2023 - No Craft Spending - I WILL bust my stash and make pretty things!!!!!

sammy_kaye18

@x_raphael_xx
The fox is coming along nicely

@plumduff55 I love the colour of the aran wool and the new wool you are using is so pretty. I really must start with trying to learn to knit because my neighbour gave me a big bag of wool and its just sat collecting dust at this point! 

@florenceem love the Easter treat bags and things for you DGC. We dont have extra chocolate in our house especially now Im diabetic. Have got the kids an Easter egg each so will find a few more bits for them and Im limiting myself to a chocolate orange so I can enjoy a few segments :-) 

@vulpix good luck with clearing the house. And well done on the restraint to rehome the craft bits. Im sure someone will get a lot of use from them. 

@Stashbuster I love the teddy and the skirt. You have reminded me I brought a pattern on Etsy to make a memory bear with = I really should look it up and print it off! 

@Soontobeoap I have a little ceramic bunny silhouette to do something with for Easter and Im thinking of sending it to my grandmother but I just need to try and figure out how to decorate it now! 


Well still the house of rough here at the minute. 
Son is now 6 days into covid so Im hoping he will start feeling better soon. Today is the first day he has had a headache but I think for him being so active usually, he is finding the fatigue and tiredness most annoying. Hes usually on the go constantly between work, college and mountain biking so not being able to do any of it is taking its toll on him. 
Then my husbands arthritis in his ankle and knee have been playing up and last night he pulled something in his back unloading a food shop. 
Myself and my daughter had gone to bed early as mother nature has put both of us in sync with our time of the months and we were both feeling awful yesterday so I was in bed by 9.30 which left husband to take in and unpack the food shop and this morning I cannot find anything at all. 
Then mother in law text to say father in law has done his back in too and my sister has managed to kick the stair gate in her house and somehow got an infection in her little toe so quite frankly we are just all in the wars at the minute..... haha!

Finished the mothers day cards only to not be able to visit any of them because of son having covid, but 
Needless to say today I am making a card for my grandmothers birthday which I need to get posted by 4pm so I had better move my butt as her birthday is tomorrow! And Ill go for a walk and post it en route to the shop and pick up toothpaste because I cannot find the one I brought yesterday for the life of me since husband put it away!

Wraithlady

Soontobeoap said:

Has anybody on here ever tried bead embroidery. It is something that I am tempted to try as I think it would be a great way to update clothes. All of the kits to try it out seem very expensive and I am not sure which beads or size needles to use. Have watched a few tutorials but no idea other than that 

Hi, Soontobeoap - I used to be a beader so maybe I can help.

Bead embroidery is not that hard, but beads are a lot heavier than most cloth, so bear that in mind - a few randomly scattered over a shirt is fine, 1920's-style full art deco-beading weighs a ton (been there, worn the dresses)!

I would start with a beading needle and some small beads (bear in mind that the 'bigger' the size of bead, the smaller the bead actually is) - for beads, I would maybe start with a size 10/11 and go for 'miyuki' - they are more uniform than czech glass beads (though the latter are a bit cheaper). 

The easiest way to start is to string a load of beads onto thread - you can use beading thread (Nymo) or strong polyester thread as it'll be washed - and then 'couch' the string of beads into the shape you want (using a non-beading needle as the beading needle isn't really designed for sewing).

It's worth practicing before starting on actual clothing, you could even make a 'patch' to sew onto clothes if you use sturdy material to sew it onto and make sure you finish off the thread securely!

And of course, we'd love to see pics.

Soontobeoap

Thank you @Wraithlady. That sounds like what I have seen online (tambour?) Have you got any pics of bits that you have done?

I have Christmas to finish but jave a birthday in June so if asked what I would like I will ask for a needle to get started along with the calligraphy pen! 🖋️😂. 

Cupcakecraftscuddlycanine

Thanks @daisy_1571 and @vulpix
She was almost 18 and had needed a lot of care recently so our days seemed to revolve around her. Which just seems to highlight the loss

I've actually just started beading a bridal belt because I thought to myself why buy one when you can panic yourself silly trying to make one 🤣 haha! I haven't had much time to spend on it yet! 

However the overskirt for my dress is finally finished and I painted a pair of canvas shoes to wear whilst getting the marquee ready! Because why not give myself another job !

Soontobeoap

Cant wait to see your beaded belt @Cupcakecraftscuddlycanine. Love the pumps. I really hope you get to relax  enjoy the day when it comes. You have put so much work into it. 

Wraithlady

Soontobeoap said:

Thank you @Wraithlady. That sounds like what I have seen online (tambour?) Have you got any pics of bits that you have done?

Actually, tambour is quite different - it's done from the back of the material with a special 'needle-on-a-stick' and is apparently quite tricky to do. One of the few crafts I haven't actually tried. What I was describing was more 'bead embellishment' - mainly. you work from the front of the material, lay the string of beads on it and sew it to the shape required.

I haven't any pics of my beadwork - I mainly did necklaces and beadlooming rather than clothing

Soontobeoap

Thank you all so much for your beading advice. I have decided to wait a little while and plod through my list of overdue jobs and use up some stash before buying more bits and bobs. With that in mind I have had a craft afternoon and made 20 cards. 9 of them blank greetings cards and the rest for Christmas. About a year ago I bought  100 postcard size pics in a charity shop. I have been using them to write little notes to people but today I used 7 of them to make cards. Some are flowers and some cute teddies. Hoping to get all cards done by end of next week before I get sewing machine out! I must be more disciplined. 😂. Counting as 4 (packs of 5) Happy crafting all. 

sammy_kaye18

Love the cards @Soontobeoap
I was talking to my grandmother yesterday and she said she had made Easter Cards ready for her craft sale at her church and her and her sister were planning on starting on Christmas cards this week so they have plenty of stock a head of time. 
She brought a new machine the other day that is like a printing press for card inserts so she made a few up the other day and posted me some to put into greetings cards that I make. 
I think I may have to have a look through my card making stuff and maybe make her a few Easter Cards with my Cricut for her to sell at her church fayre too since I have attended there every time I go to visit her since I was a little girl. 

I am going to look in my HC box that I brought with my voucher at Christmas too.
I havent looked in it since I brought it because I wanted to try and get some bits and pieces that I already had used up before hand.
I have lots of letter writing bits as well for penpals etc that I really need to sort through and get rid of some since Im not convinced I will use it all and at the minute the draws in my desk seem to be bulging and Im worried they will give way! 

Naughty Pupster Hamish also helped himself to a few pens off my desk today too and in the process smashed a little paint your own postbox that my daughter Holly painted for me so he is in the bad books and currently sulking. I do have a little paint your own gnome money box that was left over from covid lockdown to paint so I may start using that as my stamp money box instead. 

Really need to find some better organisation stuff for all my craft bits. 

Anyone have any idea what to do with 3 papermache dinosaurs? 

Soontobeoap

Oooh I would decopache the dinosaurs. There are some lovely papers that you can buy. My sisters both have machines and huge stock for card making and make them all from scratch. They have craft rooms set up just for card making. I am not that clever and make them as much to recycle as anything else. I hope your grandmothers easter card sale goes well. I would love to see some of your cricut makes too

Soontobeoap

Went for a lovely walk by the sea today. Didnt expect to get much crafting done but managed to make 20 more Christmas cards. Dinner was a bit later than usual but I had fun. Have to confess to a £15.00 spend on some more cards and backing papers.