Monday Makery - Felt Ball Garlands

I know the Christmas festivities are six weeks away but we're so excited and have so many things planned to make, bake and create we've started early to make sure we get them all done. These vibrant garlands add so much wonderful colour to the home and are simple to make with only a few ingredients. Though we made these garlands as gifts for family and friends as well as to hang up in our own home for Christmas we're already quite taken with them hanging up where they are.  So there they'll stay. I know they'll still be hanging long after Christmas too.

Here's what you'll need:

• felting wool - we used carded lambswool
• a bowl of hot soapy water
• a towel - folded on the table ready to catch all the excess water
• embroidery thread
• wool needle

Here's how:

1. Take a small wad of wool and then wrap around and around it with further strands of wool until you have a ball shape twice the size of how you want it to be.
2. Dip the ball into the hot soapy water.
3. Gently roll the ball between your hands, go gently you won't need to crush or squeeze the water out just keep rolling. At first it will fell like a soggy mess but after a minute or two it will soon firm up and take shape. When the water starts to cool, warm it up again. It's the hot water that does the trick.
4. Leave to dry. We dried ours overnight and they were ready the next day.
5. Now to create your garland: Thread a large needle with embroidery thread and tie a loop knot at the end so it can be ready to hang.
6. Thread on one ball at a time leaving a 1 inch space in-between each ball.
7. Finish by tying another loop knot at the end.

Now your garland is ready to embellish your home. Hang your garland above a child's bed, along the mantlepiece, or put your garland into a pretty jar and tie a ribbon around it for a pretty gift.  We know once you've made them you'll won't be able to save it for the Christmas tree! We're using it as an excuse to make more using cookie cutters for shapes for stars ad hearts...... nothing too Christmasy because we'll never want to take them down.

There's so much more you can make with your felt balls; thread them onto pieces of elastic thread for beautiful friendship bracelets or longer versions for necklaces, sew them together to form a disc to create colourful coasters and trivets, stitch one or two to a hairband elastic for a colourful transformation, make small strands to cover a plain wreath ready to hang for the festivities, or if you can make enough why not try making a felt ball rug! 

Happy Making!

x

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This is part of our weekly Monday Makery where we bring you a recipe to bake or a craft to create. Visit our Monday Makery when you're in need of inspiration for something to do on a rainy day or to use as interception of the words 'I'm bored', or just because being creative with your children is something you all love to do. Our other popular blogposts include 'The story behind our collections', 'Tell us its Tuesday' , An A-Z of Sisters Guild, The Art of Living posts bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas, and our 'Once upon a week' gives you a glimpse into life behind the scenes at Sisters Guild. 

www.sistersguild.co.uk

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Monday Makery - Under The Stars

'I love you more than all the stars in the world' are the last words said as I tuck the children up in bed under their new star strung sky. When decorating it's fun to cover the walls, to hang pictures or to stick up wall stickers that can be played with again and again but when it comes to the ceiling, well its a little neglected! 

Now the girls lie down under strings of stars, and some of them even twinkle above the glow of their little bedside lamps.

We were asked to guest blog for one of our favourite designers this week giving them a Makery for children during half term. Jumping at the chance to show some craft love we set to thinking about what we could make for them..... what do we think of when we think of their collection.

Sophia gave me words that came to mind when she saw our collection..... 'It glitters. It's sparkly' .....'Stars!'

So, we began to cut out lots of stars, at first not sure what we would do with them. Then, the answer was there, literally staring up at us, we would hang from our ceiling. So, here they are our garlands of stars, and, there's another makery coming too via our guest post.....so save some stars for later and look out for the link this week!

Here's what you'll need:

• coloured card
• scissors
• star shaped cookie cutters
• pencil
• sewing machine (though alternatively you could make them using a needle and thread)

Here's how:

1. Taking your coloured card, pencil and cookie cutters draw around the cookie cutters to make lots and lots of star shapes.
2. Cut out the stars. If you're strong enough concertina the card a few times, draw around the cookie cutter and cut out several at a time.
3. Feed the first card star through the sewing machine and sew down the middle of your first star. Keep sewing, creating a space then an inch or two of sewing empty space feed through another star. Continue with all your stars until you've got the desired length for your garland. You can create a pattern by alternating the colours and sizing or just go random! 

String across a room, above a bed, across windows, down a hallway, up the stairs, wherever you want the stars to hang. The sewing takes only minutes and it's a great craft to tech children how to sew with a machine too. 

If you're using a needle and thread try using a hand needle used for wool or embroidery thread, then end is rounder and so easier and safer for little hands. When sewing the stars together thread the needle and tie a knot at the end. Sew the first star on and then a few inches above make a knot then tie the next. A few inches above that star tie another knot and then feed the next star on and then continue in this way tying a knot before each star to make sure it stays put where it is.

Top Tip

Here's a tip for making glittery stars..........

If you'd like to add some glitter to your stars try this little trick to make it easier.

take a cereal box and cut out the back of it using a sharp knife (adults only please) . Tape the original opening to seal the box, then snip one of the bottom corners off. When you want to add glitter, glue the top of your star then glue side up place into your 'glitter box' and sprinkle with glitter.

You can then tip the glitter from the box back into the pot of glitter and none goes to waste.

Look out on the blog this week, as we'll be giving you another 'star' tutorial via our guest blog..... can you guess which designer it's for?

Happy Making!

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This is part of our weekly Monday Makery where we bring you a recipe to bake or a craft to create. Visit our Monday Makery when you're in need of inspiration for something to do on a rainy day or to use as interception of the words 'I'm bored', or just because being creative with your children is something you all love to do. Our other popular blogposts include 'The story behind our collections', 'Tell us its Tuesday' , An A-Z of Sisters Guild, The Art of Living posts bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas, and our 'Once upon a week' gives you a glimpse into life behind the scenes at Sisters Guild. 

www.sistersguild.co.uk

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Monday Makery - Luminaires

I've begun to be a little obsessed with light, the way a little warm light can make you feel cosy and snug on dark rainy days and how we alter our light both depending on the time of day and the mood we're in or indeed one that we try to create. We use candles at the supper table quite often as there's something magical and intimate about the atmosphere created, both grand and charming.
In light of the darker skies draping our evenings and with Halloween slowly creepily crawling its way closer towards us we've been making our own coloured and sparkly luminaires to use at the table and around the home for those evenings when we want to snuggle up with its bewitching ambiance.

They are simple to make and there's something so hypnotic and magical about watching a little tea light flicker its dancing light through colours and glittering stars.

Here's what you'll need:

• clean jam jars
• acrylic paint
• paintbrush

Here's how:

1. paint your clean and dried glass jar with your chosen acrylic paint colour.
2. let it dry and add a second coat if required (those below have only one coat).
3. To add another motif or decoration on the top draw an outline and then fill in with a darker stronger colour.

To create starred or glittering luminaires spray the jar with a glue like 'spray mount' then sprinkle with glitter.

Happy Making!

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This is part of our weekly Monday Makery where we bring you a recipe to bake or a craft to create. Visit our Monday Makery when you're in need of inspiration for something to do on a rainy day or to use as interception of the words 'I'm bored', or just because being creative with your children is something you all love to do. Our other popular blogposts include 'The story behind our collections', 'Tell us its Tuesday' , An A-Z of Sisters Guild, The Art of Living posts bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas, and our 'Once upon a week' gives you a glimpse into life behind the scenes at Sisters Guild. 

www.sistersguild.co.uk

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Almost A Monday Makery - Pebble Domino's

We've abandoned London for a couple of weeks and headed west to the recluse of Grannies garden. Though the sun only peered its head from behind the clouds occasionally and more than the occasional rain fell the girls adventured up and down, over and under, round and around the garden, albeit it shiny sequinned shoes aka 'Dorethy'!
Discovering a bird nest high up in the tree, watching bugs crawl here there and everywhere, stacking pebbles and stones into high tall toppling towers and making rubbings from trees. At 8.30 in the morning the garden was where the wild things were.

Sophia discovered a half box of domino's in the 'children's room' and with little sister in tow set off down the garden path and across the grass to the gravelled shade to find pebbles to paint so that she could complete the set.
With my craft cupboard 120 miles away we made do with a cotton bud and some nail varnish to get spotting the numbers.

When we leave we'll throw the pebbles back into the pile where they were found ready to be rediscovered when we next return to Grannies garden, and in that another game will begin.
Amazing where a little curiosity and a little resourcefulness can take you.

So, perhaps next time you're on a beach or walk across a gravelled path, pick some pebbles up fill your pockets and use them to create a game or perhaps paint them with simple pictures and decorations or alphabet and numbers.

It really is the simplest things that give the greatest pleasures.

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This is part of our weekly Monday Makery where we bring you a recipe to bake or a craft to create. Visit our Monday Makery when you're in need of inspiration for something to do on a rainy day or to use as interception of the words 'I'm bored', or just because being creative with your children is something you all love to do. Our other popular blogposts include 'The story behind our collections', 'Tell us its Tuesday' , An A-Z of Sisters Guild, The Art of Living posts bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas, and our 'Once upon a week' gives you a glimpse into life behind the scenes at Sisters Guild. 

www.sistersguild.co.uk

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