Amigurumi Bunny

I found this sweet bunny pattern on Happy Berry's website.  There is a video "step by step" tutorial available which I found useful.  Although the pattern is free I did make a donation as she put a lot of effort into making this tutorial.  I made this for a colleague at work who is an expectant mum and she was very pleased with her gift.

Crochet Elephant

This is my latest crocheting project - an elephant!  I had seen a similar pattern being made up on Hochanda a few months back and was intrigued by how the legs were made up then last week someone offered me a copy of their pattern and I thought I would have a go.  

For this elephant I used Stylecraft DK yard in silver and a 2.25 crochet hook.    I managed to follow the pattern without coming unstuck.  It took about 10hrs to crochet and this is how it turned out.  A quick internet search and I have found the same pattern on this website:   http://www.allaboutami.com/elephantpattern/ 

Rose Canvas

Hi there readers

Today I am sharing with you a canvas I made using some Pebeo products. The 8x8" canvas was primed with some black gesso and I used a rose stencil by Imagination Crafts.

I stuck the stencil firmly to the canvas board with some Pinflair Stencil Glue.  This is remarkable glue as it leaves no marks on anything I use it on and rubs away easily enough when you don't want it on your stencil. I then filled in the areas with some Pebeo Moon paints.  It was an experiment that went well.

I then tried it with another stencil I have from Imagination Crafts and used some Mixtion Relief on this one and once dry, rubbed over some gold leaves.

I really enjoyed experimenting with these products and like the appearance of them when they are dry.

Tunisian Crochet Hearts Sampler

I received a Tunisian Crochet hook as a free gift in the latest edition of Crochet Now magazine and thought I would have a go at Tunisian Crochet.

This is my first piece of work.  It is used on a size 6mm hook and the yarn used was Stylecraft Special DK.

I have pinned it out after dampening it so that it dries nice and flat and stops curling at the edges.

This was made as a sampler as I wish to design a Scandinavian style blanket.  I wish to try it again using a smaller hook so I get a tighter finish but I don't have another Tunisian hook. However, it is possible to use a normal crochet hook as long as you don't have too many stitches on the hook otherwise they are at risk of falling off the other end!

As We Go Stripey Blanket

I am sharing with you today another crochet make I have completed. I have made this as a family heirloom for my husband and he adores it. The pattern is available online from this website address "Not Your Average Crochet" and has very good clear instructions for you to follow.  I learned some new stitches whilst creating this, the Catherine Wheel and the Star Stitch.  If you fancy having a go why not download the pdf pattern and get crocheting. 

Yarn used to make this blanket is Stylecraft Special DK purchased from Deramores.

Colours used:

• Denium
• Camel
• Storm Blue
• Cream
• Duck Egg
• Silver
• Sage
• Cloud Blue
• Sherbert

Paper Lanterns

Paper lanterns are a great alternative to using real candles especially if you have young children or pets.  You couldn't leave out candles in my household in any event, not with our cats. They love to chase each other around the house and you never know what is going to go flying.  Our cats recently celebrated their first Birthday.  They still get on really well together and only the other day they were snuggled up together on the sofa.
  
Yesterday was a first for my lad Milo.  I was sat in my craft room watching television and he jumped up on my lap and stayed a good five minutes for a cuddle.  I think he sensed something was up because I hadn't gone downstairs for the evening to watch tv because my hip was too sore.

Anyway, the purpose of my blog is to share with you one of my latest makes - paper lanterns.  These were made using my Cameo Silhouette, some cardstock, vellum and battery operated lights.  The images are available in the Silhouette Design Store if you would like to have a go at these you will also need a Cameo Silhouette.

Framed Butterfly

I am really excited today as I have a stall on Saturday in our village and will be able sell some of my makes.  The only thing is it is very last minute and they already have people selling cards so this means I will have to be very crafty and find other things to "make and take".  

I am building up a collection of crocheted owls  which make great bag charms and have been making them in an assortment of colours.  Here is one in the green colour way.

I found some large cotton reels in my crafty stash and this is what I have been doing with them.  I am trying to make a pin cushion top but not happy with the result so still working on this.

And, a trip to Hobbycraft yesterday gave me the opportunity to pick up some picture frames half price.  I have been playing around with ideas for these and this is what I came up with.

Hopefully these craft items will be popular on my stall.

Piano Card with Orchid Flowers

Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying this lovely spell of weather we are having.  I have been spending some time upgrading the software on my Cameo Silhouette and getting my head around the new look.  I have also updated the firmware software on the actual machine and rather proud that I managed all this without any technical support.

I haven't used my Cameo Silhouette since my fall because it requires pulling things out and re-arranging the space around me.  The same can be said for my cardmaking really.   I find it difficult to get at what I want most of the time, which isn't helped by the fact that I have a lot of stuff, however, this doesn't mean I don't craft, I just try and keep it simple.  Mostly I spend my hours working on another blanket I am crocheting as an heirloom for my hubby.  I am two weeks away from finishing so I am not in a position to share it with you today. 

What I interested in making at the moment are paper flowers.  I made some orchids a few weeks back and today I knew what I wanted to do with them.

Using my Cameo Silhouette I downloaded a template for a piano card, resized it and then cut it out.  Then I decorated it with the orchids and used 3D gel to stick them on.

Here is the end result which is waiting for a sentiment to match the occasion.  I hope you like it.

Best wishes, Crafty Tash

Yupo Paper with Alcohol Inks

Have you tried working with Yupo?  Yupo is a synthetic paper that is suitable for many techniques.  Artists can blend and merge colours without them going muddy.  The paper is also 100% recyclable and waterproof.  It will not tear, wipes clean and holds alcohol inks particularly well and this is how I have used it in these pieces of artwork below.

I used stencils with a few of these samples.  I placed the stencil over the paper and then dripped the alcohol inks through the gaps in the stencil.  If you try this yourself, don't worry when the ink runs under the stencil.  Just allow it to settle and dry before removing the stencil.  As you can see it doesn't affect the overall affect of the stencil as the ink seems to collect and dry where you want it.  I had some gold alcohol ink in my crafty stash and I think it looks good on this first example.  In fact it is looking very Moroccan to me.

This next one also was created with the use of a stencil.  The inks almost look glass like.

I used a stencil by Clarity Stamps to make this piece of artwork. Then some Card-io clear stamps of people were used in the areas where the bubbles are.

Again, here is another piece of artwork using a stencil.  I particularly liked the way the centre area came out like clouds.  I over stamped with a white ink pad, pansies, leaves and a sentiment for added interest.

This is the last one I made with the aid of a stencil.  I thought it was looking quite dark and would be difficult to stamp over so I added drops of pearl white ink to break up the pattern that was created with the stencil.  This then gave me the opportunity to use my stamps in these areas.

This next one is my husband's favourite as he likes the Banksy stamp I used.  Before the ink had time to dry I lay another sheet of Yupo over the top and must have twisted it to have got this affect.  It made a great little aperture for this stamp to fit inside.

I liked the background I created here on these next two ones but found I had used the wrong ink when I stamped over it.  It is important to use one that will dry on coated papers!   The stamps are the Carabelle Studio stamps which would have looked great.

I plan to cut this one in half and find another use for the top half.  The lower half has been stamped but only in white ink and it is a bit tricky to see the images so I may go over this in a silver ink.

Again, I tried to make an interesting background I could stamp over and used my Card-io stamps to create a fair ground scene.  The black looked a little severe so I over stamped it in white to cast a shadow.

This one turned out very different in style to the others.  

Another go at stencilling using my favourite hues of blue and turquoise.

I made bigger droplets of colour here.  The colours can be dropped over one another without going muddy and I love the affect.  I stamped with my Carabelle Studio stamps on this and the next card.

The colours are truly gorgeous aren't they.  I had so much fun experimenting with alcohol inks and Yupo paper and made some great backgrounds to add to my crafty stash.

Carry on crafting....... 

Stamping with Carabelle Stamps

Hi there crafters.  I have spent the morning playing with my three Carabelle Studio Stamps sets that I have.  These stamps are deeply etched white rubber mounted on EZ Mount and produced by a French company. They work well with your Distress Inks, spritzers etc. Anyway, it was an opportunity to play around with them and this is what I produced.  

I wasn't sure about the first one but really like the second and third.  It was too tempting to colour them but they would look equally good in black and white against the coloured background.