Copper Star Creation

There is a wonderful ADVENT CHALLENGE which runs each year

over in the laughing purple goldfish group on Ravelry

click here to check it out

Each day during DECEMBER, a nominated member will post a

Christmas Decoration they have made using recycled goodies

It's truly incredible to see how creative some people can be!

I’ll be honest here…

I didn’t really have much time to allocate to the challenge this year!

Even all my brain space is currently occupied with a million other things at present…

But somewhere in the deepest, darkest corners of my mind, 

an idea started to filter in - and I just couldn’t shake it.

I wanted to create the most glorious Christmas star

using some of the copper wire I have been stripping from old electrical cables…

In my mind it was perfectly shaped from all angles, each arm was identical,

 and the centre of the star was slightly raised to form a small peak…

In reality, it’s a little quirkier than that - AND I LOVE IT

Best of all - since I already had the wire stripped - this star took about three minutes to make!!!!

(it’s taken me longer to put this post together, than it took to make the decoration)

I just formed myself a basic star shape, 

wrapped the arms a few times to bulk them up,

 then a few wraps around the centre to bind it all together…

Oh - and a tea bag string for the hanger! Of course.

A Simple Christmas.

I say it every year - and once again I'm planning for a simple Christmas...

Sometimes it works out that way, sometimes not so much...

But I figure I can at least try!

I made this Twiggy Star as my contribution to the Advent Calendar which Loren is running over in my Ravelry Group this month. The idea is that each participant makes a SIMPLE decoration, using "bits and pieces". Then on their nominated date, they share a before and after photo of their decoration.

I nominated myself to take December 1st. Partly because no one else seemed to be claiming it... and partly because I knew it would push me to jump in and get it done - instead of "umming and ahhhing" about what to make!

And so I made my star. I love its elegant simplicity - and the organic feel of it.

I don't love that it took me 45 minutes to make!

Mostly because I was stuffing around with twigs and string which were both too short!



As you can see, I've used twigs and recycled tea bag strings. Best length for the twigs is 15 cm (6 in) and I found that I needed to tie two strings together first, and then bind the twigs. You need to weave the twigs in an under-over fashion for the star to be stable.

I tell you all of this, not to be BOSSY - but to save you from spending 45 minutes on a 5 minute job!



You might remember that Katie, my eight-year-old daughter is also a member on Ravelry...

And of course she wanted to join in the fun of the advent - so she claimed December 2nd for her decoration.

Here were her starting materials... some cardboard cut into stars, some scrap yarn and a little gem:



And her finished piece:



So don't be shy... If an eight-year-old can do it - then SO CAN YOU!

Come and sign up to make a decoration. Or just stalk us to see what everyone else is making.

Happy Flower Decoration

I made this Cheery Flower to adorn Little Charlotte's bedroom door...

The pattern is from Lucy over at Attic24.

Actually, it's more of a photo tutorial than a pattern, so if you're still fairly new to crochet you will love it. Lucy takes you through the project step-by-step with loads of photos, so you just can't go wrong. Here's the link so that you can go and take and peek for yourself.

After you've made the flower, you need to paint the back of it with glue to stiffen it.

Which means that it ends up looking pretty revolting from behind - but it will sit beautifully when you hang it!

Mostly I followed the pattern, with a little improvising at the end!

And now (of course) Young Katie would like a flower for her bedroom door.

Look, she's even drawn me a sketch... where on earth would she have got the idea to do that?

So I'm sort of going to follow her plan... but add a surprise for the centre...

Soon to be Finished

Another batch of ornaments to share with you today:

Tammy commented yesterday that she loved the googly eyes... so I'll start out with this little mouse:



This is supposed to be a Church... but in my opinion it actually looks more like a house...



A drum:



I'm guessing that this guy is Rudolph, complete with googlies, just for you Tammy...



We have a candle:



And a dove:



That's 15 decorations down.. and only NINE to go!

Doily Snowflakes - Photo Tutorial

Would you believe that this decoration took less than 5 minutes to make???

I promise you, it did!

You'll need an old doily, scissors, PVA glue and a piece of string for hanging:

So I started with this old doily which had a small tear in it. It could probably have been mended, but I wasn't going to use it anyway.



First you cut out your motif.

I felt positively evil doing this... it just felt SO WRONG to cut into a piece of crochet like that!

At any moment I expected my first grade teacher to appear, and revoke my Scissors License.



Next make up a 50:50 mix of PVA glue and water. You can get it all over the table like I did, but it's not really necessary.



Pop your motif into the mix



And swish it around with your fingers.

Yes - just dip your fingers right in there, I did... and now my camera is covered in glue spots!




Squeeze out the excess glue, and lay the motif on a flat surface... I used the lid from a plastic container.

Use your fingers to shape the motif neatly, then leave it to dry.



I was impatient, so I took the tray outside and left it in the sunshine so that it would dry more quickly. Probably not the best idea. It was a windy day, so I ended up with all sorts of unidentified flying objects stuck on my snowflakes.

I do like the way they kind of look like a tray of cookies... Or maybe I'm just hungry...



Once dry, you just need to tie a piece of string at the top, and the job is done:



Too easy.

Again...

Rustic Wreath - Photo Tutorial

So this is another Super-Duper Easy-Peasy Christmas decoration idea...

You need an old wooden curtain ring - I have so many of these things, it's just not funny!

Also grab a length of raffia and some buttons... plus glue and sandpaper



I wanted my wreath to look a little distressed, so I gave the curtain ring a quick sand to rough it up a bit... I really do mean a QUICK sand - I wouldn't have spent any more than 30 seconds doing it!

Afterwards I was thinking that I could have just rubbed it up and down on the footpath a few times... no sandpaper required...



Now you can wrap the raffia around, then tie the two ends together.

I made a bow at the top 'cause I thought it looked pretty... but later I had to change it to a simple knot - the bow was too bulky for the buttons.



Now just glue a couple of buttons at the top, a small one on top of a big one...



Then tie another knot in the raffia to make a hanging loop



Too easy.

And once again... no more than 5 minutes to make it!

Gotta love that.

Scrappy Heart Decoration - Photo Tutorial

Now I'm sure that you don't really need a tutorial for making these Scrappy Hearts, but since I took progress photos I might as well share them with you:

And yes, I'm aware that it looks like it was made by a three-year-old... but I'm okay with that! They're cheap and simple to make, fun to do and I love the results. Plus the materials are 100% recycled.

I'm even planning to make more and string them together as a garland...

Wish we had a mantlepiece...

Anyway, I started out with cardboard:



And cut out a heart shape:



Then punched the hole for hanging - I put it a fair way down so that it wouldn't tear easily



Now for some of those yarn scraps I've been saving. These are the ones that are TOO SMALL to do anything else with. Anything longer than 5 cm (2 inches) I have been able to use in other projects, but these shorties have been waiting for their Day in the Sun.



So. Loads of glue on the cardboard:



Pile those scraps on top



Then put the kettle on...

Yes, I mean literally PUT the kettle ON the decoration:



Of course it wouldn't HAVE to be the kettle, but I wanted something heavy to press the yarn securely onto the glue... and also prevent the cardboard from bending while the glue was moist.

Oh, and I popped the rest of the cardboard between the decoration and the kettle... just in case the glue soaked through and stuck.

Here's how it looked once the glue dried:



And from behind... (yes, it's a gratuitous bottom shot)



Time for a trim around the edges like so:



Awwww... doesn't it look pretty?



And a little raffia threaded through the hole for hanging



Then onto the Christmas Tree... (or any random plant in the front yard where the lighting is goodish for a photo)



I can really see a row of these, with holes punched in the side rather than on top...

strung together with raffia...

dancing across a rustic mantle piece...

bringing a quirky sense of fun to the festive season...