Rainy day

Rain and the cold has put playing in the paddling pool on hold so for something different to entertain the kids had a go at cake decorating.
I mixed a few different colours up. Minecraft colours for James and pink for Pen, gave them cutters, rolling pin and let them go.
These are the results.

They tasted great too.

Learning to sew

As the title states I'm trying to teach myself to sew and dressmaking. So far I've managed to create some rather pretty pillow dresses using a pattern for Penny. It has taken a few attempts to get the seams right as I hate them left messy. I've mastered French Seams to keep the inside looking lovely and neat. I have also made aprons with pockets and a fabric box for James. Today make was a pair of shorts again for Penny. I'm quite pleased with them and Penny is a very grateful recipient who tells everyone she meets who has made her pretty clothes. She also helps me wind the bobbin up and does her own sewing by putting pins into fabric.

Cake Lace

Just recently I've been playing with my new toy, Claire Bowmans cake lace. Unlike a lot of these things often there is a knack or you have to be super patient, which I'm not. This however, is quick, easy and is ready to go almost straight away.
You just mix the 2 ingredients like it states on the pack. Spread it on the silicone lace moulds and pop it in the oven to dry. 10mins later it is ready to peel from the mould and use. It looks and feels like lace and if stored right can stay flexible for 6 months. I'm going to try colouring it black next and go for a goltic looking cake.
Here is the result. My Grandma 91st birthday cake.

Playhouse dud.

So our great Ebay playhouse is bit of a dud. The windows are broken, it has cost a fortune in paint (mainly because I chose blue) and now the roof has fallen apart, the felt is coming away and it is damp.
We had decided to sod it and stick a whole new roof on. It will cost us a bomb but with the effort we are putting into it, it may as well be made to last.

Busy Sewing.

Jam has chosen some lovely purple ginham fabric for the curtains in his playhouse. I'm busy sewing away ready to put up when the new windows arrive. However,  I'm no seamstress and it takes me three time as long to do anything on the machine, especially as little wondering hands have been busy changing the dials on my machine. Anyway, yesterday a managed one full 9 pair of curtains and two tie backs. Quite pleased with myself.

DIY wooden play house.

A few months ago we purchased a wooden play house from Ebay.

After a few months of stating at it through the window, I have finally made a start on jazzing it up. This is the progress so far. A few more layer of paint, some bunting, a new window and some curtains and it will look fab. James is already enjoying playing in it.

Cake Cake Cake

Cake I made for Hollys birthday. Was very easy to create and one I would definatly do again. I took the idea from cake decorating magazine. This is how I managed it. I should have taken pictures of each step but I completing forgot.

I first made a Victoria sponge and covered it with fondant icing. While the icing was soft I stamped it which the flower stamp. I have to press on quite hard and going round the corners was tricky.
I make a bowl of royal icing, seperated and coloured it yellow, pink and orange.
Using my smallest piping nozzel I piped round a few of the outline of petals (not down the middle). Using a small wet paint brush I brushed the piping into the petal and down the flower. After I finshed the flower I piped around the flower again.

It was very relaxing to do and I'm very pleased with result. I was disappointed in how the fondant icing came out, it have air bubbles in it. I'm not sure how I can get rid of them and every sponge cake I ice seem to have them.

Upholstery part 3

Right the chair is finished just in time for Christmas. Hooray.  After carefully sewing the panels together the cover sliped over the top of the chair. Much to my disappointment it didn't fit right on the arms. However, with a bit of brute force and a heavy duty staple gun, it finally surrended. I'm very pleased with the results. I've kept the pattern just in case it needs covering again. I'm looking for another chair now to go with it.

Todays effort.

I'm pleased with the decoration. The fondant icing is a bit ropey, I was in a hurry to get it done.

Upholstery. Part 2

As a novice to upholstery, I am just going to wing it with this chair. I have managed so far redo the cushion cover with success.  I thought the zip would be a challenge,  but thanks to You Tube it was pretty straight forward. So on to the next step.
As with most things, it is the preparation which takes the most time. Yesterday, with James' help, I striped the chair and made patterns ready to sew.

First, I labelled each part of the chair with maker pen. This hopefully with make it easier when making the pattern.





Next, I unscrewed the legs and took out the staples which held the black cover the

fabric tight.

Then took the staples out of fabric inside the seat part. This release the fabric cover, which just slipped off.

Using a seam unpicker thing. I seperated each panel of the cover. I seperated at the seam. I have to remember to leave seam allowance when cutting the pattern.

I pinned each panel onto the new fabric. I did the reverse side of the new fabric and the reverse side of the old panels.

Leaving a seam allowance of 1cm I cut out each panel. My scissor are naff so they look a bit hacked.

Tomorrows job Is the sew the panels together.

I've started, but will I finish?

A few months ago I found an old tub chair lucking on a facebook selling page. Since we have a lack of furniture and are going to be inundated at Christmas, I grabbed the chair with both hands. It had definitely seen better days, so I had the crazy notion to upholster it.
Since then it has been languishing in the corner of our living room, rather looking sorry for itself, even with a throw draped over it.
Until now. As a novice seamstress the task seemed rather daunting.  I have started and finished the cushion, even including a zip. It was too different either. It just took careful cutting along the seams to make a pattern. Remembering to add seam allowance when cutting the new fabric and double checking everything before I started sewing. I'm rather pleased with it. As a result the chair is look considerable happier. Now for the rest.

Girlying up the nursery.

Over the last few days I have been a slave to my sewing machine. I have been busy beavering away trying to make the nursery a more girly. Currently, it is the same green and lemon nursery set and curtains that James had. We can't afford or warrent buying new bedding and curtains, so I've been busy making some decorations. Using a matching spare pillow case and some cheap pink fabric, I have made some bunting. I have to say I'm quite pleased with the results.

 I was going to paint a mural on the wall, but my painting skills are limited. Instead I found some really cheap wall stickers from Amazon. They were very easy to put up and look really effective. Pennys room now looks like a little girls room (not too pink) and completely different to when James had it.

Fair Weather Crafter.

I am a fair weather crafter. I am one of these people who start something, go at it like mad and then drop it like a hot potato. It isn't just with crafts I'm like this with everything. I once had the idea that I would sand down all the doors in our rented house, 5 years later after we had already moved out, my boyfriend and I were frantically sanding and waxing doors before we handed the keys back. 5 years we managed to live in a house without doors, at least it saved us buying a baby monitor.
There have been many different things I have tried in the past and some I got really good at and even made money from.

1. Knitting. One year everyone got scarves (the only thing I could knit) for Christmas.
2. Candle making. Messy and there is such a thing as too many candles.
3. Candle decorating. Was never very good at this, always look as if it was done by a 2 year old.
4. Card making. (see candle decorating).
5. Jewellery making. This I enjoyed, but since having my 2 children I haven't done any due to having sharp bits of wire pinging round the living. 
6. Painting. I'm just not that skilled.
7. Polymer Clay: Too much like play doh.
8. Cake decorating. I can still whip up a fairly decent birthday cake. 
9. Wine making. At one stage I had a dozen demi johns of wine in my bedroom. It did literally smell like a brewery. In the end I decided it was cheaper, quicker and tastier to pop to the shop and pick up a Blossom Hill.
10. Fruit liqueur making. I still do this occasionally but it take too long and I'm too impatient to wait. 
11. Glass fusing in a microwave kiln. I loved this, but as with the jewellery it is too unsafe with toddlers around. 
12. Quilt making. In my wardrobe there are lots of little squares of what was James baby clothes waiting to be made into a quilt. I might do it for an 18th birthday present.
13. Rug making. I have just remembered I still have an uncomplete one upstairs might have a go at it tonight.
14. Bread Making. This is a fairly recent one. I found a used bread maker on Ebay. So far I have used it about twice, John has used it more than me. I forget to switch it on. Whoops.

My newest thing to start and perhaps not complete is upholstery. I brought a cheap chair off of Ebay and I am going to recover it. I watched a You Tube demo and it seems straight forward. So watch this space, it needs to be finished by Christmas.

Getting creative

As promised, this is the result of our monster cut and stick session. It has turned out better than I expected and James is very proud of it. It has taken up pride of place in his bedroom so he can see it before he goes to sleep.

The teacher in me is sneaking out.

Grandad gave James a tractor catalogue. James being mad and tractors, combines and diggers wanted to make a picture for his room. So we spent the morning cutting out farming pictures. I have make. I think I've gone into teacher display mode, just look at the wonderful background I have painted really for tomorrows gluing session.

Lincolnshire craft shows

Trying to find some some Lincolnshire events or village fairs in the area so I can had a small stall. Having trouble finding them. So if you know of any can you let me know.

Thanks

More glass

These came out well.

Demo glass

This was my demo piece that wouldn't fuse on Thursday. Going to post it to Hol so she can show her class. X

Jewellery show

I have got another jewellery craft show on Sunday at the Embassy Centre in Skegness. Looking forward to it, hopefully there will be lots of people.
The last 3 shows have been really good. So good, I need to make some new pieces before Sunday. I made on today using my glass kit. Unfortunately it has an rough side so that is one for me to keep.

Creative.

I had been very busy making some new rings. Quite like them. I have made one for myself to keep. These however on for sale on folksy.

http://www.folksy.com/shops/sjjewellery