....and I'm back in the room!

Gosh, it has been a while since my last post! There's been so much going on, not that I'm complaining. I love being busy.
I have  (at last)  some updates on my "what I do with milk cartons" project. Apart from using them as ordinary stencils, I use the cut pieces for embellishments and decorate them to use on cards or boxes.  As an example I cut various shapes from these dies....

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I also used the dress and accessories die, but I seem to have lost that picture somewhere!   Anyway, you can also cut out shapes with scissors if you prefer or don't have a die cutting machine. The plastic on these cartons isn't very thick ( it used to be) and is very flexible.

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       On some of the shapes I stamped an image using Stazon black ink. Then I coloured with Galaxy marker pens  ......

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 they hold the colour  really well. I also used metallic gold and silver pens on this heart....

....this photo doesn't do it justice, it really does look pretty. I used some of these hearts stamped with butterflies on a card last year.   It worked so well and looked very pretty.

I also used Promarkers to colour in some of the shapes...

.....the handbag and the teddy were cut from the textured piece of milk carton. The flowers, once dried will  be gently heated with a heat gun, to make them curl a little more. ( Don't over do it or they become rock hard  as I can telly you from experience). 

I do have another couple of ideas which I've used, using Plaid Gallery Glass, and also heat embossing.

In the meantime I'm busy with a Kitty......

.......one of our grand daughters has a 5th birthday at the weekend. She adores Hello Kitty, so that's my theme for her card this year. I have a 21st birthday card to make too. I already know what I'm going to do for that and my theme colours are black and white and silver.

Once thay're  finished I can sit and sew this afternoon. A summer dress and some lightweight pj's.

I just might treat myself to a cuppa and a slice of cake first!

Knitting news!

I've added some new items to my Folksy shop this week......
First, some new cupcakes....

...with duo icing..
A trio of tartlets, calories free of course!

I've been asked to do some more ice creams and so we have.......

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..a choc chip and a "99" with strawberry sauce of course......

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and a raspberry ripple and double choc, with raspberry sauce.

...and finally, my version of teatime play for little ones.

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I'm still knitting, trying out new designs. in between doing other crafty things. I'll show you what happened to the milk cartons in my next post.
Happy days!

Stencil Stories

I Love stencils, always have. When I was small we used to cut shapes from paper and card. I would colour and scribble and draw through the shapes onto other paper and card. My dad used to make us toys. Jigsaws were a firm favourite. I remember using the odd off cut shapes which were left. These I used as stamps, stencils, or anything I could think of to do with them.


I have a big collection of stencils, quite a few are kept in this box....


.... it's packed to the brim. I'll show you some of them.....


.....some of them have been used many times, some just once, some are waiting for that " certain" project....


.... some of them I was given, a huge pile of unwanted stencils...

....this is just a small selection of them.....


.....i have tiny ones for minute projects and huge ones for wall projects....

.....I have some that accompany books......


.... and I have some from my school days....

...and I love each and every one of them and wouldn't part with a single one.

Sometimes I use just part of a stencil, sometimes I use the whole thing. It just depends on what I'm doing.
I also make my own too, from card, paper, plastic or whatever is to hand or will be suitable.

I use this....
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....clean plastic packaging. some of these packets were from dies. I cut out the best bits and the rest goes into the recycling ( if it can be recycled) .

I use card......

...any card, or paper.
But I also use these.....

...wash and dry them and then get to work. Cut out all the best bits. I know that sometimes these cartons vary from shop to shop, and some have a textured part. Fear not because that too can be used. ( I'll leave that for another post) It can be cut with scissors to any shape you want. Just draw around, or make the shape you want.. But the best bit is this.....



...if you've got a Sizzix machine,or other die cutting machine, then the possibilities are endless.
There seems to be a growing trend to use stencils once more, ( I hate that word, trend and the phrase "on trend") I don't follow whatever anyone else is doing and do my own thing, and always will. People even call them masks now, but they're all stencils to me. All my life I've been stencilling  on paper, card, walls, fabric, garden pots, sheds, glass, clothes, mirrors, curtains. it's endless what I've done, and I will carry on doing do, whether its "on trend" or not!
But back to the milk cartons, it doesn't stop these because there are other things which you can do with them too.
But that will be on my next post when I've played experimented some more.

Knit one...knit two...

On a previous post I said that I had a couple of projects to knit for myself. Well there were three actually. The first being a snood. I don't mean one of these modern, scarf/wrap thingamy's, I mean a real snood,the ones which were popular in the early 1980's. I made mine in dark green, to match my coat. It's very similar to this one....

..it was knitted over two evenings, very quick. it's very warm and cosy and I love it.
My next piece was a chunky jacket from this pattern....

...again, it's an old pattern, but I loved the style, and I knitted mine in a gorgeous coppery brown....

..that's it, waiting to be finished with a pressing. I used some vintage buttons from my collection. I did alter the collar, as I'm not too keen on very wide collars, so I just made it half size. It was very quick to knit as it's in a chunky yarn and an easy pattern.

My third project is this tunic....

...I began knitting this just over a week ago, just working in the evenings for a couple of hours or so. It's another easy pattern, knitted in aran weight yarn. I'm just finishing off the second sleeve. Thne all I have to do is the neckband and sew it up.....

I know that there are a lot of people who wouldn't even attempt to try to knit anything with a cable in it, but once the basics are learnt it's so easy. Okay I've been knitting since I was four, so it's easy for me to say.
I can remember back in the 1970's when aran jackets and jumpers were so fashionable ( I made so many then) I knew many people who bought all the yarn and pattern to
make themselves some aran wear, just for it to end up in a bag at the back of a cupboard somewhere, for maybe years!
My one piece of advice for anyone who wants to try making a garment with cables, is if you have your pattern and yarn, don't go straight into knitting it if you are not confident. Take some time, get a couple of balls of double knitting yarn and some size 4mm needles and practise the pattern first. You don't have to worry about tension as it's only a practise piece. Once you are confident with the pattern then go on to knitting the garment. it will be worth it in the end. It's how I learned to do it years ago. The added bonus was that I saved up all the squares of " practise" patterns and sewed them all together and made a throw for my bed and it lasted years!
I shall be working on some new designs for my knitted patisserie range once my tunic is complete. My notebook is full of ideas and little drawings. it's full of sewing projects too. So much to do......so little time!

Happy Crafty New Year!

Well the New Year is almost here, and it's hopefully going to be filled with crafty projects. I'm looking at reorganising my little room as one of my first jobs. I'm still not happy with it. The storage is right ( for the size of the room) but it's the accessibility to everything.
I managed to get many of the projects done this last year as I'd planned. The couple I didn't manage to do are on the top of my list for the forthcoming year.
I have loads of ideas of things to make, along with someold favourites. I'm still knitting mince pies, (I've just had an order for some) but once they're done I shall be working on my spring projects. Here's a sneak preview.

I'll be working on some things for the grandchildren too. I'm so excited about these.
The knitted jacket I'm making for myself is just being sewn up ( a picture will be on the next post) and I shall be starting the next one (hopefully) today.

Whatever you're doing I hope you all have a very happy ( and crafty) New Year!

Happy Holidays to one and All!

Playing cards

I've finally finished all my knitted Christmas sweet treats for another year. I thought that I might get finished a little earlier than I did, but it wasn't to be.
I've already begun some new spring items, but they can wait until after the festive season.

My Christmas cards are almost finished, I just have five to make, and these will be finished this weekend. The main bulk of the cards which I send, (about 70) are all done. In the end I decided on another theme for them than originally planned. I had intended to use some old Christmas postage stamps. I had already mounted them onto card, ready for die cutting. But then I had another idea after watching something on the telly.


I've been watch Servants, the true story on BBC 2, and on the first programme they visited ERDDIG
We visited there a couple of years ago, it's a beautiful place with so much to take in.
Anyway it was the fabrics and wall coverings which inspired me for my card theme. I wanted a look of gilded pattern on a misty background colour, but worn and faded.
So using white card stock, I used a selected few stamps which I thought would befit the idea.
Using gorgeous Brilliance metallic ink pads in Starlight silver, starlight black, copper and gold, I stamped my images. Some quite random and not all perfect. Once dry I coloured the images on some in metallic watercolour pencils in "Victoriana" colours and then used chalks in similar tones to compliment. I then edged the card with a darker shade of ink to finish off....

...they all turned out just as I wanted.....

....so different from last years' black/silver and brown/gold contemporary cards which i made last year.....

The pictures don't really show the shimmer on the card, I'm really pleased with them.


Once I've finished off the last few, I shall tidy my desk and pack all my card making tools away until after the holidays, then I have some Birthday cards to make.



I've begun a knitted project for myself. I chunky jacket in a gorgeous spicy colour...

I started it last night and am itching to carry on with it, but housework calls, at the moment!
I keep adding to my book of ideas for new projects, but I also have decide to make a colour combination swatch book, which I want to use as a reference for a multitude of things not just paper craft. But that will have to wait, just a while.
I'd better begin my household chores before I get sidetracked!!