Crochet Bunting

 After someone asked me last week if my bunting (this one) had actually been left up since Christmas I thought it was time to replace it. I always thought it reminded me of tinsel anyway.

This one was very quick to make. I made 13 little doilies using this crochet coaster pattern from bellacoco then crocheted a chain to hang it up with, attaching the doilies with a slip stitch as I went along.

Our hall way seems quite bare now I've taken the felt garland down but this one does look better. I hadn't even taken the old one down before Little L claimed it for her bedroom so at least it will still be used some where in the house.

Pottering In The Garden

Our weekend was spent mainly doing bits around the garden. 

There was a tree in the front garden which was planted in between our house and our neighbours. Our neighbours asked if they could chop it down as it was dropping sap in to their cars. We didn't mind. I don't know what type of tree it was, it wasn't the prettiest, no birds nested in it and it saves us raking up the leaves and would also give us a bit more light in the living room. 

So Saturday morning Anders and the man next door set about the tree with a chain saw. Little L helped by cutting the branches up for their log burner. One of our shrubs ended up being a casualty of the tree felling (fortunately it was one of our plants that got squished and not one of their cars) but the lady next door works at a nursery and said she'd bring us one to replace it. She turned up in the evening with these three for us.

On Sunday we went plant shopping for the pots that we have in the front garden.

Cosmos

Cape Marigold

English Daisy

We also bought an elephant ear plant and some pinks to fill in a couple of bare spots.

All the activity attracted a blackbird looking for lunch. She must have young near by because she kept filling her beak with juicy worms, flying off and coming back for more.

Fabric Test and Tutorials

I was kindly asked by Cat from Cut Out And Keep if I would like to test out some fabric and write a tutorial for the site and of course I jumped at the chance.

The fabric was supplied by Premier Prints, Inc. The site stocks so many beautiful fabrics if was difficult to decide.

I finally settled on these two designs, Bird Silhouette and Air Traffic and used them to made some cushion covers.

On the bird silhouette cushion I embroidered some wording using chain stitch

and appliqued felt letters on to the air traffic one.

Both the tutorials for these can be found on Cut Out And Keep, here and here.

Crochet Bunny Cushion

The crocheted bunny cushion that I made a start on earlier this month has now been finished. It didn't take long at all to make, lots of ends to sew in though.

The pattern in the book, Pixel Crochet, is for a floor cushion but I wanted mine to come out smaller so I used a 4mm hook and only worked one round of the granny square.

The first pink shade that I used for the inside of ear was barely noticeable so I unpicked the squares from the design and replaced them with a different shade.

Once all the small squares were sewn together I crocheted a round of htr around the edge. I attached a simple fabric back to the cushion front.

All finished.

Polaroid 900 FF

Today I received a set of prints from the first time using my Polaroid 900 FF.

This was another cheap one from Ebay, £3.49 with the case. The camera uses 35mm film and 2 AA batteries. Once the film and batteries are in everything else is done for you. The lens cover turns the camera on and off, it has film sensing and motorized film advance and rewind. It has to be the most simple point and shoot camera that I've used.

Most of the photographs were taken at Chester Zoo and Ruthin on days out earlier this year.

I'm pleased that the camera does still work but I think that it has been the most boring one I have used due to everything being done for you.

All of the photos from this set can be seen here.

Book Shopping

Not having bought any craft books for a long time, last week I went shopping on Amazon. Not much caught my eye but I added a couple to my wishlist and bought this one, Pixel Crochet .

I chose this because everything is made up from the same crocheted square pattern in rounds of 2, 3 or 4 then sewn together later. Nice and easy to do while watching the telly.

I've already made a start on this rabbit cushion. 52 little squares have been crocheted. The pattern requires 182 so I've quite a way to go yet.

I quite like this fox blanket from the book

while Little L has her eye on the space invader cushions.

The book contains more designs than actual finished items which are mainly cushions and blankets but the charts could be used for a number of other crafts too such as cross stitch, knitting, patchwork and Little L could use the designs for her Hama beads.

Another book I purchased at the same time was Meg. Fiction about a prehistoric shark might not be everyone's cup of tea but I'll been looking for this one after reading that it was going to be made into a film. I hope it does get made because we do love a good monster/shark film in this house.

Libbie Club - April Box

The April's Libbie Club box has just arrived and these are the three products to try from this month's box.

BEE GOOD 2-in-1 Cleanser

This has a thicker consistency than my usual cleansers. It left my skin feeling lovely and soft though I haven't yet tried it to remove make up. Nice scent. I like that it also includes a muslin cloth.

2-1 Honey & Propolis Cream Cleanser - FREE Travel Size

Eyeko Fat Liquid Liner

I don't always use an eyeliner on my top lid but I found this one easier to handle when applying due to the size and shape. I found that it did smudge a little though.

Fat Liquid Eyeliner Black - FREE Travel Size Mascara

The Hero Project Glow Drops

A fast absorbing facial oil so no waiting around to apply make up. I noticed the difference straight away on dry skin. The bottom of the bottle has a dimple which collects every last bit of oil so no waste. A nice subtle fragrance. Lovely packaging.

Glow Drops - 20% OFF