Homemade: DIY Frankenstein Bunting Tutorial

It feels like forever since I posted anything on here and to thank you all for sticking around I thought that I'd reward you all with tutorial. Since it's Halloween in just over a week, what better tutorial than Frankenstein bunting?!

I love halloween but unfortunately in England we just don't celebrate it that much, and finding decent decorations is almost impossible. We managed to get a few bits and pieces, but before long we looked around our living room and all we found were pumpkin decorations, so a bit of Frankenstein was in order.

Items Needed:
 Felt in Green, Black and White
 Template
 Scissors
 Ribbon
 Scoring tools (I used pencils and pens, but it would be best to use tailors chalk)

I made a basic template for each section. These are very easy to create, just a rounded rectangle for the head, an oval for the eyes and whatever hair shape you desire. 

Cut out the pieces and glue them in place. You could stitch them, and if I was making them to sell I would, but for personal use it's much quicker to plug in the glue gun and go.

Than cut out some letters. For these I decided to wing it, but you could always use a template for a more accurate design. I choose 'Boo' for a more comical effect, seen as the little Frankenstein heads are supper cute, but anything would do.

Then use the ribbon to attach all the pieces together to create your butting. Last and most definitely not least hang wherever you wish. Personally I love mine across the fireplace along with my pumpkin fairy lights. 

I loved making this. It's been quite a while since I made anything to be honest so it was nice to break out the crafting boxes again.

Expect some more tutorials soon as my mind is bursting with ideas. Oh how I love Halloween. 

Hope you all have a Spooky Halloween! 

Katie 

x

Felt Moustaches... Obviously

For our wedding 'way' back in May we were consumed by the idea of props, from 'Just Married' signs to moustaches, but encountered problems along the way. In the end we ended up making cardboard moustaches two nights before the wedding which worked perfectly on the day...

but it wasn't until last night that the obvious idea occurred to me,

Why did I struggle with thick cardboard and messy permanent markers when I could have just used felt?

A softer, more handmade feel would have just perfect, but I guess that a bride has so much to think about just days before her wedding that practicalities are the lasts thoughts to be had. 

Which lead me to think, just because I couldn't make them for my own wedding, why can't I make them for other people's? Plus they would be just perfect for birthdays, hen do's, stag do's, or even just a great night out. So I got my little cogs turning and created a rough plan, all I need now are a few bits and pieces and my felt moustaches will be my newest of creations. 

What's more, with these designs I can also create the juicy pink lips I so much desired for my own wedding. 

Hope you're looking forward to seeing these as much as I am.

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Katie's Friday Night In

I'm sat having a lovely night in. Michael and I cooked dinner together, which consisted of minted lamb and chicken (odd combination I know) and homemade potato wedges... ahh-mazing! And now we're sat enjoying a nice relaxing evening in. I'm currently catching up on my youtube addiction, with a blob of sudocrem hopefully drying out a volcano of a spot, whilst cutting out many felt petals, and Mike's playing Xbox. Seriously I can probably sing each and every song on FIFA 11 from memory. 

Mike always says, 'I know when I've played too long because you start to sing along to the game!' haha. And it's so true. 

It's only whist writting this that I've realised that it's Friday night, and what  boring activites for a young married couple to get up to but, well that's just us. We hate the hustle and bustle of 'out  round town,' and would much prefer a few drinks 'down the local.' It's nice to actually hear what the other person is talking about you see. Though at the moment money is tight (car and tap troubles... grrr) and we've just had to make do with the venue of our home, which shhh, don't tell anyone... is our favourite place to be. 

How are you spending this lovely rainy evening?

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Homemade: Bookmark

I've spent the last few hours stitching away to create this lovely (if I do say so myself) bookmark. For a friend's birthday. I had planned on giving her a set of books, well what could be better than books but books and a bookmark? Obviously knowing Katie, this had to be handmade. So I got my thinking cap on a this is what I came up with. 

On the back I stitched... 'I'm handmade.'

I really hope that she like's if, but if not I could happily take it off her hands. haha.

♥ ♥ ♥

I'm going to make many more of these now, and will be adding them to my shop once I set it all up. I cannot wait to set up my shop up but I want to have a collection of ideas and pre-made items before I start my venture. I'm so excited and loving every minute of the 'making' process.

Hope that you are all as excited as I am

Speak Soon, 

Katie

x

Guest Posting for study leave!

Hello my lovely readers. I just wanted to point out that I'm over on Caz's blog today filling in for her while she's off studying hard. I feel quite honoured that I'm over on her blog, and I'm quite excited about my post. 

I've been making tons of these headbands, hairclips and broaches and have been dying to show you all, but I wanted to wait until my guest post was up. I've got to create a little bit of suspense some of the time...

This is one of the reasons that I've been absent for a few days, I've been so wrapped up in felt and clue that I've not really been near a computer. So I have some major blog reading to catch up on, which I'm so excited about.

I'm hoping to start selling these someday soon as I've got so many ideas and have alway been creative so thought it was about time that I put it to use. Plus by the time I have children I would like to earn enough money to support my family as in my current employment I can't afford to have children as the maternity pay is appalling, and I definitely would like them some day. (we already have the names picked out!) Don't get me wrong I would still continue to work but it would hopefully earn enough money to keep us afloat. Plus maybe one day I could earn money doing something that I truly love. Anyway enough babbling about that. 

I have tons of different colours, styles, and designs bubbling about in my little head that just need to come out, so I'm off now to create some more! Let me know what you think and if you would be interested in buying one. 

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

My Felt Creations - Felt Keyrings

In a previous post I mentioned my felt creations. I love making these things. Felt is such a versatile material, which can be cut and sewn easily to create your desired shape. I've always been a big fan of sewing, though I'd not picked up a needle for years. A good few months ago now I decided to jump back into the saddle, put on my creative cap, and get sewing. 
Here are a few of my designs:


















Each piece takes roughly two hours to create. For some people it may be less, but I pride myself on an extremely neat stitch, which always takes longer to complete. You could say I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my sewing. My personal favourite is the heart. I created this one for Michael for Valentine's Day. I hand stitched all the lettering (my favourite part.) I turn the majority of my designs into keyrings. 
I just think that a handmade keyring is much more fun than a store bought one. 






 I planned on making many seasonal items last year, for Easter, Halloween, and Christmas, but I never really got around to it. I only managed to make bunnies, with inspiration taken from 'Ravin Rabbids'. This year I will be much more organised, and get myself in gear much earlier so I don't miss my chance again. 










The first items I ever created were felt donuts. I took inspiration from LolaSaysWhat who uploaded a video on life size donuts. These I found impractical for me, so I decided to edit the idea and create donut keyrings, which I then proceeded to hand out to family and friends. 



And finally owls. These I originally made for my Nanna. She used to be a 'Brown Owl' in the Brownies, so the idea that she loves owls has stuck. Every year we insist on buying her some form of owl for Birthdays and Christmas, whether it be jewellery, ornaments, clocks, or something homemade. For her 88th Birthday I handmade her her very own owl keyring. 

I hope that you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

Have a good Monday.

Speak Soon, 

Katie 

x