Giant Paper Pom Poms

Tools and Materials

Tissue paper
24-gauge white cloth-covered floral wire
Scissors

Hanging Pom-Poms How-To

1. Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue.
2. Make 1 1/2-inchwide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.
3. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist.
4. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.
5. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.
6. Tie a length of monofilament to floral wire for hanging.

New Lampshade from Cath Kidston

Apologies for that late post but Cath Kidston is to blame or rather the fabulous Cath Kidston lampshade workshop that they held this evening.

The whole event was well worth the 20 minute wait on hold the day of the ticket release back at the start of this month and the cost of the ticket.

I went to the Marylebone store with my crafter-in-crime partner, you've seen her hands and kitchen in the soap making post.


Our tutor this evening was the amazing Georgie of Sew Over It.

I would type out all the instructions but a quick internet search looking for lampshade making kits found kits that come with paper instructions inside. If you need additional help search youtube for "Lampshade Making".

p.s. if this is truely your first time making your own lampshade, I would suggest inviting a friend around for abit of a craft evening and you both making lampshades. You will be so greatful for the extra hands!!

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Dry Wipe Board

This is so easy to do that you can be done in less than ten minutes.

You will need:

-A picture frame (any shape or size you wish)
- A remnant of fabric, wallpaper or wrapping paper.
-Dry wipe marker with sponge lid


Put desired paper inside the frame, close frame and you are done. Now you can write and wipe the surface of your dry wipe board to your hearts content.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Plum Chilli Jam

Here's a great recipe that is good on scones, cheese, meat and toast, an all-round jam.

Ingredients :

• 1kg red plums
• 500g Preserving Sugar
• Juice of 2 Lemons
• 2 Red chillies - mild kind
• 25g butter

Step 1. Half and stone the plums.

Step 2. Finely slice the chillies. I recommend de-seeding them at this point. Use a teaspoon to scrape the seeds out. Instead of slicing, I used my kitchen scissors.

Step 3. Cook gently until the plum skins are soft.

Step 4. Mix in the sugar, stirring the pan until it has dissolved.

Step 5. Add the chillies and then bring to the boil and boil until the mixture has reached setting point.

Step 6. Add the butter and stir into the pan.

Step 7. Pot into sterilised jars, seal.

At this point you can label or boil jam in jars which creates a firmer jam, then label.

Can be eaten immediately but I recommend leaving for 2 weeks before consuming. You can leave the jars in the fridge for up to 6 months if left unopened.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Rosemary Gardener's Soap

Rosemary Gardener's Soap is meant to cleanse and revitalize skin and makes upto 16 bars of soap.

Ingredients:
300ml (1/2 pint) Cheap olive oil
175ml (6 1/2 fl oz) coconut oil
120ml (4 fl oz) cooled, boiled or distilled water
60g (2 oz) caustic soda (lye crystals)
1 tbsp green clay
3 tsp spirulina powder or 4 crushed spirulina tablets
1 tbsp bran, oatmeal or rolled oats
30 drops rosemary essential oil

You will also need some equipment, it's not necessary to purchase a separate set of equipment for soap making, but if you're using cooking equipment, make sure you clean everything extremely well.

-Digital kitchen scale
-Stainless steel / Enamel pot
-2 x plastic spatulas
-Thermometer that register between 38-93 degrees C (100-200 degrees F)
-Spoons / bowls for weighing / measuring
-A good-sized container for mixing the NaOH solution (this should be reserved for you soap-making only).
-Hand blender (optional)
-Plastic or wooden mould
-A little oil and greaseproof paper for lining the mould
-Blanket or large towel
-Rubber gloves
-Apron (safer still to wear old / house clothes under the apron)
-Goggles
-Cloth for cleaning up spills
-Bottle of vinegar

Step 1. Mix the olive and coconut oils in a saucepan with a whisk over a low heat until the temperature reaches 60 oC (140 oF).

To make the lye mix, pour the water into a stainless steel or glass bowl placed in a sink in case the contents froth over when you add the caustic soda. wearing protective goggles, gloves, and an apron, add the soda to the water and mix with a wooden spoon until the crystals have dissolved. Leave to cool.

Step 2. Add the the cooled lye mix to the hot oils in the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed. then beat with a metal whisk until the mixture reaches the consistency of thick custard so that a line is visible if drawn across the surface.

Stir in the green clay, spirulina, bran/oatmeal/rolled oats, ans essential oil.

Step 3. Pour or spoon the mix into your moulds. Cover with a cloth and leave for 24 hours. While still soft remove the soap from your mould wearing plastic gloves, and cut into bars using a knife. Arrange on trays and leave to dry out fully and harden this process is called curing and will take atleast 4 weeks. An alternative to plastic or wooden moulds, try using juice or milk cartons, pour or spoon the mixture into the cartons. Wrap the cartons in a large towel and set somewhere warm for 24 hours like the airing cupboard. The cartons will feel warm and will get hot as the mixture neutralizes and turns into soap.  To unmold your soap, peel off the cartons and cut soap into sections for hand soap. Place each bar on a wire rack in a cool, dark place to cure for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, soap can be buffed with a cotton cloth and wrapped for gifts.

I'm always looking out for new soap recipes, so if you have any suggestions for lye solution based soaps please send them to me to try.

Mug gets a Sharpie Makeover

Today I decided to decorate a latte cup with a Sharpie marker, I have seen it on pinterest and thought that it was a cool, cheap way of jazzy up a bland white cup.


I found several different sources but the info was basically the same - use a Sharpie on a glass/porcelain/ceramic mug with the design of your choice and set it by baking it in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 180oC.

You will need:
A Sharpie marker
A cup or plate
Some design or artistic inspiration - I had to decided to use a stencil
so also needed some tape.

Going freehand and writing a quote would be cool as well.  But as I used a stencil that I had in my craft space, a cut out section from an old lampshade. Guess that not all hoarding is bad.

After picking a design and applying to your mug, follow these steps:

    Preheat your oven to 180oC degrees.
    Stand your mug up on a baking sheet, or something similar.
    Bake your mug for 30 minutes.
    Use an oven mitt to remove and let cool.

The mug looked no different, but I guess this helps the Sharpie stay on. Now it should be safe for the oven and microwave. On methods of washing, opinions are divided as to whether or not your design will make it through a dishwasher cycle, so I have written hand wash only on the bottom.

This could be a great gift idea, craft event idea or favour for a party/wedding/shower. Just buy cheap mugs (would also work on plates) from a pound shop and decorate the way you like.

Simple NoteBoard

This simple noteboard is called a Noteboard as I use no cork in the construction so you can't actually pin anything unless you have thumbs of steal.

For this projesct you will need:

Piece of board (any size you want)
Fabric
Wadding
Scissors
Staple gun and extra staples (I'm always running out of Staples)
Ribbon
Ruler or tape measure
Maker Pens

Step One:
Using your ruler or tape measure, measure your board and work out where you are going to place your ribbon. it may seem strange to workout the ribbon placement first but I find it easier to make to board. Make your marks by lining up your ruler to the board and mark on the inside edge (also makes a nice guide line when stapling your fabric and wadding).

Step Two:
Turn your board over and lay your wadding across the top (you want to make sure that you have atleast an inch overlap to staple to the back). Pull wadding round the back and staple making sure that you staple about 1cm from the edge of the board and trim excess wadding with care.

Step Three:

Repeat Step Two with your fabric. Pull wadding round the back and staple making sure that you staple about 1.5 - 2cm from the edge of the board and trim excess fabric with care. Fold the corners in and staple securly.

Step Four:
Staple Ribbon to first mark on the back of the board pull the ribbon forward across the front of the Board, diagonally and round to the back staple to next mark.

Step Five:
Repeat stapling Ribbon across the entire board until you have a series of diagonal stripes.

Step Six:
Staple Ribbon crossways now and if you are using striped ribbon (like I have) try weaving it. It adds to the look.

Step Seven:
Once the entire board is covered with the Criscrossed Ribbon, staple at each and every intersection. You can at this point use a glue gun to attach buttons or the like, I personally don't bother as the board will be covered within weeks and more irritatingly the buttons have a habit of falling off.

I hope this has inspired you, have fun!

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Chair - Re Upholstered

Now you may not believe me but this chair cost less than £5 to do.How? You may be asking, well I found the chair by the bin (someone had actually thrown it out, no fabric ripped, no broken legs), I already owned the staple gun, the staples, the fabric and the wadding.The only thing that I needed to buy were the foam pads for the seat and back.

Despite the length of time this project took to complete it was very worthwhile and I will enjoy all the sitting and crafting I will be doing in this chair.

If you want to copy me and replicate this project you will need:

Chair or stool
Craft Knife
Bread Knife
Staple gun Staple remover (A flat head screwdriver will work but it takes longer)
Staple Gun
Staples (make sure you have plenty)
Scissors
Foam Pads for Seat (and Back if your chair has one)
Wadding
Eye Mask or Goggles
Flat Noses Pliers
Heavy duty gloves- Optional

Step One: Organise Yourself

Put on your Goggles and make sure that you have everything thing you need for the first few steps to hand.

Step two: Remove the old Fabric

Use the craft knife to cut the fabric, do this carefully as you may find that the wadding and pad underneath are reusable, although they still need to be removed. (I didn't take that time as I needed to strip back to the frame as it had been raining and I didn't want the frame to rot, at this point I left my chair skeleton to dry, hopefully you won't have to do this). While you are stripping the chair frame take time to notice how the chair was originally upholstered, take photos if necessary. I will explain why later.


Step three: Get rid of the old staples

Remove all the old staples using the staple remover and the pliers, you should probably be wearing gloves but I found it fiddly enough without wearing gloves. (My main excuse is that I'm a lady with lady sized hands and the Heavy duty gloves I have fall off if I drop my hands to my sides).  If you can't get the staple out and it's close to the surface of the wood use your staple gun and bash it down. You don't want to do this to much as it will make it difficult to staple when your re-upholstering later.
Step Four: Checking the seat

Place the seat pad on the chair and sit on it, the chair will either fill saggy or not. Mine had a little slag so removed the staples from one side of latticed straps and pulled them tighter and re stapled. When I re-checked the seat it felt great.

Step Five: Sizing and securing the seat pad

You can use a paper template made by placing it on the chair skeleton and making out the outline where the seat pad will go. As it is unlikely that the chair will be square like the pads are generally sold, use the bread knife to cut the pad, trying to cut in the downward direction only. (I have never perfected that skill so my edges were a little ragged). Use your staple gun to secure in place with a couple of staples placed just above the base of the pad no more than 1cm.

Step six: Wa Wa Wadding

Cover seat pad with the wadding making sure that the wadding covers over sides of the chair. Staple from the middle of each side, started on the right side, pulled the wadding alittle on the left, stapled, front then back. The repeating again so that all the wadding is secured across the sides evenly. Make hospital corners on the corners by folding in the fabric and ensure that you don't leave unsightly bulges. I cut all the excess wadding away once I was happy.

Step Seven: Repeat this if your chair has a back that you want to cover.

Step Eight:  It's time for the fabric

The idea is the cover the chair so it looks as professional as you can, so this is when those photos you took or the mental notes you made come in handy. Cover with your chosen fabric like with the wadding in Step Six the only difference is that you will stapling your fabric to the underside of your chair frame. Start with a few staples on each side, once you have all four sized secured in the middle, Make your hospital corners. Use your scissors, cutting  against the chair legs so vertically, then cut horizontally  about 1cm below the seat of the chair frame. The aim is the fold up these corners that sit over the legs so that they are the same height as the fabric that is stapled under the chair frame creating a beautiful continuous line. You repeat this to cover the back of the chair.

TTNF
MagpieSpirit

Rob Ryan Rocks!!

This week, My Wi Group the Shoreditch Sisters had the pleasure of having Rob Ryan as our guest. Rob is well known for his Paper Cutting, and he is an extremely likeable gent. We were even lucky enough to have had him design a paper cut for me and my sisters to try.

I must admit that once we started cutting, I kept sticking my tongue out with concentration. (I knew my that my photo was being taken). 

Although I didn't manage to finish all the cutting on the night, I had finished by the following evening.

This experience has definitely given me some big ideas for Christmas.

Easter Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

Although we have now got easter firmly in the past, I though I should post my homemade attempts at Easter eggs.

Its incredible that some melted chocolate, spinkles and some ribbon should bring so many smiles on Easter Sunday.

DIY Teacup Candle Making

These candles make unique gifts for a Mother's Day, Birthdays or Weddings and can even be used to add that special touch to special ocassions. To make candles in containers you'll need to use special container wax that won't pull away from the sides as it cools. Soy wax is kinder to the environment and it's much easier to clean up, but reusing partially burned candles is also an enviromental option. Any utensils you use can be washed simply with hot soapy water or put in the dishwasher, when you use Soy wax.

What you'll need

* Teacup, pot or jar

* Flaked soy wax (£3.85 for 500g at The Make Lounge) or partially burned candles (if you want to go down the reuse, recycle route)

* Eco wicks (£2.00 for 5 at The Make Lounge)

* Double boiler or two saucepans that fit on top of each other

* Cooking thermometer

* Two pencils/ wooden skewers (to support wicks per Teacup, pot or Jar)

* Fragrance oils (from £1 a bottle) if you want to scent your candle

*Tongs (to pick out the old wicks)

How it's done

1 Pour your flaked wax/partially burned candles into a double boiler or a pan placed on top of another pan of water. You can work out how much wax you'll need by filling the teacup with water and weighing it, but I like trying the game of guessing. Melt the wax, heating to 165°C to 185°C. Add scented oils if using. The ratio of fragrance to wax is eight per cent, but do weigh it as some oils are heavier than others. Mix in the oil using a metal whisk.

2 Place the wick in the centre of the cup. It will come fixed to a metal disc enabling it to stand up. Wicks come in various sizes and the one you need will depend on the width of your container. Most suppliers will have a size guide.

3 Once you've melted the wax, slowly pour it into the teacup, filling it to the top. You should have some wax left over - you'll need this for the second pour. Hold the wick in the centre by placing it between two pencils balanced across the cup.

4 Once the candle is completely cool to the touch (about one hour), do your second pour. Wax shrinks as it cools so a crevice will develop in the centre. Heat the leftover wax to 10°C hotter than the first time and stir again for a couple of minutes. The wax needs to be hotter when you top up the container as this will give you a nice smooth surface once it's cooled.

5 Leave the candle to cool and harden thoroughly and then trim the wick to 1cm before lighting.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

Jem Made This - Covered Button Broach

I recently joined my local WI  group (Shoreditch Sisters) upon signing up I was given a white sticky label to write my first name on and stick on myself. Easy, so far. While waiting for the proceedings to start a member shouted out asking for safety pin, to our shame, (he he) within a group of  approx. 40 ladies that had gathered so far, not one safety pin available. The member jokingly quipped "Ladies we are the WI", to some laughter. But that got me thinking if we are the WI, my white sticky label needs to be upgraded. You can see the result.

If you want to reproduce this covered button broach, you will need:

An embroidery hoop
some coloured embroidery thread
8" square piece of fabric of your choice
38cm or larger self-covered button blank (ideally the type with a safety pin on the back, otherwise you will need a safety pin)
An embroidery needle (or one that has an eye big enough for the thread to go through)
And little imagination and depending on your design and sewing skills, anything from 20 minutes to 3 hours to sew.

I felt I wanted to add alittle bling, so I also used my glue gun.

Happy sewing.

I would love to see any attempts at this project please email any pictures to jamila@magpiespirit.com.

TTFN

MagpieSpirit

A long Weekend Craft Bonanza - Day 2 Part 2

As it's the season, we visited the Frost Fair at Hatfield House, Hatfield.

You enter the fair through a little wooden trellis arch, where a foam machine above drops/blows faux snow onto you. An attempt I'm sure to get you into the festive spirit. So from the foam machine you find yourself in a marquee portico, through that we emerged into the first marquee proper. The shopping temptress appeared instantly in the form of Linden Lady and their handmade English chocolates, fudges and other things naughty but nice's. Another highlight hidden  amongst the silverware, toys, books, furniture and much, much more to purchase was a Sarsaparilla stall, Yes! Sarsaparilla!! complete with vendor dressed like he was about the serve Calamity Jane in one of those white aprons that buttoned to his waistcoat and a bowler hat atop his head.

Just so you know sarsaparilla is tasty hot or cold, I prefer it hot personally. Apparently it's a natural source of iron, an anti-inflammatory and cleansing. The Taste of Yesterday, I wish I had bought more than just those glasses to drink as I wondered the fair and more for over the Christmas period.

A Long Weekend Craft Bonanza - Day 1 Part 1

Today was the first day of my craft weekend bonanza and with my craft comrade Carole, we wondered the beautiful city of Cambridge.

We had an extremely early start, arriving by train at 9:30 in the morning and after a short soup stop, we made our way to the Christmas Made-It Market held in Cambridge Guildhall. this is a relatively new and growing designer/crafter-maker market. That said this market had over 50 stalls to browse, 19 workshops to try throughout the day. as they say in their welcome leaflet, " relax, feel free to browse .... and take home inspiration if nothing else."

Our first port-of-call was to make our way to the workshops desk to book Lino Printing, at only £15 per person it was an absolute bargain.With that locked in motion, there was just over an hour free to browse the rest of the Made-It Market.

The browsing hour soon turned into a shopping spree and with the quality and variety of goods available was truely impressive, from bespoke traditionally made rocking horses to woven sterling silver jewellery, to toys, doorstops and brooches.

Screenprinting - what a rush

I have just completed my 5th week of my silk screen-printing course at the Morely, and I am loving it.

Although the process is very structured, at the same time the experience feels so organic.

Have a look at what I have done so far.

As this is only a 6 week course I only have one week left, which I will definately be making the most of and as for next term, I have all ready signed up.

Only as Strong as the Weakest Link

This evening I did my first commissioned repair work. It was actually a very simple fix, but it does make it feel so much more self-succient. As my craft skills develop I am trying to explore my ideas and any new techniques that I'm learning.I am proud that I will be returning something that is as good as new.

Shower for Baby G

Yesterday was the shower for Baby G - the commission that I have been working on for the last few weeks. It was a commission close to my heart as it was for one of my closet friends.

The entire shower theme was based on Giraffes and the associated colours of orange, yellow and brown, the giant paper poms poms and giraffe shaped cake to the giraffe toys we gave away as mementos of the day.

Chiyogami Paper Lavender Envelopes

Today, I opened one of my chest of draws and pulled out a black vest, instant problem. A giant moth hole just below my left ribs and along the collar, to my horror two other tops and a pair of leggings have a similar affliction. My current protection must have worn off, but this is the new me - a crafting goddess!
While in Japan, I bought some beautiful Chiyogami paper (Japanese folding paper) which I had never used. I needed something that had a repeating pattern and this stuff fit the bill perfectly.

To cut a long story short, my drawers now have some moth protection.

I will be making the tutorial available shortly, it's a simple project that even a beginner can manage.

Fascinating new skill

Make your own Fascinator - is the two hour evening course offered at Craft London that I took this Monday. Although it wasn't a traditionally structured course, I enjoyedd the way it was presented, Katherine the instructor started by showing us examples of looks and some of the creative possibilities available to us. She then quickly went through what fabrics, beads, and other stuff then let us loose. She and her helpers made themselves available throughout the time. I really enjoyed the freedom of be creative. I think I will be wearing my new handmade fascinator out this weekend.

Soap Making

I have just finished my introduction to soap making at the Make Lounge and wow, I loved it. The course has completely opened my eyes to the skill, science, passion and craft that is making soap. I will upload my photos of my soap once they have finished curing.

This photo was added 2nd March 2011