Paint marker mugs

Hey Guys!

If you are stuck for ideas for last-minute Christmas gifts, I have a winner right here. Everybody uses mugs, and you can easily customise this present to the likes of whoever the recipient is. E.g. Their favourite movies, TVs programs, bands, jokes etc.

You will need:

- Paint markers. Don't use sharpies!!! I tried that, but it all washed off after once in the dishwasher :( . Mine are from Amazon, and they come with 12 colours. They seem good.

- A mug. It doesn't really matter what sort of quality. I just got mine for £2

Steps:

1) Get your equipment ready. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit for all our American readers). With the pens, you may have to shake them a bit, then press the nib up and down a few times before ink starts to come out.

2) Start drawing your designs. I would suggest relatively simple ones, as the nibs are quite thick, about the same as that of a felt tip pen.

3) Place your mug in the oven for 30 mins. When finished, wait a while for it to cool down before you take it out. Then, you can start using your new mug.

By Annie

PS: Here is a picture of some shaved alpacas. I just thought you might like to see that.

Washi tape Christmas tree cards

Hi guys!

Are you not at all arty (like me!) but you still want to make nice, handmade cards for people? Don't want to spend hours copying out finicky patterns? Well, you've come to the right place. These cards take almost no time to make, and they use items you probably allready have.

You will need:

- two pieces of a4 paper. I used the brown for outside, and normal white paper on the inside.

- washi tape, the more designs the better

- scissors

Steps:

1) Collect your materials. Fold both pieces of paper in half, and put the white one in the brown one.

2) Get two short pieces of greenish-coloured tape, and stick them horizontally at the bottom. You could cut each piece, but I like to rip them, as it makes it look more handmade.

3) Get another strip of tape, and put it vertically on top of the two previous ones. Then, keep adding more tape, making each piece shorter until you get to the top. I have a nice gold sparkly tape that I put as the top, as it's similar to the star on a Christmas tree.

Now you've finished, and you can write a nice message inside, and give it to somebody who I'm sure will appreciate your handmade card.

By Annie

Super Easy Stickers!

Hi guys, it's Issy here. Sorry I haven't been on the blog for a while - things have been a bit busy! But on this peaceful Sunday afternoon in November, I have decided to show you how to make stickers which everyone will love. While stickers in shops are lovely, sometimes it's nice to have homemade ones - and trust me, these are VERY easy.

You will need:

-some plain white sticky labels that you get on rolls/sheets

-pens/pencils (for outlines)

-colours: pencil/watercolour/pen/crayon etc.

-scissors

That's everything! You probably already have all of these in your homes, but if you don't, they are all in abundance in many shops.

Step 1:

Keeping the label on its roll/sheet, draw different things (literally anything) onto it - for this, I like to use a thin black pen, and I make my sketches quite simple, almost like cartoons. Fit as many as you can on the label (your drawings can be any size), but make sure they're not touching, as you want them to end up as separate stickers.

Step 2:

Add some colour to them! Fill in that star, add some green to your tree - make them come to life! There is no wrong way to do this, of course, and you don't have to use any colour if you don't want to; you could have some lovely black and white ones instead.

Step 3:

Simply cut around your drawings, still keeping the label on its roll/sheet. I like to give my stickers smooth, rounded edges, but you can cut yours however you like.

Step 4:

Now that your stickers are all separated, start sticking! Just peel off the back and paste them wherever you want. I'm sure others would really appreciate them if you slipped them into envelopes along with letters, for them to stick down. Who wouldn't like homemade stickers?

I think these stickers are great, because they're so simple to make, they look great, and you can get loads of stickers out of just one label!

If you enjoyed reading this article/making your stickers, we would really love it if you shared this page's link with your friends and family. 

Thanks for reading!

Issy

Pom Pom garlands

Hi Guys!

Yesterday I decided to make some Pom Pom garlands, to replace the paper ones in my room, as it's getting a little colder, and these just seem more cosy and cute. I'm very proud of mine, as they look like they could have come from Oliver Bonas, especially with those colours! It may seem quite painstaking making a lot of Pom Poms, but it doesn't actually take too long, and I just did mine while watching TV.

You will need:

- wool, I would use three or more colours

- a fork (or a Pom Pom maker, if you have one)

- scissors

Step 1) make all your Pom Poms in the usual way* . I made twelve, three for each colour. Trim them to make sure there are no extra long pieces of yarn poking out.

Step 2) Now cut another piece of wool, about 15 cm longer than you want your garland to be. At regular intervals, tie the string around a Pom Pom. Make sure to pull these tight, so no Pom Poms fall off. 

You can now hang up your garland, and make your surroundings a little bit happier. : )

By Annie

* here is a good online tutorial, if you don't know how to make them. http://www.instructables.com/id/Create-Yarn-Pom-Poms-Using-a-Fork/

Felt popsicle badges

Hey!

Sorry I have posted in a while. We started school again and I have had lots of work to do. For example, did you know that in ionic bonding the metals lose electrons, but the non-metals gain electrons. But anyway chemistry is rather boring and I would rather be sewing.

You will need:

- felt (three colours, and a brown)

- a sewing machine (though you can also hand sew it)

- a needle and thread

- some stuffing

- a safety pin

- scissors

Steps:

1 Fold a piece of felt in half and draw out a popsicle shape on it, with two lines each a third down. Cut out the shape.

2 Put the felt on a lighter piece, and draw lines up to the first third, then join them up, so you have drawn a rectangle the size of the first third.

3 Cut this section out. Do the same for the second third.

4 Unfold the main piece of felt, and sew the two rectangles of felt onto it, with the colours going from lightest to darkest.

5 Fold the felt so the two right sides are facing into each other, and sew around three sides, leaving the bottom open.

6 Cut out a piece of brown felt, the shape of a popsicle stick.

7 Turn the popsicle back the right way, and stuff it slightly. Put the end of the brown felt into the popsicle, then sew along the whole edge, so it is now all secured.

8 Using a needle and thread, sew a safety pin (not the side that opens) onto the main badge.

By Annie

Paint sample bookmarks

Hi guys!

Urrgg! School is nearly upon us. Unfortunately that means more work and lessons, but it also means that you can make some cute things for school. This DIY is good for school, so you can mark pages in any books you are ready in class, however it does't take too long to make, so it doesn't matter if you lose them. This DIY is also quite cute, as you can personalise them for a gift.

You will need:

-paint swatches, you can get these for free at a hardware store

-thin ribbon

-a hole puncher

-any things you want for decoration, e.g. Pens, stickers, tape, stamps

-a laminator if you want to laminate your book marks

Steps:

1) Collect your supplies.

2) If you are going to laminate your bookmark, do so now. Then, hole punch the top of the paper, and decorate it however you want. I put quotes about books on mine. You could also write your initial on it, put a recipe on them, put stickers on it, or doodle on it. Basically whatever you feel like doing.

3) Fold a piece of ribbon in half, the thread through the hole. Put one end of the ribbon through the other and pull. 

By Annie

Giant Pom Poms!

Hi Guys!

My friend thinks that pompom is a very amazing word, and I must say, I agree. Just listen to the sound of it on your tongue. Pompom. The word itself even conjures up images of joviality. So why don't you keep some of that special-ness in your room, by making some giant ones? They are really quick to make, and you can hang them anywhere. Mine are in my window, or you could put them on your door, or make lots to turn into a garland.

You will need:

-Tissue paper

-String or thread

-Ribbon

-Scissors

Steps:

1) Cut all your papers to size. Mine where about 16cm, but that is pretty small.

2) Layer your papers on top of each other, then fold them in a concertina shape, like a fan.

3) Fold in the middle, and tie some thread around it to keep it in place. At this stage if you want, you can cut the end to make different shapes.

4) Get a longish strip of ribbon to be the loop. Poke one end under the thread, then tie both ends together.

5) Take the first layer of paper and bend it up, away from the other pieces. Do the same to the other half of the same piece. Then, flip and do this on the other side of the pompom. Continue doing this until you have bent all the layers up.

6) Your your pompom may look a bit funny, so just tease and poof the layers until it is looking full. Then you have finished, so go and hang it up somewhere.

By Annie

Shoebox desk organiser

Hi guys!

We were in France the past two weeks, which was lovely and sunny. However, now we are back in rainy ol' england, where I have an unfortunate incident to describe to you. Two days ago my little brother broke apart my lego desk organiser as he declared his need of bricks for his latest lego star wars project. And I thought, 'Thanks a lot for that, now I have to procure another desk organiser.' And I did. Except this one was much bigger and better.

For this project you will need:

- a shoebox lid

- card, quite strong

- jars, bottles and cartons from around the house (I had two juice bottles, a mini jam jar, and one of the mini cereal boxes you get at a hotel)

- paper with nice patterns, such as wrapping paper

- washi tape (if wanted)

- clear tape

- scissors

- glue

Steps:

1) Collect the things from around the house. Take the labels off any bottles and cartons that you can.

2) Decorate the shoebox lid. I cut some paper doilies to size and stuck them on the bottom, then put washi tape around the top, but you can do any colours or designs you like.

3) Now you will make the dividers. Cut a piece of card as high as the box, and any length you want. This could be as long as the box, or just a smaller piece. Stick it using clear tape to the wall of the box, and to the other wall if it touches. Cut more pieces like this to make squares out of the dividers, sticking each new strip with tape to the box wall or the other pieces or card. You can customise the size and shape of the boxes depending on what you are putting in the organiser. If the card strips are wobbly, stick them to the bottom of the box as well.

4) Decorate your jars and cartons. I put tape around the bottles and jars, and I covered the carton with paper.

5) Put these jars and cartons into the main box. Stick them down with clear tape if they are unstable. Then fill with all your stationary. I put pens and pencils in the bottle, paperclips in the small jar, my scissors, glue, and ink cartridges in the smaller carton, and other staionary in the small boxes.

By Annie

Tape crafts

 Hi Guys!

I hope your summers have all been good so far. I was at paperchase yesterday and I saw this big roll of tape covered in watermelons, and watermelons are my favourite fruit, and it was just so summery that I had to buy it. So today I had the idea to base my post around tape. Here are two DIYs which you can make using any big tape you have at home, be it washi or duct.

For both DIYs you will need:

-card (the stronger the better)

-tape

How to make a coin purse:

1- get a big piece of card, the thicker it is the stronger your purse will be.

2- cut the card to the right width, and with a length two and a half times the right length. The half will befor the flap.

3- measure down half the right length, then fold the rest of the card in half up to there, so you form the shape of the purse.

4- cover the whole thing in tape, cutting extra strips and folding them over the seams to seal it. If you want to make your purse extra secure, add some velcro onto the top of the purse and the flap.

How to make a corner bookmark:

1- cut out two squares of card, each one 6.5cm by 6.5cm.

2- cut one of these in half diagonally

3- cover the other square with tape completely

4-cut a piece of tape 6.5cm long, and put it over one of the triangles, but don't fold over the edges. Discard the other triangle.

5- place the square over the triangle, then fold up the excess tape onto the square, so they are now stuck together.

By Annie

Lego desk organiser

Hi guys!

Issy and I are finally on summer holidays! Yay! Hopefully we'll be posting more as we'll have more time. Comment below if you have any ideas that you want us to do posts on.

 You probably have a lot of lego lying around at home from when you had it as a kid. This DIY is a good way to use some of it up, and it helps to organise your desk, so it's a win-win situation. It is also really simple, so anybody can do it.

You will need:

-Lego (I got mine from my little brother)

-hands

Steps:

1- get all the regular shaped lego you can find, as well as one big-ish base. Make a small wall, one brick high on three sides of the base.

2- get some more flat lego, and lay it out so it covers most of the base. This will be used to make the bottom of the draw. Then stick these all together with long thin flat bits of lego.

3- star to build up a wall on all four sides of the drawer. Add in a small flat brick, so you can pull out the drawer easily. Slot the drawer into the rest of the box to check it fits okay.

4- while the drawer is in the box, build up the box's wall around the drawer. I would recommend three bricks high. Just make sure it is higher than the drawer.

5- make the roof of the box by sticking flat bricks over the top of the wall.

6- if you want to, you can make dividers on the roof by putting the one-block-wide blocks on to make the size squares you need. Then just put in all your stationary!

By Annie

How to put side panels in a top

Hi guys!

Do you ever find that you have a top that is nice, but, well, a bit meh. Why don't you put some side panels in! These make the top look more individual and bright, as well as it being much cuter, especially if you use a contrasting colour or fabric.  Another good thing is that they are really easy to put in. So let's get started.

You will need:

- one t-shirt in need of brightening

- some other fabric

- a ruler

- pins

- scissors

- a sewing machine or needle and thread

1) Cut out a strip of the T- shirt on the side that you want to remove. Cut all the way from top to bottom. Then cut out a strip of fabric the same width and length as the strip of the T-shirt. Pin the two front sides together. Do this for the other side as well.

2) Sew the fabric and top together, taking out pins as you go. Hem the top and the bottom of the fabric strip. Then sew the top and fabric together along all three other seams.

Now you have finished putting the side panels in your top, so go out, wear it and be happy. ; )

By Annie

Chevron stripe friendship bracelet

Hi guys!

Sorry we haven't posted is aggeess but it has been exams so we have been studying and super busy. Fortunately exams are over now, so summer can really begin, amirite? Anyway, to kickstart our summer theme I'm teaching you how to make a chevron stripe friendship bracelet. You proably made a load of similar ones in year four or something, but freindship bracelets are really in style now, so why don't you exchange a few with your best mates?

You will need:

Two colours of string

A clipboard

 

1) cut two pieces of string from each colour. Make these pretty long as they will be folded in half. Fold them, then tie a knot near the top. Put the string in a clipboard for easy knotting, or fasten using a safety pin to your trousers. Arrange so the colours are alternating.

2) We will be using the same knot as in my earlier friendship bracelet tutorial (see below). Get the left most strand and cross it over the strand next to it, then bring it under that strand, and pull tight to the top. Repeat this another time on that strand. Continue doing two knots using the same knotting thread for each strand of thread working left to right until you get to the middle.

3) Then grab the rightmost strand, and do the same knot as above twice. Work from right to left until you get to the middle also. Knot the two middle strands together. They should be the same colour.

4) repeat steps 2-3, each time using the outermost thread. It should alternate colours. This will make the chevron pattern.

5) when finished, knot the threads, then tie the end through the beginning loop aroung your wrist.

When you have mastered this pattern, try this tutorial. It's a little more difficult:

http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-heart-friendship-bracelet/

By Annie

Reversible fabric headband

Hi Guys!

I know, posting two days in a row! That must be a new record for us. Maybe I'll even post tomorrow and make it three days in a row! Anyway, I thought I might continue with a sort of hair theme after the scrunchie, to today I'm going to teach you how to mkae a reversible fabric headband. These are good for keeping the hair out of your eyes, and they don't take long to make. You can sew it by hand, but machine is probably quicker.

You will need

2 pieces of fabric, roughly 5cm by 22cm, depending on how big your head is

A piece of elastic long enough to go the rest of the way around your head

Scissors

A sewing machine/ needle and thread

1- pin your two fabrics front to front, and cut out the shape from both of them.

2- sew along three sides, then turn inside out so you can see the patterns.

3- Sew up the last edge, then sew one end of the elastic to each end.

 And now you've finished it. Maybe even make several in different patterns to go with different outfits, or one in school colours for school.

By Annie

Knotted friendship bracelets

Hi Guys!

It's easter holidays for us. Yay! This means chocolate and spare time and (for some of us) holidays.Hopefully I'll be able to post more, as I'll have more time than usual. Today I'm going to teach you how to make a simple friendship bracelet, made from lots of knots stacked on each other. As this is very simple you can do it in the car, or whenever you have a spare moment, and it can be packed away easily.

You will need:

-a paperclip, or a safety pin

- three or four lengths of embroidery thread, each two arm lenths long. The more colours you use, the thicker the bracelet.

1-take all your threads and fold them in half, making a knot not too far from the top.

2-put your paperclip or safety pin through the loop created, and pin to a clipboard or your trousers if you are travelling.

3-take one thread. Cross it on top of all the others.

4-then bring it under the other threads.

5-now bring it over again, and pull tight so the knot goes to the top.

6-repeat this five time with the same colour, then do steps 3-5 with another colour

7- keep changing colours till you bracelet is long enough, then knot it at the bottom, and tie around your wrist.

There you have it, your own friendship bracelet which you can give to a friend, or wear yourself until it (sadly) falls off.

By Annie

How to make a scrunchie

Hi guys!

Today i'm going to teach you how to make a fabric scrunchie which ia both very cute and very practical.

You will need:

a needle

some thread

scissors

fabric, 35cm x 13cm

a piece of elastic 16cm long

1-Cut out your fabric and elastic. fold the fabric in half widthways

2-Sew along the long raw edge of the fabric, leaving a two cm gap at the top and the bottom. Make the top and bottom of the scrunchie meet, and sew along, only leaving the gap we made at the top and bottom of the fabric.

3-put the elastic in a safety pin and thread through the scrunchy, then tie both ends together.

4-sew up the last remaining gap

How to decorate a notebook

Hi guys!

Today I'm going to teach you how to decorate any plain old notebook you have.

You will need:

A notebook

Some pretty paper

pva glue

Something to spread the glue, e.g. a popsicle stick

Washi tape

1) place a strip of washi tape along the spine to cover it up, as it is hard to paper the spine of books.

2) put the paper on top of the book. Cut the paper to the size of the book. Do this twice, for each side.

3) cover the book with the glue. Spread the glue around, then put the paper on top of it. Leave the book to dry for about 15mins. I put some heavy books on tip of it, so ther are no bubbles.

4) When the glue has dried, put any washi tape patterns you like on the book. You could also draw on it, or add any other decoration that you like.

By Annie

Braid Hairclip

Hi! Have you ever fancied having one of those colourful hipster string braids in your hair? You know, the ones they offer at little stalls near the beach? Not near one of them right now? Not allowed them for school or work? Never fear. Today you will learn how to create one of those colourful braids...that is attached to a hair clip, so that you can put it on, take it off, or relocate it whenever you please! How about that? And the best part is, it's really easy!

You will need:

-1 ordinary hairclip

-3 strands of colourful string/not too thin thread (I recommend them being about the length of the distance between your hands when you spread them out horizontally, but you can change it to suit the length of your hair.)

-1 pair of scissors (which you have probably already used to cut your string)

-1 quite heavy item, e.g. a thick book or, in my case, a snow globe

-1 mirror (just to look in, not cut up and stick anywhere - don't worry)

Step 1:

Put your three strands together, and make sure that at one end, they are all the same length. Roughly 10cm from this end, tie a knot. Just a normal knot. Do two on top of each other if you're really worried it's going to come loose, but it will be fine with just one.

Step 2:

I recommend doing this part on a table. Put your heavy item on top of the 10cm strip of string just above the knot. Now move your heavy item and its piece of string as close as possible to the edge of the table, so that the strings are not lying on the table, but are in the air. If you know how to plait, great: go ahead and do so until you're nearly at the bottom of your three strings. If you don't know how to, I'm sure there are many websites that would teach you how (it's not hard). Don't worry about making mistakes in your plaiting - it adds to the character of your braid hairclip. I know that I made plenty!

Step 3:

When you think your braid is nearing the length of your hair, go to a mirror. Grip, with a finger and thumb, where you are up to with your plaiting, and with your other hand, hold the braid against your hair, with the top quite near to the parting. If your braid is nearly the length of your hair, you can stop braiding. If not, keep doing some more plaiting and some more checking until it is nearly the length of your hair. The reason why I say nearly the length of your hair is because when you tie the bottom of your plaiting, there will be the three strands of string poking out at the bottom, and they will make the braid a bit longer, and make it the actual length of your hair.

Step 4:

I realise I've given you a bit of a spoiler, but oh well. Tie a knot (the same kind you tied at the top of the braid) where the plaiting finishes. Now cut the extra strands to size, to make the length of the braid more similar to the length of your hair.

Step 5:

Remember that 10cm strip of three strings at the top? Take it, and push it upwards through the middle hole of your hairclip. (See the picture for more clarity.) Pull it nice and tight, until it is stopped by the knot on the underside of the hairclip. Now tie a knot there, and make that tight, so that the hairclip can't move much between the two knots on either side of it. You might want to do an extra knot on top of it, just to be safe. (I did - I think this knot has more of a chance of untying than the one I said didn't need an extra knot earlier.) Now clip off the extra string on top of this double knot, leaving about 1/2cm of string remaining.

Step 5:

Clip it into your hair and wear it with pride.

And there you have it! Your very own reusable braid hairclip that should last you ages! It wasn't that hard, was it?

Issy

Sunglasses Case

Hi guys!

Do your sunglasses always get scratched and damaged? Well today I am going to teach you how to make a sunglasses case.

You will need:

A cotton fabric

2 different colours of felt

A needle

Some thread

1) Cut out all your pieces of fabric. Have two pieces of cotton and two of felt, each more then big enough to fit you sunglasses in. You also need two strips of felt to go around the top.

2) Sew three sides of the big piece of felt to the back of the cotton, then turn inside out and sew the final side. Repeat with the other pieces of cotton and felt.

3) Fold each strip of the felt in half, and place on top of the exposed edge of the cotton. Then sew this.

4) Sew both pieces of fabric together along three sides, leaving a gap at the side where the felt strips are.

By Annie

Nutella cookies

Hi Guys!

Today I am going to teach you how to make Nutella cookies. This post is in memory of Michele Ferrero, the creator of Nutella, who died last week.

Makes 15

You will need:

One egg

300g Nutella

150g flour

115g caster sugar

1) preheat the oven to 180 degrees. line two trays with baking paper.

2) mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl.

3) put the cookies on the baking tray. You should be able to make 15 cookies.

4) cook for 15 minutes, then let them cool down.

By Annie 

Cute little elephant

Hi guys!

This post is going to teach uou how to make this super cute stuffed elephant. It takes barely any time and you can do it by machine or hand

You will need:

A cotton fabric

Felt

Some wool

Thread

Stuffing

A needle

1) cut out two shapes of the elephant. Put the patterned sides together and sew, leaving a gap for the stuffing. Then turn it inside out, stuff it, and sew up the gap

2) cut out the two ear pieces, and stitch them on to each side.

3) sew the eyes by doing a few stitches in black thread on either side.

4) cut a small bit of wool, and tie a knot about 1 1/2cm from the end. Fray the small bit. Then sew the other end onto the rest of the elephant.

By Annie

Finger knitted snood

Hi guys!

Today I am going to teach you how to make a striped snood, using finger knitting (Find out how to finger knit at http://m.wikihow.com/Finger-Knit) It does not take very long, as the loops are relatively loose. I made it in one day.

You will need:

1,2 or 5 different colours of wool

A needle with a big eye

Scissors

Fingers!

1) finger knit five different strings, each of them big enough to fit around your head comfortably. This is how long your snood will be.

2) sew two of the strings together threads in a diagonal formation. Use the colour of one of the strings. NB: I used orange here so it would be easier to see. Continue sewing the strings together, until they are all sewn.

3) once all of the strings are sewn together, then sew the two ends together, along the width. This will then mean the snood is all joined together in a loop.

There you have it, you have made your own snood.

By Annie