View Full Version : CRAFT FORUM........
HI everyone, does anyone fancy a craft forum ?
My crafts are the only thing that keeps me sane, they are great for distracting your attention from anxiety related illness.
Do you make things that you want to tell us about ?
or
Would you like to make things but dont know how ?
Hopefully this can be a place where we can share information [Yeah!]
mirryx
I have been knitting the fluffy handbags lately for xmas presents,
basically , you knit with a chunky wool and a fluffy wool together.
Its ever so easy, you just knit a length then fold in half and sow up the sides. Then you get some black cotton material to make the inside lining.
I sew this around the handles (which i buy from my local wool shop).
You can pick up the fluffy wool from £1 shops, sometimes 2 for a £1:D
then when finished I make a handbag charm to match !
My friend has also been making them with matching scarfs.
mirryx
Mirry I'm up for this.
A couple of years ago all my friends got fluffy scarves from me - I knitted them out of funky fur wool in just plain stitch.
I also made clocks one year too out of mdf - you just buy the clock hands and mechanisim and a hole needs to be drilled to put the shaft of the mechanism through and then the voila!! The possibilities are endless!!! I did heart shapes, flower shapes etc etc - my neighbour just cut out the shapes for me with his jigsaw bless him and then I painted on the design.
For an older audience I kept to a simple shape but then pasted on handmade paper which had lots of texture and painted it white - I didn't put any numbers on this one keeping it minimal and modern.
Love Piglet xxx
yes im up for this i have been doing cross stitch for about 3 years now its great for anxiety count me in[Yeah!]
piglet , the clocks sound fab, what a great idea, did they stand up on their own or did they have to be hung up ? You got my imagination all fired up ,lol.
Susie, my mother in law has just started taking up cross stitch, shes doing little cards at the moment for xmas, they are so effective arnt they....do you put little beads into your designs ? and what sort of things do you make ? I love the old fashioned cusion covers done in cross stitch.
My daughters doing a homework project making a paper mache head for a egyption jar, Ive never done paper mache before so got the instructions online, its been great fun cos so far weve only done the first 3 layers of the head (think I enjoy it more than she does lol).
mirryx
Firstly Susie cross stitch - love it!!! I like big things ([:I]) so I use a wool in bold colours and do some simple designs to make things like cushions out of. I also like the plastic canvas you can get cos then you can sew simple squares together and make a box - the kids keep jewellery and odds and sods in some.
The clocks Mirry were fun - most of them were to be wall hung (the plastic mechanism usually has a hook in its design so that's quite easy! I did however make one for me that I did in a triangle shape and attached to a base so it could be freestanding.
I then painted it and traced round a saucer to get a circle for the clock face (within the triangle shape) painted it all in the colours I like and handpainted the numbers in (you can buy numbers in transfer form from craftshops to use if you prefer or use a stencil) and then I used a brown wax over the whole thing to make it look a bit aged.
I'm beginning to think rug making looks like fun since I got a little kit for one of the piglets last year. Except that I would prefer to do my own design with it.
Sooooo many hobbies to explore people!!!!!! :D:D:D
Love Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
hi there ,i do mostly big projects the more detail the better ,ive just finished a picture of my labrador and now im doing a piece by lavander and lace .it really takes my mind of things love suexx:)
rug making looks fun, my friend has done a winnie poo rug before,years ago.
You could check out the local librarys cos alot of them have started selling crafts, they take 20% of your takings.
I sell my stuff in my local library, they have all sorts in there..
one man is selling art paintings (they are terrible) sure my 8 year old could do better.
My husband is into photography, hes started selling his photos framed of local areas, castles etc.....its seems to be a hit (only been 2 weeks).
Ive got 4 craft fairs to atten before xmas , i always feel nervous but I love it, makes me feel proud:D
mirryx
Oh there's nothing like creating something and what a kick it is when people really like them.
So satisfying and rewarding isn't it.
:D:D:D
Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
27-11-06, 16:37
hi mirry, great post, crafts are such a good way to distract yourself from your worries.
I love going shopping just to get ideas for things i can make - my favourite phrase when out shopping is 'you could make that yourself for next to nothing!' yes, i combine my love of making stuff with my tightwaddedness!
i'm making xmas presents at the moment. for my friend's little boy ive made a magic money box (the money disappears when you post it in - i got the idea from art attack) decorated with beano comics. im also making some stationery - the lovely lady at the decorating shop gave me loads of sample wallpapers, they are fab designs - all dramatic and black and white etc. im going to use some of them to cover notebooks - anyone got any ideas for what else i could do with them? (i'm already gonna nick your clock idea piglet :D).
ooh, and also im having a flocking frenzy at the moment ([:I][:I][^]). you know that sticky back plastic that has that soft flock stuff on it (?????), ive been cutting out designs to make a flocked wallpaper effect on tea light holders, notebooks etc. that probably makes no sense to anyone does it?[:P]
ive also had a go at making my own stencils from photos, so i can paint designs using pictures of the kids etc. which is nice for presents.
sorry to do such a long post - i am a complete craft nerd [:I]:D[^]. ive got millions of links to various craft sites, just pm me if you're interested.
i would love to see stuff you guys have made, do you have pictures posted anywhere?
mag
Once I get the craft fairs and xmas out the way I will definatley post some pictures for you to see :D, mag I love the idea of getting lovely wall paper to cover up cheap note books...what a fab idea !
Wow, just thinking ( yes it does happen sometimes:)) Id love to try that and have beaded tassles hanging from it to match........great Idea mag, cos when i was in WHSMITHS the fancy note books were expensive if I remember correctly ? .............mmmmmmm
now Im thinking , what about covering a pencil in the same paper to match ?
This is fun !
mirryx
sue , how did you get your dog onto a cross stitch pattern ?
sounds very complicated ?
mirryx
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">ooh, and also im having a flocking frenzy at the moment ([:I][:I][^]). you know that sticky back plastic that has that soft flock stuff on it (?????), ive been cutting out designs to make a flocked wallpaper effect on tea light holders, notebooks etc. that probably makes no sense to anyone does it?[:P]
<div align="right">Originally posted by strawberrie - 27 November 2006 : 16:37:20</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
It makes perfect sense to me I'm afraid!! [:I][:I][:I][:I]:D
Piglet x
hi piglet i took a picture of my dog with a digital camera then hubby converted it into a chart on the computer .im affraid my use of the computer is very limited lolhes the clever one but alot of people do that with cross stitch its great fun.hubby has just said that if anyone wants a cross stitch chart of a favourute photo made he will do it for you
i'm knitting gloves out of fluffy for friends and have done scarves one friend wants me to have a go at knitting a hat with fluffy wool. am having problems getting it here cheap.
i also make cards and i have inherited a dolls house which i have made curtains for
netty
the dreams of the future are better than the history of the past
Netty, I make the cards too, it started off when 3 years ago I went to card making classes with my friends, it was great fun but very expensive at £10 a class [:I] The lady teaching it had 50 people in the hall , so was making a fortune.
I used to sell my cards but now I just make them for friends and family. However my friend still makes them and gets plenty of sales, shes started making the shape cards..
the ones in a heart shape or in the shape of a wine glass (looks lovely).
I know she buys wrapping paper and uses the pictures on it to do 3D.
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Heres a new one, I used to make GEM TREES (10 years ago)
basically its all about twisting 120 strands of wire into a shape of a tree, you start of with the base of the trunk, twisting with pliers and working your way up to seperating the wires into branches.
Then you cut out acetate into the shapes of leaves and glue them onto the ends of the branches. Once you have done that you can put glue on it and sprinkle gem chips on to it ,to dry.
I used to sell them in a local shop and they sold fast, i used to glue them onto chunks of marble as the base or a crystal base ...
miss doing them (stopped when I was pregnant).
mirryx
strawberrie
28-11-06, 11:12
mirry, i love your gem tree idea - could you use them to hang jewellery on? that would make a lovely gift (can you tell i am in xmas present mode at the moment? ;)) i like your idea of covering pencils in wallpaper too - i tried it with my flock stuff (told you im having a flocking frenzy) but although it looked good, it didnt work cos if you try and sharpen it you just end up with a pencil sharpener full of sticky goo, and no-one wants that do they!:D i like your beaded tassle idea too - ive used a ribbon as a bookmark and decorated it with um....., yes, you guessed it...... flock!!![:I]
net, you are so lucky to have a dolls house, im wondering about a dolls house as a new project - id love to do it up all modern (kind of like how i'd like my house to be if i could afford it!).
i love all these ideas - im no good at knitting or cross stitch or anything like that (too impatient i think), but now your all inspiring me!
mag
I bought my piglets a dolls house some years ago and then proceded to decorate each room identically to our own house, using leftover paint and paper from the shed. When we ever move it will serve as a reminder of what our old house was like :D:D:D
It's a bit freaky really as I feel like a giant when I <s>play</s> tidy it - good thing I don't take drugs or I might feel like Alice in Wonderland and that would be flocking ;) scary!!!
Piglet xx
strawberrie
28-11-06, 17:28
what a flocking fantastic idea piglet! what a lovely mum you are! you're really inspiring me (>.........mag daydreams about a dolls house done out top to bottom in flock wallpaper, oooh, and mini ikea furniture too!)[|)][^][Wow!][:I][:I][:I]
mag
:D:D:D:D at the Ikea furniture!!!
Mag I can see flock being a new word for us - I dropped a plate tonight and said 'oh flock' to see what the effect would be, although perhaps I should try it next time when I'm not the only one home!!!
Why don't you try it on for size in chat and let me know how you go - mind you I think they would be more shocked and outraged by your doll house talk, you may even get banned, still you can always blame me :D:D:D
Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
lol, went into the £1 shop and they had patterned note books in there, yes for £1 :( however not as nice as flock :D
When I went to the last craft fair, they had a lady selling craft material, rubber stamps/card stock etc ,
I dont know why they are allowed to do that ? Its doesnt seem fair on the other crafters, one girl had made cards ,yet people were looking at the card stock to make there own .And the girl of the store told me she lies to people , anything to get a sale [:O]
She said she tells people things are the end of line and they wont get it again anywhere else......(I looked very disgusted).
mirryx
Yes Mirry I agree - I expect the lady selling the craft making supplies does very well on the back of the 'real' crafters! I'm not necessarily against her doing that (we all have to earn a living) but perhaps she should give the others a percentage, cos without them inspiring the public with their results she wouldn't get nearly the turnover.
Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
scaredycat2001
29-11-06, 23:41
Anybody know of some good sites for knitting and crochet patterns?
scaredycat
A friend of mine went to hobby craft this week and spent £20 on a few tiny bits, I told her they are too expensive and its best to buy on ebay (where I buy from) . And at the moment americas dollar is 2$ to the £1, which is fantastic !!!
If you spend under £18 you shouldnt get a export fee on top, I am now searching the american ebay site for basically half price goods [Yeah!]
mirryx
strawberrie
02-12-06, 12:15
omg mirry, i never thought of that, mind you i dont understand exchange rates and stuff like that [:I], but that is such a good idea - you've got me thinking now.
I popped in to Hobbycraft the other day to find clock movements to make my clock xmas pressies (thanks to Piglet's idea), the cheapest one they had was £7, which was way too much for me, but i managed to get 5 for less than £10 (including postage) off ebay. :D[Yes!]
scaredycat, sorry, i dont know anything about knitting or crochet, although i wish i did. i know someone that knits food (!!!), so my kids have some little knitted donuts and battenburg cakes and stuff - they are just soooo cute!
mag
Mag - I tell you what I did regarding the clock movements, I bought some cheap clocks from Superbuys and Poundstrecher and dismantled them for the working part. You will have to look at the clock to see if you can do this as not every clock could be reused. I think I paid like a pound a clock and was able to reuse them all.
Mirry I will look at buying crafts from the USA too - I already buy loads of makeup from there but hadn't thought about craft stuff.
Mags - you can roughly half the price in dollars to get what it will be in pounds and actually if you log in on ebay.com rather than ebay.co.uk it will give you the price under the dollar price.
I also used to buy some lovely crafting fabrics to make my bags out if anyone wants me to find the website.
Love Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
02-12-06, 17:05
i must admit to have already been to the pound shop and spent some time trying to prise apart their clocks without anyone noticing! [:I] Only trouble was, i decided they werent big enough for what i wanted anyway and i had to get out of there quick before i started buying loads of useless items just cos they were "such a bargain"[^] (my house is full of these 'bargain items' [:I])
ok, this might sound like a really stupid question, but if you look at the price of postage on ebay.com and it gives you the conversion into GBP, will that be what you would actually pay for postage or is that what you would be paying if you were in the usa? i'm a bit scared of buying from abroad, it all seems a bit unfamiliar!
have you got that website to hand piglet, i love buying fabric (in fact, my house is also full of all the bargain fabric i find in remnants bins. I just cant let go of the idea that i might some day get round to sewing a cushion cover out of it) [:I])
mag
Mag hun I always find it best just to email the seller first to double check their rates for postage to the uk and then you can roughly halve it to get the amount in pounds. I have never paid more than a fiver and often much much less ie $10 or less.
I am gonna look for that site now mate.
Love Pigletx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Mag start with www.equilter.com that will take you quite some looking through for now.
I got barbie fabric and made a few bags for one of my teenage piglets a few years ago, apparantly it was a bit hip to like barbie but only in a cool way not as I really do love barbie if you get my drift (which I don't)!
I also did some really funky flower fabric ones from here and I was gonna do a coke bottles fabric bag. Honestly the variety is utterly incredible.
I need to root out the other site but I'm certain this one will start you off!!!
Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
05-12-06, 12:10
Piglet, that site is great, i feel the need to make elvis print bags now (weird!)[^].
Well, i finished 2 clocks, i made them out of books so the book cover is the face of the clock, (if that makes sense!) - ive done a spiderman one (complete with hanging spider), and a 'clock of doom' with evil eyes[}:)]. Seeing as im feeling a bit smug about finishing them, i decided to post them on my msn space (working out how to do that took longer than making the clocks themselves [:I][Duh!]), along with a few of my other crafty projects, so if anyone is interested in taking a look, just pm me with your contact details and i can add you as a friend (if i can work out how). You can make any comments or suggestions, good or bad, i dont mind - my husband likes to call my crafting style 'avant garde' lol - i think he means crap and a bit weird!, but hey, i enjoy it :D!
I would love love love to see stuff other people have done, has anyone got any photos, i am dead nosey like that!
mag
Mag you already have my msn address is that any use?
When I get time I will try and do some photos too.
The clocks sound wonderful!!!
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
05-12-06, 12:40
hi Piglet, i have added you to my ummm.... people who can see stuff list, i think (i'm not very 'up' on msn and how it all works). Have a go at looking at my msn space, and let me know if it works (or more likely, if it doesnt :(:D).
mag
Hi everyone, hows the crafting ?
On sunday I did a craft farye at the scout hall , for 3 hours and made £50 [Yeah!]
On Wednesday, I did a craft farye at the toning tables in the high street, and made £55 [Yeah!]
Then made £37 at the Library , which I collected .
Then sold £20 at my friends work.
Then today I am doing the school table top sale, dont know how much I will make there, but as well as my jewellery , I have made a LUCKY LOLLY stall, I basically have covered a box in wrapping paper, punctured 50 holes in it to put lollys in each hole. Then when they pull out a lolly if it has a coloured stick , then you win a prize (he he) my daughter is so looking forward to the lolly stall.
So It looks like , (for the first time ever) I have made at least £200 this week on my crafts - all because of xmas.
The bad news is, my washing machines broken down 3 days ago, we tried fixing it but it wont work...so looks like my £200 has gone already.......... grrrrrrrrrrr :(
mirryx
Wow mirry that's fantastic!!!
Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
just got back from the school fayre, made £39.
Usually its just me there selling my jewellery but this year there were 5 other people selling jewellery [V] but I dont understand it. I was the only one who makes jewellery , everyone else were selling shop jewellery !
oh well, thats the way the cookie crumbles.
But the good news is the lolly stall (which i did with my friend together) made £31 profit [Yeah!] ,expect next time they will all have lolly stalls too , LOL.
It really is about being different it seems.
mirryx
strawberrie
08-12-06, 19:03
hi mirry, im glad u posted cos i love this thread and i didnt want it to just disappear into nowhere!
That's amazing making £200 from your crafts, you must be mega talented.
you have been very inspirational to me this week mirry with a couple of your posts. I go on www.craftster.org sometimes, it's a forum full of um..... unusual crafts (ok, weird). But anyway, someone there made 'fear monsters' - they are cute, felt monsters that protect you against your fears. So anyway, i was wondering if anyone had thought of making any anxiety based crafts? Like a Pam doll, that's not really as scary as she might seem?
I'm thinking about making a Ham (health anxiety monster) to carry around with me and stick a pin in when he gets out of hand, maybe he could have some little lumpy bits and some manky looking moles or something lol! Anyone got any other ideas? (ok, im not a 'traditional' crafter, i admit it lol!) :D
also, does anyone know if we could set up a little yahoo group or something to talk about crafts, get ideas, post piccies etc. - that would be nice, but i wouldnt know how to go about it.
mag
I like the idea of a pam doll, I imagine her to have a nice face on one side of her body and a scarey face on the other side (two faced).:D
Been creative with the kids today , decorating the tree.......
thinking of wrapping up some sweets in shiney wrapping paper and tying to the tree with bows (they are alot cheaper than shop made ones).
Off to check out your link now..speak soon[^]
mirryx
What about good old salt dough you lot!!
You can make your dolls out of that if you wanted - years ago I made some really cute litte teddies from salt dough and one with a halo and wings for the top of my Xmas tree.
Also I made loads of star shapes out of salt dough (just looked like biscuits) remembering to put a hole through for my tie cord before baking them. Then I painted some red and some green and varnished them - they are still goin strong 8 years later.
I think it's about time it had a bit of a resurgance - so get your flour out!
You could even flock one Mag [:I]:D
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Southern_Belle
09-12-06, 17:46
Hi all you nifty crafters,
I have just taken up knitting and I must say I am all thumbs. I am knitting myself a scarf for the winter. I have lovely blue yarn and I think my needles are too long. They are made of wood, is this common where you are? I hope someday to be in your league.
Bel
"Our thoughts are our reality"
strawberrie
09-12-06, 18:57
hi guys!
If you are trying to sell stuff, have you looked at www.etsy.com. It's all for homemade stuff. I've never bought or sold anything there so i don't know how easy it is, but it might be better than ebay, cos people really go on ebay cos they want a bargain. If you were selling to other crafters or people that really love handmade stuff then at least they would appreciate the time and effort that goes into it all and they're looking for something unusual, not just cheap!
belle, let us know how the scarf goes (how long does it take to knit a scarf? - i've no idea[:I])
i might have to give the salt dough a try, my son made some lovely salt dough xmas dec's at nursery a few years ago, all covered in glitter, i love kids homemade stuff, but when we got them out the loft this year, they'd gone all soggy [Oops!]
i got another link too www.art-e-zine.co.uk the stuff on it is really artistic and amazing (makes me feel very embarassed about my own stuff). They have loads of fab vintage pictures you can use, and the ideas are fantastic - it is really inspirational (but a bit daunting :()
keep the ideas coming, im relying on you to sort out all my xmas craft dilemmas this year! :D
mag
Piglet , in the new year ,id be very interested in trying the salt dough,
havent a clue how to make it, but I have seen some for sale in a craft shop and it was costly.
Mag, how about making sweets for xmas ? Ive made fudge today for the first time ever, its sitting in the fridge and is nearly hard enough to cut. I want to cut it into small cubes and wrap up and hang on the tree.
I want to get nice sweet papers , like lakeland do. But cheaper, any ideas what I can use ?
If it cuts well I will post the recipe here, also have other to try out , so will let you know how they tun out.
Going to check out the other site now, thanks.
mirryx
Bel, what sort of scarf are you knitting ?
Over here the fluffy wool has been going down a storm, and if you knit with 2 balls of wool at the same time, ie : a fluffy ball with a chunky wool , the resluts are lovely.
As for the wooden needles , they are less common here, we usually use metal one because they slide against each other smoothly.
Take care
mirryx
strawberrie
10-12-06, 21:53
mirry, dont buy salt dough! theres loads of recipes on the internet, heres one: 1 cup fine salt, 1 cup flour, half cup water, mix together, knead! that's it! it's shocking that shops can get away with selling something so simple for a profit!
in preparation for a big xmas decoration session i got the play dough out for the kids today and told them to get creative. We ended up with lots of squares (pretty acceptable), a very realistic whichity grub (ok i admit it, that was mine), and worst of all a rather sad looking willy![:I] (i swear it's impossible to give an 8 year old boy dough without them making a willy). So i have decided to give the salt dough a miss this year. I am not having a willy hanging from my xmas tree, no matter how glittery it is! ;)
let us know how the fudge goes. maybe you could just tie nice ribbon round it, and not wrap it in paper. or what about doing some stamps on plain tissue paper? Brown parcel paper is also nice for xmas presents although i dont know if it would be too stiff for small things like fudge. Last year i got the kids to decorate a roll of it with metallic paints and stamps. We are very lucky we have a really big holly bush outside our house so i can cut bits off that and use it to decorate 'natural' looking parcels.
Talking of knitting, has anyone ever knitted jewellery? I've seen some very pretty bracelets knitted with thin wire, with beads put on some of the stitches - seems like it would be quite easy to do, and even I would have the patience to knit something as small as a bracelet. Anyone got any tips? How do you make your jewellery mirry?
mag
Aww Mag go on have a glittery willy on your tree (there's a sentence you can't say very often)!!! :D:D:D
Mirry - fudge, I adore fudge - please post the recipe [Yeah!]
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Lol, Ok just went to the fridge to check out my fudge,
it set in the middle of the dish but around the edges its a little runny :(
Now this could be because it said use condenced milk, so my husband got me carnation Light :(
Just tasted it and OMG its delicious.
I will try it with full fat carnation this week and see how it goes,
heres the recipe I tried.....
900 g sugar
200 g condenced milk
200 g water
60 g Butter
15 ml golden syrup
5 ml vanilla essence
Boil all ingrediants together on a low heat for 1 hour.
Add vanilla
Remove from heat and using a electric whisk, whisk for 7 mins.
Pour into a greased and lined tray with baking paper.
Leave to set.
mirryx
meg, thanks for the salt dough recipe :D feel a little excitement about it ,lol.
Now once we make the dough, we then make it into shapes/models ?
Then what about paintiing it ?
Like the ideas, may try it sooner ;)
mirryx
Meg, as for making jewellery.....
how long have you got ? lol.
Ive seen the knitted bracelet kits in my local wool shop, so you may find them online?
I make my jewellery using more traditional methods, simple stringing, and bead weaving.
Bead stringing is less fiddly, I am happy to do online lessons here if you buy the bits needed ? Any one fancy this ?
Got to go now , but will continue ;)
mirryx
Mirry - fudge sounds yummy. When the kids break up we will have a fudge day, thanks for the recipe hun!
With the salt dough, once it's baked for a zillion hours and ready for painting then I suggest acrylic paints. I always varnished mine most careful front and back then you get a good seal - it's any moisture getting in that causes them to perish. I actually bought a little tin of varnish made by 'International' that you get from BQ in the very glossiest finish - almost the shine of enamel. I don't know whether I would prefer a more matte varnish these days - I suppose it depends on the project.
Also you lot, what about a little artwork for the house on canvas. I do paint here and there, cos I can never find the sort of pictures that I want, at a price I can afford. Even if you don't class yourself as a artist as such, modern art is very achievable isn't it.
You can get cheap ready made canvases from Superbuys and then paint lots of stripes or spots or swirls. I love homes with 'real' paintings it looks so homey!!
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
thanks Piglet, Ive just seen acrlics paint in the £1 shop..8 tubes for a £1 :D
My mum does the canvas painting, shes quite talented that way, she does the modern stuff and the country cottage thing, I dont thinnk Ive got the skills for it [xx(] wish I did tho , cos they are selling for quite a bit on ebay.
just been to somersfield with my friend and picked up proper condenced milk, and also little sweet papers from the £1 shop.
I got some red netting from the material shop and some lovely silver ribbon to tie it with.
so off to make fudge, will post back to let you know if it works.
mirryx
strawberrie
11-12-06, 13:00
mirry, i wouldnt bother with the new condensed milk if the light stuff tasted ok, that way you can eat twice as much!
for doing paintings, if you have a digital photo/picture you like, you can adjust the brightness, contrast and stuff so the image is very simple, then print it out and stick it onto the back paper of some sticky back plastic, then cut it out and you have a stencil you can stick directly onto your canvas. I've done this on ceramic tiles, and it works out really nice, although the cutting out can take a long time and is quite fiddly.
i might come back to you mirry for some beading advice, im going to have a go at wire knitting first. I felt the urge to have a practice with some wool last night, but i dont have any knitting needles, still chopsticks worked pretty well!
keep on with the ideas, trouble is i spend all my time thinking of stuff and reading this thread, and im not spending enough time actually making presents :(:D
mag
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">mirry, i wouldnt bother with the new condensed milk if the light stuff tasted ok, that way you can eat twice as much!
mag
<div align="right">Originally posted by strawberrie - 11 December 2006 : 13:00:33</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
Oooh lovin your thinkin!!!:D:D:D[^][^][^]
Last year I knitted myself a scarf with this new very chunky wool (nearly as thick as hosepipe) and bought some new wooden needles (southern belle I love wooden needles) the size of rolling pins - I kid you not!!!
Honestly you should have seen me - it's actually quite strenous to knit with this size needle but it gave me lovely biceps. The scarf does look lovely and funky etc but I have to say I am still a little undecided cos I quite like very soft floppy sort of scarves. Hey but it took me 2 hours to knit it - how about that!!
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
http://www.nestle.co.uk/ourbrands/recipes/oldfavourites/tablet.htm
here you will find the fudge recipe I followed and it works lovely[Yeah!]
mirryx
strawberrie
13-12-06, 10:18
thanks for the recipe mirry, i'll have to give it a go.
Piglet, i would've loved to have seen you knit that scarf lol, mind you, 2 hours, wow! i have to go out and get some rolling pins now ;).
Well, i finished another clock, its shaped like a cute handbag, made from a large matchbox covered in wallpaper. Anyway, ive just sorted myself out with photobucket, so now i'm going to try and attach a picture of it cos im quite proud of it (especially as i knitted the top fluffy bit all by myself [8D]). See what you think.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/fluffyclock.jpg
If that works (which it probably wont :(), i might link to some other photos too.
Im getting there with the xmas pressies now, so im starting to feel a bit christmasy now, hows everyone else getting on?
mag
strawberrie
13-12-06, 10:20
oh god, that photo's come out huge, looks like a handbag for a giant! I think i'll try and resize next time lol!
mag
oh wow strawberry , its lovely, WELL DONE :D
good idea using wall paper, infact Ive been really interested in doing wall paper crafts,
I read somewhere about book marks, basically it says,
cut out 2 rectangles of wall paper , glue the backs together then put it throught the laminator, once done puNch a hole thru the top to attatch a ribbon (how easy is that).
mirryx
Oh Mag that is so classy hun - I love it!!! They had some wallpaper like that in the NEXT catalogue.
I think you could sell these very well on e-bay hun if you felt like it.
Gorgeous really gorgeous!!!!
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
13-12-06, 21:41
awwwwww shucks! [:I][:I][:I] That's very sweet of you. I've never had anything i've ever made (or done for that matter) called 'classy' lol :D.
The wallpaper's great isnt it - its one of the ones i was given for free! (makes it even better ;)). I must admit to going round B&Q and taking home little 'samples' of wallpaper for various crafty projects [:I]. Mirry, im going to make a bookmark like you said, with the same paper to match the clock - a very easy pressie, that will look nice![8D].
i think my next project will be to knit a little car key 'bleeper cosy' so i can attach it to all my other keys. It'll have to be very simple, but i might treat my bleeper to a little bobble hat or something! [^].
let us know how you're getting on with everything!
mag
lol, how do you get wallpaper samples ? take sizzors with you ?
I havent got a laminator, so let me know how yours turns out....and maybe father xmas will treat me :D
IVE ORDERED THE GEMSTONES OF EBAY [Yeah!]
TO MAKE A GEM TREE.
mirryx
Mirry lol - when I take samples I'm not in the least discreet, I just go round tearing great big sheets off!!! Don't tell me Mag that you only take little bits cos I shan't believe you. :D:D:D
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
lol, I would panic if they approached me, so ive got a good idea, I will rip it off and place it in the trolly that my husband will be pushing [}:)]
When I was in the charity shop yesturday , they had UGLY wallpaper....really horrible, but i will keep a look out.
Also seen rolls on ebay, but do i want a whole roll ?
you can also make place mats with the laminator.
mirryx
strawberrie
14-12-06, 11:58
just tear off a great big bit mirry, thats what the sample stuff's there for, and if you dont take a big enough bit then well, you wouldnt be able to tell how it would look when its up on the wall ;);)! im not suggesting you nick a whole roll or anything! it does look a bit strange taking tons of it, so i do tend to roll them up together, that way it looks like less [:I].
I even have a use for really horrible textured wallpaper - use it to make background imprints in polymer clay, it can look fab, and its sooo much cheaper than buying stamps!
i love my laminator[Yeah!], you can use it for so much stuff. My daughter made a lovely hanging 'thing' at playgroup which is just lots of leaves laminated - it's really pretty.
mirry, please post a pic of the gem tree when its done, i would love to see it.
mag
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">
lol, I would panic if they approached me, so ive got a good idea, I will rip it off and place it in the trolly that my husband will be pushing [}:)]
mirryx
<div align="right">Originally posted by mirry - 14 December 2006 : 11:31:50</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
Snort - well that's what husbands are for :D:D:D:D
Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
I will get hubby to take some photos on the new year :D
Ive got the gem tree Base (which is a amethyst crystal)
Ive got the wire ready for the branches, but I couldnt find the crushed crystals anywhere , to do the acetate leaves . So instead I had to buy amethyst gem chips to use as the leaves.
Also , if you want to make easy jewellery then Id recommend starting off with memory wire, basically ,its a wire that stays in a "hoop shape", you put your beads on it and with a round nose plier , curl the end of the wire over to keep the beads on. Then you have a nice braclet or necklace (depending on the size of the hoop).
mirryx
just caught on the crafts
i love the clock may have a go at that
our support group has a stall in a volunteer fayre in february i think we will have a craft day to make stuff to sell
thanks for the salt dough and fudge recipes will have a go at them when i get the chance
i've made scoobie jewellry and still make a little bit with just the wire and beads.
i made the blinds for my dolls house
/lounge/uploaded/net/blinds.jpg
netty
the dreams of the future are better than the history of the past
what support day is that ?
The blind sounds good for the dolls house, my daughter has a dolls house which needs curtains..so much to do!
mirryx
strawberrie
16-12-06, 10:50
cant see the blinds netty :(, i think you have to link to them, not attach them as an image (*mag pretends to know about computer stuff [:I])
let us know how you get on with your support day crafts - its such a good idea :D.
mag
Lol Mag - we all know I am the one to come to for technical computer questions :D:D:D:D
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Made my amethyst gem tree today and I am so pleased with it,
how do I get a photo on here for you all to see ?
I havent a clue where to start ?
mirryx
strawberrie
17-12-06, 10:52
ha ha, well i am really very advanced when it comes to my computer(or the 'magical buttony box' as i like to call it) so i am sure i can give you some very accurate instructions lol :D[:I]
Well, what i did was sign on to photobucket.com and then upload the photos to there. Do you already have the photos in a file on your computer? If you click on upload on photobucket then you can browse your files until you find the right picture and it will upload your file.
Then it gives you a linky thing (technical term there) which you can copy and paste into your document. it is not the one that says [img], i think it should start with http://i123 or something like that. And that's all there is to it! your picture on t'interweb thingy!
oh, and i think you should resize your picture first, and maybe compress it too (that will come up as an edit option when you open it as a file in picture editor). Well, i am sure that makes about as much sense as ikea's flatpack instructions.
On the offchance that someone technical stumbles across the craft thread, it is possible that they might be able to give you some instructions without resorting to the terms 'linky thing' or 't'interweb thingy' which might be better, but i've tried my best :).
mag
I don't know if any of you watch the new comedy on Fri called 'Jam and Jerusalem' but Dawn French had me in stitches when at the church fayre she clutched just a keyboard and asked 'This isn't a whole computer is it'? and went off muttering and shaking her head 'No I thought not'!!!
:D:D:D:D
A few years ago I would have asked questions like that. When I went on a simple course at nightschool the teacher says sometimes she has to stop the more mature students from putting the mouse up onto the screen thinking thats how to make it work!!!
I don't even discuss computers with my mum anymore because the conversations are so bizare that I have to go and lay down afterwards! I can't get her to use the mobile my sister bought her either, she just thinks it's all very nice but we don't want to waste the batteries do we!!!!
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
17-12-06, 12:37
hee hee piglet, my dad has a mobile, but he never answers it. Then when i say to him later 'oh dad, i called you on your mobile', his answer is always 'oh right, you wouldnt have caught me, cos i was out!' So he has a mobile, but not for going out purposes it seems! [^] lol!
mag
lol, I usually leave the techi stuff to my hubby, he loves photography so should get him to help me with it :D
Ive now done 2 trees, one little and one tall, they are on a amethyst crystal base and are very easy to do, hopefully get photo on here today if all goes well ?
mirryx
Lol Mag - just like mum!!!! :D:D:D
Piglet x
Mag, I did really well , got the photos into Photobucket.com :D
But cant find the http;123 linky thingy ?
HELP , dont know what to do next ?
mirryx
sorry cant do it :(
mirryx
strawberrie
17-12-06, 17:57
hi mirry, if you got the pics into photobucket, then that is the tricky bit out the way! :D
Are you able to view the picture in your album on photobucket? If so, underneath there should be a list underneath it of 'linky things' The top one is the URL link, if you click on that, it will copy it (it will tell you it has copied it) and then you just need to paste it into your post. If there is no list under your picture, then there should be a grey box at the bottom of the screen, that says 'generate HTML or IMG code', click on the tickbox under the photo you want to select, and then you should be able to click on the grey box and it will create a code for you.
i hope that helps. i really want to see the gem trees! :D:D:D
mag
ok thats what i have been trying to do, but for some reason i cant paste onto no more panic ?
I hold down my ctrl and alt key at the same time and press z or x or v but it wont do it......(havent done paste in years) am i doing that right ?
mirryx
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o237/mirry_photos/crystal.jpg
Here is a photo of the gem tree I made yesturday :D
as you can see , the glue is still wet on the gem stone, Once it has dried then I glue some amysthyst crystal chips onto the base, to cover up the metal .
many thanks to Mag, who helped me get the photo on here:D
mirryx
here are some necklaces that ive made recently,
not the best photo but gives you an idea of what I make.
These ones were all made using a needle and thread.
The one in the middle is made with Olive green swarovski crystals and the one on the right amythyst chips.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o237/mirry_photos/DSCF1941.jpg
mirryx
strawberrie
18-12-06, 15:52
wow, fantastic mirry! i love them! the gem tree is absolutely fab, im gonna have to give it a go, although i know i won't get it to look as good as that in a million years. And the jewellery looks so professional. No wonder its selling so well. i love the bold colours - they look fab! :D
you're really talented! :D
mag
ps, glad the photos worked out. My computer knowledge really is second to none lol [^]
have read all the computer linky things and am attempting it
the fayre is for vounteer groups and i help run a local support group for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse we're hoping to become a charity in april and we're always looking out for ways to make money to keep the group going.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m184/net_016/blinds.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m184/net_016/kitchen.jpg
hopefully you can see these
one day i may even learn how to work a computer.
the fayre my therapist said is another way to extend my comfort zones as i have agrophobia and social phobia
netty
the dreams of the future are better than the history of the past
thanks Mag, to make the gem tree you will need to cut 30 lengths of wire all measuring 8inches long.
Then you hold them all together and bend in half.
Then take the pliers down to near the end, with about 1 1/2 inch spare and start twisting it around and around until it goes tight (this will twist the trunk of the tree).
Once you have twisted the trunk, you can then start seperating the 1 1/2 inch bit left into 3 sections, then twist all 3 sections to form the feet.
THE BRANCHES........
Then start sectioning the branches into 5 sections ,with each section having 6 wires in each.
Placing Four sections going out to the sides and one going straight up.
Then on each section, twist a bit then seperate the wires again into four and two (= 6) twist some more and keep breaking it down until u end up with single wires.
loop a crystal onto each bit of wire and twist.
------------------------------------------------
I know it sounds complicated but it is very easy to do "honest";)
mirryx
Net, you have really started something here, just looked at your blinds and they are lovely, my daughters sitting here saying , can you make some for my dolls house[:I]
any tips for doing so mcuh appreciated.:D
As for the support group , its sounds a really nice idea...and you sound like a really nice person supporting it, good luck and hopefully we can come up with new ideas for you to sell.
mirryx
really getting into this, here are a pair of earrings I made and sold recently on ebay, to a transvestite :D
They are made of rose quartz chips and pink beads.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o237/mirry_photos/rosequartzearrings.jpg
mirryx
A knitted scaft I made for myself , I wear it with jeans as a belt ,(just about fits) lol.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o237/mirry_photos/scarf.jpg
Thats about it , phew !
mirryx
strawberrie
18-12-06, 20:16
oh wow, i dont know where to start! net, those blinds look great - they're sooo cute. I love the idea of the little tie-backs too, really lovely. It's such a good idea to do the craft fayre - like you said it will extend your comfort zone, but you will know you are helping others, and also doing something you enjoy too, so it sounds like a great opportunity, and you will feel really pleased with yourself once you've done it!
mirry, i am in love with your scarf. have you made any to sell, i would definitely buy something like that.
with the gem tree, what sort of wire did you use? whats the best thickness to use?
ooooooooo, so many things to make, so little time :D
mag
Mag, I havent made many to sell, I went on to make the fluffy handbags instead , but its all so time consuming isnt it.
The wire I used for the Gem tree was " 24ga" suppose that means gauge ?
Ive got to find some material now for those curtains for my daughters dolls house, Ive only recently made real curtains for my house for the first time, but the ones for a dolls house look more fiddly, I hope I can do a good job like you have Netty[:I]
What do I use to hold them up with ?
mirryx
Gosh girls all the pictures were great - I am sooooo very impressed.
Net - I am sure Nic would like those little blinds as if I remember rightly she likes dolls houses!
Mag - everything is so beautifully finished mate - I have to say I will be very interested in looking at more of your jewellery - I loved the earings and necklaces (you know my love of crystals) for the summer. I seem to have plenty of browny shades of things but not so much in shades that would look nice in the summer. Rose quartz is a very pretty summer colour.
Well done everybody - the standard is very high. As soon as I get my reflexolgy exams out the way then look out and I will join you.
Love Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
18-12-06, 22:22
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Mag - everything is so beautifully finished mate - I have to say I will be very interested in looking at more of your jewellery - I loved the earings and necklaces (you know my love of crystals) for the summer. I seem to have plenty of browny shades of things but not so much in shades that would look nice in the summer. Rose quartz is a very pretty summer colour </td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
Much as i would LOVE to take credit for mirry's fab jewellery, i just cant! [:I]
I will just have to console myself with the fact that i am an expert at computers ;), and have finally learnt to do a quote [Wow!][Yeah!]
mag
Hi
This week I have bin mostly making CRIBS ! Well stables actually.
Yeah I know soundz crazy but I made one for my daughter then so many other people wanted them to. Has helped me a lot over the past few weeks and it's nice to know they will be used for years to come hopefully.
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r7/dexsta_2006/PB290030.jpg?t=1166484471
Dex, WOW !!!
Thats lovely, what a great Idea......
I was looking at your photo thinking, who made this ???
It has to be a man , the wood work looks fab !
Although I know some women also do great wood work, but Im not one of them lol.
I am useless at doing any sort woodwork, it always makes me think of my great grandad, he died when I was 12 but was really good at making toys out of wood, he was a toy maker and made me a dolls house. We used to go down his big garden to the bottom, where he had a building that looked very old fashioned..we used to look thru the window at all the dolls and cars etc. (we were never allowed inside tho [:I]).
People will use them for years to come and probally pass down the generations, well done Dex :D
mirryx
Mag lol.. I didnt notise Piglet wrote "Mag" instead of mirry ,lol.
Piglet , Have you started on the xmas spirit already? lol....
I knew you meant me really :D and Id be happy to show you some more summer jewellery thru the year, glad you liked them :D
Also , when do you finish your exams Piglet ?
mirryx
:D:D:D:D Sorry darlings!! It must be my new mint Baileys!!!
Dex - Wow wow!!
Flippin eck we are very talented - think in the new year we should start a little co-op. The next time Nic does one of these conferences shall we be there flogging our stuff!!! :D:D
You lot gonna watch the house of agoraphobics tonight?
Hugs
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Wow guys, I looooooove this thread :D.
I haven't been on the forum for months so have missed all of this. I love arts and crafts, I was always making and doing things when I was younger, well before I had kids! As they are getting older I'm getting to do some things with them ie Christmas last year we made snow men pictures for hanging on the wall - we got some card and glued some white paper to it, then I out-lined the shape of a snow man and some snow flakes and we covered it in cotton wool balls, then used coloured card for the eyes, carrot, hat, scarf ect. then added some glitter on the snow to make it look really sparkly and christmasy! I did also try knitting last year but found I'm not so good [:I], my stitches seemed to get tighter and harder and I wasn't able to finish much! I made two scarfs in the end lol. I do however do alot of baking with the kids and let them decorate they're own cakes - not always a good thing to let three toddlers loose with icing sugar and sprinkles! they're cakes often sing cavity's to me, but they have fun doing it!
This thread has definatly inspired me to do more!! I had actually seen a book on ebay a while ago on how to make clothes for dolls and things and I wanted to do it but never got around to it. Think I will now. I just think it would be cool for my girls dolls to have original clothes, you know something a little different to what all the other kids are buying out the shop! Plus have you seen what they charge for baby chouchou clothes!!!!???
Also on one of the shopping channels I've seen this GeMagic, with having little girls I thought this would be great just to make things look really pretty in they're room and even make some of they're clothes a little bit different. It's basically a little machine that puts different coloured studs and crystals onto things. If you have the shopping channels, flick through them it's on loads of them. You can buy the kits from ebay but if you watch it on the shopping channel you then get a little demonstration of what it can do.
Strawberry - I think your clock handbag look great by the way!! How very modern and chic! You should defo sell them on ebay, I could see alot of girls being interested in that.
Mirry - Totally loved your gem tree, do you sell them on ebay? if you did I would defo buy one from you. Would be nice in green for my mum, she loves the colour green and it's something she would love!
Well guys I hope you don't mind me intruding on your thread.
But now away to go and do before the inspiration ups and leaves :D:D
Bye all
Take Carexx
Claire
onwards and upwards
Claire....please dont feel your intruding, this thread is for any one who loves crafts as much as we do, you sound like you have a very creative mind. I loved the idea of putting studs and sparkles onto clothing, do you know if they sell them on ebay ?
Funny cos you reminded me about those iron on motifs that you can get in wool shops, I managed to get some recently for 50 p each , they were usually £1.99, they had little snowmen or flowers etc,
well I ironed some onto the knitted handbags I made and they looked really cute.
As for the gem trees , ive seen some on ebay but slightly different in designs, I think most of them are second hand ones...they looked old fashioned with out much *BLING*.
If you do make anything , please show us , we love to see homemade crafts;)
mirryx
thanks for reminding me Piglet, I will watch with interest tonight [:P]
mirryx
Yes mirry they do sell the GeMagic on ebay, But I took your adivice from an earlier post about shopping on the U.S ebay and found that you can get it much cheaper.
GeMagic on Ebay.com -http://cgi.ebay.com/GEMAGIC-MACHINE-1000-STUDS-AND-CRYSTAL-AND-STORAGE-BOX_W0QQitemZ230066746612QQihZ013QQcategoryZ28129Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
onwards and upwards
WOW, its at £5 and only 45 mins left, postage shouldnt be too much I would of thought ?
How much to buy here ?
mirryx
Quite a bit more Mirry, here's the link for the ebay.co.uk
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GEMAGIC-GENUINE-RETAIL-BOX-BNIB-DELIVERY-B-4-XMAS_W0QQitemZ290062978086QQihZ019QQcategoryZ31726 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
onwards and upwards
lol, makes us feel very clever doesnt it lol.
still got 2 hours at £21
what a difference.
mirryx
i dont know how australian dollars compare to our £, but heres the site...
ebay.com.au
mirryx
Here's the site that will give you the demo
[urlhttps://www.asseenontvnetwork.com/vcc/tvnetworkltd/gemagic/183438/?gclid=CNLlpvnBnokCFTwHQgodHHTkUQ[/url]
onwards and upwards
oh [Wow!] I def want one NOW.
ITS FAB,says u can even do candles.:D
mirryx
strawberrie
19-12-06, 20:45
omg, i have to stop myself getting more crafty stuff, as i just dont have room for it, so no gemagic for me :( i cant even look at the shopping channels as i would be drawn into buying EVERYTHING (even those things that cut cucumbers into fancy shapes lol)!
Claire, you are totally not intruding, it is great to hear from anyone who loves making stuff. It is the best thing i have found as a distraction, even my cbt was very excited that i do creative stuff, so much so that i was starting to get embarassed by him keeping on bringing it up [:I] (i think he was hoping for a homemade xmas card or something)!
I think it is a lovely idea to make kids clothes or dolls' clothes yourself. I bet your girls will love that. For the last no-uniform day my little girl went to school in a t-shirt she had painted herself - i think it is lovely for kids to be individuals and not just feel pressured to fit in with everyone else.
Dex, wow, what fantastic cribs. mirry is right, they would make such a lovely keepsake. i wish i knew how to do woodwork :(! i will have to add it to my list of 'things to learn'
keep on with the ideas, its sooo inspiring :D
mag
I have had to do some simple bits of woodworking from time to time and I have my own tool box ([:I]) it's pink (no it's not, it's red really).
Often if I can't afford the things I like I sometimes have a go at making one myself. I bought two wooden drawer towers from Ikea and then bought cheap wooden shelving/skirting board and attatched it along the top and between the two drawer units.
I turned the drawers the other way around (I didn't like the finger holes you use to open the drawers) and put wooden knobs on them and on the shelves I bought cheap wicker baskets from superbuys for extra storage. I then painted the whole new unit cream and stained the knobs and the top dark brown - I had seen something like it in the John Lewis catalogue for nearly £200 and mine cost about £40 in the end.
I also recently turned an old cupboard I got from Oxfam into a mini wardrobe. I turned some boring old wardrobes into something nicer by wallpapering the panels with wood effect (like strips of wood) wallpaper then painting over the whole lot with white paint and adding wooden oak knobs. Now they look like wood panelled wardrobes yet it's just a cheat.
My kids tease me and call me Linda Barker - but I tell you what I've saved some money over the years doing up old furniture etc and I love all that shabby chic look, when I'm not into art deco!!!
Sorry I needed to do a big post cos I am a bit hyped up after watching the House of Agoraphobics!!
Love Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Piglet, I think what youve done sounds fab, my sons wardrobe looks rather sad , so youve given me good ideas for doing it up.
I love watching Linda Barker, she was on Good morning tv this week,
she was decorating candles with those peel off mobile stickers.
I love the idea of making my house look fab , without spending the money. I actually went with my husband to the rubbish dump 2 years ago and picked up a door that was solid, for £5 :D Ity was in great condition and we varnished it lovely. The same door was in a shop near us for sale for £125 [Yeah!] I love the chrity shops near me, I manage to go shopping in there now without panicking, it took me 5 years of going in everyday and getting to know all the staff ,lol.
But I often find lovely material for making curtains or pillows with, Ive only got a small sewing machine but I love it :D
mirryx
Hi all
Thank you for your kind words about the cribs. They are the simplest form of woodwork cos you have to make everything "rough" looking, so there's no straight edges or anything that really needs measuring. It's a bit of a skill to get the wood to look like old beams but you'll master it in about 5 minutes with a good belt sander bolted to a bench :D Use a hotglue gun and jobs a good un ! That's why I like making them cos no 2 are ever identical. It sure beats the stress of proper cabinet making when you know everything has to be perfect and one mistake costs big time. It's happened believe me [8)]
Oooh just found this. Lots of interesting posts
I knit and crochet a lot. At the moment am knitting a fluffy waistcoat for my daughter.
I used to make little crochet bears but havent done any for a while. I have a webpage with some on if you want to have a look. www.pamberbears.co.uk
I also do a lot of art. I like making little art cards ACEOs there are a lot of people who make these and sell them on ebay.
I also do a lot of art commissions as well.
ALl these keep me sane :-)
SOunds like all of you do a lot as well. Off to read through the posts again
Pam x
Pam,
They are absolutely gorgeous - how cute and squeezy!!!
I can't believe you didn't join this thread sooner!!
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
Pam, how lovely!
I bet you sell lots of them cos they are so cute and must take a while to make each one, the details are amazing.
I also live in Hampshire :D (Portchester), would love to come see your stuff if you sell it locally ?
mirryx
I loooooooove your teddy's!! I used to collect teddy's when I was younger, think my mum has bin bags of them in her loft still [:I]. Would pass them onto my kids but they too are getting a nice little collection.
I would love to buy some of your teddy's for my kids. They're birthdays are in march and it would be nice to give them something like that. Do you do requests with your teddy's?
Take Carexx
claire
onwards and upwards
HI Clare
Yes I have done requests but the bears are not suitable for young children as they are really small and have tiny parts on them
Most of them are only 3 inches tall. Depends on how old your kids are really.
Email me pambergirl@hotmail.com and I will see if I can help
Mirry - I dont sell them locally I have only sold them on ebay. I havent done any for a while as I have had so many art commissions.
I also have a website for my art if you want to look www.pamwest.co.uk
Have all you ladies got pics of your work we can see??
Pam x
strawberrie
21-12-06, 20:26
wow, this is fantastic, more people are joining this thread! :D:D:D
well, what can i say, brenda, your art is fantastic, you are really talented, and your bears are sooo cute! i wish i could crochet, i have a yearning to make little crochet retro animals and stuff!
dex, do you have any pics of any other stuff you have done, i am in awe of anyone who can make anything beautiful out of wood.
piglet, your shelving unit sounds brilliant, i reckon i have got the same ikea units. i looooove ikea, i just cant help myself from buying EVERYTHING when i go there, just in case i think of 'something to do with it'! (my loft is FULL of ikea bargain buys lol)
well, i thought i would link to a few new pictures of stuff ive been making, so here goes.
i just HAVE TO post some flock stuff, so heres my mackintosh style flock notebook - sorry the photo's not that clear
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/flocknotebook.jpg
a painting of my daughter on ceramic tile:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/hollycoaster.jpg
one of the xmas pressie book clocks i made:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/clockofdoom.jpg
and cos i like to wrap stuff up nicely, heres a gift bag i made from wallpaper (would look better with black handles i know, but i didnt happen to have any lying around :()
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/P21010024.jpg
i hope you like them, but if you've got any suggestions for improvements, i wont mind!
mag
Oooh Mag I love the painting of your daughter. Brilliant !!!!
Hugs
Pam x
Mag, all that talent!
The art work you done of your daughter is superb, did you copy it from a photo ? or did she have to sit for 20 hour(s like my mother made me do when i was little ?)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I do a part time job , helping people in their homes (great job for a agrophobic ,lol) well one of the persons I go to is a disabled guy aged 40 . He does paintings of wild cats and general wild life and they are absolutely amazing, I may ask him if I can take a photo to show you all.
I am really enjoying this craft forum and will try to get some photos of the fluffy handbags I make on here soon.
mirryx
Gosh Mag that all looks fab.
You know the standard on here is amazing - do you think we might be perfectionists[:I];):D!!! I suppose being anxious does have some benefits then - bet we'd be great in quality control jobs too wouldn't we!!
Piglet xx
Brenda - What can I say........your paintings are fab!!!:D. My fav is your Carnival one, I love the colours and things.
I haven't painted since I was in high school[Sigh...], Art was the only subject I liked and got an A in [^]. Come to think of it, I haven't just sketched something since then either, I was always driving my mum mad with using all the paper in the house by drawing things lol [Oops!][:P].
The lot of you are really giving me alot of inspiration to get right back into everything again, soon I'll be driving my man loopy [Yeah!];)[:P].
Mag - Love you book thats a clock, think that is a really cool idea :) and the painting of your daughter is also lovely!
Would love to say I have something to show all of you, but unfortunatly don't have the time at the mo to get started with everything, spesh now that I'm doing a college course from home [V]. The minute I have a bit of spare time and cash I'm on it!![8)]
Take Carexx
Claire
onwards and upwards
Clair, no pressure , but I am really looking forward to seeing something you have made :D
Piglet, lol....quality control, my house could do with some serious quality control.
I could be the buyer , finding the best materials at quality prices.
What I think would be really really nice is for No more Panic to have a craft page for the public to buy agrophobics crafts , lol.
what would we call it ?
AGROART maybe ?
with it saying ,buyer must collect [:I]
mirryx
Mag, love your wall paper bag, is that a feather coming out of it ?
mirryx
strawberrie
22-12-06, 11:18
awww guys, thanks for saying nice stuff [^]
the picture of my daughter is a cheat really as i made a stencil from a photo and painted it using that (i find something really therapeutic in cutting out fiddly stuff [:I]), but hey, if the end result's the same, why not [?] (i just tell myself that being creative means using the resources you have, and my cutting out skills are definitely better than my 'freehand' painting skills[:I])
piglet, i think there is definitely something to be said for anxiety having some benefits. i do believe that unhappiness inspires creativity, i cant think of many famous artists who were 'happy go lucky' types (except rolf harris maybe! ;)), oooo, and neil buchanan (love him! [:I])
mirry, yes, the bag has some marabou feather and lace on it (i was trying to keep in with the 'victorian lady' look of the paper:D). im gonna have to get thinking about this 'agroart' thing! (we could start a whole new 'art movement' lol)
mag
*Buyer must collect!!!* That cracked me up :D
After Xmas when I can borrow the digital camera of the friend who very selfishly decided to take her camera to Barbados with her, I will take some photos of things for you to look at (not crafts, just things like fruit and vegetables or my stretch marks, that sort of thing :D). Only joking, I wouldn't subject anyone to fruit and vegetables!
Now since reading Karen was gonna knit a blanket (it's now turned into a scarf again) I want to do one for over the winter months. Anyone seen some ideas for a really really easy one anywhere, or got any pointers before I start?
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
so much to catch up on
pam the teddies are gorgeous
mag i love the clocks and gift bag you cant improve on them
piglet i updated my tired old furniture its amazing what you can do with paint fabric and wallpaper i cant wait to see your photos
mirry am gonna try the gem tree i've got a book out the library on jewellry making and going to try it but wont be anything near as good as your earings they're beautiful
my friends working next week so her 12 yr old daughter is with me and she is craft mad she's helping us make stuff to sell we're going to try making a rag doll. i'm knitting a fluffy hat for a friend.
the dolls house blinds are easy
they're too fiddly to sew but i hemmed all the edges with doublesided sticky tape (brilliant invention) then folded the material twice like a consertina to gove the blinds effect and stuck the folded bit with doublesided sticky tape, i glued sequins on then stuck the blinds to the house with blue tack. simple but effective
dont forget to show the photo of yours when you've done them
i missed the second part of house of agoraphobics cos my friends daughter decided to stay the night the first one was good
netty
the dreams of the future are better than the history of the past
father xmas bought me a laminator [Yeah!]
off to make some birthday cards now ......happy crafting:D
mirryx
Lucky devil - I would love one of those, not sure I wouldn't get carried away though :D:D:D
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Now since reading Karen was gonna knit a blanket (it's now turned into a scarf again) I want to do one for over the winter months<div align="right">Originally posted by Piglet - 22 December 2006 : 12:30:36</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
LOL Piglet! That's because it takes less time to knit a scarf. I must be on about my 10th by now :D.
Karen xx
Lol mate - if you join all the scarves together you may get a blanket in the end :D:D:D:D
Love Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
LOL Piglet! That would involve sewing though and I don't do sewing [:P].
Karen xx
I tell you what lovie if you ever get enough together or squares even, then old piglet will sew it all together for you [OK]:)
Love Piglet :)
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
so pleased with myself today, hubby took me to a diy store and whilst there I picked up LOADS OF WALL PAPER SAMPLES lol,
I felt so calm whilst doing it, I was saying to my hubby in front of the staff, well its a new year and I want the whole house decorated, so we need to see how it will look, lol.
One particular sample I got was £15 a roll [:I], its so classy, I want to make table mats with it, so will have to go back and get more cos ive only got enough to do 1 or 2 .
I will post photos if it works out ok.......Im thinking of making up gift sets with a complete table set , tied up with matching ribbon....
then to do drink mats to match.
Taken down all xmas cards and have cut them out to make new cards.
Have you started anything ?
mirryx
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">I tell you what lovie if you ever get enough together or squares even, then old piglet will sew it all together for you [OK]:)
<div align="right">Originally posted by Piglet - 27 December 2006 : 14:52:16</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
Now there's an offer I can't refuse!!! [^]
Guess I'd better carry on knitting then.
Mirry - Well done for your achievements today.
Karen xx
:D:D:D
Piglet x
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
strawberrie
02-01-07, 14:19
hi guys!
sorry i havent really posted over the last little while, partly cos of xmas and all the stuff going on, and partly cos i seem to be having a huge anxiety 'blip' at the moment, i think maybe cos its new year and ive managed to convince myself that some horrible fate will befall me in 2007 :( but anyway, i am going to try and get on with the crafting and take my mind off things [^]
so santa brought you a laminator mirry! trust me, you will be laminating EVERYTHING! sounds like you did brilliantly in the diy store, and the tablemat idea sounds great, show us how they look when they're done.
santa was clever enough to bring my daughter a sticker machine ;), im already thinking of some little creative things i might be able to 'borrow' it for!
karen, i think you've done brilliantly to even knit a scarf - the most ive ever managed is a scarf for my (really small) teddy bear when i was little.
i think my next project might be a jewellery holder - im thinking of just laminating some nice paper and making lots of holes in it to hang earrings from, not sure how i would hang bracelets and necklaces and stuff like that - anyone got any ideas? it needs to be something i can hang inside my wardrobe as i'm making a desperate attempt to 'de-clutter' this year, so im trying not to have too much stuff on show :D i'm hoping it will bring some kind of order to my life ;)[Sigh...]
mag
Ok , Ive made the bookmarks and they look really nice :D
Now my son and daughter want me to make them a Bratz bookmark and a dr who bookmark.
Now this is my question.......
If I purchased some gift wrap paper to make some bookmarks could I get in trouble for copyright?
My husband thinks I could get in trouble, I purchased the wrapping paper and its only craft work ?
Does anyone know ? Im very confused about this.
mirryx
Mirry - I think you could only get into trouble with copyright if you were trying to sell them on as your own original artwork.
It's absolutely no bother if they are just for family and friends.
Afterall what about all these people at craftfairs who sell things with Pooh bear on and the like?
Mags - hun I hope your blip passes soon - I feel abit 'jangly' myself at the moment which I know is mainly down to the increased activity of Xmas but also some family issues are stressing me more than I'd like to admit.
Trouble is with me because I only really confide in you lot and my piglets noone really knows about the agoraphobia. I've had a few digs here and there recently about why I don't work more than my little part-time job, I guess they have hurt me cos it's touching a nerve!
Love Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
hows your crafting ?
Has anyone seen that knitting magazine thats out ?
first one is £1.99 then its £4.99 (I think:()
Well I made 40 book marks and my hubby took them along to my local library who said they will put them on the counter for people to buy :D
They cost me 10p each to make, am selling them for £1 , library takes 20p [Sigh...]
but hey thats 70p profit each , not bad cos it only takes 5 mins to make:)
Have also put my jewellery on ebay.....(its dead on there )
mirryx
Yeah ebay is well quiet isn't it at the mo!
I did see the knitting magazine but wanted to choose my own colours if I did a blanket so thought I would look in my local wool shop and see what takes my fancy on one of ventures out to the shops!!
I really need to be focussing on my studying though so I daren't get too side tracked with any crafts this month.
I am thinking about doing some art work to sell on ebay - probably more in the way of modern art or bold fruit or flowers sort of thing and see how it sells. Just need to catch up financially from Xmas first in order to buy the canvases[:I]:(:D
Piglet xx
"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.
I bought the first issue of this new magazine as it was only 99p and came with free needles and two balls of wool. The magazine has some good basic tips too.
I'm not sure I'll continue collecting once it returns to normal price as probably a knitting book would work out more ecomonical.
I've decided to give the blanket squares idea a go again. I've got several remnants of balls of wool I've used, plus the two that came with the magazine. There is a good pound shop here that sells wool too.
Mind you, saying all that, I have't touched my knitting since returning home [Oops!]
Karen xx
Hi Karen , how did the knitting go ? have you started it ?
update,,,,,
Ive listed some jewellery I made on ebay last night, as it was 10p listing day thought it was worth a go.
My friend has started up glass painting using the outline stickers that you use for card making ,shes made some lovely laterns.
Also Ive been making my daughter some hair bands
(i copied the idea from a shop) and its very easy, i just buy the plain elastic bands and then cut up 9 lengths of pretty ribbon into 6 inch strips, then you tie them onto the hair band, all the way round (so each ribbon has a knot in the middle).
Costs about 60p each , which isnt bad cos I paid £1.99 from a shop.
happy crafting !!!
mirryx
strawberrie
26-01-07, 09:49
yay mirry, im glad you posted, i was wondering how everyone's crafting was getting on.
i had a look on ebay for your jewellery, as usual it is lovely. i especially like the multicoloured bracelet, very pretty. i like the idea of you making sizes to suit - is that mainly for your transsexual customers? i'm unfortunate enough to have huge basketball player type hands, and small wrists (yes, i am a bit of an odd shape, i have abnormally long toes too [:I]), which is really annoying cos i love some of the big bangles that you see, but i cant fit the bloody things over my hands :( Maybe i need to start looking at the transsexual market lol!
well, i have not done anything crafty since xmas. i just havent felt that inspired, and i dont have the motivation i had before of the xmas deadline. Not to sound like a really grumpy old woman or anything either (much [:I]), but i didnt get any thanks, or even acknowledgement for some of the presents i made for people, which pissed me off tbh, as some of them took me ages to do [Sigh...]. In fact, one of them involved sewing [Ugh], and took me weeks, and i added loads of little details too [Sigh...]. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.[^][:I][:I] In my usual passive aggressive way, i will just keep my pissed-offness to myself, and give them something crap from the pound shop next xmas[Yeah!]:D[:O]. There'll be no knitted tea cosies for them next year, LET ME TELL YOU![^]:(
anyway, thats my moan out the way, hope everyone else is getting some good crafty ideas for the new year. I'll let you know when i get off my arse and make something!
mag
HEY EVERYONE !!!!
Forgot all about this post until I remembered it today cos Ive been crafting.
What have you all been up too ? Made anything special ?
Ive been listing on ebay "AGAIN" (I keep trying).
My friend has been doing well with her glass painting, shes done all sorts.
Any new Ideas out there ?
Please check out my ebay item No: 150108278975 ,
its a new style of bracelet Im starting to do, Dont know if it will sell but if it doesnt I will try selling it at a craft fair. Ive listed 4 different ones so hopefully they will catch someones eye ?
The problem is there is so much competition, it drives me mad.
nomorepanic
01-04-07, 20:40
Mirry
I had a look - very pretty.
Do they usually sell for £12?
Just a suggestion but I would do the postage cheaper as well as people know that it will cost no more than £1 to send I expect.
hi mirry :)
i am not sure if this is craft but i am a florist i feel that helps me so much i love starting with a bunch of flowers and making all kinds lol
it is relaxing and i feel it dose help me lots takes your mind off things
jodie :flowers:
Do you think so Nicola ? I didnt know what to do about postage , I copied someone elses listing lol. Ive used expensive beads so its not a huge profit concidering the time Ive put into it,its cost me about £7 to make in materials.
I have been watching other listings fetch £75 for a flower beaded charm bracelet (home made too )!
I am already feeling defeated , there are so many listings its hard to stand out from the crowd....ebay used to be alot better (didnt it ?).
Jodie, thats def a craft !!! I know you need to be creative to be a florist.
so you dont suffer hayfever then ?,lol.
mirry
i do get hay fever but only from grass lol thank god lol
nomorepanic
01-04-07, 23:14
£75 wow! that is madness
Personally I hate being ripped off with postage costs so refuse to bid on principle lol.
I ordered something recently and it arrived in a torn envelope and hanging out the packaging and she charged me £2 extra on top of the postage costs.
She mailed and asked for feedback and I said yes if you want me to leave negative!
Yes I agree about the postage and to try and make it fair - I just bought a dress and the postage is £4, there is no way that it will cost £4 to send and she is only doing it 2nd class.
When I was starting on there I probably charged too much on postage but lately I have been doing a few buy it now items and offering free postage - both went within a day!!
However I have just refunded someone the postage on theirs cos they said they had to pay the GPO £1.84 cos there were no stamps on it - I always get proof of postage but I guess they forgot to actually put the stamps on it at the counter after I left it with them.
I wasn't overly chuffed as I didn't really feel it was my fault what the post office do but I didn't want neg feedback.
Mirry hun - don't undersell yourself either though mate on the actual goods. I find that if you do that you almost cheapen the item and people don't think they are getting anything special then. Handmade jewellery is unique not a cheap mass market item, so market it as such - everyone loves one off's too!!!
Best of luck
Piglet :flowers:
eeyorelover
02-04-07, 03:43
Hey Mirry -
Just a suggestion - hope you don't mind. Maybe instead of charm bracelet which if someone was searching on Ebay would bring up over 14000 different items for sale you could be more specific. The one you gave the item number for has a dragonfly on it and they are very collectable so maybe you could list it as dragonfly charm bracelet with flowers instead of charm bracelet flower design.
Also if they are hand made you could put hand crafted which I know in the US is alot more desirable than one that is mass produced.
Don't mean to overstep just thought I would throw it out there:winks:
xxx
Sandy
The cham Bracelets come in a large gift box which cost me £90p each, so the £3.50 delivery charge includes this but I suppose people dont realise that ?
The jiffy bag cost me 60p, so that leaves me £2 for posting (which Im not sure how much it costs but figured it must be between £1 - £2).
To be honest I usually sell things very cheap and under sell myself which is why I am trying to up my prices... but listing Jewellery is such a gamble,
last week I sold 1 item out of 6 .
I wasnt sure if I should list it as handmade, so I put the word individual instead (once again copying other listings),,,,think it will be a miracle if it sells but will look into the wording dragon fly to see if people actually collect them.
when I went down the town last week, I was looking at charm bracelets for £10 and they were made with cheap plastic beads, but It seems people dont realise the difference sometimes., the good news is, my jewellery has been accepted to go into a posh shop in a tourism area, I feel nervous about it but excited too.
thanks for input , its much appreciated.
You know what we all need is some marketing/advertising expertise don't we. I am sure there are loads of tricks we don't know!
Good luck with it sausage!!
Piglet :flowers:
mmm wonder if there any experts that happen to be members of NMP ?
Does NMP have a ebay account ? , it would be lovely to sell some for comission for NMP cos id love to give something back.
Well buying a teddy does that too mate! :yesyes: I'm totally in love with my bag of fur. I got the really scruffy looking one!
Mirry you could do a thread on ebay selling, or dig up that one we had going for a while, or see if we have any advertising marketing folk on here.
Love Piglet :flowers:
we have got so many teddies that we have to give aload to the charity shop,
me my hubby and son all have asthma so have been told to put the teddies in the freezer to kill the dust mites on a regular basis.
Ive sold some jewellery for the school and it went down well.
nomorepanic
02-04-07, 20:02
Mirry
I do have a paypal account but please make the profits for you and not me as you are not working and need the money.
Have you approached any shops to sell your bracelets?
Nic, I got my husband to show my jewellery to a posh shop 3 weeks ago and they want me to make them some sea theme jewellery which I have done,
its so nerve wracking, I know it sounds mad but I always feel people wont like them (cos i made them) yet Ive sold so much jewellery at craft fairs that really I know its not true, its the self esteem thing again.
yippe!!! I sold a Bracelet on ebay (yep only 1 ) but have one more listed .
Ive just made up some theme Bracelets,
cats/dogs/fish/horses and boats.....any other ideas for themes much appreciated?
Well done mate!
Other themes are endless:- butterflies, pigs, flowers etc etc.
:yesyes: :yesyes: :yesyes: :yesyes:
Piglet :flowers:
strawberrie
07-04-07, 20:41
hi mirry, i had a look at your bracelet on ebay, it is absolutely lovely. I bought a charm bracelet years ago at an antique shop, it is not worth anything, it is just costume jewellery, i think i paid about £2 for it, but i absolutely love it - it has a travel theme, with a mini passport, and tiny old cars, boats, a compass etc. on it. I think something like that would sell quite well (i would buy it!). I agree with piglet, you have endless themes to work from, but make sure to list the theme in the title if you're selling on ebay - you might be surprised but i have done searches before on dragonflies, and butterflies too, so there is definitely a market out there for them.
Good luck with the selling, you should have more confidence in your work, it is beautiful.
mag xx
Hi strawberry, how r u ?
Thanks for the compliments, I should have more confidence I know,
its sad cos the one Bracelet Ive sold I posted out and have had anxiety that they may not like it, or it will break (even tho I know Its secure).
What have you been up too lately ? any new crafts ?
strawberrie
09-04-07, 18:06
hi mirry, i always have that worry when i sell stuff on ebay, even though its not home made - i dont want people to be disappointed with stuff they've bought, but I'm sure they will love your bracelet.
i havent done much crafting recently as i seem to be so busy with doing things i dont really want to do, i dont have much time to do the things i actually enjoy!
I've still got lots of wallpaper samples so i painted a wooden box and ive wallpapered the drawers for a jewellery box. I might post a pic if I remember to take one. I've got a couple of big projects coming up cos i've bought a couple of old kitchen cabinets off ebay which i want to paint pink and do some decoupage on them (i have dreams of a pink retro kitchen :blush: ). Only trouble is i'll have to sand them down first :mad: - not my favourite job.
Keep on posting about your crafts, i love to see what you're doing.
mag
Mag, I Love the idea of doing up old kitchen cabinets, and I love the idea of a pink retro kitchen. Now some where recently I have seen pink kitchen ware in old retro style......maybe it was in the new Tesco book or littlewoods ?
Anyhow, what paints will be using to get the desired effect ?
My husband has an electric sander which works really fast. ..we were thinking of doing up an old dining room cabinet so would love tips.
take care
Oooh Mag I am just about to get myself a pink kettle with my birthday money from Argos - I already have a pink enamel bread bin.
A few years ago when I decorated my kitchen I used some nice flowery fabric for curtains (its a kitchen/dining room all in one) from Laura Ashley with some red gingham to contrast on them and then I used all the colours of the flowers for my accessories.
So I can choose from pink, red, or leaf green - and I do!!:D
My piglets know I love Cath Kidston stuff so I have a few spotty mugs of hers and some cheaper versions from Woolworths too.
I also repainted all my horrible orange pine cupboard doors cream and put on new dark brown wooden knobs and honestly it's like I'd had a whole new kitchen put in.
It's the most used room in the house now!
Piglet :flowers:
Piglet , your kitchen sounds BIG. We will all be round for coffee soon.
Infact Ive seen some lovely spotted mugs in the Tesco book that I like, Im getting more daring with colours , after years of safe colours in the house.
OMG! I have just found this thread and will have to add some pictures of the knitted animals I like to make. Every year I knit a pile of cuddly toys, hats and scarves and then I put them in decorated shoeboxes (along with other goodies) which get given to children in poor countries at Christmas.
I also sell things on eBay but find that most people want something for nothing so it's difficult to make any money at all on hand made stuff.
I also like to buy second hand or vintage clothes in charity shops and then I cut them up, alter them or sew beads and sequins on them etc to make something unique for myself. I have also bought fluffy jumpers in charity shops and then unpicked them for the wool (but only if it was extra special)!
I will add some photos at a later date.
By the way, your kitchen sounds lovely Piglet :flowers:
Love and hugs, shoegal xxx
SHOGAL, cant wait to see your knitted goods, what a lovely thing to do sending it off to the children in poor countries.
I love the idea of that, like you say ebay fetches poor prices that its not really worth it.
I love looking around the charity shops, Ive found lovely beads for my craft there.
strawberrie
10-04-07, 17:02
hi guys, shoegal, it's very nice of you to spend time making stuff for other people. I'd love to see your knitted animals, i love knitted toys, there's something so homely about them. My kids were given a couple of knitted chicks for easter, with a hole in them that a cream egg pops out of. As well as being cute, they also look quite rude, which is always a bonus:D . Post some pics of the clothes too, if you can - they sound great!
Piglet, your kitchen sounds lovely, in fact it sounds like exactly the sort of kitchen i would imagine you to have - i just KNEW you would have a pink enamel bread bin! :)
mirry, i don't suppose i'll be able to give you many tips on decorating cabinets, as it's just trial and error i think really - i was just going to use normal satinwood or something like that I think. I might have to think about getting a new sander - i have a very basic one that vibrates a lot, but doesnt actually sand anything, which isnt much good!
keep on with the ideas!
mag
Piglet, your kitchen sounds lovely, in fact it sounds like exactly the sort of kitchen i would imagine you to have - i just KNEW you would have a pink enamel bread bin! :)
ROFL :yesyes: - I am totally predictable really arn't I, a sort of a cross between a New Age old Barbie and Chatty Cathy meets Linda Barker (except that I don't have any of their figures!). God I sound gross :weep: :lac: :yesyes: .
Well guys 'n' gals I went out in the middle of the day with young piglet to get the said kettle - it looks so faberoony, I feel a major pink fest coming on now!!!
Love Piglet :flowers:
[quote=Piglet;207973]Your kitchen is lovely and so homely and I can see why you spend so much time there.
Well done for getting to Argos for the pink kettle :yesyes: I've seen similar ones I think. Pink kitchen appliances do seem to be the in thing this year!
Karen xx
Piglet. Can you post a picture of your kitchen with its new pink kettle? I would love to see it! And I'd like to see those clocks you have made too! :winks:
I will post some pictures of the things I have made when I can get my camera working.... but I don't think I've got any knitted animals lying around as I've given them all to charity.
Love and hugs, shoegal xxx
Fab space cadet !!! Piglet will love it me thinks ?
OK I AM ON A HIGH.......my hearts palpatating big time .....
My jewellery has been accepted to go into a TOWN CENTER , yes just where I need to be , omg im so excited Ive got to deliver my jewellery there today!
Cant belive it I need to calm down (only just found out).
YIPPEE !!!
Lucy Lucy Lucy OMG - well I have just added that to my favourites!!
You should have seen me clasp my hands in pleasure - like a pig in mud!!
Funnily enough the ladieswears is from a clothes company I do use actually called Nomads!!
Ooooooh lovely, lovely, lovely!!:yesyes:
Piglet :flowers:
Ah lol big time Luce - when I saw the little tank tops I too wanted a boy to dress one in!! :D :D :D :D
I was watching Grand Designs last night and they were building an Art Deco house which is another favourite period of mine - I really love stuff from around 30's - 50's!!
OOh lashings of ginger beer and all that!!
Piglet :flowers:
strawberrie
12-04-07, 18:17
hi, lovely shop lucy, theres loads of that enamel retro stuff around at the moment isnt there, its just sooo cute! I like their old fashioned household tip too - if your room smells of paint, then get rid of the smell with a bucket of water, onions and hay! hmmmmmmmm... not sure!:huh:
mirry, omg, you have the startings of your own jewellery business - do you think you could make a living from it if it really takes off? That would be amazing! I told you you should have more confidence in your work, you're obviously getting loads of interest in it! To make any sort of money from crafts is pretty good going I think. Let us know how you get on with building your empire! :flowers:
mag
Thanks for the support Strawberry, I was nearly in tears last night , hubby said that the town center is too far to travel and we have to pay parking fees there so whats the point !!!
He said we can go there if I, want but he dont think its worth it, I was so upset so said "dont bother" !!!
Honestly having agrophobia is no fun, how can i get there alone ?
I hate relying on other people to fullfill my dreams, its so frustrating ,I want to earn money but I feel doomed.
sorry for the rant,
take care
strawberrie
13-04-07, 09:22
awww mirry, i dont know what to say :hugs: . How did you get your jewellery accepted there in the first place - did you manage to go in already? If so, do you need to go in again, maybe you could send it in or something like that instead? You were really excited about selling your jewellery in the town centre, so personally i think it would be worth pursuing. This is just a first step, so if you managed to go in with your husband and had to pay the parking and travel and it meant that you were hardly making any money, it might lead to much bigger orders where you do make more money to cover your costs. I don't know, it is a really tricky one.:shrug:
Sorry, i am pretty useless at suggestions. Maybe someone else has got some ideas?
You have got over the most difficult first hurdle (making work that people want to buy), so i'm sure things will work out, it will just take time.
Take care :flowers: :hugs: :flowers:
mag
I agree with Mag hun, can you possibly send the jewellery in by post or something. Sometimes at the begining of things people don't make much but get their items known and it builds from there.
Love Piglet :flowers:
Hi all well it sounds like a great idea i myself havent done crafts for ages i moved onto painting canvases that really helps with my anxiety and when i get depressed like today i love to paint.
i used to do christmas cards i have a room full of stuff for ir and never got back into it. shame really
great ideas though
Ashnjim, Id love to do painting....I can imagine its helps anxiety cos your lost into another world almost..what things do you paint ?
I was supposed to deliver my jewellery in town yest between 4 & 5pm, but cos I was so down hearted I just didint turn up. I feel my husband doesnt understand how important this is to me. He said just do craft fairs with him, which is fine but its difficult with the kids in tow. Ive got my jewellery in 3 local shops (of which the 1st shop sells "alot" the 2nd sells here and there and the 3rd one is poor) Ive got to deliver to another shop which is about a 10 min drive away and my husband approves of that one (grrrrrrrrrr) and its in a tourist area where lots of rich people go.
I have been doing so well, I have been ok shopping in my local area and this week have stood in huge ques with my kids and have had no problems, but the thought of traveling into a town center and doing business is overwhelming......I used to drive but get panicky on big roads, ebay doesnt work cos its got really silly prices.
Also Im supposed to be going into a shop that isnt open yet, its someone my father knows so I have that to look forward to.
Yeah I feel more positive now, thanks xxx
Update, hubby took me to the tourist shops and they have taken my jewellery and are selling my bracelets for £35 !!! I get £20 of that.
Im amazed, but they are the cheapest thing in the shop lol.
When we went in there I felt like I couldnt care less if they took them or not, I have been feeling very dispondent.......In a way it helped cos I didnt look desperate.
Fab news hun :yesyes:
Piglet xx
strawberrie
14-04-07, 14:22
thats fantastic mirry, you are doing so well! I think what you're doing is pretty amazing. Just going round to shops getting them interested in something you want to sell is enough to make most people break out in a cold sweat, and that's without agoraphobia.
I do think it's a shame that being creative is often not really enough, its also all about running a business and selling, which is something a lot of creative people find hard, as they find it difficult to push themselves forward. Who knows what lovely creations we are all missing out on!
so you're doing brilliantly mirry, keep on going! :D
mag
Thanks mag for your support, its much appreciated cos some days I get really hard on myself. But today we went to some local table top sales and whilst there I found some vintage charms, 2 cameos, 1 car & 3 stunning flower pendants, and the best bit was I got them all for 30p !!!
Now Its set off my creative imagination.....so many possiblities that Im feeling excited.
Mirry you know I wear a lot of gemstone pendants - well mostly I just use them on different silver chains but now and then I think they would benefit from hanging on a coloured suede thong.
The only thing is I don't know how to put a fastening on a peice of cord or thong - please could you talk me through it??
Love Piglet xx
hi mirry... have you got a website??? i also make lotsa jewellery, and really love photography... my fella bought me an a3 printer for xmas so i'm just saving up for a 10 megapixal camera so i can start selling prints... i hadn't picked up all my jewellery making stuff for about a year but picked it up other day and REALLY got into it again... i've decided to set up a website (with the help from my fella's brother) and advertise my stuff in as many places as poss... i really hope it all sets off cos i love doing it and it can mean being agoraphobic AND working, yay!!! anyway, just wondered if we could see your stuff???
Piglet, ok how do you want to do this ?
we can do this 2 ways,
1) I can send you some cord and findings with a drawing of instructions then we follow it thru on here if you find it difficult .
2) or you get your materials then we talk it thru ?
Tell you what I will post what you need here in a mo ,
back soon.
Hi Honey, Ive considered getting a website but the way my jewellery didnt take off on ebay made me decide to sell in shops instead. But who knows it may just work.
I make all sorts of different jewellery, some are bead weaving, some are stringing, pendants, charm bracelets ect. I love to sit and create my own designs. I went to jewellery school for 5 years and picked up alot of good techniques and was once lucky enough to be taught for one day only by a lady who was trained by the queen mother jeweller !!! That was at the isle of weight pearl center, and a wonderfull day it was, *I felt fantastic doing it.
Even today I picked up the local college leaflet on classes on jewellery making ( i just cant get enough). I will see if I can sort out photos for you.
Where do you live honey ? we could do it together if your in hampshire by anychance ?
Piglet,
These are the things you will need to make corded necklaces, if you are using rounded cord (instead of flat cord).
on ebay Item no: 320102045976 are some cord thong connectors.
Item no:330106874687 are some jump rings
Item no:330106873352 are some lobster clasps
But like I said before I can send you what you need for free cos my father picks it all up in china for me at dirt cheap prices !!!
I have different colour suede style cord so let me know what you want.
Mirry I ordered a few days ago some brown leather thonging which is 5mm rounded but I have also got some other colours in other sizes coming - would I still use the same fixings for all of them.
I will be back later when I have had chance to look at what you said on e-bay.
Love Piglet :flowers:
Piglet,
If you get some cord thong connectors in a slightly larger size than your cord then what you do is fold over your cord into the hole so its doubled.That way no matter what size cord you get it should fit.
I like to buy bits from www.beadsunlimited.co.uk (http://www.beadsunlimited.co.uk)
if you click on online shop you will see a drop down menu,
click that........
go to page: 51 findings
there you will see the two different styles of crimps for corded necklaces that you can use,
the leather crimp flat is easy to use, you just place your cord into it and squash down the 2 sides with some pliers. (dead easy).
Then if you look below that , you will see the Jump rings....
go for the 5mm or the 7 mm size.
Also on the same page are the Trigger clasps (they are stronger).
Piglet forgot to say the crimp that is flat tend to fit most cords, It is also the easiest to use .
Hi Honey, Ive considered getting a website but the way my jewellery didnt take off on ebay made me decide to sell in shops instead. But who knows it may just work.
I make all sorts of different jewellery, some are bead weaving, some are stringing, pendants, charm bracelets ect. I love to sit and create my own designs. I went to jewellery school for 5 years and picked up alot of good techniques and was once lucky enough to be taught for one day only by a lady who was trained by the queen mother jeweller !!! That was at the isle of weight pearl center, and a wonderfull day it was, *I felt fantastic doing it.
Even today I picked up the local college leaflet on classes on jewellery making ( i just cant get enough). I will see if I can sort out photos for you.
Where do you live honey ? we could do it together if your in hampshire by anychance ?
hmmmm, im slightly more inexperianced than you... i did go college to do creative design cos i didnt really know what i wanted to do but only ever self taught myself it really.
the thing with ebay is that things go for so little on there its not really worth it if you wanna make a decent amount of money... i live in south wales so quite a way away but if you know anyone who could set up a small website for you, it could be a great idea, advertise it in local papers, magazines, stick flyers through doors or leave piles in colleges or libraries etc... as long as you dont spend too much on advertising you havent really got miuch to lose... thats what i'm planning to do anyway... we'll see, i'm feeling very enthusiastic at the mo but not sure how long it'll last... would love to see some pics of your work... i love jewellery, especially necklaces, i have sooooooo many
Honeybee, I was offered a web site last november, a friend of mines husband said he could do me a good web site but to be honest I wasntsure if that was what I want. The reason being I want to get out and about more, so thats why I went down the shop route, Its really not easy making money out of it full time. I manage to make about £30 a week from it and hopefully that will increase with the new shops ?
Honey give it a go and see what happens, it could well be a big hit which would be great. Its great to follow your dreams.
Also we are doing alot of craft fairs this summer, I usually do well at these so fingers crossed. Also I take in repairs for people and word is getting around,
I also have a lady who gets me to make her earrings to match her new outfits, she goes to buy the beads and I put them together whilst she waits, it only takes 5 mins and she pays me £5 !!! I wish I had more clients like her.
Mirry that's funny I was gonna ask you about the flat claps as I have necklace like that already - do I need to buy any special pliers for this or can I use the normal ones I have in my general tool box???
Thanks mate.
Piglet:flowers:
Oh and also funnily enough I have a brochure for Beads unlimited too that I got awhile ago when I wanted some beads.
Piglet :flowers:
Hi
I have just started painting again after a break of 2 years, oils mainly and sketches. I do enjoy it when I get started but find it hard to motivate myself to start.
I do cross stitch and jigsaws but again its hard to start but i keep trying.
nessx
Piglet you will just need flat nose pliers, for making the necklaces however it is very usefull to have 2 pairs , cos sometimes the jump rings can be so stiff that you need to grip it with 2 pairs of pliers to prise it apart.
You may get away with just using the flat nose pliers alone, But if your going to get a 2nd pair then go for the round nose pliers, so that way you have one of each (very handy for jewellery making).
Hi smudgie, Id love to try painting cos it looks so relaxing.How long have you been painting ?
Mirry take a look at this item as an alternative to having to use 2 sets of pliers 170101137660.
Piglet :flowers:
Piglet , thats an interesting item, Im not sure what to make of it tho,
by looking at it , it seems like you can open the jump ring with it without using any other tool (as it shows someone using it with the hand,
but if the jump rings are good stiff jump rings ,then you would need to use at least one tool with it.
Having said that, where I have been making jewellery for years I find using 2 tools really easy but remember in the begining I did find it awkward.
It all depends what you want to do, if you want to progress and use your tools for other jewellery making skills then buy the pliers,
but if its just for making corded pendants then it doesnt really matter which one you choose.
Well reading the method they suggest, they say you put the ring on your thumb and then put the jump ring in the slot and with your pliers in the other hand you turn it. So you do have to have a least one set of pliers - I can see the principle actually and how it really is just like workmen using a clamp to hold something down while they work on it.
I can't see me really making jewellery like you say other than to make coloured cords for different pendants etc, so think this will suffice for me and at 99p I won't lose any sleep over it lol!!
I love accessories and really like it when they are crystals etc - I kinda feel funny if I wear plastic type crystals now, I'm not saying I never would but sometimes things can feel like they have no soul if you know what I mean.
I do wear long plastic strings of beads though and we all know I'm not above pulling those of the Xmas tree if necessary!! :yesyes:
Piglet :flowers:
Let me know what you think of it when you get it .
I know what you mean about plastic beads,,,, I never use plastic in my jewellery because like you say it has no soul, its cheap and manmade.
I need sweing machine help please anyone ?
I was sewing a bit of material and the stitches looked fine on the top, but when I took the material out and turned it over the stitches looked all loose and baggy underneath :ohmy: .
I am quite new at this so would like a diagnosis please :blush: .
By the way : I am making handbags (hopefully ,lol).
Well it's deffo your tension hun.
You either need to adjust it at the top or tighten/loosen the screw on the bobbin.
Love Piglet :flowers:
cheers piglet, will go try and sort it.
Alabasterlyn
01-06-07, 17:46
Yeah that's definately a tension problem, sounds like the needle tension is too tight. I hate that with using a sewing machine as it's only when you finish doing a bit of sewing and look underneath that you see the mess there :ohmy: I guess that's why they always suggest you do a test piece first :D
strawberrie
12-06-07, 12:30
hi guys, been a while since anyone posted on here and i do miss a bit of craft chat, so i will start wittering on again! Not been very happy lately :weep: and sometimes that can send me into some kind of crafting frenzy, where i just 'need' to make something there and then, so i've been crafting like mad.
partly inspired by your gem tree mirry, i made a ring. It's supposed to look kind of like an explosion of stars and stuff, (i just labelled it 'ring' because 'ring explosion' sounds pretty unpleasant!):blush:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/ring.jpg
here's a box i covered with wallpaper which ive finally got round to taking a photo of.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/flockbox.jpg
i've been having a good go with polymer clay (fimo) too making flowers with wire and beaded stems - does anyone else use polymer clay? - i have just started making clay canes which is very satisfying, but i could really use some tips as there as so many techniques i'm finding it difficult to know where to start!
Also, any last minute craft ideas for father's day - i'm having a mental block cos everything i've been making is too girlie really.
Let us know how your crafts are going!
mag :flowers:
Strawberrie!!!
You had me in stitches with your 'ring explosion' :ohmy: :blush: :winks:
ROFL, PML, LMAO ETC!!!
Love and hugs from shoegal xxx
Mag I love the purple ring - just my sort of thing!!! You know you are really good at this sort of thing and should sell your stuff more cos it's so professional.
If you lived right near me we could have a mammoth making session - ooh maybe have our own shop and everything!!
Now girls I bought 2 good books recently (cheaply of Amazon).
1. Cath Kidston 'Print' - you know I love her stuff and the book was worth it for the pictures alone. Give me abit of vintage shabby chic and I'm away. She never throws anything away, just readapts it by covering it with material (just like us). I like the way she added patches of fabric to a cardigan too - so that's sent me off on one!!!
2. Colour me confident - the authors of this book are those image consultants 'Colour me beautiful' and as I have always wanted to have my colours done this seemed a cheaper option to £90 a shot!
As I've got older my colouring definately has changed - maybe not the underlying colour of cold and warm but my skin colour has certainly gone paler.
I used to think I was really good with colour but lately feel like I don't know what colours do it for me or not anymore.
Anyway this was a fab read and made me dig out stuff I haven't worn for a while and try other combinations etc.
Love Piglet :flowers:
Strawberry I love the ring :yesyes: , its really different .....wow !
And I like the box covered in wall paper, I love different ideas.
Ive been doing a bit of crafting again, making bags:blush: , Im taking a long time doing them cos I dont know what Im doing ,lol.
Will post photos when done:winks: .
Piglet the books sound fab, Ive heard of colour partys , where you get alot of people together to see a consultant but now you got the book you can do it yourself :yesyes:
Happy crafting xxx
strawberrie
13-06-07, 14:10
hi guys, well, i'm going to make you all very jealous now cos i had my colours done for free! My old boss arranged an image consultant to visit her team for a xmas activity - i reckon she thought we all needed a bit of a makeover so it was her sneaky way of doing it.
Anyway, most of the day was advice like 'bogeys hanging out your nose do not create a good first impression', well not quite that, but it was pretty obvious stuff! But the colour bit was good. I still use the advice now, and that was a good few years ago, and it helped me hugely with choosing lipstick which before i could never figure out! Let us know how you get on with the book Piglet, I bet there's as much info in there as you would get at a private consultation anyway.
How are your bags coming on mirry? I see you had problems with your sewing machine. I only feel the urge to sew very occasionally so each time i get the sewing machine out i've forgotten how to use it and have to learn all over again - it's very annoying - i'm quite fascinated by people who can sew all neat, it's a skill i don't think i will ever be able to master :mad: .
I love the idea of a shop Piglet. Secretly I already have a name for my fantasy shop, which i cannot divulge in case there's spies about :secret: but needless to say it will be an emporium of all things lovely!, i'm envisioning bunting, and retro crocheted animals, and sculptures and jewellery made out of all things recycled :cloud9: . I probably should shut up now, i'm getting a bit carried away!:emot-drool:
Mag :flowers:
and retro crocheted animals,
Piglet sighs in delight and thinks immediately of very long legged skinny rabbits in grey crochet and decided to tell Mag about the crochet flowers she's just bought off e-bay to add to all her woollens!!!
Mag when you had your colours done were you Clear and cool?? They have renamed the catorgories now but that's the one I would put you in!!
I am having a real wardrobe assesment and I am about to appear in lots of shade of blue!!! :yesyes:
Love Piglet :flowers:
strawberrie
14-06-07, 09:41
oooooooooooooh, crochet flowers! love them! I've got a couple of people on my favourite sellers list on ebay that make flowers with crochet and felt and stuff - i wonder if they're the same ones you bought from Piglet! lovely!
i've just had a good old rummage in my drawers :blush: to find my colour wallet. You are obviously a colour genius Piglet, cos I am cool, deep and bright apparently - things like turquoise, jade green, purple, bright red etc. It sort of made me realise its more about the tone of the colour than the actual colour itself, so although red seems like a warm colour, you have blue toned reds (like wine), or more orangey toned autumnal reds. Is this what your book says too?
Let us know how you get on with your shades of blue, i'm gonna have to have a look at your pics now and see what i reckon you'll be!
Have fun
Mag:)
Oooh yes do look and see what you think cos I had the most terrible trouble mainly cos my hair colour is out of a bottle lol rather than my natural colour!!
I think in my teens and twenties I would have been 'clear and cool' cos I did have dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Over the next 20 years though I have a cough ... a percentage of grey now in there and my skin tone has lightened considerably and my eyes have sorta softened too.
I seem to get the most compliements when I wear clear bright clean looking colours probably with blue undertones but I can wear beige or mossy green just as long as it is mixed with white - like a white t-shirt with beige cardi.
I've ended up with 2 possibles by a process of elimination but fall slightly more in to one than the other.
Yours was quite easy as 2 of my piglets have the same look as you!
I'm seriously thinking of forking out for the colour swatches now to have them to hand. Already this week youngest piglet has told me I look good on 3 different days so a little tweak here and there seems to work doesn't it.
I think every decade you need to have abit of a reassess of yourself not just colourwise but shape and style wise too!!
Love Piglet :flowers:
Hi,
I noticed this craft forum so just wanted to mention what i like to do.
I have been painting all my life and wanted to do it professionally but anxiety robbed me of my confidence so now i just paint for myself and my family. I did sell a few paintings when i was younger in an art shop and got such a thrill when i got paid for doing something i love so much. I hope to be able to do that again in the future.
I like painting with acrylics, and paint all different subjects. It is so relaxing and can take you away from any negative thoughts. Very therapuatic.
Josephinex
Hi Josephine, You must be really artistic being able to sell your paintings, what sort of paintings do you do ?
My husband has said in the past that he would like to paint, and as its his 40th birthday this august Id love to buy him everything he needs to do it,
can you please advise me what I would have to buy and how much it would cost?
I havent a clue how to set him up ???
thanks
Josephine - ooh we'd love to see your work hun!
Love Piglet :flowers:
Hi Mirry,
I only paint in acrylics so thats what i know most about. They are definately the best medium for a beginner to use as they can be used like a watercolour if diluted or similar to oils if used straight from the tube.
They do not cost much at all. The better quality the more the cost. there are some great sets in Argos for 20 pounds. Everything you need to get started. Easels, canvas boards, paints, brushes. They are great.
Also, thanks, Piglet. I would like to show you some pictures but i dont know how.
My husban is a whizz on the computer though, so maybe with his help I can get them on here.
Love Josephine.x
strawberrie
16-06-07, 10:14
hi josephine, i would love to see some of your paintings - any way of posting them on here? it's very impressive that you've managed to sell your work in the past, who knows what the future will hold! painting and creating in general is so therapeutic, it is so absorbing your right it does take you away from your negative thoughts. Let us know what you've been doing, i love hearing about other peoples creations, and i'm sure you'll be able to give us some good ideas and tips too! :flowers:
Piglet, i had a good look at your photos, tbh i think you've got it sorted anyway! you definitely suit the white, but i think you also suit brown too, but i reckon that's more of a cool brown you've got on in the photo, so in my highly professional opinion lol, i reckon you suit cool colours that are strong, but not necessarily bright, if you know what i mean. btw, your hair is so utterly, utterly fabulous it's just not fair :mad: .
mag xx
Mag,
I think you're absolutely right about the browns hun and I'm going to bear that it mind when shopping for them - cos some really wash me out and that must be it that they have the warmer undertones, whereas I need the cool undertones.
Thank you so much for what you said about my hair - I'm at that very funny age of wondering if it looks right. I'm always sayin to trac67 do you think I should get it cut. I'm okayish with the colour - although I do remind myself of Lily Savage from time to time (I have quite alot of grey at the front so this helps blend it in). Also it's the easiest hair ever - cos I just wash it and leave it and on bad hair days can just have plaits or a side ponytail etc.
Now another thing perhaps you can help me with is tattoos - have any of you got one??? I'm am thinking of having a tiny tiny butterfly or flower done on my shoulder or ankle and I wondered if any of you have any advice. I like dainty things - I've got my nose peirced (did it 10 -12 years ago) and that just has the most tiny silver stud in it the size of pin head cos I'm not into anything too dramatic looking.
Love Piglet :flowers:
Hello everyone.
I have never been a natural at doing sewing and other craft things.
However my brother got married last year to a lovely girl from the Philippines called Reyan. Reyna has a five year old daughter still in the Philippines and my brother is going through the process of adopting her so he and Reyna can raise her here in Ireland.
As I guess eveyone knows the Philippines has a very hot climate and Ireland doesn't :wacko:
I would love to knit Nicole (the little child) a jumper for when she arrives here in (hopefully) a couple of months. Her favourite colour is yellow.
Does anyone know of a fairly easy pattern for a child's jumper? My knitting skills stop at plain and purl and casting on and off, so I need something easy.
Or if anyone knows any internet sites where I could get a free pattern, that would be great. My mom and sister want to knit jumpers for the little girl too so a whole lot of knitting is going to be going on :D
Thanks in advance.
Eibhlin :flowers:
thanks, that would be easier buying a kit all ready for him to use .
strawberrie
17-06-07, 12:10
hi Eibhlin, sorry i cant give you any tips on knitting, cos i have no idea at all - there's definitely some knitters on this site though so i'm sure someone will be able to give you some good advice - let us know how you get on!
Piglet, i can just picture you with a pringles tattoo, who could possibly not want a cute little moustachioed man on their ankle? you would be the talk of the town at the next pringles convention! :wacko: i think i change my mind too much about stuff to get a tattoo - that said, if i had one i would probably have a cute little strawberry. do you know what sort of style you would like? might be worth searching on lots of images of tattoos to get some ideas - you must post a pic of it once you get it (especially if you go for the pringles idea:winks: )!
mirry, how you getting on with your jewellery sales - let us know!
mag xx
Yes I fancy a flower below my ankle with slight scolls leading off so it the whole tattoo has a basic L shape!!
I have spent 20 years thinking how I would love to have a tattoo but being scared of the committment, so I might aswell have had the flippin thing done in the first place!!
I've seen loads of images and many people have them but cos they're under clothes you don't know - you could have strawberry on your hip or something!!!
Thought you may like to look at a couple of quilting sites that have scrumptious fabrics that I've been using for a few years now in the states - the postage is not stupid and only takes a week to come.
www.buttonsgalore.com (http://www.buttonsgalore.com)
www.fabricparadise.com (http://www.fabricparadise.com)
www.equilter.com (http://www.equilter.com)
You'll be on there ages I tell you - such lovely fabrics so no end of choice for all our little projects!!!
Piglet :flowers:
Hi Piglet:flowers:
I have a tattoo on my left ankle!!!
Its a small baby red devil in a nappy sitting on a cloud, with my husbands name under it!!!
I had it done in some sort of mid life crisis but have never regretted it!!!
I will show you it at the meet up!!!
Luv Kaz x x x:hugs:
Lol nice one!!!
LOve Piglet :flowers:
purpleshoes
20-06-07, 13:19
Hello! :) I'm sorry I haven't read the whole thread but I thought I would pop in at the end, I'll have a proper look later at all your lovely things.
I agree that arts and crafts are a great distraction when you are not feeling great, I make candles and cards (although that can be a bit fiddly and frustrating sometimes!) I also did my first drawing for years a little while ago, and once I could get over the fact that I have no talent, and just enjoy it, it was great, I just dissapeared for a few hours!
I am a memeber of a great craft forum too if anyone is interested, I will post the link later as it's at home.. it's very small and friendly over there. xx
Hi purple, Id love to see some of your crafts, like how do you make candles ?
I love card making, and would love some tips cos my husband and I have been married 15 years on the 11th july, I want to make him a card but need some ideas ? Ive only ever made cards for females ,lol.
Just wanted to update on my jewellery sales,
Made £85 last sunday doing a table sale !!!
Have been offered two new outlets !!!
and doing a sale tomorrow.
Really pleased.
And doing a cheaper range now (sorry piglet, Plastic beads) but people want cheap so I will give them what they want.
Oooh well done Mirry!! :yesyes:
Love Piglet :flowers:
lol done the school fete this morning "ON MY OWN" and made £163 !!!
Also won the raffle (lots of new boxed games).
Absolutely enjoyed it. If only it was that good every time Id be rich,lol.
I think the 'on your own' is of even greater value that the money hun!!
So proud of you Mirry - well done mate.
I am painting a little jagua tattoo of a flower on my ankle to see what it might be like to live with one. They last upto 10 -15 days so lets see.:yesyes:
Love Piglet :flowers:
I make cards my favourite ones are iris folding ones. For a bloke theres a kit with two champagne glasses clinking together and i do these with the age and name of the guy. I think they are anniversary ones but I don't care, they look effective to me and suitable for a guy. My brother is getting one for his 40th next month!
Iris folding is dead easy and very effective, you don't need to go to a class to learn it.
Just thought i'd pop into this forum and say hi. Its theraputic crafting isn't it but I don't wanna appear a dweeby crafter per say!!! ROFL
Piglet , how on earth can you paint on your own ankle, that sounds very complicated ? But its a good idea, to see if you want one or not, let us know how it goes.
Sax, its my husbands 40th next month too ! But I didnt make him a card, Ive picked a special one up from the shop saying to my husband on his 40th.
I used to go to card making classes a couple of years ago and have done the iris folding, it is very effective isnt it, I know the two glasses one you mean, like you say they can be used for lots of other occasions.
I remember doing a little easter chick doing iris folding and a Bell (for xmas)..
I used to enjoy them classes but she put the prices up to £10 a lesson !!!!
I love crafts , and would love to own a craft shop (dream), but apparently they are opening up a new hobbycraft shop near me soon YIPPEE !
Piglet , how on earth can you paint on your own ankle, that sounds very complicated ?
I am very bendy - no seriously I am very bendy. I did it yesterday and so far so good - lol it never occured to me that it could be considered a tricky place to get to - now the centre of my back may give me problems!! :yesyes:
Piglet :flowers:
lol, Just as well you are bendy then (got a photo of your art work ?).
strawberrie
10-07-07, 09:29
wow, you're doing brilliantly mirry, you're making some good money there! and its great that you're getting out and enjoying it too. i've got to admit, i kind of love plastic jewellery, i'm a big fan of cheap!
purple, have you got that link, i'd like to have a look!
sax, be proud to be a dweeby crafter, i know i am lol!:blush:
piglet, go get that tattoo done, you know you want to :D
mag xxx
I think you are so brave, Mirry, to sell your jewellery on a stall. I paint and would love to sell my paintings at summer fetes etc. I have no confidence and would find that so hard to do. Maybe oneday. Well done to you, though.
Josephinex
sax, be proud to be a dweeby crafter, i know i am lol!:blush:
mag xxx
Sorry about comment guys was just joking I AM PROUD TO BE A CRAFTER PMSL:yesyes: :shades:
josephine,.
Must admit my anxietys been bad today so it does depend on how im feeling on the day. your paintings could do well , I seen a man doing some and he made some sales.
Hey everyone, whats happened to our beloved Craft forum :shrug: .
Just an update, I got a book from the library all about button Jewellery craft so have been making some bits lately, they are really different :yesyes: .
Basically its all about wirework and buttons and beads.
I will try to get some pictures uploaded if I can remember my account details ,lol.
What crafts have you been making ?
I could show you a picture I painted of some apples if I knew how to upload onto here - it is on my facebook profile now (have you seen it Mags). Mirry are you on facebook hun??
Love Piglet :flowers:
no , Ive never heard of it ?
The painting sounds great, pls try to upload it.
strawberrie
06-08-07, 10:52
hi guys, i had a look at your apple picture piglet, it is absolutely fab, you are a very talented painter, fantastic! :yesyes:
mirry, let us have a look at your button jewellery, i'd love to have a go at something like that. strangely enough i went to the library the other week and i got a book out that had unusual jewellery in it including button jewellery. some of it looked lovely, so i'd really like to see what you've done.
i spent most of last night making a flower out of felt, i'll see if i can post a pic later. i've also been doing lots of fimo lately, i made a pendant that looks like a chocolate, so i've managed to combine my two favourite things - food and crafting :blush: !
you know girls, its only 4 months til xmas, which means only 4 months to make lots of pressies :ohmy: - anyone got any ideas?
mag xx
Aww shucks Mag thank you lol!!!
Don't forget www.buttonsgalore.com (http://www.buttonsgalore.com) for a massive choice in buttons and the postage from the USA isn't bad either from what I remember and only takes a week.
Right we need to get our heads together for our Xmas ideas - lol Mags you'll already know what my friends are getting for Xmas now won't you! :winks:
Really want to see what you lot do with buttons and Mag I also want to see the flower as I intend to buy a few felt flowers to add to jackets this winter.
Love Piglet :flowers:
strawberrie
06-08-07, 15:34
ok, well i finally managed to find some batteries for my camera in my hovel of a home, so here are a couple of pics for you.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/Copyoffeltflower.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o315/milesandmag/craft%20stuff/Copyofchoccy.jpg
my daughter is rather taken by the idea of a chocolate necklace. i think i'll put some beads on it, and hang it from a ribbon. Unfortunately, i recently had a particularly nasty altercation with the woman who works in the local fabric shop, so now i can't just pop in there and get some beads cos i'm too scared! :blush: :mad:
piglet, ive tried to get onto that buttons website before, and all i can get is the home page, its weird, is it just me?
i already got a cheap wooden tray from ikea which i'm going to decorate as a xmas pressie, but ive not got anything else in mind yet. anyone got any ideas for kids pressies, kids are such a problem nowadays, everything they get has to be cool :lac: , not like in my day when we got a spacehopper and that kept us busy til the following christmas! ahh, happy days! :cloud9:
mag :)
Perhaps just try putting Buttons galore on the google page and see if that gives you a better link hun.
I love both of those things mag and want to eat the chocolate one - was the felt flower hard to make??
A couple of years ago everyone gotted (gotted?:wacko: ) knitted scarves from me cos I could do them in such gorgeous colours and of course no one else had them. The year before that it was the bags the year before that the clocks.
I need to think but I don't usually do any thinking in August so that's a shame.
Love Piglet :flowers:
lol, I love our craft chats :D .
Kids have gone to my parents :yesyes: so I will try to get the button photos uploaded tomorrow ?
The book I got from the library is called "Button Jewellery" by Sara Withers.
It has some lovely ideas in it , including hair slides.
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Now I cant believe you mentioned the chocolate jewellery because my daughter and I made some last week :ohmy: , we melted a big bar of chocolate and poured in some liquid glucose and it went into a pastry ball shape, then we rolled it out and cut out heart shapes , my daughter rolled out bead shapes and we used a knitting needle to make the holes to thread them.
It was quite messy but the end result was sweet :winks: , you can use white chocolate and use colourings to make it bright.
You could do xmas shape pendants ?
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Also I purchased a flip flop card made by a friend of mine for my neices birthday, its so lovely I may get a photo of that for you to see too :yesyes: .
strawberrie
08-08-07, 15:45
oooh, maybe there is a sudden craze for chocolate jewellery! i've not thought of making it out of real chocolate - do you think it would go off after a while? the jewellery book i got from the library had bracelets made out of licorice allsorts, and they were just varnished with clear varnish so that might be ok?
the felt flower was easy to make piglet, i just rolled strips of 2 different colours round each other to make the middle bit, then i stuck petals round the edges, and just did a little bit of stitching and gluing to keep it all in place. i think i might make a few on wire or something and have some mini flower pots around the house!
mag xxx
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