Creation Consolidation - 2024!

I'm very late with my usual round-up of the previous year's makes.  I feel like I say this every year since having kids, but there weren't a lot of makes at all!  But, here goes... click on the headings or the images to be taken to the relevant posts...

Velvet Mushroom Decorations

Crochet Blueberries

Crochet Cupcake

Birthday Cakes

Trolls Party Decorations

Felt Reindeer Christmas Tree Decoration

That was not a lot for a whole year!  Let's see if I can do better this year.  I've already finished something I'd been very slowly working on since summer 2023 - so I'll be sharing that soon.  I'm very pleased with it!

If you are interested, here are my consolidation posts from previous years:

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017
2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

I didn't do a round-up for years before that, but you can see other finished items at the below links:

Crochet

Knitting

Sewing

Here's to a crafty 2025!

Felt Reindeer Christmas Tree Decoration

My last post of 2024 - and it's my yearly felt Christmas tree decoration!  I've been making these since 2018 - the year we got married and moved into a new house.

My daughter requested that I make a reindeer, so her wish was my command!  She did actually want it to be pink, but I was concerned it would end up looking like a pig with antlers!  So, I compromised with pink glittery antlers - she was happy!

The back is embroidered with the year, as always:

And here is the collection altogether!

Do you have a favourite?!

Trolls Party Decorations

My daughter had a Trolls themed party for her birthday, and a I made a few bits.  Not a lot, but a little something!

I bought some fuchsia pink tulle and tied it around a hairband to make this Poppy hair hairband for my daughter to wear.  As this was back in the Spring, I can't remember which tutorial I used for this - but it might have been this one.  I used it for the hair part, but I did my own thing for the flower headband.  I made that with a green ribbon for the band, and blue and green card for the flowers.  I cut the flower shapes out with my Cricut Joy and stuck them together and onto the green ribbon.

I also made table decorations...

I created a cone out of pink card, then wrapped strips of the pink tulle over it, tying at the top.  I used the same green ribbon and green and blue flower shapes as mentioned previously - wrapped around the bottom of the cone and tulle.

I made three of these...

I placed these down a long table where the children sat to eat.

You can see a couple of them above.

It wasn't a lot, as time was not in abundance!  However, it was nice to add a few personal touches and I found Poppy hair decorations were fun things to make!  I love the bright zingy colours and was pleased with how they came out!

Birthday Cakes

I'm coming to you again on the same day - as I don't have enough days left until the end of the year to report on this year's making on separate days!  (I could do them in January, but I have put this unnecessary rule on myself!)

Here I am now with the birthday cakes I made my children back in the Spring/Summer.

I love this cake I made for my daughter!  I got the idea from a friend, and it is SO simple and easy and yet looks really effective.  I just made a chocolate cake, covered in chocolate buttercream, then stuck chocolate fingers around the outside and smarties on the top.  Tied a ribbon around and ta-da!  The topper is made out of gold card with my Cricut machine, stuck to a wooden stick.  I make the same ones each year, I just change the numbers!

This cake for my son was more tricky!  I made a Victoria sandwich which I covered in red ready-to-roll royal icing.  I am not much of a cake decorator, and found it quite tricky to get the icing neatly over the cake - that black ribbon is really only there to hide the imperfect sides!  I used a black edible pen to draw the web, stood one of his Spidey characters on top, added my usual cake topper made with the Cricut, and the cake was done!

Overall, not a bad job with both cakes.  As I mentioned, I'm not really a great baker and cake decorator - but my Mum always used to make my birthday cakes and I've always said I'd do the same for my children.  I know these days people buy these wonderful professional cakes that look incredible, but I hope my kids will still like my simple attempts as they get older!

Crochet Cupcake

Hi!  I'm trying to update my much-neglected blog before the end of the year, with the very few things I've made!

Here is a crochet cupcake I hooked up for my daughter's birthday, back in May.

It's very cute, and I'd like to make more.  A crochet donut or two to go with it would be fun as well!

The pattern I used was a free one from Elisa's Crochet - you can find it here.  I just changed the cherry a bit as it wasn't coming out quite right.  I can't remember quite what I did differently - I thought I'd written it down, but I didn't.  I'll have to work it out again if I make another one!

I plan to be back again soon, with a couple of the other things I made this year.  Bye for now!

Crochet Blueberries

I have been (very slowly!) building up a collection of crochet play fruit for my children.

My latest offerings are two little blueberries!

I used this pattern/tutorial - but I did sc instead of hdc (US terms) in the final round so that the sticky-up bits (technical term!) weren't quite so sticky-up!

Above you can see them with the rest of the fruit and veg I have crocheted.  I think they look great together!

You can see details on the other items at the links below:

Carrot

Strawberry

Radish

Now to decide on the next fruit or veg item to make!  It might take me a year!

Makebox Velvet Needle-Felted Mushroom Decorations

My first make of 2024 are these gorgeous velvet mushrooms from a Makebox kit.  (I can't actually see the kit on their website anymore - I've had it about a year.)

First of all you needle felt the mushroom shape - as you can see below:

Then you cover it with a circle of sumptuous stretch velvety material!

The kit said to add french knots on the top in white embroidery thread - but I decided to sew beads that I already had to the top, which I'm really pleased with!

I have since threaded some cotton through the top to hang these, as they are designed to be decorations for the Christmas tree.  For now, however, they are hanging in my craft-room looking delightful!

I'm so pleased with them - I really love them!

Creation Consolidation - 2023!

I'm finally getting round to doing my usual post, collating my makes from the year before!  As is becoming a bit of a theme in recent years, I didn't make that much... but here we go!

Click the headings or the images to be taken to the relevant blog posts...

Nordic Gnome - Girl

Nordic Gnome - Boy

Cricut Names on Kids' Chairs

Crochet Radish

Reusable Fabric Christmas Crackers

Felt Candy Cane Christmas Tree Decoration

Air Dry Clay Christmas Tree Decorations

Beaded Snowflake

More creations than last year - so fingers crossed I can improve on that again this year!  Interesting that the vast majority of things I've made have been Christmas related - the festive season must make my creative juices flow!

If you are interested, here are my consolidation posts from previous years:

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017
2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

I didn't do a round-up for years before that, but you can see other finished items at the below links:

Crochet

Knitting

Sewing

Here's to a crafty 2024!

Beaded Snowflake

I didn't expect to finish anything else this year, but I'm sneaking in with one last post of 2023!

My lovely friend Anna gave me a kit for a beaded snowflake for Christmas, from Katie Aldred Designs.

Usually it takes me forever to get anything made these days - but I made this up in record time!

The kit comes with the snowflake shape already made out of sturdy metal wire.  You then have bags of beads to arrange onto the wires.  Once finished, you turn the ends of the wires over with round nose pliers to keep the beads on.

It was a very satisfying make and looks so pretty!

It was quite hard to capture on the tree, but the above gives the idea!

Happy New Year for tomorrow!  We will not be staying up for midnight tonight - we have two small children who wake us up at night and get up early in the morning, so we need every wink of sleep we can get!

I'm hoping that 2024 will be a more creative year, with more makes to post about.  Although I've ended this year well with a flurry of creations!

Air Dry Clay Christmas Tree Ornaments

I made some Christmas biscuits with the kids the other week, and I used a couple of the Christmas cutters to try cutting out shapes from air dry clay.  The clay I used was from a Sculpd kit.

I made holes in the top of each and let them dry, then painted them with white acrylic paint (that came with the clay).

I then decorated them with Posca pens and varnished with the varnish that came with the clay.  I did all this over a couple of weeks, as I let things dry and also fitted it in around general hectic life!

I made a snowman...

And a Christmas tree...

I'm really pleased with them - I think they look really cute!

The handmade decorations on my Christmas tree are really increasing in number!

Felt Candy Cane Christmas Tree Decoration

If you have been following for a while, you'll know I started a tradition in 2018 of making a felt Christmas tree decoration every year.

This year I have made a candy cane!

As always, I embroidered the year on the back.

This year I used a brilliant free pattern by What a Curly Life.  I omitted the holly, as I had a simple candy cane in mind.  I also didn't use whip stitch - instead using running stitch to sew the red stripes on, and blanket stitch around the candy cane.  This was just to tie in with how I'd made the rest of my decorations.

Here they all are together!

You can see my posts on the other decorations as follows... 2018 Star, 2019 Mouse in Stocking, 2020 Pudding, 2021 Penguin, 2022 Gingerbread Man.

They are starting to become the theme of the Christmas tree now there are so many of them!

Merry Christmas!

Crochet Radish

 I suddenly realised today that I didn't share the radish I crocheted in the summer!

I used scraps of cotton yarn I had and a pattern from this ebook.  It is the third crochet fruit/vegetable I have made from that book.  Here they all are together!

I really need to make more - my daughter keeps requesting a blueberry!  I'm not sure there are any in that book - I'll have to check!

Fabric Reusable Crackers

I'm so pleased with this creation!  I was inspired by Happy Crackers to make my own versions!

I bought some cardboard tube containers with lids to fill with cracker goodies and form the middle of the crackers.

I then made lined fabric rectangles with ribbon trims to wrap around the crackers.

And tied them all with big thick bows!

The measurements I used were:

Lining and Main Fabric - 45cm long x 27cm wide.

You could go a bit wider, but I was limited by the size of the fabric I had.  After sewing on the ribbon trim, I sewed the lining and main fabric together (right sides together) with a half inch seam allowance at the top and bottom, and a 1cm seam allowance down the sides (to get a bit more width out of the fabric).  (Yes, switching wildly between imperial and metric measurements!!)  I left a gap for turning the right way round, pressed and sewed the gap by hand.

Ribbons - 1cm and 2.5cm satin ribbons.

I sewed one length of 1cm ribbon 1 inch down from the top then left a 0.5cm gap then sewed another length of 1cm ribbon.  I did this at the top and the bottom on the main fabric, before I sewed it to the lining.

I used the 2.5cm ribbon to tie bows at the top and bottom, once the fabric rectangle was wrapped around the inner tube container.  (I think my ribbon was 85cm long for the bows - I don't want to untie them to check!)

Inside I have put cracker jokes I printed out, small gifts, a chocolate and a party popper!  You open the cracker by unwrapping rather than pulling, so you can't use a cracker snap.  Therefore the party poppers provide the bang element!

I hope you like them - I love them!  Let me know what you think!

Merry Christmas!

Cricut Names for Kids' Chairs

Hi!  Well, it's certainly been longer than I planned, as my last post was in January!

Sorry for the delay in posting again - as I keep saying, life with two small children doesn't leave much time for crafting - especially actually finishing anything!

But back in March (it's taken me this long to post about it!) I did use my Cricut Joy to make some sparkly names to go on my children's little chairs...

The chairs were from Ikea - the Sundvik.  I used Cricut Joy Permanent Smart Shimmr Vinyl in Pink...

... and light blue...

The font I used was Bauhaus 93.

They were well received by the children - especially Emily who recognises her name and loves a bit of shimmer/sparkle!  (They're more shimmery in real life than they show here.)

I hope to not leave it so long before my next post!