Finger Puppet Mice

Inspired by.....Finger puppet on CBeebies

 

We made these in school last week, but I wanted to make some longer lasting ones for the role play corner.

 

 

I had a piece of grey wool blanket, bought as a bag of scraps from Melin Tregwynt

 

 

And contrasting cotton pieces

 

I've sewn them together with a zigzag stitch - I tried one first, face sides together and turning it around, but it wasn't quite right as the blanket was too thick.

 

Sewn into cones with a tail added in the seam, then turned around.

 

The ears: I cut the circles with my ever so trustee Sizzix, then used heat and bond to keep the pink in place, then machine embroidered the onto the grey.

 

The ears were hand sewn on, with embroidered eyes for safety. I folded over the tail and hand stitched in for extra strength

 

 

 

Twenty mice later...yawn...these will go in the pet shop tomorrow. See link.

 

Pirate bunting

I was asked to make some bunting for two little boys' playroom

 

 

 

I've used Laura Ashley gingham in red and blue

 

I've used a jute string to thread through the top, rather than my usual bias binding top

 

The reverse is a selection of Ikea and various vintage from my stash

 

 

Sizzix pirate skull, with heat and bond, then machine embroidered with a darning foot

 

 

I sewed the front of the gingham by machine, but did the reverse by hand so that the stitches were invisible for a neater finish

50th Birthday Celebration

Well my OH celebrated the big 50 yesterday - and as he's not really one for a fuss - I threw him a (sort of) surprise party. After much deliberation and many questions on how he would like to mark the occasion, we settled on an overnight stay and spa and a local 5* hotel, and a tea party at home for family. He chose Mexican food - so we went the whole hog with a Mexican themed party. We'll be taking a trip away when the weather warms up,

 

http://www.pinterest.com/pollyoconnor1/mexican-50th-party/

 

Yum...chocolate fingers fort cake

 

Sorry! (ssh...don't tell him).

Silver Wedding Anniversary Card

My brother and his wife just celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary. So I made them a card, again recycling as much as I could, using gift wrap and cardboard packaging.

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary!

Recycling

I'm a great believer in giving things a new life - whether it's buying second hand furniture or looking at every piece of packaging and thinking 'Now what can I make with this?' (My husband can testify to the hoards I have managed to ram into the shed). I use a lot of cardboard and packaging in my projects in my role as a teaching assistant. Making projects with 30 or even 60 children can be a bit pricey too....
I have access to used hessian sacks from my husband's factory, so these come in handy at school fete time..

 

Sweet little house keyrings.

 

I've used Cath Kidston for the fabric and machine embroidered using a darning foot - it allows a lot more freedom - takes a bit of getting used to, but is great fun. I've added East of India ribbon and a key ring.

 

Sold for £1.00 each - believe me that's the going rate at a fete!

 

Monster keyrings for the boys.

Christmas stockings

It's been a while.....reasons....well my lovely mum passed away last Christmas and I guess I lost my mojo for a while...I've also started studying again which takes up a lot of my time on top of work commitments...along with a big extension on the house..
But I've slowly started making things again...

 

I used a basic stocking from The Clever Baggers - then in fact, I took them apart as I decided to back them with a pretty Laura Ashley Gingham and added some binding. They were appliqued with brown tweedy fabric for the puddings and robins and I used some of my scraps including Laura Ashley and Cath Kidston. Some sparkly buttons and sequins for that extra shimmer. Made for the kids - little and not so little any more, and my inherited-along-the-way-kids - boyfriend, husband, girlfriend...although it was a close shave getting them finished on Christmas Eve  #stop leaving things to the last minute...

 

 

Hope you had a good Christmas too x

 

As an added extra....

I've used this simple robin design before. Our Christmas play was about a robin, so I quickly mustered up some last minute invitations for the parents. The children cut out their own holly leaf and collaged this sweet little bird.

 

Then I made a little sewing kit for a Christmas decoration. Again, using the same design, I cut out two different sized circles on my Sizzix, along with the bobbin and wing. I provided the thread and needle too - well not everyone has those at home - can you believe it? They took a while to put together but sold well at the Christmas fair.

 

 

Wedding season

More bunting, this time in purple hues..

Congratulations to the happy couple!

School fete went well...

It didn't rain!! Hooray!!

It did blow a gale towards the end though and my trustee marquee nearly blew away! Quickly taken down on the grounds of (ahem) health and safety.

Prints/collage pictures made by the children

Paper pirate hats

along with treasure chests (Sizzix Big Shot Pro, Box, Round Top) - worked out 16p each to make using A3 card form the Range (£3.99 a pack).

We made little treasure maps to go inside, along with a couple of gold coins and a pirate patch and moustache (ebay about 23p each).

Mini scarecrows made with the children, alongside their beans.  It's amazing what you can do with a couple of hessian sacks!

The hearts sold out ...

We kept a red, white and blue theme as it was the Jubilee/Olympics...which turned into a sailing/regatta theme...using any free materials that came my way, such as the hessian..cost forever in mind., as well as thinking up activities that 5 year olds can contribute to.

 

Clay initials made with the children - I used Scupley clay for these - however quite pricey at £13.99 a pack.  These were baked for 20 mins, then painted (by me!) and crackle glazed to look (a little) like spanish tiles.

Clay hearts (Das air dry). Cheaper at £3.99 a pack - took longer to dry out though and maybe not as durable as the Sculpey, which had a rubbery feel. The hearts were embossed with paisley embossing plates, then I used letterpress fonts to print words into them. (At last found a use for the letterpress collection gathering dust!). Then glazed.

We made mini Olympic torches too, just poking out in the corner.

My sail boat bunting in action (It wasn't for sale).

Not everything sold, but I'm sure it all will go next week in school with my selling technique! It's quite amazing though - we're always told that we're selling things too cheaply, but at a fete no-one will pay over a pound for anything. Most things were priced at 50p/£1, with a couple of items at £2 due to materials and effort!  We spent about a month preparing everything.

This was just one of the stalls at our fete, which usually raises around an amazing £2-£3000!

I don't mind sharing ideas - all for a good cause! Let me know how you get on..

Home Sweet Home/Live, laugh, love

Again in red, white and blue colours

Pirate flags

Finished early this morning - Piratey pennants/flags to hang on the door - danger!! smelly socks...that kind of thing..