I made that!

So, as Royal Fail have still yet to deliver anything I've ordered in the last 5 days and I still need to make a craft 'to do' list I thought I'd have a look back over the last 12 months at what I'd actually made (and remembered to take pics of!) and see what I could recall :)

OK, starting when the snow was down a year ago and I was busy creating something fabulous for the derby wife to wear on Christmas day - we are both all about handmade and to make this even more bargainous the fabric for this was found in the remnants bin at the local fabric store!  We had so much fun making this, I'd made one of these previously totally out of gingham fabric (so retro eh!) and to be honest I'm probably going to make another, its one of my favourite styles!

From there I went on to discover macarons.  Tricky little buggers that they are, my first batch totally stuck to the paper and some turned out the size of the saucer!  However I am not one to easily be defeated and after another bash they turned out beautifully!  ok I make them in some really weird combos (thai curry anyone?) but they are really yummy!

After that, I'd re-ignited my love affair with baking and decided to attempt to get a new business off the ground.  Unfortunately it wasn't to be, however it did lead to some fab creations! 

Including a big 'birthday present' cake and Pirate and Princess cupcakes for Cardiff based roller derby team Tiger Bay Brawlers that went down a treat :)

To be fair, I didn't do much crafting over the summer months, I was a bit busy co-founding the Valleys Roller Dolls, however I did make these rather fabulous helmet panties (if anyone's interested I'll do a tutorial on them, just let me know!)

Now things have settled down a bit I've started again and, well, you've seen what most of I've been upto since!  Oh, I did try my hand at knitting again - I now have vowed to only knit with either chunky wool or that fab frilly stuff, I don't have the patience to do anything else! 

Just a last pic I wanted to share as it is so beautiful! I hadn't made a hair adornment in a while but when I do make them I like them to look classic!  And so I give you 'Margot'  

Well, I hope I've inspired you to go and create something, anything! Don't be afraid of making mistakes, half the fun is in the creative journey 

Happy Crafting! 

Making Memories

Welcome back :) As it's only 4 weeks til Christmas I thought it appropriate to maybe do a Christmassy post, but I also wanted to do something on recycling.  
As some of you may know, I am a retired burlesque performer, as I still have some of my costume pieces I thought it may be nice to make something with one of my loved pieces to remind me of fond memories and bring a touch of glamour to Christmas.  And so, the feather wreath was born!  In its previous life it was used here and when I went to retrieve it from its bag it still smelled of the LUSH! glitter massage bar that I used to use which made me smile.
For the last couple of years I haven't been big on celebrating Christmas, complaining that its over commercialised and the pressure put on parents by advertisers to go into debt is mortifying but then I realised that I have skills! Christmas doesn't have to be about what you buy, its about creating memories!  To think, I used to do this before, when I used to spend hours sewing sequins on felt to create mini masterpieces (ok, in my eyes they are!) and so I am teaching my children that handmade = love 


And so, to the tutorial! For the feathery wreath you will need:

• 16" natural wreath (I got mine at Hobbycraft)
• 3 six foot feather boas in whatever colour you choose
• glass headed pins
• cling film
• ribbon
• battery powered LED lights

wrap your wreath in cling film (ok not a necessary step but I found it helped the pins to grip)

once wrapped, pin the end of your boa to the wreath and begin to wrap it around, pinning where necessary.  Continue to do this with all 3 boas.

Once all the boas are pinned in place, fluff up your feathers and make sure there are no gaps.

Tie the battery pack from your LED lights to the back of the wreath (I used blue ribbon so you can see it, you may want to use matching ribbon) then wind the lights around the wreath.  When you come to the end, tuck the wire under the boa to secure.  Fluff the feathers to conceal the wire.

Et voila! One light up feather wreath to add a touch of glamour to your decorations.  You can use contrasting ribbon to hang - once I have my trimmings up I will put a better picture up :)

Yes I realise the last picture isn't the best, so I promise when the wreath is 'en situ' I will take a fantabulous photo.  As always, if you're inspired to make something I'd love to see it or if you have a comment I'd love to hear it :)