Altered Projects

It's been hectic and tiring because of the start of a new school year! Timetables got all jumbled up because of new school and schedules.  Prior to that (just 2 weeks before school opened), had to get new textbooks and uniforms for my youngest girl, followed by wrapping of textbooks and altering (uniform).

At last, I've got time to continue from my last post - crafts from Christmas.  Here are some other stuff which I had altered and given away.

 Made this hanging letter holder from a brand new (and free) burlap shopping bag which the supermarket was giving out. The bag was quite big but the material was very rough. Really didn't like using it so I decided to cut it out and make this holder (for my hubby). He was forever complaining about letters and pamphlets lying around. Now, he complains no more! :)

To make this, I used the base portion of the bag and cut it into 3 pieces and layered them. Since I wanted something neat (and not too feminine), I just crocheted some motifs and   used  hot-glue to adhere everything together.

 Made these containers from a small wooden (and boring) bowl and a margarine tub. Wrapped them with the blue-grey yarn (that I have lots of and love using). Embellished with some (artificial) flowers. My sisters love them!!

 Made a couple of sewing baskets for 2 more sisters, complete with pincushion and scissors.

The baskets were made from cardboard and covered with some fabric and curtain material, embellished with handmade ribbon flowers. Pincushions were made from jelly moulds and fabric stuffed with poly fibre, embellished with ribbon flowers too. Made the tassel with fringe trim. 

If you want to make ribbon or fabric flowers, please check out my Pinterest board "Handmade Flowers". I learnt to make flowers from the tutorials there.

 

Lastly, this was a small wooden tray which my eldest daughter had for a long time (to keep her hair-clips and combs in). Since I have made her a new container, she didn't need this tray anymore but was reluctant to throw away. It had been painted and stickered and decoupaged many times so it has sentimental value to her.  I wanted to surprise her so I painted it white and covered it with fabric and embellished with lace trims and ribbons.  Bought these cute little hanging hooks and adhered to the tray, attached pearl strand to make a hanger. And now she has a sweet new hanging hook for her necklaces! She couldn't believe the complete transformation of her old tray. Needless to say, she loves her new necklace hanger very much!

I had a lot of fun and enjoyed making all these things. Next time, I will show you the new calendar which I made for my friends. Although it is now approaching time for the Chinese New Year, I haven't had the opportunity or time to visit my friends to hand them their new calendars. We have all been very busy! :-P

Til next time, dear readers, hope you will all have a happy and blissful week ahead! :)

Crafting for Christmas

Finally! The Christmas presents have all been opened so I can now show you some of the things I had made for my dearest friends and wonderful ladies in my family.

Heart-shaped hanging pockets which I made from cardboard, fabric and lace. They can be filled them with little gifts (as long as it can fit! :-P).

This was a shoe box which I covered with fabric and some lace trims.  I gave it to someone special who desperately needed a handphone station! :)

 

This was a chocolate tin which I covered  with some pretty lace material and small handmade crochet flowers and butterflies.  I gave this to another special lady who is using it to store her jewellery. :)

 

Well, that's all for today. In my next post, I'll show you more stuff I had made for Christmas! :) Happy crafting, dear readers! :D

Pincushions Boom!

Pincushions have taken over my life!  I just love making pincushions!  Shown below are some of the pincushions I have made.

 

This was made from an old soup bowl and saucer (that had lost its teacup).

 

This was made from a small teacup and old CD.

 

This teacup and saucer set was a free gift when I bought 2 packets of (you guessed it - Nescafe white coffee!). Unfortunately,  while the saucer was fine,  the teacup was a little chipped and had a large crack at the the base so I decided to make it into this sweet little pincushion.  

These cute cupcakes pincushions were made from jelly moulds and the baby dresses of my youngest daughter.  Brings back sweet memories when I look at them!

 

Inspired by the wonderful ideas on my "Pincushion & Sewing Kit Ideas" board on Pinterest, I came across some beautiful doll pincushions. After some research, found that they were actually Half-Dolls which we cannot find here at all!  So when my girl was clearing her toys and gave me her old doll, I decided to try my own version!  I think she looks pretty nice though she might be the biggest doll pincushion ever!  Made her dress from fabric, curtain material and lace.  It was fun making her and I shall probably try another one (hopefully on a smaller doll).

 These hats were made quite awhile back but I wanted to show that you can make pincushions from anything! These were made from old CDs, fabric, T-shirt and curtain materials, embellished with ribbons and handmade ribbon flowers.

 

Most recent pincushion projects, just finished yesterday, a little square pillow pincushion for my youngest daughter's sewing box.  The little wooden chair belongs to my eldest daughter and was an old doll-house furniture which she did not want anymore.  Well, after its makeover, she has taken it back again!!

 Last but not least, I want to show you my youngest daughter's new sewing box, made from a chocolate tin (we enjoyed finishing all the chocolates!). It turned out very nice and if it will inspire her to sew, then I am very happy indeed! ;)

Have a wonderful day, dear Readers and don't forget to check out my Pinterest Boards for more ideas! :)

Some Floral Ideas

Recently bought some pretty, artificial flowers and decided to make a few projects with them.

This was an old planter pot (given by a friend oh, so long ago!). Brought back nice memories so I decided to cover it with pretty fabric and some of the new flowers. It turned out very nice indeed! It now functions as a stationery holder.

Remember the brown yarn - well, I wrapped it around a plastic container and finished it off with a pretty handmade flower (made from one of the flowers bought). Turned out nicely and gave it to a sweet friend.

This was a small round biscuit tin which I made into a pretty little keepsake box, topped with a sprig of small roses and given to a sweet little friend (of my youngest daughter).

Yarn Projects

Found some pretty (and inexpensive) blue-gray yarn (or string or whatever you might call it!) and decided that I could do something with it. Getting an idea from my Pinterest Inspiration Board "Pretty Craft Ideas", I came out with the following projects. Must say that I am really very pleased with the results. :)

First project was with an old and small biscuit tin (which had been lying around for ages). Decided to add a handmade flower (made from some leftover curtain material).  (The stuff toys are just borrowed for modelling purposes only! :D)

 

Then came this square container which was actually destined to be thrown away. I think it came out pretty sweet and I especially like the arrangement of the paper flowers.

 

This little triangle container once contained the sticker collection of my eldest girl (when she was very little - she's 19 now). It was cracked, chipped and had lost its cover but I decided to salvage it for her anyway and she loves it! She's using it to keep her treasured trinkets now. I am so glad that I added the little bird because it cheers up the whole piece.

I had lots of fun doing the above projects and still have others waiting in line. Also, yesterday I found some nice BROWN yarn/string and can't wait to try that out too. 

I enjoyed recycling the above containers and showing my girls that sometimes old "stuff" can be "rescued" instead of being thrown away.  I think we have to show our children that it is good to recycle, whenever possible - simply because money does not grow on trees! :)

Treats for Fun! :D

So many sweet ideas come to mind especially when one is relaxing (like when having tea!). Here's some fast and easy crafts you can do to "sweeten" up your life and home! :)

 Here's a lovely "cocktail" of freshly sewn strawberries! They are so easy, fast, fun and addictive to make so I will probably be making more soon.

 

Cookie and Snack containers with pretty floral lids!

 

And last but not least, a teacup filled with lovely (fake) pink blossoms!

Note:  

There are so many craft and sewing tutorials to be found online. I do not want to bore my dear readers so I try to keep my posts short and simple. However, if you should need any assistance, please leave a message in the comment box below. And I will try to help you if I can. 

Have a great day and Happy Crafting!! :)

Wicker Basket Love!

I just love wicker baskets and trays - specially like to alter them to make them look pretty and functional too. Here are some of the wicker projects I have completed.

I had these 2 small wicker trays for awhile and wanted to give them a makeover. So gave them a new paint-job and added 2 sweet ballerina girls which I have been hoarding forever and lastly glued on some handmade ribbon flowers and cute little butterflies.

 

Bought this plain looking big oval-shaped wicked basket.  I wanted to make a nice sewing basket for my mother so I used some pretty floral fabric and lace material (from an old curtain),  added handmade ribbon flowers and bows. 

 This was a very old basket and I thought I would do something different - so I painted and decoupaged it.

I also did the same to this old basket (used to hold toys for my girl) but now, it's my new sewing  basket!

The weave on these toilet roll holders reminded me of wicker baskets - so couldn't resist buying them and doing a makeover! Glue teddy bears, fruits and flowers and Ta-Dah! We have sweet little bear toilet roll holders! :) 

(Note: To use this kind of holder, you must remove the cardboard centre (from the toilet paper roll) and pull the paper out from the centre.)