Christmas Tree Decoration

I've had this polystyrene cone hanging around in my craft room for, oh about three years now. I also have a metric ton of buttons and brads. So, in an effort to somehow combine the two, I made this little tree decoration for the mantle.

I painted the cone red first (it's a little bit rough looking for my liking) and then started adding buttons and brads all over it. It's actually way nicer from afar lol, but I'm happy enough with it for a 15 minute project.

I started with a ring of buttons around the base, but then I got impatient and just added the others in a haphazard way!

Thanks for looking!

 

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Craft Show Planning.

I have my first craft show coming up in November and I'm so excited for it. I have been brainstorming ideas for my display and I came across this stand on google. I thought something like this would be perfect for my makeup bags.

 

I was planning on making one for myself, but I found something similar for sale on the local adverts. It's an old sweet stand and with a bit of work, it will work great. I am going to paint it using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Florence. I'll post updated photos as soon as I'm finished!

 

 

 

 

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Birthday Card and Present

I finished off the last of my friend's birthday present today. First off is the card. I used PTI's Lovely Layers for the background and a birthday sentiment from a set that I can't remember the name of!

As an extra little gift, I made a cosmetic bag using this brilliant Halloween pin up fabric from Alexander Henry. She will love it!!

This bag is quite a bit bigger than my usual ones, but the print is so big that it really needs that larger size. It's nice and roomy, so I think I might start offering this size in the shop.

Thanks for visiting!

 

 

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Framed Cross Stitch

I know I blogged about this cross stitch way back at the beginning of the year, but I'm only getting around to framing and gifting it now. For shame! It was intended as a Christmas present for a friend, but by the time I got round to seeing her, I totally forgot about it. As her 30th birthday is this week, I thought I'd include it as part of her present.

 

I got the 7x9" frame from a local discount store and added some pretty pin up ladies. I bought these laser woodcuts for making brooches for the shop. These ones are a bit to narrow to work with though, so I kept them for scrapbooking and projects such as this! My friend is a big pin up fan, so I hope she likes it!

Please excuse the shine off the glass!

 

 

Close up detail of the ladies.

 

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Ikat Birthday Wishes

 

I made this fun and colourful birthday card, using one small stamp from PTI's Ikat stamp set. I seem to keep going back to pink and green as a combo. It just makes me smile!

I had every intention of getting some serious sewing done today, but my craft room was so untidy, I just had to clean it. My fabric stash is quickly outgrowing it's current storage space, so I had a scout around for some ideas. I saw a lot of talk about using comic book boards. You can see an example in the photo below. I think it would be the best use of my space, if teamed with a Billy bookcase from Ikea.

Aren't they pretty all lined up!

Photo credit: Smashed Peas and Carrots

If any other fabric fanatics have some suggestions for storage, please share!

 

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Plastic Bottle Flowers & A Card

There was a festival in my home village of Killala a fortnight ago and I just had to share these photos from it. There was an incredible plastic bottle flower garden exhibit beside the old round tower. I would love to make a ton of these for my own garden! The colours are so striking. Hard to believe that they are made from old rubbish!

 

They even made a big tree.

 

 

This is a quick wedding card I made for my cousin. The paper scraps and stickers are all from the "For The Record" paper pack by Echo Park.

 

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Furniture Upcycle Using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

We've just recently moved house, and there were a few bits of furniture that came with it that weren't really to my taste. Structurally they were completely sound, just not too pretty. I am on a bright colours kick at the moment, so I decided to use some colour to bring these old fashioned pieces back to life.

After visiting The Gaiety Antique and Vintage Store in Westport, Mayo (they have another shop in Galway), I discovered they sold Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. You can use it on practically every surface and the best part is there is no prep work or priming necessary. The shades that this range has are just gorgeous. I bought the three colours below and I just adore them!

Antibes Green

 

Florence

 

English Yellow

This was the before picture. It was a looker I'm sure you'll agree!

And after 2 coats of Antibes Green, a coat of wax, and some new fabric!

So pleased with how it turned out!

Stand by for more posts of me painting random things around the house!

 

 

If you're ever in the Westport/Galway area, try and call in to the Gaiety. They're lovely ladies and have some real treasures for sale!

 

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Baby Cards Using PTI Background Stamps.

I'm loving this Ikat background stamp from PTI. There is such a great variety of uses for it, from backgrounds to simple, one image cards. I can't wait to explore its uses a bit more.

This second card uses a rainbow background. This one is very versatile as well, as you can go wild with the different colour combos. These have been my go-to stamps for quick cards for a while now.

I haven't really had much time to make cards lately, as life has gotten in the way.

I know my poor blog has been so neglected lately, but I hope to start posting again. There will probably be a bit more variety, and hopefully some tutorials in the pipeline. I've missed posting so will look forward to getting back into it.

 

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Shopping List Organiser

Well I have been seriously missing in action for a while! Our family is just coming out the other side of a really bad fortnight of flu. I've been kept busy with sick kiddies and then a sick husband and then little old me got sick too.

Today I thought I would make something for my own mum. One of my mum's favourite things to do is make lists, so I thought a little organiser would be perfect for her. The pattern was just guesswork mostly, but I'm happy enough with it. There are a few imperfections (see the top seam over the notebook and the left part of the pocket), but I know she won't mind them :)

I pieced together some scraps for the outside and quilted it in a free motion style.

I made a pocket for a notebook and a place for pens on the right. The left pocket would be handy for holding receipts or coupons. I added a piece of elastic to hold it closed. Hope she likes it!

Thanks for looking!

 

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Thinking of You

Here is a card I made in five minutes flat! I always have an array of flowers from The Sweet Life cut out and stamped. They are perfect for those times when you need a card very quickly. I pulled some patterned paper from my scrap box, drew a few stitches in white pen and stuck the flowers on at different heights with dimensional adhesive. Thanks for looking!

 

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Recycled Packaging & Using Up Stash

One thing I love about Prima products is the beautiful packaging it comes in, and I always keep the backing card from their flowers. This one was literally just stuck onto the card base as is. It has a lovely pearl finish on it and the greenish blue colour has a real mermaid vibe about it. It doesn't take ink too well, so the sentiment is a little faded, but it doesn't rub off or anything. I added some die cut flowers from PTI's The Sweet Life and there you have it. I really like the colours of this card. I wish I could buy paper like this, it takes the hard work out of making cards lol.

This was another quick card. My aunt ambushed me with an order for 5 cards, which were needed right away. (Is it just my family that does this?) I made this felt embellishment months ago and promptly forgot about it. I added a strip of PTI's heart border underneath the flower and stuck a tiny tag with it. All of these bits and pieces had been pre-made, stamped and cut ages ago, so on they went in no time at all. 

Thanks for looking!

Emily Peacock Tapestry- The Meeting Place.

I was sorting through some stuff today and came across this tapestry. It was my first attempt at needlework and was a HUGE undertaking for a beginner project. It took the guts of a year on and off and by the time I finished, I was sick of the sight of it! I must get it framed and onto the wall, as its so vibrant. It doesn't look that way in the photo, but we don't seem to be getting any natural light these days. So hard to get decent photos of anything.

The kit was bought from Emily Peacock and she has some fantastic designs available. I have always wanted to make the Hug and Kiss pillows. I think they were featured on that Kirstie Allsop crafting programme.

I love this new design as well.

And this older one too!

 

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The Cursed Cross Stitch!

Pattern from Wee Little Stitches.

Well it's finished. I think I might have jinxed myself by posting about it before it was completed. After stitching the next three letters, I realised I had used a kind of ecru colour instead of white. My mum insisted she couldn't notice it and I believed her for a while. Once I finished it, I knew it would annoy me for ever more, so I redid those few letters. Thankfully that was the last of the disasters with this one. Onwards and upwards! Ethan decided that his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cross stitch wasn't big enough, so he has chosen the X-Men instead (all 12 of them....sigh)

 

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