Tatting - crafting in minature!

Our Crafterzoom sessions contnued with a Tatting kit from Harlequin Lace. This one required concentration and a significant amount of practice after the first attempt. It is another craft involving knotting thread and reminded me of making friendship bracelets. The big difference is that you need the knots to stay flat and so the manipulation of the threads and shuttle (think bobbin if you sew) is really important and was the element that made this craft challenging to grasp.

As with crochet, you can work either in a line or in a ring. You work everything in double stitches, which act against each other to stop the whole thing twisting around itself. Once I was happy that I'd mastered the basic stitches I had a go at following a pattern and making a butterfly. I have not mastered this craft yet; I'm finding it hard to get the rings equal in size at the moment. However, I intend to keep picking it up occasionally to improve my skills and confidence. 

 

Diamond Painting

We've completed two diamond paintings between us now and have well and truly got the bug. I've found it to be a great mindful activity through these difficult times and have already ordered another two for us to do. 

This one used almost 16,000 "diamonds" and the resulting picture looks fabulous up on Jessica's bedroom wall. 

We've tried both round and square drills with these kits. The square drills were much more time consuming and fit so tightly that they were a bit of a fiddle. I ended up using tweezers rather than the pen for attaching them. On top of that, there were a couple of different cuts of drill with the surfaces looking very different and I couldn't decide whether that bothered me or not! The circular drills are uniform and much more forgiving in the application so we could make much faster progress. Not surpisingly, the new kits are both circular drills!

Having completed the kits, we've now got millions of them left over and I can't bring myself to get rid of them so I have to think of creative ways to use them up. Cue more card making and tiny mosaics... :)

 

An Old Favourite of Mine

Our second Crafterzoom craft was my choice; I decided to return to a spot of quilling with a beautiful kit from Past Times. This was comprehensive and easy to follow but this was a much longer project. We met a couple of times online and both completed the project in our own time after that. Worth every minute though. I just love the intricate detail you get in a quilled card and this was a delightful pattern to work with.

Having rekindled my enthusiasm for this craft, I was also keen to revisit the production of paper roses using quilling techniques so I went on to create an anniversary card for my long-suffering husband.

I had only ever made roses one way before but this time I tried three different techniques for making them. The folded roses are my favourite but the different styles added a bit of interest and Jessica insisted that I also include some fringed flowers. It was my first attempt at making fringed leaves, which were incredibly satisfying and the results were very effective.

 

Mindful Crafts - Macramé kit

It's time to catch up again! Other things have got in the way of sharing my crafts since my home was invaded, once again, by work and schooling but, mercifully, I have managed to squeeze in the time to do some more crafting at the start of 2021. 

The first exploit of the year took the form of a macramé wall hanging kit from Mindful Crafts. A lovely, well thought out kit with clear and simple instructions, this was the perfect kit for our first Crafterzoom session (massive thank you to Hannah for initiating this - it's doing me the world of good). Jessica and I had dabbled with macramé during the first lockdown but I am most certainly still a beginner and this kit was pitched just right. It took us the evening to complete and we were both pleased with the results, I think?!

As is customary in this household, when Jessica saw my effort she wanted to have a go herself. So, out came the dowel and chunky wool and we went through the instructions again. These now hang side by side in our lounge turning slowly in the convection currents from the radiator below them. A first macramé project but definitely not our last.

Photo Pearls Tiger by Goliath

When Jessica was shopping with Christmas money back in January, she spotted a craft kit in Homebargains that was right up her street. A Tiger made from 3600 picture beads at a brilliant price - it was a no-brainer; we had to have this one! In the kit we found beads, 4 square peg boards that nterlock, double-sided adhesive squares to fit the pegboards and very clear, large patterns to follow. The beads are just like Hama beads but you don't iron your finished piece; the adhesive sheets can be used to mount your tiger on card, board or something similar.

It was a really enjoyable make for us both and we love the end product but it was not without it's issues. Firstly, the kit comes with the beads mixed into just 2 bags and it was a significant struggle to seperate the colours (which are incredibly similar) and determine which shade matched each description from the instructions. Once we had completed this challenge it was plain sailing until we were close to the end when more than one shade actually ran out, leaving us with gaps at the bottom and a problem to solve. This image below shows the extent of the issue...

In the end we did the best we could to fill the spaces with spare beads from the kit along with our Hama and Hobbycraft picture beads. We managed this well enough that I don't think you'd know we'd had a problem but it was frustrating after so many hours working on the project together. For the pennies that they must cost to produce I really feel the manufacturers should ensure that there are a few spares of everything - there really shouldn't be any risk of people being unable to complete their picture.

So, I'm undecided whether to recommend these or not. We paid about £7 for it and I'd happily pay that again and do another one myself but I'd do it expecting to have problems. On the other hand, I couldn't give this as a gift knowing that it didn't quite work properly for us. If you do decide to give them a try I'd love to know if you have the same experience as us - perhaps we were just unlucky...

Latch-hook Fox Cushion

I loved making this latch-hook kit from Hobbycraft. It's been five years since I completed my last latch-hook project but it's a craft that I will keep coming back to. It's relaxing, simple and satisfying. I have to be honest though, I was not keen on the printed canvas for this project. It was not accurate and could be distracting when following the pattern. In addition, I ran out of wool in one colour before I'd completed the project and so had to adjust the design slightly. Still, it was well worth the money I paid for it (on offer at half price) and Jessica is thrilled with her new cushion so I'd definitely consider doing more of them in the future.

Velvet Pictures

Now, these really take me back! I haven't introduced Jessica to velvet pictures before but I will definitely be buying some more. This one gave me a very welcome quiet afternoon at the end of the long summer holidays. She was so focused and did the whole thing in one sitting, which I hadn't expected. She was really pleased with the neat finish that the black velvet sides give as they help stop you going over the edges too badly. I picked this one up in Home Bargains I think but Galt do a very inexpensive book of 10 lovely designs that we'll try next.

Crafting with Daddy - Galt Foil Art

This is a rare but fabulous sight - Jessica roped her Daddy into doing some craft with her! I bought this kit to bulk up an order from Amazon earlier in the year and have kept it by me until this evening. This Galt Fab Foil Art kit is brilliant. So simple, so effective and so satisfying! With 8 pictures to create it will keep Jessica busy for quite a while too. You peel off sections of image to reveal a sticky surface that you cover and rub with foil. My little lady thinks it's absolutely amazing and I can understand why. Here's the first one she's completed...

World Book Day Part 2 - Room on the Broom Kit

I bought this kit a while back from a sale in Hobbycraft and stashed it in my supplies for a rainy day. As it turns out, it came in very handy for a snowy World Book Day when Jess was missing nursery. The kit is designed to be made up into characters from Room on the Broom by gluing the pompoms and pipe-cleaners together but I was very sceptical that they would stand up to any amount of play so I opted to use the materials to make a collage instead. They just about fitted onto a piece of A3 card... 

The pieces required for each character were individually bagged and the instructions were very clear, making this a really stress-free and fun activity to do with my preschooler! She loved doing it and was so pleased with the finished piece... 

Needle Felted Polar Bear (Kit)

I try not to post more than once a day (I've currently got four other posts waiting to be published this week) but I couldn't resist sharing this evening's creation straight away. This was another Hobbycraft clearance buy but the kits are only £3 full price and they include everything you need to get started with needle felting so they're a fabulous bargain. The kit include polystyrene shapes and wool roving to create a family of three polar bears but I've just made the one so far. I'll be honest, I'm not completely sold on the wooly hat, scarf and boots so I will probably try a naked bear next time and see how convincing he is! For now, however, here's a closer look at my first attempt...

Baker Ross Stitching Decorations

A crafter's Christmas is a marathon not a sprint. We're trying to pace ourselves and mostly crack on with cards at the moment but there's always lots to do and I never manage to complete everything on my list. These are a prime example. I bought them last year but never actually got around to doing them so I have prioritised this year. It's a Baker Ross kit and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, although I must be honest I'm not sure that they are worth their full price of £5 for the six.

We painted the wooden decorations with acrylics first (excuse Jessica's choice of lurid pink please!) and then tackled the cross-stitch with full skeins of embroidery thread. They look lovely and are something a bit different for the tree this year.

Adapting a Favourite

I have raved about these suncatcher kits from Hobbycraft before but we gave them a twist today. There was some great fine motor skills going on here as Jessica used pipettes to paint the mandala suncatcher.

She delighted in the sound effects and the bubbles. Her delicate squeezes meant, unlike me, she didn't pick up and expel all of the paint in one go so the craft wasn't over in a flash either. It's almost certainly not what was intended by the designers but I love it. 

Fairy Wings and Wand (Home Bargains Kits)

At under £1 per kit I did not have high expectations for these kits from Home Bargains but they were brilliant. I have nothing to grumble about at all. The instructions were clear, the decorations were plentiful and Jessica loved having a tube of glitter glue in each. The body of the items are foam so they should last reasonably well too. 

The wings required no assembly and putting the wand together was very straightforward. I would happily buy these again and again. The kits contained a strip of double sided tape for attaching the jewels to the foam but this is fiddly and experience has taught me that toddlers usually think of glitter glue as more of a glue that a decoration anyway so Jess just stuck the jewels on top of her blobs of glitter glue and that worked well. 

 That's one seriously happy crafter!

Felt Owl Bag - Tesco Kit

Jess really enjoyed making this and we love the finished bag but it was not without it's problems. Whilst PVA glue works well when sticking felt to paper it does not bond two pieces of felt together. In fact, we used tacky glue but this still didn't hold. I couldn't find my fabric glue (which I still don't think would have worked anyway) and anything else would not be appropriate for a 3 year old to use. In the end I let her glue everything and then sneaked it all up to my craft room to secure it all on my sewing machine. This did also mean undoing all of the original stitching too but we live and learn - felt bags need sewing! Here's the finished item...

Hobbycraft Suncatcher Kits

We love these - they are cheap, they have great designs, which Hobbycraft keep updating and they look wonderful when they're finished irrespective of how carefully they have done so they are brilliant for kids of all ages. Jessica has probably done half a dozen of them now. Like a packet of stickers they are a staple item that I pop into the trolley every time I go to Hobbycraft (that's right, I do need a trolley every time I go!).

That said, there are a couple of down sides. I am not complaining, just offering up some insight and advice. The kits come with plastic spreaders for the paint, which are reasonably effective but I have found that younger children find them a bit tricky to use so we always stick to using our own brushes. Secondly, once you've hung these suncatchers up in your window we have found that the colours in the paint fade fast. We hang ours in a south facing conservatory so they are put to the ultimate test and your experience may be very different. So, I have been encouraging Jessica to use my glass paints alongside the gelatinous ones provided in the kits. My paints don't seem to fade so we have ended up with some areas appearing unpainted when if fact they were originally completely covered in paint. Here are a couple that Jessica has done with a combination of paints. She has painted the J twice so it's not so obvious where the Hobbycraft paints have faded but all of the clear patches on the 3 are as a result of having been painted with those included in the kits.

Overall they are great value for money, the process is really good as are the finished products but they do not expect them to last in strong sunlight. We'll keep buying them!

Paint Your Own Ceramics (Hobbycraft Kits)

Hobbycraft have a half price event running for half term (until Sunday 26th) so we will be heading over to one of their stores at some point in the next fortnight to grab ourselves a bunch of bargains to stash away for a rainy day or two. During another one of these half price events I bought Jessica a paint your own ceramic teddy bear money box. Brilliant value at £3 (full price) but completely irresistible at £1.50. The kits come with six paints and a paint brush. I also have Jess a little palette so that she could do some mixing of colours to satisfy her curiosity and brighten up her bear further.

I introduce Mrs Teddy Bear...

Foam Friendship Bracelets (Tesco Kit)

A big thank you to Laura for a fine selection of craft kits for Jessica's birthday - this is the first one we've attempted. She loved doing them and was thrilled with the results. In fact, Jessica even enjoyed "reading" and following the instructions included. There is, however, no need for the age guide on the front of the packet to be 4+, particularly when the instructions recommended 3+. These would be suitable as soon as you can trust your child not to put the pieces in their mouths. Overall, a very nice, quick activity that little ones will love.

Toilet Roll Owls (Tesco Kit)

This was a Tesco's craft kit that Jessica particularly enjoyed putting together. We used glue dots as a time and mess saving cheat avoiding the need to wait for messy glue to dry but aside from that we just followed the instructions provided. They were clear and easy to follow; the kit made up as well as I would expect. Jess particularly liked the effect of using bottle tops as eyes. There was definitely no need to buy this kit, it wouldn't have taken me long to cut out all the pieces myself but I had spotted it on sale and was certainly worth the price I paid.