Monday Makery - Fabric Light Garland

I've had the idea of making a knitted garland of christmas lights for a while and still not taken up the knitting needles. I wouldn't know how or where to begin and my knitting skills, just about matching my crochet skills, means I can either make a long scarf or a thin tube like strand. So, until these skills improve (it'll probably be my children who end up teaching me) I've adapted the idea to suit my capabilities. All the skills required is a little cutting and sewing which suits me and the lazy weather feel of this weekend just fine.

Here's what you'll need:

• cotton fabric or felt
• needle and thread
• card, pencil and scissors
• miniature wooden cotton reals ( I found these at a little craft shop but have since found more here). Alternatively you could use a large cylindrical bead.
• ribbon or embroidery thread or bakers twine
• fabric stuffing

Here's how:

1. Draw onto card a template of the light bulb shape. Be a little more generous in your size as you'll loose some of width when its padded out with stuffing. Cut it out.
2. Use your template to draw the same shape onto the back of your fabric. You'll need 2 pieces for each bulb. Cut out your bulb shapes.
3. Pin the pieces of fabric together back to back, so the outsides are in fact facing each other and sew around the edges leaving the top part of the 'bulb' open with enough space to fill with the fabric stuffing. 
4. Turn right side out and fill with fabric stuffing. It helps to use the end of a pencil to push the stuffing inside.
5. Take your measure of string and tie a knot at the ends. Place the knotted end inside the top of the bulb and secure it in place as you sew along the final edge.
6. Now, thread on the wooden cotton reel pulling the string and pushing the cotton reel over the top of the fabric so it holds firmly in place. You're ready to hang. 

You can either make a garland with the bulbs, string them along fairy lights, hang from the tree or even use them to decorate the gift wrapping. I love the spotted versions we made and i'd love to find some striped red and white fabric and create a matching set, or perhaps some really fab neon colours. 

The girls have since used them to decorate the home of their Maileg mice and bunny families so perhaps I'll never get to use this set for our Christmas decorations maybe I will have to learn to knit after all!

Happy Making

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Monday Makery - Little Lavender Mice

Perfect for keeping moths at bay these adorable lavender filled mice are our new drawer warriors keeping our clothes safe. Simple to make with simple shapes to cut and a simple running stitch this is a great first sewing craft for children. With few materials they're fun and smell delicious. 

Here's what you'll need:

• cotton fabric
• needle and embroidery thread
• string
• pins
• beads
• felt for ears
• dried lavender. Or if you prefer to make them for toys and play simply stuff them with cotton stuffing. 

Here's how:

1. Drawing around a cup, saucer or small plate draw a perfect circle onto your fabric and cut out. You don't want your mice too big. These above were just over 11 cm in diameter.
2. Fold your circle in half and begin sewing a running stitch stopping about a third along the way to put the ears in place.
3. Cut two pieces of felt in an ear shape making sure they are long enough to tuck inside the fabric.
4. Secure the ears as you continue sewing along the outer edge until you're almost at the end. 
5. Fill with lavender and place the end of the string inside to create the tail. Sew all the way to the end and secure with a few extra sticthes.
6. Add on the eyes with a bead by sewing one either side.  if you sew them at the same time you'll get that pinch that creates a little depth.

The girls thought the thread at the beginning looked liked whiskers so, rather than cutting the thread after the knot off we kept it there, adding another with a few stitches to look like a nose we gave our mice whiskers. 

Happy Making

xx

Monday Makery - Feathered headbands

It's been 2 weeks since school began and already we're itching to break the routine, to bring back the wild feeling of the summer. So with some feathers, decorative ribbon and a little imagination we took to the wilds of the outdoors, even if only for a day, it's a day in a world where our fairytale's become our adventures and these adventures our lives. We became the first explorers, discovering a new world, finding camping ground, hunting wild animals, discovering caves, and collecting sticks for a fire. Hills became mountains, flowers and berries food and medicine and footprints were tracked in silence imagining a whole new world of our making.

It's wonderful how one small piece from a dressing up box can inspire such imaginings and play.
It's been a while since we've played dress up and I'd almost forgotten how a dressing up box gives endless possibilities of adventure, invitations to chase the wildest of dreams and the courage to break the boundaries of the everyday. Dressing up instills what we say to our children, that, you can be anything you want to be. Allowing the imagination to soar freely we were wild, we were brave and we were free.

To create the feathered headbands you will need:

• at least 20 soft feathers in varying lengths
• wide decorative ribbon
• bias ribbon
• scissors
• needle and thread , though preferably a sewing machine.

Here's how:

1. Prepare the length of ribbon. The ribbon needs to fit around the head with enough remaining to tie into a bow or knot as well as having a little more to drop down the neck.
2. The bias ribbon will act as a lining to stop the feathers from rubbing against the skin, so, this needs to double the measurement of the decorative ribbon. 
3. Find the middle of the bias ribbon and working from the centre outwards line up your feathers and pin in place, leaving the over half free.
4. Fold over the over half of the ribbon and sew along the edges to hold the feathers in place.
5. Pin the strip of feathered bias ribbon to the back of the decorative ribbon and sew together to finish it off. 

Wrap round the head and tie securely at the back and you're ready to go....

Oh, and then there's the name. Try adding your favourite animal or colour to your favourite flower or other natural element or characteristic.......WhiteFawn, SnowBird, WinterRose, TigerLily, EagleSky, LionWind, DancingLeaves etc....

Happy Making & happy adventuring!

xx

Monday Makery - Classic Play Magic Wand

With the Summer holidays almost over we felt we needed a little touch of magic for the final weeks. So, we made our very own personal magic wands. With a snippety snip and a quick little stitch they're ready for casting magic upon the days..... wishing we could make the summer last forever.

Here's what you'll need:

• fabric, scissors, pencil, star shaped cookie cutters, a doweling stick (we used garden sticks) and glue. If you like you can add ribbons, beads and sequins too.

Here's how:

1. Draw around your star shaped cookie cutter onto the chosen fabric. Repeat.
2. Cut out your 2 stars.
3. With one star on top of the other sew around the edges leaving a small space at the bottom to enable you to stuff it full of magic.
4. Stuff the star with stuffing - (whisper some magic words as you go) 
5. Put some glue around the end of your doweling stick and insert into the bottom of the star.
6. Using clothes pegs, peg the fabric together either side of the doweling stick to hold in place and leave to dry.
7. Once dry, remove the pegs and sew along the final base to seal the magic inside.

Happy Magical Making

xx

Monday Makery - No Sew Bunting

With full summer festival fever coursing through us we gathered our camping gear ready to go, but of course priority wasn't on remembering the essentials in the traditional sense but rather those things that are essential to the festival feel, we needed colour, comfort and something to add a little vibrant feeling of freedom. We needed bunting!
Despite having an entire basket of bunting already we thought we would create our own fun version so here's what we made.

Here's what you'll need:

• wooden spoon
• fabric scissors / pinking shears work best so not to fray the edges
• coloured string / thin rope
• lots of vibrant fabric coloured or patterned both sides

Here's how:

1. Cut your fabric into strips about 2cm wide and 40cm in length (this will give each pom pom on the bunting a length of 20cm)
2. Hang each length over the handle of a wooden spoon making sure the lengths hang roughly equal. 
3. Using your coloured string or thin rope bunch them together under that spoon handle twist the fabric and tie a knot. Once the knot is secure cut off the extra string length to keep it tidy.
4. Slide your pom pom bunting off the wooden spoon and put to one side.
5. Continue with your various coloured fabric until you have as many as you need - this will depend on the length of bunting you want.
6. Finally when all all the bunting has been prepared slide each looped one onto a thin rope and hang.

You can use the same technique with coloured tissue paper and have the same effect but this is of course a much longer lasting version and can be washed if necessary ready to re-use again and again, changing the colours to suit its decor needs and adding more colours too.

This is a great craft for kids for there's no sewing involved and as long as they're safe with a pair of scissors, can cut in an (almost) straight line then they're all set to go!

Happy Making

xx

London's Goldhawk Road is the best place i've found for fabric. Spoiled for choice with shop after shop bursting with every fabric you can imagine and all for cheaper than i've ever found anywhere else, its a fabric heaven for all crafts big and small. 

Monday Makery - Stamps

Sometimes the days call for a little quiet, when the kids just want to sit still with their imaginations and today was one of those days. With a pack of erasers and a lino cutting set we created that very serene scene. Sitting at the table making up stories with ink and paper and designing new stamps as we went.

This is such an easy craft to make and once you've tried it you'll be hooked! With endless possibilities (can't wait to make some christmas designs) and ideas and at very little cost you can create stamps for scenes, for letterheads and cards and so much more. But better than that children will love to design their own and as rubbers are so cheap to buy they can have as many attempt as they like, creating as many scenes as their imaginations can think of as well as creating signature stamps for their greeting cards and letters.

here's what you'll need:

• rubbers
• lino cutting set
• pencil / pen 
• ink pads
• paper

here's how:

1. Draw your design in pencil onto the rubber. Once you're happy trace over the lines with a pen so that the outline is easy to see. You could also draw your design onto tracing paper and rub it on, this is especially good for children who may need more than one go to get the image to look how they imagined it to be.
2. Using your cutting tool work your way around the image cutting out the areas you want to be blank and leaving only the image that you want to print
3. dab onto your ink pad and print away.

We made a city scene at Oona's request which worked well because they were simple shapes to create at a first time attempt. Lots of the designs I wanted to make called for a larger rubber or at least a square one so I'll be on the look out for different shapes for more creations. My artwork might need some practise but nonetheless they were a great hit with both of the girls and added with the stamps we already have there are so many more possibilities which we'll appreciate on those quiet afternoons.

Thinking seasons ahead is such a huge part of my work and so I'm already thinking Christmas, imagining little trinket shaped stamps, stockings, baubles and snowflakes. At least I've got lots of time to get some practise in and perhaps good enough for stocking fillers and advent too.

happy making

xx