How to transfer photographs

Oh heaven!  I have finally the ability to transfer photographs, not only onto card and paper, but material…and indeed ALL surfaces.  Happy days indeed!! ♥

The technique is simple; (Here is the original post.) 

Equipment to start;  Images to transfer, surfaces to try, acrylic medium, spray bottle filled with water, paintbrush and bunch of old magazines or newspapers to protect your surfaces!

• Using a copied version of a photograph or image, paint the image in medium – making sure to cover the entire image.
• Put image, glue-side down, on the surface of whatever you’re transferring the photo to, and let dry over night.
• Fill small spray bottle with water. 
• Thoroughly wet the paper on the back, and gently rub until the paper rolls off.

Voila!  Gives a rustic, vintage-looking transfer!

Enjoy! ♥

Felicitous Favourite Fridays

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Dog racing;  I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of dressing animals up but this photo from the Halloween dog show made me smile!

Photos: Lydia Hudgens.  Source post: Gala Darling

Sock Curls;  Great diy idea to get big, curly hair.  Totally worked for me,  the curls held really well…finally a technique that works for long, messy curls, without damage.

Crayons ARE cool;  Amazing.  Check out Christian Faur’s work.  This is my favourite -

Little things that made me smile~

Brain-storming ♥ Being asked to join a charity exhibition! ♥ Mod podge ♥ New homes! ♥ Long chats ♥ Tea, after tea, after tea! ♥ Little starry presents ♥ Appreciation ♥ Being grateful…I still love this practice every week, of looking back and conscientiously being thankful for so much ♥

Enjoy! ♥

Another Birthday Card!

Honestly,  we do not spend out time, as a family unit, making Birthday cards!

The ‘snapitstitchitstickit hand-made card sweatshop’ we are not!!

This was my offering for our Mother’s Birthday.  It includes, thrillingly, the first of my photo’s transferred to fabric!  What a fantastic technique it is too.  (…I’ll explain later!)The photo is a great motion-blur of our Mum running around at the beach, where she is at her happiest!

Enjoy! ♥

Happy Birthday card

It was our Mum’s birthday yesterday – I made one of my favourite use-everything-I’ve-got-and-wreck-the-studio kind of cards.

They are fun to make and a pain to clean up afterwards. I am actually writing this downstairs having scared myself with the mess I’ve just made.

Birthday card

• First cut and free sew on a heart to some hessian sacking stuff.

• Then stamp a greeting onto some bias binding & sew this onto the hessiansackcloth stuff

• Stick the  hessiansackcloth stuff onto a card to hold it in place and then stitch down both sides

Sit back and try to avoid looking at the chaos you’ve just caused.

Happy Birthday Mum

Love from here to there

♥

Mother…

Happy Birthday Mum! ♥♥♥Hope you have a lovely day.

Enjoy! ♥

Coasters for Vee

Vee shares a flat with lots of other people and their kitchen table is taking a beating from the countless cups and glasses leaving rings on its surface….so I whipped up some coasters for her. I ♥ making coasters. They are small enough to be done in a sitting and there is loads of scope for changing the design and words. Craft for those with busy lives and short attention spans!

I followed Amy Carol’s Bend the Rules Sewing Clever Coasters tutorial.

• Cut the fabric – I made these up by sewing thinner strips together so that they ended up measuring 15 cm x 15 cm. I tend to end up using massive seams and then trim off the excess.
• Stamp on the words

• Stitch in place. Put right sides of fabric together and stitch. Leave a little hole to flip them right side out and stitch around the outside and you’re done!

I think the gin in a teacup is my favourite

♥

I also made a card to go along with the coasters:

Coffee cup card

• Cut out a coffee cup, saucer and heart from some lovely fabric. 
• Free stitch them onto some backing fabric
  

• Stick the fabric onto the front of a card

• Sit back and admire your handiwork and have a cuppa.

Happy Birthday Vee

x

Hand-made, re-cycled candles

I made my second batch of re-cycled candles.  This takes eco-craft to a new level!  And I love it!

I used leftover bits of wax from used candles, I re-used the tea-light holders I have gathered, (and feeling guilty every time I use another bag of them!) I re-used the little wick holders from the tea-lights AND I melted the wax on the re-used heat from the electric heater that was already running!!!

BAM!!

Eco-extreme smugness!!! ♥♥♥

Now, these candles took ages to make…AGES.  Next time I will melt the wax on the stove like a normal person, but it was thrilling to try making them like this!

That’s one evening’s worth of candles saved!

Enjoy! ♥

Pot holder

I was having issues in the kitchen.  Issues with burning my hands.  Issues with ugly pot-holders.

So I have remedied it.  I made a pretty hot-pink, double-lined oven mitt.

Hurrah for safe pan-holding, and a slightly prettier kitchen! ♥

Enjoy! ♥

Felicitous Favourite Fridays

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More Tea Vicar?;  Truly wonderful teacup lighting idea.  Want to try this…or even just own those pretty cups!

Beautiful Walls;  I have collected images of framing and creative wall ideas for years at this stage…so far I have never really used any of them, I can only suppose they are for future amazing living spaces I will inhibit! (Or prehaps the next life?!) There is a rather brilliant concise post of all the ‘sneak peeks’ over at design sponge. These are my favourite though…

I think that’s the most beautiful and fantastic wallpaper ever…and such a must-do!

Little things that made me smile~

Giant orange chairs…yes PLEASE! ♥ Chats ♥ Lunch in the park ♥ Book shops..three HOURS pass by in a lustful blur! ♥ Pipe cleaners ♥ Finding ‘Mod Podge’ in Dublin ♥♥♥ Excited project planning ♥ Holidat planning…EEK!! ♥ Candle-making ♥ Odd, out of character and style drawings ♥ Searching for competitions to fit photos! ♥ Pleather! ♥ Passing a long and brilliant week ♥ Much appreciated lifts ♥ Secret languages ♥ Lunches and coffees and teas and then wondering where all the money went! ♥ Did I mention Mod Podge?!!! ♥♥♥

 

ENJOY! ♥

Bird pillow

This is such a good idea – a bird pillow. 

A while ago I blogged about a collection of bird images. I was looking at them and realised I never did my wall decal…..and the idea has now mutated into wanting bird pillows…..if I don’t make them, will the pillow idea grow into something else?

I found these nice ideas:

This little one is from Laura Ashley

This lovely bag & bird pillow (below) are by Joom on Etsy

This one is by Tesco (!)

And this is one of an image I found somewhere on line that I love….

I got slightly distracted in my bird pillow search by these lovely earrings on Urban Outfitter

Then I got my search back on track and found these design inspiration pillows on Urban Outfitter:

Pillow sets:

So from all that searching I have decided to make this:

The bird wall sticker design, spread over two pillows in stich and applique fabric…..I’ll post a picture when it is done…..

It will give us tweet dreams.

Ha.