craftjuice

scrabble ring and cuff link tutorial

 

Here's some shiny word nerd scrabble rings and cuff links I made over the weekend and finished off today.  They took a bit of trial and error, but they all worked out very well in the end - I was very pleased with them.  I've had quite a few requests for these since I've been wearing my own scrabble ring, so thought I should learn how to do it.

So you can craft your own ring, cuff link or brooch, I've made a tutorial here to show you what I did.

Enjoy!

messin with resin

Remember these?

The N ring is my favourite ring ever. Even though it's only worth one point (surely The N is worth more than that!?). It is amazing how many scrabble freaks walk among us. I wear it every day and get lots of lovely comments about it (usually followed with the phrase "oh, I love scrabble" in hushed tones) and people often ask if I made it. Nooo...

But I thought, well, why not give it a try? And so over the past few weeks, I've been buying up supplies and today bought some resin mix from Spotlight to cover the top of the tiles. 

This is pretty serious crafting. First I coated each tile in sealant. Then you mix two liquids together to get the resin and need to observe all manner of safety precautions - scarily, something I usually give no thought to when operating my sewing machine, using pointy knitting needles or running with scissors.  I found an old squeezy bottle to pour the resin in which made it very easy to squirt onto the tiles. It came out all bubbly, but after checking this tutorial, I knew to grab a trusty bendy straw and blow the bubbles out and it seemed to work quite well.

I've done a test batch and done them in different thicknesses to see what works best. I've popped them in the oven (lint free environment) and will check them after 24 hours to see how they went.  I think it's 48 hours to harden. If they turn out, I'll make another batch into rings and cuff links for my 'word nerd' friends.

(I'm pleased to report I didn't get any resin on my person, table, child or dog.)

piggy purse

I've been dying to try out Nosey Nest's free piggy bank purse pattern and downloaded this freebie ages ago waiting for the right fabric.

The lovely Jacqui sent me two beautiful squares of Japanese linen - one pink and the other an adorable piggy design, plus some brown braid - perfect for this project! I finally made it up a few weeks ago.

Here's the back...

Here's the lining...(SO cute)

And little piggy snout...

oink! oink!

toddler backpack tutorial video and pdf

My gorgeous and talented friend Jacqui has posted a fantastic video and PDF tutorial on how to make one of her great toddler backpacks!

Jacqui lives in Japan with her beautiful family and has a fantastic shop Mee A Bee on Etsy!  All Jacqui's great bags and products are very kid friendly in design and are always in the most lovely fabrics. As she has two boys, she always has some great 'boy-friendly' designs and patterns - which I know are hard to find!

Watch her video and make one of these great bags.  They would be awesome for a swimming bag, library bag, birthday gift or just to carry around all that kid stuff!

getting knitted

So yes, while on holiday last week, I totally freaked myself out and picked up a pair of no 4.5 bamboo needles and three balls of this beautiful organic 8 ply NZ merino and started knitting in the park...

And in bed...(luxury, although I did have to stall my lusty obsession with Edward for an hour or two)

And in front of the tv...(luxury)

Until I finished. YES, FINISHED! (You'd be impressed with that Kaz! Goodness knows I am!)

There's a brand new little person waiting to get snug in it (and it's hooty little friend)...

Psst...free pattern here.

having a go...

BTW, remember this? Well there is now a tutorial available and this week I'm going to have a go at this...

tea wallet

Taking a very deep breath, I cut into my very favourite fabric I bought some time ago to make my friend a tea wallet using this great tutorial.  I loved giving it a decidedly 'French' feel and found some nice contrasting fabric scraps in my scrap stash.  A lovely 'vintage' button finishes it. (That gorgeous tea cup set is from my lovely Aunty F. I use them a lot.)

I didn't top stitch around the edge at the end - I'm always a bit nervous about doing that, and I really liked how it turned out in any case. Maybe I'll change my mind later and handsew a running stitch around the edge.

Instead of ribbon for the claspy bit, I used one of Miss M's hair elastics as I thought when you popped in your teas, you might need a bit of stretch at the edge, and you do.

This is a really great quick present to make - it doesn't take a lot of fabric to make and I reckon it took me about 30 minutes tops.

And its a lovely thing to keep in your handbag or at your desk - one never knows when one is going to need a camomile tea, or four!

zakka 'lantern' or 'flower' tutorial

Here's a tutorial I made for these little zakka 'laterns' and 'flowers'.  I'm not sure what they are called, and I can't read Kanji to find out (maybe someone can tell me?) but they are a lovely little embellishment for just about anything and are super easy and quick to whip up.  It feels nice to make something with a few easy folds and hand stitches.

The above photo is the 'lantern' shape and below is the 'flower'...

I also found this other great tutorial for kanzashi flowers (geisha hair ornaments) which might also spark some ideas for more embellishment projects.

Enjoy!

fabric bead necklace

Following this tutorial here, this is my first attempt at a fabric knot bead necklace.

I used a fat quarter of Japanese fabric, cut into four strips and sewn together in one long strip. This makes a necklace slightly longer than choker style. Note you need twice+ the fabric for the finished length of the necklace as the knotting takes up a lot of fabric. Then, right sides together, sewed it into a tube, turned right side out, dropped in some wooden beads and knotted in between. Make sure the knotting is tight up against each bead (trickier than it sounds).

Easy peasy Japanesey. 

Although I'm fairly happy with this first attempt, I need to make another one to properly measure the fabric for the size of the beads I used as I think the material looks too scrunchy around each bead. I also need to take a bit more time with the knots so they are a bit, well, 'nicer'. (I tend to get all excited about a craft project that comes so quickly together and don't pay as much attention as I should!) I also need to leave more material at each end so I have longer ties at the ends to secure around my neck.

I have some even-more-lovely larger wooden beads so I'll give them a go in another version soon.

For another version see this tutorial over at froogal.  And here's one made with a scarf.

washi fish brooch tutorial

On the weekend I made this washi fish brooch! Do you like it?  I've been wanting to make something like this for some time and inspiration finally struck.

It is made from a basic balsa wood shape, with washi paper I had bought in Japan, traced and cut to size, sealed with several coats of polyurethane lacquer and has a felt back with metal clasp. It's a little fiddly but easy to make.

I was even organised enough to make a tutorial.

I'm looking forward to wearing my new creation to work this week.