Nini Makes

Consolidating

I'm in that mode again. Whittling down all the crap that's accumulated around us over the past two and a half years and getting ready to shove it all in to boxes to move. Some things take me extra time though, like my vintage linens and textiles. Even though it's Sunday I was up at the crack of dawn to sort through some of these in peace, and as usual I'm deciding not to part with most of it. I am parting with some of my more modern fabrics though and as I have no time for selling them I'll divide them up between some of my more keen young students to start their own fabric stashes; Gracie already has a stash of her own started.

On another note, Tristan has posted a tutorial for his indoor shuffleboard type game. It's very detailed, including a fabulous video he put together with his mother as amateur camera woman. Check it out and let him know how you like it if you get a chance.

Hope you're having a restful Sunday. 

Jx

more making

cedar impressions 

I woke to a flurry of snow this morning, nicely powdering the countryside around us. By afternoon the sun was shining and all the white stuff was gone. The cold got us in the mood for a big pot of tea and one of our favourite crafts at Christmas time, playing with paper clay. Today we made gift tags and ornaments by cutting out simple shapes and making impressions in them. Cedar sprigs worked well because they are somewhat flat.

cedar tree

We also made cedar trees.


doily impressions

And there are so many really beautiful textile textured ceramics around that we had to give doily pressing a go but the simple cedar was still our favourite. 

star stacks

Gracie also turned a stack of stars into what will become a photo holder.

gifts made today

More gift making happened today too. I dug out my jewelry making supplies and made a couple of necklaces for nieces, mixing vintage turquoise glass with fresh water pearls. It's been a long time since I've looped headpins on beads and I had lots and lots of rejects before I could happily string them.

I'm now trying to make up some sort of short scarf for my mother-in-law. I'm repurposing some thrifted cashmere lined with a vintage silk scarf. Not too sure about it, I can see it in my head but I'm not sure my fingers will make it a reality, I'm crossing my toes for luck because my fingers are too busy.

While I'm sewing I'm listening to "The People's Post" on Radio Four, interesting history of how receiving post was only for the wealthy until standard fee packets and stamps came in to existence in the 17th century. In the modern world of Internet correspondence and texting I hope good old hand-written post will survive.

Have a lovely weekend – I hope your mail box will be filled with only happy messages :)

Jx

PS, I just saw these little birds pop up in Lisa's space. Can't wait to see how they finish up in a dress.

 

Seed packets for savvy gardeners

Whenever I collect seeds I must admit to being woefully bad at using them the following year. Some method of organizing is what I need and a consistent system for collection. Cute packets, that ought to do it. Maybe if I keep some packets handy in the shed and pack some in my handbag for when I visit lovely gardens like these, then I might have more success. Honestly though it's remembering where I put the seeds when I want to plant them that will be the tricky part.

I spent way more time on this than I'd have liked, but what the heck, it's been so grey and rainy outside anyway. After the fact I realized I could have probably searched online for some packet templates, when I did, sure enough there were loads out there but I'm happy I made the effort because I enjoyed folding these up and filling them and I can also share it with you.

These are a little end of summer gift from me to you. Simply click on the image above to download the full-size packet PDF file and print it out. Use them yourself or assemble a bundle and gift them to your favourite gardener.

What seeds will you collect? I'm after black columbines like these that I found under a bush in our garden and as many different hollyhocks as I can find in friends' gardens.

And speaking of the end of summer, can't believe it's favourite pie time already. The hedgerows are heavy with berries and I keep stopping to pluck them while I walk. Pippi however favours the plum tree in the back garden laden with so much fruit it's hanging down low enough for her to jump up and pick it herself – she's even sussed out that the purple are ripe and leaves the green behind. We have to keep her consumption limited though, the smells she creates after feasting on them are blinding ;) 

Although very belated, I will return to photo sharing soon. There are more images from our trip to see and a few from the birthday of my now teenager. 

Happy Thursday to you,

Jx

 

 

Very warm wishes to you and yours

Our recent freezing fog left the most amazing pearl-like strands decorating the garden and it looked to me like the spiders were decorating for the festive season.

I'll be with California family for a while so no updates until my return. I'm not clever enough to do self-automated posts; I do know how, just haven't figured out how to be smart enough to make the extra time. Buying a two week supply of puppy food, travel snacks and currency exchanges seem the priority today, packing might be a good idea too :)

If you find yourself with a little spare time over the holiday season (insert laughter) there are a few tutorials stashed away here that might strike your fancy. I thought there were ten or twenty, but it seems over forty have been racked up over the last few years and many are useful for whipping up very last minute gifts - hopefully something to be found for everyone.

So I'm wishing you and your families a warm and wonderful festive season, thanks for popping in and saying hello throughout 2010. I'll be back to toast the new year with you!

Jx

Painted owl cards & things

Parliament of cards

Just dropping back in for a quick post on Gracie's party invites. She's having a small gathering this year for a sleepover... wish me luck. They have to do it at least once right!? I know, not more owls, but because it's a sleepover we decided night owls would be just the ticket. Gracie and I had such a good time making these together she wanted to share them.

The cards are just half an A4 card (A5) and folded once. A4 is nearly the same as letter size.

It ended up being very good practice using different brushes to vary paint effects. We used three brushes, one flat brush a round brush and a tiny round brush for details like the point of the nose. Making more than one owl gave Gracie a chance to practice the brush techniques. 

Painting base colours 

I've uploaded a very simple sketched template if anyone wants to use it. Simply draw the owl on the fold and cut it out. Sketch in the circles with pencil as a guide for the paint. We used acrylic because they blend easily and dry well. To make the paint more opaque on the darker papers paint a base colour first mixed with some titanium white.

Painting details

To paint the feathery details we dipped the flat brush in whites and browns without blending them and painted from the eye outward. We used the unblended paint the same way on the body feathers.

Easy and effective and quick to do too. 

I'll soon be back to check out what I've been missing with friends around blogland and share a sewing project I've been working on for quite a while, it incorporates some new, simple embroidery patterns.

Oak leaf on a linen/cotton blend

I'm very excited about this one. The project started as many do, making something I needed then deciding other people might just need or want one too.

Seashell on denim

And BTW, I'm still looking for the floor of Gracie's room, but to be fair, I haven't bothered to look very hard yet. We've been enjoying many sunny autumn days and new projects far too much to bother with indoor challenges. Besides, I've always found just closing her door very effective anyway ;)

Back soon. 

Jx

P.S. The template (sans the feet) would also work well for owl softies and acrylic or fabric paint would work just as well painting on fabric instead of paper.

Repurposing and mopping up

Today we quickly whipped up three easy items from one leg of an old pair of Gracie's jeans.

It started when I used the old jeans to make a coaster. I simply sewed two denim discs together then stitched on a vintage doily. I liked the way the denim went with the natural colour of the linen thread the doily was crocheted with.

Secondly, noticing the left-over long, sturdy seam that was scrap, I trimmed the seam close on both edges. Then sewed (with my machine) a buttonhole on one end and an orange, glass button on the other to make an ankle bracelet for Gracie. No need to even take this one off at bath time :)

And lastly, a new bone for Pippi. Denim is a great, sturdy fabric for dog toys. I made a simple bone shape with chalk on the remaining scrap, double-stitched around the shape and turned it. Then the kids stuffed it tightly with fabric scraps. After ladder-stitching up the opening she enjoyed a little chew time. This will be her craft room toy, no dragging it into the garden to hide it from us.

Denim will always be one of my favourite fabrics to sew with, it's uses are endless. Which reminds me, I love this denim necklace and this little denim number too.

Lichen liken the weather

And yay! The sun peeped through this afternoon. We've had very little let up from the rain until today. It rained so hard two nights ago that the chimney above our stove had water pouring down it puddling under the oven, splashing over the stove into our dinner which was cooking away and also into a pool on the kitchen floor (it ended up being a perfect opportunity to give that grimy area a good clean).

Thistles showered

Having a week of heavy rain makes me feel even more sadness for people in Pakistan who are living in the floods and rain with no homes. I know the British people have been big supporters of the relief efforts, I hope it continues.

On another note, a couple of Gracie's favourite summer reads have been The tail of Emily Windsnap by, Liz Kessler and Kensuke's Kingdom by, Michael Morpurgo. She also whizzed through one of the Wimpy Kid books and howled all the way. Tristan isn't a lover of reading, never has been, but he does enjoy Chris Ryan books, lots of action.

Back to school soon. Hopefully the sun will keep on shining and we'll have a chance to hit the beach a few more times before going back.

Happy weekend to you!

Twig flower pots for giving, or keeping: a tutorial

Twig flower pot

I like to give plants to friends or family instead of cut flowers. Plastic pots aren't pretty so I usually wrap them in something like hessian (burlap) and tie them with nice string. I recently tried repurposing laundry detergent containers and dressed them up with twigs - I liked the results. 

They're very easy to make, here's how:

Supplies: Small saw (optional), hessian, a straight sided container, twigs or small branches that are fairly straight, jute twine, glue gun or string

Gather a pile of twigs and cut them down to roughly the same length; you'll want them a little taller than your container. You could forgo the saw and break them if you like.

Take a long piece of twine (about a metre and a half) and at the middle of your piece of twine begin tying the sticks together. Tie near one end of the twigs, single knots should be fine.

Continue tying your remaining twigs until you have long row of them, then gently wrap them around your container to check the length; the twigs should meet but not overlap. In the image above you can see there's no need to remove smaller twigs, I left a few on. 

After checking the length, tie the twigs again at the other end.



Cover a straight sided container with a strip of hessian (burlap). I folded under the bottom edge and tucked in the top edge. I secured it with a glue gun but you could stitch it or tie it on with string. No need to be perfect, it's getting covered anyway. I just pop the plastic pot inside this one but if you plant your flower in this container be sure to poke drain holes in the bottom. 



Now just wrap the twigs around and tie it on.

Told you it was easy!

These are also great to use as vases, if they're too light pop a couple of large stones inside to help weigh them down. When I bring flowers to school to decorate the entrance these are perfect because I can just leave them behind.

This is also a nice project for children who are old enough to tie a simple knot - you may want to help out with the saw though ;) 

Note: The sculpture in the top image is by Dutch artist Toos Bressers, previously seen here.

 

Don't forget to enter the NM blog birthday giveaway, ends June 18.

 

   

Mr Owl: carved paper sculpture tutorial

These eyes have been staring up at me from the recycling bin for the longest time; I've finally attached a body to them.

 Mr Owl was so easy and fun to make I'm now hoarding egg cartons. Egg cartons have such an uneven, sculptural texture that cutting them feels more like carving. I think adults and children alike would enjoy making these owls and it's simple to alter the cutting to make each one unique.

Paint or paper scraps could also be applied to these. I'm picturing a trio painted black with larger feather flaps and votive candles shining through for Halloween. 

To make Mr Owl you simply need:

 

• egg carton (I used a 6 egg carton but a 12 egg carton could be cut in half)
• scissors
• pencil
• craft knife (optional)
• craft glue

 

Using pencil, draw two shapes from the bottom side of the carton for, 1. the eyes and beak and 2. the ear/feather tufts that go above and behind the eyes and beak. Then cut them out with scissors. 
 
 

On one end of the top of the carton, draw a shape sort of like this; then cut the shape out (the head will slot in that section.) When your head is ready, you may need to add a couple of vertical cuts to firmly slot it into the body (see vertical cuts under the beak in the finished, yellow owl picture at the top of the page.)
   


Next, on the other end of the lid, draw some feet and cut out the section under the feet. Draw in some "U" shaped feathers and use a craft knife to cut around them (probably not a job for young children.) Then bend in the bottom of each side of the lid on a diagonal. The dotted line above indicates where you should bend the carton.
 

Cut feather shapes around the eyes of your owl if you wish. I cut slits and points and curved them under to give a feather appearance around the eyes. Do the same or create your own eye design. Then cut and gently shape the beak. 
 

Glue the ear piece behind the eyes. A piece of tape will help hold it in position while it dries.

When it's dry slot it in place on top of the owl body.

Finished

I'd love to know if you give these a go :)

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We're still seeing our Little Owl friend nearly everyday when we return home from school. He's inspired this and more upcoming projects. Maybe one day Little Owl will let us take a photo of him. He's very cute, but shy - unless you're a mouse!
 

Remember the repurposed storage containers turned toadstools? They were one of the patterns in the Stitch Village pattern book. Pam has made a whole village of them to store her sewing notions. Instead of embroidering lettering she's sewn a sample of the containers contents above each door - genius. It's very sweet and an incredible amount of work.

Go see Pam's whole village!

Current goings-on

It seems an age since I last updated NM. I'm pleased to report the lace across the windows seems to be doing the trick thus far. I've witnessed more than one bird come right for the window and skate away just in time.

Said birds have ushered in spring for our household. I know spring is truly here when the Dawn Chorus wakes our children at unsociable hours.

The above image was a sort of recycled regatta we made for an upcoming GP article. Lucky we had some good friends visiting for the weekend to help out with the sailing. The children spent literally hours playing with these mini boats, even the 11 year olds.

And finally I've been working on learning more than chain stitch in crochet. I've been online, studied books and racked my brains trying to become more proficient (also unintentionally stayed up way too late.) I'm finally learning the language and a bit of pattern reading and just finding that like anything, it takes practice, practice, practice. I can tell you I am now VERY proficient at ripping out stitches.

I set myself a goal, learn how to make one of Lucy's hexagons. My sample took many other forms before reaching full hexagonal glory, still not perfect, but pleasing none-the-less. Her crochet is just so cheerful that following Lucy's tutorial was fun; the fact that she's a fairly recent self-taught hooker also inspired me.

This first hexagon will be a coaster for my desk but I'm now working on creating a scarf out of them in a solid colour for spring. I'll let you know how that goes. Now I feel prepared to tackle more tutorials, like any number of these from Margie.

A fabulous package from Pam arrived in the post for us too. Tins of chocolates for the children and loads of Kool Aid to try this tutorial of hers (we don't get Kool Aid here and my enamel deficient daughter thinks she gets to drink it all instead.) Pam also added some agates found on beaches in Oregon then polished. The frog in the hydrangea image is one of her photos - amazing. Thank you kind Pam, we loved going through your whole lovely parcel. 

Lastly, here's a little tip for making large envelopes, use newspaper.

Gracie had a double birthday party to attend yesterday so these two envelopes were made for the occasion. I'm sure there's no need to walk you through making these, but but just in case you want one, a short explanation is here.

And remember there are templates to make cards for upcoming special occasions here.

Hope you're all enjoying spring as much as we are. With a recent deluge over (hopefully) and the children now off school for Easter break we look forward to a few weeks free to immerse ourselves in the season.

Last minute make

Make these spontaneous patchwork angels to hang on the tree or to tie to gifts. Yet another way to use up more scraps and the unfinished edges mean these ornaments are quick and easy to make.

 Here's how:

1. 
   
   Click here to download this template and cut out the ornament pattern
2. Cut out two pieces of fabric larger than your ornament template
3. Take one of the pieces of fabric and using a small zig-zag stitch, sew scraps all over the piece of fabric going in any direction - be sure each edge of each scrap is stitched down
4. Cut a piece of felt or heavy interfacing out using the smaller, inner template of your ornament pattern
5. On the unstitched piece of fabric trace your ornament template in fine pencil or water soluble pen, then flip it over, tape it to a window so the light shines through it and trace the template on the other side (the tracing should be in the same position on both sides of the fabric)
6. Add a tiny bit of glue to your felt piece and center it in the middle of one side of the tracing and let it dry for a couple of minutes
7. Lay your zig-zag patchwork fabric on top of the other fabric (patchwork side up) sandwiching the felt shape inside
8. Pin a looped ribbon or string, loop pointing up, inside the sandwiched pieces at the top of the ornament template
9. Pin the pieces together, turn them with the plain fabric facing up and stitch around the tracing marks using a straight or zig-zag stitch
10. Trim the fabric right up to the edge of the outer stitching, finished!

Note: Try embroidering a name, message or date on the plain backing fabric before gluing the felt shape on the opposite side and pinning your pieces together.

The down-loadable template includes a few different simple shapes which can be used in many different ways. Tristan and Gracie have been colouring, cutting and gluing them today.

I hope, unlike me, everyone is very organized and ready for Christmas, then you'll have time to whip up this simple project.

Also, thanks to Annet for sharing her Tree Family wall hanging with me.

I love the ornament earrings she gave the mama tree and the spotty, snowy fabric she used. Visit Annet's blog Fat-Quarter to see more of her fantastic quilting and patchwork pieces.

Hope you're all cuddled up with your families, or your cat and are keeping warm.

Night-night!