Crafty Creatives Craft Box! #CCBox11

So, you'll have seen the veg boxes you can subscribe to, here's a craft box! I'm super excited by this concept and it seems perfect for me who is a bit of a 'butterfly crafter'. I tend to get obsessed with new concepts and ideas and am often moving onto new crafts rather than concentrating or perfecting existing skills. So, the craft box might be a simple and controlled way for me to try out new crafts without a massive outlay every time I come across and/or get obsessed by something new. It also enables me to experience new skills and styles which I wouldn't necessarily attempt without encouragement. 

This is my first box: 

The packaging is cute and simple. 

The sealing sticker which says: Get Make Create. 

Pretty tissue paper inside the box

Each box includes an art print

Each box also contains a kit for a project which specific instructions. 

Underneath the art print and the kit! 

Small crystals mounted and ready to make into jewellery?

A pretty stamp

And an ink pad

The contents of the box

Some feather beaded trim, some black velvet fabric, a stamp, an art print, an ink pad, some pink swarovski crystals in black pouch and tissue paper, a red flat back rose, some gold beads or something (haven't had a chance to look at them properly, some silver beads, earring hooks and posts and some removable photo glue. + the kit! 

The kit, to make a: Vintage style bead embroidery hair clip. 

The kit includes, two hair clips, a brass stamping base, gold beads, black beads, pearl beads, black felt, embroidery needle and instructions. 

I'm excited to get started and already have a few ideas of what I'm going to do. I'm glad I subscribed to it and if you want to subscribe and get their next box you should go to: https://www.facebook.com/craftycreatives?fref=ts

or

http://www.craftycreatives.com/

I'll get making and I will be posting pictures of my makes soon! 

It's been a while

Aloha! 

It has been a little while since I posted here. So I thought I might just give a bit of an update. 

We had Hedna's, Laura wore the dress I made for her, I wore the dress I made for myself and they both stayed in one piece! 

Laura didn't wear the socks or leggings! 

But she did add the sash, which looks really nice and pulled her tiny waist in even more, accentuating her hourglass figure... not jealous at all... 

 

Paul wore his Navy uniform and we girlies had had our hair done by Sarah of Sarah's Doo Wop Dos at Rose Tinted Vintage earlier in the day. 

Laura and her boyfriend Traff. 

Me and Paul at the end of the night. 

Craft Stuff

I made a version of this in blue last year and someone saw it at a craft fair and wanted one with pink wire for her niece. 

Bex and my first collaborative crafting effort. Needlefelted sunflower brooch. We both designed it, I made the flower and Bex made the leaves. 

Below is a daisy I made on the same day. 

Pets

Daisy seems to get bigger every time I take pictures of her. Here she is doing some weeding. 

And here is Reebok and Daisy, neither of the cats have ever tried to hunt Daisy, I think they just see her as another cat, a very odd one, but not something to hurt. In fact, when she's in the garden they herd her back into her hutch if she strays too far. 

Colour Matching

Finally, I need to decide which colour matches these shoes best. First picture is with no flash, second with flash. 

It's Hedna's this weekend!

And we are all excited! 

I have finished making Laura's dress and I'm really pleased with it. She tried it on a couple of weeks ago and it fit then, so unless I've done something incredibly stupid, it will still fit her! 

Take a look at that seam! Beautiful, even if I do say so myself. The first dress I made for myself for Hedna's had quite messy seams but Emma (other half's sister) told me how to do nice neat seams and, I think they look much better. 

We are getting our hair done at Rose Tinted Vintage again, because it was so fabulous last time. Very excited! 

General Update

So... Some real proof of how my attitude to food has changed since I had hypnotherapy: I've just found a load of chocolates that I got for Christmas which I haven't eaten. Well done me.

I've been making bits and bobs.

And I managed to hack my hand apart last Friday. I slipped with a craft knife and caused myself enough damage to need to go to hospital and get three stitches. It's recovering well, I have a nurse appointment tomorrow to check the stitches and everything.

Here's some photos of bits and bobs:

 Toadstools mobile. Polymer clay toadstools, separate tops and stems with bells on the bottom.

The hyacinths I was given when I finished my last placement. 

Beaded wire heart

Key plaque

Jewellery stand. Resin base with sprayed silver tree branch

Hanging hearts. Dip it, Fantasy film is a type of air dry resin with which you can make lots of different things. I've made a few hearts and then threaded them together.

Reebok. Being cute.

Hand made Vintage dress

I made another dress. From a copy of an original 40s pattern. It's a lovely floor length evening gown. I've made it in purple crushed velvet effect fabric which is nice and heavy so the gathers on the skirt hang nicely. I'm really pleased with this dress and it fits nicely. I had to lengthen the bodice slightly (added 3") otherwise it didn't sit right. In the pattern the gathers are below hip level. I added a couple of gathers at the shoulders as well so that it fit nicely around the bust and arms. I also added buttons on the front for some detail, because nothing is complete without buttons. 

 

Snow day and Crafting

Today I got up at early o' clock and looked outside to see lots of snow again. No visible tarmac on the road so it must have snowed a LOT last night. I didn't know whether to go to school or not, based on the conditions here I thought I might get out of the village (car at the bottom of the road again) but I might not get back in later on! I decided to check the school website to find out if they were going to make my decision for me. And they did. The school is closed today (like lots of other schools in South Wales). 

Since I was up, I had my breakfast and decided to get on with a craft project which has been underway for a while. 

As I have mentioned, the class teacher I'm working with on placement is expecting a baby in April. I decided I should make something for her as a leaving/baby/thank you present. I thought I would get the kids to help me. Which is difficult when you're in class under supervision! So, I told the teacher I had a college project and could I get the children to help me with it. She said yes. I drew some circles on cream card and asked the children to write a different letter of the alphabet in each, in different coloured pens. Like so: 

Then, I cut out the letters and mounted them on different colour card, writing the child's name around the side. 

I took these circles home and laminated them back to back. Then I punched little holes in the top of each, threaded ribbon through and glue gunned the loop closed. I made wire frames for the mobile and attached them all together. Because I had done the alphabet, I had 13 circles to hang, so I made a complex-ish frame. With fewer hangings it would be simpler. Then, I added buttons to the ribbons to hide the uglier joins and to balance the weight on the mobile so that it hung reasonably straight. 

The teacher doesn't know if the baby is a boy or a girl, so I used rainbow colours and lots of different colours of buttons (including some pink and blue). 

This might be a nice project to do with older siblings when a new baby is on the way. The children could draw pictures or write letters or numbers, or even just cut out circles of coloured card (depending on age) and then under parental supervision attach the ribbon/thread and the hangers (I'd suggest the adult pre-makes the wire hanging parts). If the baby's gender was known you could use shades of pink or blue, or if there's a colour scheme to the nursery you could follow that. 

If making after the baby is born, you could make this mobile as a memory mobile by putting the letters of the baby's name on it, time and date of birth as well as birth weight and place of birth etc? That would be cute. 

I'm really pleased with how this has turned out. I hope she likes it! 

Still Snow!

Ready for a trek out into the snow. Having recently rediscovered my backpack I decided it was the best choice for my journey.  
I headed down the hill into the village, to see what the main roads would be like and to panic buy some bread and milk. 

This is my road, after a very kind person came up with a snow plow and a gritter and cleared the road.

 The pavements are still covered in snow and there are piles of it everywhere because the snow from the roads had to go somewhere. 

Walking along the pavements is an unnerving experience because the snow and ice is all packed down meaning that when you step on it there's a creaking sound as it squashes together. It does feel a little bit like the whole thing is going to give way and I had to keep reminding myself that there was a pavement underneath the ice anyway - and not an arctic ocean! 

The main roads in the village are pretty clear with buses running and everything. The shops had milk and bread and I was impressed. There were plenty of pretty snow and ice pictures to take though! 

A derelict church building at the bottom of the village with a massive icicle from the guttering. 

Cute doggy outside the Spar

The steepest part of the roads up to mine, unsurprisingly it hasn't been cleared or gritted. 

 This is my car. I parked it at the bottom of the street, on the main road. It hasn't been touched since the snow fell on Thursday night. I may have to leave the house earlier than planned tomorrow, just to shift the snow off my car!

 My garden steps up to my front door, complete with foot prints: human and cat. 

Ultimately, I survived. But it was a challenge. I'm keeping an eye on the school website in case they decide to close tomorrow, if they do, no school for me and another day in the house all alone. 

I have started on my dress for Hedna's. I've cut out the pattern and my plan for this afternoon is to pin the fabric and then cut that out as well. So excited!