2012's Top Ten Posts

With it being the last day of 2012, I thought I'd share the ten most viewed posts of the last year! I thought it would be a good recap in case you missed anything :) Click on the appropriate image to see the original post.

A Beautiful Impression

R2D2 Christmas Stocking

Sock Owl Giveaway

Stab Stitch Textures

Baby Bunny Crochet & Blanket

Denim Jeans Skirt

Felt Dolls

Skirt to Dress Transformation

Crochet Butterflies

Christmas Decorations

Happy New Year, everyone :)

George Update!

Well, my George is living the life! Since the Jubilee earlier this year, the Lady Lever Art Gallery has dressed him up for many special events!

For Christmas? A reindeer, complete with antlers, a sparkly nose, and a sleigh...

For halloween, Count Pengula!

[source]

And for Beatles week? Well, he became one himself!

[source]

He is even in the entrance hall at the moment, meaning you cannot miss him when you go and visit! I am so proud of him, but miss him so much!

Inspire: Simon's Cat

Maybe this is a slightly odd choice for Inspire. Maybe. But as I sat here thinking about any art I had seen recently which had influenced me, it was this that came to mind.

Simon's Cat is a cartoon by Simon Tofield, which I originally discovered on Youtube. Me and my husband both fell in love with the magical story telling and the simple graphics, and my husband received several of the books for Christmas, too!

I think the reason it inspires me is two-fold. One, the graphics are so simple, yet effective. Although having also seen him colour in an image, it's not all as simple as it seems! And two, how something so simple has become such a huge success. It makes you think, doesn't it?

I am approaching a point where I'm considering doing the occasional video, whether it's time lapsed creativity or adventures in the world of macro, I'm not sure yet. Watch this space...!

Christmas Decorations - Looking to 2013

As I mentioned in my Christmas Decorations 2012 round up, there were a lot of projects left on my to do list that I simply wasn't able to tackle, some even being left from previous years! Let's have a look...

3D Snowflakes

From Ing-Things

Crochet Christmas Trees

From Annaboo's House

Beaded Snowflakes

 From Christmas Projects [also, 3D ones]

Paper Baubles

From The Guardian

Crochet Christmas Trees

 From little woollie (which also make me think of piles of granny circles stacked into a tree...)

Crochet Star

 From ATERGcrochet

Crochet Bauble

From ATERGcrochet

Kusudama

From Folding Trees

Other Decorations
This collection of origami stars!
Crocheted robins, Christmas puddings, snowmen heads and Father Christmas heads.
A nativity scene! I think I've changed my mind from this one to this one :)
Paper chains.
Dried apple as well as oranges.
Spray snow on the windows over snowflake shapes.
Wrap wool round shapes, e.g. stars and hearts, use several different colours at once.
Wrap strands of thread and beads round shapes.
Instead of tinsel, have strands of beads, strands of sparkly stars, strands of felt balls, and lengths of ribbon.

Christmas Decorations - 2012 Round Up!

All the way back in November I shared the list of decorations I hoped to make for Christmas. I knew I wouldn't complete them all, and it certainly wasn't helped by my constant additions! But I will focus on the things I haven't done in another post. For now? Here's a summary of what I have accomplished :D [Click on the pictures to view the original post. If you're having any issues viewing the images - it seems to be playing up today - try hard refreshing the page :) ]

R2D2 Christmas Stocking

My husband loved it, thankfully! Though amusingly he didn't realise I'd made it until I told him later... I think that's a compliment! :)

Simple Christmas Invites

Letterpress Christmas Cards

Felt Heart Ornaments

Clay Ornaments

Origami Star Garland

Stick Trees

Crochet Granny Stars

Crochet Owl Decorations

Felt Christmas Tree Decorations

 Crochet Granny Tree Garland

I also made a gingerbread biscuit garland, but didn't have a chance to photograph it!

And if you want to see even more, why not have a look at my Christmas section, filled with everything I made the previous year, too!

Tried and Tested Tip Number 22 [Paper Origami Gift Boxes]

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas :) For a few of the presents I gave away this year, I needed small boxes to hold them in. I couldn't find any appropriate in my local craft store, so turned to the internet to find a tutorial!

I came across this tutorial from Things to Make and Do, and it was perfect!

I made the majority of my boxes from the largest square an A4 page can form.

I decorated some with spirals, and some with flowers - I'll be talking about these in the next Tried and Tested!

And once I'd been able to master the basic box, I started experimenting with measurements when folding, which meant I could create a box which was wide and shallow - perfect for truffles!

If it's helpful to anyone, here's a free downloadable spiral twirly shape I created for decorating a few of the boxes:

I really recommend this tutorial, it's quick and easy to make up, and really adaptable!

Happy Christmas!

Wishing all my readers, followers, and supporters a very Happy Christmas!

I know how difficult this time of year can be, whether dealing with illness, bereavement, family problems, or anything else. May love and peace be with everyone, and may you all have a lovely time this Christmas.

Are you escaping online for just a few minutes today? Why not have a look through my Christmas crafts, and distract yourself from the chaos around you! And hey, it's never too early to start thinking about next years creating...!

Granny Tree Garland

I recently saw this Granny Tree pattern from The Royal Sisters featured on Tangled Happy, and I knew I had to try it! I think great minds think and hook alike, as Ali just made some too!

I crocheted mine with a 2.5mm hook, fine cream and green wools, and strung them together on a crocheted chain.

The pattern is lovely, but I adjusted it slightly to have just one row forming the trunk - I did it by accident initially, but decided I prefered the shape :)

I was crocheting these wherever I was in the house when I had a few minutes to kill, so I wrote the pattern up short hand to place on my phone and embed in my head! I thought I'd share it here for easy reference, but want to make sure people know it it just a short hand version of The Royal Sister's full pattern!

Ch 5, join with sl st.

Round 1:  Ch 3. In centre hole, 3 dc, ch 3, 4dc, ch 3, 4dc, ch 3. Join with sl st.

Round 2: Sl st along to next space. Ch 3. In space, 3dc, ch 3, 4dc. Ch 1. [In next space, 4dc, ch 3, 4dc. ch 1.] x2. Join with sl st.

Round 3: Sl st along to next space. Ch 3. In space, 3dc, ch 4, 4dc. [1sc in middle of treble group from last round. In next space, 4dc. 1sc in middle of treble group from last round. In next space, 4dc, ch 4, 4dc.] x2. Ch 1. In next space, 4dc. Ch 1. Join with sl st.

Turn over tree, sl st along chain and into top of treble group from previous row. Ch 3. 3dc across.

Why not have a look at the other crafts in my Christmas category...