt, heavy thread, beads and kindy glitz. The thread is a couple of feet long so the snowflakes can be hung from the ceiling to make a beautiful snowy display.

This is how they looked pre-construction.

Snowman Door Hangers

Pinterest inspired, yet again, for these little snow buddies that hang off your door handles.

Needle Felting

This year I decided to learn how to needle felt, it's not a hard craft to do, but I think mastering it would take lots of time and practice. This little guy is around the tenth needle felted project I've made, but it was during his construction that I managed to stab myself for the first time... and boy did it hurt! 

Sock Snowmen

In the town where I live, we have a fabulous little craft cottage full of handmade arts and crafts, gifts and even pots of homemade jam from time to time. I've been a member for the past 16 years and have been making different crafts to display and sell over all those years. Believe it or not, I don't make cards for the craft cottage, but I do make lots of other items.

This year I've gone for a snowman theme for my Christmas display. Despite the fact that I've lived in Australia for most of my life, where we celebrate the holidays in summertime, these cool dudes really appeal to me.

I have scoured through all the snowmen ideas on Pinterest and there are quite a few that I've reproduced. If you also love snowmen, and crafting, do yourself a favour and look up "snowmen craft ideas"... you'll be amazed at what you find.

More Monkeys!

I couldn't resist creating more of these little cuties!  This time a couple of lady monkeys complete with brooches, hair ribbons and crochet flowers.

 

 

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Sock Monkeys

Every now and then I like to put the paper away and work on something a little different.  I found lots of great tutorials on how to make sock monkeys, which are amazingly simple, and thought I'd give one a go.  Each monkey is made from a pair of socks, a couple of buttons, a length of ribbon and some crochet cotton for the nose and mouth.  I was easily able to make two of them in just a few hours!

 

Napkin Art Candles

I attend a stamping club with lots of lovely and talented ladies.  A few months ago one of them showed us how to make cards using paper napkins or serviettes.  It was a surprisingly simple process with basic tools and supplies that most of us would have lying around our craft studios.

Anyway, another lovely, generous lady gave me a little pile of gorgeous napkins that she had collected for her stash.  I took them home, looked up napkin art and found that they can be used on all sorts of items, including candles. 

 

There are lots of great tutorials online, so I won't recreate the wheel, but I do encourage you to give them a try... I warn you now though, this process is extremely addictive and you will require more than one candle!!

Stamped Cushion

Every now and then I feel the need to handle something other than paper or cardboard, which is when I drag out the textiles or the paints or clay...  I'm sure a lot of you can relate to what I'm saying!  Anyway, I just happen to have a couple of metres of "grubby" calico, hand-dyed by a lovely lady who has a gorgeous little shop at Old Petrie Town - well worth a visit if you are ever in that area of Brisbane.  I used some beautiful Prima stamps, inked up with black StazOn, to add the images to the fabric, which actually stamped a great deal easier and clearer than I thought it would.  I coloured here and there with my copic markers being very careful to colour well within the lines to give the ink room to bleed across the fabric.  A couple of turns in the sewing machine, a length of cotton lace and voila, one pincushion!

Little Chairs

At the most recent Brisbane Paper Craft Show I picked up these gorgeous little wood chairs from the Twiddleybitz stall - I can never resist making a purchase from them, everything always looks so good!  Anyway, I had some lovely hand dyed calico at home that I used to make very tightly stuffed seats for each chair.  A few licks of paint, some pieces of lace and trim, a couple of hand stitched cushions, long scrapbooking pins and a scattering of little flowers completed the project!

Mini Album

I have so many 6" x  6" books of patterned paper it's ridiculous.  I thought it was about time I actually cracked a pack open and put it to good use... this little album was the result.  I added some beautiful flowers and a butterfly as well as a sentiment tag using a stamp and punch from Stamping Up.  The lace and organza ribbon is from my stash - another area I really need to crack open more often!