Stamped Owl Card

I've been waiting for an opportunity to try out this owl stamp, and a young girl's Birthday card seemed the perfect opportunity! I did what I often do when I don't want to fully colour an image, which is a background watercolour wash. Once it has dried, I stamp/emboss the image over the top, and then add in some extra details of colour. It brings life to the image without too much effort. I mounted the stamped image on some beautiful papers I have in my stash and added a flower sequin to bring some sparkle! I'm afraid I don't know the make/name of this owl stamp as I received it second hand. It is one of the clear adhesive ones, which I have mixed feelings about. I like that they are cheaper than their mounted counterparts, but I never seem to have an appropriate sized block to mount them on!

Crochet Owl Snuggy

Yup, another baby snuggy! I've previously made an elephant snuggy and a bunny rabbit snuggy, and this follows the same standard procedure. I'm interested in continuing to experiment with different variations for this theme - any suggestions for animals?

I followed this pattern for the granny square, and I think I started following the head pattern too. Rather than complete the head into a sphere, I stopped early and single crocheted across the top to get the head shape I wanted. I added some strands (securely knotted!) for ear tassels, as well as eyes and a beak.

The wings began as basic circles which I increased with hdcs and dcs to get the shape I desired.

The white, cream and black wool were from my stash. The yellow is Stylecraft Special DK 1081 Saffron, the dark pink is Stylecraft Special DK 1084 Magenta, and the light pink is Stylecraft Special DK 1390 Clematis. Beautiful colours, I love Stylecraft Special wool!

Crochet Owl

I'm not sure when I came across the Jip the Owl pattern originally, but I found it in my crochet patterns folder on my desktop recently, and couldn't resist making it as a little gift for a friend.

Did I mention I am currently obsessed with pairing grey with bright colours? Had you guessed?!

The stitching on the owl's tummy is done with embroidery floss and a strand of sparkly thread.

The legs have pipecleaners in them to make him a bit more poseable, and the tale acts as his support.

I actually made the wings a little bigger than the pattern. The entire owl is made in double knitting wool, and I just felt the original wings were a bit too small proportionally.

 

I think he's a fine feathered friend!

Doodles

Just some drawings I've been working on from images in my mind. Pencil sketches --> pen drawings --> a touch of Photoshop. A little bit of fun :)

Crochet Owl Decorations

I love these little owls!

I found the pattern over at Hopscotch Lane. It's a lovely little pattern :)

As always for me, I made a few changes ;)

As with the Crochet Granny Stars, I used a 2.5mm hook and very fine wool.

As with the pattern, I cheated and glued the eyes on (the glue gun has become a regular sofa friend of mine this month!) I couldn't find any appropriate sized buttons or sequins for the middle of the eyes, so hole punched black card sufficed! I think they look cute :) I stuck the card on with PVA. And the beaks are just three stitches of yellow wool, as it was less fiddly on such a small scale!

I think these are some of my favourite additions to our tree this year, and I can see them making great gifts, too. I might try a larger size at some point, maybe with wings...?!

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

Mr Sock Owl

Well would you believe it - another little sock owl has just fluttered his way in to existence!

This one? As a thank you to someone who has helped me a lot over the past few years. I think this owl will have a snug little home on the back seat of his car...

... just watching the world go by :)

See my previous sock owls and a link to the tutorial here!

Mother's Day [Card & Present]

For my Mum on Mother's Day :)

Text printed onto turquoise paper.

Branch cut from the turquoise paper, and owl from pearly paper. Mounted on cream mountboard.

And a matching bookmark :)

I also deisgned this card for my mother and mother in law, love how my new sewing machine makes this possible!

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!

Sock Owls

Hello again! I've managed to finish quite a few projects off this week - maybe for once I've managed to work through stressful times instead of drown in them!

Over the last few days I've made 4 little sock owls based on this pattern here.

Adorable right?!

One is for me to keep, Mr Bob Owley (seriously, no intention for it to sound like Bob Marley!), at the back right.

And three for presents for Christmas!

They are about 5" high, made form socks and felt, and carefully handstitched.

Hopefully something similar will soon be on my Folksy store, too... Watch this space!

Oh, and I discovered one my teddies (yes, I still have teddies, and I'm proud!) rather likes Bob too!

Anyway, it may be quiet here for a week or so. Hopefully I'll be back with more finished projects soon! Especially since I erm... "acquired" a rather large bag of wool from my parent's loft today, all with projects in mind!