Crochet Project Tags

Trying to finish all of my WIPS has thrown up a few problems; often I cannot remember what size hook I used, or where the pattern was from, and although I can eventually find the yarn, sometimes it makes me think ‘…did it have a brown wrapper or this blue one? Because the yarn is the exact same to me!’ At times like this I make silly promises to myself...I really will be more organized in the future. I thought about writing it all out neatly in my crochet book, but something much more exciting came to mind! Given my new stamp carving ‘skilz’ I thought I would try my hand at making a label to attach to each of my projects that would hold all of the vital information that I so easily forget.

I

 got out my new cutting blades and that large rubber block that I said I didn’t need but was glad I bought, and I set to it. I drew it out a few times first, and then transferred it onto some baking paper, and then onto the block. Once it was there it took no time at all to carve (my new blades are very swish!).

Do you wanna see it?? Of course you do, why did I ask?...

The top box is for the ‘title’, the little ball is obviously where you write what yarn you are using. The hook (which could easily be switched for knitting needles) is for recording what size…obviously! The ‘+’ is for any extra information and the thing which is supposed to look like a sun (it does to me) is to record when your project was started.

I stamped out a whole load and had such fun, aren’t they great! I think they would make a great gift to give to friends who knit or crochet.

I was so happy with myself I popped them in the kitchen so I could admire them whilst I worked. I couldn’t help feeling that everything should have labels like this!

Here is one in action…

So there you are, I think there may be a few more stamp projects to come, I can’t believe how easy and exciting it is! Please feel free to copy my design if you want to make your own tags, but you’ll probably find it much more exciting to design your own!

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon (I know I promised to show you my WIP finishes…)

Hayley

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Making an Impression

 What a great title! It belongs to a fab book by Gennine D. Zlatkis which has been living on my bookshelf since Christmas and whilst it has enjoyed the odd journey down onto the sofa to be ooggled at over the past 9 months, its use hasn’t really extended beyond that. Until a little while ago I could stand it no longer. I ordered a box of 20 erasers, dug out my lino cutting tools...I was ready to go! I have only ever attempted something like this once before and I found it very difficult to carve the lino accurately, the blade kept slipping and it seemed to need an awful lot of muscle for very poor result!  The idea of rubber seemed far more achievable, and much cheaper!

The book is beautifully laid out and heavily illustrated with Gennine’s own stamps. Like all good craft books she goes through the basics from tools to techniques, but really there’s not much to tell because the craft requires very little stuff to get started.

There’s a talk on inspiration, composition, rhythm and pattern…all good stuff and a great reminder that simple is usually the most effective (must remember this!).

Nearly all of the projects in the book can be completed using ordinary erasers you buy at the stationary store, this is important to me as I think that crafts need to be affordable in order for people to experiment. Gennine uses them to stamp on all kinds of surfaces from paper to cloth, to rocks and pots, it’s very inspiring! Just Look at those gift tags! Wouldn't you just cry if someone presented you with a gift donning one of those?

And Oh My! Look at that paper...Mushroom Paper! I can't even begin to describe to you the delight that handmade wrapping paper brings me; I would be grateful for an empty shoebox as long as it were dressed as well as these parcels!

If you know me at all you will know that by this point in the book I’m already itching to get going, dreaming of masterpieces made up of series of my hand-carved stamps- Earth to Hayley, “you need to learn the basics first!”

So one evening, after sending the little ones to bed I set to work. I know I have a tendency to jump in at the deep end with any new craft but this time I purposefully made myself start slow and simple. I carved a cloud, a petal, then something abstract and a little more challenging….but I was still having trouble, why? Although difficult it was very addictive and I ended up using all but 6 erasers to carve that evening. I found that I was missing the no.1 cutting blade from my set which, lets face it, is the best one as it allows (for normal human beings anyway) you to achieve all the little details you want in a hand carved stamp. In hindsight I think this actually helped me as it forced me to work simply using bold shapes.

Here’s what I made; stamp collection Mark.1! Its an odd selection I admit, but each was inspired by something! 

I especially loved the Mushroom. I stamped it out on the page during different stages of completion so you could see the process more visually. The little blocks were inspired by church floors I have seen. The petals were from a pretty tissue box I had, however they worked better separately from one another.

Here I used the petal to create a patterned paper, it reminds me of dragon skin (not that I have ever seen a dragon).

The Cacti ones are directly from the book and I love how clever they are, they are stupidly simple to carve yet so effective!

By the way, if you’re looking for a relaxing way to pass the time, then stamping your own wrapping paper is for you! I stamped all 3 sheets whilst in between things to do, when I would otherwise be loitering, trying to find something useful to pass the time. It was very therapeutic!

After lots of fun, I was eventually frustrated at the lack of detail I was able to achieve, so I packed it all away and ordered a new set of blades. The new ones arrived and also a larger rubber plate that I reeeaaaaallllly wanted but didn’t really need and bought anyway (I’m so glad I did by the way). So I started all over again and instantly there was such a difference! The news blades were sharp, cutting cleanly and easily with very little effort required. I’m not a weakling after all! I’m working on something QUITE exciting, I’ll have it to show off soon!

Thanks for stopping by, I'm off to watch the Great British Bake Off...EEK!

See you Soon,

Hayley

x

Happy Summer Holidays

If I’m going to be good at this blogging thing I think writing posts should probably be at the top of my priority list! However, there have been so many things going on this summer that finding time to blog has been nearly impossible, but I feel that’s a good sign, a sign that we have well and truly loved our summer and made use of the long days as best we can. As people start to prepare for going back to school/work and the onset of routine daily life, I find myself looking forward to autumn. September is the season to start welcoming the cooler weather and the warmer colours of nature… get your mittens out!

So, what have we done with our days? Here’s a few things that have made me happy this summer;

Baking

Summer is marked for us by the clouds of icing sugar that leave my kitchen looking like I haven’t dusted in a year! There are birthdays in every month from May to September and I take this opportunity to indulge my baking passions. Here are a few samples of this years creations;

A simple owl cake to celebrate Little A turning One. It was a little last minute but such an easy design, I will definitely be making more like this, I fancy trying a fish design or a dragon!

A Pirate Treasure Chest for my nephew who turned Five. This is the second time I have made this cake and again it induced many compliments. I feel bad about this as really the impact is made by the chocolate coins and other shiny sweets rather than the cake which is, quite simply, a chocolate rectangle!

Here's Little H and his cousin in full pirate costume...I love dressing up!

Most recently I made this Purple Minion Cake for my Little H who turned Three (oh my goodness where has time gone?). It was the most complex cake I made but when you break it down it’s not really too challenging. It’s constructed from two round sponges cut so that they slot together and the ‘waist’ filled with the off-cuts. It was a hit with the kids, and adults too, I had literally nothing left except the hair and some hands after his birthday party!

Holidays

We visited Looe in Cornwall twice this year, the first was a week of glorious sunshine, the second was one of wet winds and muddly puddles. There was the exception of one beautiful day which we spent at the harbour crabbing, eating pasties and then playing on the beach, but guess who forgot their camera on the only good day we had??? I could kick myself sometimes! This is the only good photo I have of both of them together...and its not even good!

On the days that it rained Little H enjoyed reading The Gruffalo (many, many times), and baking delicious shortbread. YUM! 

It took ages to explain that you had to stamp the cutter only once in each place, we had to re-roll several times because he just got so happy with pressing the cutter that it looked like a biscuit-dough scribble (if you can imagine such a thing). 

But the results were delicious….guess who’s the big one was!

Flowers

Both out and about and in my own garden, flowers have been making me very happy this year. I particularly love my wildflower patch and my pot of Violas. Considering the wild patch required literally no effort other than scattering some seeds and waiting (very patiently), I am very impressed at the outcome and so are most of the people who visit my garden! More of the same next year I think :)

Behind the Violas is a special little pot with a...wait for it...a chocolate peppermint growing in it. I know! I was very excited to discover this in the shop at the Eden Project, apparently it is good in shepherds pie…I’ll let you know.

Inside I have been enjoying the simple pleasures of flowers in jam jars. How versatile and beautiful is the humble jar?

Crochet

Travelling long distances in the car has meant that quite a few ripples have been added to my blanket. It’s now looking more blanket-like and less like a thick scarf, but there’s still a veeeery long way to go. Here’s my yarn all stretched out on the dash board so I could get my husband’s opinion on the ‘random’ order of colours…it’s harder than you think to get a satisfying random look! 

I’m learning a lot about colour as I go which is good. I find colour fascinating and am always wondering about people’s choices to colour their lives; why they chose it, was it a careful consideration (based on what i wonder? a holiday? a feeling? a...?) or just something they slapped on the wall/floor etc.? Personally I always find choosing colours the hardest thing, probably because I over think them!

I’ve also spent some time experimenting with a few different crafts AND I have managed another WIP finish, but I’ll share those with you soon!

 Here's something I came across on holiday that made me smile; just random things in an unusual place :) What has made you happy this summer?

Hayley

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