• PLAYMOBIL CLOCK - the gingerbread house
    crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - Recycled crafts - tutorial

    Pinned it, made it – Playmobil Clock

    August 12, 2013 - By 

    I have a very special make to show you today, I’m quite proud of this one! The toddler is really interested in telling the time and we bought him his first digital watch last week. We’re in the process of re-decorating his room so when I saw a colourful clock made with Playmobil people on Pinterest (pinned here) I knew I had to try making it myself. Equipment needed to make a Playmobil clock: Vintage Playmobil figures pegboard painted white clock mechanism glue gun and glue How to make an upcycled Playmobil clock Playmobil is very popular in our house…

  • crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - sewing

    Dyeing wool blankets

    May 8, 2013 - By 

    There’s something lovely about old wool blankets. They feel lovely and are easy to transform into something useful, thank goodness we no longer need them on our beds. I’ve been on the lookout for vintage wool blankets for ages and recently bought a double blanket in perfect condition in a charity shop in Frome for only £3.99. They seem to be getting harder to find but I was really pleased with this one. It still had its original label and was an unusual peach colour. Dyeing wool blankets It was too big to use so I cut it into several…

  • How to make a Lightning McQueen piñata
    birthday - crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade

    How to make a Lightning McQueen piñata

    April 26, 2013 - By 

    The toddler turned 3 a couple of week ago and for the last couple of months has been a little obsessed with the films Cars and Cars 2. He still loves his Thomas the Tank Engine but I’d say every day he’ll spend a little more time with his collection of Cars. Thanks to Christmas and birthday presents he now has quite a collection of both. A bit like his Thomas obsession, he also has to wear Cars-themed clothing, eat and drink from Cars plates and cups and has a bedroom covered in posters of cars! Anyway, for his birthday…

  • 5 minute fortune cookie
    Chinese New Year crafts - crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - sewing

    5 minute fortune cookie (for Chinese New Year)

    January 11, 2013 - By 

    It feels like the New Year has brought lots of crafting opportunities with it and the toddler and I have been busy. Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 10th, so we’ve made some fabric fortune cookies that look good enough to eat. They were really quick to make, so perfect for a cold afternoon. Supplies needed to make 5 minute fortune cookies You will need: a 4 inch circle (we drew round a can from the kitchen cupboard on a piece of cardboard) a 5 inch square of felt a 5 inch square of fabric a different fortune,…

  • Christmas cupcake wreath
    baking - Christmas - Crafts for adults

    Simple Christmas cupcake wreath

    November 15, 2012 - By 

    When Whitworths challenged me to use their new baking sugars at home they asked me to try a couple of recipes from their own website and one of my own. So far I’ve made Butternut Squash soup using Whitworths Light Soft Brown Sugar, and Honeycomb Crunch using Whitworths Granulated Sugar. Both recipes were pretty simple and delicious. Simple Christmas cupcake wreath Most of my thoughts are now on the festive season so it made sense to bake something yummy with a seasonal twist. I thought of an edible seasonal wreath, a Christmas cupcake wreath! I made the wreath in a couple of…

  • easy lego biscuits
    baking - Crafts for adults - Lego - made it

    Lego biscuits

    July 3, 2012 - By 

    It’s that time of the month, the PinAddicts Pinterest Challenge. The idea is to choose something from your Pinterest boards to create and link up each month. We are currently embracing all things Lego so when I saw Lego biscuits on Pinterest I knew I had to try making my own version of them. For the biscuits I turned to my faithful Biscuiteers recipe for plain biscuits as the recipe has never let me down. When I had rolled out the dough I cut out a number of biscuits using Lego bricks to make sure they were the right shape. Such…

  • Wimbledon cupcakes - the gingerbread house
    Crafts for adults - Sports crafts

    Wimbledon cupcakes

    June 21, 2012 - By 

    I’m quite looking forward to Wimbledon starting next week as for me that’s when summer starts. I was thinking how nice it would be to have some summery cupcakes to eat whilst watching the tennis and came up with these. Easy Wimbledon cupcakes For the cupcakes I tried Dr Oetker’s Shake it! Vanilla Fairy Cake Mix as I was baking with the toddler. The mix is fantastic as you simply add milk and shake. Easy peasy. After the cakes had cooled I mixed up some royal icing. I seem to have mastered it so am now using it for everything!…

  • How to use fabric dye on wool
    A Monthly Make 2011 - crafts - Crafts for adults - handmade - reviews - tutorial - vintage

    How to use fabric dye on wool

    July 28, 2011 - By 

    I was recently asked if I would like to try some DYLON fabric dyes and I umm-ed and ahh-ed for a few minutes, quickly racking my brain just how I could use them. I soon remembered that I had always wanted to dye a woollen blanket so purchased a beautiful vintage cream blanket with a Snugdown label (which shows it was produced by the Co-operative Wholesale Society). How to use fabric dye on wool You will need a wool blanket and some Dylon fabric dye (for hand use rather than machine) The blanket I bought was huge so I cut…

  • #WWback2best - A Monthly Make 2011 - baby - Crafts for adults - handmade - sewing

    A monthly make – february

    March 2, 2011 - By 

    How is it March already? I’m slightly late in posting my February monthly make but it is something rather special: a lovely dinosaur blanket for Edward’s first birthday. I found the pattern in an old issue of Sew Hip magazine and used a vintage blanket and Amy Butler fabric. The finished blanket is slightly smaller than the original pattern as I wanted to make it for his cot. I’ve embroidered the bottom edge with his name and the date of his first birthday and hopefully he’ll treasure it.