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

Soontobeoap

busy making hearts for decorating in February. Have made 5 so far and branches are soaking in slightly bleached water to kill off any bugs. I have found them tricky to do, but everything is from my garden and stash. Hopefully they will have completely dried out by then. They are so expensive to buy for a group. I think they will be good for rag wreaths. 

On another note my neighbour has just given me 9 little glass jars from a little pud he loves. I would like to make jute handles and paint them for battery operated tea lights. Does anyone know if you can still buy stick on outlines to paint? I have looked online but cant find any. I used to buy flowers and fairys for my daughter to stick to the glass and then paint. She used to love making them and her Granny and Nanny loved recieving them too. 

Florenceem

Soontobeoap - great idea - what sort of branches are you using?

Soontobeoap

I have had the most success with forsythia so far. Going to try some with rose branches this afternoon. Camelia doesnt work. It justs breaks. Its all a bit trial and error. Also have a young apple branch to try. The younger the branch the more bendy it is. I have added wire to keep its shape as the first ones I tried ended up in bin. 

Katiehound

If anyone you know has twisty willow or hazel both are good for making wreaths.
  I have used willow contorta for making circular wreaths- a good bit larger than your hearts (I think) but you don't need wire or string as the knobbly bits seem to hold the shape. A friend of mine often lops off willow branches in the autumn and spring. 
Another plant that possibly works is clematis montana.

You just need to start eyeing up the gardens in your area!!

florianatwobob

My current WIP is a cross stitch cap
badge. I have until mid October to finish it. Wish me luck as I’m about to start creating St George and the Dragon! I’m 

Soontobeoap

@katiehound, Yes willow would be best. Just making the most of what I had, available. As they are for rag wreaths they will be covered anyway and the wire just gave them some support. No really big gardens around here but I will keep my eye out for willow for christmas next year.

This afternoon I prepared 9 more hearts and feel quite good about not wasting my garden cuttings. I have spent nearly all day on this project. There were a few swear words but on the whole I enjoyed it and very pleased with the results. 

ArbitraryRandom

Katiehound said:

If anyone you know has twisty willow or hazel both are good for making wreaths.
  I have used willow contorta for making circular wreaths- a good bit larger than your hearts (I think) but you don't need wire or string as the knobbly bits seem to hold the shape. A friend of mine often lops off willow branches in the autumn and spring. 
Another plant that possibly works is clematis montana.

You just need to start eyeing up the gardens in your area!!

You can also use brambles for weaving (inc wreaths), but you need to do a little prep.

https://www.basketryandbeyond.org.uk/brambles-basketmaking/ 

Soontobeoap

@ArbitraryRandom, fascinating article. I discovered forsythia worked well
 When I wove it into a hanging basket a couple of years, ago so that I didnt have to keep buying liners. I had to do a lot of prep on the roses, as you can imagine. I guess any bendy stems can be workable and it is such a great way of clearing the debris fron gardening. 

Katiehound

interesting article on the bramble for weaving. Suspect the preparation takes a long time.... and all those evil thorns!!

 However for smaller projects perhaps you could use the 'whippy' young growths? after investing very strong leather gloves!

That made me see brambles in a new light but I'd still rather they didn't try to colonise my garden!

Auti

Finished my first corner to corner crochet blanket. I hate the winter so thought if I have something bright and sunshiny to look at I will not feel so sad