Pinspiration - Halloween Signs from Pallets

Morning all!

Gosh, Halloween is getting closer and closer, and I am sooooo not prepared! My project list is huge! Thanks Pinterest, haha!

This month I've been working on some upcycling. Actually, this project, cost me nothing! Nope, not a penny! I already had the paints and brushes, and the pallet boards I used to paint on came free from a store that was getting rid of them! A lot of companies that receive goods on pallets will give these away for nothing, so it pays to ask around.

We'll be moving mid year, and as yet I don't know what space we'll have for a haunt, so I've been making things I can easily adapt for any space. These signs are perfect for that.

I can hang them on walls, attach them to trees or add a base and sit them in the yard!

So, how did I do it?

First, cut your pallet up and make the planks the size you want! Mine are 43x8 cm (give or take on height) and that wasn't actually planned by me. It's just the size the planks came off at when I started cutting. Of course, you can actually measure if you want to have signs the same height. All 3 got a coat of grey primer first that I let dry overnight.

Spooky:

This was the easiest sign to make. I picked a font out, opened it in Photoshop and printed out the letters to the size I wanted. Once a coat of black paint dried, I just laid the letters over the plank and traced them on. The pressure was enough to lightly mark the wood so I could see where ti paint. The words are white, just one coat, and then once that dried I touched the edges up with some red paint. See, super easy.

Headstone Scene:

This one took a few more steps, but still, pretty easy. I started with the blues and purples for the background, and brushed them on, getting darker at the top, lighter at the bottom. I also took some black (a very tiny amount) and brushed it into the wet paint around the edges. Then I took a pencil and outlined where everything would go. The moon went on first, then the hill. I popped the headstone on the hill and waited for it to dry, and then came in with a super fine brush and some black to paint in some grass in front of it. The tree went on last, so that it could over hang the moon.

Black Cat:

I can't take credit for this one. Miss M found the image on Pinterest (which started this whole post today!) and recreated it in pencil onto the wood for me. Thankyou to Bronwyn Goulding for sharing. This one started with an orange background, and again some black on the edges. I painted in the spider and cobwebs first, then the house and cat, and the cats eye last.

I'd call this a Pinterest Win Right?? YES!

I have a bunch more to make yet! Free Halloween decor? YES PLEASE!

10 Discovery Bottles for Baby

Good morning all!

A few weeks back hubby bought home a 12 pack of mini Cokes in the groceries. These little 300ml bottles are just so cute, I knew I had to do something with them. Then it hit me, sensory play for Master J! The bottles are lightweight and sturdy and little hands can easily grab them. The girls and I made 10 of them. We used a combination of light non water materials for when Master J is having floor time (to minimise clonks to the head, because lets face it, babies are clumsy) and some heavier liquid filled ones that the girls want to use with him while he is sitting upright.

I am happy to report that so far these have been a HUGE hit with all 4 kids. Miss C, my special needs gal, especially loves the liquid ones, they seem to calm her when she gets anxious, and of course Master J thinks they are all just fantastic. He gets to explore all these tiny fun looking items, without the choking hazard. We can't wait to make some more!

So below are the 10 we made, with their "ingredient" lists. I hot glued the caps on all of the bottles, even the non liquid ones, to make sure they stay shut. Be sure you have everything you want in the bottles before sealing them, because trust me, once the caps are glued on, they stay put!

1: The green bottle. This bottle has all things green. Pompoms, buttons, beads, sequins, bows, letters, mini craft sticks, loom bands and a cut up straw, no water. It makes fun sounds when you shake it.

2: Pink pompom bottle. This one has various size and textured pink pompoms and was filled with water. Some of the pink dye ran from the glittery pompom and tinted the water. The pompoms float to the top gently, its a nice calming bottle.

3: Seashell bottle. This one has no water. Instead we put in some shells the girls had collected on our last trip to St Helens (a mix of tiny and 'it will only just fit in the top') and some rice. Its such a pretty bottle and one of my favourites. It just screams summer. Master J loves the sound it makes.

4: Bands and buttons bottle. This bottle has some loom bands (left over from the short lived craze) and some buttons and filled with water. The buttons sink, the bands float. The kids enjoy watching the pieces swap places when they turn the bottle and the buttons make a soft clinking sound when they touch down.

 5: Beads and rice. This bottle is simple, yet pretty. It has a bunch of beads in various sizes, shapes and colours and then 3/4 full of plain white rice. Not only does this one make a fun sound but the girls like seeing how many different beads they can see in there.

6: Pompom bottle. This bottle has a bunch of pompoms. All different sizes and colours. This is one of the lightest bottles and while it doesn't make much sound, Master J loves rolling it around in his hand as the pompoms gently fall about.

7: Glitter goop. This bottle looks kinda gross, but Miss M thinks its the best! We just used a half bottle of red glitter glue, a few drops of red food colouring to make it brighter and some warm water to help break the glue up. If I made this again I'd add some heavier glitter, the stuff in there just hangs about where it is, rather then floating or sinking but it has some beautiful colours, especially when held to the light.

8: The earth bottle. The girls have dubbed this one the earth bottle because it is just green and blue straws all cut up. Master J loves this one, its light and it makes an impressive sound when he waves it around.

9: Treasure Bottle. This bottle has a whole bunch of leftover beads the girls had (I *think* they are the ones you heat to make stick together) then we put in some treasures. There are some charms, a piece of ribbon, a short length of silver ball chain, some silver letters and some fancy buttons. This is another excellent noise maker and its fun to spy the items inside.

10: The ocean bottle. Ohh this one is such fun! It is roughly 1/2 sunflower oil, 1/4 water that was tinted blue and some space left for shaking fun. We also added some greenish coloured sequins that float between the layers. The girls like to go from making gentle waves to really shaking it to see everything foam up and then resettle.

Thats it peeps! 10 super easy, super fun discovery bottles for little (and not so little) hands to play with. Everything in these came from my cupboards, I didn't purchase a thing... Well, aside from the coke but hey that doesn't count because I totally upcycled the bottles into something way fun!

Seahorse and Giraffe Baby Toys from Upcycled Fabric - Free Sewing Pattern

Good morning all!

For the last few weeks Ive been working away at the craft challenge over at Angels for the Forgotten One of the items requested is for baby toys and taggies. The goal. 200.
I looked at the mountain of reclaimed fabric sitting in my hall and knew I needed to put it to good use, and what better way then for some baby toys. The fabric was already wonderful and soft and there were some fun colours so why not! My reclaimed fabric comes from all sorts of places, mostly Tshirts and Shirts from thrift stores or given to me by friends and family. I reuse whatever I can.

I decided to start with some basic animal shapes, because they are fun, simple and easy for a bub to hold. Ive seen a few similar ones, but the printer wasn't working so I figured I'd just draft my own. I shared the photos in the craft group and it was asked if I'd mind sharing the pattern. So, here we are!

To date I have the following animals: Seahorse, Giraffe, Fish, Whale, Crocodile and Duck but I have plans for more. The pattern will fit on an a4 sheet of paper, and the shapes are simple enough that anyone can have a go, great for beginners practising curves! You can use any ribbon or lace that you like. Mine is a little boring, because I only have a handful of colours but you could really go wild. I'll pop 2 up at a time. I monkeyed with the shape a little for the giraffe until I was happy with it.  It took a bit to find the right amount of neck and leg but I got there.

Here is a quick overview of how to make them. I didn't take a lot of photo's because I completely forgot but these are so easy you won't need to see it all.

1. Take your pattern and lay it out on your fabric. Pin it down and cut around. You will need to pieces. I find it easier to cut both sides at once (pin to a doubled over piece of fabric) This is super easy if you are using say a t-shirt, it's already doubled!

2. Lay one piece right side up. Cut strands of ribbon. Mine are anywhere from 4-7cm long. Fold in half and pin into place on the fabric. They need to be facing inwards, with the fold towards the middle, so when you turn it all in the right way it will be on the right side.

LARGE FIN FOR SEAHORSE:
You have 2 options here. You can use a wider ribbon for the fin, or you can use the template provided to sew one. Cut out 2 pieces, pin with right sides together and sew up one side, across the curved end and back down the other side. Leave the end that gets sewn into the seahorse open so you can turn the fin in the right way. Pin it the same way you would pin the ribbon, facing inwards.

3. Lay the second piece of fabric on the top, right side down. Pin the edges.

4. Sew around the fabric, leaving a 2 inch gap for stuffing.

5. Trim any excess fabric and clip corners/curves and turn in the right way.

6. Stuff the toy! Not too much stuffing, you want it to hold its shape but not stretch the fabric.

7. Sew the stuffing hole closed with a ladder stitch. This will be almost invisible.

TADAA! You made a baby toy!

Upcycled Denim Flower Hairclip - Tutorial

Good morning all!

Today I have another hair accessory tutorial for you all. A fun little denim flower that can be attached to a clip or headband or any number of other uses.

A few weeks ago I had a bit of an Autumn clean out and found in a box a full length denim skirt. We've been in the new house for just past 5 months now, so it was pretty clear this wasn't a skirt I was going to wear any time soon, if at all. But it did have a LOT of material, lovely dark denim material. My mission? Use it all up!

I love using denim for hair accessories. It is sturdy, looks classic and the fray gives it a shabby touch. Of course you could make these flowers with any other fabric you like. I can't wait to test them out with some vintage upholstery fabric I have.

You will need:
4 x 1.5inch squares of denim
4 x 1 inch squares of denim
1 circle of fabric (approx 1-1.5 inches)
Fabric glue or a glue gun
Pearl bead
Clip or Headband

As you can see my squares are not exactly square. It doesn't matter, unless of course it is going to bug you and in that case go ahead and square them up.

Take one of the larger squares and fold it in half.

Place some glue in the centre of the rectangle and fold in half again. Keep your finger on it for a few seconds to ensure the glue will hold.

Place some glue on the back of the square and glue it to the circle.

Repeat with the 3 remaining large squares

 Repeat the process with the smaller squares, positioning them over the edges of the large ones.

Glue a pearl bead into the centre and attach the clip to the back. 

Go forth and make oodles! 

Rattie House, Take 2 - free crochet pattern

Morning beautiful people,

Today I have another pattern for another little rattie house! The last one was a big hit with my gals, however they chewed through the door so I decided it was time to make a new one. Ahh the joys of being a rat owner, they like to chomp on whatever décor you find for them hehehe!
Im really having fun DIYing my cage out. We have all sorts of hammocks, liners, shelves and play things now!

So today's rattie bed is kind of like two dome-ish shapes with a door in the middle. Its designed to be hung from each end.

If you need instructions on making fabric yarn, have a look HERE

You will need:
Fabric yarn
10mm hook

1: ch2, sc into the 1st chain 6 times, do not join, chain 7, sl st back into the 1st chain, place marker. We've just created a loop for the bed to hang with.
2: *sc in the first stitch, 2sc in the next stitch* repeat twice, pull the loop forward and skip all the chains and the sl st, start the next round in the 1st sc from this round.
3: sc in each stitch around (9)
4: *sc in the first 2 stitches, 2sc in the next stitch* repeat around
5: 2sc in each stitch around
6: sc in each stitch around
7-8: repeat round 6
9: sc in the first 13 stitches
10: ch1, turn, sc  in the next 20 stitches
11-14: repeat round 10
15: sc in the first 20 stitches, when you get to the opening chain 4, jump across the opening and sc to the 1st sc from this round, place marker.
16-18: sc in each stitch (and chain for 16) around
19: sc2tg around
20: *sc in the first 2 stitches, sc2tg* repeat around
21: sc in each stitch around
22: sc, sc2tg, repeat twice,
23: sc 2, chain 7, sc2tg twice

End off, using the tail of the fabric close the opening and sew tight. Your rattie bed is now ready to be hung.

Rattie Houses from Upcycled Bedsheets

 
Good afternoon everyone!

Boy do I have some cute overload for you today! I would like to introduce to you Ozzie and Kinza, my dove hooded ratties, who are sisters and a bit over a year old now.

Recently I've been on a quest to find new things for their cage, and also to use up old stuff in the house. Up-cycling AND crochet, does it get any better?

Aside from adding a rat right? SQUEE!

So! To make your "yarn" take a bed sheet and just start ripping. I ripped mine in one continual piece by cutting into the sheet about an inch thick, and ripping along the side until I had about an inch left, then turned the sheet, cut into it a little along the next side and ripped along that. Just keep going like that until the entire sheet is done. I wish Id thought to get a photo but it was late last night so here is a little.. visual I guess, of what I mean.

Yup, amazing visual there, but you get the jist :) Roll into a ball as you go or it'll get tangled. For those of you who are not inclined to rip up a sheet, some super chunky yarn will work just as well or you can buy t-shirt yarn precut which I would love to try but given its pricetag, probably not anytime soon. You could possibly even use fleece if the strips are thin enough.

You will need:
Fabric Yarn. I rolled up a double bed sized sheet and only used maybe 1/4 of it.
11.5mm hook
10mm hook
stitch marker

Starting with your 11.5mm hook
1: ch2, sc 8 times into the 1st ch, place marker

2: *2sc in the first st, sc in the next*, repeat around

3: *2sc in the first st, sc in the next 2 stitches*, repeat around

4: *2sc in the first stitch, sc in the next 3 stitches*, repeat around

change to the 10mm hook

5: sc back loop only in each stitch around

6: ch1, turn, sc in the first 15 stitches

7: repeat round 6

8: ch1, turn, 2sc in the 1st stitch, sc in the next 13 stitches, 2sc in the last stitch

9: ch1, turn, 2sc in the 1st stitch, sc in the next 15 stitches, 2sc in the last stitch

ch1, join to the other side

10: sc in each stitch around (20)

11: *sc2tg, sc in the next 3 stitches*, repeat around

12: *sc2tg, sc in the next 2 stitches*, repeat around

13: sc2tg the whole way around

14: sc in each stitch around

15: sc2tg twice, chain 8, sk one sc, sl st to the next. End off and tuck in end.

The best part about this is when it gets smelly, and we all know eventually it will, you can just chuck it in the washing machine, heck you could even pop it in a clothes dryer if you wanted to!
The loop at the end is to hook the bed to the cage, otherwise it might topple over, not that my girls seemed to mind too much!