Christmas Tree III: Crochet Snowflakes!

"Chain Loop Snowflake"

Can you tell it's my first Christmas with the ability to crochet?!

"Open Chain Loop Snowflake"

There are so many different patterns out there, I decided to try a few and see what I liked :)

"Star Snowflake"

I want to say some were more fiddly than others, but I think my skills just improved as I progressed ;)

"Attic 24's Crochet Snowflake"

They vary in size hugely, but were all created with 4 ply wool and a 2mm hook.

 

"Pretty Snowflake" (my favourite!)

And I stiffened them all slightly with a PVA and water spray, and hung with clear thread. I thought about adding a strand of sparkle thread to them, or spraying them with glitter. But there's something rather lovely about the plain white :)

So Christmassy :) Have you tried any snowflake patterns you'd recommend? I'd love to see your results!

Also, I just want to tag this in over at Julia Crossland's Being Creative Winter theme. Not sure how involved I'll be next year with the changes going on, but it's been a great experience and I've met some lovely people. Thanks for stopping by!

See what else is on my Christmas Tree!

Christmas Tree I: Crochet Snowman

Christmas Tree II: Orange and Grapefruit Slices

Christmas Tree III: Crochet Snowflakes

Christmas Tree IV: Star Wars Snowflakes

Christmas Tree V: Glittery Felt Balls

Christmas Tree VI: Angel Bunny 

Christmas Tree VII: The Finished Tree
Christmas Tree VIII: Next Year! 

Being Creative November: Vintage - Owl Tea Pot Cosy

This month's theme over at Julia Crossland's Being Creative is Vintage. It didn't immediately strike me, but ended up being the inspiration for me to finish off a long standing project, before it itself became vintage!

Back at the beginning of 2010, me and my husband were preparing to move in together. Now, I am an avid tea drinker, and I knew our house HAD to have a tea pot cosy. So, I got materials out, and before moving out I made quite a lot of progress.

In fact, by the time I left home, all it really needed was to be structurally assembled.

But... then I moved out. And I had other projects on, such as this Bee tea pot cosy for my brother's family, complete with pipecleaner antennae and net wings...

So, when my parents were able to magically fix my sewing machine this month, I knew it was time to complete it. Being Creative also gave me the actual push to sit down and do it, as the word Vintage always makes me think of all the wonderful fabrics I've inherited from generations of my family, which I've used to make this tea cosy.

The ears don't quite sit at the angle I wished, but when is anything handmade ever perfect?!

 The inside is a different purple fabric and a layer of wadding.

Details all hand stitched on fabric scraps and felt.

I am so thrilled it's finally finished! Although, with the recent posts Woolly Owl Hat and Sock Owls, I think I'm giving the impression I'm much more owl obsessed than I actually am! They're just so adorable... Had a request for another tea pot cosy too, so best get working on that!

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participates in Being Creative, I have really met some wonderful creative people through it, and you're all so supportive :)

I've just redesigned the blog too, thought it made sense now there's a bit of an archive building up :) There are links on the right to find me round the internet too!

Being Creative September: Autumn

Let me start by apologising for my lack of posting lately. Crazy things have been going on healthwise, I've cut out sugar and my husband is currently completely bedbound and unable to move. Before that happened, we'd had the busiest month in a long time, with visits to the local Heritage Market in an old tobacco warehouse; Chambre Hardman's house, and Ellesmere Port Boat Museum to name a few! And that's not to mention the constant benefit battles, and Royal Mail compensating us for losing my engagement ring... Life has been insane. Which is why my Being Creative is a bit later than normal!!

This month's theme over at Julia Crossland's Being Creative is Autumn.

My first thought was leaves. Crunchy, crispy, colourful - you can't get more Autumnal! I'm really excited about my fabric journal at the moment, so decided the perfect thing to do was to create another page for it.

 

Each of the leaves are either fabric with a thin layer of wadding, or just felt. It is 2 sided, and all hand stitched. Each leaf either has handsewn veins, a simple outline, chain stitch, or blanket stitch edges. I think it's really effective, and was fun to create!

Here you can see more details:

 I also have to mention YoungCaptive for an extra bit of inspiration with the construction of this :)

Being Creative August: Travel

This month's theme over at Julia Crossland's Being Creative is Travel.

Honestly? I was feeling very uninspired by this month's theme. Nothing clicked. I'd resigned myself I wasn't doing anything.

I came on Blogger today to share a card I made for my train-enthusiast friend the other week, and suddenly realised... Trains... Travel... OK, it might not have been made with the specific idea of Being Creative in mind, but if it fits... Well. It's nice for me not to feel like I've missed a month ;)

So, here it is. Worked solely in Photoshop. First attempt at this style of typography, so it's a tad iffy in places, but I am thrilled with it. I wish I'd had time to layer sections of it up on my Dad's printing press, but you can't have everything!

Typography Train by ~bicyclegasoline on deviantART

I've since done more work like this in Photoshop, and hope to do more, too...

Being Creative July: Summer

Let me start by revealing how I created the photograph shown in my previous post, Camera Experimentations. It is simply a green bottle top placed over the lens. It produces some really interesting effects, and I'm hoping to build up a whole range of different coloured bottles to use :D

Anyway, this month's theme over at Julia Crossland's Being Creative is Summer.

I was originally very excited about this theme - thinking applique ice creams, flowers, layers of paper and watercolour paintings. Pastel colours, bright colours, so much fun. But... Life happened - namely two benefit forms which both me and my husband had to fill in within six weeks... Doesn't sound much until you know that there are about 20 questions, each taking an hour to answer. Each. And it took all our energy to do an hour a day, so I haven't even seen my art room recently. Oh, and my sewing machine broke, which didn't help, although my husband may have fixed it... Will find out this week!

Anyway, we had a wedding yesterday, and the card I made for them feels lovely and summery to me. It is a new design for me, and it is probably one of my favourite cards I've ever made, and I make a lot haha!

So yes. At least I was able to create something this month, even if it wasn't much. Oh, I also crocheted my first granny square, to go in my Fabric Journal. It was so much easier than I expected!!

Being Creative June: Ocean

Over at her blog, Julia Crossland is running something called Being Creative, where each month there is a theme to follow to simply be creative, with no restrictions. This months theme is Ocean, and I decided to continue with my experimentations!

I used some money I received for my Birthday to buy myself a second hand sewing machine this year. It is very much second hand... I have no manual, and I seem to have a constant problem with the thread getting stuck behind the tension dial, arrrgh! But I can do short stretches in between problems, as long as I am selective with my fabric and cotton choices - anything too different and it jams...!

I want to create a fabric journal to get to know my sewing machine, and general textiles a bit better. I intend to create all the pages individually, and then I will assemble them into pages.

So, on the theme of Ocean, here is my very first page!!

 

I've included a little close up to help you see the gorgeous textures I've included. There are layers of cotton, linen, ribbon, netting, denim and a satin-y material. There's also a line of single crochet, and beading.

My original concept included sequins and sparkles, and stitching worked over the top. But I like this just for the simplicity of colours and textures.

I hope you can appreciate that too!

Being Creative April: Desserts

I have lapsed slightly with April Drawing Month, however I did draw every day for 2 weeks, which I am extremely proud of! My health has also improved slightly, which is allowing me to be creative in some form everyday. Yesterday I managed to get my sewing machine going, and completed my Big Crochet Project - I will share that soon!

Over at her blog, Julia Crossland is running something called Being Creative, where each month there is a theme to follow to simply be creative, with no restrictions. This months theme is Dessert, and I decided to dive into my archive of photos to find something to work from - baking is one of my passions away from art!

I decided to go back to the Mint Choc Chip Cupcakes I made last October, and do a pencil sketch and a watercolour sketch. I was originally aiming for an acrylic too, but that ended up in the bin - my head just wasn't in the right place! But, enough waffle from me, here's my finished sketches:


Being Creative: Desserts by ~bicyclegasoline on deviantART

I'm pretty pleased with them - especially the sponge texture in the watercolour. It's also got me out of my painting lull, and as an artist that is priceless :)

Being Creative March: Garden

Something a bit different today! I've been having a tough few weeks or so, so still no art or anything I'm afraid :( I did manage to get into my art room at the end of last week tho, for the first time in ages. It was lovely to be back!

Over at her blog, Julia Crossland has started something called Being Creative, where each month there is a theme to follow to simply be creative, with no restrictions. This months theme is Garden, and I thought it was a nice theme to pick up for my Mother's Day cards...

Just a simple stamp I embossed and coloured, before mounting on suitable card :)

That's all today folks!