October 29, 2007

Happy Halloween

I have to say I have felt a bit 'bah humbug' about Halloween. I think it is because it has become all about money wherever you go (maybe I am just a bit sensitive to this) but don't get me wrong I love celebrating all the holidays and give me an excuse to have a party and wouldn't miss it. But everything these days just seems lost in commercialisation and it drives me a bit nuts. Like Christmas, people round my parts have to have their house decorated full-on about 3 weeks before the actual event. The shops have all gone halloween stir crazy and I'm a bad mom for not buying scary skeletons that hang from the ceiling and make a goulish noise when you touch them.

That being said Emily and I did make Halloween biscuits today and iced them in this holidays colour of black with yummy jelly beans and we did carve out a pumpkin yesterday too. Good old traditional things to do! I also have apples waiting to be made into a pie but we will just have to see if that happens.

On a more exciting note I made these two masks the other night in preparation for the masked Halloween Ball I am going to Belfast tomorrow night. I can't wait and its full on glitzy glam. I have my black party frock complete with gold sequin shrug, fur stole and long black gloves! There is always a swing band that plays followed by a DJ and last time we went there were can can girls! Its all based in the Spiegaltent, which is a fancy marquee, in Custom House Square, Belfast. I made the gold mask for me and the silver one for a friend who is coming too. I am so chuffed with these and here is my little princess modelling them!

Oh and look at my gorgeous cuties. Emily is on the left making pretend beans on toast for Daddy's tea - a sponge cut into triangles and painted brown for the toast, with orange tissue paper beans and orange pva for sauce (as inspired by Mister Maker - how great is that show?!). Of course Daddy's boy wouldn't be complete without his Hammers shirt! He just looks so grown up.

Sorry to go on but on a completely different note I wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted and left such encouraging comments on my last post, I am a bit rubbish with replying at the moment but I appreciate all the kind words and support. I have now taken a job with good old Marks & Spencer and will be working 3 nights till midnight in the week and a Saturday night. Its a much better compromise than the original 5 mights they were offering me. I now feel that I can at least get a little bit of money in without it totally compromising my relationship or my creativity. Its only short term and certainly not what I want to be doing forever, but for now I think its the right thing to do.

And on another note I went to see Jose Gonzalez last night and he was just fantastic, a nice mellow and relaxing night out (apart from my annoying sore throat and cough - boo hoo! But hey thats another story)... :)

Posted by Maxine at 09:22 PM | Comments (2)

July 20, 2007

Scrummy Jam

Well I made some absolutely delicious (even if I do say so myself!) blackcurrant jam with my crop from yesterday! I have fond memories of my mom making jam when I was little but I have never made any myself, but thanks to an excellent Google search which led me Jane's blog I got instructions on how to make it! Sal this is definitely a blog you will love! She has a wonderful blog about her allotment and other interesting stuff. So thanks Jane!

It is so super easy and very satisfying, I am sure there will be more jam coming my way soon!

Posted by Maxine at 09:05 PM | Comments (4)

May 01, 2007

Sugarcraft Bee

Last Friday night I met up with my friend Susan and her sister Cathy, to try our hand at making and decorating cupcakes. Cathy is getting married in August and and wants to have a tower of cupcakes for her wedding cake, so we thought we would make a start and get some practice in to see what they might turn out like.

I think we didn't do too badly and even though there were some wonky ones, you don't notice them when they are all bundled together. The idea is probably to intersperse them with some kind of flowers. The night ended up in total hysterics and dilerium as were we making and decorating cakes until well after midnight! Then we got to eat them - YUM!

Posted by Maxine at 08:13 PM | Comments (7)

March 19, 2007

Craft Night

Well the Friday night craft night for the ladies at St. Marks church went very well indeed. They are all such a good bunch and are eager to get stuck into whatever projects we set them. They had a ball making the cards and egg cosies and absolutely loved the felt making process. I was a little unsure how many would be keen to have a go at the felt making, as it was a little different to the other nights we have done, but a lot of them really enjoyed it and even managed to make some super thick felt to make their bunny egg cosies with, as you can see from the pic.

Its so nice spending a night encouraging other people to be crafty and we even got a chinese too! I would love to do more of these, I really enjoy them myself. Susan and I celebrated our crafty night success by going to the pub and having a couple of pints - what a great end to the night.

We will be meeting up over the next couple of weeks to try our hand at making felt slippers! So I will keep you posted about that one!

Posted by Maxine at 07:52 PM | Comments (0)

March 09, 2007

Craft Night WIP

Just a peak at some more preparation for next weeks ladies craft night. I made a couple more egg cosies and also started working on some cards - it is Mothers Day weekend after all so it would be rude not to.

I have never bought stamps before because I have this weird thing about everything having to be made from scratch and be as original as possible. So this kind of crafting/card making I always felt it was a bit of a cheat. But I thought I would give it a go as part of the card making will be re-fashioning existing envelopes and I wanted some easy way of decorating the envelope. So here is the first attempt. I have to say I really enjoyed making these, probably because they were so easy.

I will post more on this and a tutorial for the envelope soon.

Posted by Maxine at 12:17 PM | Comments (2)

February 28, 2007

WIP Wednesday!

Well its a work in progress everyday really. So here is the start of the massive undertaking of knitting a patchwork blanket and also learning to follow some patterns at the same time. This is proving rather tricky and I am still baffled for the knitting language. But I am happy with my progress so far and I am quite chuffed I have managed the texture one. The balls of wool give you an idea of the colours I am using, although I do need to get some more creamy colours in there I think.

Posted by Maxine at 08:44 PM | Comments (1)

February 24, 2007

Finally A Little Craft

Its not much but at least its a start at getting back into the swing of crafting. Last night my friend Susan and I had a craft-bee, its been a very long time since we got together to be creative. We have another ladies craft night booked in for the 16th March so we thought we better get cracking with some ideas. The ladies loved the easter craft we did last year so we thought we would incorporate some easter festivity.

I have to say that the above picture was taken at about midnight after a couple of glasses of wine and lots of giggles. I had such a good night and was in a very silly mood! These are our first attempt at some bunny egg cozies/pouches. The egg kind of fits snuggly inside the bunnies. Susan actually managed to make some felt and make the bunny from the felt in one night - this is the blue bunny. So we may even be able to fit some felt making into our ladies night. There are a few tweaks to make and variations of the bunnies that we would like to do but at least we are on the way.

We also thought we would do a few more simple traditional egg cozies to offer a choice and give people some ideas, especially for those people who are not too good at sewing. I really like this one and the simple shape could be decorated or appliqued in all manor of fashions.

Finally just a little photo of Emily creating a sea picture the other day, when we spent all day in our pyjamas!

Posted by Maxine at 04:56 PM | Comments (3)

February 08, 2007

Chocoholic

Extra chocolatey cupcakes. Yum.

I just can't get enough enough chocolate these days, so Emily and I made these extremely yummy and addictive cupcakes, then sat down to a cup of hot chocolate with chocolate cookies while they were baking!

Posted by Maxine at 08:08 PM | Comments (2)

December 14, 2006

I Made Something At Last!

I finally managed to reach one of my goals and make Emily and Harrison christmas stockings! It felt so great to be making something again - it seems so long since I was even in the slightest bit creative. I really wanted to get these made and wasn't sure if I would ever manage it with Harrisons marathon feeding sessions. So I decided just to keep it really simple and pretty much threw this together, so as not to create any unnecessary stress and also make my goal realistic. I am really pleased with how they turned out and for once I don't care about any of the wonkiness or the fact that they are a bit rough around the edges.

Just so you know I didn't make the birdy but I thought I would share it with you since I think it is just lovely! I am so pleased that I came across this because I tried to buy one of Donna's lovely creations but she didn't have any spare unfortunately - I have to say hers are much nicer but at least I have a little birdy of my own.

Posted by Maxine at 07:17 PM | Comments (1)

August 15, 2006

Birthdays, Anniversaries & Stuff

This past weekend has been hectic to say the least. What with four kids birthdays, one friends birthday two birthday parties and our 5th wedding anniversary, it has been hard to keep track of them all! Here is part of one birthday present I made for Ellie (who is just a bit older than Emily). I packaged it all up with a little wooden spoon, a ginger breda man cookie cutter and some ready made cake mix. I was going to make a little headscarf to go with it as I thought it would be really cute, but the past week has been a bit of a nightmare for me and I haven't felt well again.

I have an ante-natal appointment this week so I will check things out then but all the signs point to anemia (not that I like to self-diagnose, but from what I can tell from talking to other people and I already have an iron supplement). I don't eat enough iron rich foods, hardly any red meat or eggs and other stuff so I am sure it would help if I improved my diet too. Its so frustrating though cause the tiredness is unbelievable and I can only do small short tasks. I get really breathless if I stand around for too long and that leads to me feeling faint, so its not good. I feel bad for Emily though as she is watching constant TV at the moment and I don't have much energy for entertaining her. I am just glad I am going to stay with my mom next week, it'll be good having someone around to help in the day, something I could really do with right now and she is great with Em - I know they will have fun.

Here she is enjoying one of the birthday parties from the weekend. Taking advantage of the bouncy castle when all the older boys had got off. I love seeing her have fun and she had a ball.

Also, as I said it was our 5th wedding anniversary (which we spent at birthday party!). We were hoping to go out for dinner but everywhere closes early on a Sunday so it didn't work out. We just lounged around and watched a film instead and we are going out for a lovely dinner tonight. Have to make the most of this as once junior is born we'll not have much of a chance for a while. We also purchased a wonderful photo-intaglio print by Deirdre McCrory, who is a member of Seacourt Print Workhop as a present to each other. It was a hard choice when trying to choose at the gallery but we are really happy. I will have to try and get a good pic to show you. I have my eye on an Esther Brimage print too, but I think that will just have to wait!

Posted by Maxine at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)

August 03, 2006

Help!

This is a cry for help to all your lovely knitty blog friends I have out there. I am pretty useless with knitting and this is about all I can manage - well I have knitted a ribbed scarf before. But scarves are my limit - nice straight lines (even these turn out wonky!). But I just love the therapeutic value that knitting has and I really fancied getting out the needles last night.

This is a ball of wool I recently thrifted and it is actually more green than blue - its weird how its photographed. Anyway my problem is - I don't have a clue about what needles to use with what wool and tend to use whatever I have lying around. I decided I was going to try knitting a skinny scarf and so far its not too bad. But I would like to be able to knit it really loosely so it looks a bit more holey and is nice and soft (and also quick to finish!). What should I be doing? The above needles are a size 6 and the wool isn't particularly thick. If I want to do this would I need really big chunky needles or am I just knitting too tightly. I am a bit heavy handed and I can't help but to pull things nice and tight.

What do you think? Any advice would be greatly welcomed. I am not looking to knit wonderful items just yet but it would be nice to get a better grip with being able to knit in a straight line and get the result I want.

Thanks knitty friends!

Posted by Maxine at 10:23 AM | Comments (2)

July 27, 2006

Mosaic Night

This weeks crafty night was a day early as Susan is busy doing a mural at Belfast City Hospital (hopefully she will put pics up on her blog soon to show you just how wonderful it is!). As part of the mural she is doing a 'William Morris' inspired mosaic of birds and flowers as you can see from the image above. So what better for a craft night than to combine the two and have a night experimenting with mosaic.

As you can see I worked on some smaller pieces, partly to experiment and partly to use up some mosaic tiles I have had sitting around for years. I had a great night. It was so satisfying working on something different and I used simple shapes so as not to over complicate it. Susan devised a method of making a mould in order to use cement for the tile itself. The process is wonderfully simple and sparked many ideas, such as using found objects, buttons and beads instead of tiles. You can see my pieces after they have set above and the final result is trial and error as the leaf shape didn't work too well. They are not completely finished, I still have to clean them up and apply an acrylic wash over them so the cement is not so harsh looking.

Altogether a satisfying night!

Posted by Maxine at 09:07 PM | Comments (2)

Getting Things Finished

So many people around the crafting blog community are taking part in 'Work in Progress Friday' and I have thought about it each week but I seriously have that much I would need to be 'Work in Progress Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday' so I never take part! But I had a burst of energy the other night and decided to try finishing off a few things. The first was the monkey purses, which I had cut out ready to go. Two of these are now accounted for but I still haven't sold anything on Etsy. I am trying not to let this bother me too much as the last thing I need is to start getting paranoid and down on myself, but it would obviously be nice to make one little sale! I will keep on with though as it is early days and I have lots more things I could put in there such as, more bags, more purses, aprons and my prints to name a few.

I also put together a couple of drawstring bags for an order that I am way behind on. I still have to get the ribbon to finish off the drawstring part, but at least the bags are made. I have also been asked to make a matching belt for the bag, which could be cute so I also have to think about this too.

But sadly this project I couldn't finish. Just as I suspected the wool, when folded together is much too thick for my machine. I still intend to finish it somehow as I think the end result could be really nice. So before I result to dodgy hand sewing does anyone have any advice? Is it possible to get a shorter needle/foot or will sewing this potentially wreck my machine?

Posted by Maxine at 12:52 PM | Comments (4)

July 21, 2006

Sock-Monkey Purse

I was so excited when I got this cheeky fabric and finally I have made something with it. 5 little naughty sock-monkey purses, the outside is made from felted wool and it has a snap closure. I am really pleased with these and I will definitely be keeping one for myself!

I am surprised I managed to get anything made with how tired I have been feeling. The doctor gave me some iron tablets yesterday so hopefully these will kick in and start boosting my energy. I still don't like the idea of taking anything so I am just going to take them for a while and see how it goes.

If you would like some cheeky monkeys looking after your money, the purses are now available in my etsy shop! :)

Posted by Maxine at 01:57 PM | Comments (6)

July 16, 2006

Labels

I finally got my very own labels! I find this very exciting and feel like attaching them to everything. W reckoned I should attach one to Emily as she was also 'lovingly handmade!'. I have only hand sewn this one in, as I couldn't wait and getting the sewing machine out was going to take far too long and I just wanted to see it in place now!

I am really pleased with how they turned out and they were very reasonably priced too. I think the baby blue is fast becoming my signature colour. I can't wait to get using them properly.

Posted by Maxine at 08:28 PM | Comments (6)

July 12, 2006

Another Night Crafting

This is a bit late, like a few other posts that will be happening shortly! As you can see we had quite a good night crafting last Thursday. We decided to make it a 'make things from wool blankets' night. There really is so much scope when working with a good felted wool.

Susan decided that she was going to make a softie pig as she had a pink wool blanket. I thought she was very brave considering that she was new to the whole sewing thing, she certainly dived in there at the deep end. I made a simple tote and matching purse, using some of the lovely fabric I received recently to decorate the front in a simple patchwork style. I am very pleased with the result of this and I think I will have to make a few more of them for the shop!

Posted by Maxine at 05:09 PM | Comments (2)

July 05, 2006

A Little Girls Birthday

I am over a week late getting this to our friends daughter, Cordelia. I wanted to make her something but I just didn't seem to get the time last week. So here it is finally made. I am loving using this Holly Hobbie fabric, as you have probably guessed from the various things I have been making and I suppose it is good to use what I have available.

I am really pleased with this little set. I wasn't too sure about the name on it at first but it is growing on me. I added a little ribbon around the wooden spoon and I was gonna fill the bag with cookie cutters and cake sprinkles. I have yet to find these goodies so it will inevitably be another week before it reaches its destination. Hope it is worth the wait!

Oh and thank you for you kind comments about my shop! :)

Posted by Maxine at 10:53 AM | Comments (6)

July 04, 2006

Up and Running

Well I have finally managed to put a couple of things up on Etsy, after the initial problems. The photos are ok but not perfect by any means, but today I figured that I should consider this much progress positively as trying to get anything done with a demanding hyper (but lovely) 2 and a half year old is near impossible. Most evenings I am good for nothing and could sleep as soon as Emily is in bed too. How do those super crafty moms do it?!

There is not much on at the moment, just my corsages, a couple of bags and purses. But go ahead and check out my shop, I will keep updating it when I get the time.

Posted by Maxine at 07:52 PM | Comments (4)

June 20, 2006

One Eyed Moopy

I finally got around to making a mini-moopy courtesy of Moopy & Me. The pattern was so clear and easy to use but I'm afraid I have decided that I am not much of a softie maker, as much as I would really love to be. I am sure it is a case of practice makes perfect and I should keep on trying but I am afraid I am one of those people who gets easily put off things. This is an aspect of my personality that needs a lot of work but that is a conversation for another day.

It was all going really well and I was really pleased with my choice of fabric, but the mistakes started early on. Whilst trimming the excess from around the eye I accidently snipped a hole into the body. Instead of abandoning it and starting again (I hate unpicking things!) I decided to give moopy a patch over her eye to disguise the hole and stop the stuffing from coming out! Then after sewing it together and turning it right way round (boy that was hard, is it just me?!) I realised I had sewn a little too close to the edges in some areas and I ended up having to repair holes on the ears and leg where the joins had come apart.

I had such grand ideas to make these for as presents for a few people but now I not so sure. I have another one cut out and ready to go but yep I am scared of failure. Maybe I should just do it and not worry. Also I was wondering if I'm not cut out for small things and if I made it a bit bigger maybe I would have more sewing success.

I also made 'Patch' on the same night, which I actually quite like. Although again the pattern needs some working out as I didn't leave myself enough room on the curves for the fabric to flow neatly. This was loosely based on 'Bebi' (below watching TV with Emily) which I made a couple of years ago now. I made a mini version too, which I sent as a gift to my friend Sal at the time. Maybe this is the way to go for softies with me! I am such a perfectionist it is no wonder I never get anything done.

Posted by Maxine at 01:41 PM | Comments (6)

June 16, 2006

Simple Girly Tote

I realised that a it was a friend of ours, daughters birthday this weekend (they live a long way away and in fact I have never even met her!). As I am on a budget buying a gift was really not practical, so I thought I would make her a little bag. I have been meaning to use this Holly Hobbie fabric I thrifted for ages, but its something that needed the right project really - like a girly bag! I hope she likes it, I think she is 6 this year (or maybe 7!) so its a perfect age for girlyness.

I also got a bit carried away and made another two while I was at it! So considering I hadn't been feeling well I had a really productive crafty night last night. One thing I know is that I could really do with some more buttons and trim. My supplies are very short. I will have to keep a look out! Hopefully I will be able to build up enough things to finally get around to opening an Etsy shop, plus I will have more stock for swaps - I just love those swaps!

Posted by Maxine at 11:05 AM | Comments (6)

June 13, 2006

Strawberry House

Look what I made with the scummy fabric I received from Donna. Its a teeny weeny strawberry house t-shirt for Emily. I have to tell you that this is by no way perfect, it was much trickier than I imagined. Trying to wind the t-shirt round the sewing machine whilst trying to make sure everything was in the right place and most importantly not sewing together the front and back of the shirt!

Despite its wonkiness I am happy as it is just such a jolly shirt. It was only a cheapy t-shirt so I can always get more to experiment on - maybe just one shape next time though!

Posted by Maxine at 09:40 PM | Comments (4)

June 01, 2006

Crafty Thursday

The other day I decided that the only way I was ever going to be productive was if I scheduled specific time to make things. So Thursday is my day to be creative, hands on, making, painting, creating and experimenting.

Tonight I thought I would make a drawstring bag. Sorry about the poor lighting in the photos but I really am in a 'get things done now' mood and so I couldn't wait for the morning! This is a modified bag of my first attempt done tonight, which I didn't photograph - but believe me it was the most GIANT tote I have ever seen in my life and was actually quite funny. I really don't know what came over me to make it so big!

In the end I decided to shorten it considerably and ended up with a more rectangular shape which I actually quite like. It needs a bit of work to get it ship shape but I think I will try more of these. The straps are for giants too and are really wide so they scrunch up a bit when you hold it but I'm not going to worry too much. I used a brown polka dot ribbon for my 'string' which is actually another fine brown ribbon threaded through.

This is a peek at another project I started tonight. I thrifted a wool blanket the other day with the sole purpose of felting it. I have been wanting to do this for a long time. The blanket is not the prettiest but I thought it was worth an experiment, I may even dye some of it to make it more interesting.

The question is - will my sewing machine be able to handle sewing something so thick? I am really quite unsure about this and a little nervous. This is my second machine and I don't want to end up breaking it. But at the same time I would like to sew this up! If anyone has any words of wisdom I would love to know before I put my machine through its paces.

Posted by Maxine at 11:50 PM | Comments (8)

May 23, 2006

Quick Necklace

Here's a very quick necklace that I made whilst watching TV last night. There is not much to it really, except beads and green ribbon for the cord. I just love chunky beads and I especially love this colour green. I had seen a few different necklaces around but never anything with the exact colour that I just love right now. So a trip to the bead shop was all I need for pea-necklace satisfaction. Next time I will make something which requires more planning and detail. But for now I am happy with this simplicity.

Posted by Maxine at 09:23 PM | Comments (6)

May 21, 2006

Sewing Again

This is not exactly the most exciting thing on the planet but at least it made me get my sewing machine out again. It has been so long since I made anything or created anything. In fact I haven't taken part in Illustration Friday for ages too.

Well this cushion makes me very happy. It is my support cushion from when I was pregnant with Emily and it used to help my very sore back and also came in useful for breast feeding. It had been sitting in the loft for the past couple of years and had a very horrible tatty white cover on it. So I decided it needed some love and attention and I used this lovely fabric (which was a duvet cover thrift find - I have already used it for other things) which goes perfectly with my room. Sitting with it on the sofa, with my cup of tea is like getting a big hug - I love it!

Maybe next time I will have made something a bit more exciting, but for now I am happy. :)

Posted by Maxine at 08:35 PM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2006

Easter Update

This post is a little late coming but I will feel much better knowing that I didn't just let it fade away into nothing. Here are the things that we made with the church ladies for the Easter craft night. The Easter basket is courtesy of Martha Stewart (a great resource for holiday inspired craft) and the flower pin I have posted about before is courtesy of Mollychicken. Everyone had a great night and loved making both things. We indulged a bit on fabric and chocolate eggs to fill the baskets with, which unfortunately made a big dent in our profits but you live and learn!

The craft fair was the next day and I had high hopes for this one because it was well organised and it was in quite an affluent area. But can you believe I didn't sell one single teeny weeny thing, not a sausage. Very disappointing. Oh well, the problem is with these events you can never tell how they will go.

Posted by Maxine at 04:26 PM | Comments (3)

March 18, 2006

Flower Pins

I just made these two flower pins from a wonderful and simple tutorial over at Wise Craft. Thank you so much for this Blair, they are so much fun to make. I even covered a 5p instead of a button so that I don't have to part with my lovely buttons! It worked quite well.

I am doing a craft night next Friday for a bunch of moms and these will definitely be a feature. I also think I will be making a few more for myself!

Posted by Maxine at 01:51 PM | Comments (2)

March 08, 2006

Production Line

Last night I finished up these batch of pins. It is so satisfying to get so much done and these were a joy to make, just sitting in front of the TV with a cuppa and my sewing supplies.

I am not too sure about the yellow ones, they looked great in the dim lamplight last night, but not so great in the daylight. I think I will definitely have to do more pink too as it is such a lovely happy colour.

Overall I am very happy. Just hope everyone at the craft fair feels the same way!

Posted by Maxine at 01:45 PM | Comments (6)

March 05, 2006

Circle Pin Continued

I sat last night and cut out a lot different colour circles. I have really started the production line and it feels great to actually be seeing results that don't take a life time to do.

I am really happy with this green one. The vintage flowery fabric is one of my favourites and I will have to make another bag to match the pin! I decided to give a blanket stitch a try instead of the running stitch. I still like the simplicity of the running stitch but this definitely has the edge for me I think. I might do a variety of both.

There is bound to be another post coming soon when I have them all complete!

Posted by Maxine at 09:21 PM | Comments (0)

A Current Project

I thought I would post a couple of picks of my latest project - Emily's new room. I have a long way to go yet but the sky is taking shape. Eventually the little clouds will teeny little smiley faces, there will be green rolling hills with a little house sitting on the top of one. We have the most fantastic sun light fitting for the ceiling, the only difficulty was choosing bedding to match, but I think it is almost sussed.

We want to make Emilys transition from cot to 'big girl bed' an adventure. We are hiding the room (which surprisingly hasn't been that difficult) so that is a wonderful surprise for her when its done. I am sure she will love it!

Posted by Maxine at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2006

Work in Progress

Here's a preview of what I am working on at the moment. It is a range of corsage cards made from a combination of felt, fabric, beads, and buttons. These are my first two in pink but I intend to do a range of different colours, using new and vintage fabric and buttons. I thought it would be a good idea to attach it to a blank greeting card so that it could be sent as a card/present combo. Although attaching it to the card is proving a little tricky (hard to believe but true) so this could possibly change at some time. But so far so good I think.

NOTE FROM LATER THAT NIGHT: Have changed my mind about the card thing now. The more I think about it, the less I am happy with the idea. I have decided that attaching the pin to the card lessens its value as it is seen more as a greeting card than a corsage. I will still mount the pin on a card in some way as it is a food way to package it...

Posted by Maxine at 06:43 PM | Comments (4)

March 01, 2006

Mini-Swap & Tie One On

I can finally post about what I sent my Mini-Swap partner, which is also what I made for this months Tie One On theme of the 'Mapron'. They received the parcel this morning and really liked it, which makes me so happy I can hardly explain. I agonise over every little detail and totally worry about people not liking things. I realise I have a slight self confidence problem and this is something I need to work on.

This is why it is extra special to me that little Noah liked his goodies! I made him this apron, which has lots of pockets, which come in very useful as you can see. I also made a matching bag which was filled with cookie cutters, chocolate, stickers and a frog (he likes frogs!). I laminated two little cards with recipes on them which fit snugly into the car pocket, with little illustrations of Emily on the front. Emily made a couple of cards with her favourite googly eyes and covered the parcel in stickers!

This project has been a joy for me and hopefully we can do it again when Emily is a little older and take a bigger part in the swap.

Posted by Maxine at 01:44 PM | Comments (3)

February 12, 2006

Wonky Bunny

I thought I would have a go at this simple tutorial from Mollychicken last night. What should've been really simple I totally over complicated, made too small, used the wrong fabric and was much too tired to really start working on something! But I just had to give it a go.

I didn't have enough felt lying around so I used a scrap of this woven fabric, that every time I touched it, it frayed and got more and more difficult to sew. I also made it slightly too small which made it awkward and went a bit mad on the old blanket stitches.

I will not give up though and I will find out my felt and start again, taking note of all my mistakes.

BUt just so you know Wonky Bunny is beautiful on the inside.

Posted by Maxine at 11:58 AM | Comments (9)

February 01, 2006

Gift for a Friend

Finally I can put up this lovely print that I purchased for Susans 30th birthday! I have been waiting until I gave it to her before I posted so she didn't see it. Its just so perfect for her. The funny thing is quite often she would sleep after work and be late turning up somewhere (sorry Susan hehe) and generally loves her sleep. I told her one day that I thought she was a cat and she said that I wasn't the first person to say this!

So when I saw this print in The Black Apple's shop on Etsy I thought it was perfect for her and luckily she loved it too! Etsy is such a cool place to buy original presents, I would thoroughly recommend it. In fact some day very soon, when I get my act together I will open a shop on there too.

Posted by Maxine at 08:52 PM | Comments (1)

January 08, 2006

Tie One On - Apron From Old Clothes

What a great theme for this months 'Tie One On'. I just love recycling old clothes or duvets or in fact anything! I have to say I am really pleased with how this turned out. You have to excuse the photo of me, as I do look like a bit of a maniac or maybe slightly Stepfordy with that very plasticy looking grin!

Anyhoo the apron is made up of two of Warren's old shirts. The one with stars I have been keeping for ages cause I thought the fabric would come in very useful some day (and it has!). The pale blue is the back of a lovely linen shirt of Warren's that somehow got a big splodge of black ink on the front, when I washed it with a permanent marker! I didn't have the heart to throw it away and stashed it in another 'I'll use it for something' kinda way.

The pocket is simply just the pocket taken from the shirt and attached to the apron, with a zigzag stitch around the edge just to add a little detail. One of things I love is the bit that goes around your neck, as it is the front strip of the shirt which contains the buttons and I just left the buttons on.

It did take me far too long to make, but for some reason whenever I get my sewing machine out I spend half of the time rethreading the needle, running out of thread in the bobbin and fixing things. Is it just me? I really enjoyed this project though, a good start to the New Year!

Posted by Maxine at 08:55 PM | Comments (1)

December 15, 2005

Craft Leftovers

Ok this list is mainly for my lovely friend Darren, but also for anyone else who is interested in purchasing leftovers from the Craft Fair. Between 10 and 20% of these sales will go to the Down Syndrome Association (I will donate 20% but some items are by other people, who think it is 10% so I don't want to change these). Also I am considering this list a kind of teaser - mainly because I haven't got the time at the moment to photograph every item separately (very lame I know, but with Christmas pressies still to get, a house over flowing with mess and laundry, a sick child and husband, I am running out of steam!). So, you can see some of the items in previous posts but if you are interested in anything then let me know and I will be sure to get a photograph of that item before money exchanges hands!

Crafty Goodies
1. Felt purses (see in previous post 'More Purses' - £8 (20% donation)
2. Rug hooked christmas tree decorations (see recent craft fair post) - £8 (10% donation)
3. Narnia Christmas Cards (from the mural - see previous posts) pack of 6 - £10 (20% donation)
4. Various handmade corsages - £8 (10% donation)
5. Various handmade greeting and christmas cards - £2 each (20% donation)
6. Rug hooked cushions - £28 each (see craft fair pics) (10% donation)

Arty Goodies
1. Screenprinted Guardian Angel in red & black (see craft fair post) - £45 unframed or £65 framed (20% donation)
2. Screenprinted Fallen Angel in red & black (see craft fair post) - £45 unframed or £65 framed (20% donation)
3. Drypoint framed 'Whirlwind' print (couple embracing) - £40 (20% donation)
4. Collograph print 'Lovers' (see recent craft fair post - at the bottom of pic 2 lovers in embrace) - £45 unframed (20% donation)
5. Large Screenprint 'Tea for Two' 2 spotty teacups against vintage flock wallpaper - £80 (20% donation)
6. Various leaf inspired watercolours - £28 each (10% donation)
7. 2 different handmade paper sculptures - £65 each (must double check this price with my friend) in box frames (10% donation)
8. Various screenprinted converse shoes on handmade paper - £35 each (20% donation)
9. Large 'Cumman Strand' landscape in acrylics (you can see it hanging in craft fair pictures) - £120 (10% donation)
10. Black and white linoprint 'My Street' - £40 (20% donation)

This should keep you going for now! There are a few more bits and pieces, but hopefully there will be something here. Don't feel obliged to buy anything and you will have to trust me to forward on all donations if you do!

Thank you for showing an interest - it is very much appreciated! :)

Posted by Maxine at 03:05 PM | Comments (4)

December 13, 2005

Craft Fair & Other Things

After a busy weekend, feeling exhausted Sunday evening and a sick child (she has a very bad cold) I am only just getting around to this post.

So here's a few pictures of our fair on Sunday. We had three large tables, which we spilt between cards, prints & paintings and sewn goodies such as corsages, cushions, purses etc. It was a great stall. Unfortunately the fair wasn't busy at all and we only sold a few things, mainly cards. I think it was the same for everyone. Although everyone seemed in high spirits for the day.

On another note, Susan (pictured with me above) and I went to the CS Lewis lantern parade on Saturday night and walked with it to the cinema, where we finished our night by getting a big tub of popcorn and watching the 'The Lion, the Witch and the 'Wardrobe'. We had a great time and I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to go to a parade here that's non-political and multi-cultural. I will definitely be going next year, its just a pity that the July parades can't take on such a carnival atmosphere.

Posted by Maxine at 11:04 AM | Comments (2)

December 06, 2005

Lightweight Purse

Here is a prototype of a lightweight purse I made yesterday. I will be making a variety of these to sell at the craft fair on Sunday. I think its nice to get some small pieces together which might be suitable for stocking fillers and for those people who don't want to spend too much.

Posted by Maxine at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)

Stocking

Just a quick photo of some of things I made with the craft group last Friday. We also made Christmas cards using this process and other techniques. We used recycled and scrap material for the main part of the stocking. We then either painted the fabric with acrylic (in the case of the blue one) or adorned the stocking with whatever buttons or beads we had lying around. They were then stuffed with a combination of wadding and cloves, for a yummy Christmasy smell!

Posted by Maxine at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2005

Crafty

I almost forgot to post about my crafty night from Friday! It was my first time in a tutor type capacity and it went brilliantly. I have to say I was very nervous about the whole situation. Partly because this is all new to me and partly because I knew a few of the people there and I suppose I feel I needed to perform perfectly! Silly really. At the end of the day it was just an evening class that was combining Christmas crafts with a meal afterwards, so everyone was there to have fun not to judge my teaching skills.

It also helped to have the moral support of my friend Susan, who was holding the craft evening with me. She has a lot more experience with these things than me.

We made decorations for the tree using recycled fabric, buttons, trim and stuffing them with wadding and cloves. Then we made Christmas cards using both similar methods, plus various layering techniques. I meant to take my camera to record it, but in my pre-tutoring nervousness I totally forgot. I will try and get a photo of what we did, but I am a bit behind with things at the mo.

Posted by Maxine at 11:28 PM | Comments (1)

October 05, 2005

Tree Bag

I finally finished this bag last night. It is the first time I have appliqued in this way and the first time I have added a pocket on the inside. I am really quite pleased with it. Although there are a few mistakes, which I learnt from straight away, but I put this down to sewing at midnight instead of being in bed. Also it might help (future reference to myself) to make sure I have enough of the same colour thread.

Note to self: work on product photography

Posted by Maxine at 10:09 AM | Comments (4)

September 20, 2005

Tie One On Submissions

This months theme was a godsend. Straightforward, no complications, easy peasy. The only challenge was to find a dishcloth/tea towel that was worthy enough. I hunted high and low and eventually came across this lovely lot. I am really pleased with how they turned out. The tie on the back is the same for both (in fact I did a third one from the pack, which is grey and white stripey - but without a pocket). I added the pockets in felt and for an extra touch the blackberry made from buttons.

I think these will soon become gifts for someone. Unless there is anyone out there who fancies a swop?!

Posted by Maxine at 07:22 PM | Comments (2)

July 24, 2005

A bag for a friend

I have finally managed to use some more of that wacky fabric I found and make the bag that I promised my friend Tamara. So if you are reading this Panda, sorry for spoiling the surprise but I promise it will be in the post very soon!

I really like how this has turned out actually. Originally I was waiting to see if I could find something suitable to line it with, but in the end I decided to use the plain cotton. I kinda thought it was a bit too plain and so I ended up doing a little applique using some of the motifs from the fabric. Now I can't decided which side I like best!

All of this was done during Em's nap time and when she woke up I wasn't quite finished, so I managed to persuade her into being good with the promise of making her a little bag too. This was thrown together but she likes it!

Posted by Maxine at 11:46 PM | Comments (4)

July 20, 2005

My First 'Month of Softies'

I have finally managed to complete something for a Month of Softies! I was so excited when I saw that this month's theme was 'sock monkey'. Month of Softies and lovely monkey's combined - how could I resist?! I have also been a little nervous about attempting to make a toy and so this was a chance for me to use a pattern and have a go.

To be honest, its not that clear in the photo but there are quite a few dodgy mistakes and they probably would've been better disguised if I had used a similar colour cotton instead of just whatever was to hand! But I am taking this as a practice one, so hopefully practice will make perfect. I had never sewn limbs on before and could never get my head around how to do it. I think I have worked it out, my arms turned out great and you couldn't see the join at all, but I kinda lost the momentum with the mouth and made a few mistakes. I am not sure of the terminology but am I right in thinking, to sew on limbs, its kind of like a backward stitch, where you work the needle in and back towards you instead of the opposite way if you were just sewing two pieces together? Does that make sense? Any advice would be great.

I have decided to call him 'Mr. Monkey' and you can see him here looking around for 'Mrs. Monkey' who appears to have gone off somewhere (probably down to the shops to look around the sales). Hopefully Mr. Monkey will find Mrs. Monkey before I send this to the Month of Softies gallery, otherwise he will have to go all on his own.

Posted by Maxine at 01:56 PM | Comments (2)

July 06, 2005

Yummy Cakes

Instead of spending my time doing important things, like finishing this website, washing clothes, sorting out the house (finding things is nearly impossible), planning this weeks illustration friday entry (which I will probably end up missing again), I decided to make some yummy scrummy cakes.

If the lovely buttercream butterfly cakes don't look tempting, the fairy cakes topped with Green & Black's organic chocolate are irresistible! I am totally hooked on all things Green & Black, it has to be one of the nicest chocolates around, especially the hot chocolate...with marshmallows...YUM!

I had to take these photos in a hurry as Warren & Emily were waiting eagerly behind me, ready to gobble them up.

Posted by Maxine at 07:56 PM | Comments (1)

July 05, 2005

Recycled Bags

Well I finally got my act together for something and made these two bags out of 4 napkins I bought from a car boot sale. Apologies for the images, they are not great, but with my motivation currently at a low I thought I better put them up now or otherwise it would be never.

I am really pleased with these actually and its ages since I made a bag. They are simple totes but I figure its better to start off simple and to achieve success than to aim too high and risk failure. I think they could work well reversible too, I have added buttons as a detail to the reversible pink side but I am not totally convinced they are right.

If you are reading this Susan, one of these has your name on it! Panda, if you are reading this I promise yours will be over to you very soon, I just have to find some suitable lining material for the quirky farmyard fabric.

Posted by Maxine at 07:44 PM | Comments (2)

June 13, 2005

My Lovely Apron

Well I finally found a use for the fabric I bought and made this lovely apron. Although the band and tie across the top is a bit like a bandage but I am not letting it bother me too much because at least I did it! I started off making one for Emily but it was a total disaster.

I realised that it had been a long time since I had tried to sew anything and as well as making it too small it was hardly holding together. I bought these cute little yellow duck buttons too. I will have to use them for something else. Its just as well it was a disaster because when Emily saw it she ran away saying 'no no no nooo' - was it that bad? I called my mom looking for sewing sympathy and she bucked me up and realised I needed to persevere, not give up and practice lots.

I also had something to work towards which always helps. Amongst the many blogs that I read, one called 'angry chicken' (amy) had started a make a monthly apron site! Not only that but this months subject was 'Home on the Range'. How could I resist? Thanks Amy and hopefully my next apron will be a little more polished.

Posted by Maxine at 09:48 PM | Comments (2)