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Getting our craft on!
You’re one in a minion… Over the last few days we have gotten a little crafty! My Japanese grandmother left for Japan again (insert sad face here) and she misses her life in London a lot, so I made her some London-themed coasters. These are super easy and quick to make and I love how they turned out. As we will be finally going back to London for the shortest ever visit soon, I also made a fabric ball with pulley-tags for my lovely friend’s baby who I FINALLY get to meet – cannot wait! And last night, Jason and I sat down to paint. They turned out absolutely adorably…
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Sewing baby dinosaurs!
Dr Ian Malcolm: God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs. Dr Ellie Sattler: Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth. I’m sure you know by now, but I’m obsessed with Pinterest. As in completely and utterly obsessed. I will have a quick look to see if there is anything new that I’m interested in making and then – BANG – four hours later I will emerge hungry and thirsty, wondering when it got so dark. But I have to say, I LOVE IT. Working at Uniqlo is very monotonous. We have to fold in a particular way. We have set rules for approaching…
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Making a Zipper Pouch
Zip it… As I said already, I have been on a crafting frenzy this week. I am constantly found sitting in front of the sewing machine, making little bits and bobs and dreaming of making a dress that fits me absolutely perfectly. I’m sure it’s do-ABEL, but I’m a very impatient person and I want things done fast, so I’m just hoping I have the patience to keep up this lovely new hobby I have found. I have randomly found myself surrounded by people who sew and are very good at it. However, all of these people told me that zippers are scary, difficult, should be approached with caution etc.…
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Things to do with eggs
Don’t eat them all at once… So, as Jason mentioned yesterday, we haven’t seen any chocolate Easter Eggs on sale here at all. They have the little ones, but I’m talking about those massive hollow ones that are found alongside Maltesers or Mars bars. As children, we used to paint eggs around Easter time. So I thought it would be a good chance to get crafty. Hollowing out the eggs is not the most pleasant of experiences. You need a pin to prick holes at the top and the bottom of your egg. Then you blow really hard, covering one hole with your mouth and pushing the egg contents into…
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Happy Monday: Crochet
Happy Monday everyone! Yes it’s the start of the week and we’re all thinking that we didn’t quite get enough sleep over the weekend but it’s time to reflect on something making us happy this Monday – hopefully putting us in the right frame of mind for the coming week! This week’s Happy Monday post is brought to your by the letter C, for Crochet. There are a lot of on-going crafts projects in the L&A house, for example, I have a half completed cross-stich of a penguin’s belly next to me as I write (which will look incredible when it’s finished if my Cross-stiching award from Primary school has…
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Working on those New Year's Resolutions…
I push the needle through In hopes of finding something beautiful Felt the lines go through the wool Felt them give and push and pull Well, it’s already the middle of February, so it’s high time I started working on those New Year’s Resolutions. One of my plans was to learn to crochet, so today we went out and bought a hook. I got some sea-coloured yarn and now I guess it’s just a matter of looking up YouTube videos and teaching myself. It can’t be that hard, right? I can just about knit a scarf and blanket, so I’m hopeful. I will let you know how it goes –…
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A late Christmas Present…
Christmas Time… Mistletoe and Wine… So I know Christmas is over and all that jazz, but yesterday I received a little bit of Christmas magic in the post. Some of you may know Reddit and once a year they do an online Secret Santa gift exchange. The purpose is to bring happiness to the world, and I have to say there was some beaming going on in our little apartment yesterday morning. Let me give you some history. Reddit is a huge online community, where people post photos and information on every topic under the sun. From boardgames to sewing to funny dog videos, you can be sure to find…
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Making Felt Workshop
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep… FELT! When a local friend invited me to join her to make a felt cushion I jumped at the chance. I had no idea what felt really was and I actually thought we were going to cut material into shapes and form some colourful squares, put some fluff inside and then we would go home with a cushion for the sofa. I was completely wrong. So for those of you who don’t know, making felt is actually a really complicated and tough process. No wonder those cute felt hats cost so much. The shop owner Sabine has lessons for 3-4 people inside her shop…
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OMG I made an Apron!
You’d be happy wrapped in my apron strings I remember my mother used to sew everything. I would choose the material and she would sit in the dining room all night making me curtains and cushions. I also remember having to do sewing lessons in Japan for a few months. I got so excited picking out a lovely blue flowery material to make a dress. I had no idea what to do, so the teacher measured me and taught me how to use a sewing machine. Each week I would work on a little more, hoping finally to own a cute dress that actually fit properly. Alas, it was absolutely…
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Serviettentechnik
Atishoo atishoo, we all fall down. I bet you have never even noticed that most serviettes have three layers. If you peel one by one off really carefully, you will discover what is needed for Serviettentechnik. This delicate top layer can be attached to pretty much anything you want to decorate. From turning a broken flowerpot into a beautiful candle holder to furnishing a cupboard or table, this takes barely any time at all. It is also unique and incredibly cheap, especially if you pick up serviettes from restaurants for free. Plus, it is a lovely way of reminding yourself of all the lovely places you went to and received…