word banner craft camp part 3

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another d i y today, this time a banner for your wall. Very popular at the moment but here you can make one with your own favourite colours and sayings.
you will need
- a piece of medium weight fabric size approx 40 x 30cm (mine was a brushed craft cotton)
- felt in various colours
- scissors
- wooden stick measuring 30cm in length
- wool
- string
- needle/thread
- glue gun / or PVA glue
- pom pom maker (optional)
- sewing machine (optional)
- Cut the fabric in to a rectangle measuring 40cm  x 26cm, with the shorter length as the width cut a point in to the bottom hem. choose your words and count out the letters, short words work best, 2-3 lines max. cut out different coloured squares to match the amount of letters, (pic 2)this helps to keep them all the same size, next cut out each letter of your words.(pic 3) They don't have to be super neat and you can leave solid shapes in some letters. Glue the letters on to the fabric banner. 
- Make some tassels by wrapping wool around your hand, (pic 4)cut across the loop to form strips of wool, lay on a flat surface and take a piece of the same wool and tie it in the centre (pic 5) fold the wool in half and then with some more wool wrap around the top to form a tassel tie securely (pic 6)  trim the ends to the same length. Make a few more tassels (pic 7) and if you have a pom pom maker add some pom poms in different colours. If you don't have a gadget to make them you can see a tutorial here
- Fold over the top edge of the banner to make a 4cm hem,  sew a running stitch along the top making sure to leave a big enough gap for the stick to fit through (pic 8) I machine stitched this part as I had my machine there on my table but hand stitching is fine also. Feed the stick through the gap.
- using a needle and thread stitch the pom poms and tassels on to the banner. (pic 9)
- cut a piece of string 30cm long and tie around each end of the wooden stick to make the hanger.

Other ideas, you could use felt for the whole banner, use just one colour for the words. You could make mini versions with initials on or a shape like a star or heart etc. If you don't have felt you can use fabric scraps for the letters or use a patterned fabric for the banner.
Have fun
Thanks for reading x x 

pom pom cactus DIY

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so here are the little guys that go inside the pots from the previous post... super easy and cute!
here's how....

you will need
-large pom pom maker (mine is a clover one, I used the green size)
-green wool
-mini pom poms
-glue gun
-scissors

- make three pom poms (I made the pom poms bigger than the pots so I could trim them to shape) if you don't have a pom pom maker you can use this tutorial  trim them down to be slightly larger than the pots they are going in, make them more of an oval shape than round to look more cactus like. (pic 1)
- take three or four of the mini pom poms and attach to the top of the big pom poms using the glue gun (pic 2/3)
- place inside the pot and push down so it stays put
Have fun!!

thanks for reading x x

Clay face pots DIY

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hello!! here is the first instalment of craft camp...a short run of D I Y's to keep little and big hands busy this summer. Before I begin I must add that his has been an idea brewing for a few years but I have always run out of time...this year I'm determined to get these posted so I apologise now if they are a little rushed/photos are bad/no punctuation/not explained properly. The thought was to get the ideas out there in time for summer holidays (I know I'm late and some have been off for weeks already) and hopefully inspire some activities this holiday when boredom strikes. Where possible I have linked to good websites that offer a more in depth description of some of the crafts. Hopefully you will be inspired and have a go!

You will need
- a pack of air drying clay in white (mine was from hobbycraft £3.50 and it made 6 small pots)
- rolling pin
- board or mat with a smooth surface
- knife, smooth edge/doesn't have to be super sharp
- paints ( I use acrylic in bright colours)
- paintbrushes
- clear varnish spray

- to make a pot, pull off a piece of clay the size of a small apple. Roll in to a strip making sure the depth/thickness is no less than 0.5cm (pic 1)
- cut along all the edges with the knife to straighten  and roll up into a cylinder shape (pic 2) put the remaining bits of clay to one side
- press the two edges together to join, try not to press too hard so the clay keeps it's shape (pic 3)
- using the clay you put to one side, roll in to a ball and roll out into a circle 0.5cm thickness, place underneath the cylinder and cut away the excess clay. Smooth the edges and make sure it is attached. (pic 4)
- make 2 more pots in different sizes and put in a warm dry place to set for approx 24 hours ( or however long the instructions say)
- when dry decorate the pots using the acrylic paints...I didn't paint the pots a solid colour first as I didn't have time and the clay was a nice grey/white colour but you can do this first if you prefer. (pic 5/6)
- when the paint is dry you can add a clear coat of varnish to seal in the colour and make them more durable but this is optional, if you keep them dry they will be fine as is.

finally you need something to put in them... but that's the next tutorial so check back soon!!!

coming soon, for the holidays...d i y crafts for little and big hands

matchbox bunnies

 
Hello...here is a little matchbox idea I made, it's a nice easy craft for the Easter hols.
I got the white matchboxes from The Works last year and although they are a little flimsy I loved that they were white. I'm pretty sure you can find them online too, or an old empty matchbox will work just as well.
Once again very simple...here's what you need.
Matchboxes, patterned tape, origami paper, scissors, pens (stamps and stickers too if you have them)
Decorate the boxes inside and out with the tapes, fold the bunnies as these  but make sure they are small enough to fit inside the match box (square paper 6.5cm or smaller)
You could also fill the boxes with little eggs or those tiny chenille chicks (I can never resist those) or make them for other occasions like the Thank you one. You could even make a small hole in the box and add some string so you can hang them as Easter decorations.
Have fun!

Thanks for reading x